The Great Patriotic War, which lasted almost four years, affected every home, every family, and claimed millions of lives. This concerned everyone, because Hitler did not just go to conquer the country, he went to destroy everything and everyone, sparing no one or anything. The first information about the attack began to arrive at 3:15 a.m. from Sevastopol, and already at four o’clock in the morning the entire western land of the Soviet state was attacked. And at the same time the cities of Kyiv, Minsk, Brest, Mogilev and others were subjected to aerial bombardment.

For a long time it was believed that the top leadership of the Union, led by Stalin, did not believe in the attack of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1941. However, recent studies of archival documents have allowed a number of historians to believe that the order to bring the western districts to combat readiness was given by the Directive of the General Staff of the Red Army on June 18, 1941.

This Directive appears in the interrogation protocols of the former commander of the western front, Pavlov, although to date the Directive itself has not been found. According to historians, if it had been carried out a few days before the start of hostilities, then by the winter of 1941 the Germans would have reached Smolensk.

In the first months of border battles, the Red Army lost about 3 million people killed or captured. Against the backdrop of the general retreat, the Brest Fortress stood out, heroically defending itself for a month, and Przemysl, a city where the Soviet Union not only withstood the blow of German troops, but also managed to launch a counterattack and push it back two kilometers into Poland.

The troops of the southern front (formerly the Odessa military) repelled enemy attacks and penetrated several kilometers into Romanian territory. The Soviet navy and naval aviation, put on full combat readiness several hours before the attack, did not lose a single ship or aircraft on that tragic day. And naval aviation in the fall of 1941 Berlin.

One of the most significant events of the beginning of the war was the capture of the suburbs of Leningrad by German troops on September 8, 1941 and the capture of the city. The blockade, which lasted 872 days and was lifted by Soviet troops only in January 1943, caused enormous damage to the city and its inhabitants. Unique architectural monuments were destroyed, palaces and temples, considered the pride of the Russian people, were burned. 1.5 million people, including young children, died from hunger, cold and constant bombing.

The selfless and heroic resistance that the simple man offered at the very beginning of the war thwarted the Germans’ attempt to carry out a lightning war on the territory of the USSR - a blitzkrieg and in a short six months bring the great country to its knees.

The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) - the war between the USSR, Germany and its allies within the framework of the Second World War on the territory of the USSR and Germany. Germany attacked the USSR on June 22, 1941, with the expectation of a short military campaign, but the war dragged on for several years and ended in the complete defeat of Germany.

Causes of the Great Patriotic War

After the defeat in the First World War, Germany was left in a difficult situation - the political situation was unstable, the economy was in a deep crisis. Around this time, Hitler came to power and, thanks to his reforms in the economy, was able to quickly bring Germany out of the crisis and thereby gain the trust of the authorities and the people.

Having become the head of the country, Hitler began to pursue his policy, which was based on the idea of ​​​​the superiority of the Germans over other races and peoples. Hitler not only wanted to take revenge for losing the First World War, but also to subjugate the whole world to his will. The result of his claims was a German attack on the Czech Republic and Poland, and then (already within the framework of the outbreak of World War II) on other European countries.

Until 1941, there was a non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR, but Hitler violated it by attacking the USSR. To conquer the Soviet Union, the German command developed a rapid attack that was supposed to bring victory within two months. Having seized the territories and wealth of the USSR, Hitler could have entered into open confrontation with the United States for the right to world political domination.

The attack was swift, but did not bring the desired results - the Russian army offered stronger resistance than the Germans expected, and the war dragged on for many years.

Main periods of the Great Patriotic War

First period (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942). Within a year of Germany's attack on the USSR, the German army had conquered significant territories, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. After this, the troops moved inland to capture Moscow and Leningrad, however, despite the failures of Russian soldiers at the beginning of the war, the Germans failed to take the capital.

Leningrad was besieged, but the Germans were not allowed into the city. The battles for Moscow, Leningrad and Novgorod continued until 1942.

