German chronicles 2 world. Chronicles of the Second World War: pre-war period

Part 2

Chronicle of major events during World War II(1939-1945)

Chronicle of war
1941 year

§ May-June 1941 d. There are numerous reports of an imminent German attack.

§ June 22, 1941 g. - At four o'clock in the morning the fascist Germany treacherously attacked the USSR. Operation started" Barbarossa".

started The Great Patriotic War (WWII) - 1941-1945 - the war of the USSR against Nazi Germany and its allies.

As you know, August 231939 g in the Kremlin Germany and USSR concluded Non-aggression pact.
The Soviet Union was able to strengthen its defense capability for almost two years. However, by the beginning of the war, the western border districts did not have time to complete preparations on the new borders and fully bring the troops to combat readiness. Miscalculations also played a role in assessing the possible time of the attack ...
Muscovites listen to the message about the beginning of the war

June, 22 issued a Decree on the mobilization of those liable for military service born in 1905-1918.
British Prime Minister W. Churchill makes a statement promising to assist the USSR in the fight against German aggression.

§ 24 June President of the United States F.D. Roosevelt makes a statement about rendering assistance to the USSR and a credit to the USSR in the amount of 40 million dollars.

§ June 1941 g. - enter the war against the USSR Romania, Italy, Finland, Hungary.

§ July 10 - September 10, 1941 - Smolensk battle. Operations of the Soviet troops of the Western, Central and Bryansk fronts, which stopped the offensive of the German Army Group Center.

By the end first decade of July German troops take over Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, part of Ukraine, Moldova and Estonia. The forces of the Soviet Western Front were defeated in the Battle of Belostok-Minsk.

§ July 10, 1941 – Beginning Defense of Leningrad.

The Soviet Northwestern Front was defeated in a border battle and driven back. However, the Soviet counterattack near Soltsy on July 14-18 led to the suspension of the German offensive on Leningrad for almost 3 weeks.
§ July-September - Heroic defense of Kyiv.

§ August 5 - October 16 - Heroic defense of Odessa.
On September 4, the Chief of Staff of the German Armed Forces, General Jodl, receives from Marshal Mannerheim refusal advance further on Leningrad.
8 September, with the capture of Shlisselburg, German troops take Leningrad in the ring.

The beginning of the blockade of Leningrad(lasted until January 1944).

September 1941 near Smolensk

§ September 30th - The beginning of the battle for Moscow. Since October 2, the German offensive has been developing (operation " Typhoon"), which then slows down.

§ October 7, 1941 - Encirclement of four Soviet armies Western and Reserve Fronts near Vyazma and two armies of the Bryansk Front south of Bryansk.

§ November 15, 1941 - Beginning of the second German offensive against Moscow.

§ November 22, 1941 - Opening of the ice trails across Lake Ladoga to Leningrad ("road of life").

§ November 29, 1941 - As a result of the Rostov operation, the city was liberated Rostov-on-Don

§ 5-6 December 1941 The defeat of the Nazi troops near Moscow.

December 7, 1941 d Without declaring war, the Japanese attacked the naval base USA at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. A day later, the US declared war on Japan. Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

§ December 1941 - The number of Soviet prisoners of war reaches 2 million people.

1942

January 1, 1942 years in Washington USSR, USA, UK and China signed Declaration of the United Nations, laying the foundation for the Anti-Hitler Coalition. Later, 22 more countries joined it.

§ May 30, 1942 - Creation of the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

§ June 11, 1942 - Signing in Washington of an agreement between the USSR and the USA on mutual assistance during the war and on cooperation after the war.

§ July 17-November 18, 1942 - Defensive period Battle of Stalingrad.

§ August, 26th - The appointment of G.K. Zhukov Deputy Supreme Commander.

§ November 1942 - General von Paulus' 6th Army takes possession most of Stalingrad, however, she never managed to cross the Volga. In Stalingrad, there was a battle for every house

§ November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943 - counteroffensive Soviet troops of the Southwestern, Stalingrad and Don fronts.

§ November 23, 1942 d. In the area of ​​the city of Kalach, units of the Southwestern Front (commanded by General N.F. Vatutin) met with units of Stalingrad (commanded by General A.I. Eremenko). Completion encirclement of the 330,000th German group near Stalingrad.
§ December 1942 - The failure of the counter-offensive of the German units of Field Marshal Manstein to liberate the encircled Paulus group near Stalingrad.

Paulus testifies


In captivity, the field marshal began to criticize the Nazi regime. Subsequently, he appeared as a witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials.

December 2nd- In Chicago began to act world's first nuclear reactor. One of its creators was a physicist who emigrated from Italy. Enrico Fermi.
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Photo collage: Clockwise starting from the top left corner
- Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft in the sky over Berlin, German Tiger tank in the Battle of Kursk, German Ju 87 bombers (winter 1943-1944), execution of Soviet Jews by soldiers of the Einsatzgruppe, Wilhelm Keitel signs the act of surrender of Germany, Soviet troops in the battle for Stalingrad .

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1943

January 14 A conference was opened in Casablanca with the participation of Roosevelt and Churchill. They decided on joint actions and planned major operations in North Africa.

§ January 1943 - The retreat of the German armies in the Caucasus.

§ January 1943 - Troops of the Don Front under the command of General Rokosovsky launched Operation "Ring" with the aim of completely defeating the encircled 6th German army of Paulus.

