62 states participated in World War II, but there were many countries that managed to maintain neutrality. It is about such states that we will talk further.
Switzerland
"We'll take Switzerland, that little porcupine, on the way back." A saying that was common among German soldiers during the French campaign of 1940.
The Swiss Guard is the oldest (surviving) military unit in the world, guarding the Pope himself since 1506. Highlanders, even from the European Alps, have always been considered natural warriors, and the system of army training for Helvetian citizens ensured excellent possession of weapons by almost every adult resident of the canton. Victory over such a neighbor, where every mountain valley became a natural fortress, according to the calculations of the German headquarters, could only be achieved with an unacceptable level of Wehrmacht losses.
Actually, the forty-year conquest of the Caucasus by Russia, as well as the three bloody Anglo-Afghan wars, showed that complete control over mountainous territories requires years, if not decades, of armed presence in conditions of constant guerrilla warfare - which the strategists of the OKW (German General Staff) could not ignore.
However, there is also a conspiracy theory about the refusal to seize Switzerland (after all, for example, Hitler trampled on the neutrality of the Benelux countries without hesitation): as you know, Zurich is not only chocolate, but also banks where gold was allegedly stored by both the Nazis and the British who financed them. Saxon elites, not at all interested in undermining the world financial system due to an attack on one of its centers.
Spain
“The meaning of Franco’s life was Spain. In connection with this - not a Nazi, but a classic military dictator - he abandoned Hitler himself, refusing, despite guarantees, to enter the war.” Lev Vershinin, political scientist.
General Franco won the civil war largely thanks to the support of the Axis: from 1936 to 1939, tens of thousands of Italian and German soldiers fought side by side with the Phalangists, and they were covered from the air by the Luftwaffe Condor Legion, which “distinguished itself” by bombing Guernica. It is not surprising that before the new all-European massacre, the Fuhrer asked the caudillo to repay his debts, especially since the British military base of Gibraltar was located on the Iberian Peninsula, which controlled the strait of the same name, and therefore the entire Mediterranean.
However, in the global confrontation, the one with the stronger economy wins. And Francisco Franco, who soberly assessed the strength of his opponents (for almost half of the world’s population lived in the USA, the British Empire and the USSR alone at that time), made the right decision to focus on restoring Spain, torn by the civil war.
The Frankists limited themselves to only sending the volunteer “Blue Division” to the Eastern Front, which was successfully multiplied by zero by Soviet troops on the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, simultaneously solving another problem of the caudillo - saving him from his own rabid Nazis, in comparison with which even the right-wing Phalangists were a model of moderation .
Portugal
“In 1942, the Portuguese coast became the last refuge of fugitives for whom justice, freedom and tolerance meant more than their homeland and life.”
Erich Maria Remarque. "Night in Lisbon"
Portugal remained one of the last European countries, which until the 1970s retained extensive colonial possessions - Angola and Mozambique. African soil gave untold riches, for example, strategically important tungsten, which the Pyreneans sold at a high price to both sides (at least on initial stage war).
In the event of joining any of the opposing alliances, the consequences are easy to calculate: yesterday you were counting trade profits, and today your opponents are enthusiastically starting to sink your transport ships that provide communication between the metropolis and the colonies (or even completely occupy the latter), despite the fact that there is no large army Unfortunately, the noble dons do not have a fleet to protect the sea communications on which the life of the country depends.
In addition, the Portuguese dictator António de Salazar remembered the lessons of history, when in 1806, during the Napoleonic Wars, Lisbon was captured and ravaged first by the French, and two years later by the British troops, so that the small nation did not have to turn into an arena for a clash of great powers again no desire.
Of course, in the Second world life on the Iberian Peninsula, the agricultural periphery of Europe, was not at all easy. However, the hero-narrator of the already mentioned “Nights in Lisbon” was struck by the pre-war carelessness of this city, with the bright lights of working restaurants and casinos.
Sweden
In 1938, Life magazine ranked Sweden among the countries with the highest standard of living. Stockholm, having abandoned all-European expansion after numerous defeats from Russia in the 18th century, was not in the mood to trade oil for guns now. True, in 1941-44, a company and a battalion of King Gustav’s subjects fought on the side of Finland against the USSR in different sectors of the front - but precisely as volunteers, whom His Majesty could not (or did not want?) interfere with - with a total number of about a thousand fighters. There were also small groups of Swedish Nazis in some SS units.
There is an opinion that Hitler did not attack Sweden supposedly for sentimental reasons, considering its inhabitants to be purebred Aryans. The real reasons for maintaining the neutrality of the Yellow Cross, of course, lay in the plane of economics and geopolitics. On all sides, the heart of Scandinavia was surrounded by territories controlled by the Reich: allied Finland, as well as occupied Norway and Denmark. At the same time, until the defeat in the Battle of Kursk, Stockholm preferred not to quarrel with Berlin (for example, officially accepting Danish Jews who fled the Holocaust was allowed only in October 1943). So even at the end of the war, when Sweden stopped supplying Germany with scarce iron ore, in a strategic sense, the occupation of a neutral would not have changed anything, forcing it only to stretch the Wehrmacht’s communications.
Not knowing carpet bombing and property reparations, Stockholm met and spent the Second World War with the revival of many areas of the economy; for example, the future world famous company Ikea was founded in 1943.
Argentina
The German diaspora in the country of Pampa, as well as the size of the Abwehr station, were among the largest on the continent. The army, trained according to Prussian patterns, supported the Nazis; politicians and oligarchs, on the contrary, focused more on foreign trade partners - England and the USA (for example, in the late thirties, 3/4 of the famous Argentine beef was supplied to Britain).
Relations with Germany were also uneven. German spies operated almost openly in the country; During the Battle of the Atlantic, the Kriegsmarine sank several Argentine merchant ships. In the end, in 1944, as if hinting, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition recalled their ambassadors from Buenos Aires (having previously introduced a ban on the supply of weapons to Argentina); in neighboring Brazil, the general headquarters, with the help of American advisers, hatched plans to bomb their Spanish-speaking neighbors.