The period of radical change (1942-1943). The middle period of the war got its name due to the fact that it was at this time that Soviet troops were able to take the advantage in the war into their own hands and launch a counteroffensive. The German and Allied armies gradually began to retreat back to the western border, and many foreign legions were defeated and destroyed.

Thanks to the fact that the entire industry of the USSR at that time worked for military needs, the Soviet army managed to significantly increase its weapons and provide worthy resistance. The USSR army turned from a defender into an attacker.

The final period of the war (1943-1945). During this period, the USSR began to recapture the lands occupied by the Germans and move towards Germany. Leningrad was liberated, Soviet troops entered Czechoslovakia, Poland, and then into German territory.

On May 8, Berlin was captured and German troops announced unconditional surrender. Hitler, having learned about the lost war, committed suicide. War is over.

The main battles of the Great Patriotic War

• Defense of the Arctic (June 29, 1941 - November 1, 1944).
• Siege of Leningrad (September 8, 1941 - January 27, 1944).
• Battle of Moscow (September 30, 1941 - April 20, 1942).
• Battle of Rzhev (January 8, 1942 - March 31, 1943).
• Battle of Kursk (July 5 - August 23, 1943).
• Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 – February 2, 1943).
• Battle for the Caucasus (July 25, 1942 - October 9, 1943).
• Belarusian operation (June 23 - August 29, 1944).
• Battle for Right Bank Ukraine (December 24, 1943 - April 17, 1944).
• Budapest operation (October 29, 1944 - February 13, 1945).
• Baltic operation (September 14 - November 24, 1944).
• Vistula-Oder operation (January 12 - February 3, 1945).
• East Prussian operation (January 13 - April 25, 1945).
• Berlin operation (April 16 - May 8, 1945).

Results and significance of the Great Patriotic War

Although the main goal of the Great Patriotic War was defensive, in the end, Soviet troops went on the offensive and not only liberated their territories, but also destroyed the German army, took Berlin and stopped Hitler’s victorious march across Europe.

Unfortunately, despite the victory, this war turned out to be ruinous for the USSR - the country's economy after the war was in a deep crisis, since industry worked exclusively for the military sector, many people were killed, and those who remained starved.

Nevertheless, for the USSR, victory in this war meant that the Union was now becoming a world superpower, which had the right to dictate its terms in the political arena.

The confrontation of the Russian people with the aggression of Germany and other countries that sought to establish a “new world order.” This war became a clash between two opposing civilizations, in which the Western world set as its goal the complete destruction of Russia - the USSR as a state and nation, the seizure of a significant part of its territories and the formation of puppet regimes subject to Germany in the remaining parts. Germany was pushed to war against Russia by the Judeo-Masonic regimes of the USA and England, which saw in Hitler an instrument for carrying out their plans for world domination and the destruction of Russia.

On June 22, 1941, German armed forces consisting of 103 divisions, including 10 tank divisions, invaded Russian territory. Their total number numbered five and a half million people, of which more than 900 thousand were military personnel of Germany's Western allies - Italians, Spaniards, French, Dutch, Finns, Romanians, Hungarians, etc. 4,300 tanks and assault guns were assigned to this treacherous Western international , 4980 combat aircraft, 47200 guns and mortars.

The Russian armed forces of the five western border military districts and three fleets opposing the aggressor were twice as inferior to the enemy in manpower, and in the first echelon of our armies there were only 56 rifle and cavalry divisions, which found it difficult to compete with the German tank corps. The aggressor also had a great advantage in artillery, tanks and aircraft of the latest designs.

By nationality, more than 90% of the Soviet army opposing Germany were Russians (Great Russians, Little Russians and Belarusians), which is why, without exaggeration, it can be called the Russian army, which in no way detracts from the feasible contribution of other peoples of Russia in confronting the common enemy.

Treacherously, without declaring war, concentrating overwhelming superiority on the direction of attacks, the aggressor broke through the defenses of Russian troops, seized strategic initiative and air supremacy. The enemy occupied a significant part of the country and advanced inland to 300 - 600 km.

