The most important military-political events of this period were determined by the ever-increasing power of the military-economic potential of the anti-Hitler coalition, the decisive victorious actions of the Soviet Armed Forces and the intensification of the struggle of the Anglo-American allied forces in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, ending with the complete defeat of Nazism.
By the beginning of 1944, Germany's position had deteriorated sharply, and its material and human reserves were depleted. However, the enemy was still strong. The armed forces of Germany and its allies on the Soviet-German front amounted to about 5 million people (236 divisions and 18 brigades), 5.4 thousand tanks and assault guns, up to 55 thousand guns and mortars, more than 3 thousand aircraft. The Wehrmacht command switched to tough positional defense. In the active army of the USSR by 1944 there were over 6.3 million people, there were over 5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, over 95 thousand guns and mortars, 10 thousand aircraft. The production of military equipment in the USSR reached its peak in 1944. Soviet military factories produced 7-8 times more tanks, 6 times more guns, almost 8 times more mortars, and 4 times more aircraft than before the war.
The Supreme High Command set the Red Army the task of clearing Soviet soil of the enemy, beginning to liberate European countries from the occupiers, and ending the war with the complete defeat of the aggressor on its territory. The main content of the winter-spring campaign of 1944 was the implementation of successive strategic operations of the Soviet troops, during which the main forces of the fascist German army groups were defeated and access to the state border was opened. In the spring of 1944, Crimea was cleared of the enemy. As a result of a four-month campaign, the Soviet armed forces liberated 329 thousand square meters. km of Soviet territory, defeated over 170 enemy divisions numbering up to 1 million people.
In these favorable conditions, the Western Allies, after two years of preparation, opened a second front in Europe in northern France. With the support of armed formations of the French Resistance, Anglo-American troops launched an attack on Paris on July 25, 1944, where an armed uprising against the occupiers began on August 19. By the time the troops of the Western Allies arrived, the capital of France was already in the hands of patriots. At the same time (from August 15 to 19, 1944), Anglo-American troops consisting of 7 divisions landed in the area of Cannes in the south of France, where, without encountering serious resistance, they quickly advanced into the interior of the country. However, the Wehrmacht command in the fall of 1944 managed to avoid encirclement of its troops and withdraw part of its forces to the western border of Germany. Moreover, on December 16, 1944, having launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes, German troops inflicted a serious defeat on the 1st American army, putting the entire Anglo-American grouping of forces in Western Europe in a difficult situation.
Continuing to develop the strategic initiative, Soviet troops in the summer of 1944 launched a powerful offensive in Karelia, Belarus, Western Ukraine and Moldova. As a result of the advance of Soviet troops in the north, on September 19, Finland, having signed an armistice with the USSR, withdrew from the war, and on March 4, 1945 declared war on Germany.
Victories of the Soviet troops in south direction in the fall of 1944 they helped the Bulgarian, Hungarian, Yugoslav and Czechoslovak peoples in their liberation from fascism. On September 9, 1944, the government of the Fatherland Front came to power in Bulgaria and declared war on Germany. In September-October, Soviet troops liberated part of Czechoslovakia and supported the Slovak National Uprising. Subsequently, the Soviet Army, together with the troops of Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, continued the offensive with the aim of liberating Hungary and Yugoslavia.
"Liberation campaign" of the Red Army in the countries of Eastern Europe, which unfolded in 1944, could not but cause an aggravation of geopolitical contradictions between the USSR and its Western allies. And if the American administration was sympathetic to the USSR’s aspirations to “establish a positive sphere of influence over its western neighbors,” then British Prime Minister W. Churchill was extremely concerned about the strengthening of Soviet influence in this region.
The British Prime Minister undertook a trip to Moscow (October 9-18, 1944), where he held negotiations with Stalin. During his visit, Churchill proposed concluding an Anglo-Soviet agreement on the mutual division of spheres of influence in the countries of South-Eastern Europe, which found support from Stalin. However, despite the compromise reached, it was never possible to sign this document, since the American Ambassador to Moscow A. Harriman opposed the conclusion of such an agreement. At the same time, the "gentleman's" secret agreement between Stalin and Churchill on the division of spheres of influence in the Balkans played an important role, as evidenced by the further course of events in this region.
During the winter campaign of 1945, further coordination of military actions of the armed forces of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition was developed.
In early April, Western Allied forces successfully encircled and then captured about 19 enemy divisions in the Ruhr region. After this operation, Nazi resistance on the Western Front was practically broken.
On May 2, 1945, the troops of the German Army Group C in Italy capitulated, and a day later (May 4) an act of surrender of the German armed forces in Holland, North-West Germany and Denmark was signed.
In January - early April 1945, as a result of a powerful strategic offensive on the entire Soviet-German front with the forces of ten fronts, the Soviet army inflicted a decisive defeat on the main enemy forces. During the East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, West Carpathian and completion of the Budapest operations, Soviet troops created the conditions for further attacks in Pomerania and Silesia, and then for an attack on Berlin. Almost all of Poland and Czechoslovakia, as well as the entire territory of Hungary, were liberated.
Attempts by the new German government, which was headed by Grand Admiral K. Doenitz on May 1, 1945 after the suicide of A. Hitler, to achieve a separate peace with the USA and Great Britain (the signing of the preliminary protocol of surrender took place in Reims on May 7, 1945) failed. The decisive victories of the Red Army in Europe had a decisive influence on the success of the Crimean (Yalta) Conference of the leaders of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain (from February 4 to 11, 1945), at which the problems of completing the defeat of Germany and its post-war settlement were agreed upon. The USSR confirmed its commitment to enter the war with Japan 2-3 months after the end of the war in Europe.
During the Berlin operation (April 16 - May 8, 1945), troops captured about 480 thousand people, great amount captured military equipment and weapons. On May 8, 1945, in the Berlin suburb of Karl Horst, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany was signed. The victorious outcome of the Berlin operation created favorable conditions for the defeat of the last large enemy group on the territory of Czechoslovakia and providing assistance to the rebellious population of Prague. The day of the liberation of the city - May 9 - became the Day of Victory of the Soviet people over fascism.
28. United Nations, UN- an international organization created to maintain and strengthen international peace and security and develop cooperation between states.
“The UN remains a universal forum endowed with unique legitimacy, the supporting structure of the international collective security system, and the main element of modern multilateral diplomacy.”
The foundations of its activities and structure were developed during the Second World War by the leading participants in the anti-Hitler coalition. The name "United Nations" was first used in the Declaration of the United Nations, signed on January 1, 1942.
The UN Charter was approved at the San Francisco Conference, held from April to June 1945, and signed on June 26, 1945 by representatives of 50 states. On October 15, 1945, Poland also signed the Charter, thus becoming one of the original members of the Organization. The date of entry into force of the Charter (October 24) is celebrated as United Nations Day.
· Prague offensive operation- the last strategic operation of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War, during which Prague was liberated from German troops. At the first stage of the battle, units of the Russian Liberation Army took the side of the rebels of Prague.
Progress of hostilities
Army Group Center, numbering up to a million people under the command of Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner, following Hitler’s orders, intended to defend in the Prague area and in the city itself, turning it into a “second Berlin.”