§ January 12-18, 1943 G. - Partial breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad after the capture of Shlisselburg by Soviet troops.

§ January 31-February 2, 1943 G. - Surrender of Field Marshal Paulus near Stalingrad. 91 thousand soldiers, 24 generals and 2500 officers were taken prisoner.

§ February 1943 - Soviet troops take Kursk, Rostov and Kharkov.

April 19 - Beginning uprisings in the Warsaw ghetto. During the suppression of the uprising, more than 56 thousand Jews were killed.

§ May 6, 1943 – Beginning of formation 1st Polish division them. Kosciuszko on the territory of the USSR.

§ July 12, 1943 - Biggest tank battle World War II in the village area Prokhorovka.

§ July 12-August 23, 1943 - Soviet counteroffensive Bryansk, Western, Central, Voronezh and Steppe fronts in the Battle of Kursk. After the Battle of Kursk, final change of situation on the Soviet-German front.

§ August 3 - November 1, 1943 - "Rail war": a powerful blow by Soviet partisans on the enemy's railway communications.

§ August 5, 1943 - First fireworks in Moscow in honor of the victories of the Red Army - liberation Orel and Belgorod.

§ October 19 - Moscow conference Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Great Britain, USA

§ November 28-December 1, 1943 - Tehran Conference of the Heads of Government of the USSR, Great Britain and the USA (Stalin-Churchill-Roosevelt).

Resolved a number of issues of war and peace:
The exact date for the opening of the Second Front by the Allies in France has been set
After a long debate the problem of "Overlord" (Second Front) was at an impasse. Then Stalin got up from his chair and, turning to Voroshilov and Molotov, said: “We have too much to do at home to waste time here. Nothing worthwhile, as I see it, does not work. The critical moment has come. Churchill understood this and, fearing that the conference might be disrupted, he compromised.
About borders.
Was taken W. Churchill's proposal that Poland's claims to the lands of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine would be satisfied at the expense of Germany, and as a border in the east should be Curzon line.
De facto assigned to the Soviet Union the right to as an indemnity attach after winning part East Prussia.

1944

§ January 14 - March 1, 1944 - The defeat of the Nazi troops near Leningrad and Novgorod.

§ January 24-February 17 - Korsun-Shevchenko operation of the Soviet troops: encirclement and the defeat of the divisions of the Army Group "South".

§ January 27, 1944 G. - The final liquidation of the blockade of Leningrad.
Salute from the cruiser Kirov in honor of the lifting of the blockade


Baltic sailors with the girl Lyusya, whose parents died in the blockade

§ February - March 1944 Spring offensive of the Soviet troops. Red Army liberated right-bank Ukraine, crossed the Dnieper and Prut.

§ March 26, 1944 G. - Exit of Soviet troops to the state border of the USSR along the river Rod.

June 6, 1944- Allied landings in Normandy. Opening of the Second Front.

§ June 23-August 29 - The offensive of the Soviet troops in Belarus (Operation "Bagration").
Katyusha

Start Warsaw Uprising, headed by General of the Polish Army Tadeusz Bor-Kraevsky. The hopes of the rebels for support from the USSR and Great Britain did not materialize.

§ September 8 - Entry of Soviet troops to Bulgaria.
Rally in Bulgaria

§ September-October 1944 Liberation Transcarpathian Ukraine

§ 28 September-20 October 1944 - Liberation of Belgrade units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia under the leadership of Tito and Soviet units.

§ October 9-18 1944- Meeting of Stalin and Churchill in Moscow. Distribution of zones of influence in the Danubian countries of Europe and the Balkans. To the zone of interests of the Soviet Union were to withdraw: 90% of Romania, 75% of Bulgaria, 50% of Yugoslavia and Hungary, 10% of Greece.

§ October 29, 1944 - February 13, 1945 - The offensive of the Soviet troops in Hungary. Budapest operation to eliminate the enemy grouping.

§ November 14, 1944 - "Prague Manifesto": General A. Vlasov, who was captured in 1942, calls for a fight against "Stalin's tyranny" and forms parts of the Russian Liberation Army.
1945

§ January 12-February 3, 1945 - Vistula-Oder operation(in Prussia, Poland and Silesia).

January 27, 1945
Red Army liberated Auschwitz concentration camp(Auschwitz).
By the time of liberation there were about 7 thousand prisoners. Auschwitz has become a symbol of the atrocities of fascism. The number of prisoners in this camp exceeded 1 300 000 Human. 900 thousand were shot or sent to the gas chambers. Another 200 thousand died due to disease, hunger, inhuman treatment.
Liberation Soviet soldiers of the surviving prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Above the gate is the famous sign " Arbeit macht fry“Work sets you free.”

§ January 30-April 9, 1945 - The defeat of the German group in Koenigsberg troops 3rd Belorussian Front.

§ 4-11 February 1945 G. - Yalta (Crimean) Conference,Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill participate. Discussed questions: occupation of Germany, moving the borders of Poland, organization of elections in Eastern Europe, UN conference, entry of the USSR into the war with Japan.
The decisions taken at the Yalta Conference determined the course of post-war history for a long time.

§ February 10-April 4, 1945 - East Pomeranian operation of the 2nd and 1st Belorussian fronts.