On June 23, the Headquarters of the High Command was created (from August 6 - the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command). All power was concentrated in the State Defense Committee (GKO), created on June 30. From August 8 I.V. Stalin became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. He gathered around him outstanding Russian commanders G.K. Zhukov, S.K. Timoshenko, B.M. Shaposhnikov, A.M. Vasilevsky, K.K. Rokossovsky, N.F. Vatutin, A.I. Eremenko, K. A. Meretskov, I. S. Konev, I. D. Chernyakhovsky and many others. In his public speeches, Stalin relies on the sense of patriotism of the Russian people and calls on them to follow the example of their heroic ancestors. The main military events of the summer-autumn campaign of 1941 were the Battle of Smolensk, the defense of Leningrad and the beginning of its blockade, the military disaster of Soviet troops in Ukraine, the defense of Odessa, the beginning of the defense of Sevastopol, the loss of Donbass, the defensive period of the Battle of Moscow. The Russian army retreated 850-1200 km, but the enemy was stopped in the main directions near Leningrad, Moscow and Rostov and went on the defensive.

The winter campaign of 1941-42 began with a counter-offensive of Russian troops in the western strategic direction. During it, a counteroffensive near Moscow, the Lyuban, Rzhevsko-Vyazemskaya, Barvenkovsko-Lozovskaya and Kerch-Feodosia landing operations were carried out. Russian troops removed the threat to Moscow and the North Caucasus, eased the situation in Leningrad, and completely or partially liberated the territory of 10 regions, as well as over 60 cities. The blitzkrieg strategy collapsed. About 50 enemy divisions were defeated. The patriotism of the Russian people, which was widely manifested from the first days of the war, played a major role in the defeat of the enemy. Thousands of national heroes like A. Matrosov and Z. Kosmodemyanskaya, hundreds of thousands of partisans behind enemy lines in the first months greatly shook the morale of the aggressor.

In the summer-autumn campaign of 1942, the main military events unfolded in the southwestern direction: the defeat of the Crimean Front, the military disaster of Soviet troops in the Kharkov operation, the Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad, Donbass, Stalingrad defensive operations, the battle in the North Caucasus. In the northwestern direction, the Russian army carried out the Demyansk and Rzhev-Sychevsk offensive operations. The enemy advanced 500 - 650 km, reached the Volga, and captured part of the passes of the Main Caucasus Range. The territory was occupied, where before the war 42% of the population lived, a third of the gross output was produced, and more than 45% of the sown areas were located. The economy was put on a war footing. A large number of enterprises were relocated to the eastern regions of the country (2,593 in the second half of 1941 alone, including 1,523 large ones), and 2.3 million heads of livestock were exported. In the first half of 1942, 10 thousand aircraft, 11 thousand tanks, approx. 54 thousand guns. In the 2nd half of the year their output increased by more than 1.5 times.

In the winter campaign of 1942-43, the main military events were the Stalingrad and North Caucasus offensive operations and the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad. The Russian army advanced 600 - 700 km westward, liberating a territory of over 480 thousand square meters. km, defeated 100 divisions (40% of the enemy forces on the Soviet-German front). In the summer-autumn campaign of 1943, the decisive event was the Battle of Kursk. The partisans played an important role (Operation Rail War). During the battle for the Dnieper, 38 thousand settlements were liberated, including 160 cities; With the capture of strategic bridgeheads on the Dnieper, conditions were created for an offensive in Belarus. In the Battle of the Dnieper, the partisans carried out Operation Concert to destroy enemy communications. In other directions, the Smolensk and Bryansk offensive operations were carried out. The Russian army fought up to 500 - 1300 km and defeated 218 divisions.

During the winter campaign of 1943-44, the Russian army carried out an offensive in Ukraine (10 simultaneous and sequential front-line operations, united by a common plan). Completed the defeat of Army Group South, crossed the border with Romania and transferred the fighting to its territory. Almost simultaneously, the Leningrad-Novgorod offensive operation unfolded; Leningrad was finally released. As a result of the Crimean operation, Crimea was liberated. Russian troops advanced westward 250 - 450 km, liberating approx. 300 thousand sq. km of territory, reached the state border with Czechoslovakia.