On May 5, a popular uprising against the German occupation began in Prague. At the request of the rebel Czechs, assistance in the fight against the Nazis was provided by the 1st ROA Division under the command of Major General Bunyachenko, which went over to the side of the rebels. The actions of the ROA are recognized by Czech historians as successful and inspiring a popular uprising. But on the night of May 8, most of the Vlasovites left Prague, without receiving any guarantees from the leaders of the uprising regarding their allied status. The departure of the ROA troops complicated the position of the rebels.
The command of the Soviet army remained in the dark about the US Army's plans to liberate Prague from the Germans, so during the week after the surrender of Berlin they waited for instructions. Only after receiving convincing confirmation of the Americans’ reluctance to advance east of Pilsen, the Soviet army sent its main strike forces in the direction of Prague.
On May 9, 1945, the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front entered Prague. The first to enter the city was the head patrol of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade of three tanks under the command of the guard platoon commander, junior lieutenant L.E. Burakov (tank No. 1-23 - guard tank commander, junior lieutenant P.D. Kotov, tank No. 1-24 - commander of the guard tank, Lieutenant Goncharenko I.G., tank No. 1-25 - commander of the guard platoon, junior lieutenant Burakov L.E.). In the battle for Manesov Bridge, tank T-34 No. 1-24 was shot down, Guard Lieutenant Ivan Goncharenko died. A street in Prague was named after him.
The general retreat of Wehrmacht and SS units from Prague began on May 9 and quickly developed into a stampede towards the western border of Czechoslovakia. Units of the Red Army and special units of the NKGB, operating together with Czech partisans, were tasked with preventing units of Army Group Center, in particular SS units and ROA formations, from leaving the encirclement. During May 10-13, there was a persecution of those retreating and the systematic destruction of those who refused to surrender. On May 12, Soviet soldiers arrested General Vlasov, and on the 15th, the commander of the 1st ROA division, Bunyachenko, and some division headquarters officers. With the active support of Czech partisans, the chief of staff of the KONR Armed Forces, General Trukhin, was captured.
On the night of May 11-12, near the demarcation line near the village of Slivice in the vicinity of the city of Příbram, during a day-long battle, the remnants of the mixed SS divisions retreating from Prague, led by the head of the SS Office in Bohemia and Moravia, SS-Obergruppenführer Count Karl-Friedrich von Pückler-Burghaus, were destroyed . The German group of more than seven thousand included the remnants of the SS divisions Wallenstein and Das Reich. A certain number of civilian refugees of German origin and personnel of Nazi administrative institutions in Prague joined the group. Having reached the demarcation line, on May 9, von Pückler entered into negotiations with the command of the 3rd US Army, but was refused the opportunity to surrender to the Americans. After this, the SS men set up an improvised fortified camp on a hill near the village of Slivice.
On May 11, von Pückler's camp was attacked by a sabotage group of the NKGB of the USSR under the command of Captain Evgeniy Olesinsky. Later, regular units of the Red Army joined the attack with fire support from mechanized formations of the 3rd US Army. After a fire raid, which included Katyusha multiple rocket launchers, a frontal assault on the SS fortifications began, ending in the destruction of the camp and the surrender of the garrison. Of the seven thousand SS men, about a thousand were killed. Pückler-Burghaus himself, responsible for the genocide of Soviet citizens on the territory of the RSFSR in 1941-1942, shot himself.
Marshal Konev was awarded the title “Honorary Citizen of Prague”.
· Berlin strategic offensive operation- one of the last strategic operations of Soviet troops in the European Theater of Operations, during which the Red Army occupied Berlin, which led to the unconditional surrender of Germany. The operation lasted 23 days - from April 16 to May 8, 1945, during which Soviet troops advanced westward to a distance of 100 to 220 km. The width of the combat front is 300 km. As part of the operation, the following frontal offensive operations were carried out: Stettin-Rostok, Seelow-Berlin, Cottbus-Potsdam, Stremberg-Torgau and Brandenburg-Ratenow.
· Potsdam Conference took place in Potsdam at the Cecilienhof Palace from July 17 to August 2, 1945 with the participation of the leadership of the three largest powers of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II in order to determine further steps for the post-war structure of Europe. The meeting in Potsdam was the last for the leaders of the Big Three, Stalin, Truman and Churchill (who was replaced in recent days by K. Attlee).
29. Defeat of Japan. End of World War II(May 9, 1945 - September 2, 1945).
In accordance with its allied duty, on April 5, 1945, the USSR denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality treaty of 1941 and on August 8 declared war on Japan. The next day, a group of Soviet troops, numbering 1.8 million people, launched military operations. For strategic leadership of the armed struggle, on July 30, the Main Command of the Soviet Forces was created on Far East, which was headed by Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky. The Soviet troops were opposed by the Japanese Kwantung Army, which had 817 thousand soldiers and officers (without puppet troops).
During 23 days of stubborn battles on a front stretching over 5 thousand km, Soviet troops and naval forces, successfully advancing during the Manchurian, South Sakhalin and Kuril landing operations, liberated Northeast China, North Korea, southern part of the island. Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. Soldiers of the Mongolian People's Army also took part in the war with Japan along with Soviet troops. The Red Army made a decisive contribution to the defeat of Japanese troops in the Far East. Soviet troops captured about 600 thousand enemy soldiers and officers, and many weapons and equipment were captured.
On September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay on board the American battleship Missouri, Japanese representatives signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender.
The victory of the USSR and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition over Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan in World War II was of world-historical significance and had a huge impact on the entire post-war development of mankind. The Patriotic War was its most important component.
The Soviet Armed Forces defended the freedom and independence of the Motherland, participated in the liberation of the peoples of eleven European countries from fascist oppression, and expelled the Japanese occupiers from Northeast China and Korea. During the four-year armed struggle (1418 days and nights) on the Soviet-German front, the main forces of the fascist bloc were defeated and captured: 607 divisions of the Wehrmacht and its allies. In battles with the Soviet Armed Forces, Nazi Germany lost over 10 million people (80% of all military losses), over 75% of all military equipment.
However, the cost of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism was enormous. More than 29 million people passed through the war in the ranks of the Soviet Armed Forces, in total in 1941-1945. 39 fronts operated against Germany and its allies, 70 combined arms, 5 shock, 11 guards and 1 Separate Primorsky armies were formed. The war claimed (according to rough estimates) over 27 million lives of our fellow citizens, including over 11 million soldiers at the front.
During the years of the Patriotic War, more than 1 million command personnel died, died from wounds, or went missing. About 4 million partisans and underground fighters died behind enemy lines and in the occupied territories. About 6 million Soviet citizens found themselves in fascist captivity. The USSR lost 30% of its national wealth. The occupiers destroyed 1,710 Soviet cities and towns, over 70 thousand villages, 32 thousand industrial enterprises, 98 thousand collective farms and 2 thousand state farms, 6 thousand hospitals, 82 thousand schools, 334 universities, 427 museums, 43 thousand libraries. Direct material damage alone (in 1941 prices) amounted to 679 billion rubles, and total costs amounted to 1890 billion rubles.