February 13-14 - Allied aviation bombed attacks on Dresden. The death toll, according to various sources, ranges from 60,000 to 245,000.

12th of April US President Franklin Roosevelt dies. His successor was Harry Truman.

§ April 16 - May 8, 1945 G. - Berlin operation 1st, 2nd Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts.

The released child prisoners of Buchenwald leave the main gate of the camp, accompanied by American soldiers. 04/17/1945 Buchenwald.

§ 25th of April 1945 - Meeting of Soviet and American troops in Torgau (on the river Elbe). Encirclement of Berlin by Soviet troops.


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§ May 2, 1945 G. - Completion of the defeat of the encircled Berlin group Nazi troops troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts.

§ May 2, 1945 - Capitulation of Berlin

§ May 8-9, 1945 - The signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst. All parts of the Wehrmacht were ordered to stop hostilities in 23.01 according to Central European time.

Having won a military victory over Germany, The Soviet Union made a decisive contribution in the defeat of Nazism in Europe.
Salute of Victory

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June 5- The victorious powers assumed complete power in Germany. The country was divided into four zones. Berlin - into four sectors.

§ June 6, 1945 G. - Quadripartite Berlin Declaration on the management of Germany (signed by the USA, Great Britain, France and the USSR).
Meeting of the winners

§ June 24, 1945 - Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow.

§ June 29, 1945 - Treaty of the USSR and Czechoslovakia on reunification Transcarpathian Ukraine with the Ukrainian SSR.

§ July 17-August 2, 1945 - Berlin (Potsdam) Conference in which they participate Stalin, Truman and Churchill (later Attlee).

Among the issues discussed: reparations, the device and the new borders of Germany.
The objectives of the occupation of Germany by the Allies proclaimed its demilitarization, democratization and decentralization.

By decision Potsdam Conference Germany's eastern borders were moved to the west to the line Oder-Neisse, which reduced its territory by 25% compared to 1937. The territories east of the new frontier consisted of East Prussia, Silesia, West Prussia, and parts of Pomerania.

Most of the territories taken away from Germany became part of Poland. Part the USSR together with Königsberg(was renamed Kaliningrad) included one third East Prussia, where the Königsberg (from March 1946 - Kaliningrad) region was created RSFSR.

In the east of the pre-war territory of Poland, the Poles were a national minority among Ukrainians and Belarusians. Until 1939, the eastern border of Poland was practically under Kyiv and Minsk, and the Poles also owned the Vilna region, which is now part of Lithuania. the USSR got western border with Poland on Curzon lines", established in 1920.

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In the US, in the New Mexico desert, the world's first nuclear test.

On August 9, the US dropped atomic bomb on Nagasaki. More than 36 thousand people died.

§ August 9-September 2, 1945 - Manchurian operation to defeat the Kwantung (Japanese) army.

§ 11-25 August - Yuzhno-Sakhalinskaya offensive operation of the 2nd Far Eastern Front and the Pacific Fleet.

§ August 18 - September 1 - Kuril landing operation of the 2nd Far Eastern Front and the Pacific Fleet.
Port Arthur

In Tokyo bay aboard the USS Missouri Japanese representatives signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender.
USSR in fact returned to its territory, annexed by Japan from the Russian Empire at the end of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 years at the end of the Portsmouth Peace ( southern Sakhalin and, temporarily, Kwantung with Port Arthur and Dalniy), as well as previously ceded to Japan in 1875, the main group of the Kuril Islands.

End of World War II!!!


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Nuremberg Trials- international litigation over the former leaders of Nazi Germany. Passed from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946 in Nuremberg.

Accusations: Unleashing a war by Germany, genocide, mass extermination of people in "death factories", murders and ill-treatment of civilians in the occupied territories, inhuman treatment of prisoners of war.
The process was named process about the main war criminals, and the court was given the status military tribunal.

The International Military Tribunal sentenced:

To death by hanging: Hermann Goering, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, ... Martin Bormann (in absentia) and Alfred Jodl.
goering

To life imprisonment Story by: Rudolf Hess, Walter Funk and Erich Raeder.

The death sentences were carried out on the night of October 16, 1946. Their ashes were scattered from the plane into the wind. goering poisoned himself in prison shortly before his execution. It is believed that he received a poison capsule from his wife during the last date with a kiss.
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The results of the war

The Second World War had a huge impact on the fate of mankind. 72 states participated in it. Military operations were conducted on the territory of 40 states. 110 million people were mobilized. The loss of life has reached 60-65 million people, of which killed on the fronts 27 million people, many of them citizens of the USSR. Suffered heavy losses China, Germany, Japan and Poland.

It should be noted that 70-90% of the losses during the entire Second World War, the German armed forces suffered on the Soviet front. On the Eastern Front, in the struggle against the USSR, during the war, German troops lost 507 divisions, 100 divisions of Germany's allies were completely defeated.

The war showed the inability of Western European countries to support colonial empires. Some countries have achieved independence: Ethiopia, Iceland, Syria, Lebanon, Vietnam, Indonesia.
A political map of the World has undergone significant territorial changes.

In the countries of Eastern Europe, occupied by Soviet troops were established socialist regimes. Was created United Nations.

Fascist and Nazi ideologies were recognized as criminal on Nuremberg Trials. In many countries, support for the communist parties grew due to their active participation in the anti-fascist struggle during the war.