In June 1944, when the USA and England realized that Russia could win the war without their participation, they opened a 2nd front in France. This worsened the military-political situation in Germany. During the summer-autumn campaign of 1944, Russian troops carried out the Belarusian, Lvov-Sandomierz, East Carpathian, Iasi-Kishinev, Baltic, Debrecen, East Carpathian, Belgrade, partially Budapest and Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive operations. The liberation of Belarus, Little Russia and the Baltic states (except for some regions of Latvia), partially of Czechoslovakia was completed, Romania and Hungary were forced to capitulate and entered the war against Germany, the Soviet Arctic and the northern regions of Norway were liberated from the occupiers.

The 1945 campaign in Europe included the East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, completion of Budapest, East Pomeranian, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian, Western Carpathian, Vienna and Berlin operations, which ended with the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. After the Berlin operation, Russian troops, together with the 2nd army of the Polish Army, the 1st and 4th Romanian armies and the 1st Czechoslovak corps, carried out the Prague operation.

Victory in the war greatly raised the spirit of the Russian people and contributed to the growth of their national self-awareness and self-confidence. As a result of the victory, Russia regained most of what was taken from it as a result of the revolution (except for Finland and Poland). The historical Russian lands in Galicia, Bukovina, Bessarabia, etc. returned to its composition. Most of the Russian people (including Little Russians and Belarusians) again became a single entity in one state, which created the preconditions for their unification in a single Church. The fulfillment of this historical task was the main positive outcome of the war. The victory of Russian weapons created favorable conditions for Slavic unity. At some stage, the Slavic countries united with Russia in something like a fraternal federation. For a period of time, the peoples of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia realized how important it was for the Slavic world to stick together in the fight against Western encroachment on Slavic lands.

On Russia's initiative, Poland received Silesia and a significant part of East Prussia, from which the city of Königsberg with its surrounding territory came into the possession of the Russian state, and Czechoslovakia regained the Sudetenland previously captured by Germany.

The great mission to save humanity from the “new world order” was given to Russia at a huge price: the Russian people and the brotherly peoples of our Fatherland paid for this with the lives of 47 million people (including direct and indirect losses), of which approximately 37 million people were Russians themselves (including Little Russians and Belarusians).

Most of the deaths were not of the military directly involved in the hostilities, but of civilians, the civilian population of our country. The irretrievable losses of the Russian army (killed, died from wounds, missing in action, died in captivity) amount to 8 million 668 thousand 400 people. The remaining 35 million are the lives of civilians. During the war years, about 25 million people were evacuated to the East. Approximately 80 million people, or about 40% of the population of our country, ended up in the territory occupied by Germany. All these people became “objects” of the implementation of the misanthropic Ost program, were subjected to brutal repressions, and died from famine organized by the Germans. About 6 million people were driven into German slavery, many of them died from unbearable living conditions.

As a result of the war, the genetic fund of the most active and viable part of the population was significantly undermined, because in it, first of all, the strongest and most energetic members of society, capable of producing the most valuable offspring, died. In addition, due to the falling birth rate, the country is missing tens of millions of future citizens.

The huge price of victory fell most heavily on the shoulders of the Russian people (including Little Russians and Belarusians), because the main hostilities were carried out on their ethnic territories and it was towards them that the enemy was especially cruel and merciless.

In addition to the enormous human losses, our country suffered colossal material damage. Not a single country in its entire history and in the Second World War had such losses and barbaric destruction from aggressors as befell Great Russia. Russia's total material losses in world prices amounted to more than a trillion dollars (US national income for several years).

Main periods of the Great Patriotic War.

Plan

1. USSR on the eve of the war. Periodization of the Great Patriotic War.

2. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War: the causes of the military disaster in the initial period of the war.