But even despite all this, the country declared war on Germany only on March 27, 1945, and then, of course, nominally. The honor of Argentina was saved only by a few hundred volunteers who fought in the ranks of the Anglo-Canadian Air Force.
Türkiye
“As long as the life of the nation is not in danger, war is murder.” Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish state.
One of the many reasons for the Second World War was the territorial claims that all (!) countries of the fascist bloc had against their neighbors. Turkey, despite its traditional orientation towards Germany, however, stood apart here due to the course taken by Ataturk to abandon imperial ambitions in favor of building a national state.
The Founding Father's comrade and second president of the country, İsmet İnönü, who headed the Republic after the death of Atatürk, could not help but take into account the obvious geopolitical alignments. Firstly, in August 1941, after the slightest threat of Iranian action on the side of the Axis, Soviet and British troops simultaneously entered the country from the north and south, taking control of the entire Iranian Plateau in three weeks. And although the Turkish army is incomparably stronger than the Persian one, there is no doubt that the anti-Hitler coalition, remembering the successful experience of the Russian-Ottoman wars, will not stop at a preemptive strike, and the Wehrmacht, 90% of which is already deployed on the Eastern Front, is unlikely to come to the rescue.
And secondly and most importantly, what is the point of fighting (see Ataturk’s quote) if you can make a lot of money by supplying scarce Erzurum chrome (without which tank armor cannot be made) to both warring parties?
In the end, when it became completely indecent to prevaricate, on February 23, 1945, under pressure from the Allies, war on Germany was nevertheless declared, although without actual participation in hostilities. Over the previous 6 years, Turkey's population increased from 17.5 to almost 19 million: along with neutral Spain - the best result among European countries
On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany and Slovakia declared war on Poland... Thus began the Second World War...
61 states out of 73 that existed at that time (80% of the world's population) participated in it. The fighting took place on the territory of three continents and in the waters of four oceans.
On June 10, 1940, Italy and Albania entered the war on the side of Germany, on April 11, 1941 - Hungary, on May 1, 1941 - Iraq, on June 22, 1941, after the German attack on the USSR - Romania, Croatia and Finland, on December 7, 1941 - Japan , December 13, 1941 - Bulgaria, January 25, 1942 - Thailand, January 9, 1943, the government of Wang Jingwei in China, August 1, 1943 - Burma.
Who fought for Hitler and the Wehrmacht, and who was against?
In total, about 2 million people from 15 European countries fought in the Wehrmacht troops (more than half a million - Romanian army, almost 400 thousand – Hungarian troops, more than 200 thousand - Mussolini’s troops!).
Of these, 59 divisions, 23 brigades, several separate regiments, legions and battalions were formed during the war.
Many of them bore names based on state and nationality and were served exclusively by volunteers:
Blue Division - Spain“Wallonia” - the division included French, Spanish and Walloon volunteers, and the Walloons were the majority.
“Galicia” – Ukrainians and Galicians
“Bohemia and Moravia” – Czechs from Moravia and Bohemia
"Viking" - volunteers from the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavian countries
"Denemark" - Danes
"Langemarck" - Flemish volunteers
"Nordland" - Dutch and Scandinavian volunteers
"Nederland" - Dutch collaborators who fled to Germany after the Allies occupied Holland.
"French Infantry Regiment 638", since 1943, was merged with the newly organized "French SS Division "Charlemagne" - the French.
The armies of Germany's allies - Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Slovakia and Croatia - participated in the war against the USSR.
The Bulgarian army was involved in the occupation of Greece and Yugoslavia, but the Bulgarian ground units did not fight on the Eastern Front.
Russian Liberation Army (ROA) under the command of General A.A. Vlasova supported Nazi Germany, although she was not officially a member of the Wehrmacht.
The 15th Cossack SS Cavalry Corps under General von Panwitz fought as part of the Wehrmacht.
The Russian corps of General Shteifon and the corps of Lieutenant General also acted on the German side tsarist army P.N. Krasnov and a number of individual units formed from citizens of the USSR, often on a national basis, under the command of the former Kuban Cossack SS Gruppenführer, A.G. Shkuro (real name – Shkura) and the Circassian Sultan-Girey Klych, head of the nationalist “People’s Party of the Highlanders” North Caucasus"in France.
I will not write who fought for Hitler and the Wehrmacht and why... Some for “ideological reasons”, some for revenge, some for glory, some out of fear, some against “communism”... About these were written by millions and millions of pages by professional historians... And I’m just stating historical facts, or rather, I’m trying to do this... A question about something else... To remember...
So, first things first...
Romania
Romania declared war on the USSR on June 22, 1941 and wanted to return Bessarabia and Bukovina, “taken” from it in June 1940, and also annex Transnistria (the territory from the Dniester to the Southern Bug).
The Romanian 3rd and 4th armies, with a total number of about 220 thousand people, were intended for military operations against the USSR.
On June 22, Romanian troops tried to seize bridgeheads on east coast Prut River. On June 25-26, 1941, the Soviet Danube Flotilla landed troops on Romanian territory, and Soviet aviation and ships of the Black Sea Fleet bombed and shelled Romanian oil fields and other objects.
Romanian troops began active hostilities by crossing the Prut River on July 2, 1941. By July 26, Romanian troops occupied the territories of Bessarabia and Bukovina.
Then the Romanian 3rd Army advanced in Ukraine, crossed the Dnieper in September and reached the coast of the Azov Sea.
From the end of October 1941, units of the Romanian 3rd Army participated in the seizure of Crimea (together with the German 11th Army under the command of von Manstein).