But Europe was divided into two camps: west capitalist and Oriental socialist. Relations between the two blocs worsened, and cold war...
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Happy Victory Day!!!
And peace to all of us!!
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Photos of World War II and the Great Patriotic War (1939-1945) by topic
http://waralbum.ru/catalog/
Cycle "Chronicles of World War II"20 parts
http://fototelegraf.ru/?tag=ww2-chronics
The Second World War in 108 photos:
http://www.rosphoto.com/best-of-the-best/vtoraya_mirovaya_voyna-2589

August 23, 1939.
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression pact and a secret annex to it, according to which Europe is divided into spheres of influence.

September 1, 1939.
Germany invades Poland, starting World War II in Europe.

September 3, 1939.
Fulfilling their obligations to Poland, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.

September 27-29, 1939.
September 27 Warsaw surrenders. The Polish government goes into exile through Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them.

November 30, 1939 - March 12, 1940
The Soviet Union attacks Finland, unleashing the so-called Winter War. The Finns ask for a truce and are forced to cede the Karelian Isthmus and the northern shore of Lake Ladoga to the Soviet Union.

April 9 - June 9, 1940.
Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders on the day of the attack; Norway resists until 9 June.

May 10 - June 22, 1940.
Germany invades Western Europe - France and the neutral Benelux countries. Luxembourg occupied 10 May; The Netherlands surrenders on 14 May; Belgium - 28 May. June 22, France signs an armistice agreement, according to which German troops occupy the northern part of the country and the entire Atlantic coast. In the southern part of France, a collaborationist regime is established with the capital in the city of Vichy.

June 28, 1940.
The USSR is forcing Romania to cede the eastern region of Bessarabia and the northern half of Bukovina to Soviet Ukraine.

June 14 - August 6, 1940.
On June 14-18, the Soviet Union occupies the Baltic states, arranges a communist coup in each of them on July 14-15, and then, on August 3-6, annexes them as Soviet republics.

July 10 - October 31, 1940.
The air war against England, known as the Battle of Britain, ends with the defeat of Nazi Germany.

August 30, 1940.
Second Vienna Arbitration: Germany and Italy decide to divide disputed Transylvania between Romania and Hungary. The loss of northern Transylvania leads to the fact that the Romanian king Carol II abdicates in favor of his son Mihai, and the dictatorial regime of General Ion Antonescu comes to power.

September 13, 1940.
The Italians are attacking British-controlled Egypt from their own-ruled Libya.

November 1940.
Slovakia (November 23), Hungary (November 20) and Romania (November 22) join the German coalition.

February 1941.
Germany sends its Afrika Korps to North Africa to support the indecisive Italians.

April 6 - June 1941.
Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria invade Yugoslavia and divide it. April 17 Yugoslavia capitulates. Germany and Bulgaria attack Greece, helping the Italians. Greece ceases resistance in early June 1941.

April 10, 1941.
The leaders of the Ustaše terrorist movement proclaim the so-called Independent State of Croatia. Immediately recognized by Germany and Italy, the new state also includes Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia officially joins the Axis states on 15 June 1941.

June 22 - November 1941.
Nazi Germany and its allies (with the exception of Bulgaria) attack the Soviet Union. Finland, seeking to regain territories lost during the Winter War, joins the Axis just before the invasion. The Germans quickly captured the Baltic states and by September, with the support of the joined Finns, besieged Leningrad (St. Petersburg). On the central front, German troops occupied Smolensk in early August and approached Moscow by October. In the south, German and Romanian troops capture Kyiv in September, and Rostov-on-Don in November.

December 6, 1941.
The counteroffensive launched by the Soviet Union forces the Nazis to retreat from Moscow in disorder.

December 8, 1941.
The United States declares war on Japan and enters World War II. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina and Singapore were occupied by the Japanese.

December 11-13, 1941.
Nazi Germany and its allies declare war on the United States.

May 30, 1942 - May 1945
The British bomb Cologne, thus for the first time transferring hostilities to the territory of Germany itself. In the next three years, Anglo-American aviation almost completely destroys the major cities of Germany.

June 1942
British and American navies stop the advance of the Japanese fleet in the central Pacific near the Midway Islands.

June 28 - September 1942
Germany and its allies are undertaking a new offensive in the Soviet Union. By mid-September, German troops make their way to Stalingrad (Volgograd) on the Volga and invade the Caucasus, having previously captured the Crimean Peninsula.

August - November 1942
American troops stop the Japanese advance towards Australia at the Battle of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands).

October 23-24, 1942.
The British army defeats Germany and Italy at the Battle of El Alamein (Egypt), forcing the troops of the fascist bloc into a disorderly retreat through Libya to the eastern border of Tunisia.

November 8, 1942.
American and British troops land at several locations along the coast of Algiers and Morocco in French North Africa. An unsuccessful attempt by the Vichy French army to thwart the invasion allows the Allies to quickly reach the western border of Tunisia and results in Germany occupying southern France on 11 November.

November 23, 1942 - February 2, 1943
The Soviet army counterattacks, breaks through the lines of the Hungarian and Romanian troops north and south of Stalingrad and blocks the German Sixth Army in the city. The remnants of the Sixth Army, which Hitler forbade to retreat or try to break out of the encirclement, capitulate on January 30 and February 2, 1943.

