The Germans violated the non-aggression pact.

The main battles of the Great Patriotic War

The Battle of Smolensk, battles in the North Caucasus, battles near Leningrad and Novgorod, military operations in Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, France, Belgium, Poland, .

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, resistance to the enemy was provided by the Red Army in border battles, in the battle of Smolensk, during the defense of Kyiv (in July-August 1941), Odessa (in August-October 1941) and Sevastopol (began in November 1941) .

Our troops, who were taken by surprise, failed to stop the enemy’s advance. Before the Battle of Smolensk, the Nazis had an advantage in ammunition and the number of fighters, so the battle became intense.

German troops organized a breakthrough in the area of ​​Mogilev, Polotsk and Vitebsk. The 20th Army of General Pavel Alekseevich Kurochkin continuously counterattacked the 9th German Army, but was unable to stop it. The enemy's tank divisions bypassed the 20th Army and approached Smolensk. On July 16, the Germans broke into the city, and after fighting that lasted for two weeks, they completely occupied it. Then the Germans could break through to Moscow.

At the beginning of the winter of 1941, the Soviet Army stopped the Germans, and they failed to carry out the “blitzkrieg” plan. The first major defeat of the Germans in the Great Patriotic War was in the Battle of Moscow, which can be divided into two periods: the period of defense (from September 30 to December 5, 1941) and the period of counteroffensive (from December 5-6, 1941 to January 7-8, 1942 year).

The counteroffensive ended with a general offensive of Soviet troops towards the western direction of the front (from January 7-10, 1942 to April 20, 1942). The Germans were thrown back 250 km from the capital, most of them were defeated or captured. This victory raised the spirit of the Soviet people. Türkiye and Japan, Germany's allies, did not enter the war.

After Moscow, he makes new mistakes, first demanding the deployment of a series of offensive operations. During the offensive that began near Kharkov (May 12-29, 1942), the Germans allowed our troops to go deep into the country (territory), then surrounded them and destroyed them. The second mistake is the plan of operations for 1942. assumed that the Germans would conduct military operations in the south, but Stalin thwarted Zhukov’s plan.

In the summer of 1942, the Germans began an offensive in the south. They wanted to first occupy the Kerch Peninsula and then capture Sevastopol. On May 16, Soviet troops abandoned Kerch. The defenders of Sevastopol defended for 250 days and nights until they ran out of ammunition and drinking water.

Then they left the destroyed city and retreated to Cape Chersonesus, from where some of the defenders were evacuated on July 4, and the rest continued to fight until July 9. Some units managed to break through to the mountains and become part of the partisan detachments. Some of the defenders were captured.

In a few weeks, the Germans reached Stalingrad and in the North Caucasus - Ordzhonikidze. The Battle of Stalingrad lasted more than six months (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943), but Stalingrad did not surrender. Based on the nature of the fighting, the battle can be divided into two stages: defensive (from July 17 to November 19, 1942) and offensive.

The winter offensive of the Soviet Army could not but be successful. It surrounded the Germans at Stalingrad, and the German army suffered its most important defeat, losing 1.5 million people. For this reason, the Nazi government of Germany declared three days of mourning.

After the Battle of Stalingrad, a number of German supporters - Romania, Italy and Finland - declared their desire to leave the war.

After the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet Army did not lose a single battle, going on the offensive along the entire front.

The last attempt of the Germans to win was the battle on the Kursk Bulge (July 5-August 23, 1943) - a front ledge in the Kursk region, formed as a result of the offensive of Soviet troops. The battle ended, by and large, in a draw. But Soviet industry instantly made up for the losses. After this, a continuous offensive of the Soviet army began.

The Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk are great, as they were able to turn the tide of the war in favor of the USSR. These victories raised the spirit of Soviet soldiers and proved to everyone that not all was lost in this terrible war. On August 5, 1943, Oryol and Belgorod were liberated, on August 23, Kharkov, and on November 6, Kyiv. On January 27, 1944, the blockade of Leningrad was lifted, Odessa was liberated on April 10, and Sevastopol on May 9.

In the summer of 1944, Belarus, Moldova, Karelia were liberated, and in October - the Baltic states, the Arctic, and Transcarpathian Ukraine. After this, Soviet troops, pursuing the Germans, crossed the borders of the USSR and entered the territories of neighboring states: Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia.

On May 2, 1945, Soviet troops under the command of Zhukov stormed Berlin, and on May 8 the German command signed an act of unconditional surrender. Thus ended the battles of the Great Patriotic War.

However, the last shots were fired in August 1945, when the USSR entered the war against Japan. On September 2, 1945, World War II ended.

Event, battle: surprise attack of Nazi Germany (without declaring war) on the Soviet Union

Summary, meaning, result: Soviet troops were not ready and could not give a worthy rebuff. The Nazis advanced deep into the country

Event, battle: defense of Odessa

Summary, meaning, result: the defense of Odessa delayed the enemy for a long time and contributed to the disruption of Hitler’s “Barbarossa” war plan

Event, battle: blockade of Leningrad (872 days of siege of the city by a dense ring of Nazi troops). The ring was broken by Soviet troops on January 18, 1943, but the blockade was completely lifted only a year later

Summary, meaning, result: more than 650 thousand Leningraders died from hunger and German bombing in a city cut off from the world

Event, battle: defense of Sevastopol

Summary, meaning, result: Sevastopol was surrendered to the enemy. Soviet troops, like German ones, suffered huge losses. The Germans, due to the fact that they could not take Sevastopol for almost a year, were unable to quickly advance into the interior of the country, as they had planned. And this helped thwart Hitler’s “Barbarossa” plan to conquer the USSR.

Event, battle: battle for Moscow

Results, significance, result: Moscow did not fall to Hitler, the Barbarossa plan to conquer the USSR was thwarted.

Event, battle: Battle of Stalingrad

Summary, meaning, result: failure of Germany's offensive against the USSR. The beginning of the Soviet offensive. A group of fascist troops led by Field Marshal Paulus was surrounded and captured. The city of Stalingrad (Volgograd) was almost completely destroyed

Event, battle: Battle of Kursk (“Kursk Bulge”). The largest tank battle in the history of the whole world

Summary, meaning, result: gave a turning point in the war. Now the Red Army began to lead the attack, and the German army began to retreat

Event, battle: Battle for the Caucasus

Summary, meaning, result: Germany was unable to capture the Caucasus and its oil wells and was forced to retreat.

Date: June 1944

Event, battle: the allies of the USSR (the British and the British) opened a “second front” against Hitler in France and began advancing towards Germany

Summary, meaning, result: weakening of Germany from the west

Event, battle: battle for Berlin. The largest battle in the history of the planet

Summary, meaning, result: The capital of Germany, Berlin, is captured by Soviet troops. The Reichstag, the building of the government of Nazi Germany, fell

Event, battle: Hitler's suicide in a secret bunker in Berlin

Summary, meaning, result: Germany was left without a war leader

Event, battle: official capitulation (surrender) of Germany

Summary, meaning, result: Union victory in the war

Business card

Great battles of the Great Patriotic War

Great battles of WWII

Battle of Moscow 1941 - 1942 The battle has two main stages: defensive (September 30 - December 5, 1941) and offensive (December 5, 1941 - April 20, 1942). At the first stage, the goal of the Soviet troops was the defense of Moscow, at the second - the defeat of enemy forces advancing on Moscow.

By the beginning of the German offensive on Moscow, Army Group Center (Field Marshal F. Bock) had 74.5 divisions (approximately 38% infantry and 64% tank and mechanized divisions operating on the Soviet-German front), 1,800,000 people, 1,700 tanks, over 14,000 guns and mortars, 1,390 aircraft. Soviet troops in the Western direction, consisting of three fronts, had 1,250 thousand people, 990 tanks, 7,600 guns and mortars and 677 aircraft.

At the first stage, Soviet troops of the Western Front (Colonel General I.S. Konev, and from October 10 - Army General G.K. Zhukov), (Bryansk (until October 10 - Colonel General A.I. Eremenko) and Kalinin ( from October 17 - 8.S. Konev) fronts stopped the advance of the troops of Army Group Center (the implementation of the frequent Operation Typhoon) at the line: south of the Volga Reservoir, Dmitrov, Yakhroma, Krasnaya Polyana (27 km from Moscow), eastern Istra, west of Kubinka, Naro-Fominsk, west of Serpukhov, eastern Aleksin, Tula. During the defensive battles, the enemy was significantly drained of blood on December 5-6, and on January 7-10, 1942 they launched a general offensive along the entire front. January-April 1942, troops of the Western, Kalininsky, Bryansk (from December 18 - Colonel General Ya. T. Cherevichenko) and North-Western Lieutenant General P. A. Kurochkin) fronts defeated the enemy and threw him back 100 -250 km. 11 tank, 4 motorized and 23 infantry divisions were defeated. Protiik losses only for the period January 1 - March 30, 1942 amounted to 333 thousand people.

The Battle of Moscow was of great importance: the myth of the invincibility of the German army was dispelled, the plan for a lightning war was thwarted, international situation USSR.

Battle of Stalingrad 1942 - 1943 Defensive and (July 17 - November 18, 1942) and offensive (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943) operations carried out by Soviet troops in order to defend Stalingrad and defeat a large enemy strategic group operating in the Stalingrad direction.

In defensive battles in the Stalingrad area and in the city itself, troops of the Stalinrad Front (Marshal S.K. Timoshenko, from July 23 - Lieutenant General V.N. Gordov, from August 5 - Colonel General A.I. Eremenko) and the Don Front (since September 28 - Lieutenant General K.K. Rokossovsky) managed to stop the offensive of the 6th Army of Colonel General F. Paulus and the 4th Tank Army. By July 17, the 6th Army included 13 divisions (about 270 thousand people, 3 thousand guns and mortars, about 500 tanks). They were supported by aviation of the 4th Air Fleet (up to 1200 aircraft). The troops of the Stalingrad Front numbered 160 thousand people, 2.2 thousand guns, about 400 tanks and 454 aircraft. At the cost of great efforts, the command of the Soviet troops managed not only to stop the advance of German troops in Stalingrad, but also to gather significant forces for the start of the counteroffensive (1,103 thousand people, 15,500 guns and mortars, 1,463 tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,350 combat aircraft). By this time, a significant group of German troops and forces of countries allied to Germany (in particular, the 8th Italian, 3rd and 4th Romanian armies) was sent to help the troops of Field Marshal F. Paulus. The total number of enemy troops at the beginning of the Soviet counteroffensive was 1,011,500 people, 10,290 guns and mortars, 675 tanks and assault guns, 1,216 combat aircraft.

On November 19 - 20, the troops of the Southwestern Front (Lieutenant General N.F. Vatutin), Stalingrad and Don Fronts went on the offensive and surrounded 22 divisions (330 thousand people) in the Stalingrad area. Having repelled an enemy attempt to liberate the encircled group in December, Soviet troops liquidated it. January 31 - February 2, 1943, the remnants of the enemy’s 6th Army, led by Field Marshal F. Paulus, surrendered (91 thousand people).

The victory at Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War.

Battle of Kursk 1943 Defensive (July 5 - 23) and offensive (July 12 - August 23) operations carried out by Soviet troops in the Kursk region to disrupt a major offensive by German troops and defeat the enemy’s strategic grouping. After the defeat of its troops at Stalingrad, the German command intended to conduct a major offensive operation in the Kursk region (Operation Citadel). Significant enemy forces were involved in its implementation - 50 divisions (including 16 tank and mechanized) and a number of individual units of Army Group Center (Field Marshal G. Kluge) and Army Group South (Field Marshal E. . Manstein). This accounted for about 70% of tank, up to 30% of motorized and more than 20% of infantry divisions operating on the Soviet-German front, as well as over 65% of all combat aircraft. About 20 enemy divisions operated on the flanks of the strike groups. The ground forces were supported by aviation from the 4th and 6th Air Fleets. In total, the enemy strike forces numbered over 900 thousand people, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2,700 tanks and self-propelled guns (most of them were new designs - “tigers”, “panthers” and “Ferdinands”) and about 2050 aircraft (including the latest designs - Focke-Wulf-lQOA and Heinkel-129).

The Soviet command entrusted the task of repelling the enemy offensive to the troops of the Central (from Orel) and Voronezh (from Belgorod) fronts. After solving the defense problems, it was planned to defeat the enemy’s Oryol grouping (Kutuzov plan) by troops of the right wing of the Central Front (Army General K.K. Rokossovsky), Bryansk (Colonel General M.M. Popov) and the left wing of the Western Front (Colonel General V. D. Sokolovsky). The offensive operation in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction (the “Commander Rumyantsev” plan) was to be carried out by the forces of the Voronezh (Army General N.F. Vatutin) and Steppe (Colonel General I.S. Konev) fronts in cooperation with the troops of the Southwestern Front (General army R. Ya. Malinovsky). The general coordination of the actions of all these forces was entrusted to the representatives of the Headquarters, Marshals G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky.

By the beginning of July, the Central and Voronezh Fronts had 1,336 thousand people, over 19 thousand guns and mortars, 3,444 tanks and self-propelled guns (including 900 light tanks) and 2,172 aircraft. In the rear of the Kursk salient, the Steppe Military District was deployed (from July 9 - the front), which was the strategic reserve of Headquarters.

The enemy offensive was to begin at 3 a.m. on July 5. However, just before it began, Soviet troops carried out artillery counter-preparation and inflicted heavy damage on the enemy in places where they were concentrated. The German offensive began only 2.5 hours later, and its course was different from what was planned. Thanks to the measures taken, it was possible to restrain the enemy’s advance (in seven days he managed to advance only 10–12 km in the direction of the Central Front). The most powerful enemy group was operating in the direction of the Voronezh Front. Here the Germans advanced up to 35 km deep into the defense of the Soviet troops. On July 12, a turning point occurred in the battle. On this day, in the Prokhorovka area, the largest oncoming tank battle in history took place, in which 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns took part on both sides. The enemy lost here on this day alone up to 400 tanks and self-propelled guns and 10 thousand people killed. On July 12, a new stage began in the Battle of Kursk, during which the counteroffensive of Soviet troops developed as part of the Oovskaya and Velgorod-Kharkov operations, which ended with the liberation of Orel and Belgorod on August 5, and Kharkov on August 23.

As a result of the Battle of Kursk, 30 enemy divisions (including 7 tank divisions) were completely defeated. The enemy lost over 500 thousand people, 1.5 thousand tanks, over 3.7 thousand aircraft, 3 thousand guns. The main result of the battle was the transition of German troops in all theaters of military operations to strategic defense. The strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Soviet command. In the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War, the radical change begun by the Battle of Stalingrad was completed.

Belarusian operation (June 23 - August 29, 1944). Code name: Operation Bagration. One of the largest strategic offensive operations undertaken by the Soviet high command with the aim of defeating the Nazi Army Group Center and liberating Belarus. The total number of enemy troops was 63 divisions and 3 brigades with a strength of 1.2 million people, 9.5 thousand guns, 900 tanks and 1350 aircraft. The enemy group was commanded by Field Marshal General E. Bush, and from June 28 by Field Marshal General V. Model. It was opposed by Soviet troops of four fronts (1st Baltic, 3rd Belorussian, 2nd Belorussian and 1st Belorussian) under the command, respectively, of Army General I. Kh. Bagramyan, Army General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, Army General G. F. Zakharov and Marshal Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky. The four fronts united 20 combined arms and 2 tank armies (a total of 166 divisions, 112 tank and mechanized corps, 7 fortified areas and 21 brigades). The total number of Soviet troops reached 2.4 million people, armed with about 86 thousand guns, 5.2 thousand tanks, 5.3 thousand combat aircraft,

Based on the nature of the combat operations and the achievement of the assigned objectives, the operation is divided into two stages. At the first (June 23 - July 4), the Vitebsk-Orsha, Mogilev, Bobruisk and Polotsk operations were carried out and the encirclement of the enemy’s Minsk group was completed. The second stage (July 5 - August 29) involved the destruction of the encircled enemy and the entry of Soviet troops to new frontiers during the Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas, Bialystok and Lublin-Brest operations. During the Belarusian operation, the enemy completely lost 17 divisions and 3 brigades, and 50 divisions lost more than 50% of their strength. The total enemy losses amounted to about 500 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners. During the operation, Lithuania and Latvia were partially liberated. On July 20, the Red Army entered the territory of Poland and on August 17 approached the borders of East Prussia. By August 29, she entered the outskirts of Warsaw. In general, on a front with a length of 1100 km, our troops advanced 550 - 100 km, completely cutting off the enemy’s northern grouping in the Baltic states. For participation in the operation, over 400 thousand soldiers and officers of the Red Army were awarded military orders and medals.

Berlin operation 1945 The final strategic offensive operation carried out by Soviet troops from April 16 to May 8, 1945. The objectives of the operation were the defeat of the group of German troops defending in the Berlin direction, the capture of Berlin and access to the Elbe to connect with the Allied forces. In the Berlin direction, troops of the Vistula group occupied the defense "and the Center group under the command of Colonel General G. Heinritz and Field Marshal F. Scherner. The total number of enemy troops was 1 million people, 10,400 guns, 1,500 tanks, 3,300 aircraft. In the rear of these army groups there were reserve units consisting of 8 divisions, as well as the Berlin garrison of 200 thousand people.

To carry out the operation, troops of three fronts were involved: 2nd Belorussian (Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky), 1st Belorussian (Marshal G.K. Zhukov), 1st Ukrainian (Marshal I.S. Konev). In total, the attacking troops included up to 2.5 million soldiers and officers, 41,600 guns and mortars, 6,250 tanks and self-propelled guns, 7,500 aircraft, as well as part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet and the Dnieper Military Flotilla.

Based on the nature of the tasks performed and the results, the Berlin operation is divided into 3 stages. 1st stage - breakthrough of the Oder-Neissen line of enemy defense (April 16 - 19); 2nd stage - encirclement and dismemberment of enemy troops (April 19 - 25); Stage 3 - destruction of the surrounded groups and capture of Berlin (April 26 - May 8). The main goals of the operation were achieved in 16 - 17 days.

For the success of the operation, 1,082 thousand soldiers were awarded the medal “For the Capture of Berlin.” More than 600 participants in the operation became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 13 people were awarded the second Gold Star medal. Significant dates of the Great Patriotic War

December 5 - The day of the start of the counter-offensive of Soviet troops against the invaders in the Battle of Moscow

The day of the start of the counteroffensive of Soviet troops against Nazi troops in the battle of Moscow.

By the number of troops, military equipment and weapons, scope and intensity of hostilities, the Battle of Moscow in 1941 -1942. was one of the largest in the history of the Second World War. It took place over an area of ​​up to 1 thousand km along the front and up to 350 - 400 km in depth, which was equal in area to England, Ireland, Iceland, Belgium and Holland combined. For over 200 days there were furious, bitter and bloody battles, in which over 7 million soldiers and officers, about 53 thousand guns and mortars, about 6.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, and more than 3 thousand combat aircraft fought on both sides. The Battle of Moscow was a decisive military event in the first year of the Great Patriotic War.

Even in Directive No. 21, the Wehrmacht was tasked with reaching Moscow as quickly as possible. After the first successes, Hitler demanded from the command and troops “to occupy Moscow on August 15, and end the war with Russia on October 1.” However, Soviet troops stopped the enemy with active and decisive actions.

By December 5, the German offensive was in crisis. Having suffered heavy losses and exhausted their material capabilities, the enemy began to go on the defensive. At the same time, by the beginning of December, the Supreme Command Headquarters near Moscow had concentrated significant strategic reserves.

December 5 - 6 troops of Kalinin, Western and South Western fronts launched a decisive counteroffensive. Despite the stubborn resistance of the enemy, severe frosts and deep snow cover, it developed successfully. By January 7, 1942, Soviet troops advanced westward by 100 - 250 km.

For valor and courage shown in fierce and bloody battles, 40 formations and units were awarded guards ranks, 36 thousand soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals. The Battle of Moscow was the beginning of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War.

Federal Law of March 13, 1995 N 32-FZ “On the Days military glory(victorious days) of Russia"

The victory of Soviet troops over the Nazi troops at Stalingrad is one of the most glorious pages in the annals of the Great Patriotic War. For 200 days and nights - from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943 - the Battle of Stalingrad continued with a continuously increasing tension of forces on both sides. During the first four months there were stubborn defensive battles, first in the big bend of the Don, and then on the approaches to Stalingrad and in the city itself. During this period, Soviet troops exhausted the Nazi group that was rushing to the Volga and forced it to go on the defensive. In the next two and a half months, the Red Army, launching a counteroffensive, defeated enemy troops north-west and south of Stalingrad, encircled and liquidated a 300,000-strong group of fascist German troops.