From the beginning of August 1941, the Romanian 4th Army conducted an operation to capture Odessa; by September 10, 12 Romanian divisions and 5 brigades were assembled to capture Odessa, with a total number of up to 200 thousand people
On October 16, 1941, after heavy fighting, Odessa was captured by Romanian troops together with Wehrmacht units. The losses of the 4th Romanian Army amounted to 29 thousand dead and missing and 63 thousand wounded.
In August 1942, the 3rd Romanian Army took part in the offensive in the Caucasus, Romanian cavalry divisions took Taman, Anapa, Novorossiysk (together with German troops), and the Romanian mountain division captured Nalchik in October 1942.
In the fall of 1942, Romanian troops occupied positions in the Stalingrad area. The 3rd Romanian Army, with a total strength of 150 thousand people, held a front section 140 km northwest of Stalingrad, and the Romanian 4th Army held a front section 300 km to the south.
By the end of January 1943, the Romanian 3rd and 4th armies were practically destroyed - their total losses amounted to almost 160 thousand dead, missing and wounded.
At the beginning of 1943, 6 Romanian divisions, with a total strength of 65 thousand people, fought (as part of the German 17th Army) in the Kuban. In September 1943 they retreated to Crimea, lost more than a third of their personnel, and were evacuated by sea to Romania.
In August 1944, King Michael I, united with the anti-fascist opposition, ordered the arrest of General Antonescu and other pro-German generals and declared war on Germany. Soviet troops were brought into Bucharest, and the “allied Romanian army”, together with the Soviet army, fought against the Nazi coalition on the territory of Hungary, and then in Austria.
In total, up to 200 thousand Romanians died in the war against the USSR (including 55 thousand who died in Soviet captivity).
18 Romanians were awarded the German Knight's Cross, of whom three also received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.
Italy
Italy declared war on the USSR on June 22, 1941. The motivation is Mussolini’s initiative, which he proposed back in January 1940 - “a pan-European campaign against Bolshevism.” At the same time, Italy had no territorial claims to any zone of occupation of the USSR. In 1944, Italy actually left the war.
The “Italian Expeditionary Force” for the war against the USSR was created on July 10, 1941 - 62 thousand soldiers and officers. The corps was sent to the southern section of the German-Soviet front for operations in southern Ukraine.
The first clash between the advanced units of the Italian corps and units of the Red Army took place on the Southern Bug River on August 10, 1941.
In September 1941, the Italian corps fought on the Dnieper, in a 100-km sector in the Dneprodzerzhinsk region, and in October-November 1941 participated in the capture of Donbass. Then, until July 1942, the Italians stood on the defensive, fighting local battles with units of the Red Army.
The losses of the Italian corps from August 1941 to June 1942 amounted to more than 1,600 dead, more than 400 missing, almost 6,300 wounded and more than 3,600 frostbitten.
In July 1942, Italian troops on the territory of the USSR were significantly strengthened, and the 8th Italian Army was formed, which in the fall of 1942 occupied positions on the river. Don, northwest of Stalingrad.
In December 1942 - January 1943, the Italians tried to repel the advance of the Red Army, and as a result, the Italian army was virtually defeated - 21 thousand Italians died and 64 thousand were missing. In the harsh winter, the Italians simply froze, and they had no time for war. The remaining 145 thousand Italians were withdrawn to Italy in March 1943.
Italian losses in the USSR from August 1941 to February 1943 amounted to about 90 thousand dead and missing. According to Soviet data, 49 thousand Italians were captured, of which 21 thousand Italians were released from Soviet captivity in 1946-1956. Thus, in total, about 70 thousand Italians died in the war against the USSR and in Soviet captivity.
9 Italians were awarded the German Knight's Cross.
Finland
On June 25, 1941, Soviet aviation bombed populated areas of Finland, and on June 26, Finland declared war with the USSR.
Finland intended to return the territories taken from it in March 1940, as well as annex Karelia.
On June 30, 1941, Finnish troops went on the offensive in the direction of Vyborg and Petrozavodsk. By the end of August 1941, the Finns reached the approaches to Leningrad on the Karelian Isthmus, and by the beginning of October 1941 they occupied almost the entire territory of Karelia (except for the coast White Sea and Zaonezhye), after which they went on the defensive at the achieved lines.
From the end of 1941 to the summer of 1944, there were practically no military operations on the Soviet-Finnish front, except for raids by Soviet partisans on the territory of Karelia and bombings of Finnish settlements by Soviet aircraft.
On June 9, 1944, Soviet troops (totaling up to 500 thousand people) went on the offensive against the Finns (about 200 thousand people). During heavy fighting that lasted until August 1944, Soviet troops took Petrozavodsk, Vyborg and in one section reached the Soviet-Finnish border in March 1940.
On September 1, 1944, Marshal Mannerheim proposed a truce; on September 4, Stalin agreed to a truce; Finnish troops retreated to the March 1940 border.
54 thousand Finns died in the war against the USSR.
2 Finns were awarded the Knight's Cross, including Marshal Mannerheim who received the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross.
Hungary
Hungary declared war on the USSR on June 27, 1941. Hungary had no territorial claims to the USSR, but there was also a motivation - “revenge on the Bolsheviks for the communist revolution of 1919 in Hungary.”
On July 1, 1941, Hungary sent the “Carpathian Group” (5 brigades, totaling 40 thousand people) to the war against the USSR, which fought as part of the German 17th Army in Ukraine.
In July 1941, the group was divided - 2 infantry brigades began to serve as rear guards, and the “Fast Corps” (2 motorized and 1 cavalry brigades, a total of 25 thousand people, with several dozen light tanks and wedges) continued to advance.
By November 1941, the “Fast Corps” suffered heavy losses - up to 12 thousand killed, missing and wounded, all tankettes and almost all light tanks were lost. The corps was returned to Hungary, but at the same time, 4 infantry and 2 Hungarian cavalry brigades with a total number of 60 thousand people remained at the front and in the rear areas.