May 13, 1943.
Fascist bloc troops in Tunisia surrender to the Allies, ending the North African campaign.

July 10, 1943.
American and British troops land in Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies take control of Sicily.

July 5, 1943.
German troops are undertaking a massive tank attack near Kursk. The Soviet army repels the attack for a week, and then goes on the offensive.

July 25, 1943.
The Grand Council of the Italian Fascist Party deposes Benito Mussolini and instructs Marshal Pietro Badoglio to form a new government.

September 8, 1943.
The Badoglio government surrenders unconditionally to the Allies. Germany immediately seizes control of Rome and northern Italy, installing a puppet regime led by Mussolini, who was released from prison by a German sabotage squad on September 12.

March 19, 1944.
Anticipating Hungary's intention to withdraw from the Axis coalition, Germany occupies Hungary and forces its ruler, Admiral Miklós Horthy, to appoint a pro-German prime minister.

June 4, 1944.
Allied troops liberate Rome. Anglo-American bombers hit targets located in eastern Germany for the first time; this goes on for six weeks.

June 6, 1944.
British and American troops successfully land on the coast of Normandy (France), opening a Second Front against Germany.

June 22, 1944.
Soviet troops begin a massive offensive in Belarus (Belarus), destroying the German army of the Center group, and by August 1 they are heading west, to the Vistula and Warsaw (central Poland).

July 25, 1944.
The Anglo-American army breaks out of the bridgehead in Normandy and moves east towards Paris.

August 1 - October 5, 1944.
The Polish anti-communist Craiova Army raises an uprising against the German regime, trying to liberate Warsaw before the arrival of the Soviet troops. The advance of the Soviet army is suspended on the eastern bank of the Vistula. On October 5, the remnants of the Home Army that fought in Warsaw surrender to the Germans.

August 15, 1944.
Allied forces land in southern France near Nice and move rapidly northeast towards the Rhine.

August 20-25, 1944.
Allied troops reach Paris. On August 25, the Free French Army, supported by the Allied Forces, enters Paris. By September the Allies reach the German frontier; by December, virtually all of France, most of Belgium, and part of the southern Netherlands are liberated.

August 23, 1944.
The appearance of the Soviet army on the Prut River prompts the Romanian opposition to overthrow the Antonescu regime. The new government concludes a truce and immediately goes over to the side of the Allies. This turn of Romanian policy forces Bulgaria to surrender on September 8, and Germany to leave the territory of Greece, Albania and southern Yugoslavia in October.

August 29 - October 27, 1944.
Underground detachments of the Slovak Resistance, led by the Slovak National Council, which includes both communists and anti-communists, raise an uprising against the German authorities and the local fascist regime. On October 27, the Germans capture the city of Banska Bistrica, where the headquarters of the rebels is located, and suppress organized resistance.

September 12, 1944.
Finland concludes a truce with the Soviet Union and withdraws from the Axis coalition.

October 15, 1944.
The Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross party carries out a pro-German coup d'état to prevent the Hungarian government from starting surrender negotiations with the Soviet Union.

December 16, 1944.
Germany launches a final offensive on the western front, known as the Battle of the Bulge, in an attempt to retake Belgium and split the Allied forces stationed along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans were forced to retreat.

January 12, 1945.
The Soviet army undertakes a new offensive: in January it liberates Warsaw and Krakow; February 13, after a two-month siege, captures Budapest; in early April, he expels Germans and Hungarian collaborators from Hungary; having taken Bratislava on April 4, he forces Slovakia to capitulate; April 13 enters Vienna.

April 1945.
Partisan units led by Yugoslav communist leader Josip Broz Tito capture Zagreb and overthrow the Ustashe regime. The leaders of the Ustaše party flee to Italy and Austria.

May 1945.
Allied forces capture Okinawa, the last island on the way to the Japanese archipelago.

September 2, 1945.
Japan, which agreed to the terms of unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, officially capitulates, thereby putting an end to World War II.

At the end of the Second World War, vast territories of Europe and Asia lay in ruins, people returned home, buried the dead and began to rebuild the destroyed cities. When World War II began in the late 1930s, the world's population was approximately 2 billion. In less than ten years of war between the allied forces and the countries of the fascist bloc, a total of 80 million people, or 4% of the entire population of the planet, were killed. Over time, the allied forces turned into invaders who occupied Germany, Japan and most of the territories under their control. War crimes cases were heard in Europe and Asia, followed by numerous executions and imprisonments. Millions of Germans and Japanese were forcibly evicted from the regions they considered their home.

The occupation by the Allied forces and some decisions of the UN led to certain consequences in the future, including the division of Germany into East and West, as well as the formation of North and South Korea and the start of the Korean War in 1950. Thanks to the UN plan for the partition of Palestine in 1948, Israel proclaimed itself an independent state, but the Arab-Israeli conflict broke out. Increasing tension between the West and the countries of the Soviet bloc resulted in the Cold War. In connection with the development and proliferation of nuclear weapons, a real threat of World War III loomed if the parties could not find a common language. The Second World War was the most significant event of the 20th century, and its consequences continue to influence the modern world even after 65 years. (45 photos) (This is the final part of the cycle. See all parts: )

Between the end of 1940 and the summer of 1941, the conflict between states escalated into a real world war. In Africa, the East African Campaign began, as did the Western Desert Campaign. Mostly Italian and British troops fought in the deserts of Egypt and Libya in the territory from Ethiopia to Kenya. Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin - an agreement on cooperation between three states. The Japanese army occupied Vietnam, established its bases in French Indochina, and continued its advance into China. Mussolini ordered his troops to launch an offensive against Greece, initiating the Italo-Greek War and the Balkan Campaign. At the same time, the Battle of Britain continued. The forces of Germany and Great Britain delivered air strikes to each other and participated in naval battles. The United States accepted the lend-lease program and handed over military equipment and ammunition worth about $50 billion to the anti-Hitler coalition forces. A new tragic stage began in the history of World War II: the Nazis founded ghettos in Warsaw and other Polish cities, and forced all the Jews of the area to move there.