30. Results of the war:
Main articles: Consequences of World War II, Casualties in World War II
Second World War had a huge impact on the destinies of humanity. 72 states (80% of the world's population) participated in it. Military operations took place on the territory of 40 states. IN armed forces 110 million people were mobilized. The total human losses reached 60-65 million people, of which 27 million people were killed at the fronts, many of them citizens of the USSR. China, Germany, Japan and Poland also suffered heavy human losses.
Military expenditures and military losses amounted to $4 trillion. Material costs reached 60-70% of the national income of the warring states. The industry of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and Germany alone produced 652.7 thousand aircraft (combat and transport), 286.7 thousand tanks, self-propelled guns and armored vehicles, over 1 million artillery pieces, over 4.8 million machine guns (without Germany) , 53 million rifles, carbines and machine guns and a huge amount of other weapons and equipment. The war was accompanied by colossal destruction, the destruction of tens of thousands of cities and villages, and innumerable disasters for tens of millions of people.
As a result of the war, the role of Western Europe in global politics weakened. The USSR and the USA became the main powers in the world. Great Britain and France, despite the victory, were significantly weakened. The war showed the inability of them and other Western European countries to maintain huge colonial empires. The anti-colonial movement intensified in African and Asian countries. As a result of the war, some countries were able to achieve independence: Ethiopia, Iceland, Syria, Lebanon, Vietnam, Indonesia. Socialist regimes were established in the countries of Eastern Europe occupied by Soviet troops. One of the main results of World War II was the creation of the United Nations on the basis of the Anti-Fascist coalition that emerged during the war to prevent world wars in the future.
In some countries, partisan movements that emerged during the war tried to continue their activities after the end of the war. In Greece, the conflict between communists and the pre-war government escalated into civil war. Anti-communist armed groups operated for some time after the end of the war in Western Ukraine, the Baltic states, and Poland. Continued in China Civil War, which lasted there since 1927.
Fascist and Nazi ideologies were declared criminal at the Nuremberg trials and prohibited. In many Western countries, support for communist parties grew due to their active participation in the anti-fascist struggle during the war. Europe was divided into two camps: Western capitalist and Eastern socialist. Relations between the two blocs deteriorated sharply. A couple of years after the end of the war, the Cold War began.
As a result of the war, the USSR actually returned to its composition the territories annexed by Japan from the Russian Empire at the end of Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 following the results of the Portsmouth Peace (southern Sakhalin and, temporarily, Kwantung with Port Arthur and Dalny), as well as the main group of the Kuril Islands previously ceded to Japan in 1875 and the southern part of the Kuril Islands assigned to Japan by the Shimoda Treaty of 1855.
· TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS (Abridged VERSION)
US Army personnel sort through piles of German documents collected by war crimes investigators as evidence for the International Military Tribunal.
Since World War II, international tribunals and state courts have tried war criminals. The trial of the leaders of Nazi Germany was held in Nuremberg, Germany, by the International Military Tribunal, which included judges representing each of the four Allied powers (the United States of America, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and France). From 18 October 1945 to 1 October 1946, the International Military Tribunal tried 22 "chief" war criminals accused of crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as conspiracy to commit all these crimes. Twelve convicted criminals were sentenced to death penalty, three defendants - to life imprisonment, and four more - to prison terms from 10 to 20 years. The International Military Tribunal acquitted the three defendants. American military tribunals held 12 more trials of other Nazi leaders at Nuremberg. Leading killer doctors, members of operational killing squads, representatives of the justice authorities and the German Foreign Ministry, members of the German military high command, as well as leading German industrialists appeared before the court.
Most war crimes trials after 1945 were of low-level officials and officials. First post-war years The four Allied powers also held trials in their occupation zones in Germany and Austria. Most of the initial knowledge about the concentration camp system was based on physical evidence and testimony presented at these trials. In both the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), trials of Nazi criminals took place for several decades after their establishment as sovereign states. Many countries that were occupied by Germany during World War II or collaborated with it in the persecution of civilians, especially Jews, also saw post-war government trials. In particular, in Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, Hungary, Romania and France, thousands of defendants were put on trial - both Germans and local collaborators. In 1961, the trial of Adolf Eichmann (the main architect of the deportation of European Jews) in Israel attracted the world's attention. However, many participants in Nazi crimes were never prosecuted or punished and simply returned to their normal life. The search for German war criminals and their henchmen from other Axis countries continues to this day.
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Victory over Nazism in Europe. The most important military-political events of this period were determined by the ever-increasing power of the military-economic potential of the anti-Hitler coalition, the victories of the Soviet Armed Forces, and the intensification of the struggle of the Anglo-American allied forces in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. By the beginning of 1944, Germany's position had deteriorated sharply, and its material and human reserves were depleted. However, the enemy was still strong. The armed forces of Nazi Germany and its allies on the Soviet-German front amounted to about 5 million people (236 divisions and 18 brigades), 5.4 thousand tanks and assault guns, up to 55 thousand guns and mortars, more than 3 thousand aircraft. The Wehrmacht High Command switched to tough positional defense. In the active army of the USSR by 1944 there were over 6.3 million people, more than 5 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units (SPG), over 95 thousand guns and mortars, 10 thousand aircraft. The Supreme Command headquarters set the Red Army the task of clearing Soviet soil of the enemy, beginning to liberate European countries from the occupiers and ending the war with the complete defeat of the aggressor on its territory. The main content of the winter-spring campaign of 1944 was the implementation of successive strategic operations in Right Bank Ukraine in a strip with a length of 1,400 km. During the battles, Soviet troops consisting of four Ukrainian fronts defeated the main forces of the German armies “South” and Group “A” and reached the state border, the foothills of the Carpathians and the territory of Romania. At the same time, troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic fronts defeated Army Group North, liberating the Leningrad and part of the Kalinin regions. In the spring of 1944, Crimea was cleared of the enemy. As a result of a four-month campaign, the Soviet Armed Forces liberated 329 thousand square meters. km of USSR territory, defeated over 170 enemy divisions numbering up to 1 million people.
In these favorable conditions, the Western Allies, after two years of preparation, opened a “second front” in Europe in northern France: 6 June
1944 the combined Anglo-American forces under the command of the American General D. Eisenhower (over 2.8 million people, up to 11 thousand combat aircraft, over 12 thousand combat and 41 thousand transport ships) crossed the English Channel and the Pas de... Calais and began the Normandy landing operation(“Overlord”). In August the Allies entered Paris.
In the summer of 1944, Soviet troops launched a powerful offensive in Karelia (June 10 - August 9), Belarus (June 23 - August 29), Western Ukraine (July 13 - August 29) and Moldova (August 20-29). On September 19, Finland signed an armistice with the USSR and left the war, and on March 4
- 1945 declared war on Germany. During the Belarusian operation (code name "Bagration") Army Group "Center" was defeated, the Belarusian ledge was eliminated, troops of five Soviet fronts liberated Belarus, Latvia, part of Lithuania, the eastern part of Poland and reached East Prussia. The Lvov-Sandomierz and Yassy-Kishinev operations ended with the liberation of the western regions of Ukraine and the southeastern regions of Poland. During the Iasi-Kishinev operation, 22 German divisions and Romanian troops were destroyed. Romania came out of the war on the side of Germany and, after the anti-fascist uprising of the Romanian people on August 24, declared war on it.