The Battle of Stalingrad is the decisive battle of World War II, in which Soviet troops won their largest victory. This battle marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War as a whole. The victorious offensive of the Nazi troops ended and their expulsion from the territory of the Soviet Union began.

The Battle of Stalingrad surpassed all battles in world history at that time in terms of the duration and ferocity of the fighting, the number of people and military equipment involved. It unfolded over a vast territory of 100 thousand square kilometers. At certain stages, over 2 million people, up to 2 thousand tanks, more than 2 thousand aircraft, and up to 26 thousand guns took part in it on both sides. The results of this battle also surpassed all previous ones. At Stalingrad, Soviet troops defeated five armies: two German, two Romanian and one Italian. The Nazi troops lost more than 800 thousand soldiers and officers killed, wounded, captured, as well as large number military equipment, weapons and equipment.

The Battle of Stalingrad is usually divided into two inextricably linked periods: defensive (from July 17 to November 18, 1942) and offensive (from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943).

At the same time, due to the fact that the Battle of Stalingrad is a whole complex of defensive and offensive operations, its periods, in turn, must be considered in stages, each of which is either one completed or even several interrelated operations.

For courage and heroism shown in Battle of Stalingrad, 32 formations and units were given the honorary names “Stalingrad”, 5 - “Don”. 55 formations and units were awarded orders. 183 units, formations and formations were converted into guards. More than one hundred and twenty soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, about 760 thousand participants in the battle were awarded the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad.” On the 20th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, the hero city of Volgograd was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

August 23 - Day of the defeat of Nazi troops by Soviet troops in the Battle of Kursk

Fierce battles on the ground and in the air on the Kursk Bulge lasted 50 days (5.07 - 23.08 1943). Through Oboyan and Prokhorovka, the Nazis rushed to Kursk. On July 12, 1943, the largest oncoming tank battle in history took place near Prokhorovka, in which more than 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns took part on both sides. The Wehrmacht lost about 500 thousand people, 1.5 thousand tanks, over 3.7 thousand aircraft, 3 thousand guns.

His offensive strategy was a complete failure. The Soviet tank crews won, destroying up to 400 enemy tanks. During the Battle of Kursk, Soviet troops liberated the Russian cities of Orel and Belgorod. On this day, for the first time during the war, Moscow saluted the heroic soldiers, announcing to the world the victory at the Kursk Bulge. The last attempt of the enemy command to regain the strategic initiative and take revenge for Stalingrad failed. The Nazi army was faced with disaster. The mass expulsion of the Nazi invaders from the USSR began.

Our people sacredly honor the memory of heroic warriors. Along the line of the Kursk Bulge from Orel to Belgorod, monuments and obelisks of military glory were erected at the sites of battles of 1943. At the 624th kilometer of the Moscow-Simferopol highway, not far from Prokhorovka (Belgorod region), in honor of the heroic tankmen who participated in the defeat of fascist troops on the Kursk Bulge, the famous Soviet T-34 tank was installed on a pedestal in 1954. In 1973, a memorial complex was opened.

From the first days of the war, one of the strategic directions, according to the plans of the Nazi command, was Leningrad. Leningrad was among the most important targets targeted for capture.

The Battle of Leningrad, the longest during the entire Great Patriotic War, lasted from July 10, 1941 to August 9, 1944. During the 900-day defense of Leningrad, Soviet troops pinned down large forces of the German army and the entire Finnish one. This undoubtedly contributed to the victories of the Red Army in other sectors of the Soviet-German front. Leningraders showed examples of perseverance, endurance and patriotism.

During the blockade, about 1 million inhabitants died, including more than 600 thousand from hunger. During the war, Hitler repeatedly demanded that the city be razed to the ground and its population completely destroyed. However, neither shelling and bombing, nor hunger and cold broke its defenders.

Already in July - September 1941, 10 divisions were formed in the city people's militia. Despite the most difficult conditions, the industry of Leningrad did not stop its work. Assistance to blockade survivors was carried out on ice Lake Ladoga. This transport route was called the “Road of Life”. On January 12-30, 1943, an operation was carried out to break the blockade of Leningrad (“Iskra”).

It was a turning point in the battle for Leningrad. The entire southern coast of Lake Ladoga was cleared of the enemy, and the initiative to conduct military operations in this direction passed to the Red Army. During the Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive operation from January 14 to March 1, 1944, Army Group North was severely defeated.

On January 27, 1944, Leningraders celebrated the lifting of the blockade. In the evening, a salute of 324 guns took place, about which our famous poetess A. A. Akhmatova wrote the following unforgettable lines: “And in the starless January night, marveling at its unprecedented fate, Returned from the mortal abyss, Leningrad salutes itself.” As a result of powerful attacks, almost the entire Leningrad region and part of the Kalinin region were liberated, and Soviet troops entered Estonia. Favorable conditions have developed for the defeat of the enemy in the Baltic states.

Victory Day of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

One of the days of military glory of Russia.

Victory Day is a non-working day and is celebrated annually with a military parade and artillery salute.

The military parade is held in the capital of the Russian Federation, Moscow, using symbols from the times of the Great Patriotic War.

Artillery salutes are held in hero cities, as well as in cities where the headquarters of military districts and fleets are located. Procedure festive processions, meetings, rallies and demonstrations, dedicated to the Day Victory is determined in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

This Day was established by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated April 2, 1996 N 489 in connection with the signing of the Agreement between Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, ensuring further integration of fraternal peoples.

Prisoners of fascist death camps still have difficult dreams. 55 years have passed until the day of liberation, from the time when we lived with the only thought - to endure everything and not give up. They persevered and did not give up. Having failed to achieve their goal, the executioners sent everyone who resisted and fought against fascism during the period of Hitler’s terror to be exterminated in death camps.

18 million prisoners from 23 countries of the world with the stamp “not subject to return” entered the gates of concentration camps and only seven million waited for freedom. Auschwitz alone, a veritable death factory, claimed the lives of four million. How many were there?! Mauthausen, Dachau, Sachsenheisen...

The international women's concentration camp Ravensbrück, hell, lived up to its name: in Russian its name translates as “crow bridge”. There, behind a brick wall four and a half meters high with a wire energized by six thousand volts, the “medical luminaries” of the Third Reich did their dirty work: they inoculated with cancer, gas gangrene, chopped off legs, and took all the blood from children. No one could escape from here to tell what was happening behind these walls. Many women were sterilized, saying: “You will be a slave, but never a mother!”