In the CIS countries, the war on the Eastern European front, which has become the site of the largest military confrontation in the world, is called the Great Patriotic War. Over 400 military formations of the German and Red Army fought for 4 years on the front, which stretched over more than 1600 km. During these years, about 8 million Soviet and 4 million German soldiers laid down their lives on the East European front. The hostilities were especially fierce: the largest tank battle in history (Battle of Kursk), the longest siege of the city (almost 900-day siege of Leningrad), the scorched earth policy, the complete destruction of thousands of villages, mass deportations, executions ... The situation was complicated by the fact that inside the Soviet the armed forces were split. At the beginning of the war, some groups even recognized the Nazi invaders as liberators from Stalin's regime and fought against the Red Army. After a series of defeats for the Red Army, Stalin issued order No. 227 "Not a step back!" Forbidding Soviet soldiers to retreat without an order. In case of disobedience of the military leaders, a tribunal awaited, and the soldiers could immediately receive punishment from their colleagues, who were supposed to shoot at everyone who ran from the battlefield. This collection contains photographs of 1942-1943, covering the period of the Great Patriotic War from the blockade of Leningrad to decisive Soviet victories at Stalingrad and Kursk. The scale of the hostilities of that time is almost impossible to imagine, and even more so to cover in one photo essay, but we offer you pictures that have preserved for posterity the scenes of hostilities on the Eastern European front.

Soviet soldiers go into battle through the ruins of Stalingrad, autumn 1942. (Georgy Zelma/Waralbum.ru)

The detachment commander watches the advance of his troops in the Kharkov region, Ukrainian SSR, June 21, 1942. (AP Photo)

A German anti-tank gun is being prepared for combat on the Soviet front, late 1942. (AP Photo)

Residents of Leningrad collect water during the almost 900-day blockade of the Soviet city by the German invaders, winter 1942. The Germans failed to capture Leningrad, but surrounded it with a blockade ring, damaged communications and shelled the city for more than two years. (AP Photo)

Funeral in Leningrad, spring 1942. As a result of the blockade, famine began in Leningrad, and due to the lack of medicines and equipment, people quickly died from diseases and injuries. During the siege of Leningrad, 1.5 million soldiers and civilians died, the same number of Leningraders were evacuated, but many of them died on the way due to starvation, disease and bombing. (Vsevolod Tarasevich/Waralbum.ru)

The scene after a fierce battle on the streets of Rostov during the occupation of the Soviet city by the German invaders in August 1942. (AP Photo)

German motorized artillery crosses the Don River on a pontoon bridge, July 31, 1942. (AP Photo)

A Soviet woman looks at a burning house, 1942. (NARA)

German soldiers shoot Jews near Ivangorod, Ukrainian SSR, 1942. This photograph was mailed to Germany and intercepted at the post office in Warsaw by a member of the Polish resistance who was collecting evidence of Nazi war crimes. The original photo was taken by Tadeusz Mazur and Jerzy Tomaszewski and is now kept in the Historical Archives in Warsaw. The signature left by the Germans on the back of the photograph: "Ukrainian SSR, 1942, the extermination of Jews, Ivangorod."

A German soldier takes part in the Battle of Stalingrad, spring 1942. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

In 1942, soldiers of the Red Army entered a village near Leningrad and found there 38 bodies of Soviet prisoners of war, tortured to death by the German invaders. (AP Photo)

Soviet war orphans stand near the ruins of their home, late 1942. The German invaders destroyed their house, and their parents were taken prisoner. (AP Photo)

A German armored car drives among the ruins of a Soviet fortress in Sevastopol, Ukrainian SSR, August 4, 1942. (AP Photo)

Stalingrad in October 1942. Soviet soldiers fight on the ruins of the Red October factory. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

Red Army soldiers prepare to fire anti-tank guns at approaching German tanks, October 13, 1942. (AP Photo)

German Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber takes part in the Battle of Stalingrad. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

A German tank drives up to a wrecked Soviet tank on the outskirts of a forest, USSR, October 20, 1942. (AP Photo)

German soldiers go on the offensive near Stalingrad, late 1942. (NARA)

A German soldier hangs a Nazi flag on a building in the center of Stalingrad. (NARA)

The Germans continued to fight for Stalingrad, despite the threat of encirclement by the Soviet army. In the photo: Stuka dive bombers bombard the factory district of Stalingrad, November 24, 1942. (AP Photo)

A horse looks for food in the ruins of Stalingrad, December 1942. (AP Photo)