In April 1942, the Hungarian 2nd Army (about 200 thousand people) was sent against the USSR. In June 1942, it went on the offensive in the Voronezh direction, as part of the German offensive on the southern sector of the German-Soviet front.
In January 1943, the Hungarian 2nd Army was practically destroyed during the Soviet offensive (up to 100 thousand dead and up to 60 thousand captured, most of them wounded). In May 1943, the remnants of the army (about 40 thousand people) were withdrawn to Hungary.
In the fall of 1944, all Hungarian armed forces (three armies) fought against the Red Army, already on the territory of Hungary. The fighting in Hungary ended in April 1945, but some Hungarian units continued to fight in Austria until the German surrender on May 8, 1945.
More than 200 thousand Hungarians died in the war against the USSR (including 55 thousand who died in Soviet captivity).
8 Hungarians were awarded the German Knight's Cross.
Slovakia
Slovakia took part in the war against the USSR as part of the “pan-European campaign against Bolshevism.” She had no territorial claims to the USSR. 2 Slovak divisions were sent to the war against the USSR.
One division, numbering 8 thousand people, fought in Ukraine in 1941, in Kuban in 1942, and performed police and security functions in Crimea in 1943-1944.
Another division (also 8 thousand people) performed “security functions” in Ukraine in 1941-1942, and in Belarus in 1943-1944.
About 3,500 Slovaks died in the war against the USSR.
Croatia
Croatia, like Slovakia, took part in the war against the USSR as part of the “pan-European campaign against Bolshevism.”
In October 1941, 1 volunteer Croatian regiment with a total strength of 3,900 people was sent against the USSR. The regiment fought in the Donbass, and in Stalingrad in 1942. By February 1943, the Croatian regiment was almost completely destroyed, about 700 Croats were taken prisoner.
About 2 thousand Croats died in the war against the USSR.
Spain
Spain was a neutral country and did not officially declare war against the USSR, but organized the sending of one volunteer division to the front. Motivation – revenge for being sent by the Comintern International Brigades to Spain during the Civil War.
The Spanish division, or “Blue Division” (18 thousand people) was sent to the northern section of the German-Soviet front. From October 1941 she fought in the Volkhov region, from August 1942 - near Leningrad. In October 1943, the division was returned to Spain, but about 2 thousand volunteers remained to fight in the Spanish Legion.
The Legion was disbanded in March 1944, but about 300 Spaniards wished to fight further, and from them 2 companies of SS troops were formed, which fought against the Red Army until the end of the war.
About 5 thousand Spaniards died in the war against the USSR (452 Spaniards were captured by the Soviets).
2 Spaniards were awarded the German Knight's Cross, including one who received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.
Belgium
Belgium declared its neutrality in 1939, but was occupied by German troops.
In 1941, two volunteer legions (battalions) were formed in Belgium for the war against the USSR. They differed in ethnicity - Flemish and Walloon.
In the fall of 1941, the legions were sent to the front - the Walloon Legion to the southern sector (to Rostov-on-Don, then to Kuban), and the Flemish Legion to the northern sector (to Volkhov).
In June 1943, both legions were reorganized into brigades of SS troops - the volunteer SS brigade "Langemarck" and the volunteer assault brigade of the SS troops "Wallonia".
In October 1943, the brigades were renamed into divisions (remaining in the same composition - 2 infantry regiments). At the end of the war, both the Flemings and Walloons fought against the Red Army in Pomerania.
About 5 thousand Belgians died in the war against the USSR (2 thousand Belgians were taken prisoner by the Soviets).
4 Belgians were awarded the Knight's Cross, including one who received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.
Netherlands
The Dutch Volunteer Legion (a motorized battalion of 5 companies) was formed in July 1941.
In January 1942, the Dutch Legion arrived on the northern section of the German-Soviet front, in the Volkhov area. Then the legion was transferred to Leningrad.
In May 1943, the Dutch Legion was reorganized into the volunteer SS brigade "Netherlands" (with a total strength of 9 thousand people).
In 1944, one of the regiments of the Dutch brigade was practically destroyed in the battles near Narva. In the fall of 1944, the brigade retreated to Courland, and in January 1945 it was evacuated to Germany by sea.
In February 1945, the brigade was renamed a division, although its strength was greatly reduced due to losses. By May 1945, the Dutch division was practically destroyed in battles against the Red Army.
About 8 thousand Dutch people died in the war against the USSR (more than 4 thousand Dutch people were taken prisoner by the Soviets).
4 Dutchmen were awarded the Knight's Cross.
France
The "French Volunteer Legion" for the war "against the Bolsheviks" was created in July 1941.
In October 1941, the French Legion (an infantry regiment of 2.5 thousand people) was sent to the German-Soviet front, in the Moscow direction. The French suffered heavy losses there, were defeated “to smithereens” almost on the Borodino field, and from the spring of 1942 to the summer of 1944, the legion performed only police functions, it was used to fight against Soviet partisans.
In the summer of 1944, as a result of the offensive of the Red Army in Belarus, the French Legion again found itself on the front line, again suffered heavy losses and was withdrawn to Germany.
In September 1944, the legion was disbanded, and in its place the “French SS Brigade” was created (numbering more than 7 thousand people), and in February 1945 it was renamed the 33rd Grenadier Division of the SS troops “Charlemagne” (“Charlemagne” ") and sent to the front in Pomerania against Soviet troops. In March 1945, the French division was almost completely destroyed.
The remnants of the French division (about 700 people) defended Berlin at the end of April 1945, in particular Hitler’s bunker.
And in 1942, 130 thousand young people from Alsace and Lorraine born in 1920-24 were forcibly mobilized into the Wehrmacht, dressed in German uniforms and most of them were sent to the eastern front (they called themselves “malgre-nous”, that is, “mobilized against your will"). About 90% of them immediately surrendered to Soviet troops and ended up in the Gulag!