- On September 9, 1944, as a result of a popular uprising, the government of the Fatherland Front came to power in Bulgaria, which also declared war
Germany. In September-October, Soviet troops liberated part of Czechoslovakia and supported the Slovak National Uprising. Subsequently, the Red Army, together with units and formations of Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, continued the offensive in Hungary and Yugoslavia.
In September-November, the troops of the three Baltic and Leningrad fronts cleared almost the entire Baltic territory of fascists, defeating 26 and destroying three enemy divisions, and blocked about 38 enemy divisions in Courland. From October 7 to October 29, troops of the Karelian Front, in cooperation with the forces of the Northern Fleet, liberated the Arctic and northern regions of Norway from the invaders (Petsamo-Kirkenes operation). The front came very close to the borders of Nazi Germany, and in East Prussia crossed them. The enemy found itself in complete military-political isolation, and with the opening of the “second front” in Europe, Germany, squeezed in a vice, could no longer transfer its forces from West to East and was forced to carry out a new total mobilization.
The “liberation campaign” of the Red Army in the countries of Eastern Europe could not but aggravate geopolitical contradictions between the USSR and its allies. If the American administration of Roosevelt was sympathetic to the desire of the USSR to “establish a positive sphere of influence over its Western neighbors”, as well as to form “friendly governments” in Eastern European countries, then British Prime Minister Churchill was extremely concerned about the strengthening of Soviet influence in Europe. To overcome the political disagreements that arose on the problems of post-war settlement, in the fall of 1944 it was even planned to hold a new conference of the Big Three. However, it was not possible to reach agreement on this issue. First, bilateral Anglo-American negotiations were held in Quebec (September 11 - 19, 1944), where Churchill tried to enlist US support in solving the problems of the post-war world order, as well as make adjustments to the Allied military strategy at the final stage of the war, in order to push the interests of the USA and the USSR to the benefit of Great Britain. Then the British Prime Minister undertook a trip to Moscow (October 9-18, 1944), where he held negotiations with Stalin. During the visit, Churchill proposed concluding an Anglo-Soviet agreement on the mutual division of spheres of influence in the countries of South-Eastern Europe (the so-called percentage agreement), which found support among the Soviet leadership. However, despite the compromise reached, it was never possible to sign this document, since the American Ambassador in Moscow A. Harriman opposed the conclusion of such an agreement. At the same time, the “gentleman’s” secret agreement between Stalin and Churchill on the division of spheres of influence in the Balkans played an important role, as evidenced by the further course of events in this region.
By the beginning of 1945, on the Soviet-German front, the enemy had 185 divisions and 21 brigades (including Hungarian troops) in the amount of 3.7 million people. During the winter campaign of 1945, the coordination of military actions of the armed forces of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition developed. Thus, after the counter-offensive of German troops in the Ardennes, the Anglo-American troops found themselves in a difficult situation. Then upon request
Churchill, the Soviet armies in mid-January, but agreements with the Anglo-American command went on the offensive from the Baltic to the Carpathians earlier than planned, thus providing effective assistance to the Western allies.
The intensification of the armed struggle in the East allowed the Anglo-American command to occupy vast territory between the Meuse and Rhine rivers during January - March and, having accumulated forces, cross the Rhine on March 24. By this time, the Allied ground forces in Western Europe numbered 81 divisions, united in two main groups of forces (three army groups). They were opposed by 58 divisions and three brigades of the Wehrmacht. There were 175 German divisions and 15 brigades on the Soviet-German front.
In early April, Western Allied troops successfully surrounded and then captured an enemy group in the Ruhr region. After this operation, Nazi resistance on the Western Front was practically broken. Taking advantage of favorable conditions, Anglo-American-French troops developed an offensive in the center of Germany and reached the Elbe line by mid-April. Near the city of Torgau April 25, 1945 took place historical meeting of Soviet and American troops. Subsequently, the Western allies advanced in the north - to Lubeck and Wismar, blocking Denmark, and in the south they occupied the southern lands of Germany, entered Upper Austria, and took the Czechoslovak cities of Karlovy Vary and Pilsen. On May 2, 1945, the troops of the German Army Group C in Italy capitulated, and a day later in Reims an act of surrender of the German armed forces in Holland, North-West Germany and Denmark was signed.
In January - early April 1945, as a result of a powerful strategic offensive on the entire Soviet-German front using 10 fronts, the Soviet army inflicted a decisive defeat on the main enemy forces. During the East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, West Carpathian and Budapest operations, Soviet troops created the conditions for further attacks in Pomerania and Silesia, and then for an attack on Berlin. Almost all of Poland and Czechoslovakia, the territory of Hungary, were liberated. Attempts by the new German government, which was headed by Grand Admiral K. Doenitz on May 1, 1945 after Hitler’s suicide, to achieve a separate peace with the USA and Great Britain (the signing of the preliminary protocol of surrender took place in Reims on May 7, 1945) failed. It was important Crimean (Yalta) conference leaders of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain (from February 4 to February 11, 1945). At it, the problems of completing the defeat of Germany and the post-war settlement were agreed upon. The USSR confirmed its commitment to enter the war with Japan 2-3 months after the end of the war in Europe.
During Berlin operation(April 16 - May 8, 1945) troops of the 1st (G.K. Zhukov) and 2nd (K.K. Rokossovsky) Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian (I.S. Konev) fronts with the support of two armies The Polish troops, having defeated 93 enemy divisions, captured about 480 thousand people, a huge amount of captured military equipment and weapons.
On May 8, 1945, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany was signed. The victorious outcome of the Berlin operation created favorable conditions for the defeat of the last large enemy group on the territory of Czechoslovakia and providing assistance to the rebellious population of Prague. City Liberation Day - May 9, 1945 - became the Day of Victory of the Soviet people over fascism. Held in the suburbs of Berlin Potsdam third conference heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain (July 17 - August 2, 1945) made important decisions on the post-war world order in Europe, the German problem and other issues.
- After the defeat of the main part of the German army in the Battle of Kursk, the expulsion of the Nazi invaders from the territory of the USSR began.
By order of Hitler, in the fall of 1943, the construction of the “Eastern Wall” began - a system of powerful echeloned defensive fortifications along the Baltic Sea - Belarus - Dnieper line. According to Hitler's plan, the "Eastern Wall" was supposed to fence off Germany from the advancing Soviet troops and give time to gather forces.
The most powerful defensive structures were erected in Ukraine along the Kyiv-Dnepropetrovsk-Melitopol line. On the one hand, it was a system of pillboxes, other powerful reinforced concrete structures, minefields, artillery along the entire right bank of the Dnieper, on the other hand, there was a powerful natural barrier - the Dnieper. Due to these circumstances, the German command considered the Dnieper line of the “Eastern Wall” impassable. Hitler gave the order to hold the Eastern Wall at all costs and withstand the winter. During this time, by the summer of 1944, it was planned to restore the German army and launch a new offensive to the east.
In order to prevent Germany from recovering from defeat, the Soviet command decides to storm the Eastern Wall.