Tank cemetery organized by the Germans in Rzhev, December 21, 1942. There were about 2,000 tanks in various conditions at the cemetery. (AP Photo

German soldiers walk through the ruins of a gas generating station in Stalingrad's factory district, December 28, 1942. (AP Photo)

Soldiers of the Red Army firing at the enemy from the backyard of an abandoned house on the outskirts of Stalingrad, December 16, 1942. (AP Photo)

Soviet soldiers in winter uniforms took up position on the roof of a building in Stalingrad, January 1943. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

A Soviet T-34 tank rushes through the Square of the Fallen Fighters in Stalingrad, January 1943. (Georgy Zelma/Waralbum.ru)

Soviet soldiers take cover behind barricades made of ruins during a battle with the German occupiers on the outskirts of Stalingrad in early 1943. (AP Photo)

German soldiers advance through the ruined streets of Stalingrad, early 1943. (AP Photo)

Soldiers of the Red Army in camouflage go on the offensive against German positions across a snow-covered field on the German-Soviet front, March 3, 1943. (AP Photo)

Soviet infantrymen walk along the snow-covered hills in the vicinity of Stalingrad to liberate the city from Nazi invaders, early 1943. The Red Army surrounded the 6th Army of Germany, consisting of about 300 thousand German and Romanian soldiers. (AP Photo)

A Soviet soldier guards a captured German soldier, February 1943. After spending several months in the Soviet encirclement in Stalingrad, the German 6th Army capitulated, having lost 200 thousand soldiers in fierce battles and as a result of starvation. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus is interrogated at the headquarters of the Red Army near Stalingrad, USSR, March 1, 1943. Paulus was the first German field marshal to be taken prisoner by the Soviets. Contrary to Hitler's expectations that Paulus would fight to the death (or commit suicide after defeat), in Soviet captivity the field marshal began to criticize the Nazi regime. Subsequently, he appeared as a witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials. (AP Photo)

Red Army soldiers sit in a trench with a Soviet T-34 tank passing over it during the Battle of Kursk in 1943. (Mark Markov-Grinberg/Waralbum.ru)

The bodies of German soldiers lie along the road southwest of Stalingrad, April 14, 1943. (AP Photo)

Soviet soldiers firing at an enemy aircraft, June 1943. (Waralbum.ru)

German Tiger tanks take part in fierce fighting south of Orel during the Battle of Kursk, mid-July 1943. From July to August 1943, the greatest tank battle in history took place in the Kursk region, in which about 3 thousand German and more than 5 thousand Soviet tanks took part. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

German tanks are preparing for a new attack during the Battle of Kursk, July 28, 1943. The German army had been preparing for the offensive for many months, but the Soviets were aware of Germany's plans and developed a powerful defense system. After the defeat of the German troops in the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army maintained superiority until the very end of the war. (AP Photo)

German soldiers walk ahead of a Tiger tank during the Battle of Kursk in June or July 1943. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

Soviet soldiers advancing on German positions in a smoke screen, USSR, July 23, 1943. (AP Photo)

Captured German tanks stand in a field southwest of Stalingrad, April 14, 1943. (AP Photo)

A Soviet lieutenant distributes cigarettes to German prisoners of war near Kursk, July 1943. (Michael Savin/Waralbum.ru)

View of Stalingrad, almost completely destroyed after six months of fierce fighting, at the end of hostilities at the end of 1943. (Michael Savin/Waralbum.ru)

World War II began on September 1, 1939 with the German attack on Poland. In subsequent years, it turned into a war that engulfed states and peoples on all continents.

This war, which ended on September 2, 1945, brought with it the suffering and death of tens of millions of people: 27 million servicemen died on the battlefields, in captivity and concentration camps. In addition, the war claimed the lives of 25 million civilians.

This war radically changed the international situation throughout the world. A new alignment of forces has taken place on the world stage. Not only the losers Germany and Japan, but also Great Britain and France, which are part of the coalition of winners, have largely lost their international significance. The countries of Eastern Europe, liberated by Soviet troops from the fascist yoke, became for a long time satellite countries of the USSR. The increased authority and influence of the United States after the war turned this state into a superpower. Former allies in the fight against fascism - the USSR and the USA - soon after the victory over Germany again found themselves on opposite sides of the barricades, starting a "cold war" that lasted almost 50 years.

World War II was a disaster for millions of European Jews. As part of the implementation of their theory of racial superiority and racial purity, the Nazis destroyed 6 million Jews.

We bring to your attention a chronicle review of the most important events of the Second World War.

July 7
Aggressive ruling circles in Japan used the skirmish between Japanese and Chinese soldiers in Beijing as an excuse to start a war with China.

July 15 - August 10
Soviet-Japanese armed conflict in the area of ​​Lake Khasan.

1939

Signing of the pact

The foreign ministries of the USSR and Germany, Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim Ribbentrop, signed a non-aggression pact between the two countries. A secret additional protocol to this treaty predetermined the division of Poland. The way to attack Poland was now clear.

September 28
In Moscow, a Soviet-German treaty of friendship and border was signed, which secured the partition of Poland.

October 12
The first Jews were deported from Germany to Poland. Two weeks later, by order of the Security Police (SS), Jews are required to wear a distinctive yellow star.

1940

March 27
Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, ordered the construction of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

May 10
The invasion of German troops in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Northern France.

Bombed Cathedral in Coventry

German aircraft began bombing Great Britain.