In the four years that passed between the undeclared start of the war and the signing of the German surrender, the parties fought countless battles. Some of them are forever included in military history as the battles that determined the outcome of the most terrible war in human history. Today Primorskaya Gazeta will remember the five most significant battles of the Great Patriotic War.

1. Battle of Moscow (1941 - 1942)

At the beginning of September 1941, the German command began preparing the operation to capture Moscow. The idea of ​​the operation was to use powerful strikes from large groups to encircle the main forces of the Red Army troops covering the capital and destroy them in the areas of Bryansk and Vyazma, and then quickly bypass Moscow from the north and south with the aim of capturing it. The operation to capture Moscow was codenamed “Typhoon”.

Red Army soldiers go straight from the parade to the front

To implement this plan, the German command managed to create an impressive superiority in manpower and equipment in the directions of the main attacks.

The general offensive of German troops began on September 30, 1941, and by October 7 they managed to encircle four Soviet armies west of Vyazma and two south of Bryansk. The path to Moscow, as the German command believed, was open. But the plans of the fascists were not destined to come true. The encircled Soviet armies pinned down about 20 German divisions in stubborn battles for two weeks. At this time, the Mozhaisk defense line was hastily strengthened, and reserve troops were urgently brought up. WITH Leningrad Front Georgy Zhukov was recalled and took command of the Western Front on October 10.

Despite heavy losses, the Germans continued to rush towards Moscow. They captured Kalinin, Mozhaisk, Maloyaroslavets. In mid-October, the evacuation of government institutions, the diplomatic corps, industrial enterprises, and the population from Moscow began. The rush to evacuate created confusion and panic. Rumors spread throughout Moscow about the planned surrender of the city to the Germans. This forced the State Defense Committee to introduce a state of siege in Moscow from October 20.

By the beginning of November, the city’s defenders managed to stop the enemy’s advance, and on December 5, Soviet troops, having repelled a number of more attacks, went on the offensive. On the fields of the Moscow region, Germany suffered its first major defeat in World War II, and the myth of the invincibility of its army was dispelled. The Germans lost a total of more than half a million people, 1,300 tanks, 2,500 guns, more than 15 thousand vehicles and much other equipment.

2. Battle of Stalingrad (1942 - 1943)

Encouraged by the successes near Moscow, the Soviet leadership tried to seize the strategic initiative and in May 1942 launched large forces on the offensive near Kharkov. For the Wehrmacht, this operation came as a complete surprise, and at first the Soviet offensive was a serious threat to German group armies "South".

German military leaders, however, demonstrated that they were capable of making bold decisions in critical situations, and thanks to the concentration of troops on a narrow section of the front, they were able to break through the Soviet defenses, take the attacking group into a “cauldron” and defeat it.

Street fighting in Stalingrad

The “Kharkov disaster” became a serious blow according to the morale of the USSR army, but worst consequence was that the road to the Caucasus and the Volga direction was no longer covered by anyone.

In May 1942, the Fuhrer of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler, personally intervened in strategic planning and ordered the division of Army Group South into two groups. One of them was supposed to continue the attack on northern Caucasus, and Group B, including Paulus's 6th Army and Hoth's 4th Panzer Army, was to move east towards the Volga and Stalingrad.

The capture of Stalingrad was very important for Hitler for several reasons. It was a large industrial city on the banks of the Volga, along which and along which strategically important transport routes ran, connecting the Center of Russia with Southern regions USSR. The capture of Stalingrad would have allowed the Nazis to cut off the water and land communications vital for the USSR, reliably cover the left flank of the German troops advancing in the Caucasus and create serious supply problems for the Red Army units opposing them. Finally, the very fact that the city bore the name of Stalin, Hitler’s ideological enemy, made the capture of the city a winning ideological and propaganda move.

However, the defenders of Stalingrad managed not only to defend their city, but also to encircle and then destroy the enemy army along with the formations rushing to its aid.

German fighter shot down in the sky over Stalingrad

From January 10 to February 2, 1943 alone, over 91 thousand people were captured, including two and a half thousand officers and 24 generals. In total, during the Battle of Stalingrad, the enemy lost about one and a half million people killed, wounded, captured and missing - a quarter of their forces operating on the Soviet-German front.

The victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad had enormous political and international significance; it had significant influence for the development of the Resistance Movement in the territory European countries occupied by fascist invaders. As a result of the battle, the Soviet armed forces wrested the strategic initiative from the enemy and retained it until the end of the war.

3. Battle of Kursk (1943)

The successes achieved at Stalingrad were consolidated in the summer of that year.

During the winter offensive of the Red Army and the subsequent counter-offensive of the Wehrmacht in Eastern Ukraine, a protrusion up to 150 kilometers deep and up to 200 kilometers wide, facing west, was formed in the center of the Soviet-German front - the so-called “Kursk Bulge”. The German command, flattering itself with the hope of regaining the strategic initiative, decided to conduct a strategic operation on the Kursk salient. For this purpose, a military operation codenamed “Citadel” was developed and approved. Having information about the preparation of enemy troops for an offensive, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to temporarily go on the defensive on the Kursk Bulge and, during the defensive battle, bleed the enemy’s strike forces and thereby create favorable conditions for the Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive, and then a general strategic offensive.

Soviet soldiers advance under the cover of tanks

To carry out Operation Citadel, the German command concentrated in a narrow area about 70% of tank, up to 30% of motorized and more than 20% of infantry divisions, as well as over 65% of all combat aircraft operating on the Soviet-German front.

On July 5, 1943, German attack groups, according to the operation plan, began an attack on Kursk from the Orel and Belgorod areas, and on July 12, in the area of ​​the Prokhorovka railway station, 56 kilometers north of Belgorod, the largest oncoming tank battle of the Second World War took place. On both sides, up to 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns took part in the battle. The fierce battle lasted all day; by evening, tank crews and infantry were fighting hand-to-hand.

Despite the massive scale of the offensive, Soviet troops managed to stop the enemy’s advance deeper into the Kursk ledge, and just a day later, troops from the Bryansk, Central and Western fronts organized a counteroffensive. By July 18, the Soviet army had completely eliminated the enemy wedge in the Kursk direction; a little later, troops of the Steppe Front were brought into the battle and began pursuing the retreating enemy.

Red Army counteroffensive

Developing the offensive, Soviet ground forces, supported by air strikes from two air armies, as well as long-range aviation, pushed the enemy to the west and liberated Orel, Belgorod and Kharkov.

According to Soviet sources, the Wehrmacht lost over 500 thousand soldiers and officers, 1.5 thousand tanks, more than 3.7 thousand aircraft, and three thousand guns in the Battle of Kursk. The losses of Soviet troops were even worse. 863 thousand people did not return from the battle, and the armored fleet was depleted by six thousand vehicles.

However, the demographic resources of the USSR were much higher than the German ones, so the Battle of Kursk was more difficult for the invaders. The balance of forces at the front changed sharply in favor of the Red Army, which provided it with favorable conditions for the deployment of a general strategic offensive. The whole world realized that the defeat of Nazi Germany was a matter of time.

4. Belarusian operation (1944)

One of the largest military operations in human history, in which both sides took part (according to different sources) up to four million people.

By June 1944, the front line in the east approached the line Vitebsk - Orsha - Mogilev - Zhlobin, forming a huge protrusion - a wedge facing deep into the USSR, the so-called “Belarusian Balcony”. If in Ukraine the Red Army managed to achieve a series of impressive successes (almost the entire territory of the republic was liberated, the Wehrmacht suffered heavy losses in the chain of “cauldrons”), then when trying to break through in the direction of Minsk in the winter of 1943-1944, the successes, on the contrary, were quite modest.

Artillery attack on German positions

At the same time, by the end of the spring of 1944, the offensive in the south slowed down, and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, on the initiative of Konstantin Rokossovsky, decided to change the direction of efforts.

The goal of the operation was the defeat of the German Army Group Center and the liberation of Belarus with subsequent access to the territories of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. This offensive operation was included in the operational documents of the Headquarters under the code name “Bagration”.

The operation plan provided for a simultaneous breakthrough of the enemy’s defenses in six sections of the “Belarusian Balcony”.

The operation consisted of two stages. During the first, which lasted from June 23 to July 4, Soviet troops broke through the front and, with the help of a series of enveloping maneuvers, surrounded large German groups. Near Bobruisk, Soviet troops for the first time used a massive air strike to destroy the encircled group, which disorganized and scattered the German units going for a breakthrough.

To the west!

As a result, the main forces of Army Group Center were defeated, a 400-kilometer gap was formed in the center of the Soviet-German front, and Soviet troops were able to advance to the West. A huge role in this operation was played by Belarusian partisans, who disorganized the operational rear of the Germans, paralyzing their transfer of reserves.

At the second stage (July 5 - August 29), operations were carried out that ensured that Soviet troops continued to advance deeper into territories that had recently been under enemy control.

During the Belarusian operation, the USSR army liberated all of Belarus, most of Lithuania and Latvia, entered the territory of Poland and advanced to the borders of East Prussia. For carrying out the operation, Army General Konstantin Rokossovsky received the rank of marshal.

5. Berlin operation (1945)

One of the last strategic operations of Soviet troops in the European theater of operations, during which the Red Army occupied the capital of Germany and victoriously ended the Great Patriotic War and the Second world war in Europe. 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.

After the fighting on the streets of Berlin

At the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, the world community no longer had any doubts that the anti-Hitler coalition would win the protracted war. However, the German leadership hoped to the last to mitigate the consequences of the war. In particular, the Germans wanted to conclude a separate peace with Great Britain and the United States, and then, left alone with the Soviet Union, gradually restore strategic equality.

Therefore, the Soviet command was required to make quick and bold decisions aimed at ending the war as quickly as possible. It was necessary to prepare and carry out an operation to defeat a group of German troops in the Berlin direction, capture Berlin and reach the Elbe River to join the Allied forces. The successful implementation of this strategic task made it possible to thwart the plans of the Nazi leadership.

To carry out the operation, troops of three fronts were involved: the 2nd Belorussian under the leadership of Marshal Rokossovsky, the 1st Belorussian (Marshal G.K. Zhukov) and the 1st Ukrainian (Marshal I.S. Konev). In total, the attacking troops included up to 2.5 million soldiers and officers, 41,600 guns and mortars, 6,250 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 7,500 aircraft, as well as part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet and the Dnieper Military Flotilla.

Based on the nature of the tasks performed and the results, the Berlin operation was divided into three stages. First, the Oder-Neissen line of enemy defense was broken through, then the enemy troops were surrounded and dismembered.

On April 30, 1945 at 21:30, units of the 150th Infantry Division under the command of Major General V.M. Shatilov and the 171st Infantry Division under the command of Colonel A.I. Negoda stormed the main part of the Reichstag building. The remaining Nazi units offered stubborn resistance. We had to fight for every room. In the early morning of May 1, the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division was raised over the Reichstag, but the battle for the Reichstag continued all day, and only on the night of May 2 did the Reichstag garrison capitulate.

On May 1, only the Tiergarten district and the government quarter remained in German hands. The imperial chancellery was located here, in the courtyard of which there was a bunker at Hitler's headquarters. On the night of May 1, by prior agreement, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, General Krebs, arrived at the headquarters of the 8th Guards Army. He informed the army commander, General V.I. Chuikov, about Hitler’s suicide and the proposal of the new German government to conclude a truce. However, the German government rejected the demand for unconditional surrender, and Soviet troops resumed the assault with renewed vigor.

Soviet soldiers against the backdrop of the captured Reichstag

At one o'clock in the morning on May 2, the radio stations of the 1st Belorussian Front received a message in Russian: “We ask you to cease fire. We are sending envoys to the Potsdam Bridge.” A German officer who arrived at the appointed place, on behalf of the commander of the defense of Berlin, General Weidling, announced the readiness of the Berlin garrison to stop resistance. At 6 a.m. on May 2, Artillery General Weidling, accompanied by three German generals, crossed the front line and surrendered. An hour later, while at the headquarters of the 8th Guards Army, he wrote a surrender order, which was duplicated and, with the help of loudspeaker installations and radio, delivered to enemy units defending in the center of Berlin. As this order was communicated to the defenders, resistance in the city ceased. By the end of the day, the troops of the 8th Guards Army cleared the central part of the city from the enemy. Individual units that did not want to surrender tried to break through to the west, but were destroyed or scattered.

Alexey Mikhaldyk

Chronology

• 1941, June 22 - 1945, May 9 Great Patriotic War
• 1941, October - December Battle of Moscow
• 1942, November - 1943, February Battle of Stalingrad
• 1943, July - August Battle of Kursk
• 1944, January Liquidation of the siege of Leningrad
• 1944 Liberation of the territory of the USSR from fascist invaders
• 1945, April - May Battle of Berlin
• 1945, May 9 Victory Day of the Soviet Union over Germany
• 1945, August - September Defeat of Japan

Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1945)

Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941 - 1945. as an integral and decisive part of the Second World War 1939 - 1945. has three periods:

June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942. It is characterized by measures to transform the country into a single military camp, the collapse of Hitler’s “blitzkrieg” strategy and the creation of conditions for a radical change in the war.

Beginning of 1944 - May 9, 1945. Complete expulsion of fascist invaders from Soviet soil; liberation by the Soviet Army of the peoples of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe; the final defeat of Nazi Germany.

By 1941, Nazi Germany and its allies captured virtually all of Europe: Poland was defeated, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg were occupied. The French army resisted for only 40 days. The English Expeditionary Army suffered a major defeat, whose units were evacuated to the British Isles. Fascist troops entered the territory Balkan countries. In Europe, essentially, there was no force that could stop the aggressor. The Soviet Union became such a force. The Soviet people accomplished a great feat, saving world civilization from fascism.