3. A radical turning point in the war. Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk.

4. Victories of the Red Army at the final stage of the war (1944–1945).

5. Results and lessons of the Great Patriotic War.

Key concepts and terms: war, revanchism, policy of appeasement of the aggressor, collective security system, Munich agreement, Anschluss, fascism, Nazism, fascist aggression, anti-fascist coalition, “funny war”, blitzkrieg, second front, partisan movement, Lend-Lease, strategic initiative, radical change

At dawn on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union. On the side of Germany were Romania, Hungary, Italy and Finland. The aggressor's force group consisted of 5.5 million people, 190 divisions, 5 thousand aircraft, about 4 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units (SPG), 47 thousand guns and mortars.

In accordance with the Barbarossa plan developed in 1940, Germany planned to enter the Arkhangelsk-Volga-Astrakhan line as soon as possible (in 6-10 weeks). It was a setup for blitzkrieg - lightning war. This is how the Great Patriotic War began.

Main periods of the Great Patriotic War.

First period (June 22, 1941 – November 18, 1942) from the beginning of the war to the beginning of the Soviet offensive at Stalingrad. This was the most difficult period for the USSR.

Having created multiple superiority in men and military equipment in the main directions of attack, the German army achieved significant success. By the end of November 1941, Soviet troops, having retreated under the blows of superior enemy forces to Leningrad, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, left a huge territory to the enemy, lost about 5 million people killed, missing and captured, most of the tanks and aircraft .

The main efforts of the Nazi troops in the fall of 1941 were aimed at capturing Moscow. The Battle of Moscow lasted from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942. On December 5-6, 1941, the Red Army went on the offensive and the enemy’s defense front was broken through. Fascist troops were driven back 100-250 km from Moscow. The plan to capture Moscow failed, and the lightning war in the east did not take place.

The victory near Moscow was of great international significance. Japan and Türkiye refrained from entering the war against the USSR. The increased authority of the USSR on the world stage contributed to the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. However, in the summer of 1942, due to the mistakes of the Soviet leadership (primarily Stalin), the Red Army suffered a number of major defeats in the North-West, near Kharkov and in the Crimea. Nazi troops reached the Volga - Stalingrad and the Caucasus. The persistent defense of Soviet troops in these directions, as well as the transfer of the country's economy to a military footing, the creation of a coherent military economy, and the deployment of the partisan movement behind enemy lines prepared the necessary conditions for the Soviet troops to go on the offensive.

Second period (November 19, 1942 – end of 1943)- a radical turning point in the war. Having exhausted and bled the enemy in defensive battles, on November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive, encircling 22 fascist divisions numbering more than 300 thousand people near Stalingrad. On February 2, 1943, this group was liquidated. At the same time, enemy troops were expelled from the North Caucasus. By the summer of 1943, the Soviet-German front had stabilized.

Using the front configuration that was advantageous to them, fascist troops on July 5, 1943 went on the offensive near Kursk with the goal of regaining the strategic initiative and encircling the Soviet group of troops on the Kursk Bulge. During fierce fighting, the enemy's advance was stopped. On August 23, 1943, Soviet troops liberated Orel, Belgorod, Kharkov, reached the Dnieper, and on November 6, 1943, Kyiv was liberated.

During the summer-autumn offensive, half of the enemy divisions were defeated and large territories of the Soviet Union were liberated. The collapse of the fascist bloc began, and in 1943 Italy withdrew from the war.

1943 was the year of a radical turning point not only in the course of military operations on the fronts, but also in the work of the Soviet rear. Thanks to the selfless work of the home front, by the end of 1943 an economic victory over Germany was won. The military industry in 1943 provided the front with 29.9 thousand aircraft, 24.1 thousand tanks, 130.3 thousand guns of all types. This was more than Germany produced in 1943. The Soviet Union in 1943 surpassed Germany in the production of the main types of military equipment and weapons.

Third period (late 1943 – May 8, 1945)- the final period of the Great Patriotic War. In 1944, the Soviet economy achieved its greatest expansion during the entire war. Industry, transport, and agriculture developed successfully. Military production grew especially rapidly. The production of tanks and self-propelled guns in 1944, compared to 1943, increased from 24 to 29 thousand, and combat aircraft - from 30 to 33 thousand units. From the beginning of the war to 1945, about 6 thousand enterprises were put into operation.