September 27
The conclusion of a military alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan - the Tripartite Pact.

November 2
US President Franklin Roosevelt offered all countries assistance in the fight against aggressors.

In November, there were 350,000 Jews in the ghetto, not only from Poland, but also from other countries occupied by the Nazis.

1941

April 9
British aircraft bombed Berlin. The United States, while maintaining formal neutrality, began deliveries of weapons and military equipment to the UK as part of the "Lend Lease Act" policy.

June 16
The US government has demanded the closure of all German consular offices on its territory.

June, 22
German troops began hostilities against the USSR without declaring war. Germany's allies are Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy and Finland.

July, 12
A Soviet-British agreement was signed on joint actions in the war against Germany.

11 September
The US Navy has been ordered to open fire on German warships if they enter US territorial waters.

5th of December
The beginning of the Soviet counter-offensive near Moscow. In a few weeks, German troops rolled back 250 kilometers. Great Britain declared war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.

December 7
Without a declaration of war, the Japanese attacked the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Pearl Harbor

A day later, the US declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

December 20
Hitler called for donations of warm clothing for German troops on the Eastern Front.

1942

1st of January
In Washington, 26 states signed an agreement pledging not to conclude a separate peace with the members of the Tripartite Pact and their allies.

January 20th
Wannsee Conference in Berlin. High-ranking Nazi officials discussed issues of cooperation in the cause of the "final solution of the Jewish question."

April 24
The German Air Force was ordered to bombard British historical and cultural centers, even if they had no military significance.

December 2nd
The world's first nuclear reactor began operating in Chicago. One of its founders was the physicist Enrico Fermi who emigrated from Italy.

1943

January 14
A conference with the participation of Roosevelt and Churchill opened in Casablanca. The United States and Great Britain decided on joint strategic actions and outlined two major operations in North Africa.

In Stalingrad

Encirclement, defeat and surrender of the Paulus group.

April 19
Beginning of the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto. During the suppression of the uprising, which lasted four weeks, more than 56,000 Jews were killed.

may 13
All German-Italian forces in North Africa were completely surrounded and surrendered to the British.

05 July - 23 August
Battle of Kursk. The largest tank battle in history near Prokhorovka. After the Battle of Kursk there was a final change in the situation on the Soviet-German front.

July 10
The landing of allied troops in Sicily. The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, began looking for contacts among Mussolini's opponents.

July 24
British aircraft began bombarding Hamburg with phosphorus bombs. As a result of air raids, half of the city was destroyed. More than 30 thousand people died.

July 25
The overthrow and arrest of Benito Mussolini. The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, has formed a new government. July 28 in Italy announced the end of the era of fascist dictatorship.

November 28
Beginning of the Tehran Conference, where Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met for the first time.

December 26
Opening of the second Cairo Conference with the participation of Roosevelt and Churchill. Unsuccessful Allied attempts to force Turkey to declare war on Germany.

1944

July 20
A group of senior officers of the Wehrmacht made an unsuccessful attempt on Hitler.

August 1
Beginning of the Warsaw Uprising, led by General of the Polish Army Tadeusz Bor-Krajewski. Hitler issued a decree to raze Warsaw to the ground. The hopes of the rebels for support from the USSR and Great Britain did not materialize.

Warsaw Uprising

During the suppression of the uprising, about 200 thousand Poles were killed. On October 2, the rebels were forced to capitulate.

25-th of August
Romania declared war on Germany. In Paris, the German commandant of the city, General von Choltitz, signed a decree on the surrender of his troops.

October 21
American troops took Aachen. The first major German city was in the hands of the Allies.

1945

January 27
The Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp. By the time of liberation there were about 7 thousand prisoners. Auschwitz was the largest extermination camp and became a symbol of the atrocities of fascism. The number of prisoners in this camp exceeded one million three hundred thousand people. 900,000 were shot or sent to the gas chambers immediately after arriving at the concentration camp. Another 200 thousand died due to disease, hunger, inhuman treatment, barbaric medical experiments.

February 4
Beginning of the Yalta Conference with the participation of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. The allies in the anti-Hitler coalition discussed questions of the post-war structure of Europe and came to an agreement on unity of action in the fight against Japan.

February 13/14
Allied aircraft bombed Dresden. The exact number of deaths is unknown, according to various sources - from 60 to 245 thousand.

12th of April
US President Franklin Roosevelt has died. His successor was Harry Truman.

April 16
Beginning of the Soviet offensive on Berlin. On April 25, the city was completely surrounded. Despite the obvious senselessness of resistance, the SS forced the inhabitants of the city to continue the struggle.

25th of April
Meeting of Soviet and American troops on the Elbe near the city of Torgau.

May 8
The signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst. All units of the Wehrmacht were ordered to cease hostilities at 23.01 CET.

June 5
The victorious powers assumed full power in Germany. The country was divided into four zones. Berlin - into four sectors.

July 16
The world's first nuclear test was conducted in the New Mexico desert in the United States.

July 17th
Beginning of the Potsdam Conference with the participation of Stalin, Truman and Churchill. Consultations on the future structure of Germany.

August 6
The US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Over 100 thousand people died.

August 9
The US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. More than 36 thousand people died.

September 2
In Tokyo Bay, aboard the American battleship Missouri, Japanese representatives signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender.