2nd Patriotic War 1941 1945. Major German losses
The Great Patriotic War began on June 22, 1941, on the day of All Saints who shone in the Russian land. The Barbarossa plan - a plan for a lightning war with the USSR - was signed by Hitler on December 18, 1940. Now it has been put into action. German troops - the strongest army in the world - advanced in three groups ("North", "Center", "South"), aimed at the rapid capture of the Baltic states and then Leningrad, Moscow, and in the south - Kyiv.
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June 22, 1941 4:00 am - the start of the German offensive. 153 German divisions, 3712 tanks and 4950 combat aircraft entered the fighting (such data are given by Marshal G.K. Zhukov in his book "Memoirs and Reflections"). The enemy forces were several times superior to the forces of the Red Army, both in numbers and in equipment with military equipment.
On June 22, 1941, at 5:30 am, Reich Minister Goebbels, in a special broadcast on the Greater German Radio, read out Adolf Hitler's appeal to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against Soviet Union.
On June 22, 1941, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, addresses the faithful with an appeal. In his "Message to the Shepherds and Flocks of Christ's Orthodox Church," Metropolitan Sergius said: "The fascist robbers attacked our Motherland... The times of Batu, the German knights, Charles of Sweden, Napoleon are repeated... The miserable descendants of the enemies of Orthodox Christianity want to once again try to put the people our knees before the untruth ... C God's help and this time, he will dispel the fascist enemy force into dust... Let us remember the holy leaders of the Russian people, for example, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, who sacrificed their souls for the people and the Motherland... Let us remember the innumerable thousands of ordinary Orthodox warriors... Our Orthodox The Church has always shared the fate of the people. Together with him, she bore the trials and consoled herself with his successes. She will not leave her people even now. She blesses with a heavenly blessing and the forthcoming nationwide feat. If anyone, then it is we who need to remember the commandment of Christ: “There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)...”
Patriarch Alexander III of Alexandria addressed a message to Christians all over the world about prayerful and material assistance to Russia.
Brest Fortress, Minsk, Smolensk
June 22 - July 20, 1941. Defense Brest Fortress. The first Soviet strategic border point located in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center (to Minsk and Moscow) was Brest and the Brest Fortress, which the German command planned to capture in the first hours of the war.
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July 9, 1941 - the enemy occupied Minsk. The forces were too unequal. The Soviet troops were in dire need of ammunition, and there was not enough transport or fuel to bring them up, besides, part of the warehouses had to be blown up, the rest were captured by the enemy. The enemy stubbornly rushed to Minsk from the north and south. Our troops were surrounded. Deprived of centralized control and supply, they, however, fought until July 8.
July 10 - September 10, 1941 Smolensk battle. On July 10, Army Group Center launched an offensive against the Western Front. The Germans had a twofold superiority in manpower and fourfold in tanks. The enemy's plan was to cut our western front with powerful strike groups, encircle the main group of troops in the Smolensk region and open the way to Moscow. The battle of Smolensk began on July 10 and dragged on for two months - a period that the German command did not count on at all. Despite all efforts, the troops of the Western Front were unable to complete the task of defeating the enemy in the Smolensk region. During the fighting near Smolensk, the Western Front suffered serious losses. By the beginning of August, no more than 1-2 thousand people remained in his divisions. However, fierce resistance Soviet troops near Smolensk weakened the offensive power of Army Group Center. The enemy strike groupings were exhausted and suffered significant losses. According to the Germans themselves, by the end of August, only the motorized and tank divisions had lost half of their personnel and materiel, and the total losses amounted to about 500 thousand people. Main Outcome Smolensk battle there was a disruption of the Wehrmacht's plans for a non-stop advance towards Moscow. For the first time since the beginning of World War II, German troops were forced to go on the defensive in their main direction, as a result of which the Red Army command gained time to improve the strategic defense in the Moscow direction and prepare reserves.
August 8, 1941 - Stalin appointed as Supreme Commander Armed Forces of the USSR.
Defense of Ukraine
The capture of Ukraine was of great importance for the Germans, who sought to deprive the Soviet Union of its largest industrial and agricultural base, to seize Donetsk coal and Krivoy Rog ore. From a strategic point of view, the capture of Ukraine provided support from the south to the central grouping of German troops, which faced the main task - the capture of Moscow.But the lightning-fast capture that Hitler planned did not work out here either. Retreating under the blows of the German troops, the Red Army courageously and fiercely resisted, despite the heaviest losses. By the end of August, the troops of the Southwestern and Southern Fronts withdrew beyond the Dnieper. Once surrounded, the Soviet troops suffered huge losses.
Atlantic charter. Allied Powers
On August 14, 1941, US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill adopted a declaration aboard the British battleship Prince of Wales in Argentia Bay (Newfoundland), which outlined the goals of the war against the fascist states. On September 24, 1941, the Soviet Union joined the Atlantic Charter.Leningrad blockade
On August 21, 1941, defensive battles began on the near approaches to Leningrad. In September, fierce fighting continued in the immediate vicinity of the city. But the German troops could not overcome the resistance of the defenders of the city and take Leningrad. Then the German command decided to starve the city out. Having captured Shlisselburg on September 8, the enemy went to Lake Ladoga and blockaded Leningrad from land. German troops encircled the city in a dense ring, cutting it off from the rest of the country. The connection of Leningrad with the "mainland" was carried out only by air and through Lake Ladoga. And with artillery strikes and bombing, the Nazis sought to destroy the city.From September 8, 1941 (the day of the celebration in honor of the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God) until January 27, 1944 (the day of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina) continued Leningrad blockade. The most difficult for Leningraders was the winter of 1941/42. Fuel supplies have run out. The power supply to residential buildings was interrupted. The water supply failed, 78 km of the sewer network was destroyed. Utilities have stopped working. Food supplies were running out, since November 20, the lowest norms of bread for the entire time of the blockade were introduced - 250 grams for workers and 125 grams for employees and dependents. But even in the most difficult conditions of the blockade, Leningrad continued to fight. With the beginning of freeze-up, a motor road was laid on the ice of Lake Ladoga. Since January 24, 1942, it was possible to slightly increase the norms for supplying the population with bread. To supply the Leningrad Front and the city with fuel between the eastern and western shores of the Shlisselburg Bay of Lake Ladoga, an underwater pipeline was laid, which went into operation on June 18, 1942 and turned out to be practically invulnerable to the enemy. And in the fall of 1942, a power cable was also laid along the bottom of the lake, through which electricity began to flow into the city. Repeated attempts were made to break through the blockade ring. But it was only in January 1943 that they succeeded. As a result of the offensive, our troops occupied Shlisselburg and a number of other settlements. On January 18, 1943, the blockade was broken. A corridor 8-11 km wide was formed between Lake Ladoga and the front line. The blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted on January 27, 1944, on the day of St. Nina Equal to the Apostles.
During the blockade, 10 Orthodox churches operated in the city. Metropolitan of Leningrad Alexy (Simansky), the future Patriarch Alexy I, did not leave the city during the blockade, sharing its hardships with his flock. With the miraculous Kazan icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, a procession was made around the city. The Reverend Elder Seraphim Vyritsky took upon himself a special feat of prayer - he prayed at night on a stone in the garden for the salvation of Russia, imitating the feat of his heavenly patron, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov.
By the autumn of 1941, the leadership of the USSR turned off anti-religious propaganda. The publication of the magazines "Godless" and "Anti-religious" was discontinued.
Battle for Moscow
From October 13, 1941, fierce battles broke out on all operational important directions leading to Moscow.On October 20, 1941, a state of siege was introduced in Moscow and its surrounding areas. A decision was made to evacuate the diplomatic corps and a number of central institutions to Kuibyshev. It was also decided to remove especially important state values from the capital. Muscovites formed 12 divisions of the people's militia.
In Moscow, a prayer service was performed in front of the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and with the icon they flew around Moscow on an airplane.
The second stage of the attack on Moscow, called "Typhoon", the German command began on November 15, 1941. The fights were very hard. The enemy, regardless of losses, sought to break through to Moscow at any cost. But already in the first days of December it was felt that the enemy was running out of steam. Due to the resistance of the Soviet troops, the Germans had to stretch their troops along the front to such an extent that in the final battles on the near approaches to Moscow they lost their penetrating ability. Even before the start of our counterattack near Moscow, the German command decided to retreat. This order was issued on the night when the Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive.
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Under pressure from Stalin, it was decided to launch a general offensive on the entire front. But far from all areas had the strength and means for this. Therefore, only the advance of troops Northwestern Front was successful, they advanced 70-100 kilometers and somewhat improved the operational-strategic situation in the western direction. Starting on January 7, the offensive continued until early April 1942. Then it was decided to go on the defensive.
Chief of the General Staff ground forces Wehrmacht General F. Halder wrote in his diary: “The myth of the invincibility of the German army has been broken. With the onset of summer, the German army will achieve new victories in Russia, but this will no longer restore the myth of its invincibility. Therefore, December 6, 1941 can be considered a turning point, and one of the most fateful moments in brief history Third Reich. The strength and power of Hitler reached their climax, from that moment on they began to decline ... ".
Declaration of the United Nations
In January 1942, a declaration of 26 countries was signed in Washington (later known as the "Declaration of the United Nations"), in which they agreed to use all forces and means to fight against aggressive states and not conclude a separate peace or truce with them. An agreement was reached with Great Britain and the United States on the opening of a second front in Europe in 1942.Crimean front. Sevastopol. Voronezh
On May 8, 1942, the enemy, having concentrated his strike force against the Crimean Front and brought into action numerous aircraft, broke through our defenses. Soviet troops, finding themselves in a difficult situation, were forced to leave Kerch. By May 25, the Nazis captured the entire Kerch Peninsula.October 30, 1941 - July 4, 1942 Defense of Sevastopol. The siege of the city lasted nine months, but after the capture of the Kerch Peninsula by the Nazis, the situation of Sevastopol became very difficult and on July 4, the Soviet troops were forced to leave Sevastopol. Crimea was completely lost.
June 28, 1942 - July 24, 1942 Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad operation. - combat operations of the troops of the Bryansk, Voronezh, South-Western and Southern Fronts against the German Army Group "South" in the region of Voronezh and Voroshilovgrad. As a result of the forced withdrawal of our troops, richest areas Don and Donbass. During the retreat, the Southern Front suffered irreparable losses, only a little more than a hundred people remained in its four armies. Troops Southwestern Front during the retreat from Kharkov, they suffered heavy losses and could not successfully hold back the advance of the enemy. The southern front, for the same reason, could not stop the Germans in the Caucasian direction. It was necessary to block the path of the German troops to the Volga. For this purpose, the Stalingrad Front was created.
Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943)
According to the plan of the Nazi command, the German troops were to achieve in the summer campaign of 1942 those goals that were thwarted by their defeat in Moscow. The main blow was supposed to be delivered on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front in order to capture the city of Stalingrad, access to the oil-bearing regions of the Caucasus and the fertile regions of the Don, Kuban and Lower Volga. With the fall of Stalingrad, the enemy got the opportunity to cut off the south of the country from the center. We could lose the Volga - the most important transport artery, along which goods from the Caucasus went.The defensive actions of the Soviet troops in the Stalingrad direction were carried out for 125 days. During this period, they carried out two consecutive defensive operations. The first of them was carried out on the outskirts of Stalingrad from July 17 to September 12, the second - in Stalingrad and to the south of it from September 13 to November 18, 1942. The heroic defense of the Soviet troops in the Stalingrad direction forced the Nazi high command to transfer more and more forces here. On September 13, the Germans went on the offensive along the entire front, trying to capture Stalingrad by storm. The Soviet troops failed to hold back his powerful onslaught. They were forced to retreat to the city. Day and night fighting did not stop on the streets of the city, in houses, factories, on the banks of the Volga. Our units, having suffered heavy losses, nevertheless held the defense, not leaving the city.
Soviet troops near Stalingrad were united in three fronts: Southwestern (lieutenant general, from December 7, 1942 - Colonel General N. F. Vatutin), Donskoy (lieutenant general, from January 15, 1943 - Colonel General K K. Rokossovsky) and Stalingradsky (Colonel-General A. I. Eremenko).
On September 13, 1942, a decision was made on the counteroffensive, the plan of which was developed by the Headquarters. The leading role in this development was played by Generals G.K. Zhukov (from January 18, 1943 - Marshal) and A.M. Vasilevsky, they were appointed representatives of the Stavka at the front. A.M. Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Stalingrad Front, and G.K. Zhukov - of the South-Western and Don. The idea of the counteroffensive was to strike from the bridgeheads on the Don in the areas of Serafimovich and Kletskaya and from the area of Sarpinsky Lakes south of Stalingrad to defeat the troops covering the flanks of the enemy strike force, and, developing the offensive in converging directions on the city of Kalach, the Soviet farm, to surround and destroy its main forces operating in the interfluve of the Volga and Don.
The offensive was scheduled for November 19, 1942 for the Southwestern and Don Fronts, and for November 20 for the Stalingrad Front. The strategic offensive operation to defeat the enemy near Stalingrad consisted of three stages: the encirclement of the enemy (November 19-30), the development of the offensive and the disruption of the enemy’s attempts to release the encircled grouping (December 1942), the liquidation of the group of Nazi troops surrounded in the Stalingrad region (10 January-February 2, 1943).
From January 10 to February 2, 1943, the troops of the Don Front captured 91 thousand people, including over 2.5 thousand officers and 24 generals, led by the commander of the 6th Army, Field Marshal Paulus.
“The defeat at Stalingrad,” as Lieutenant-General of the Nazi army Westphal writes about this, “threw both the German people and its army in horror. Never before in the entire history of Germany has there been a case of such a terrible death of so many troops.”
And the Battle of Stalingrad began with a prayer service before the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The icon was among the troops, prayers and requiems for the fallen soldiers were constantly served in front of it. Among the ruins of Stalingrad, the only surviving building was the temple in the name of the Kazan icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a chapel St. Sergius Radonezh.
Caucasus
July 1942 - October 9, 1943. Battle for the CaucasusIn the North Caucasus direction in late July-early August 1942, the development of events was clearly not in our favor. The superior forces of the enemy persistently moved forward. On August 10, enemy troops captured Maikop, on August 11 - Krasnodar. And on September 9, the Germans captured almost all the mountain passes. In the stubborn bloody battles of the summer - autumn of 1942, the Soviet troops suffered heavy losses, left most of the territory of the North Caucasus, but still stopped the enemy. In December, preparations began for the North Caucasian offensive operation. In January, German troops began to withdraw from the Caucasus, and Soviet troops launched a powerful offensive. But the enemy put up fierce resistance and the victory in the Caucasus came at a high cost to us.
German troops were driven out to the Taman Peninsula. On the night of September 10, 1943, the Novorossiysk-Taman strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops began. On September 16, 1943, Novorossiysk was liberated, on September 21 - Anapa, on October 3 - Taman.
On October 9, 1943, Soviet troops reached the coast of the Kerch Strait and completed the liberation of the North Caucasus.
Kursk Bulge
July 5, 1943 – May 1944 Battle of Kursk.In 1943, the Nazi command decided to conduct its general offensive in the Kursk region. The fact is that the operational position of the Soviet troops on the Kursk ledge, concave towards the enemy, promised great prospects for the Germans. Two large fronts could be surrounded here at once, as a result of which a large gap would have formed, allowing the enemy to carry out major operations in the south and northeast directions.
The Soviet command was preparing for this offensive. From mid-April, the General Staff began to develop a plan for both a defensive operation near Kursk and a counteroffensive. And by the beginning of July 1943, the Soviet command had completed preparations for the Battle of Kursk.
July 5, 1943 German troops began the offensive. The first attack was repulsed. However, then the Soviet troops had to withdraw. The fighting was very intense and the Germans failed to achieve significant success. The enemy did not solve any of the assigned tasks and was eventually forced to stop the offensive and go on the defensive.
The struggle on the southern face of the Kursk ledge, in the zone of the Voronezh Front, was of an exceptionally tense character.
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On July 12, the troops of the Bryansk and Western fronts went on the offensive in the Oryol direction, and on July 15, the troops of the Central.
August 5, 1943 (the day of the celebration of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, as well as the icon of "Joy of All Who Sorrow") was released Eagle. On the same day, the troops of the Steppe Front were liberated Belgorod. The Oryol offensive operation lasted 38 days and ended on August 18 with the defeat of a powerful group of Nazi troops aimed at Kursk from the north.
The events on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front had a significant impact on the further course of events in the Belgorod-Kursk sector. On July 17, the troops of the Southern and Southwestern Fronts went on the offensive. On the night of July 19, the general withdrawal of the Nazi troops began on the southern face of the Kursk salient.
August 23, 1943 liberation of Kharkov the strongest battle of the Great Patriotic War ended - the Battle of Kursk (it lasted 50 days). It ended with the defeat of the main grouping of German troops.
Liberation of Smolensk (1943)
Smolensk offensive operation August 7 - October 2, 1943. In the course of hostilities and the nature of the tasks performed, the Smolensk strategic offensive operation is divided into three stages. The first stage covers the period of hostilities from 7 to 20 August. During this stage, the troops of the Western Front carried out the Spas-Demenskaya operation. The troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front began the Dukhovshchinskaya offensive operation. At the second stage (August 21 - September 6), the troops of the Western Front carried out the Yelnensko-Dorogobuzh operation, and the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front continued to conduct the Dukhovshchinskaya offensive operation. At the third stage (September 7 - October 2), the troops of the Western Front, in cooperation with the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, carried out the Smolensk-Roslavl operation, and the main forces of the Kalinin Front carried out the Dukhovshchinsky-Demidov operation.September 25, 1943 troops of the Western Front liberated Smolensk- the most important strategic center of defense of the Nazi troops in the western direction.
As a result of the successful implementation of the Smolensk offensive operation, our troops broke into the heavily fortified multi-lane and deeply echeloned defenses of the enemy and advanced 200-225 km to the West.
Liberation of Donbass, Bryansk and left-bank Ukraine
August 13, 1943 began Donbass operation Southwestern and Southern fronts. The leadership of Nazi Germany gave the keeping of Donbass in their hands exclusively great importance. From the very first day, the fighting took on an extremely tense character. The enemy put up stubborn resistance. However, he failed to stop the offensive of the Soviet troops. The Nazi troops in the Donbass faced the threat of encirclement and a new Stalingrad. Retreating from the Left-bank Ukraine, the Nazi command carried out a savage plan, drawn up according to the recipes for total war, for the complete devastation of the territory being abandoned. Along with regular troops, the mass extermination of civilians and their deportation to Germany, the destruction of industrial facilities, cities and other settlements were carried out by SS and police units. However, the rapid advance of the Soviet troops prevented him from fully implementing his plan.On August 26, the troops of the Central Front (commander - General of the Army K.K. Rokossovsky) launched an offensive, starting to carry out Chernigov-Poltava operation.
On September 2, the troops of the right wing of the Voronezh Front (commander - General of the Army N.F. Vatutin) liberated Sumy and launched an offensive against Romny.
Continuing to successfully develop the offensive, the troops of the Central Front advanced more than 200 km to the south-west and on September 15 liberated the city of Nizhyn, an important stronghold of the enemy defense on the outskirts of Kyiv. 100 km remained to the Dnieper. The troops of the right wing of the Voronezh Front advancing south by September 10 broke the stubborn resistance of the enemy in the area of the city of Romny.
The troops of the right wing of the Central Front crossed the Desna River and on September 16 liberated the city of Novgorod-Seversky.
September 21 (Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) Soviet troops liberated Chernihiv.
With the release of Soviet troops at the end of September to the border of the Dnieper, the liberation of the Left-Bank Ukraine was completed.
“... Rather, the Dnieper will flow back than the Russians will overcome it ...”, Hitler said. Indeed, the Broad, deep, high-water river with a high right bank was a serious natural barrier to the advancing Soviet troops. The Soviet high command clearly understood how important the Dnieper was for the retreating enemy, and did everything to force it on the move, seize bridgeheads on the right bank and prevent the enemy from gaining a foothold on this line. They tried to accelerate the advance of troops to the Dnieper, and to develop an offensive not only against the main enemy groupings retreating to permanent crossings, but also in the intervals between them. This made it possible to reach the Dnieper on a broad front and frustrate the plan of the Nazi command to make the "Eastern Wall" impregnable. Significant forces of partisans also actively joined the struggle, which subjected enemy communications to continuous blows and interfered with the regrouping of German troops.On September 21 (the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), the advanced units of the left wing of the Central Front reached the Dnieper north of Kyiv. Troops from other fronts were also successfully advancing these days. The troops of the right wing of the Southwestern Front reached the Dnieper on September 22 south of Dnepropetrovsk. From September 25 to 30, the troops of the Steppe Front in their entire offensive zone reached the Dnieper.
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At first, forward detachments crossed over on improvised means under continuous enemy fire and tried to cling to the right bank. After that, pontoon crossings for equipment were created. The troops that crossed to the right bank of the Dnieper had a very difficult time. Before they had time to gain a foothold there, fierce battles flared up. The enemy, having brought up large forces, continuously counterattacked, trying to destroy our subunits and units or to throw them into the river. But our troops, suffering heavy losses, showing exceptional courage and heroism, held the captured positions.
By the end of September, having knocked down the defenses of the enemy troops, our troops crossed the Dnieper in a front section of 750 kilometers from Loev to Zaporozhye and captured a number of important bridgeheads from which it was supposed to develop the offensive further to the west.
For the crossing of the Dnieper, for selflessness and heroism in the battles on the bridgeheads, 2438 soldiers of all branches of the armed forces (47 generals, 1123 officers and 1268 soldiers and sergeants) were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On October 20, 1943, the Voronezh Front was renamed the 1st Ukrainian, the Steppe Front - into the 2nd Ukrainian, Southwestern and Southern Fronts into the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian.
November 6, 1943, on the day of the celebration of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Kyiv was liberated from the Nazi invaders by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian front under the command of General N.F. Vatutin.
After the liberation of Kyiv, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an offensive against Zhytomyr, Fastov and Korosten. Over the next 10 days, they advanced 150 km west and liberated many settlements, including the cities of Fastov and Zhitomir. On the right bank of the Dnieper, a strategic bridgehead was formed, the length of which along the front exceeded 500 km.
Intense fighting continued in southern Ukraine. On October 14 (the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos), the city of Zaporozhye was liberated and the German bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper was liquidated. On October 25, Dnepropetrovsk was liberated.
Tehran Conference of the Allied Powers. Opening a second front
From November 28 - December 1, 1943 took place Tehran conference heads of allied powers against fascism of the states - the USSR (JV Stalin), the USA (President F. Roosevelt) and Great Britain (Prime Minister W. Churchill).The main issue was the opening of the second front in Europe by the USA and Great Britain, which they did not open despite their promises. At the conference, a decision was made to open a second front in France during May 1944. The Soviet delegation, at the request of the allies, announced the readiness of the USSR to enter the war against Japan at the end of the war. action in Europe. Questions about the post-war structure and the fate of Germany were also discussed at the conference.
December 24, 1943 - May 6, 1944 Dnieper-Carpathian strategic offensive operation. Within the framework of this strategic operation, 11 offensive operations of fronts and groups of fronts were carried out: Zhytomyr-Berdichevskaya, Kirovogradskaya, Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya, Nikopol-Krivorozhskaya, Rivne-Lutskaya, Proskurovsko-Chernovitskaya, Umansko-Botoshanskaya, Bereznegovato-Snigirevskaya, Polesskaya, Odessa and Tyrgu- Frumosskaya.December 24, 1943 – January 14, 1944 Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation. Having advanced 100-170 km, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in 3 weeks of hostilities almost completely liberated the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions and many areas of the Vinnitsa and Rovno regions, including the cities of Zhitomir (December 31), Novograd-Volynsky (January 3) , Belaya Tserkov (January 4), Berdichev (January 5). On January 10-11, advanced units reached the approaches to Vinnitsa, Zhmerinka, Uman and Zhashkov; defeated 6 enemy divisions and deeply captured the left flank of the German grouping, which still held the right bank of the Dnieper in the Kanev area. Prerequisites were created for striking the flank and rear of this grouping.
January 5-16, 1944 Kirovograd operation. After intense fighting on January 8, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front captured Kirovograd and continued the offensive. However, on January 16, repelling the strong counterattacks of the enemy, they were forced to go on the defensive. As a result of the Kirovograd operation, the position of the Nazi troops in the zone of operations of the 2nd Ukrainian Front deteriorated significantly.
January 24 - February 17, 1944 Korsun-Shevchenko operation. During this operation, the troops of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts surrounded and defeated a large grouping of Nazi troops in the Kanevsky salient.
January 27 - February 11, 1944 Rovno-Lutsk operation- was carried out by the troops of the right wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On February 2, the cities of Lutsk and Rivne were liberated, on February 11 - Shepetovka.
January 30 - February 29, 1944 Nikopol-Krivoy Rog operation. It was carried out by the troops of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts in order to eliminate the enemy's Nikopol bridgehead. By the end of February 7, the 4th Ukrainian Front completely cleared the Nikopol bridgehead from enemy troops and on February 8, together with units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, liberated the city of Nikopol. After stubborn fighting, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front on February 22 liberated the city of Krivoy Rog - a large industrial centre and a road junction. By February 29, the 3rd Ukrainian Front, with its right wing and center, advanced to the Ingulets River, capturing a number of bridgeheads on its western bank. As a result, favorable conditions were created for delivering subsequent attacks on the enemy in the direction of Nikolaev and Odessa. As a result of the Nikopol-Krivoy Rog operation, 12 enemy divisions were defeated, including 3 tank and 1 motorized. Having eliminated the Nikopol bridgehead and pushed the enemy back from the Zaporozhye bend of the Dnieper, the Soviet troops deprived the Nazi command of last resort to restore communication by land with the 17th Army blockaded in the Crimea. A significant reduction in the front line allowed the Soviet command to release forces to capture the Crimean peninsula.
On February 29, the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, General Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin, was seriously wounded by Bandera. Unfortunately save this talented commander failed. He passed away on April 15th.
By the spring of 1944, the troops of four Ukrainian fronts broke into the enemy's defenses all the way from Pripyat to the lower reaches of the Dnieper. Having advanced 150-250 km to the west for two months, they defeated several large enemy groupings and frustrated his plans to restore defense along the Dnieper. The liberation of the Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye regions was completed, the entire Zhytomyr, almost completely Rivne and Kirovograd regions, a number of districts of Vinnitsa, Nikolaev, Kamenetz-Podolsk and Volyn regions were cleared of the enemy. Such large industrial regions as Nikopol and Krivoy Rog have been returned. The length of the front in Ukraine by the spring of 1944 reached 1200 km. In March, a new offensive was launched in Right-Bank Ukraine.
On March 4, the 1st Ukrainian Front went on the offensive, which held Proskurov-Chernivtsi offensive operation(March 4 - April 17, 1944).
On March 5, the 2nd Ukrainian Front began Uman-Botoshansk operation(March 5 - April 17, 1944).
March 6 began Bereznegovato-Snigirevsky operation 3rd Ukrainian Front (March 6-18, 1944). On March 11, Soviet troops liberated Berislav, on March 13, the 28th Army captured Kherson, and on March 15, Bereznegovatoye and Snigirevka were liberated. The troops of the right wing of the front, pursuing the enemy, reached the Southern Bug near Voznesensk.
On March 29, our troops captured the regional center, the city of Chernivtsi. The enemy lost the last link between his troops, operating north and south of the Carpathians. The strategic front of the Nazi troops was cut into two parts. On March 26, the city of Kamenetz-Podolsk was liberated.
The 2nd Belorussian Front provided significant assistance to the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in defeating the northern wing of the Nazi Army Group South. Polessky offensive operation(March 15 - April 5, 1944).
March 26, 1944 advance detachments of the 27th and 52nd armies (2nd Ukrainian Front) west of the city of Balti reached the Prut River, occupying an 85-km section along the border of the USSR with Romania. It would the first exit of Soviet troops to the border of the USSR.
On the night of March 28, the troops of the right wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front crossed the Prut and advanced 20-40 km deep into Romanian territory. On the approaches to Iasi and Chisinau, they met stubborn resistance from the enemy. The main result of the Uman-Botoshansky operation was the liberation of a significant part of the territory of Ukraine, Moldova and the entry of Soviet troops into Romania.
March 26 - April 14, 1944 Odessa offensive operation troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. On March 26, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front went on the offensive in their entire zone. On March 28, after heavy fighting, the city of Nikolaev was taken.
On the evening of April 9, Soviet troops broke into Odessa from the north and captured the city by night assault by 10 am on April 10. Troops of three armies, commanded by Generals V.D. Tsvetaev, V.I. Chuikov and I.T. Shlemin, as well as the horse-mechanized group of General I.A. Pliev, took part in the liberation of Odessa.
April 8 - May 6, 1944 Tyrgu-Frumosskaya offensive operation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front was the final operation of the strategic offensive of the Red Army in the Right-Bank Ukraine. Its purpose was to strike in the direction of Targu Frumos, Vaslui to cover the Chisinau grouping of the enemy from the west. The offensive of the troops of the right wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front began quite successfully. In the period from April 8 to 11, they, having broken the resistance of the enemy, crossed the Siret River, advanced in the southwestern and southern directions by 30-50 km and reached the foothills of the Carpathians. However, the tasks were not completed. Our troops went over to the defensive at the achieved lines.
Liberation of Crimea (April 8 - May 12, 1944)
On April 8, the offensive of the 4th Ukrainian Front began with the aim of liberating the Crimea. On April 11, our troops captured Dzhankoy, a powerful stronghold in the enemy's defense and an important road junction. The exit of the 4th Ukrainian Front to the Dzhankoy region endangered the retreat routes of the enemy's Kerch grouping and thus created favorable conditions for the offensive of the Separate Primorsky Army. Fearing encirclement, the enemy decided to withdraw troops from the Kerch Peninsula. Having discovered preparations for withdrawal, the Separate Primorsky Army on the night of April 11 went on the offensive. On April 13, Soviet troops liberated the cities of Evpatoria, Simferopol and Feodosia. And on April 15-16, they reached the approaches to Sevastopol, where they were stopped by the organized defense of the enemy.On April 18, the Separate Primorsky Army was renamed the Primorsky Army and included in the 4th Ukrainian Front.
Our troops were preparing for the assault. May 9, 1944 Sevastopol was liberated. The remnants of the German troops fled to Cape Chersonese, hoping to escape by sea. But on May 12 they were completely crushed. At Cape Khersones, 21 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were captured, a large amount of weapons and military equipment was captured.
Western Ukraine
July 27 after stubborn fighting was liberated Lviv.In July-August 1944, Soviet troops liberated from the Nazi invaders western regions of Ukraine, as well as southeastern part of Poland, captured a large bridgehead on the western bank of the Vistula River, from which an offensive was subsequently launched into the central regions of Poland and further to the borders of Germany.
The final lifting of the blockade of Leningrad. Karelia
January 14 - March 1, 1944. Leningrad-Novgorod offensive operation. As a result of the offensive, Soviet troops liberated the territory of almost the entire Leningrad and part of the Kalinin regions from the invaders, completely lifted the blockade from Leningrad, and entered Estonia. The basing area of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Finland has expanded significantly. Favorable conditions were created for defeating the enemy in the Baltic states and in areas north of Leningrad.June 10 - August 9, 1944 Vyborg-Petrozavodsk offensive operation Soviet troops on the Karelian Isthmus.
Liberation of Belarus and Lithuania
June 23 - August 29, 1944 Belarusian strategic offensive operation Soviet troops in Belarus and Lithuania "Bagration". As part of the Belarusian operation, the Vitebsk-Orsha operation was also carried out.The general offensive was launched on June 23 by the troops of the 1st Baltic Front (commanded by Colonel-General I.Kh. Bagramyan), by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front (commanded by Colonel-General I.D. Colonel General G.F. Zakharov). The next day, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of General of the Army K.K. Rokossovsky went on the offensive. Behind enemy lines active operations started partisan detachments.
The troops of the four fronts, with persistent and coordinated strikes, broke through the defenses to a depth of 25-30 km, crossed a number of rivers on the move and inflicted significant damage on the enemy.
In the Bobruisk area, about six divisions of the 35th Army and 41st Tank Corps of the 9th German Army were surrounded.
July 3, 1944 Soviet troops liberated Minsk. As Marshal G.K. Zhukov, "the capital of Belarus could not be recognized ... Now everything lay in ruins, and in the place of residential areas there were wastelands covered with piles of broken bricks and debris. The most difficult impression was made by people, residents of Minsk. Most of them were extremely exhausted, exhausted. .."
On June 29 - July 4, 1944, the troops of the 1st Baltic Front successfully carried out the Polotsk operation, destroying the enemy in this area, and on July 4 liberated Polotsk. Troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front on July 5 captured the city of Molodechno.
As a result of the defeat of large enemy forces near Vitebsk, Mogilev, Bobruisk and Minsk, the immediate goal of the Bagration operation was achieved, and several days ahead of schedule. In 12 days - from June 23 to July 4 - Soviet troops advanced almost 250 km. The Vitebsk, Mogilev, Polotsk, Minsk and Bobruisk regions were completely liberated.
On July 18, 1944 (the feast of St. Sergius of Radonezh), Soviet troops crossed the border of Poland.
On July 24 (on the feast day of St. Princess Olga of Russia), the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front with their forward units reached the Vistula near Demblin. Here they released the prisoners of the Majdanek death camp, in which the Nazis exterminated about one and a half million people.
On August 1, 1944 (on the feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov), our troops reached the borders of East Prussia.
The troops of the Red Army, having launched an offensive on June 23 on a front of 700 km, by the end of August advanced 550-600 km to the west, expanding the front of hostilities to 1,100 km. The vast territory of the Belarusian Republic was cleared of the invaders - 80% and a fourth of Poland.
Warsaw Uprising (August 1 - October 2, 1944)
On August 1, 1994, an anti-Nazi uprising was raised in Warsaw. In response, the Germans committed atrocious reprisals against the population. The city was destroyed to the ground. Soviet troops made an attempt to help the rebels, crossed the Vistula and captured the embankment in Warsaw. However, soon the Germans began to push our units, the Soviet troops suffered heavy losses. It was decided to withdraw the troops. The uprising lasted 63 days and was crushed. Warsaw was the front line of the German defense, and the rebels had only light weapons. Without the help of Russian troops, the rebels had practically no chance of victory. And the uprising, unfortunately, was not agreed with the command of the Soviet army in order to receive effective assistance from our troops.Liberation of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia
August 20 - 29, 1944. Iasi-Chisinau offensive operation.In April 1944, as a result of a successful offensive in Right-Bank Ukraine, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the line of the cities of Iasi and Orhei and went on the defensive. The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front reached the Dniester River and captured several bridgeheads on its western bank. These fronts, as well as Black Sea Fleet and the Danube military flotilla was tasked with carrying out the Iasi-Kishinev strategic offensive operation in order to defeat a large grouping of German and Romanian troops that covered the Balkan direction.
As a result of the successful implementation Iasi-Kishinev operation Soviet troops completed the liberation of Moldova and the Izmail region of Ukraine.
August 23, 1944 - an armed uprising in Romania. which resulted in the overthrow of the fascist regime of Antonescu. The next day, Romania withdrew from the war on the side of Germany and on August 25 declared war on her. Since that time, the Romanian troops took part in the war on the side of the Red Army.
September 8 - October 28, 1944 East Carpathian offensive operation. As a result of the offensive of the units of the 1st and 4th Ukrainian fronts in the Eastern Carpathians, our troops liberated almost the entire Transcarpathian Ukraine, on September 20 went to the border of Slovakia, liberated part of Eastern Slovakia. The breakthrough to the Hungarian lowland opened the prospect of the liberation of Czechoslovakia and access to the southern border of Germany.
the Baltic States
September 14 - November 24, 1944 Baltic offensive operation. This is one of the largest operations in the autumn of 1944, 12 armies of the three Baltic fronts and the Leningrad front were deployed on the 500-km front. The Baltic Fleet was also involved.September 22, 1944 - liberated Tallinn. In the following days (until September 26), the troops of the Leningrad Front came to the coast all the way from Tallinn to Pärnu, thereby completing the clearing of the enemy from the entire territory of Estonia, with the exception of the islands of Dago and Ezel.
On October 11, our troops reached borders with East Prussia. Continuing the offensive, by the end of October they completely cleared the enemy north coast river Neman.
As a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops in the Baltic strategic direction, Army Group North was expelled from almost the entire Baltic and lost communications that connected it by land with East Prussia. The struggle for the Baltic was long and extremely fierce. The enemy, having a well-developed road network, actively maneuvered with his own forces and means, put up stubborn resistance to the Soviet troops, often turning into counterattacks and delivering counterattacks. On his part, up to 25% of all forces on the Soviet-German front participated in the hostilities. During the Baltic operation, 112 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Yugoslavia
September 28 - October 20, 1944 Belgrade offensive operation. The purpose of the operation was to use the joint efforts of the Soviet and Yugoslav troops in the Belgrade direction, the Yugoslav and Bulgarian troops in the Nis and Skopje directions to defeat the army group "Serbia" and liberate the eastern half of the territory of Serbia, including Belgrade. To accomplish these tasks, troops of the 3rd Ukrainian (57th and 17th air armies, 4th guards mechanized corps and units of front subordination) and 2nd Ukrainian (46th and units of the 5th air army) fronts were involved . The offensive of the Soviet troops in Yugoslavia forced the German command to make a decision on October 7, 1944 to withdraw its main forces from Greece, Albania and Macedonia. By the same time, the troops of the left wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the Tisza River, freeing the entire left bank of the Danube east of the Tisza mouth from the enemy. On October 14 (the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos), an order was given to begin the assault on Belgrade.The 20th of October Belgrade was liberated. The battles for the liberation of the capital of Yugoslavia lasted a week and were extremely stubborn.
With the liberation of the capital of Yugoslavia, the Belgrade offensive operation ended. During it, the army group "Serbia" was defeated and a number of formations of the army group "F" were defeated. As a result of the operation, the enemy front was pushed back 200 km to the west, the eastern half of Serbia was liberated, and the enemy's transport artery Thessaloniki-Belgrade was cut. At the same time, favorable conditions were created for the Soviet troops advancing in the direction of Budapest. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command could now use the forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front to defeat the enemy in Hungary. The inhabitants of the villages and cities of Yugoslavia warmly welcomed the Soviet soldiers. They took to the streets with flowers, shook hands, hugged and kissed their liberators. The air was filled with solemn bells and Russian melodies performed by local musicians. The medal "For the Liberation of Belgrade" was established.
Karelian front, 1944
October 7 - 29, 1944 Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive operation. The successful conduct of the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk strategic offensive operation by the Soviet troops forced Finland to withdraw from the war. By the autumn of 1944, the troops of the Karelian Front basically reached the pre-war border with Finland, with the exception of the Far North, where the Nazis continued to occupy part of the Soviet and Finnish territories. Germany sought to retain this region of the Arctic, which was an important source of strategic raw materials (copper, nickel, molybdenum) and had ice-free seaports in which the forces of the German fleet were based. The commander of the troops of the Karelian Front, General of the Army K. A. Meretskov, wrote: eternal Frost, but the soldiers have to sleep on this earth, laying only one half of their greatcoat under them ... Sometimes the earth rises with bare masses of granite rocks ... Nevertheless, it was necessary to fight. And not just fight, but attack, beat the enemy, drive him and destroy him. I had to remember the words of the great Suvorov: "Where a deer passed, a Russian soldier would pass there, and where a deer did not pass, it was all the same Russian soldier "". On October 15, the city of Petsamo (Pechenga) was liberated. Back in 1533, a Russian monastery was founded at the mouth of the Pechenga River. Soon, a port was built here, at the base of a wide and convenient bay for sailors of the Barents Sea. Lively trade went through Pechenga with Norway, Holland, England and other Western countries.In 1920, under a peace treaty of October 14, Soviet Russia voluntarily ceded the Pechenga region to Finland.On October 25, Kirkenes was liberated, and the struggle was so fierce that every house and every street had to be stormed.
854 Soviet prisoners of war were rescued from concentration camps and 772 civilians stolen by the Nazis from the Leningrad region.
The last cities our troops reached were Neiden and Nautsi.
Hungary
October 29, 1944 - February 13, 1945 The assault and capture of Budapest.The offensive began on 29 October. The German command took all measures to prevent the capture of Budapest by Soviet troops and the withdrawal of its last ally from the war. Fierce battles flared up on the outskirts of Budapest. Our troops achieved significant success, but they could not defeat the enemy's Budapest grouping and take possession of the city. Finally managed to surround Budapest. But the city was a fortress prepared by the Nazis for a long defense. Hitler ordered to fight for Budapest to the last soldier. The battles for the liberation of the eastern part of the city (Pest) went on from December 27 to January 18, and its western part (Buda) - from January 20 to February 13.
During the Budapest operation, Soviet troops liberated a significant part of the territory of Hungary. The offensive operations of the Soviet troops in the autumn and winter of 1944–1945 in the southwestern direction led to a radical change in the entire political situation in the Balkans. In addition to Romania and Bulgaria, which were previously withdrawn from the war, another state was added - Hungary.
Slovakia and Southern Poland
January 12 - February 18, 1945. West Carpathian offensive operation. In the West Carpathian operation, our troops had to overcome the defensive lines of the enemy, stretching in depth for 300-350 km. The offensive was carried out by the 4th Ukrainian Front (commander - General of the Army I.E. Petrov) and part of the forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. As a result of the winter offensive of the Red Army in the Western Carpathians, our troops liberated vast areas of Slovakia and southern Poland with a population of about 1.5 million people.Warsaw-Berlin direction
January 12 - February 3, 1945. Vistula-Oder offensive operation. The offensive in the Warsaw-Berlin direction was carried out by the forces of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev. Soldiers of the Polish Army fought together with the Russians. The actions of the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts to defeat the Nazi troops between the Vistula and the Oder can be divided into two stages. On the first (from January 12 to 17), the enemy's strategic defense front was broken through in a strip of about 500 km, the main forces of Army Group A were defeated, and conditions were created for the rapid development of the operation to a greater depth.January 17, 1945 was liberated Warsaw. The Nazis literally wiped the city off the face of the earth, and subjected the local residents to merciless destruction.
At the second stage (from January 18 to February 3), the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, with the assistance on the flanks of the troops of the 2nd Belorussian and 4th Ukrainian fronts, in the course of the rapid pursuit of the enemy, defeated the enemy reserves advanced from the depths, captured Silesian industrial region and went out on a wide front to the Oder, capturing a number of bridgeheads on its western bank.
As a result of the Vistula-Oder operation, a significant part of Poland was liberated, and hostilities were transferred to German territory. About 60 divisions of German troops were defeated.
January 13 - April 25, 1945 East Prussian offensive operation. In the course of this long-term strategic operation, the Insterburg, Mlavsko-Elbing, Hejlsberg, Koenigsberg and Zemland front offensive operations were carried out.
East Prussia was the main strategic springboard for Germany to attack Russia and Poland. This territory also tightly covered access to the central regions of Germany. Therefore, the fascist command attached great importance to the retention of East Prussia. Relief features - lakes, rivers, swamps and canals, a developed network of highways and railways, strong stone buildings - greatly contributed to the defense.
The overall goal of the East Prussian strategic offensive operation was to cut off the enemy troops located in East Prussia from the rest of the fascist forces, press them to the sea, dismember and destroy them in parts, completely clearing the territory of East Prussia and Northern Poland from the enemy.
Three fronts took part in the operation: the 2nd Belorussian (commander - Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky), the 3rd Belorussian (commander - General of the Army I.D. Chernyakhovsky) and the 1st Baltic (commander - General I.Kh. Bagramyan). They were assisted by the Baltic Fleet under the command of Admiral V.F. Tributs.
The fronts began the offensive successfully (January 13 - the 3rd Belorussian and January 14 - the 2nd Belorussian). By January 18, the German troops, despite desperate resistance, suffered a heavy defeat in the places of the main blows of our armies and began to retreat. Until the end of January, waging the most stubborn battles, our troops captured a significant part of East Prussia. Coming out to the sea, they cut off the East Prussian grouping of the enemy from the rest of the forces. At the same time, on January 28, the 1st Baltic Front captured the large seaport of Memel (Klaipeda).
On February 10, the second stage of hostilities began - the elimination of isolated enemy groups. On February 18, General of the Army I.D. Chernyakhovsky died from a serious wound. The command of the 3rd Belorussian Front was entrusted to Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky. During intense fighting, Soviet troops suffered serious losses. By March 29, it was possible to defeat the Nazis, who occupied the Heilsber region. Further, it was planned to defeat the Koenigsberg grouping. Around the city, the Germans created three powerful defensive positions. The city was declared by Hitler the best German fortress in the history of Germany and "absolutely impregnable bastion of the German spirit."
Assault on Koenigsberg started April 6th. On April 9, the garrison of the fortress capitulated. Moscow celebrated the completion of the assault on Koenigsberg with a salute of the highest category - 24 artillery volleys from 324 guns. The medal "For the capture of Koenigsberg" was established, which was usually done only on the occasion of capturing the capitals of states. All participants in the assault received a medal. On April 17, the grouping of German troops near Koenigsberg was liquidated.
After the capture of Koenigsberg, only the Zemland enemy grouping remained in East Prussia, which was defeated by the end of April.
In East Prussia, the Red Army destroyed 25 German divisions, the other 12 divisions lost from 50 to 70% of their composition. Soviet troops captured more than 220 thousand soldiers and officers.
But the Soviet troops also suffered huge losses: 126.5 thousand soldiers and officers died and went missing, more than 458 thousand soldiers were injured or out of action due to illness.
Yalta Conference of the Allied Powers
This conference was held from February 4 to February 11, 1945. The heads of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain - I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill took part in it. The victory over fascism was no longer in doubt, it was a matter of time. The conference discussed the post-war structure of the world, the division of spheres of influence. It was decided to occupy and divide Germany into occupation zones and to allocate its own zone to France. For the USSR, the main task was to ensure the security of its borders after the end of the war. So, for example, there was a provisional government of Poland in exile, based in London. However, Stalin insisted on the creation of a new government in Poland, since it was from the territory of Poland that attacks on Russia were conveniently carried out by its enemies.In Yalta, the “Declaration on a Liberated Europe” was also signed, which, in particular, stated: “The establishment of order in Europe and the reorganization of national economic life must be achieved in such a way that will allow the liberated peoples to destroy the last traces of Nazism and fascism and create democratic institutions of their own choice.
At the Yalta Conference, an agreement was concluded on the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan two or three months after the end of the war in Europe and on the condition that Russia return South Sakhalin and the adjacent islands, as well as the naval base in Port Arthur that previously belonged to Russia and on the condition transfer of the Kuril Islands to the USSR.
The most important outcome of the conference was the decision to convene a conference on April 25, 1945 in San Francisco, at which it was supposed to develop a Charter new Organization United Nations.
Coast of the Baltic Sea
February 10 - April 4, 1945. East Pomeranian Offensive. The enemy command continued to hold the coast of the Baltic Sea in Eastern Pomerania in its hands, as a result of which between the armies of the 1st Belorussian Front, which reached the Oder River, and the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front, whose main forces were fighting in East Prussia, in early February 1945 a gap about 150 km long was formed. This strip of terrain was occupied by the limited forces of the Soviet troops. As a result of hostilities, by March 13, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 2nd Belorussian fronts reached the coast of the Baltic Sea. By April 4, the East Pomeranian enemy grouping was liquidated. The enemy, having suffered huge losses, not only lost a bridgehead convenient for operations against our troops preparing for an attack on Berlin, but also a significant part of the coast of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Fleet, having relocated its light forces to the ports of Eastern Pomerania, took advantageous positions on the Baltic Sea and could provide the coastal flank of the Soviet troops during their offensive in the Berlin direction.Vein
March 16 - April 15, 1945. Vienna offensive operation In January-March 1945, as a result of the Budapest and Balaton operations carried out by the Red Army, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union F. I. Tolbukhin) defeated the enemy in the central part of Hungary and moved west.April 4, 1945 Soviet troops completed the liberation of Hungary and launched an offensive against Vienna.
Fierce battles for the capital of Austria began the very next day - April 5th. The city was covered from three sides - from the south, east and west. Leading the stubborn street fighting, Soviet troops advanced towards the city center. Fierce battles flared up for each quarter, and sometimes even for a separate building. By 2 p.m. on April 13, the Soviet troops were completely liberated Vienna.
During Vienna operation Soviet troops fought 150-200 km, completed the liberation of Hungary and the eastern part of Austria with its capital. The fighting during the Vienna operation was extremely fierce. The most combat-ready divisions of the Wehrmacht (6th SS Panzer Army) opposed the Soviet troops here, which shortly before that had inflicted a serious defeat on the Americans in the Ardennes. But the Soviet soldiers in a fierce struggle crushed this color of the Nazi Wehrmacht. True, the victory was achieved at the cost of considerable sacrifice.
Berlin offensive operation (April 16 - May 2, 1945)
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The offensive of the Russian troops was planned very carefully. In a relatively narrow section of the front, 65 rifle divisions, 3155 tanks and self-propelled guns, about 42 thousand guns and mortars. The idea of the Soviet command was to break through the enemy defenses along the Oder and Neisse rivers with powerful blows from the troops of three fronts and, developing the offensive in depth, encircle the main grouping of Nazi troops in the Berlin direction with the simultaneous dissection of it into several parts and the subsequent destruction of each of them. them. In the future, Soviet troops were to reach the Elbe. The completion of the defeat of the Nazi troops was supposed to be carried out jointly with the Western allies, an agreement in principle with which to coordinate actions was reached at the Crimean Conference. The main role in the upcoming operation was assigned to the 1st Belorussian Front (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov), the 1st Ukrainian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev) was to defeat the enemy group south of Berlin. The front delivered two blows: the main one in the general direction of Spremberg and the auxiliary one on Dresden. The beginning of the offensive of the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts was scheduled for April 16. On the 2nd Belorussian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky) was to launch an offensive on April 20, force the Oder in its lower reaches and strike in a north-western direction in order to cut off the West Pomeranian enemy grouping from Berlin. In addition, the 2nd Belorussian Front was tasked with part of the forces to cover the coast of the Baltic Sea from the mouth of the Vistula to Altdamm.
It was decided to start the main offensive two hours before dawn. One hundred and forty anti-aircraft searchlights were supposed to suddenly illuminate enemy positions and objects of attack. Sudden and powerful artillery preparation and air strikes, followed by an attack by infantry and tanks, stunned the Germans. Hitler's troops were literally sunk in a continuous sea of fire and metal. On the morning of April 16, Russian troops were successfully moving forward in all sectors of the front. However, the enemy, having come to his senses, began to resist from the Seelow Heights - this natural line stood as a solid wall in front of our troops. The steep slopes of the Zelov Heights were pitted with trenches and trenches. All approaches to them were shot through with multi-layered cross-artillery and rifle-machine-gun fire. Separate buildings have been turned into strongholds, barriers made of logs and metal beams have been set up on the roads, and the approaches to them have been mined. On both sides of the highway leading from the city of Zelov to the west, there were anti-aircraft artillery, which was used for anti-tank defense. The approaches to the heights were blocked by an anti-tank ditch up to 3 m deep and 3.5 m wide. Having assessed the situation, Marshal Zhukov decided to bring tank armies into battle. However, even with their help it was not possible to quickly seize the border. Seelow heights were taken only by the morning of April 18, after fierce battles. However, on April 18, the enemy was still trying to stop the advance of our troops, throwing all his available reserves towards them. Only on April 19, suffering heavy losses, the Germans could not stand it and began to withdraw to the outer contour of the defense of Berlin.
The offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front developed more successfully. Having crossed the Neisse River, by the end of the day on April 16, combined-arms and tank formations had broken through the main enemy defense line on a front of 26 km and to a depth of 13 km. During the three days of the offensive, the armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced up to 30 km in the direction of the main attack.
Storming Berlin
April 20 began the assault on Berlin. Long-range artillery of our troops opened fire on the city. On April 21, our units broke into the outskirts of Berlin and started fighting in the city itself. The fascist German command made desperate efforts to prevent the encirclement of their capital. It was decided to remove all troops from the Western Front and throw them into the battle for Berlin. However, on April 25, the encirclement ring around the Berlin grouping of the enemy was closed. On the same day, a meeting of Soviet and American troops took place in the Torgau region on the Elbe River. The 2nd Belorussian Front, by active operations in the lower reaches of the Oder, reliably fettered the 3rd German Panzer Army, depriving it of the opportunity to launch a counterattack from the north against the Soviet armies surrounding Berlin. Our troops suffered heavy losses, but, inspired by the successes, they rushed to the center of Berlin, where the main command of the enemy, led by Hitler, was still located. Fierce battles unfolded on the streets of the city. The fighting did not stop day or night.
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April 30 early in the morning began assault on the Reichstag. The approaches to the Reichstag were covered by strong buildings, the defense was held by selected SS units with a total number of about six thousand people, equipped with tanks, assault guns and artillery. At about 3 pm on April 30, the Red Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag. However, the fighting in the Reichstag continued throughout the day of 1 May and the night of 2 May. Separate scattered groups of Nazis, who settled in the basement, capitulated only on the morning of May 2.
On April 30, the German troops in Berlin were divided into four parts of different composition, and their unified command was lost.
At 3 am on May 1, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, General of the Infantry G. Krebs, by agreement with the Soviet command, crossed the front line in Berlin and was received by the commander of the 8th guards army General V.I. Chuikov. Krebs announced Hitler's suicide, and also handed over a list of members of the new imperial government and the proposal of Goebbels and Bormann for a temporary cessation of hostilities in the capital in order to prepare the conditions for peace negotiations between Germany and the USSR. However, this document did not say anything about surrender. Krebs' message was immediately reported by Marshal G.K. Zhukov to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. The answer was: seek only unconditional surrender. On the evening of May 1, the German command sent an envoy who announced the refusal to capitulate. In response to this, the final assault began on the central part of the city, where the Imperial Chancellery was located. On May 2, by 3 p.m., the enemy in Berlin had completely ceased resistance.
Prague
May 6 - 11, 1945. Prague offensive operation. After the defeat of the enemy in the Berlin direction, the only force capable of providing serious resistance to the Red Army remained the Army Group Center and part of the Army Group Austria, located on the territory of Czechoslovakia. The idea of the Prague operation was to encircle, dismember and in a short time defeat the main forces of the Nazi troops on the territory of Czechoslovakia by delivering several blows in converging directions to Prague, to prevent their retreat to the west. The main attacks on the flanks of Army Group Center were delivered by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front from the area northwest of Dresden and the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front from the area south of Brno.On May 5, a spontaneous uprising began in Prague. Tens of thousands of city residents took to the streets. They not only built hundreds of barricades, but also seized the central post office, telegraph, railway stations, bridges over the Vltava, a number of military depots, disarmed several small units stationed in Prague, and established control over a significant part of the city. On May 6, German troops, using tanks, artillery and aircraft against the rebels, entered Prague and captured a significant part of the city. The rebels, having suffered heavy losses, turned over the radio to the allies for help. In this regard, Marshal I. S. Konev ordered the troops of his shock group to launch an offensive on the morning of May 6.
On the afternoon of May 7, the commander of Army Group Center received on the radio an order from Field Marshal V. Keitel about the surrender of German troops on all fronts, but did not bring him to his subordinates. On the contrary, he gave the troops his order, in which he stated that the rumors of surrender were false, they were being spread by Anglo-American and Soviet propaganda. On May 7, American officers arrived in Prague, who announced the surrender of Germany and advised to stop the fighting in Prague. At night it became known that the head of the German garrison in Prague, General R. Toussaint, was ready to enter into negotiations with the leadership of the rebels about surrender. At 4 p.m., an act of surrender was signed by the German garrison. Under its terms, German troops received the right to freely withdraw to the west, leaving heavy weapons at the exit from the city.
On May 9, our troops entered Prague and, with the active support of the population and the fighting squads of the rebels, the Soviet troops cleared the city of the Nazis. The possible retreat of the main forces of Army Group Center to the west and southwest with the capture of Prague by Soviet troops was cut off. The main forces of the Army Group "Center" were in the "bag" east of Prague. On May 10-11, they capitulated and were captured by Soviet troops.
Surrender of Germany
May 6, the day of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, Grand Admiral Doenitz, who was the head German state after the suicide of Hitler, agreed to the surrender of the Wehrmacht, Germany recognized itself defeated.On the night of May 7, in Reims, where Eisenhower's headquarters was located, a preliminary protocol on the surrender of Germany was signed, according to which, from 23 hours on May 8, hostilities ceased on all fronts. The protocol specifically stipulated that it was not a comprehensive surrender treaty for Germany and its armed forces. It was signed on behalf of the Soviet Union by General ID Susloparov, on behalf of the Western Allies by General W. Smith, and on behalf of Germany by General Jodl. Only a witness was present from France. After the signing of this act, our Western allies hastened to notify the world of Germany's surrender to the American and British troops. However, Stalin insisted that "surrender should be carried out as the most important historical act and adopted not on the territory of the winners, but where the fascist aggression, - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the supreme command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
On the night of May 8-9, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany was signed in Karlshorst (an eastern suburb of Berlin). The ceremony of signing the act took place in the building of the military engineering school, where a special hall was prepared, decorated state flags USSR, USA, England and France. At the main table were representatives of the allied powers. The hall was attended by Soviet generals, whose troops took Berlin, as well as Soviet and foreign journalists. Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was appointed representative of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet troops. High Command allied forces represented by British Air Marshal Arthur V. Tedder, Commander of the US Strategic Air Forces General Spaats and Commander-in-Chief French army General Delattre de Tassigny. From the German side, Field Marshal Keitel, Admiral of the Fleet von Friedeburg and Colonel General of Aviation Stumpf were authorized to sign the act of unconditional surrender.
The ceremony of signing the surrender at 24 o'clock was opened by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. At his suggestion, Keitel presented to the heads of the Allied delegations a document on his powers, signed by Doenitz. The German delegation was then asked whether it had the Act of Unconditional Surrender in hand and whether it had studied it. After Keitel's affirmative answer, the representatives of the German armed forces, at the sign of Marshal Zhukov, signed an act drawn up in 9 copies. Then Tedder and Zhukov put their signatures, and representatives of the United States and France as witnesses. The procedure for signing the surrender ended at 00:43 on May 9, 1945. The German delegation, by order of Zhukov, left the hall. The act consisted of 6 paragraphs of the following content:
"one. We the undersigned, acting on behalf of the German High Command, agree to the unconditional surrender of all our armed forces on land, at sea and in the air, and of all forces currently under German command, - to the Supreme Command of the Red Army and at the same time to the Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.
2. Germanic High Command immediately issue orders to all German commanders of the land, sea and air forces and all forces under German command to cease hostilities at 23:01 hours Central European Time on May 8, 1945, to remain in their places where they are at that time , and completely disarm, handing over all their weapons and military equipment to local Allied commanders or officers assigned by representatives of the Allied High Command, not to destroy or cause any damage to steamships, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment, as well as machines, weapons, apparatuses and all military-technical means of warfare in general.
3. The German High Command will immediately assign appropriate commanders and ensure that all further orders issued by the Supreme High Command of the Red Army and the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces are carried out.
4. This act shall not prevent its replacement by another general instrument of surrender, concluded by or on behalf of the United Nations, applicable to Germany and the German armed forces as a whole.
5. In the event that the German High Command or any armed forces under its command do not act in accordance with this act of surrender, the High Command of the Red Army, as well as the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Force, will take such punitive measures or other actions. as they deem necessary.
6. This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German. Only Russian and English texts are authentic.
At 0:50 the meeting was adjourned. After that, a reception took place, which was held with great enthusiasm. Much was said about the desire to strengthen friendly relations between the countries of the anti-fascist coalition. The festive dinner ended with songs and dances. As Marshal Zhukov recalls: "Soviet generals danced beyond competition. I also could not resist and, remembering my youth, I danced" Russian ""
Land, sea and air force Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front began to lay down their arms. By the end of the day on May 8, the Kurland Army Group, pressed against the Baltic Sea, stopped resisting. About 190 thousand soldiers and officers, including 42 generals, surrendered. On the morning of May 9, German troops surrendered in the area of Danzig and Gdynia. About 75 thousand soldiers and officers, including 12 generals, laid down their arms here. Task Force Narvik capitulated in Norway.
The Soviet landing force, which landed on the Danish island of Bornholm on May 9, captured it 2 days later and captured the German garrison (12,000 people) stationed there.
Small groups of Germans on the territory of Czechoslovakia and Austria, who did not want to surrender along with the bulk of the troops of Army Group Center and tried to make their way to the west, the Soviet troops had to destroy until May 19.
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Potsdam Conference (July 17 - August 2, 1945)
This conference was attended by governmental delegations of the allied states. The Soviet delegation headed by JV Stalin, the British delegation headed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the American delegation headed by President G. Truman. The first official meeting was attended by heads of government, all foreign ministers, their first deputies, military and civilian advisers and experts. The main issue of the conference was the question of the post-war structure of the countries of Europe and the reorganization of Germany. An agreement was reached on political and economic principles for coordinating Allied policy towards Germany during the period of Allied control over it. The text of the agreement stated that German militarism and Nazism were to be eradicated, all Nazi institutions were to be dissolved, and all members of the Nazi Party were to be removed from public office. War criminals must be arrested and brought to justice. Production German weapons should be prohibited. With regard to the restoration of the German economy, it was decided that the main attention should be given to the development of peaceful industry and agriculture. Also, at the insistence of Stalin, it was decided that Germany should remain a single entity (the United States and England proposed dividing Germany into three states).According to N.A. Narochnitskaya, “The most important, although never spoken aloud, result of Yalta and Potsdam was the actual recognition of the succession of the USSR in relation to the geopolitical area Russian Empire combined with newfound military power and international influence."
Tatyana Radynova
The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) - the war between the USSR, Germany and its allies in the framework of World War II 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 remained in a difficult situation - the political situation was unstable, the economy was in a deep crisis. Around this time, Hitler came to power, who, thanks to his economic reforms, was able to quickly bring Germany out of the crisis and thereby gain the trust of the authorities and the people.
Standing at 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 the 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. In order to conquer the Soviet Union, the German command developed a swift attack, which was supposed to bring victory within two months. Having taken possession of the territories and wealth of the USSR, Hitler could have entered into an 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 put up stronger resistance than the Germans expected, and the war dragged on for many years.
The main periods of the Great Patriotic War
First period (June 22, 1941 – November 18, 1942). Within a year after the German attack on the USSR, the German army conquered significant territories, which included Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. After that, the troops moved inland to capture Moscow and Leningrad, however, despite the failures of the Russian soldiers at the beginning of the war, the Germans failed to take the capital.
Leningrad was taken under blockade, but the Germans were not allowed into the city. The battles for Moscow, Leningrad and Novgorod continued until 1942.
The period of a radical change (1942-1943). Middle period The war got its name due to the fact that it was at this time that the Soviet troops were able to take the advantage in the war into their own hands and launch a counteroffensive. The armies of the Germans and the allies gradually began to retreat back to the western border, many foreign legions were defeated and destroyed.
Due 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 put up decent resistance. The army of the USSR from the defender turned 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 Germany.
On May 8, Berlin was taken, and the German troops announced their 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 for 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).
The results and significance of the Great Patriotic War
Although the main goal of the Great Patriotic War was defensive, as a result, the 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 devastating for the USSR - the country's economy after the war was in a deep crisis, since the industry worked exclusively for the military industry, many people were killed, and the rest were starving.
Nevertheless, for the USSR, victory in this war meant that now the Union was becoming a world superpower, which had the right to dictate its terms in the political arena.
Seventy-five years ago, on June 22, Hitler ordered his troops to launch Operation Barbarossa: a war against Stalin's Soviet Union. It was the largest military operation ever carried out, and it remains so to this day. It marked the end of the Third Reich and Hitler's dream of a "thousand-year empire."
For the Führer, this was an all-or-nothing venture that predictably ended in nothing.
The fate of World War II was decided on the Eastern Front. Two thirds of Germany's resources were involved here. During cold war Western propaganda only casually mentioned the contribution of the Soviet Union to the victory over Germany, respectively, the main attention in the West was paid to air war allies, their actions in the Atlantic, North Africa, Sicily and the landing of allied troops in Normandy, followed by an attack on German territory. All these were important events, but the outcome of the war was decided on the Eastern Front.
Hitler began planning Operation Barbarossa shortly after the end of the Western Offensive in the summer of 1940. Any major military operation depends on well-defined goals, a thorough and reliable analysis of the capabilities of the enemy, and an equally thorough analysis of one's own resources and capabilities. None of these conditions were met. Therefore, it is completely incomprehensible why none of the German generals did not dare to go to Hitler and explain the situation to him.
In the German General Staff, several outline plans were developed with various main and secondary goals, directions of the main attacks and operational principles. And even according to the final plan "The Case of Barbarossa" there was no unity on strategic goals. It was accepted only final decision. As a result, the operation was stopped, and discussions of strategic goals began, which lasted three weeks from August to September 1941. Unheard of, it was a recipe for operational suicide.
Tank units were withdrawn from the Moscow direction and sent to the south, where they managed to capture Kyiv and capture 665,000 Soviet soldiers. The bill was paid three months later by a disastrous defeat near Moscow. It is well known that the German command did not take care of the winter equipment of its units, which led to the death of hundreds of thousands of German soldiers. Careless planning - Germany did not even develop a "Plan B" - led to the fact that the original goal - the destruction of the striking force of the Red Army - was not achieved. Therefore, the next three years were aimless blind fencing, as the main strategic direction was absent. Hitler wanted to decide everything himself with his crazy ideas that had absolutely nothing to do with the real world. The Führer was convinced that Providence had chosen him to be Grösster Feldherr aller Zeiten (" The Greatest Commander of all time") saved Germany.
Lack of supply
How did the German military command plan to supply more than three million German soldiers? There was only enough planning for the first three weeks of the campaign. The invading troops were then to "live off the occupied country". After grain and livestock are taken from the local population, millions of people will be doomed to a long and painful starvation death. It was part of the planning. It was estimated that 10-15 million people would die of starvation.
From the very beginning, Operation Barbarossa was the catalyst for "die Endlösung" ("Final Solution"), the extermination of Jews and other peoples.
Context
Hitler's War of Annihilation
Suddeutsche Zeitung 06/22/2016The myth of the "Plan Barbarossa"
Suddeutsche Zeitung 08/17/2011How Hitler made Russia a superpower
The National Interest 20.06.2016Franz Halder - author of "Plan Barbarossa"
Die Welt 22.06.2016Multimedia
Great Patriotic War: photo chronicle
InoSMI 06/22/2014Due to the forced collectivization and purges of the 1930s, the Germans were welcomed as liberators in many places. When the Russians saw what fate was in store for them under German rule, this benevolence soon gave way to resistance.
For Hitler, Barbarossa was the realization of his confused social Darwinist ideas about the right of the strong to destroy the weak. There was no way here to unite with groups opposed to the regime, to win over the enemy population, giving it a chance to survive, not to mention peace through negotiations. According to the Führer's perverted thinking, everything had to be decided by the brutal use of force.
The principle of destruction was to be carried out by the "Einsatzgruppen" ("Einsatzgruppen", " deployment groups”), following the advancing military units. The task of these SS and police units was to exterminate Jews and political commissars. The victims were shot in open mass graves. The Einsatz groups could only operate with the transport and logistical support of regular troops in this area. This practice was introduced already during the Polish campaign. At that time, the German commander of occupied Poland, Colonel General Johannes Blaskowitz, protested in writing against these crimes and refused to support the SS assassin gangs. Blaskowitz was, of course, removed from his post, but earned his respect for being decent enough to make such an attempt. I don't know anyone else who would try to follow his example after that.
Prisoners of war
Hitler's directive on the conduct of hostilities on the Eastern Front was characteristic. This war must be different from all previous wars. Here you need to ignore all the laws of war. According to the order on commissars, representatives of the Communist Party in the Red Army, taken prisoner by German units, were to be shot immediately. This order was carried out in various ways depending on the local command, but no one was found to forbid it, although the execution of this order was a clear war crime. In addition, the directive emphasized that German soldiers could not be prosecuted for alleged war crimes, which in itself constituted a call to commit war crimes.
The same attitude was to the Soviet prisoners of war. In 1941 alone, the Germans captured three million Soviet soldiers. Four out of five people did not survive, which in itself is a war crime. In general, no one imagined what needed to be done with such large quantity prisoners. In conditions where insufficient attention was paid to the supply of their own units, prisoners of war were not given much thought at all, and they died of hunger, thirst, or epidemics that broke out due to terrible conditions of detention. In winter, many died from the cold while being transported by rail.
Hitler was obsessed with the idea of "Lebensraum" ("living space"), the conquest of territories that could be used for colonization and plunder. At first, the front was 1,500 kilometers (excluding Finland), but soon it stretched 2,200 kilometers from north to south and 1,000 kilometers in depth from west to east. It was Moreover, which could be mastered by a German army of three million with half a million allied troops. The problem worsened as losses mounted.
After the defeat near Moscow in 1941-1942, the Germans could carry out major offensive operations only in certain sectors of the front. In 1942, this area became the southern sector of the front, where Hitler's target was the oil fields of the Caspian Sea around Baku. When Stalingrad became another target, the units stretched out in too thin a chain along the front. As a result, Hitler received neither oil nor Stalingrad. The result of this reassessment own forces was the Stalingrad disaster of 1942-1943. Hitler's strict order not to break out of the encirclement led to the death of the 6th Army. It was an example that was then repeated more and more often until the fall of Berlin. Hitler showed that the fate of his soldiers were completely indifferent to him.
Major German losses
After the failed "Operation Citadel" on the Kursk Bulge in July 1943, the German offensive force was depleted, and the German troops went on the defensive from that moment on. With great difficulty, it was only possible to evacuate the German units advancing from the Caucasus to the west along the path that was blocked by the advancing units of the Red Army. Hitler forbade any retreat in all sectors of the front, which led to gigantic losses in manpower and equipment. In the same way, the troops did not withdraw in time from the Crimean peninsula, and in the central sector of the front, the entire Heeresgruppe Mitte (Army Group Center) was completely destroyed in June-July 1944, because Hitler forbade the retreat. The price was the loss of 25 divisions, approximately 300 thousand soldiers.
Only in the period from June to September 1944, the losses of the Germans amounted to from 1 to 1.5 million people, as well as a huge amount of military equipment. The Red Army now had the initiative and had complete freedom of maneuver in conjunction with air supremacy. Hitler further worsened the situation with his absurd orders, which made it impossible to conduct reasonable defensive battles. The generals now had to pay the price for their obsequiousness. Nevertheless, there was strong opposition to Hitler in the military environment. In Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the opposition found a leader ready to take action.
On July 20, 1944, Stauffnberg was given the opportunity to lay a mine under a table in Hitler's office in Rastenburg, East Prussia. Unfortunately, the bastard didn't die. Thus, the time of the war stretched out for another nine terrible months. Hitler brutally took revenge on the conspirators and their families. The failed assassination attempt was a determined attempt to stop the war, which at that moment was becoming completely pointless. At the same time, she showed that decent people were among the German officers.
Unprovoked aggression
The attack of 22 June 1941 was unprovoked aggression and a flagrant violation of the non-aggression pact known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This pact was Hitler's last attempt to use political and military means in order to provide himself with a reliable rear for an attack on Poland. At the same time, it gave effective advantages, since, according to this pact, raw materials were supplied to Germany from the Soviet Union. They continued until the day of the attack.
The Blitzkrieg that Hitler planned turned into a four-year deadly struggle. 26-27 million Soviet people died.
Hitler did not need politics, diplomacy and trade agreements. He wanted war, and above all war with the Soviet Union, the Jewish-Bolshevik mortal enemy. He wanted to show that he could win with military force alone.
75 years after the start of this unthinkable nightmare, it is worth remembering that Hitler's unilateral and fanatical use of military force led directly to the complete defeat of Germany. This happened despite the fact that Hitler initial stage had at his disposal the most professional and efficient military apparatus for that time.
Another important lesson is that ignoring the laws of war, military conventions and ordinary morality, even in war, leads to fatal consequences. The execution of individual prisoners of war becomes a road leading to the murder of millions. Crimes were committed not only special units SS, but also soldiers of regular army units.
Operation Barbarossa became possible only because Hitler arrogated to himself the right to unlimited control over all means of power. Today we must ensure that war becomes possible only as a result of a transparent and democratic process.
This year we are celebrating a mournful and solemn date - the seventieth anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War. AT next year we will celebrate the bicentenary of the First Patriotic War.
Deacon Vladimir Vasilyk
Peter Multatuli *, saying that there is a deep connection between the Second (1914) and the Third Patriotic Wars, but it can also be traced between the “Eternal Memory of the Twelfth Year and the Great Patriotic War. And the point here is not only that, in his appeal of June 22, 1941, Metropolitan Sergius noted: "The times of Napoleon are repeating." And not only because in his speech on July 3, 1941, Stalin called to go to victory "under the banner of Kutuzov", and later in 1942-43 he created the Order of Kutuzov.
The commonality of these wars lies in the fact that both in 1812 and in 1941, Russia almost alone fought all over Europe, including ... the French.
I will give only one eloquent fact. In October 1941, a fierce battle went on for four days on the Borodino field between the reinforced tank brigades of the Soviet 32nd infantry division of Colonel V.I. Polosukhin, and units of the 4th German army.
To raise the morale of the Soviet units, the banners of the Russian regiments that participated in the Battle of Borodino in 1812 were handed out. And the Soviet soldiers did not disgrace the glory of these banners: for four whole days they repulsed the attacks of superior enemy forces, and then retreated in perfect order, leaving the Borodino field filled with corpses of the Germans and their allies and burning German tanks.
G. Blumentritt, Chief of Staff of the 4th German Army, recalled:
“The four battalions of French volunteers operating as part of the 4th Army turned out to be less persistent. At Borodin, Field Marshal von Kluge addressed them with a speech, recalling how, in the time of Napoleon, the French and Germans fought here side by side against a common enemy. The next day, the French boldly went into battle, but, unfortunately, they could not withstand either the powerful attack of the enemy, or the severe frost and snowstorm. They had never had to endure such trials before. French legion was defeated, having suffered heavy losses from enemy fire and from frost. A few days later he was taken to the rear and sent to the West ... **.
We are accustomed to the image of the French as our allies. We remember General de Gaulle, French partisans, the Normandie-Niemen squadron, but we forget that before the beginning of 1944 there were no more than 25,000 French partisans, and more than 200,000 French who served in the Wehrmacht, while most of them served on the Eastern Front***.
As in 1812,
“Not all of Europe was here,
And whose star led her?
Who just did not fight on Soviet-German front- Austrians, Walloons, Flemings, French, Italians, Romanians, Croats, Hungarians, Finns, Norwegians, Poles, Spaniards! Indeed, the invasion of "twelve languages". As Lermontov wrote: "Everyone flashed before us, everyone was here."
There are a number of parallels between the First and Third Patriotic Wars. At first, Russia tries to counteract the all-European dictatorship of Napoleon, enters into various coalitions, fights with France, losing tens of thousands of soldiers and suffering defeats. After Hitler came to power, most of the contacts with Germany were curtailed, the time came for the confrontation, which culminated in the war in Spain, where our officers fought against the Germans and Italians.
First days of the war. 1941
The Soviet Union tried to create a broad anti-fascist coalition and it was not its fault that it did not take place due to the unconstructive (if not more so) position of the Western powers. As a result of the unsuccessful Polish campaign in 1807, Alexander Ι was forced to conclude the Peace of Tilsit - quite honorable in its terms, especially given the defeat near Friedland and in comparison with the treaties that other defeated states signed with Napoleon, but shameful from the point of view of the Russian nobility.
Finding itself in virtual diplomatic solitude in the face of the threat of war with Germany, the leadership of the USSR was forced to sign a non-aggression pact with it, which was no worse than, say, the Munich Pact, on the contrary, much more worthy, since the Western countries that signed it betrayed their ally (Czechoslovakia ) and got an early war and defeat on their heads. Meanwhile, thanks to him, the USSR received significant territories that had been torn from it as a result of the revolution and civil war and a two-year respite to prepare for a future great war.
Nevertheless, many people in the USSR and beyond considered this treaty as shameful and forced. In the events of both 1812 and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the role of England was very large, which did a lot to involve Russia in the war, since in the first case it was about crushing the continental blockade, and in the second - saving Great Britain from the final collapse.
Even the time of the beginning of both Patriotic Wars almost coincides. Bonaparte crossed the Neman on June 12 (June 25), 1812: the Nazis and their allies launched a terrible blow on the USSR at 3.40 on June 22, 1941. In both cases, the enemy had quantitative and qualitative, strategic and tactical superiority at the beginning: Napoleon's half-million army against two hundred thousand Russian soldiers and officers of two divided Russian armies. Five and a half million soldiers and officers of the Germans and their allies in western districts The USSR was opposed by only two million nine hundred thousand Soviet soldiers and officers, it was not possible to create a strong defense in the direction of the main attacks of the enemy due to the dispersal of Soviet troops.
When considering the causes of the defeats of the summer-autumn of 1941, many modern researchers note the absolute superiority of the German troops in the field of command and control, communications, and combat training of personnel. Here are just a few facts: until the end of 1942, Soviet tank drivers received driving practice from 5 to 10 hours, and many had only 2 hours. Meanwhile, it took at least 25 hours to drive a tank normally.
The state of affairs in aviation was even worse: in the Western Special Military District, out of 1909 aircraft, there were only 1086 combat-ready aircraft with 1343 crews. But of them, in difficult weather conditions, only ... 4 could fly aircraft. In May 1941, all aviation received "unsatisfactory combat training." Like most military districts in the West of the country ****.
Meanwhile, already in 1939, the Luftwaffe had about 8,000 pilots who had the right to pilot aircraft of any type. At least a quarter of them mastered the technique of blind piloting. It is clear that in this situation, any talk about a preventive war that the USSR allegedly prepared against Germany is ridiculous. By the way, Napoleon, like Hitler, also accused Russia of intending to ... attack him.
Both that and the other Patriotic War were marked by a forced initial retreat. However, in the case of the Great Patriotic War, it was of a much more involuntary and total nature. And if in 1812 it was possible to preserve the core of the army, then in 1941 it was necessary to urgently create a new regular army, to replace the old one, defeated in the summer-autumn battles of 1941. In both cases, the battle near Moscow was the beginning of a deep turning point in the war. Both the First and Third Patriotic Wars ended overseas trips, the liberation of Europe and its reorganization together with the allies: Yalta and Potsdam in their meaning differ little from the Congress of Vienna.
Both that, and other war were national. Recruits in 1812 danced for joy at being taken to war. During the Great Patriotic War, at least 19 million applications were submitted with a request to be sent to the front, a significant number - from the camps.
However, the main thing is something else - in the spiritual sense of these wars. The war of 1812 was an admonition to Russian society, carried away by the imitation of Europe and France. The French showed their "culture and civilization" with their own eyes: the dances of Napoleonic soldiers on antimins, horses in the Kremlin cathedrals, reprisals against the wounded and prisoners.
As a result of the revolution and the Civil War, Russia fell victim to one of the poisonous products of European apostasy thought - atheistic cosmopolitan communism. The compatriots of Marx and Engels showed with their own eyes what we should expect from the "German proletariat" and "cultural Germany". The spiritual result of both wars was in many respects the enlightenment of Russian (Soviet) society, the return of part of it to Orthodox Faith to the values of patriotism.
Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky)
In both wars. It is impossible to re-read the appeal of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) without excitement:
“Fascist robbers attacked our Motherland. Trampling on all sorts of treaties and promises, they suddenly fell upon us, and now the blood of peaceful citizens is already irrigating their native land. The times of Batu, German knights, Charles of Sweden, Napoleon are repeated. The pitiful descendants of the enemies of Orthodox Christianity want once again to try to bring our people to their knees before untruth, to force them to sacrifice the goodness and integrity of their homeland, the blood covenants of love for their fatherland by naked violence ... Our ancestors did not lose heart even in a worse situation, because they did not remember personal dangers and benefits, but about their sacred duty to the Motherland and faith, and came out victorious. Let's not shame them glorious name and we are Orthodox, kindred to them in flesh and faith. The fatherland is defended by weapons and a common national feat ... Let us recall the holy leaders of the Russian people, for example, Alexander Nevsky, Dimitri Donskoy, who believed their souls for the people and homeland .... The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox for the defense of the sacred borders of our homeland. Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. Together with him, she bore the trials and consoled herself with his successes. She will not leave her people even now. She blesses with a heavenly blessing and the upcoming nationwide feat ... ".
Recently, unfortunately, it has been customary for many to represent June 22 as the day of our shame. This is not true. This is the day of our sorrow and glory. From the very beginning of the war, the Russian Soviet people gave great examples of courage, loyalty and honor. For a whole month, the defenders of the Brest Fortress held out in inhuman conditions. Of the hundreds of border outposts, not one was left without a fight by the border guards, most of them died at their combat posts. The mere name of Nikolai Gastello, who on June 25, 1941 sent his burning plane to a German tank column, should close the mouths of detractors of the Russian people, their honor and glory.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill rightly notes:
"Human losses in the war with Nazi Germany are the dimensions whole country, this is a colossal shock for the people, the foundations of people's life. With those great losses that our people suffered in the war against the Nazis, they atoned for apostasy during the time of the Bolsheviks.
However, if you look even deeper, then this redemption extends to the pre-revolutionary period - the same one that first prepared the shameful and terrible February, and then its logical continuation - the October Revolution.
And if we take it even wider and deeper, then wasn't the triumph of communism in Russia just a part of the general apostasy process that engulfed the European world? In the twentieth century not only Europe, but also many other countries have experienced a whole series of revolutions and bloody dictatorial regimes. Nazism itself was not so much a response to communism as the implementation of the age-old intentions of the German people, which is why it reigned so easily, and precisely why the German soldiers fought for it to the last drop of blood.
The revolution was not carried out according to Russian patterns, and socialism was planned in Russia, which, however, through the suffering feat of the cross of the Russian Soviet people turned into something that no longer lived up to the expectations of the forces that called it into being. And, accordingly, does not this redemption also extend to the entire civilized European world, moreover, in 1941, as in 1812, we had to fight, in fact, with the whole of Europe, either enslaved or drugged by Hitler? On this day, Pushkin's lines from the poem are read in a special way.
"Slanderers of Russia":
And you hate us...
For what, answer, for whether
What's on the ruins of burning Moscow
We did not recognize impudent will
The one before whom you trembled?
For being thrown into the abyss
We are an idol gravitating over the kingdoms,
And redeemed with our blood
European liberty, honor and peace?
Everything, unfortunately, is repeated. Both the Europe of the 19th century and the present responded with hatred and ingratitude to the Russian warrior-liberator. It remains to grieve about this and still hope for the admonition and repentance of a proud European person.
Today is a day of remembrance and mourning, a day of prayer for the 27 million who died in the war. It is vain and unnecessary to talk about opposing the victims of war and repression, especially the repeated exaggeration of the latter. All these sacrifices were made by the Russian people to save both Russia and the world from the apostasy plague of the 20th century. - atheism and apostasy. Let us pray for those who laid down their lives for us to live. Let us remember the many innocent victims - women, children, the elderly - who fell victim to the atheist and murderous fascism. And let us draw a spiritual lesson from those terrible events.
If we do not repent of our evil deeds, do not resort to Christ with a contrite heart, do not purify our feelings and thoughts, then a much more terrible war can befall us than our fathers and grandfathers - the Third World War, which, according to the words of St. Lawrence of Chernigov, will no longer be for repentance, but for extermination. Later than we think, let us hasten to do good.
Footnotes:
* Peter Multatuli Great German 08/03/2009http://ruskline.ru/monitoring_smi/2009/08/03/velikaya_germanskaya/
**Blumentrit G. Fatal decisions. M, 1958. S. 45
*** General de Gaulle, from the point of view of the majority of the French in 1941, was either a romantic - Don Quixote, or even a criminal fighting against the "legitimate" pro-German government of Marshal Petain.
****Karatuev M.I., Frolov M.I. 1939-1945 View from Germany and Russia. SPb 2006. S. 122-125
The Great Patriotic War began on June 22, 1941 - the day when the Nazi invaders and their allies invaded the territory of the USSR. It lasted four years and became final stage World War II. In total, about 34,000,000 Soviet soldiers took part in it, more than half of which died.
Causes of the Great Patriotic War
The main reason for the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War was the desire of Adolf Hitler to lead Germany to world domination by capturing other countries and establishing a racially pure state. Therefore, on September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, then Czechoslovakia, initiating World War II and conquering more and more territories. The successes and victories of Nazi Germany forced Hitler to violate the non-aggression pact concluded on August 23, 1939 between Germany and the USSR. He developed a special operation called "Barbarossa", which meant the capture of the Soviet Union in a short time. Thus began the Great Patriotic War. It went through three stages.
Stages of the Great Patriotic War
Stage 1: June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942
The Germans captured Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Estonia, Belarus and Moldova. The troops moved inland to capture Leningrad, Rostov-on-Don and Novgorod, but the main goal of the Nazis was Moscow. At this time, the USSR suffered heavy losses, thousands of people were taken prisoner. On September 8, 1941, the military blockade of Leningrad began, which lasted 872 days. As a result, the Soviet troops were able to stop the German offensive. The Barbarossa plan failed.
Stage 2: 1942-1943
During this period, the USSR continued to build up its military power, industry and defense grew. Thanks to the incredible efforts of the Soviet troops, the front line was pushed back - to the west. The central event of this period was the greatest Battle of Stalingrad in history (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943). The goal of the Germans was to capture Stalingrad, the big bend of the Don and the Volgodonsk isthmus. During the battle, more than 50 armies, corps and divisions of enemies were destroyed, about 2 thousand tanks, 3 thousand aircraft and 70 thousand vehicles were destroyed, German aviation was significantly weakened. The victory of the USSR in this battle had a significant impact on the course of further military events.
Stage 3: 1943-1945
From defense, the Red Army gradually goes over to the offensive, moving towards Berlin. Several campaigns aimed at destroying the enemy were implemented. A guerrilla war breaks out, during which 6200 partisan detachments are formed, trying to fight the enemy on their own. The partisans used all means at hand, down to clubs and boiling water, set up ambushes and traps. At this time, there are battles for the Right-Bank Ukraine, Berlin. The Belarusian, Baltic, and Budapest operations were developed and put into action. As a result, on May 8, 1945, Germany officially recognized defeat.
Thus, the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War was actually the end of the Second World War. The defeat of the German army put an end to Hitler's desire to gain dominance over the world, universal slavery. However, the victory in the war came at a heavy price. Millions of people died in the struggle for the Motherland, cities, villages and villages were destroyed. All the last funds went to the front, so people lived in poverty and hunger. Every year on May 9, we celebrate the day of the Great Victory over fascism, we are proud of our soldiers for giving life to future generations, providing a brighter future. At the same time, the victory was able to consolidate the influence of the USSR on the world stage and turn it into a superpower.
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The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) is the most terrible and bloody war in the entire history of the USSR. This war was between two powers, the mighty power of the USSR and Germany. In a fierce battle, for five years, the USSR nevertheless won worthy of its opponent. Germany, when attacking the alliance, hoped to quickly capture the entire country, but they did not expect how powerful and selenium Slavic people. What did this war lead to? To begin with, we will analyze a number of reasons, because of what it all started?
After the First World War, Germany was greatly weakened, a severe crisis overcame the country. But at this time, Hitler came to power and introduced a large number of reforms and changes, thanks to which the country began to prosper, and people showed their trust in him. When he became ruler, he pursued a policy in which he informed the people that the nation of Germans was the most excellent in the world. Hitler was lit up with the idea of recouping for the First world war, for that terrible lose, he had the idea to subjugate the whole world. He began with the Czech Republic and Poland, which later grew into the Second World War
We all remember very well from history books that until 1941 a non-aggression treaty was signed between the two countries of Germany and the USSR. But Hitler still attacked. The Germans developed a plan called "Barbarossa". It clearly stated that Germany should capture the USSR in 2 months. He believed that if he had at his disposal all the strength and power of the country, then he would be able to go to war with the United States with fearlessness.
The war began so quickly, the USSR was not ready, but Hitler did not get what he wanted and expected. Our army put up a lot of resistance, the Germans did not expect to see such a strong opponent in front of them. And the war dragged on for a long 5 years.
Now we will analyze the main periods during the entire war.
The initial stage of the war is June 22, 1941 to November 18, 1942. During this time, the Germans captured most of the country, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus also got here. Further, the Germans already had Moscow and Leningrad in front of their eyes. And they almost succeeded, but the Russian soldiers turned out to be stronger than them and did not allow this city to be captured.
Unfortunately, they captured Leningrad, but what is most surprising, the people living there did not let the invaders into the city itself. There were battles for these cities until the end of 1942.
The end of 1943, the beginning of 1943, was very difficult for the German troops and at the same time happy for the Russians. The Soviet army launched a counteroffensive, the Russians began to slowly but surely retake their territory, and the invaders and their allies slowly retreated to the west. Some of the allies were destroyed on the spot.
Everyone remembers very well how the entire industry of the Soviet Union switched to the production of military supplies, thanks to which they were able to repulse the enemies. The retreating army turned into attackers.
The final. 1943 to 1945 Soviet soldiers gathered all her strength and began to reconquer her territory at a fast pace. All forces were directed towards the invaders, namely to Berlin. At this time, Leningrad was liberated, and other previously captured countries were recaptured. The Russians resolutely marched on Germany.
The last stage (1943-1945). At this time, the USSR began to take away its lands bit by bit and move towards the invaders. Russian soldiers retook Leningrad and other cities, then they proceeded to the very heart of Germany - Berlin.
On May 8, 1945, the USSR entered Berlin, the Germans announced their surrender. Their ruler could not stand it and independently left for the next world.
And now the worst part of the war. How many people died so that we would now live in the world and enjoy every day.
In fact, history is silent about these terrible figures. The USSR concealed for a long time, then the number of people. The government hid data from the people. And people then understood how many died, how many were taken prisoner, and how many missing people to this day. But after a while, the data nevertheless surfaced. According to official sources, up to 10 million soldiers died in this war, and about 3 million more were in German captivity. These are terrible numbers. And how many children, old people, women died. The Germans mercilessly shot everyone.
It was a terrible war, unfortunately it brought a lot of tears to families, there was devastation in the country for a long time, but the USSR was slowly getting back on its feet, post-war actions subsided, but did not subside in the hearts of people. In the hearts of mothers who did not wait for their sons from the front. Wives who were left widows with children. But what a strong Slavic people, even after such a war, he rose from his knees. Then the whole world knew how strong the state was and how strong in spirit people lived there.
Thanks to the veterans who protected us when they were very young. Unfortunately, at the moment there are only a few of them left, but we will never forget their feat.
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