1944 was marked by victories of the Soviet Armed Forces. The entire territory of the USSR was completely liberated from the fascist occupiers. The Soviet Union came to the aid of the peoples of Europe - the Soviet Army liberated Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and fought its way to Norway. Romania and Bulgaria declared war on Germany. Finland left the war.

The successful offensive actions of the Soviet Army prompted the allies to open a second front in Europe on June 6, 1944 - Anglo-American troops under the command of General D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) landed in northern France, in Normandy. But the Soviet-German front still remained the main and most active front of the Second World War.

During the winter offensive of 1945, the Soviet Army pushed the enemy back more than 500 km. Poland, Hungary and Austria, and the eastern part of Czechoslovakia were almost completely liberated. The Soviet Army reached the Oder (60 km from Berlin). On April 25, 1945, a historic meeting between Soviet troops and American and British troops took place on the Elbe, in the Torgau region.

The fighting in Berlin was exceptionally fierce and persistent. On April 30, the Victory Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag. On May 8, the signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany took place. May 9 became Victory Day.

From July 17 to August 2, 1945, the Third Conference of Heads of Government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain in the suburbs of Berlin - Potsdam, which made important decisions on the post-war world order in Europe, the German problem and other issues. On June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place in Moscow on Red Square.

The victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany was not only political and military, but also economic. This is evidenced by the fact that in the period from July 1941 to August 1945, the USSR produced significantly more military equipment and weapons than in Germany. Here are the specific data (thousand pieces):

This economic victory in the war was made possible because the Soviet Union was able to create a more advanced economic organization and achieve a more efficient use of all its resources.

War with Japan. The end of World War II. However, the end of hostilities in Europe did not mean the end of World War II. In accordance with the agreement in principle at Yalta (February 1945 G.) The Soviet government declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945. Soviet troops launched offensive operations on a front stretching over 5 thousand km. The geographical and climatic conditions in which the fighting took place were extremely difficult. The advancing Soviet troops had to overcome the ridges of the Greater and Lesser Khingan and the East Manchurian Mountains, deep and stormy rivers, waterless deserts, and impassable forests. But despite these difficulties, the Japanese troops were defeated.

During stubborn fighting in 23 days, Soviet troops liberated Northeast China, North Korea, the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. 600 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were captured, and a large amount of weapons and military equipment was captured. Under the blows of the armed forces of the USSR and its allies in the war (primarily the USA, England, China), Japan capitulated on September 2, 1945. The southern part of Sakhalin and the islands of the Kuril ridge went to the Soviet Union.

The United States, having dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, marked the beginning of a new nuclear era.

Thus, the Great Patriotic War was an important component of the Second World War. The Soviet people and their Armed Forces bore the main burden of this war on their shoulders and achieved a historic victory over Nazi Germany and its allies. Participants in the anti-Hitler coalition made their significant contribution to the victory over the forces of fascism and militarism. The main lesson of World War II is that preventing war requires unity of action among peace-loving forces. During the preparation for World War II, it could have been prevented. Many countries and public organizations tried to do this, but unity of action was never achieved.

Self-test questions

1. Tell us about the main periods of the Great Patriotic War.

Hitler approved the war plan against the USSR, codenamed “Barbarossa,” on December 18, 1940. He sought to establish German hegemony in Europe, which would have been impossible without the defeat of the USSR. Germany was also attracted by the natural resources of the USSR, which were important as strategic raw materials. The defeat of the Soviet Union, in the opinion of Hitler's military command, would create conditions for an invasion of the British Isles and the seizure of British colonies in the Near and Middle East and India. The strategic plan of Hitler’s command (“blitzkrieg” - lightning war) was as follows: to destroy Soviet troops concentrated in the western regions of the country, to rapidly advance into the depths of the Soviet Union, to occupy its most important political and economic centers. Moscow was to be destroyed after its capture. The ultimate goal of the military operation against the USSR is the exit and consolidation of German troops on the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line.

On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Hitler violated the German-Soviet non-aggression pact of 1939.

German troops advanced in three army groups. The task of Army Group North is to destroy Soviet troops in the Baltic states and occupy ports on the Baltic Sea, Pskov and Leningrad. Army Group South was supposed to defeat the Red Army forces in Ukraine and capture Kyiv, Kharkov, Donbass and Crimea. The most powerful was Army Group Center, which was advancing in the central direction towards Moscow.

On June 23, the Headquarters of the Main Command was created in Moscow to direct military operations. On July 10, it was transformed into the Supreme Command Headquarters. Its chairman was Stalin.

Initial stage (June 22, 1941— November 19, 1942).

1941

On June 22, the Germans crossed the border of the Soviet Union in many directions.

By July 10, the Nazis, advancing in three strategic directions (Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev), captured the Baltic states, a significant part of Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.

July 10 - September 10 - Battle of Smolensk, loss of the city, encirclement of Red Army units, advance of the Nazis towards Moscow.

July 11 - September 19 - defense of Kyiv, loss of the city, encirclement of four armies of the Southwestern Front.

December 5, 1941 - January 8, 1942 - counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow, the Germans were driven back 120-250 km. The strategy of lightning war failed.

1942

January 9 - April - offensive of the Red Army, Moscow and Tula regions, areas of Kalinin, Smolensk, Ryazan, Oryol regions are liberated.

May - July - the offensive of German troops in the Crimea, the fall of Sevastopol (July 4).

July 17 - November 18 - the defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, the plans of the German command for the lightning capture of the city were thwarted.

July 25 - December 31 - defensive battle in the North Caucasus.

Radical change (November 19, 1942 - December 1943).

November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943 - the offensive of the Red Army near Stalingrad, the encirclement and capture of the 6th Army of Field Marshal Paulus and the 2nd Tank Army with a total number of 300 thousand people, the beginning of a radical change in during the Great Patriotic War.

1943

July 5 - August 23 - Battle of Kursk (July 12 - tank battle near Prokhorovka), the final transfer of the strategic initiative to the Red Army.

August 25 - December 23 - battle for the Dnieper, liberation of Left Bank Ukraine, Donbass, Kyiv (November 6).

1944 G.

January - May - offensive operations near Leningrad and Novgorod (the blockade of Leningrad was lifted), near Odessa (the city was liberated) and in Crimea.

June - December - Operation Bagration and a number of other offensive operations to liberate Belarus, the Lvov-Sandomierz operation in Western Ukraine, operations to liberate Romania and Bulgaria, the Baltic states, Hungary and Yugoslavia.

1945

January 12 - February 7 - Vistula-Oder operation, Most of Poland was liberated.

January 13 - April 25 - East Prussian operation, Konigsberg, the main fortified bridgehead of East Prussia, was captured.

April 16 - May 8 - Berlin operation, capture of Berlin (May 2), surrender of Germany (May 8).

The Great Patriotic War was an integral part of the Second World War, in which Hitler's Germany and its allies were opposed by a powerful anti-Hitler coalition. The main participants in the coalition were the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. The Soviet Union made a decisive contribution to the defeat of fascism. The Eastern Front always remained the main one during the Second World War.

The victory over Germany and Japan strengthened the authority of the USSR throughout the world. The Soviet Army ended the war as the most powerful army in the world, and the Soviet Union became one of the two superpowers.

The main source of the USSR's victory in the war was the unparalleled courage and heroism of the Soviet people at the front and in the rear. On the Soviet-German front alone, 607 enemy divisions were defeated. Germany lost more than 10 million people (80% of its military losses), 167 thousand artillery pieces, 48 ​​thousand tanks, 77 thousand aircraft (75% of all its military equipment) in the war against the USSR. The victory came at a huge cost to us. The war claimed the lives of almost 27 million people (including 10 million soldiers and officers). 4 million partisans, underground fighters, and civilians died behind enemy lines. Over 6 million people found themselves in fascist captivity. Nevertheless, in the popular consciousness, the long-awaited Victory Day became the brightest and most joyful holiday, marking the end of the most bloody and destructive of wars.