In 1940, the fascist leadership developed a plan “ Barbarossa”, the goal of which was the lightning defeat of the Soviet Armed Forces and the occupation of the European part of the Soviet Union. Further plans included the complete destruction of the USSR. The ultimate goal of the Nazi troops was to reach the Volga-Arkhangelsk line, and the Urals were planned to be paralyzed with the help of aviation. To achieve this, 153 German divisions and 37 divisions of its allies (Finland, Romania and Hungary) were concentrated in the eastern direction. They had to strike in three directions: central(Minsk - Smolensk - Moscow), northwest(Baltics - Leningrad) and southern(Ukraine with access to the Black Sea coast). A lightning campaign was planned to capture the European part of the USSR before the fall of 1941.

The first period of the Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1942)

Beginning of the war

Implementation of the plan “ Barbarossa” started at dawn June 22, 1941. extensive aerial bombardment of the largest industrial and strategic centers, as well as the offensive of the ground forces of Germany and its allies along the entire European border of the USSR (over 4.5 thousand km).

Fascist planes drop bombs on peaceful Soviet cities. June 22, 1941

In the first few days, German troops advanced tens and hundreds of kilometers. On central direction at the beginning of July 1941, all of Belarus was captured, and German troops reached the approaches to Smolensk. On northwest- the Baltic states are occupied, Leningrad is blocked on September 9. On south Hitler's troops occupied Moldova and Right Bank Ukraine. Thus, by the autumn of 1941, Hitler’s plan to seize the vast territory of the European part of the USSR was carried out.

153 fascist German divisions (3,300 thousand people) and 37 divisions (300 thousand people) of the satellite states of Hitler Germany were thrown against the Soviet state. They were armed with 3,700 tanks, 4,950 aircraft and 48 thousand guns and mortars.

By the beginning of the war against the USSR, as a result of the occupation of Western European countries, 180 Czechoslovak, French, English, Belgian, Dutch and Norwegian divisions received weapons, ammunition and equipment at the disposal of Nazi Germany. This not only made it possible to equip the fascist troops with sufficient quantities of military equipment and equipment, but also to ensure superiority in military potential over the Soviet troops.

In our western districts there were 2.9 million people, armed with 1,540 new types of aircraft, 1,475 modern T-34 and KV tanks and 34,695 guns and mortars. The Nazi army had great superiority in strength.

Characterizing the reasons for the failures of the Soviet Armed Forces in the first months of the war, many historians today see them in serious mistakes made by the Soviet leadership in the pre-war years. In 1939, large mechanized corps, so necessary in modern warfare, production of 45 and 76 mm anti-tank guns was stopped, fortifications on the old Western border were dismantled, and much more.

The weakening of the command staff caused by pre-war repressions also played a negative role. All this led to an almost complete change in the command and political composition of the Red Army. By the beginning of the war, about 75% of commanders and 70% of political workers had been in their positions for less than one year. Even the chief of the general staff of the ground forces of Nazi Germany, General F. Halder, noted in his diary in May 1941: “The Russian officer corps is exceptionally bad. It makes a worse impression than in 1933. It will take Russia 20 years until it reaches its previous heights.” The officer corps of our country had to be recreated already in the conditions of the outbreak of war.

Among the serious mistakes of the Soviet leadership should be included a miscalculation in determining the time of a possible attack by Nazi Germany on the USSR.

Stalin and his entourage believed that Hitler’s leadership would not dare in the near future to violate the non-aggression treaty concluded with the USSR. All information received through various channels, including military and political intelligence, about the upcoming German attack was considered by Stalin as provocative, aimed at aggravating relations with Germany. This can also explain the government’s assessment conveyed in a TASS statement on June 14, 1941, in which rumors about an impending German attack were declared provocative. This also explained the fact that the directive to bring the troops of the western military districts into combat readiness and occupy combat lines was given too late. Essentially, the directive was received by the troops when the war had already begun. Therefore, the consequences of this were extremely severe.

At the end of June - the first half of July 1941, large defensive border battles unfolded (defense Brest Fortress etc.).

Defenders of the Brest Fortress. Hood. P. Krivonogov. 1951

From July 16 to August 15, the defense of Smolensk continued in the central direction. In the north westward The German plan to capture Leningrad failed. In the south, the defense of Kyiv was carried out until September 1941, and Odessa until October. The stubborn resistance of the Red Army in the summer and autumn of 1941 thwarted Hitler's plan for a lightning war. At the same time, the capture by the fascist command by the fall of 1941 of the vast territory of the USSR with its most important industrial centers and grain regions was a serious loss for the Soviet government. (Reader T11 No. 3)

Restructuring the country's life on a war footing

Immediately after the German attack, the Soviet government carried out major military-political and economic measures to repel aggression. On June 23, the Headquarters of the Main Command was formed. July 10 it was converted into Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. It included I.V. Stalin (appointed commander-in-chief and soon became people's commissar of defense), V.M. Molotov, S.K. Timoshenko, S.M. Budyonny, K.E. Voroshilov, B.M. Shaposhnikov and G.K. Zhukov. By a directive of June 29, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks set the entire country the task of mobilizing all forces and means to fight the enemy. On June 30, the State Defense Committee was created(GKO), which concentrated all power in the country. The military doctrine was radically revised, the task was put forward to organize strategic defense, wear down and stop the advance of the fascist troops. Large-scale events were carried out to transfer industry to a military footing, mobilize the population into the army and build defensive lines.

Page of the newspaper "Moscow Bolshevik" dated July 3, 1941 with the text of a speech by J.V. Stalin. Fragment

One of the main tasks, which had to be resolved from the first days of the war, was the fastest restructuring of the national economy, the entire economy of the country on military rails. The main line of this restructuring was defined in the Directive of June 29, 1941. Specific measures to restructure the national economy began to be implemented from the very beginning of the war. On the second day of the war, a mobilization plan for the production of ammunition and cartridges was introduced. And on June 30, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR approved the mobilization national economic plan for the third quarter of 1941. However, events at the front developed so unfavorably for us that this plan was not fulfilled. Taking into account the current situation, on July 4, 1941, a decision was made to urgently develop a new plan for the development of military production. The GKO resolution on July 4, 1941 noted: “To instruct the commission of Comrade Voznesensky, with the involvement of the People's Commissar of Arms, Ammunition, Aviation Industry, Non-ferrous Metallurgy and other People's Commissars develop a military-economic plan for ensuring the country's defense, referring to the use of resources and enterprises located on the Volga, in Western Siberia and in the Urals." In two weeks, this commission developed a new plan for the fourth quarter of 1941 and for 1942 for the regions of the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

For the speedy deployment of a production base in the Volga region, Urals, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, it was decided to bring industrial enterprises People's Commissariat of Ammunition, People's Commissariat of Armaments, People's Commissariat of Aviation Industry, etc.