- In August 1943, the Battle of the Dnieper began, which:
- lasted 4 months - from August to December 1943;
- it was carried out in very difficult conditions for the Soviet army - from the “low” (flat) left bank it was necessary to swim on rafts to cross the Dnieper and storm the “high” (mountainous) right bank, stuffed with German defensive structures;
- The Soviet army suffered colossal casualties, since German troops, having fortified themselves on the heights of the right bank of the Dnieper, intensively fired at the Soviet army on the low left bank, sank rafts with soldiers and equipment sailing across the Dnieper, and destroyed pontoon bridges;
- the crossing of the Dnieper took place in conditions of very bad weather in October - November, icy water, rain and snow;
- Every bridgehead on the western bank of the Dnieper, every kilometer conquered was paid for by hundreds and thousands of dead. Despite this, the Soviet army crossed the Dnieper in stubborn battles. In October 1943, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye and Melitopol were liberated, and on November 6, 1943, Kyiv.
- On November 28 - December 1, 1943, in Tehran, the capital of Iran, the first meeting of the “Big Three” during the war took place - I. Stalin, W. Churchill, F. Roosevelt - the leaders of the main allied states (USSR, Great Britain and the USA). During this meeting:
- the basic principles of the post-war settlement were developed;
- a fundamental decision was made to open a second front in May - June 1944 - the landing of Anglo-American troops in Normandy (France) and their attack on Germany from the west.
- In the spring - summer of 1944, the final stage of the liberation of the USSR took place - the Soviet army launched three powerful offensives:
- in the north, during which the remnants of Army Group North were defeated, the blockade of Leningrad was lifted and most of the Baltic states were liberated;
- in Belarus (Operation Bagration), during which the backbone of Army Group Center was destroyed and Belarus was liberated;
- in the south (Iasi-Kishinev operation), during which Army Group “South” was surrounded and defeated, Moldova, most of Right Bank Ukraine, and Northern Romania were liberated.
More on the topic Question 73. Liberation of the territory of the USSR in 1943 - 1944:
- Question 72. A radical change in the course of the war. Battle of Kursk 1943
- Chapter 7 ISSUES OF CONSERVED REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE ANTI-FASCIST COALITION (1943-1945)
- Question 61. Formation of the USSR in 1922. Evolution of statehood of the USSR
- No. 179 OPERATIONAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE FIELD DEPARTMENT OF THE V ARMY ABOUT COMBAT OPERATIONS TO LIBERATE THE TERRITORY OF KUSTANAY COUNTY Chelyabinsk # October 18, 1919
- Landscape-geochemical zoning of the territory of the USSR for the purpose of forecasting the influence of technogenesis
- No. 183 NOTE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE V ARMY TO THE DIVISIONS 35 AND 54, CHARM V ON THE ORGANIZATION OF FORTENTED AREAS IN THE LIBERATED TERRITORY OF NORTHEASTERN KAZAKHSTAN Chelyabinsk October 24, 1919
The main stages of the Great Patriotic War..
The first stage of the war. Strategic Defense Phase (June 22, 1941 – November 18, 1942).
The third stage of the war. Liberation of the territory of the USSR and European countries. Victory over Nazism in Europe (January 1944 - May 1945).
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Together with Hitler's Wehrmacht, troops from Hungary, Italy, Romania and Finland, allies of Germany, took part in the hostilities against the USSR. In total, 190 divisions and 5.5 million people were thrown against the USSR. The Great Patriotic War lasted 1418 days.
The plan for an attack on the USSR was called the “Barbarossa Plan” (named after the medieval German emperor, known for his campaigns of conquest). This was a plan for blitzkrieg (lightning war). By the winter of 1941, German troops were supposed to reach the Arkhangelsk-Volga-Astrakhan line.
War from the outside Soviet Union was fair and liberating in nature. From the first hours of the invasion, the enemy encountered fierce resistance in a number of cases (defense of the Brest Fortress).
To organize resistance to the Nazi invaders, the Soviet leadership took a number of measures. Martial law was declared throughout the country. The mobilization of the male population began. The Headquarters of the Main Command was created. Since August, I.V. became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Stalin. Advice people's commissars and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on June 29 sent a directive to party and Soviet organizations in the front-line regions. It spoke of the need to mobilize all forces and means to defeat the enemy, to protect every inch of land, to evacuate enterprises and people, and set the task of developing the fight in the rear of the fascist troops. The main provisions of this directive were outlined by Stalin in a radio speech on July 3, 1941. On June 30, the State Defense Committee (GKO) was formed, headed by Stalin. He concentrated in his hands all the power in the country. IN short term under the leadership of the Evacuation Council, over 1,500 large military factories were relocated to the east. The transfer of peaceful enterprises to the production of military products began. The slogan “Everything for the front, everything for victory!”, put forward in the first days, remained the main one throughout the war.
With the outbreak of the war, the governments of England and the United States issued statements of support for the struggle of the Soviet people. On July 12, an agreement was signed in Moscow on joint actions of the USSR and Great Britain in the war against Germany. In the fall, an agreement was reached on the supply of weapons and strategic materials to the USSR by the United States and England. The formation of the anti-Hitler coalition began.
Summer - autumn 1941 - a period of serious failures of the Red Army. Military units that entered the war near the borders were defeated. 3.9 million soldiers and officers from the 5 million army died or were captured. The Nazis captured the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, and invaded Russia.
The reasons for the defeats at the initial stage of the war were as follows: 1) the military-economic potential of Germany and its allies was higher than that of the Soviet Union; 2) as a result of Stalin’s repressions, the professional level of the Soviet command staff sharply decreased. This led to poor training of the troops, while the enemy troops had almost two years of battle experience; 3) major miscalculations of the Soviet leadership in military policy (diminution of the role of mechanized formations, withdrawal from production of a number of weapons before the production of new types was established, destruction of fortifications on the old border without creating a new line of defense, etc.); 4) criminal miscalculations in assessment international situation. Blind faith that Hitler will not break the non-aggression pact. This led to a sudden enemy attack for the Soviet military and political leadership.
As a result of the heroic defense of Leningrad, defensive battles near Kiev and Smolensk, the advance of German troops was suspended, which gave the Soviet command the opportunity to gain time and bring up reserves.
From September 30, 1941 until the end of April 1942, there was a grandiose battle near Moscow. The German plan for the attack on Moscow was code-named "Typhoon". With significant superiority in military equipment, the Nazis managed to break through the defenses of the Soviet troops and by the beginning of December reach the Canal. Moscow, cross the river. Nara, approach the city of Kashira from the south. However, the enemy was unable to advance further. On December 5-6, the troops of the Kalinin (I.S. Konev) and Western (G.K. Zhukov) fronts launched a counteroffensive. German troops were driven back 100-250 km from Moscow. The immediate threat to the capital was eliminated. Hitler's plan for a lightning war against the USSR was thwarted. Near Moscow they suffered their first strategic defeat in the Second World War. Germany's allies - Türkiye and Japan - refrained from opening hostilities. The rise of the liberation struggle against fascism in the countries occupied by Germany began.
In the summer of 1942, as a result of mistakes by the highest Soviet political and military leadership (overestimating its own forces, underestimating the enemy, the desire to conduct offensive operations on a broad front, waiting for the enemy to attack in the Central direction), the Red Army suffered a number of major defeats in the North-West, near Kharkov, in the Crimea .
Hitler's command launched a large-scale operation on the southern sector of the Soviet-German front. At the same time, the goals were pursued: to deprive the Red Army of Caucasian oil, to interrupt the connection between the USSR and its allies through Iran, the central regions with Central Asia, involve Turkey in the war, destroy the Black Sea Fleet.
In the summer of 1942, the German group "South" broke through the Soviet front and rushed to Stalingrad. Since the end of August, fighting has been going on in the city. At the same time, German troops were advancing in the Caucasus direction. In the Stalingrad area, on November 19, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive and on November 23 encircled 22 fascist divisions, numbering more than 300 thousand people. On February 2, 1943, this group was liquidated.
Battle of Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the war, that is, the interception of the strategic initiative. Simultaneously with the fighting in the Stalingrad area, Soviet troops launched an offensive along the entire southern sector of the front. The enemy was forced to withdraw his units from North Caucasus. By the summer of 1943, the front had stabilized.
On July 5, 1943, the enemy, taking advantage of the advantageous front configuration in the Kursk region, attempted a counteroffensive with the aim of encircling Soviet units. The Battle of Kursk began, lasting until August 23. During fierce fighting, the German strike force was stopped, and Soviet troops went on the offensive, liberating Orel and Belgorod. Kharkiv. The Battle of Kursk was a triumph of Soviet military art. German losses amounted to more than half a million people.
In the second half of July 1943, the general strategic offensive of the Red Army began along a front of 2 thousand km. As a result of this offensive, he was released. Donbass, Left Bank Ukraine. In September the battle for the Dnieper began. Soviet troops were able to capture bridgeheads on its right bank. On November 6, 1943, Kyiv was liberated.
During the summer-autumn offensive, half of the enemy divisions were defeated and significant territories of the USSR were liberated. In the occupied countries came new stage liberation war against fascism. The collapse of the fascist bloc began. In 1943, Italy was withdrawn from the war. The largest military-strategic operations of the Soviet troops in the winter - spring of 1944 include: the final lifting of the 900-day siege of Leningrad in January 1944. troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts; liberation of Right Bank Ukraine (the most significant events on this section of the front were the Korsun-Shevchenko operation); liberation of Crimea in May by troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front.
In the summer of 1944, even larger battles unfolded. U As a result of the offensive of the Karelian and Leningrad fronts, Finland left the war. U As a result of Operation Bagration, carried out by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts, one of the strongest enemy groupings, “Center,” was defeated, Belarus was liberated, and the liberation of the Baltic states began (ended in the fall of 1944) and Poland (completed at the beginning of 1945).
· Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, as a result of the Lvov-Sandrmir operation, defeated the enemy group of troops “Northern Ukraine”, recaptured Lvov and captured a bridgehead on the left bank of the Vistula.
· The 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, having carried out the Iasi-Kishinev operation, liquidated the German group and liberated Chisinau.
In 1944, the entire territory of the USSR was liberated from Nazi occupation. The Soviet Army transferred the fighting to the territories of the allies of Nazi Germany and the countries it captured.
U In August 1944, the new Romanian government declared war on Germany. By the beginning of September, Romania was liberated by the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
· In September, units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front liberated Bulgaria. On September 9, as a result of the uprising in Sofia, the Fatherland Front government came to power.
· Troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front assisted the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia in the liberation of Belgrade (October 20) and the entire country from the invaders.
U As a result of heavy fighting at the end of 1944 - beginning of 1945, Hungary was liberated by the Soviet Army. U In the fall of 1944, Slovakia was liberated by Slovak partisans and Soviet units.
In February 1945, a conference of leaders of the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition (USSR, England, USA) was held in Yalta. At the conference, agreements were reached on the future structure of Germany, borders in post-war Europe, the USSR's entry into the war with Japan, and the creation of the United Nations (UN).
In January 1945, troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts carried out the Vistula-Oder operation, as a result of which Poland was cleared of the Nazis. Soviet troops reached the approaches to Berlin, and the counteroffensive of German troops in the Ardennes against the Allies was thwarted.
At this time, troops of the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts carried out the East Prussian operation. After fierce fighting, Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad) was captured.
From April 16 to May 2, troops of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts (T.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky, I.S. Konev) carried out the Berlin operation. The troops had to overcome powerful enemy fortifications both on the outskirts and in the city itself. On April 18, the Seelow Heights were taken, and from April 22, fighting took place on the outskirts of the city. On April 24, Berlin was completely surrounded. On April 25, a meeting between Soviet and American troops took place on the Elbe. On May 2, the Berlin garrison laid down its arms. On May 8, Germany capitulated.
On May 5, an uprising began in Prague. Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front came from Berlin to help the rebels. On May 9, Soviet troops entered the city.
From July 17 to August 2, 1945, a conference of leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition (USSR, USA, England) was held in Potsdam, near Berlin. It confirmed and clarified the decisions of the Yalta Conference on the post-war structure of Europe, borders, and the attitude of the Allies towards defeated Germany. The Soviet Union confirmed its decision to enter the war against Japan.
No. 58/2 BATTLE OF MOSCOW
April 20, 1942 - the Battle of Moscow ended (started on September 30, 1941) during the Great Patriotic War.
The Battle of Moscow 1941-1942 is a set of defensive and offensive operations of Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War, carried out from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942 in the western strategic direction with the aim of defending Moscow and the Central Industrial Region, defeating the strike groups of German troops that threatened them . It included the strategic Moscow defensive operation (September 30 - December 5, 1941), the Moscow offensive operation (December 5, 1941 - January 7, 1942), the Rzhev-Vyazma operation (January 8 - April 20, 1942) and the frontal Toropetsko-Kholm operation (January 9 - February 6, 1942). The Battle of Moscow involved troops of the Kalinin, Western, Reserve, Bryansk, left wing of the North-Western and right wing of the South-Western fronts, troops of the country's Air Defense, and Air Force. They were opposed by the German Army Group Center.
© RIA Novosti
The collapse of Operation Typhoon. The Battle of Moscow in archival footage
By the beginning of the Battle of Moscow, the situation for the Soviet troops was extremely difficult. The enemy deeply invaded the country, capturing the Baltic states, Belarus, Moldova, a significant part of Ukraine, blockaded Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and reached the distant approaches to Moscow. After the failure of the plan to capture Moscow on the move in the first weeks of the war, the Nazi command prepared a major offensive operation codenamed Typhoon. The operation plan provided for dismembering the defenses of the Soviet troops with three powerful strikes of tank groups from the areas of Dukhovshchina, Roslavl and Shostka in the eastern and north-eastern directions, encircling and destroying Soviet troops in the areas west of Vyazma and east of Bryansk. Then, with strong mobile groups, it was planned to cover Moscow from the north and south and, in cooperation with the troops advancing from the front, take possession of it.
The German Army Group Center, intended for the offensive, had 1.8 million people, over 14 thousand guns and mortars, 1.7 thousand tanks and 1390 aircraft. Soviet troops numbered 1.25 million people, 7.6 thousand guns and mortars, 990 tanks, 677 aircraft (including reserve air groups).
The Nazi troops began the offensive according to the Typhoon plan on September 30, 1941 in the Bryansk and October 2 in the Vyazma directions. Despite the stubborn resistance of the Soviet troops, the enemy broke through their defenses. On October 6, he entered the area west of Vyazma and encircled there the four armies of the Western and Reserve (October 10 united with the Western) fronts. By their actions in encirclement, these armies pinned down 28 enemy divisions; 14 of them could not continue the offensive until mid-October.
A difficult situation also developed in the Bryansk Front. On October 3, the enemy captured Oryol, and on October 6, Bryansk. On October 7, the front troops were surrounded. Breaking out of encirclement, the armies of the Bryansk Front were forced to retreat. By the end of October, Nazi troops reached the approaches to Tula.
In the Kalinin direction, the enemy launched an offensive on October 10 and captured the city of Kalinin (now Tver) on October 17. In the second half of October, the troops of the Kalinin Front (created on October 17) stopped the advance of the enemy's 9th Army, taking an enveloping position in relation to the left wing of Army Group Center.
By the beginning of November, the front passed along the line of Selizharovo, Kalinin, the Volga Reservoir, along the rivers Ozerna, Nara, Oka and further Tula, Novosil. In mid-November, fighting began on the near approaches to Moscow. They were especially persistent in the Volokolamsk-Istra direction. On November 23, Soviet troops left Klin. The enemy captured Solnechnogorsk, Yakhroma, and Krasnaya Polyana. At the end of November - beginning of December, German troops reached the Moscow-Volga canal, crossed the Nara River north and south of Naro-Fominsk, approached Kashira from the south, and captured Tula from the east. But they didn't go any further. On November 27, in the area of Kashira and on November 29, north of the capital, Soviet troops launched counterattacks on the southern and northern enemy groups, and on December 3-5 - counterattacks in the areas of Yakhroma, Krasnaya Polyana and Kryukov.
By staunch and active defense, the Red Army forced the fascist strike groups to disperse over a huge front, which led to the loss of offensive and maneuver capabilities. Conditions were created for the Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive. Reserve armies began to move into the zones of the upcoming actions of the Red Army. The idea of the counter-offensive of the Soviet troops was to simultaneously defeat the most dangerous enemy strike forces that threatened Moscow from the north and south. The troops of the Western, Kalinin and right wing of the Southwestern (December 18, 1941 transformed into the Bryansk Front) fronts were involved in the Moscow offensive operation.
The counteroffensive began on December 5 with a strike from the left wing of the Kalinin Front. Conducting intense battles, by January 7, Soviet troops reached the Volga River northwest and east of Rzhev. They advanced 60-120 kilometers in the southern and southwestern directions, taking up an enveloping position in relation to the German troops located in front of the Western Front.
Right wing armies Western Front, which launched a counteroffensive on December 6, liberated Istra, Klin, Volokolamsk and threw the enemy 90-110 kilometers westward, eliminating the threat of bypassing Moscow from the north. The armies of the left wing of the Western Front launched powerful blows from several directions against the enemy’s 2nd Tank Army, which was deeply wedged into the defenses. The fascist German command, fearing the encirclement of its troops east of Tula, began to withdraw them to the west. By the end of December 16, the immediate threat to Moscow was eliminated from the south.
During the offensive, the right-flank armies of the Southwestern Front liberated up to 400 settlements and liquidated the Yelets ledge on December 17.
Continuing the offensive, by the beginning of January 1942, Soviet troops pushed the enemy back 100-250 kilometers, inflicted heavy damage on 38 divisions, and liberated over 11 thousand settlements.
At the beginning of January 1942, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to launch a general offensive by Soviet troops near Leningrad, as well as in the western and southwestern directions. The troops of the western direction were tasked with encircling and defeating the main forces of Army Group Center.
The offensive, which unfolded over a vast area, was carried out in separate directions, and the fronts began operations at different times and in different conditions. On westward The troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts carried out the Rzhev-Vyazemskaya operation, and the left wing of the North-Western (from January 22 Kalinin) front - the Toropetsko-Kholm operation, as a result of which the Germans were thrown back another 80-250 kilometers from the capital. Soviet troops penetrated deeply into their defenses at the junction of Army Groups North and Center, disrupting operational cooperation between them. However, it was not possible to encircle and destroy the main forces of Army Group Center.
Despite the incompleteness, the general offensive in the western direction achieved significant success. The enemy was thrown back 150-400 kilometers to the west, the Moscow and Tula regions, and many areas of the Kalinin and Smolensk regions were liberated.
The enemy lost more than 500 thousand people, 1.3 thousand tanks, 2.5 thousand guns and other equipment killed, wounded and missing.
Germany suffered its first major defeat in World War II.
In the Battle of Moscow, Soviet troops also suffered significant losses. Irreversible losses amounted to 936,644 people, sanitary losses - 898,689 people.
The outcome of the Battle of Moscow had enormous political and strategic consequences. A psychological turning point occurred among soldiers and civilians: faith in victory strengthened, the myth of the invincibility of the German army was destroyed. The collapse of the plan for a lightning war (Barbarossa) raised doubts about the successful outcome of the war among both the German military-political leadership and ordinary Germans.
The Battle of Moscow was of great international importance: it helped strengthen the anti-Hitler coalition and forced the governments of Japan and Turkey to refrain from entering the war on the side of Germany.
For the exemplary performance of combat missions during the Battle of Moscow and the valor and courage displayed at the same time, about 40 units and formations received the title of Guards, 36 thousand Soviet soldiers were awarded orders and medals, of which 110 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR established the medal "For the Defense of Moscow", which was awarded to more than one million defenders of the city.
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In the summer and autumn of 1944, the Red Army continued to inflict Stalinist blows on the enemy.
The sixth blow was delivered by the forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev. At the beginning of May 1944, Zhukov was recalled to Headquarters and I. S. Konev was appointed commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, R. Ya. Malinovsky was appointed commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, F. I. Tolbukhin was appointed commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. .
Stalin called the Lvov-Sandomierz operation the sixth blow to the enemy. It was carried out from July 13 to August 29, 1944. Our troops were opposed by German troops of Army Group “Northern Ukraine”. In terms of completion time, it coincides with the Belarusian operation. Carrying out operations at the same time did not allow the German command to maneuver its forces. And by this time the Red Army had a sufficient amount of forces and means to simultaneously carry out even large-scale operations.
The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front had over 1.1 million people, 16,100 guns and mortars, over 2 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 3,250 aircraft. German group The “Northern Ukraine” troops included 900 thousand people, 6,300 guns and mortars, 900 tanks and assault guns, 700 aircraft.
Yes, from first to last day During the war, the Soviet army had a sufficient amount of weapons to fight the enemy: in the first year of the war, our army had weapons in quantities sufficient for successful defense, and in subsequent years of the war - for increasingly successful offensives and the complete defeat of the enemy. In today's Russia they don't know about this.
