Codename for World War 2. Military actions of the allies of the USSR in the Second World War

The Second World War is a military conflict on a planetary scale between Germany and its allies on the one hand and the USSR, Great Britain, France, the USA and their allies on the other. The war unfolded from 1939 to 1945 and ended with the defeat of Germany and its allies.

Major operations and battles of World War II.

War on the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic operation began on the first day of the war and continued until D-Day. During this operation, Nazi submarines attacked Soviet and British ships, disrupting supplies of food and weapons.

The Allied forces won at the cost of the lives of 50 thousand soldiers - approximately the same losses were suffered by the Navy of the Third Reich.

Battle of Britain

The War of Brotherhood is the largest air battle in history, which ended in the victory of the Royal British Navy over the air army of the Third Reich.

The defeat of Germany over the English Channel was one of the reasons for the failure of Hitler's plan to eliminate enemies on the Western Front, after which all forces had to be transferred to the war against the USSR.

During the battle, the forces of the Third Reich lost about 3 thousand aircraft, while the British lost approximately 1.8 thousand aircraft.
It should be noted that the Nazi planes were not only more numerous, but also much newer - Britain was saved only by the courage and dedication of the pilots.

Battle for Moscow

During this operation, Wehrmacht forces attempted to take the capital of the USSR, Moscow. The operation began in September and was a failure. After several attacks by the Germans, the USSR forces regrouped and launched a massive counterattack, which ended in victory for the latter in April 1942, which was one of the reasons for the defeat of the Reich in Eastern Front.

Battle of Stalingrad

The whole world is aware of this battle, because it became the largest of all land battles in the history of mankind. The battle began with the offensive of the Wehrmacht forces towards Stalingrad and ended with the victory of the USSR.

During the battle, the opponents lost more than 1 million soldiers, as a result of which the Battle of Stalingrad became the bloodiest battle in history. During this battle, Germany lost as many as five armies and practically exhausted its attacking potential.

Battle of Kursk

In 1943, the German leadership made a new attempt to seize the initiative on the Eastern Front, attacking Soviet positions on the so-called Kursk Bulge. The attack was successfully repelled by the Red Army, followed by a large-scale counterattack along the entire front, which ended in a decisive but bloody victory for the USSR.

Germany's defeat at the Battle of Kursk was a decisive battle on the Eastern Front, from which the Wehrmacht forces were never able to recover.

Opening of the Second Front or Allied landing in Normandy

On June 6, 1944, the forces of the United States, the Fraternity and their allies began landing on the shores of Normandy (Northern France) - this day went down in the chronicles as “D-Day”. The Allied landings continued until July 24. During this landing operation, both sides lost approximately 200 thousand soldiers.

Ardennes operation

This operation is considered to be the last attempt by the Wehrmacht forces to turn the tide of the war on the Western Front. In January 1944, the Wehrmacht armies launched a surprise attack against Allied forces in Belgium, but it ended in failure on January 28 of that year. After this defeat, Germany's position became hopeless.

Battle of Berlin

On April 16, the battle that led to Germany's surrender began - the Battle of Berlin. Soviet troops began an assault on the capital of the Reich. The battle ended with the complete victory of the USSR forces and the elimination of Germany from the game, leaving Japan alone against the United States.

Military operations in World War II took place on the territory of 40 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and four oceans. More than fifty million people died in this war, it had a huge impact on the destinies of mankind, since fascist Germany and militaristic Japan were defeated, which were shock forces imperialism.

During the Second World War, valuable experience was gained in combat operations, in which millions of armies, equipped with the latest means of combat, took part. Various operations were carried out. Military operations were carried out in various theaters of war (land, sea) and in various natural and climatic conditions.

The combat experience of the Great Patriotic War has not lost its significance even today. Wars are unique and inimitable - the history of wars testifies, but historical continuity in the art of war remains.

Military operations of the USSR allies in the Mediterranean and Western European theaters of military operations (1940-1945)

In North Africa and the Middle East, the interests of three capitalist states collided: fascist Germany, England and Italy. In 1940, Italy had the largest military forces in this area. British troops were dispersed in various areas of Egypt and the Middle East.

The desire of Italian fascism to seize Egypt, the Suez Canal zone and penetrate the Middle East did not correspond to the interests of England and led to military action in North Africa in the fall of 1940. These actions took place over the vast territory of Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea.

Main events on land in 1941-1942. occurred in the Libyan desert and western regions of Egypt, in a narrow strip of terrain stretching up to 1300 km - from El Agheil in Libya to El Alamein in Egypt. Military operations were carried out in a coastal strip 20-40 km deep on terrain that allowed the use of all types of troops.

The Italian army invaded Egypt from Libya (a colony of Italy) in September 1940, but could not achieve serious success due to poorly organized supplies. British troops in December 1941 not only pushed back the Italians, but also, pursuing them, by the beginning of February 1941, advanced through the Libyan desert almost 800 km to the west and inflicted a heavy defeat on them.

Hitler's command, trying to seize key positions in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, transferred one tank and one light infantry division under the command of General Rommel to North Africa to help the Italians. At the end of March 1941, German-Italian troops went on the offensive and, having defeated the British army, drove it back to the borders of Egypt.

In mid-June 1941, Rommel was forced to abandon further offensive and went on the defensive. First of all, this was a consequence of the hostilities that began on the Soviet-German front, as well as the increased resistance of the British. Now the Nazi command was not going to take major offensive actions in Africa “until the victory over the USSR.” Beginning in the summer of 1941, military operations in North Africa were determined mainly by the situation on the Soviet-German front.

Taking advantage of the favorable situation that had developed by the autumn of 1941, British troops united in the 8th Army (4 infantry divisions, 2 infantry brigades, 455 tanks and up to 700 aircraft), after careful preparation, went on the offensive on November 18 from the Libyan-Egyptian area borders. During several tank battles, the German-Italian forces were defeated and driven back across the Libyan desert to the El Agheila area. But, having won this victory, the British calmed down, underestimated the enemy and were taken by surprise when the German-Italian troops at the end of May 1942 again suddenly went on the offensive. Having suffered heavy losses, the 8th British Army was forced to retreat and stopped the enemy only in Western Egypt, at El Alamein.

Operation of the British 8th Army at El Alamein

By early July 1942, both sides were defending fortified positions between the coast at El Alamein and the Qatar Basin. In the autumn of 1942, the British army had a favorable situation for a new offensive. The main forces of the fascist German army were tightly pinned down on the Soviet-German front, where they suffered heavy losses. Taking this into account, the British command decided to launch an offensive from the El Alamein area.

By the beginning of October 1942, the troops of the British 8th Army under the command of General Montgomery included the 30th, 13th and 10th Army Corps. The British command equipped its troops with everything necessary to carry out a major offensive operation, which involved 600 tanks, 2,275 guns and up to 1,200 aircraft.

The situation was completely different in the German-Italian troops. They received no reinforcements from Europe. The German-Italian forces included the 20th, 21st and 10th Italian Army Corps and the German Afrika Korps, a total of 14 divisions and one parachute brigade. The tank divisions were not fully equipped. Supply for all types did not exceed 40%; there was only a week's supply of gasoline. There were only 3.3 rounds of ammunition available instead of the required 8.

The Allied forces outnumbered the enemy in men by more than one and a half times, in tanks and artillery by more than twice, and in aviation they had a fourfold superiority. The most suitable for an offensive was the coastal strip of terrain, 20-40 km wide. It was crossed by a highway, a railway and an oil pipeline, through which the troops were supplied.

The commander of the 8th British Army decided to deliver the main blow on the right flank, breaking through the German-Italian defense on a 6.5-kilometer front with the forces of four infantry divisions of the 30th Army Corps, which were in the first echelon of the army. With the army's troops reaching the coastal highway, it was planned to develop an offensive into the depths of Libya. An auxiliary attack was carried out by the 13th Army Corps.

The plan of the German-Italian command was defensive in nature. It decided to repel a possible offensive by British troops with the infantry divisions located in the first echelon, and destroy the troops that broke through with counterattacks from four tank divisions of the second echelon of the army.

To carry out a breakthrough for the first time in a desert theater, a strong artillery group was created. The density of artillery in the breakthrough area reached 100 guns and mortars per 1 km of front. Preliminary aviation training was of great importance, during which the Anglo-American air force Effective attacks were carried out on German communications, ports and airfields.

In the desert, camouflage and disinformation were of utmost importance. The lack of cover made it easier for the Germans to observe the British preparations from the air. This was taken into account by the command of the British troops. The British, knowing that it was impossible to completely hide all preparations for an offensive in the desert, decided to mislead the enemy regarding the timing of the offensive and the location of the attack. To do this, they disguised the tank group on the right flank as trucks, built mock-ups of tanks on the left flank and imitated an artillery group with wooden guns. On the left flank of the army, a false radio network of the 10th Army Corps operated, and a false oil pipeline was built from old cans and models of pumping stations. All this was done in order to give the enemy the impression of an impending attack on the left flank.

At 23.00 on October 25, 1942, a 20-minute artillery preparation began. Concentrated attacks were carried out on artillery batteries, command and observation posts and enemy resistance centers. At 23:30 the infantry began its offensive.

The formations of the first echelon of the 8th Army advanced very slowly. During the night they passed through a 6-kilometer neutral zone, approached the front edge of the German-Italian defense and only attacked the enemy in certain areas. Over the next two days, fierce battles were fought for the main position of the German-Italian defense.

The British were unable to quickly break through the enemy's tactical defense zone. On October 27, 1942, Rommel began to regroup his forces. He wanted to create a strike force on his northern flank tank fist to defeat the main advancing British group. Thus, all available tank forces were concentrated on the northern flanks of both sides. The critical moment of the battle had arrived. On the afternoon of October 28, 1942, British planes took to the air and delivered strong blows to the German and Italian tank divisions located in their original areas and thwarted the counterattack that was being prepared.

After a pause, the troops of the 8th Army resumed their offensive on the night of November 2, 1942. However, despite complete superiority, especially in artillery and aviation, British troops continued to advance slowly. Having covered 4 km in 1.5 days, the formations of the 8th Army completed the breakthrough. The 7th Armored Division was introduced into the resulting gap and began to develop an offensive to the west. The Italian troops, having suffered defeat, capitulated. This ended the battle of El Alamein.

Over the next month, the troops of the 8th Army advanced almost 1200 km (average daily pace 40 km). It was stopped by the Germans only on November 23, 1942 at a position near El Agheil.

The political and military leadership of the United States, despite its obligations, in 1942 and 1943. did not open a second front in Europe. At the insistence of the British Prime Minister, a decision was made at the end of 1942 to land American and British troops in North Africa, in the French colonies of Algeria and Tunisia.

On October 22, 1942, the operation to land an expeditionary force in North Africa (“Torch”) began. The USA and England have been carefully preparing for it for a long time. Transports with troops (about 650 ships in total) moved from England and the USA. On the morning of November 8, 1942, 42 Allied troops landed in the areas of Algiers, Oran and Casablanca. All the way sea ​​crossing The caravans of ships did not encounter any opposition from the German navy or air force. This allowed American and British troops to unhindered, in 15-20 days, occupy French Morocco and Algeria and reach Tunisia at the end of November.

The German command urgently took countermeasures. As early as November 10, 1942, it began transporting large forces to Tunisia by air and sea. By November 15, 1942, the newly arrived German formations deployed on a front of 300 km from the coast south to Sfax, with a front to the west. However, the Germans were late in transferring troops to Tunisia.

Meanwhile, the 8th British Army, advancing along the coast, occupied Tripoli. Rommel's troops retreated to the fortified Maret line. In the second half of March, English troops carried out a deep bypass of the Mareth line from the south, through the desert and mountains. The outflanking group advanced 180 km. Rommel managed to bring the weakened, exhausted army out of the attack, after which, transferring command to an Italian general, he left for Germany. Leftovers German army were defeated and captured in mid-May 1943 in the Cape Bon area.

The leaders of England and the United States decided, following the end of hostilities in North Africa, to land expeditionary forces in Sicily.

The landing in Sicily was characterized by the concentration of large forces and the creation of multiple superiority over the defending Italian troops. The landing of troops of the 15th Allied Army Group was supported by 4 thousand combat and 900 transport aircraft, as well as over 3 thousand ships. Preliminary aviation training lasted about 50 days. The desire to create maximum superiority, especially in technical means fighting became the main distinguishing feature of the military art of the armed forces of England and the United States.

On July 10, 1943, the Allies invaded Sicily with large forces of fleet, aviation and landing troops, occupied it in mid-August 1943, and on September 3, 1943 they began landing on the southern coast of the Apennine Peninsula. In such a situation and as a result of the struggle launched by the Italian people against fascism, the Mussolini regime was overthrown. The new government of Badoglio, influenced by failures in North Africa and Sicily, the disaster of the Nazi army at Kursk and the growth of the anti-fascist movement of the Italian people, was forced to conclude a truce with the allies on September 3, 1943. Italy left the war. The fascist German command withdrew its troops to the area south of Rome. Here in November 1943 the front stabilized.

Thus, the victory achieved by the Allies in North Africa and Italy had relatively little significance for the course and outcome of the Second World War. Italy's withdrawal from the war in 1943 weakened the forces of the fascist bloc, but the diversion of allied forces to conduct operations in Italy delayed the opening of a second front in Europe.

By the summer of 1944, the situation in Europe was determined by victories Soviet troops on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War and the powerful national liberation movement in countries occupied by the Nazis. It clearly demonstrated the ability of the Red Army to complete the liberation of the territory not only of the Soviet Union, but also of the enslaved countries of Europe without the help of allies. This is what forced the ruling circles of the USA and England, after long delays, to hurry up with the opening of a second front in Europe.

The Normandy landing operation (Operation Overlord) of Anglo-American troops on the coast of Northwestern France, carried out from June 6 to July 24, 1944.

The plan for the Normandy landing operation provided for an amphibious landing consisting of five infantry divisions on the coast of the Bay of Senskaya on an area of ​​about 80 km and an airborne assault consisting of three airborne divisions at a depth of 10-15 km from the coast, seizing bridgeheads, then combining them into one and expand it by the end of the twentieth day to 100 km along the front and 100-110 km in depth (reach the Avranches-Domfront-Falaise line).

When choosing the area for landing troops, the American-British command proceeded from the fact that the enemy, considering the most likely invasion on the coast of the Pas-de-Calais Strait, paid little attention to the area of ​​the Bay of Seine.

The start of the landing of troops was scheduled for the morning of June 6, 1944. This time was the most favorable for the landing. During these hours, visibility was the best, and the high and low tide conditions made it possible to approach closer to the shore and at the same time clear obstacles.

The general landing front was divided into two zones: the western, where American troops were to land, and the eastern, for British troops. The western zone was divided into two separate sections, the eastern zone into three sections. At each landing site, one reinforced infantry division was to land simultaneously. According to the number of landing sites, five landing detachments were created, which included the landing troops of these divisions and the naval forces that transported them.

All ground forces involved in the landing operation were united into the 21st Army Group. In its first echelon, troops of the 1st American and 2nd British armies landed, in the second - troops of the 1st Canadian Army.

The battle formations of the corps of the 1st American and 2nd British armies also had a two-echelon formation. The two corps that made up the first echelon of the American 1st Army landed in their first echelons two infantry divisions, reinforced by five tank battalions and two Ranger battalions. In the first echelons of the two corps of the 2nd British Army there were three infantry divisions, reinforced by three assault tank brigades and two Commando brigades. Each division of the first echelon initially landed 1-2 reinforced regiments (brigades).

Along with ground forces, airborne troops consisting of three airborne divisions (82nd and 101st American and 6th British) were involved in the operation. Airborne landings were supposed to be dropped on the flanks of the landing area to a depth of 10-15 km from the coast 4-5 hours before the start of the amphibious landing. The American airborne divisions were to land in the area north of the city of Carentan, the British airborne division - in the area northeast of the city of Caen. The airborne troops had to assist the amphibious assault during the landing and capture of the beachhead on the shore, for which they would capture road junctions, crossings, bridges and other objects in the landing areas and prevent enemy reserves from approaching the landing areas from the sea.

In the interests of achieving surprise, measures were taken to covertly concentrate forces and assets, to misinform the enemy, for which false concentrations of troops and equipment were created, and demonstrative actions were carried out where troops were not supposed to be landed. Despite the undoubted weakness of the actions of the German aviation and navy, the American-British command organized cover of the operation from the sea, air defense, anti-submarine and mine defense.

To carry out the operation, the troops had big amount transport and landing facilities. To supply the troops with everything necessary, two artificial ports were built on the coast of Senskaya Bay in the very first days of the operation, and a gas pipeline was laid along the bottom of the English Channel.

At 2.00 on June 6, the airborne troops began being dropped. Units of the 82nd American Airborne Division landed in the area west of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. The 101st Airborne Division landed in the area north of Carentan. The British 6th Airborne Division landed in an area northeast of Caen and established a foothold in the landing area.

At 5 o'clock on June 6, artillery preparation for the amphibious landing began. At 6:30 a.m. on June 6 in the American landing zone and about an hour later in the British zone, the first amphibious landing groups entered the coast of Seine Bay. The disembarkation order was as follows. Initially, small assault groups of amphibious tanks were landed on the seashore, which had the task of ensuring the landing of engineering and sapper groups. The latter were supposed to clear obstacles and ensure the landing of infantry and military equipment of the amphibious assault on the shore.

Subunits and units of the naval landing force, using the confusion of the Germans, their numerical superiority and massive naval artillery fire, made their way to the shore and pushed back the enemy.

This was greatly facilitated by air preparation for the landing and support of troops on the shore. The actions of the American and British aviation the Germans did not actually interfere. During June 6, only 50 German sorties were recorded in the area of ​​Senskaya Bay.

By the end of the first day of the operation, the American-British troops managed to capture separate bridgeheads up to 10 km deep. During the day of June 6, the main forces of five infantry and three airborne divisions, several tank regiments and brigades, and four Commando and Ranger detachments were landed. This success was achieved due to the fact that during aviation and artillery preparation, anti-landing defense Nazi troops on the shore was mostly depressed. The fire from the surviving German batteries was ineffective.

During June 7 and 8, simultaneously with the consolidation of captured bridgeheads and the improvement of occupied positions, the intensive transfer of new forces and equipment of expeditionary forces to the coast of Senskaya Bay continued. By the end of June 8, eight infantry, one tank and three airborne divisions and a large number of reinforcement units were concentrated on the bridgeheads.

On the morning of June 9, American-British troops went on the offensive with the aim of creating a single bridgehead. As a result of the fighting in the period June 9-12, they managed to unite the captured bridgeheads into a common bridgehead with a length of about 80 km along the front and 13-18 km in depth.

By June 12, the German command, having brought into battle an additional three tank and one motorized divisions, brought the grouping of its troops in Normandy to 12 divisions. However, these troops rushed into battle in parts; as they approached, a strong striking fist was not created from them. As a result, they could not have a serious influence on the course of hostilities. In addition, the German divisions experienced a great shortage of fuel and ammunition.

The situation that developed in mid-June 1944 was favorable for the deployment of offensive actions with the aim of expanding the bridgehead. By the end of June, troops of the 1st American Army captured Cherbourg and cleared the Cotentin Peninsula of the remnants of German troops.

In the first half of July, the port of Cherbourg was restored and subsequently played significant role in supplying American-British troops in Normandy. This was especially important because two temporary ports built in the early days of the operation were destroyed during a storm on June 19, 1944. One of these ports was soon rebuilt.

By the end of June, the captured bridgehead was expanded to 100 km along the front and from 20 to 40 km in depth. By this time, the main forces of the 1st American and 2nd British armies and part of the forces of the 1st Canadian Army had landed on the bridgehead. The total number of expeditionary forces on the bridgehead reached one million people. These forces were opposed by 13 German divisions, which had suffered heavy losses in previous battles and operated partly in battle groups. The fact that in the second half of June the fascist German command increased its troops in Normandy by only one division is explained by the following: it still believed that the Anglo-Americans would deliver the main blow through the Pas-de-Calais Strait, and therefore continued to hold there are relatively large forces in this direction. Not a single German unit was transferred from the coast of the Pas-de-Calais Strait to Normandy.

Thus, the situation allowed the Anglo-Americans to launch a major offensive in Northwestern France already at the beginning of July. However, in an effort to create conditions for a complete guarantee of success, the American-British command postponed the start of such an offensive until the end of this month.

During July, troops of the 1st American Army, continuing military operations to expand the bridgehead, advanced into south direction 10-15 km and occupied the city and road junction of Saint-Lo. The main efforts of the troops of the 2nd British Army at this time were aimed at capturing the city of Caen, to which both sides attached great importance.

On July 7-8, the British launched an offensive with three infantry divisions and three armored brigades with the aim of capturing the northwestern part of Caen, in which units of one German division were defending. During the day of July 8, the advancing troops were unable to achieve success. By the end of July 9, the British captured the northwestern part of this city.

In order to create a bridgehead on the southeastern bank of the river. Orne and the capture of the second half of Caen, the British-Canadian troops launched a new offensive on July 18. Within three days, the troops completely captured the city of Kan and advanced southeast to 10 km. Attempts by the British-Canadian troops to advance further to the south and southeast, made on July 21-24, were unsuccessful.

Thus, in the period from June 6 to July 24, 1944, the American-British expeditionary forces managed to land in Normandy and occupy a bridgehead of about 100 km along the front and up to 30-50 km in depth. This bridgehead was approximately half the size of the one that was planned to be occupied according to the landing operation plan. However, in conditions absolute domination The captured bridgehead in the air made it possible to concentrate a large amount of forces and resources on it. The American-British command had every opportunity to prepare and conduct a major offensive operation in Northwestern France.

Offensive allied forces in France, Belgium and Holland

Falaise operation, offensive Anglo-American troops in Northwestern France, carried out from August 10 to 25, 1944.

The goal of the Falaise operation was to encircle and destroy a group of German troops in the area of ​​the cities of Falaise, Mortain, Argentan and reach the Seine River.

After finishing Normandy operation In 1944, the Allied Command (Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, General D. Eisenhower), taking advantage of the favorable situation (the main forces of the Wehrmacht were constrained by the advance of Soviet troops on the Soviet-German front), from July 25, without expecting a complete concentration of its troops, launched an offensive in the North -Western France with the intention of pushing back German troops beyond the Loire and Seine rivers.

By August 10, the troops of the 12th Army Group (1st and 3rd American armies; commander General O. Bradley) deeply encircled from the south the main forces of the enemy forces defending against the allies (5th tank and 7th armies) from the Army Group B (commander Field Marshal V. Model). From the north they were surrounded by troops of the 21st Army Group (2nd British and 1st Canadian armies; commander General B. Montgomery).

In the area formed in the area of ​​the cities of Falaise, Argentan, the so-called. There were up to 20 German divisions in the “Falaise sack”. The Allies had no less than 28 divisions against them and had complete air supremacy. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, the allied command decided to surround the Falaise group with counter attacks on Argentan by the forces of the 3rd American Army from the south, from the Le Mans area, and by the forces of the 1st Canadian Army from the north, the area north of Falaise.

The offensive of the American troops began on August 10, 1944. Units operating in the main direction of the 15th Army Corps reached the Argentan area on August 13, but were stopped here on the orders of Bradley and with the approval of Eisenhower, who feared that the corps would cross the boundary line with the 21st Group armies would lead to mixing of American and Canadian forces and loss of command and control. Leaving the 2nd division and 7 artillery divisions to defend in the Argentan area until the Canadians arrived, the American command turned the main forces of the 3rd Army east, to the Seine River. However, the troops of the 21st Army Group advanced extremely slowly, at a pace of 6-7 km per day, and only on August 17 did the British occupy Falaise, and the Canadians bypassed it from the east.

The German command began to withdraw the main forces of the 5th Panzer and 7th armies through the 40-km pass remaining between Falaise and Argentan.

Only on August 18, American troops (1st Army) resumed their offensive from the Argentan area to the north and two days later in the area of ​​Chambois and Tren they linked up with the 1st Polish Armored Division (1st Canadian Army), completing the encirclement. Over 8 German divisions were surrounded (including 3 tank divisions). The remaining forces of the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies retreated to the Lizaro, Gase, Rugle line and consolidated there, ensuring the withdrawal of the entire Army Group B beyond the Seine.

On August 20, German troops, with counter attacks from five tank and two infantry divisions concentrated east of Tren, Chambois against the outer front of the encirclement, and units of tank and parachute corps from the encircled group, broke through the front of the encirclement. About half of the encircled German troops managed to retreat beyond the Seine, the rest were captured.

By August 25, Allied troops reached the Seine and captured small bridgeheads on its right bank. On August 19, an armed uprising began in Paris, ending on August 25 with the surrender of the German garrison. From August 26 Hitler's troops began to retreat to the borders of Germany. The Allied armies began pursuit along the entire front. By September 12, the German command withdrew the bulk of its troops and organized defense in the southern part of Holland and on the Siegfried Line.

The Falaise operation was successful for the Allied forces. However, despite the most favorable conditions, the Allies, as a result of indecisive actions and shortcomings in command and control, failed to complete the encirclement in a timely manner and achieve the goal set in the operation to destroy the troops of the 7th and 5th Tank Armies.

Dutch operation, an offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops, carried out from September 17 to November 10, 1944.

Taking advantage of the fact that the main forces of the Germans were on the Eastern Front, the Allies carried out a series of successful offensive operations in France and by mid-September the troops of their northern wing captured almost the entire territory of Belgium and reached the borders of Holland.

The 21st Allied Army Group (commanded by Field Marshal B. Montgomery), consisting of the 2nd British and 1st Canadian armies (a total of 16 divisions, including 5 armored divisions) reached the Bre line, northern. Gel, sev. Antwerp, north-east. Bruges. In the rear of the advancing Allied troops, there remained surrounded German garrisons in the ports of Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk. The 15th and 1st Parachute Armies (a total of 9 divisions and 2 battle groups) of the German troops of Army Group B (commanded by Field Marshal General V. Model) were defending in front of the British-Canadian troops on this section of the front.

The Allied command, trying to create favorable conditions for a further attack on the Ruhr, the main economic base of Nazi Germany, decided to conduct the Dutch operation with the help of the 21st Army Group.

The troops of the 2nd English Army were given the task of breaking through the enemy’s defenses and developing an offensive towards Arnhem, seizing a bridgehead on the northern bank of the Lower Rhine and thereby creating conditions for a further offensive. To strengthen the troops of the 2nd British Army and seize crossings across the Meuse, Waal and Lower Rhine rivers, it was assigned the 1st Allied Airborne Corps (82nd, 101st American, 1st British Airborne Divisions and Polish Parachute Brigade) .

In the offensive zone of the troops of the 2nd British Army, the main blow was delivered by the 30th Army Corps (one armored and two tank divisions) with the task of breaking through enemy defenses on a narrow section of the front and advancing to Eindhoven, Grave, Nijmegem, Arnhem, using the crossings across water barriers captured by landing forces dropped in the corps' offensive zone.

For artillery preparation and support, 880 guns (136 per 1 km of front) were concentrated in the offensive zone of the 30th Army Corps.

The 8th and 12th Army Corps were supposed to operate on the flanks of the strike group in order to expand the breakthrough front.

About 650 aircraft were used to provide air support for the troops of the 2nd British Army.

The balance of forces in the zone of the 2nd British Army was in favor of the allies 2:1 (in the direction of the main attack 4:1), in terms of aviation and tanks it was absolute.

The troops of the 1st Canadian Army had the task of eliminating the encircled enemy group in the area of ​​Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk and clearing the Germans from the mouth of the Scheldt River, and then advancing on Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

On September 17-18, after aviation training, airborne assault forces were dropped in the areas of Veghel, Grave, and Arnhem (the Arnhem airborne operation of 1944, carried out from September 17 to 26 as part of the Dutch operation).

The 30th Army Corps, after a short air and artillery preparation, went on the offensive. The armored division, operating in the first echelon of the corps, broke through the enemy's defenses. It was followed by two infantry divisions.

By the end of the first day, the allied forces advanced to a depth of 6-8 kilometers. On September 18, units of the corps approached Eindhoven, where they linked up with the 101st Airborne Division. On September 20, troops of the 30th Army Corps reached Nijmegen in a narrow sector and linked up with the 82nd Airborne Division. The 8th and 12th Army Corps, operating on the flanks of the strike force, met stubborn enemy resistance and only slightly expanded the breakthrough front. The German command, concentrating tank and infantry formations, launched a counterattack on the flank of the advancing Allied group and on their landings in the Arnhem area.

The situation for the allied forces became more complicated and created real threat surrounding the strike force. The British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade suffered heavy losses. With great difficulty, the command of the 2nd British Army managed to fend off the enemy's counterattack. On September 27-29, British troops reached the southern bank of the Lower Rhine and were forced to go on the defensive, failing to seize a bridgehead on the northern bank.

With the start of the Dutch operation, troops of the 1st Canadian Army fought against the encircled enemy garrisons and liberated Boulogne (September 22) and Calais (September 30). The advance north-west of Antwerp developed slowly, and Canadian troops reached the mouth of the Scheldt only towards the end of September.

In October-November, troops of the 21st Army Group continued offensive operations with limited objectives, trying to capture the territory north of Antwerp. The troops of the 2nd British Army, having regrouped, struck with the forces of the 12th Army Corps in the direction of Breda.

Troops of the 1st Canadian Army advanced on Rosendal, Bergen and fought to capture the Zuid-Beveland Peninsula and Walcheren Island. The Allied advance was slow. On October 30, Zuid-Beveland was occupied, and on November 9, Walcheren.

By November 10, the Allied forces reached the Meuse River, from Grave to the mouth, having captured southwestern part Netherlands. In 55 days, the Anglo-Canadian troops advanced to a depth of 45 to 90 km on a front of 200 km. The objectives of the operation were not fully accomplished.

The characteristic features of the Dutch operation were the use of large airborne assaults to facilitate the offensive on the main axis, the deep formation of the battle formation of the advancing army corps, and the high density of artillery for the allied forces.

At the same time, breaking through the enemy’s defenses on a narrow section of the front (initially 1.5 km) and subsequently expanding it with active actions on the flanks of the strike group did not bring the expected results.

Operation of the Ardennes (in the Ardennes region in south-eastern Belgium), an offensive operation of German troops carried out in December 1944 - January 1945.

The goal of the Ardennes Operation (codenamed “Watch on the Rhine”) was to defeat the American-British forces, change the situation in Western Europe in favor of Germany and free up Wehrmacht forces to fight against the USSR.

Operation plan: break through the front in the Monschau, Echternach sector, cross the Meuse River in the areas of Liege and Namur, and on the 7th day of the operation, reaching Antwerp, cut off the Allied troops in Belgium and Holland (1st Canadian, 2nd English, 9 -I and 1st American armies) and defeat them.

The operation involved troops of the 6th SS, 5th Tank, 7th Field Army of Army Group B (commanded by Field Marshal V. Model). A total of 25 divisions were intended, including 7 tank divisions. The offensive group consisted of about 250 thousand people, 900 tanks and assault guns, 800 aircraft, 2,517 guns and mortars. However, this was not enough; the command of the German troops planned to transfer part of the forces from other sectors of the Western Front and from Germany during the offensive.

The strike force was provided with fuel for only half the depth of the operation. The Anglo-American command considered the Ardennes region unsuitable for conducting broad offensive operations. Here, on a 115-kilometer section of the front, the Germans were opposed by up to 5 divisions (83 thousand people, 242 tanks, 182 self-propelled anti-tank guns and 394 artillery guns) from the 1st Army of the 12th Army Group (commanded by General O. Bradley).

The German offensive began at dawn on December 16, 1944. Caught by surprise, American troops were unable to resist, suffered heavy losses and retreated.

By December 25, the German group, having broken through the front, advanced to a depth of more than 90 km. Its advanced tank units reached the area of ​​Dinan and were located 4 km from the Meuse River. The Anglo-American command was forced to transfer divisions there from other sectors of the front. On December 23, with the onset of flying weather, allied aviation began to operate actively. From December 22 to 26, troops of the 3rd American Army launched a counterattack on the southern flank of the advancing enemy group and linked up with units of the 101st Airborne Division encircled in Bastogne. By the end of December, the Germans advanced on the river. The Maas was stopped. However, the German command did not abandon its plans. On the night of January 1, 1945, it launched an offensive in Alsace, in the Strasbourg area, against the troops of the 7th American Army. On January 1, more than 1,000 German aircraft launched a surprise attack on airfields in France, Belgium and Holland, resulting in the destruction of 260 Allied aircraft. The position of the Allied troops remained difficult. On January 6, 1945, W. Churchill turned to I. Stalin with a request for help. Fulfilling their allied duty, Soviet troops began it on January 12 - eight days earlier than planned. The offensive of the Soviet troops forced the Germans to curtail active operations on the Western Front and transfer their forces from there to the East.

By the end of January, the Germans in the Ardennes retreated to their original positions. Losses in the Ardennes operation on the Allied side amounted to about 77 thousand people, and on the German side - about 82 thousand people.

The Ardennes operation was the culmination of the struggle on the Western Front. Forced transfer of large forces and assets to Soviet-German front The losses suffered in the Ardennes, the lack of reserves - all this led to a sharp weakening of the German troops on the Western Front and contributed to the success of the armed forces of the United States, England and France in subsequent offensive operations, which took on the nature of pursuing the retreating enemy.

The Ruhr offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops, carried out from March 23 to April 18, 1945.

The goal of the Ruhr operation was to defeat the enemy's Ruhr group, and subsequently to advance towards the Soviet troops towards the Elbe and dismember the German troops. This operation was the final one in the military operations in Western Europe by Anglo-American troops.

In the first half of March, Allied troops completely captured the left bank of the Rhine and captured two bridgeheads on its right bank in the areas of the cities of Oppenheim and Remagen. By that time, Soviet troops advancing from the east were on the Oder, 60 km from Berlin and were preparing for the final blow to Nazi Germany.

The Allied Command (Supreme Commander-in-Chief General D. Eisenhower) decided to launch an offensive deep into Germany along the entire front. To do this, it planned, first of all, to defeat the most powerful enemy group on the Western Front, which defended the Ruhr industrial region (5th Panzer and 15th Armies of Group B) under the command of Field Marshal V. Model and part of the forces of 1- th Parachute Army.

The German Ruhr group included 29 divisions and one brigade - half of all forces deployed on the Western Front. It was supported by the main aviation forces of the 3rd Air Fleet and the Reich Air Fleet, which had only 1,704 combat aircraft. The German formations were 50-75% staffed and lacked fuel and ammunition.

The Allied command attracted the main forces of the 21st Army Group (9th American and 2nd British Armies) under the command of Field Marshal B. Montgomery, the 12th Army Group (3rd and 1st American Armies) to participate in the Ruhr operation. under the command of General O. Bradley and the 18th separate airborne corps - a total of 51 divisions, including 14 armored, 2 airborne and 12 brigades, incl. 7 armored vehicles.

According to the plan of the operation, the main blow was delivered by the forces of the 21st Army Group from the Wesel region and an auxiliary blow from the Rhine bridgeheads by the forces of the 1st Army Group on Kassel. In the future, it was planned to develop the offensive in the general direction of the Elbe River.

The offensive of the main group of the 21st Army Group began on the night of March 24 after powerful artillery and air preparation. They were preceded by two weeks of preliminary aviation training. During the night, troops of the 2nd British and 9th American armies crossed the Rhine and captured a bridgehead on its right bank. In the morning of March 24, the 18th Airborne Corps was landed behind enemy lines east of the Rhine. In the afternoon, the British troops advancing from the front joined the landing force. The enemy offered only minor resistance. In the following days, the captured bridgeheads were united, and on March 28, the general bridgehead was expanded to 60 km along the front and 35 km in depth.

In the direction of the auxiliary attack, the 1st and 3rd American armies developed an offensive to the north and northeast. April 1 troops of the 1st and 9th American armies united in the Lipstadt area, creating inner front encirclement of the Germans in the Ruhr industrial region (18 divisions, about 325 thousand people in total). With the encirclement of this group, the western front of German troops virtually disintegrated.

The Anglo-American command decided to shift its main efforts to central direction to develop an offensive on the outer front of the encirclement. In this regard, on April 4, the 9th Army was transferred from the 21st to the 12th Army Group, which was advancing to the middle reaches of the Elbe. Almost without encountering enemy resistance, the troops of the 12th Army Group reached the Elbe in the Magdeburg area on April 12, and captured Leipzig on April 19. In other directions, the Allied offensive developed in a similar situation.

At the same time, part of the forces of the 12th Army Group fought against the encircled Ruhr group, which capitulated on April 18.

For the first time, the Allies managed to encircle a large group of German troops. This operation was carried out with the absolute superiority of the Allies in strength and means, in extremely favorable conditions, when the main forces of the Germans were turned against Soviet troops threatening Berlin, and German troops in the west, seeing the hopelessness of the situation, capitulated to the Anglo-American troops.

During World War II, both warring sides carried out a huge number of secret operations. Some of them can be called desperate, others - simply incredible, and others seemed to come straight out of historical novels.

1. "Olterra"

The plan for this operation sounds like the plot of a spy movie - to use a secret underwater base as a staging post for the repair and use of midget submarines designed to destroy British shipping. This is exactly what the Italians planned and ultimately accomplished. The Italian cargo ship Olterra ended up in Spain after the outbreak of World War II. It was moored in the harbor opposite the British fortress of Gibraltar. Italy managed to secretly transport several small midget submarines to Spain on the Olterra, as well as the equipment necessary to repair them. A hole was cut into the ship below the waterline, which allowed midget submarines and divers to leave the ship unnoticed.

The first operation, carried out in December 1942, ended in failure: with three victims and two captured divers. The second and third operations (1943) were successful. During them, the Italians managed to sink six British cargo ships. The British suspected that it was all about Olterra, but they learned the truth only after the surrender of Italy in 1943.

2. Operation Frankton

In December 1942, ten British special forces soldiers secretly went to a French port to conduct sabotage and subversive activities. How did they get there? By canoe. Having learned that valuable military cargo was being shipped from Asia to Germany through the port of Bordeaux, the British decided that the port should be destroyed through a surgical strike. Special forces soldiers were supposed to swim up to the port in a canoe and quietly plant explosives on the ships.

In December, a British submarine surfaced just off the coast of France, unloading a special forces team that traveled in five canoes to a port hundreds of kilometers inland to carry out its mission. The soldiers sailed to their destination for several days, taking breaks when morning came. Only four of them managed to successfully reach inland waters. Two boats capsized, the third disappeared without a trace. Arriving at the port, special forces soldiers mined and blew up six ships. Two of them were captured and subsequently executed, the rest were taken from France to Spain by members of the French resistance.

3. Operation Zeppelin

By 1944, Soviet troops were already quite close to the borders of Germany. In 1942, the Nazis began a series of operations designed to hinder the advance of the Red Army by provoking anti-Soviet unrest. Their plans constantly failed, but they did not give up on them. In 1944, the Nazis carried out Operation Zeppelin, its goal was to assassinate the leader of the USSR, Joseph Stalin.

The mission was assigned to two Soviet defectors. They were given false documents so that they could easily get to Moscow, and other necessary things. Before the mission began, the agents, a man and a woman, got married. They were supposed to get to the territory of the USSR on a cargo plane, but it crashed. The agents managed to survive and continued on their way on a motorcycle.

They would have reached Moscow if it had not been for the rain. The soldier at the first checkpoint they arrived at suspected something was wrong. He was alarmed by the fact that the motorcyclists heading to Moscow were relatively dry, despite the heavy rain. A man and a woman were detained, and they further fate unknown, although we can safely assume that they were shot.

4. Operation Gunnerside

When the British became aware of Germany's nuclear program, they began to sabotage it as best they could. Since the Germans needed a lot of water to implement it, the British decided to destroy the Norwegian hydroelectric power station. The first attack on a hydroelectric power station was carried out in 1943. It ended in failure. All the soldiers who carried out the operation were captured and executed. After this incident, the Nazis strengthened the protection of the hydroelectric power station. Searchlights, guards and a minefield seemed an insurmountable obstacle, but the British did not give up.

In 1943, six members of the Norwegian forces special purpose landed in Norway to team up with four special forces who managed to survive the previous raid. At the end of February 1943, they decided to attack the hydroelectric power station again. The fighters managed to secretly sneak into the territory of the hydroelectric power station through the railway line under cover of darkness.

There were no guards inside the hydroelectric power station, except for an elderly watchman. The soldiers mined the object and, after blowing it up, fled. The Nazis tried to restore the hydroelectric power station, but the Allies destroyed it during an air raid a few months later.

5. The operation to kidnap General Kreipe

Perhaps one of the craziest operations ever carried out by the British Special Operations Executive during World War II was the kidnapping of General Kreipe, commander of the German garrison stationed in Crete. This was necessary in order to generate resistance on the occupied island.

The mission was entrusted to two special forces soldiers who arrived on the island of Crete in March 1944. In April they began the operation. Dressed in German uniforms, two fighters, with the help of representatives of the Cretan resistance, killed General Kreipe's bodyguards and stole his car. They then put Kreipe in the back seat of the car while they dressed in the uniform of the general and his driver to drive unnoticed past more than 20 German checkpoints. The operation was successful and had a significant impact on raising the spirit of the Cretan resistance.

6. Operation Postmaster

When the British began to suspect that Nazi submarines were obtaining fuel and target coordinates from camouflaged passenger and cargo ships in neutral ports, the Admiralty sent a small commando team to neutralize the threat to British shipping. In 1941, they accidentally came across three suspicious ships that may have been radioing information to German submarines. Unfortunately, they were in neutral Spain, but this did not stop the British special forces. They threw a party for the crew of the ships and, while they were having fun, got on board, neutralized the sentries, mined and blew up the anchor chains, and then sailed away on a patrol boat Royal Navy.

7. Operation Corona

When the British began bombing Germany from the air, they did everything they could to confuse the Nazi fighter pilots who were hunting down the British bombers. They assigned people who spoke German to pose as Nazi air traffic controllers and distribute false orders to confuse enemy fighter pilots. All this was called Operation Corona.

8. Operation Peppermint

During World War II, until the first successful nuclear test, some Allied scientists believed that the use of radioactive substances in warfare was much more important than nuclear weapon. After conducting several studies, the Allies concluded that using radiological weapons offensively was problematic due to delivery problems, but they could be used defensively, such as deliberately contaminating areas where enemy soldiers might land. Since the Allies knew about the existence of the Nazi nuclear program, they were worried that the Germans would set up radioactive death traps in the occupied territory.

In 1942, the Allies began developing portable sensors to detect radioactivity. By 1944 they were ready. Supreme Commander Eisenhower was informed of this by the head of the Manhattan Project. Allied troops received instructions that they should report certain diseases or symptoms to the High Command. The Allies had hundreds of portable detectors in reserve. However, the Nazis did not have radioactive weapons, so Operation Mint to track down radioactive weapons was never put into action.

9. Operation Source

In 1943, the German battleship Tirpitz was hiding in the Norwegian fjords, lying in wait for Allied convoys en route from Great Britain to the Soviet Union. To destroy the enemy ship, the British Admiralty decided to resort to a desperate plan.

The X-craft midget submarines (each weighing 35 tons) had a pair of two-ton explosive charges on their sides. The plan was as follows: several submarines were to quietly get closer to the battleship Tirpitz, drop explosive charges next to it and quickly sail away.

On September 22, 1943, three midget submarines slipped into the fjord where the Tirpitz was located. Two of them managed to bypass the anti-torpedo nets around the Tirpitz and leave charges, but ultimately all the boats were either captured or sunk. However, the plan worked. The explosion caused significant damage to the Tirpitz. It took the Germans six months to repair it.

10. Bruneville raid

When the Nazis began deploying new radar installations in France in 1941, the British High Command decided they needed to get their hands on one to learn how it worked and take countermeasures. The mission was assigned to a newly formed parachute battalion.

On February 20, 1942, the battalion landed on French territory. Having collected the radar, the paratroopers went to the beach, where the ship was to pick them up. To signal him, they were forced to light a flare. All this time they were preparing for a German attack on their positions.

The operation was successful and gave Britain a huge advantage in electronic warfare.

The material was prepared based on an article from listverse.com

Completed by: students of group M-11
Akimov Stanislav, Pavlov Semyon,
Sokov Stanislav, Pilin Danila1. Introduction.
2. The first period of the war (September 1, 1939 – June 21, 1941).
3. Second period of the war (June 22, 1941 – November 18, 1942).
4. Battle of Moscow 1941 - 1942
5. The third period of the war (November 19, 1942-December 31, 1943).
6. Battle of Stalingrad 1942 - 1943.
7. Battle of Kursk 1943
8. Belarusian operation (June 23 - August 29, 1944).
9. Berlin operation 1945
10. The fourth period of the war (January 1, 1944 - May 9, 1945).
11. Fifth period of the war (May 9 – September 2, 1945).
12. Conclusion.
13. List of references.

The first period of the war (September 1, 1939 – June 21, 1941).

Second World War began on September 1, 1939 with an attack by the Nazis
Germany to Poland.
On September 3, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany.
April 9, 1940 formations of the Nazi army without announcement
wars invaded Denmark and occupied its territory. On the same day
The invasion of Norway began.
Somma and Aina.
On June 10, the French government left Paris. Without exhausting
possibilities of resistance, french army laid down her arms. 14
June German troops occupied the French capital without a fight. 22nd of June
1940 hostilities ended with the signing of the act of surrender
France.
Preparing a war against the USSR, Nazi Germany in the spring of 1941
carried out aggression in the Balkans. March 1 Nazi troops
entered Bulgaria. April 6, 1941 Italo-German and then
Hungarian troops began to invade Yugoslavia and Greece by April 18
occupied Yugoslavia, and by April 29, mainland Greece.
First period of the war

Second period of the war (June 22, 1941 – November 18, 1942).

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet
Union. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union began
1941 - 1945, which became the most important part of the 2nd World War.
On July 12, 1941, an agreement was concluded between the USSR and
Great Britain on joint actions in the war against Germany.
On August 2, an agreement was reached with the United States on military-economic cooperation and the provision of material
USSR support.
On January 1, 1942, Declaration 26 was signed in Washington.
states Subsequently, new ones joined the Declaration
states.
On May 26, 1942, an agreement was signed between the USSR and
Great Britain about the alliance in the war against Germany and its partners.
On June 11, the USSR and the USA entered into an agreement on the principles of mutual
assistance in waging war.
Second period of the war

Battle of Moscow 1941 - 1942

There are two main stages in the battle: defensive (30
September - December 5, 1941) and offensive (December 5
1941 - April 20, 1942). At the first stage the goal
Soviet troops were defending Moscow, the second was the defeat
enemy forces advancing on Moscow.
By the beginning of the German offensive on Moscow as part of a group
armies
"Center"
(Field Marshal General
F.
Side)
there were 74.5 divisions (approximately 38% infantry and 64%
tank and mechanized divisions operating in
Soviet-German front), 1,800,000 people, 1,700
tanks, over 14,000 guns and mortars, 1,390 aircraft.
Soviet troops had West direction as part of
three fronts 1250 thousand people, 990 tanks, 7600 guns and
mortars and 677 aircraft.
Moscow Battle

Third period of the war (November 19, 1942-December 31, 1943).

The 3rd period of the war was characterized by an increase in the scope and intensity of military operations.
The decisive events in this period of the war still took place in the Soviet-German
front.
The USSR's allies in the anti-Hitler coalition had every opportunity to fulfill their
obligations and open a 2nd front in Western Europe. By the summer of 1943, the number of armed forces
USA and UK exceeded 13 million people. However, the strategy of the United States and Great Britain continued to be determined by their policies, which ultimately counted on mutual attrition
USSR and Germany.
On July 10, 1943, American and British troops (13 divisions) landed on the island of Sicily,
captured the island, and at the beginning of September they landed amphibious assault forces on the Apennine Peninsula, not
encountering serious resistance from Italian troops.
During 1943, American troops landed in New Guinea and ousted the Japanese from the Aleutian
islands, inflicted a number of significant losses on the Japanese naval and merchant fleet. All
The peoples of Asia rose more decisively in the anti-imperialist liberation struggle.

Battle of Stalingrad 1942 - 1943

Defensive (July 17 - November 18, 1942) and offensive (19
November 1942 - February 2, 1943) operations carried out by the Soviet
troops for the purpose of defending Stalingrad and defeating the forces operating on
Stalingrad direction of a large strategic group
enemy.
At the cost of great effort, the command of the Soviet troops managed not only
stop the advance of German troops in Stalingrad, but also collect
significant forces at the start of the counteroffensive (1,103 thousand people, 15,500
guns and mortars, 1,463 tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,350 combat aircraft. General
number of enemy troops at the beginning of the Soviet counteroffensive
was 1,011,500 people, 10,290 guns and mortars, 675 tanks and
assault guns, 1216 combat aircraft.
November 19 - 20 troops of the Southwestern Front (Lieutenant General N.F.
Vatutin), the Stalingrad and Don fronts went on the offensive and
22 divisions (330 thousand people) were surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Reflected in
December, the enemy’s attempt to liberate the encircled group,
Soviet troops liquidated it. January 31 - February 2, 1943
the remnants of the enemy's 6th Army led by Field Marshal F.
Paulus surrendered (91 thousand people).
Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Kursk 1943

Defensive (5 - 23 July) and offensive (12 July - 23 August)
operations carried out by Soviet troops in the Kursk area to disrupt
major offensive by German troops and the defeat of the strategic
enemy groups. The German command after the defeat of their own
troops near Stalingrad was supposed to carry out a major offensive
operation in the Kursk region (Operation Citadel). To participate in her
implementation, significant enemy forces were involved - 50
divisions (including 16 tank and mechanized) and a number of separate
units of Army Group Center and Army Group South.
The Soviet command entrusted the task of repelling the offensive
enemy on the troops of the Central (from Orel) and Voronezh (from
Belgorod side) fronts. After solving defense problems
it was planned to defeat the enemy’s Oryol group (plan
"Kutuzov") by troops of the right wing of the Central Front (Army General
K.K. Rokossovsky), Bryansk and the left wing of the Western Front.
The enemy offensive was to begin at 3 a.m. on July 5.
However, just before it began, Soviet troops carried out
artillery counter-preparation and inflicted on the enemy in his places
concentration big damage. The German offensive began only after
2.5 hours, and its course was different from what was planned. Thanks to the measures taken
managed to contain the advance.
Battle of Kursk

Belarusian operation (June 23 - August 29, 1944).

Code name - operation
"Bagration". One of the largest
strategic offensive
operations undertaken
Soviet high command
with the aim of defeating the Nazi Army Group Center
and liberation of Belarus.

Berlin operation 1945

Final strategic
offensive operation carried out
Soviet troops April 16 - May 8
1945 The objectives of the operation were defeat
groupings of German troops,
defenders on the Berlin
direction, the capture of Berlin and
exit to the Elbe for connection with
Allied troops. in Berlin
direction the troops took up defensive positions
group "Wisla" and group "Center" under
under the command of Colonel General G.
Heinritz and Field Marshal F.
Scherner.

The fourth period of the war (January 1, 1944 – May 9, 1945).

The most important military-political events of this period were determined by the further growth of the military-economic power of the anti-fascist coalition, the increasing force of Soviet blows
Armed Forces and the intensification of allied actions in Europe. On a larger scale it developed
the offensive of the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain in the Pacific Ocean and Asia. However, despite
known intensification of Allied actions in Europe and Asia, a decisive role in the final
the destruction of the fascist bloc belonged to to the Soviet people and its Armed Forces.
The course of the Great Patriotic War irrefutably proved that the Soviet Union was capable of
win complete victory over fascist Germany and free the peoples of Europe from the fascist yoke. Under
under the influence of these factors, significant changes occurred in military-political activities and
strategic planning of the USA, Great Britain and other participants in the anti-Hitler coalition.
At the beginning of 1945, a favorable environment was created for the final campaign in Europe. On
on the Soviet-German front it began with a powerful offensive of Soviet troops from the Baltic Sea to
Carpathians
On May 6-11, troops of 3 Soviet fronts carried out the Paris Operation of 1945, defeating the last
grouping of Nazi troops and completing the liberation of Czechoslovakia.
After the fall of Berlin, capitulation in the West became widespread.

Fifth period of the war (May 9 – September 2, 1945).

Defeat of imperialist Japan. Liberation of the peoples of Asia from Japanese occupation. End of 2nd
world war. Of the entire coalition of aggressive states that started the war, in May 1945 continued
Only Japan fights. July 17 - August 2, the Potsdam Conference of 1945 heads of government took place
USSR (J.V. Stalin), USA (G. Truman) and Great Britain (W. Churchill, from July 28 - K. Attlee), on which
along with discussion European problems much attention was paid to the situation in the distant
East. In a declaration of July 26, 1945, the governments of Great Britain, the USA and China offered Japan
specific terms of surrender, which the Japanese government rejected. Soviet Union,
denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact in April 1945, confirmed at the Potsdam
conference their readiness to enter the war against Japan in the interests of the quickest end of the 2nd
world war and the elimination of the source of aggression in Asia. August 8, 1945 USSR, faithful to its ally
duty, declared war on Japan, and on August 9, the Soviet Armed Forces began military operations against
Japanese concentrated in Manchuria Kwantung Army. The entry of the Soviet Union into the war and
the defeat of the Kwantung Army was accelerated unconditional surrender Japan. On the eve of the USSR's entry into
war with Japan On August 6 and 9, the United States used new weapons for the first time, dropping two atomic bombs.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are beyond any military necessity. Was killed, wounded, irradiated, missing
about 468 thousand inhabitants. This barbaric act was intended, first of all, to demonstrate the power of the United States,
in order to put pressure on the USSR in solving post-war problems. Signing the act of
Japan's surrender took place on September 2. 1945. World War 2 ended.

Conclusion

The results of World War II horrified everyone. The hostilities put
the very existence of civilization is on the brink. During the Nuremberg and
Tokyo trials, fascist ideology was condemned, there were
Many war criminals were also punished.
economic consequences of World War II. For
Western European countries it turned into a genuine economic
catastrophe. The influence of Western European countries has decreased significantly. IN
At the same time, the United States managed to maintain and strengthen its position. Second
World War became the bloodiest and most brutal war
conflict in the entire history of mankind and the only one in which
nuclear weapons were used. 61 states took part in it.
Dates of the beginning and end of this war: September 1, 1939 - 1945, September 2
are among the most significant for the entire civilized world.

Bibliography

Orlov A.S., Georgiev V.A., Georgieva N.G., Sivokhina T.A. Reader
on the history of Russia. M., 2012.
The Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 M., 1998.
Russian history. XX – early XXI centuries. 9th grade: atlas. – 17th ed. M.: 2013. 32
With.
World War II // Wikipedia. . Update date:
04/20/2016. URL: http://ru.wikipedia.org/?oldid=77892871

The largest war in human history, the Second World War became a logical continuation of the First World War. In 1918, the Kaiser's Germany lost to the Entente countries. The result of the First World War was Treaty of Versailles, according to which the Germans lost part of their territory. Germany was prohibited from having large army, fleet and colonies. An unprecedented economic crisis began in the country. It became even worse after the Great Depression of 1929.

German society barely survived its defeat. Massive revanchist sentiments arose. Populist politicians began to play on the desire to “restore historical justice.” The National Socialist German Workers' Party, led by Adolf Hitler, began to enjoy great popularity.

Causes

Radicals came to power in Berlin in 1933. The German state quickly became totalitarian and began to prepare for the upcoming war for dominance in Europe. Simultaneously with the Third Reich, its own “classical” fascism arose in Italy.

The Second World War (1939-1945) involved events not only in the Old World, but also in Asia. In this region, Japan was a source of concern. In the country rising sun, just like in Germany, imperialist sentiments were extremely popular. China, weakened by internal conflicts, became the object of Japanese aggression. The war between the two Asian powers began in 1937, and with the outbreak of the conflict in Europe it became part of general Second world war. Japan turned out to be an ally of Germany.

During the Third Reich, it left the League of Nations (predecessor of the UN) and stopped its own disarmament. In 1938, the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria took place. It was bloodless, but the causes of World War II, in short, were that European politicians turned a blind eye to Hitler’s aggressive behavior and did not stop his policy of absorbing more and more territories.

Germany soon annexed the Sudetenland, which was inhabited by Germans but belonged to Czechoslovakia. Poland and Hungary also took part in the division of this state. In Budapest, the alliance with the Third Reich was maintained until 1945. The example of Hungary shows that the causes of the Second World War, in short, included the consolidation of anti-communist forces around Hitler.

Start

On September 1, 1939, they invaded Poland. A few days later, France, Great Britain and their numerous colonies declared war on Germany. Two key powers had allied agreements with Poland and acted in its defense. Thus began the Second World War (1939-1945).

A week before the Wehrmacht attacked Poland, German diplomats concluded a non-aggression pact with Soviet Union. Thus, the USSR found itself on the sidelines of the conflict between the Third Reich, France and Great Britain. By signing an agreement with Hitler, Stalin was solving his own problems. In the period before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army entered Eastern Poland, the Baltic states and Bessarabia. In November 1939, the Soviet-Finnish war began. As a result, the USSR annexed several western regions.

While German-Soviet neutrality was maintained, the German army was engaged in the occupation of most of the Old World. 1939 was met with restraint by overseas countries. In particular, the United States declared its neutrality and maintained it until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Blitzkrieg in Europe

Polish resistance was broken after just a month. All this time, Germany acted on only one front, since the actions of France and Great Britain were of a low-initiative nature. The period from September 1939 to May 1940 received the characteristic name “ strange war" During these few months, Germany, in the absence of active actions by the British and French, occupied Poland, Denmark and Norway.

The first stages of World War II were characterized by transience. In April 1940, Germany invaded Scandinavia. Air and naval landings entered key Danish cities without hindrance. A few days later, monarch Christian X signed the capitulation. In Norway, the British and French landed troops, but they were powerless against the onslaught of the Wehrmacht. The early periods of World War II were characterized by the general advantage of the Germans over their enemy. The long preparation for future bloodshed took its toll. The whole country worked for the war, and Hitler did not hesitate to throw more and more resources into its cauldron.

In May 1940, the invasion of Benelux began. The whole world was shocked by the unprecedented destructive bombing of Rotterdam. Thanks to their swift attack, the Germans managed to occupy key positions before the Allies appeared there. By the end of May, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg had capitulated and were occupied.

During the summer, the battles of World War II moved into France. In June 1940, Italy joined the campaign. Its troops attacked the south of France, and the Wehrmacht attacked the north. Soon a truce was signed. Most of France was occupied. In a small free zone In the south of the country, the Peten regime was established, which cooperated with the Germans.

Africa and the Balkans

In the summer of 1940, after Italy entered the war, the main theater of military operations moved to the Mediterranean. The Italians invaded North Africa and attacked British bases in Malta. At that time, there were a significant number of English and French colonies on the “Dark Continent”. The Italians initially concentrated on the eastern direction - Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan.

Some French colonies in Africa refused to recognize the new French government led by Pétain. Charles de Gaulle became the symbol of the national struggle against the Nazis. In London he created liberation movement, called "Fighting France". British troops, together with de Gaulle's troops, began to recapture the African colonies from Germany. Equatorial Africa and Gabon were liberated.

In September the Italians invaded Greece. The attack took place against the backdrop of the fighting for North Africa. Many fronts and stages of the Second World War began to intertwine with each other due to the increasing expansion of the conflict. The Greeks managed to successfully resist the Italian onslaught until April 1941, when Germany intervened in the conflict, occupying Hellas in just a few weeks.

Simultaneously with the Greek campaign, the Germans began the Yugoslav campaign. The forces of the Balkan state were split into several parts. The operation began on April 6, and on April 17 Yugoslavia capitulated. Germany in World War II increasingly looked like an unconditional hegemon. Puppet pro-fascist states were created on the territory of occupied Yugoslavia.

Invasion of the USSR

All previous stages of World War II paled in scale compared to the operation that Germany was preparing to carry out in the USSR. War with the Soviet Union was only a matter of time. The invasion began exactly after the Third Reich occupied most Europe and got the opportunity to concentrate all its forces on the Eastern Front.

Wehrmacht units crossed the Soviet border on June 22, 1941. For our country, this date became the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Until the last moment, the Kremlin did not believe in the German attack. Stalin refused to take intelligence data seriously, considering it disinformation. As a result, the Red Army was completely unprepared for Operation Barbarossa. In the first days, airfields and other strategic infrastructure in the western Soviet Union were bombed without hindrance.

The USSR in World War II faced another German plan blitzkrieg. In Berlin they were planning to capture the main Soviet cities European part of the country. For the first months everything went according to Hitler's expectations. Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states were completely occupied. Leningrad was under siege. The course of World War II brought the conflict to a key point. If Germany had defeated the Soviet Union, it would have had no opponents left except overseas Great Britain.

The winter of 1941 was approaching. The Germans found themselves in the vicinity of Moscow. They stopped on the outskirts of the capital. On November 7, a festive parade was held dedicated to the next anniversary of the October Revolution. Soldiers went straight from Red Square to the front. The Wehrmacht was stuck several tens of kilometers from Moscow. The German soldiers were demoralized by the harsh winter and the most difficult battle conditions. On December 5, the Soviet counteroffensive began. By the end of the year, the Germans were driven back from Moscow. The previous stages of World War II were characterized by the total advantage of the Wehrmacht. Now the army of the Third Reich stopped for the first time in its global expansion. The Battle of Moscow became the turning point of the war.

Japanese attack on the USA

Until the end of 1941, Japan remained neutral in the European conflict, while at the same time fighting China. At a certain point, the country's leadership faced a strategic choice: to attack the USSR or the USA. The choice was made in favor of the American version. On December 7, Japanese aircraft attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. As a result of the raid, almost all American battleships and, in general, a significant part of the American Pacific fleet were destroyed.

Until this moment, the United States had not openly participated in World War II. When the situation in Europe changed in favor of Germany, the American authorities began to support Great Britain with resources, but did not interfere in the conflict itself. Now the situation has changed 180 degrees, since Japan was an ally of Germany. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Washington declared war on Tokyo. Great Britain and its dominions did the same. A few days later, Germany, Italy and their European satellites declared war on the United States. This is how the contours of the alliances that faced head-to-head confrontation in the second half of World War II were finally formed. The USSR had been at war for several months and also joined the anti-Hitler coalition.

In the new year of 1942, the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, where they began to capture island after island without much difficulty. At the same time, the offensive in Burma was developing. By the summer of 1942 Japanese forces controlled all Southeast Asia and a large part of Oceania. The United States in World War II changed the situation in the Pacific theater of operations somewhat later.

USSR counter-offensive

In 1942, the Second World War, the table of events of which usually includes basic information, was at its key stage. The forces of the opposing alliances were approximately equal. The turning point occurred towards the end of 1942. In the summer, the Germans launched another offensive in the USSR. This time their key target was the south of the country. Berlin wanted to cut off Moscow from oil and other resources. To do this, it was necessary to cross the Volga.

In November 1942, the whole world anxiously awaited news from Stalingrad. Soviet counteroffensive on the banks of the Volga led to the fact that the strategic initiative has since finally ended up with the USSR. There was no bloodier or larger-scale battle in World War II than the Battle of Stalingrad. Total losses both sides exceeded two million people. At the cost of incredible efforts, the Red Army stopped the Axis advance on the Eastern Front.

The next strategically important success of the Soviet troops was the Battle of Kursk in June - July 1943. That summer, the Germans tried for the last time to seize the initiative and launch an attack on Soviet positions. The Wehrmacht's plan failed. The Germans not only did not achieve success, but also abandoned many cities in central Russia (Orel, Belgorod, Kursk), while following the “scorched earth tactics.” All tank battles The Second World War was notable for its bloodshed, but the largest was the Battle of Prokhorovka. It was the key episode of the whole Battle of Kursk. By the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, Soviet troops liberated the south of the USSR and reached the borders of Romania.

Allied landings in Italy and Normandy

In May 1943, the Allies cleared the Italians from North Africa. The British fleet began to control the entire Mediterranean Sea. Earlier periods of World War II were characterized by Axis successes. Now the situation has become exactly the opposite.

In July 1943, American, British and French troops landed in Sicily, and in September - on the Apennine Peninsula. The Italian government renounced Mussolini and within a few days signed a truce with the advancing opponents. The dictator, however, managed to escape. Thanks to the help of the Germans, he created the puppet republic of Salo in the industrial north of Italy. The British, French, Americans and local partisans gradually conquered more and more cities. On June 4, 1944, they entered Rome.

Exactly two days later, on the 6th, the Allies landed in Normandy. So the second or Western Front, as a result of which the Second World War was ended (the table shows this event). In August, a similar landing began in the south of France. On August 25, the Germans finally left Paris. By the end of 1944 the front had stabilized. The main battles took place in the Belgian Ardennes, where each side made, for the time being, unsuccessful attempts to develop its own offensive.

On February 9, as a result of the Colmar operation, the German army stationed in Alsace was surrounded. The Allies managed to break through the defensive Siegfried Line and reach the German border. In March, after the Meuse-Rhine operation, the Third Reich lost territories beyond the western bank of the Rhine. In April, the Allies took control of the Ruhr industrial region. At the same time, the offensive continued in Northern Italy. On April 28, 1945 he fell into the hands of Italian partisans and was executed.

Capture of Berlin

In opening a second front, the Western Allies coordinated their actions with the Soviet Union. In the summer of 1944, the Red Army began to attack. Already in the fall, the Germans lost control over the remnants of their possessions in the USSR (with the exception of a small enclave in western Latvia).

In August, Romania, which had previously acted as a satellite of the Third Reich, withdrew from the war. Soon the authorities of Bulgaria and Finland did the same. The Germans began to hastily evacuate from the territory of Greece and Yugoslavia. In February 1945, the Red Army carried out the Budapest operation and liberated Hungary.

The route of Soviet troops to Berlin ran through Poland. Together with her, the Germans left East Prussia. The Berlin operation began at the end of April. Hitler, realizing his own defeat, committed suicide. On May 7, the act of German surrender was signed, which came into force on the night of the 8th to the 9th.

Defeat of the Japanese

Although the war ended in Europe, bloodshed continued in Asia and the Pacific. The last force to resist the Allies was Japan. In June the empire lost control of Indonesia. In July, Great Britain, the United States and China presented her with an ultimatum, which, however, was rejected.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These cases were the only ones in human history when nuclear weapons were used for combat purposes. On August 8, the Soviet offensive began in Manchuria. The Japanese Surrender Act was signed on September 2, 1945. This ended the Second World War.

Losses

Research is still being conducted on how many people suffered and how many died in World War II. On average, the number of lives lost is estimated at 55 million (of which 26 million were Soviet citizens). The financial damage amounted to $4 trillion, although it is hardly possible to calculate exact figures.

Europe was hit hardest. Its industry and Agriculture were restored for many years. How many died in World War II and how many were destroyed became clear only after some time, when the world community was able to clarify the facts about Nazi crimes against humanity.

The largest bloodshed in human history was carried out using completely new methods. Entire cities were destroyed by bombing, and centuries-old infrastructure was destroyed in a few minutes. World War II genocide perpetrated by the Third Reich against Jews, Gypsies and Slavic population, horrifies in its details to this day. German concentration camps became real “death factories,” and German (and Japanese) doctors conducted cruel medical and biological experiments on people.

Results

The results of the Second World War were summed up at Potsdam Conference, held in July - August 1945. Europe was divided between the USSR and the Western allies. IN eastern countries Communist pro-Soviet regimes were established. Germany lost a significant part of its territory. was annexed by the USSR, several more provinces passed to Poland. Germany was first divided into four zones. Then, on their basis, the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany and the socialist GDR emerged. In the east, the USSR received the Japanese-owned Kuril Islands and southern part Sakhalin. The communists came to power in China.

Western European countries lost much of their political influence after World War II. The former dominant position of Great Britain and France was occupied by the United States, which suffered less than others from German aggression. The process of collapse of colonial empires began. In 1945, the United Nations was created to maintain world peace. Ideological and other contradictions between the USSR and Western allies caused the start of the Cold War.