Members of the Politburo, who were at the same time members of the State Defense Committee, exercised general management of the main branches of the military economy. Issues of production of weapons and ammunition were dealt with by N.A. Voznesensky, aircraft and aircraft engines - G.M. Malenkov, tanks - V.M. Molotov, food, fuel and clothing - A.I. Mikoyan and others. Industrial People's Commissariat was headed by: A.L. Shakhurin - aviation industry, V.L. Vannikov - ammunition, I.F. Tevosyan - ferrous metallurgy, A.I. Efremov - machine tool industry, V.V. Vakhrushev - coal, I.I. Sedin is an oil worker.

The main link in the restructuring of the national economy on a war footing became industrial restructuring. Almost all mechanical engineering was transferred to military production.

In November 1941, the People's Commissariat of General Engineering was transformed into the People's Commissariat of the Mortar Industry. In addition to the People's Commissariat of the aviation industry, shipbuilding, weapons and ammunition created before the war, two People's Commissariat of the tank and mortar industry were formed at the beginning of the war. Thanks to this, all major branches of the military industry received specialized centralized control. The production of rocket mortars, which existed before the war only in prototypes, began. Their production is organized at the Moscow Kompressor plant. The first missile combat installation was given the name “Katyusha” by front-line soldiers.

At the same time, the process was actively carried out training of workers through the labor reserve system. In just two years, about 1,100 thousand people were trained to work in industry through this area.

For the same purposes, in February 1942, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the mobilization of the able-bodied urban population to work in production and construction during wartime” was adopted.

During the restructuring of the national economy, the main center of the military economy of the USSR became eastern industrial base, which was significantly expanded and strengthened with the outbreak of the war. Already in 1942, the share of the eastern regions in all-Union production increased.

As a result, the eastern industrial base bore the brunt of supplying the army with weapons and equipment. In 1942, military production increased in the Urals by more than 6 times compared to 1940, in Western Siberia by 27 times, and in the Volga region by 9 times. In general, during the war, industrial production in these areas increased more than threefold. This was a great military-economic victory achieved by the Soviet people during these years. It laid solid foundations for the final victory over Nazi Germany.

Progress of military operations in 1942

In the summer of 1942, the fascist leadership relied on capturing the oil regions of the Caucasus, the fertile regions of southern Russia and the industrial Donbass. Kerch and Sevastopol were lost.

At the end of June 1942, a general German offensive unfolded in two directions: on Caucasus and to the east - to Volga.

Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union (22.VI. 1941 - 9.V. 1945)

On Caucasian direction at the end of July 1942, a strong Nazi group crossed the Don. As a result, Rostov, Stavropol and Novorossiysk were captured. Stubborn fighting took place in the central part of the Main Caucasus Range, where specially trained enemy alpine riflemen operated in the mountains. Despite the successes achieved in the Caucasus, the fascist command was never able to solve its main task - to break into the Transcaucasus to seize the oil reserves of Baku. By the end of September, the offensive of fascist troops in the Caucasus was stopped.

An equally difficult situation for the Soviet command arose in east direction. It was created to cover it Stalingrad Front under the command of Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko. In connection with the current critical situation, Order No. 227 of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was issued, which stated: “To retreat further means to ruin ourselves and at the same time our Motherland.” At the end July 1942. enemy under command General von Paulus dealt a powerful blow to Stalingrad front. However, despite the significant superiority in forces, within a month fascist troops managed to advance only 60 - 80 km.

From the first days of September began heroic defense of Stalingrad, which actually continued until the end of 1942. Its significance during the Great Patriotic War is enormous. Thousands of Soviet patriots showed themselves heroically in the battles for the city.

Street fighting in Stalingrad. 1942

As a result, enemy troops suffered colossal losses in the battles for Stalingrad. Every month of the battle, about 250 thousand new Wehrmacht soldiers and officers, the bulk of military equipment, were sent here. By mid-November 1942, the Nazi troops, having lost more than 180 thousand people killed and 500 thousand wounded, were forced to stop the offensive.

During the summer-autumn campaign of 1942, the Nazis managed to occupy a huge part of the European part of the USSR, but the enemy was stopped.

Second period of the Great Patriotic War (1942 - 1943)

The final stage of the war (1944 - 1945)

Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union (22.VI. 1941 - 9.V. 1945)

In the winter of 1944, the offensive of Soviet troops began near Leningrad and Novgorod.

900 day blockade heroic Leningrad, broken through in 1943, was completely removed.

United! Breaking the blockade of Leningrad. January 1943

Summer 1944. The Red Army carried out one of the largest operations of the Great Patriotic War (“ Bagration”). Belarus was completely released. This victory opened the way for advances into Poland, the Baltic states and East Prussia. In mid-August 1944. Soviet troops in the western direction reached border with Germany.

At the end of August, Moldova was liberated.

These are the most major operations 1944 was accompanied by the liberation of other territories of the Soviet Union - Transcarpathian Ukraine, the Baltic states, the Karelian Isthmus and the Arctic.

The victories of Russian troops in 1944 helped the peoples of Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia in their struggle against fascism. In these countries, pro-German regimes were overthrown, and patriotic forces came to power. The Polish Army, created back in 1943 on the territory of the USSR, took the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Main results offensive operations carried out in 1944, consisted in the fact that the liberation of Soviet land was completely completed, the state border of the USSR was completely restored, military operations were transferred beyond the borders of our Motherland.

Front commanders at the final stage of the war

A further offensive of the Red Army against Hitler's troops was launched on the territory of Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. The Soviet command, developing the offensive, carried out a number of operations outside the USSR (Budapest, Belgrade, etc.). They were caused by the need to destroy large enemy groups in these territories in order to prevent the possibility of their transfer to the defense of Germany. At the same time, the introduction of Soviet troops into the countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe strengthened the left and communist parties in them and, in general, the influence of the Soviet Union in this region.

T-34-85 in the mountains of Transylvania

IN January 1945. Soviet troops began broad offensive operations in order to complete the defeat of Nazi Germany. The offensive took place on a huge 1,200 km front from the Baltic to the Carpathians. Polish, Czechoslovak, Romanian and Bulgarian troops operated together with the Red Army. The French aviation regiment “Normandie - Neman” also fought as part of the 3rd Belorussian Front.

By the end of the winter of 1945, the Soviet Army had completely liberated Poland and Hungary, a significant part of Czechoslovakia and Austria. In the spring of 1945, the Red Army reached the approaches to Berlin.

Berlin offensive operation (16.IV - 8.V 1945)

Victory Banner over the Reichstag

It was a difficult battle in a burning, dilapidated city. On May 8, representatives of the Wehrmacht signed an act of unconditional surrender.

Signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany

On May 9, Soviet troops completed their last operation - they defeated the Nazi army group surrounding the capital of Czechoslovakia, Prague, and entered the city.

The long-awaited Victory Day has arrived, which has become a great holiday. Decisive role in achieving this victory, in achieving the defeat of Nazi Germany and ending the Second World War belongs to the Soviet Union.

Defeated fascist standards