Let us recall the balance of forces and means at the beginning of the German offensive on Moscow according to Operation Typhoon developed by the Germans. This is the period when our army had the most minimal amount weapons throughout the war. At that time, the Germans had superiority in people - 1.4 times, in guns and mortars - 1.8 times, in tanks - 1.7 times, in airplanes - 2 times. As you can see, even at that time the Germans did not have a superiority of more than 2 times in any type of weapon.
Already in November 1942, at the start of the offensive near Stalingrad, Soviet troops had more than twice as many tanks as the opposing armies of Germany and its allies.
The troops of I. S. Konev, despite carrying out the largest Belarusian operation at that time, had an advantage over the enemy in people - 1.2 times, in guns and mortars - 2.5 times, in tanks and self-propelled guns - 2.2 times, on airplanes 4.6 times. I assume that such a great superiority in aircraft is also explained by the fact that our combat aircraft included light U-2 aircraft.
The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front successfully advanced. In the area of the city of Brody on July 22, 8 enemy divisions were surrounded and destroyed. On July 27, Lvov, Przemysl, and Stanislav were liberated. Army Group “Northern Ukraine” was cut into two parts, of which one part went to the Vistula, and the second to the Carpathians. In order to concentrate all the forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front on the main direction, the 4th Ukrainian Front was formed from part of the armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Army General I.E. Petrov, who continued the pursuit of the Germans in the Carpathian direction.
The troops of I. S. Konev, in cooperation with the troops of K. K. Rokossovsky (1st Belorussian Front), were ordered to develop an offensive in a western direction. July 29 – August 1, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Vistula and captured several bridgeheads on its western bank in the Sandomierz area, which were then expanded and combined into one Sandomierz bridgehead.
The Germans gathered and deployed huge forces against the troops on the bridgehead. Even battalions of Royal Tiger tanks attacked our units. Fierce fighting broke out near Sandomierz. Soviet troops survived. The enemy suffered heavy losses and was unsuccessful. Favorable conditions were created for the subsequent offensive. While holding the bridgehead, our troops distinguished themselves by the fact that, in the process of repelling enemy attacks, they were able to encircle and destroy three enemy divisions on the bridgehead in the Sandomierz area.
The seventh blow was the Iasi-Kishinev operation, carried out from August 20 to 29. Our troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts had 1.25 million people, 16 thousand guns and mortars, 1870 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2200 aircraft. The enemy had 900 thousand people, 7,600 guns and mortars, over 400 tanks and assault guns, 810 aircraft. The troops of R. Ya. Malinovsky and F. I. Tolbukhin completely defeated the German and Romanian troops, destroying 22 German divisions surrounded near Chisinau and defeating all the Romanian divisions. 208.6 thousand prisoners were captured.
After fierce battles, on August 21, our troops captured the city of Iasi, and on August 29, they liberated the city of Chisinau, as well as the entire Moldavian Soviet Republic and the Izmail region, and entered deep into Romania. On August 31, Soviet troops entered Bucharest, the capital of Romania, and brought the latter out of the war on the side of Germany (Romania declared war on Nazi Germany and Hungary), disabled Germany’s ally, Bulgaria, which also declared war on Germany, and opened the way to the territory of the latter and most faithful Germany's allies, Hungary, and into the territory of those friendly to us, especially the Serbs who suffered during the war. The seventh strike was completed near the borders of Hungary and Yugoslavia.
In addition, the seventh blow destroyed the plans of the Anglo-Americans to occupy Romania and other Balkan countries and to invade between our and German troops. They hoped for this, despite the fact that the offensive of their troops in Italy was developing slowly, and in August 1944 the Balkans were still very far away.
Stalin called the eighth blow the defeat of German troops in September near Tallinn, and in October near Riga and the almost complete expulsion of the Germans from the Baltic states. As a result of the eighth strike, 30 German divisions were cut off from East Prussia.
The ninth blow is the blow delivered during the Belgrade and Budapest operations with the aim of withdrawing Hungary from the war and expelling Hitler’s troops from Transcarpathian Ukraine, Hungary, Yugoslavia, as well as entering the territory of Czechoslovakia. Time of attack: from September 28 to October 20, 1944 during the Belgorod operation and from October 29, 1944 to February 13, 1945 during the Budapest operation.
The troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, with the participation of part of the forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, were able to achieve the final goal of the strike and storm the capital of Hungary - the city of Budapest - only on February 13, 1945, since very powerful defensive fortifications and strong groups of enemy troops were located near Budapest. The fighting was extremely fierce.
This blow allowed us to provide assistance to Yugoslavia, whose People's Liberation Army was the only one of the Eastern European countries that did not submit to the Germans and conducted active military operations against German troops throughout the war. Despite the fact that on October 20, units of the Soviet army entered Belgrade along with the Yugoslav army, the complete expulsion of the enemy from the country continued by the Yugoslav army and was completed only in May 1945. This blow also helped the Slovaks and Czechs who fought against the German occupiers.
Stalin called the tenth strike the strike of our troops with the aim of expelling the Germans from the Soviet Arctic: the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, which provided for the liberation of the territory of the Murmansk region occupied by the enemy and the expulsion of the enemy from the Pechenga (Petsamo) region. The blow was delivered by the forces of the Karelian Front under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union Kirill Afanasyevich Meretskov and the 7th Air Army.
The Germans had 53 thousand people, over 750 guns and mortars, over 160 aircraft and significant naval forces based in the ports of Northern Norway. Our 14th Army of the Karelian Front was advancing on the enemy, which had 97 thousand people, 2.1 thousand guns and mortars, 126 tanks and self-propelled guns, a total of about 1000 aircraft and part of the forces of the Northern Fleet. The fighting took place near the Barents Sea.
Our troops, in cooperation with the Northern Fleet, liberated the port of Linahamari, the city of Petsamo (Pechenga) and reached the border with Norway. On October 22, they captured the village of Nikel. Having crossed the Soviet-Norwegian border, our army threw the enemy away from the USSR border, liberating a number of Norwegian cities from the Germans. Soviet troops did not go deeper into Norwegian territory.
The Allies did not disarm the German troops gathered in Norway for a long time, holding them against the USSR just in case. At the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945, Stalin pointed out to the allies that the 400,000-strong group of German troops in Norway was not disarmed.
As a result of the 10th strike, the enemy lost only 30 thousand people killed. The Soviet fleet sank 156 enemy ships and vessels. Aviation destroyed 125 enemy aircraft.
This is how, step by step, Soviet troops liberated their native land from the invaders.
Ten Stalinist strikes in 1944 completed the expulsion of the enemy from the territory of the Soviet Union. I would like to believe that the glory of the heroes who liberated our Motherland from a cruel enemy will live forever, and the memory of them will be preserved by all subsequent generations until the end of time.
During the summer campaign of 1944, our army fought over 900 kilometers from Chisinau to Belgrade, more than 600 kilometers from Zhlobin to Warsaw, and 550 kilometers from Vitebsk to Tilsit. As a result of the attacks, the Red Army defeated 136 enemy divisions.
1944 is the holy year of the cleansing of our land from the enemy and the year of glory of Soviet weapons. The feats accomplished only during Stalin's time are enough for all subsequent generations to believe in the greatness of the peoples of Russia.