Pierre Rigoulot in his books “The French in the Gulag” and “The Tragedy of the Reluctant Soldier” writes: “...In total, after 1946, 85 thousand French were repatriated, 25 thousand died in camps, 20 thousand disappeared on the territory of the USSR...”. In 1943-1945 alone, more than 10 thousand Frenchmen who died in custody in camp No. 188 were buried in mass graves in the forest near Rada station, near Tambov.
About 8 thousand French died in the war against the USSR (not counting the Alsatians and Logaringians).
3 Frenchmen were awarded the German Knight's Cross.
"African Phalanx"
After the Allied landing in Northern France, of all the North African territories of France, only Tunisia remained under the sovereignty of Vichy and the occupation of the Axis troops. After the Allied landings, the Vichy regime attempted to create volunteer forces that could serve alongside the Italo-German army.
On January 8, 1943, a “legion” was created with a single unit - the “African Phalanx” (Phalange Africaine), consisting of 300 French and 150 Muslim Africans (later the number of French was reduced to 200).
After three months of training, the phalanx was assigned to the 754th Infantry Regiment of the 334th German Infantry Division operating in Tunisia. Having been “in action”, the phalanx was renamed “LVF en Tunisie” and existed under this name until the surrender in early May 1945.
Denmark
The social democratic government of Denmark did not declare war on the USSR, but did not interfere with the formation of the “Danish Volunteer Corps”, and officially allowed members of the Danish army to join it (indefinite leave with retention of rank).
In July-December 1941, more than 1 thousand people joined the “Danish Volunteer Corps” (the name “corps” was symbolic, in fact it was a battalion). In May 1942, the “Danish Corps” was sent to the front, to the Demyansk region. Since December 1942, the Danes fought in the Velikiye Luki region.
At the beginning of June 1943, the corps was disbanded, many of its members, as well as new volunteers, joined the regiment " Danemark"11th SS Volunteer Division" Nordland"(Danish-Norwegian division). In January 1944, the division was sent to Leningrad and took part in the battle of Narva.
In January 1945, the division fought against the Red Army in Pomerania, and in April 1945 fought in Berlin.
About 2 thousand Danes died in the war against the USSR (456 Danes were taken prisoner by the Soviets).
3 Danes were awarded the German Knight's Cross.
Norway
The Norwegian government in July 1941 announced the formation of the “Norwegian Volunteer Legion” to be sent “to help Finland in the war against the USSR.”
In February 1942, after training in Germany, the Norwegian Legion (1 battalion, numbering 1.2 thousand people) was sent to the German-Soviet front, near Leningrad.
In May 1943, the Norwegian Legion was disbanded, most of the soldiers joined the Norwegian regiment of the 11th SS Volunteer Division " Nordland"(Danish-Norwegian division).
About 1 thousand Norwegians died in the war against the USSR (100 Norwegians were taken prisoner by the Soviets).
Divisions under the SS
These are the so-called “SS divisions”, formed from “citizens” of the USSR, as well as from residents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Note that only Germans and representatives of the peoples of the Germanic peoples were taken into the SS division language group(Dutch, Danish, Flemings, Norwegians, Swedes). Only they had the right to wear SS runes in their buttonholes. For some reason, an exception was made only for the French-speaking Belgian Walloons.
But "Divisions under the SS", "Waffen-Divisions of the SS" were formed precisely from “non-German peoples” - Bosniaks, Ukrainians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Albanians, Russians, Belarusians, Hungarians, Italians, French.
Moreover, the command staff in these divisions was mainly German (they had the right to wear SS runes). But the “Russian Division under the SS” was commanded by Bronislav Kaminsky, a half-Pole, half-German, originally from St. Petersburg. Because of his “pedigree,” he could not be a member of the SS party organization, nor was he a member of the NSDAP.
The first "Waffen Division under the SS" was the 13th ( Bosnian-Muslim) or "Handshar", formed in March 1943. She fought in Croatia from January 1944, and in Hungary from December 1944.
"Skanderbeg". In April 1944, the 21st Waffen-SS Mountain Division "Skanderbeg" was formed from Muslim Albanians. Almost 11 thousand soldiers were recruited from the region of Kosovo, as well as from Albania itself. They were mostly Sunni Muslims.
"14th Waffen-Division der SS" (Ukrainian)
From the autumn of 1943 to the spring of 1944 she was listed in the reserve (in Poland). In July 1944 she fought on the Soviet-German front in the Brody region (Western Ukraine). In September 1944 it was aimed at suppressing the uprising in Slovakia. In January 1945 she was moved to reserve in the Bratislava area, in April 1945 she retreated to Austria, and in May 1945 she surrendered to American troops.
Ukrainian volunteers
The only units of Eastern volunteers that entered the Wehrmacht from the very beginning were two small Ukrainian battalions created in the spring of 1941
The Nachtigal battalion was recruited from Ukrainians living in Poland, the Roland battalion was recruited from Ukrainian emigrants living in Germany.
"15th Waffen-Division der SS" (Latvian No. 1)
From December 1943 - at the front in the Volkhov region, in January - March 1944 - at the front in the Pskov region, in April - May 1944 at the front in the Nevel region. From July to December 1944 it was reorganized in Latvia, and then in West Prussia. In February 1945 she was sent to the front in West Prussia, in March 1945 to the front in Pomerania.
"19th Waffen-Division der SS" (Latvian No. 2)
At the front from April 1944, in the Pskov region, from July 1944 - in Latvia.
"20th Waffen-Division der SS" (Estonian)
From March to October 1944 in Estonia, November 1944 - January 1945 in Germany (in reserve), in February - May 1945 at the front in Silesia.
"29th Waffen-Division der SS" (Russian)
In August 1944 she took part in the suppression of the uprising in Warsaw. At the end of August, for the rape and murder of German residents of Warsaw, the division commander Waffen-Brigadeführer Kaminsky and the division chief of staff Waffen-Obersturmbannführer Shavyakin (a former captain of the Red Army) were shot, and the division was sent to Slovakia and disbanded there.
"Russian security corps in Serbia"("Russisches Schutzkorps Serbien", RSS), the last unit of the Imperial Russian Army. He was recruited from among the White Guards who found refuge in Serbia in 1921 and retained their national identity and adherence to traditional beliefs. They wanted to fight “for Russia and against the Reds,” but they were sent to fight the partisans of Joseph Broz Tito.
"Russian Security Corps", initially headed by the White Guard General Shteifon, and later by Colonel Rogozin. The number of corps is more than 11 thousand people.
"30th Waffen-Division der SS" (Belarusian)
From September to November 1944 in reserve in Germany, from December 1944 on the Upper Rhine.
The “33rd Hungarian” lasted only two months , was formed in December 1944, disbanded in January 1945.
The “36th Division” was formed from German criminals and even political prisoners in February 1945. But then the Nazis “raked out” all the “reserves”, conscripting everyone into the Wehrmacht - from boys from the “Hitler Youth” to old men...
"Latvian SS Volunteer Legion". In February 1943, after the defeat of German troops at Stalingrad, the Nazi command decided to form the Latvian SS National Legion. It included part of the Latvian volunteer units that had been created earlier and had already taken part in hostilities.
In early March 1943, the entire male population of Latvia born in 1918 and 1919 was ordered to report to the county and volost police departments at their place of residence. There, after being examined by a medical commission, those mobilized were given the right to choose their place of service: either in the Latvian SS Legion, or in the service personnel of the German troops, or for defense work.
Of the 150 thousand soldiers and officers of the legion, over 40 thousand died and almost 50 thousand were captured by the Soviets. In April 1945, she took part in the battles for Neubrandenburg. At the end of April 1945, the remnants of the division were transferred to Berlin, where the battalion took part in the last battles for the “capital of the Third Reich.”
In addition to these divisions, in December 1944 the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division was transferred to the subordination of the SS, which in January 1945 was renamed the 15th Cossack Cavalry SS Corps. The corps operated in Croatia against Tito's partisans.
On December 30, 1941, the Wehrmacht command gave the order to form “legions” of volunteers of various nationalities of the USSR. During the first half of 1942, first four and then six legions were fully integrated into the Wehrmacht, receiving the same status as the European legions. At first they were located in Poland.
"Turkestan Legion" , located in Legionovo, included Cossacks, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Karakalpaks and representatives of other nationalities.
"Muslim-Caucasian Legion" (later renamed " Azerbaijan Legion") located in Zheldni, total number of 40,000 people.
"North Caucasian Legion" , which included representatives of 30 various peoples North Caucasus, was located in Vesol.
The formation of the legion began in September 1942 near Warsaw from Caucasian prisoners of war. The number of volunteers (more than 5,000 people) included Ossetians, Chechens, Ingush, Kabardians, Balkars, Tabasarans, etc.
The so-called took part in the formation of the legion and the call for volunteers. "North Caucasus Committee". Its leadership included Dagestani Akhmed-Nabi Agayev (Abwehr agent), Ossetian Kantemirov (former Minister of War of the Mountain Republic) and Sultan-Girey Klych.
"Georgian Legion" was formed in Kruzhyna. It should be noted that this legion existed from 1915 to 1917, and at its first formation it was staffed by volunteers from among Georgians who were captured during the First World War.
During World War II "Georgian Legion"“replenished” with volunteers from among Soviet prisoners of war of Georgian nationality
"Armenian Legion" (18 thousand people ) formed in Puława, led the legion Drastamat Kanayan (“General Dro”). Drastamat Kanayan defected to the Americans in May 1945. Recent years spent his life in Beirut, died on March 8, 1956, and was buried in Boston. At the end of May 2000, the body of Drastamat Kanayan was reburied in the city of Aparan, in Armenia, near the memorial to the heroic soldiers of the Great Patriotic War.
"Volga-Tatar Legion" (the Idel-Ural legion) consisted of representatives of the Volga peoples (Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari, Mordovians, Chuvashs, Udmurts), most of all there were Tatars. Formed in Zheldni.
In accordance with the policies of the Wehrmacht, these legions were never united in combat conditions. Once they completed their training in Poland, they were sent separately to the front.
"Kalmyk Legion"
It is interesting that the Kalmyks were not part of the Eastern Legions and the first Kalmyk units were created by the headquarters of the 16th German motorized infantry division after Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, was occupied during the summer offensive of 1942. These units were called variously: “Kalmuck Legion”, “Kalmucken Verband Dr. Doll”, or “Kalmyk Cavalry Corps”.
In practice, it was a “volunteer corps” with the status of an allied army and broad autonomy. It was mainly composed of former Red Army soldiers, commanded by Kalmyk sergeants and Kalmyk officers.
Initially, the Kalmyks fought against partisan detachments, then retreated to the west along with German troops.
The constant retreat brought the Kalmyk Legion to Poland, where by the end of 1944 their number amounted to about 5,000 people. Soviet winter offensive 1944-45 found them near Radom, and at the very end of the war they were reorganized in Neuhammer.
The Kalmyks were the only ones of the “eastern volunteers” who joined Vlasov’s army.
Crimean Tatars. In October 1941, the creation of volunteer formations from representatives of the Crimean Tatars, “self-defense companies”, began main task which was the fight against partisans. Until January 1942, this process proceeded spontaneously, but after the recruitment of volunteers from among the Crimean Tatars was officially sanctioned by Hitler, “the solution to this problem” passed to the leadership of Einsatzgruppe “D”. During January 1942, more than 8,600 Crimean Tatar volunteers were recruited.
These formations were used to protect military and civilian facilities, took an active part in the fight against partisans, and in 1944 they actively resisted the Red Army units that liberated Crimea.
The remnants of the Crimean Tatar units, along with German and Romanian troops, were evacuated from Crimea by sea.
In the summer of 1944, from the remnants of the Crimean Tatar units in Hungary, the “Tatar Mountain Jaeger Regiment of the SS” was formed, which was soon reorganized into the “1st Tatar Mountain Jaeger Brigade of the SS”, which was disbanded on December 31, 1944 and reorganized into the combat group “Crimea” ", which joined the "East Turkic SS Unit".
Crimean Tatar volunteers who were not included in the “Tatar Mountain Jaeger Regiment of the SS” were transferred to France and included in the reserve battalion of the “Volga Tatar Legion”.
As Jurado Carlos Caballero wrote: “...Not as a justification for the “divisions under the SS”, but for the sake of objectivity, we note that a much larger scale of war crimes was committed by the special forces of the Allgemeine-SS (“Sonderkommando” and “Einsatzgruppen”), and also “Ost-Truppen” - units formed from Russians, Turkestanis, Ukrainians, Belarusians, peoples of the Caucasus and the Volga region - they were mainly engaged in anti-partisan activities... Divisions of the Hungarian army were also engaged in this...
However, it should be noted that the Bosnian-Muslim, Albanian and “Russian SS divisions”, as well as the “36th SS division” from the Germans, became most famous for war crimes...”
Volunteer Indian Legion
A few months before the start of Operation Barbarossa, while the Soviet-German non-aggression pact was still in effect, the extremist Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose arrived from Moscow in Berlin, intending to enlist German support “in the liberation of his country.” Thanks to his persistence, he was able to persuade the Germans to recruit a group of volunteers from Indians who had served in the British forces and were captured in North Africa.
By the end of 1942, this Free India Legion (also known as the Tiger Legion, Freis Indian Legion, Azad Hind Legion, Indische Freiwilligen-Legion Regiment 950 or I.R 950) had reached a strength of about 2,000 men and was officially entered the German army as the 950th (Indian) Infantry Regiment.
In 1943, Bose Chandra traveled on a submarine to Japanese-occupied Singapore. He sought to create an Indian National Army from Indians captured by the Japanese.
However, the German command had little understanding of the problems of caste, tribal and religious feuds among the inhabitants of India, and in addition, German officers treated their subordinates with disdain... And, most importantly, more than 70 percent of the division’s soldiers were Muslims, coming from tribes from the territories of modern Pakistan and Bangladesh , as well as from Muslim communities in western and northwestern India. And the problems with the nutrition of such “motley fighters” were very serious - some did not eat pork, others ate only rice and vegetables.
In the spring of 1944, 2,500 men of the Indian Legion were sent to the Bordeaux region in the fortress of the Atlantic Wall. The first combat loss was Lieutenant Ali Khan, who was killed in August 1944 by French partisans during the legion’s retreat to Alsace. On August 8, 1944, the legion was transferred to the SS troops.
In March 1945, the remnants of the legion tried to break into Switzerland, but were captured by the French and Americans. The prisoners were handed over to the British as traitors to their own power, the former legionnaires were sent to Delhi prisons, and some were immediately shot.
However, we note, in fairness, that this unique unit practically did not take part in the hostilities.
Volunteer Arab Legion
On May 2, 1941, an anti-British rebellion broke out in Iraq under the leadership of Rashid el-Ghaliani. The Germans formed a special headquarters "F" (Sonderstab F) to assist the Arab insurgents.
To support the rebellion, two small units were created - the 287th and 288th special formations (Sonderverbonde), recruited from the personnel of the Brandenburg division. But before they could take action, the rebellion was crushed.
The 288th Formation, composed entirely of Germans, was sent to North Africa as part of the Afrika Korps, and the 287th Formation was left in Greece, near Athens, to organize volunteers from the Middle East. These were mainly Palestinian supporters of the pro-German Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Iraqis who supported El-Ghaliani.
When three battalions were recruited, one battalion was sent to Tunisia, and the remaining two were used to fight the partisans, first in the Caucasus and then in Yugoslavia.
The 287th Unit was never officially recognized as an Arab Legion – “ Legion Free Arab." So common name denoted all Arabs who fought under German command, to distinguish them from other ethnic groups.
The anti-Hitler coalition included the USSR, USA, Great Britain and its dominions (Canada, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand), Poland, France, Ethiopia, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Greece, Yugoslavia, Tuva, Mongolia, USA.
China (the government of Chiang Kai-shek) waged hostilities against Japan from July 7, 1937, and Mexico and Brazil. Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Argentina declared war on Germany and its allies.
The participation of Latin American countries in the war consisted mainly of carrying out defensive measures, protecting the coast and convoys of ships.
The fighting of a number of countries occupied by Germany - Yugoslavia, Greece, France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland consisted mainly of the partisan movement and the resistance movement. Italian partisans were also active, fighting both against the Mussolini regime and against Germany.
Poland. After the defeat and division of Poland between Germany and the USSR, Polish troops acted together with the troops of Great Britain, France and the USSR (“Anders’ Army”). In 1944, Polish troops took part in the landing in Normandy, and in May 1945 they took Berlin.
Luxembourg was attacked by Germany on May 10, 1940. In August 1942, Luxembourg was incorporated into Germany, so many Luxembourgers were conscripted into the Wehrmacht.
In total, 10,211 Luxembourgers were drafted into the Wehrmacht during the occupation. Of these, 2,848 died, 96 were missing.
1,653 Luxembourgers who served in the Wehrmacht and fought on the German-Soviet front (of which 93 died in captivity) were captured by the Soviets.
NEUTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
Sweden. At the beginning of the war, Sweden declared its neutrality, but nevertheless carried out partial mobilization. During Soviet-Finnish military conflict she announced the preservation of the status of “ non-belligerent power“, however, provided assistance to Finland with money and military equipment.
However, Sweden cooperated with both warring parties, the most famous examples being the passage of German troops from Norway to Finland and informing the British about the Bismarck's departure for Operation Rheinübung.
In addition, Sweden actively supplied Germany with iron ore, but from mid-August 1943 it stopped transporting German war materials through its country.
During the Great Patriotic War, Sweden was a diplomatic mediator between the USSR and Germany.
Switzerland. She announced her neutrality the day before the start of World War II. But in September 1939, 430 thousand people were mobilized into the army, and rationing for food and industrial products was introduced.
On the international stage, Switzerland maneuvered between two warring factions, ruling circles for a long time they leaned toward a pro-German course.
Swiss companies supplied Germany weapons, ammunition, cars and other industrial goods. Germany received electricity and loans from Switzerland (over 1 billion francs), and used Swiss railways for military transport to Italy and back.
Some Swiss firms acted as intermediaries for Germany in world markets. The intelligence agencies of Germany, Italy, the USA and England operated in Switzerland.
Spain. Spain remained neutral during World War II, although Hitler considered the Spaniards his allies. German submarines entered the ports of Spain, and German agents operated freely in Madrid. Spain also supplied tungsten to Germany, although at the end of the war Spain also sold tungsten to the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. Jews fled to Spain, then made their way to Portugal.
Portugal. In 1939 it declared neutrality. But Salazar's government supplied strategic raw materials, and, above all, tungsten to Germany and Italy. In October 1943, realizing the inevitability of the defeat of Nazi Germany, Salazar granted the British and Americans the right to use the Azores as a military base, and in June 1944 he stopped the export of tungsten to Germany.
During the war, hundreds of thousands of Jews from various European countries were able to escape Hitler's genocide by using Portuguese visas to emigrate from war-torn Europe.
Ireland maintained complete neutrality.
About 1,500,000 Jews took part in hostilities in the armies of different countries, in the partisan movement and the Resistance.
In the US Army - 550,000, in the USSR - 500,000, Poland - 140,000, Great Britain - 62,000, France - 46,000.
Alexey Kazdym
List of used literature
- Abrahamyan E. A. Caucasians in the Abwehr. M.: Publisher Bystrov, 2006.
- Asadov Yu.A. 1000 officer names in Armenian history. Pyatigorsk, 2004.
- Berdinskikh V.A. . Special settlers: Political exile of peoples Soviet Russia. M.: 2005.
- Briman Shimon Muslims in the SS // http://www.webcitation.org/66K7aB5b7
- Second World War 1939-1945, TSB. Yandex. Dictionaries
- Vozgrin V. Historical destinies of the Crimean Tatars. Moscow: Mysl, 1992
- Gilyazov I.A. Legion "Idel-Ural". Kazan: Tatknigoizdat, 2005.
- Drobyazko S. Eastern legions and Cossack units in the Wehrmacht http://www.erlib.com
- Elishev S. Salazarovskaya Portugal // Russian People's Line, http://ruskline.ru/analitika/2010/05/21/salazarovskaya_portugaliya
- Karashchuk A., Drobyazko S. Eastern volunteers in the Wehrmacht, police and SS. 2000
- Krysin M. Yu. History on the lips. Latvian SS Legion: yesterday and today. Veche, 2006.
- Concise Jewish Encyclopedia, Jerusalem. 1976 – 2006
- Mamulia G.G. Georgian Legion of the Wehrmacht M.: Veche, 2011.
- Romanko O.V. Muslim legions in World War II. M.: AST; Transitbook, 2004.
- Yurado Carlos Caballero “Foreign volunteers in the Wehrmacht. 1941-1945. AST, Astrel. 2005
- Etinger Ya. Ya. Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.
- Rigoulot Pierre. Des Francais au goulag.1917-1984. 1984
- Rigoulot Pierre. La tragedy des malgre-nous. 1990.
Participants
62 states took part in World War II (48 on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition and 14 on the side of the Axis countries). Some of them were actively involved in military operations, others helped their allies with food supplies, and many participated in the war only nominally.
The anti-Hitler coalition included: Poland, Great Britain, France (since 1939), USSR (since 1941), USA (since 1941), China, Australia, Canada, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Greece, Ethiopia, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico, Mongolia, Luxembourg, Nepal, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Peru, Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Albania, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Paraguay , Ecuador, San Marino, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Nicaragua, Liberia, Bolivia. During the war, they were joined by some states that left the fascist bloc: Iran (since 1941), Iraq (since 1943), Italy (since 1943), Romania (since 1944), Bulgaria (since 1944), Hungary (in 1945), Finland (in 1945).
On the other hand, the Axis countries participated in the war: Germany, Italy (until 1943), Japan, Finland (until 1944), Bulgaria (until 1944), Romania (until 1944), Hungary (until 1945), Slovakia, Thailand (Siam), Iraq (until 1941), Iran (until 1941), Manchukuo, Croatia. On the territory of the occupied countries, puppet states were created that joined the fascist coalition: Vichy France, the Republic of Salo, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Inner Mongolia, Burma, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. Many collaborationist troops, created from citizens of the opposing side, also fought on the side of Germany and Japan: ROA, RONA, foreign SS divisions (Russian, Ukrainian, Estonian, Latvian, Danish, Belgian, French, Albanian), “Free India”. Also fighting in the armed forces of the Axis countries were volunteer forces of states that formally remained neutral: Spain (Blue Division), Sweden and Portugal.
Territories
All military operations can be divided into 5 theaters of military operations:
* Western European theater: West Germany, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France, Great Britain (air bombing), Atlantic.
* Eastern European theater: USSR (western part), Poland, Finland, Northern Norway, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Austria (eastern part), East Germany, Barents Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea.
* Mediterranean theater: Yugoslavia, Greece, Albania, Italy, Mediterranean islands (Malta, Cyprus, etc.), Egypt, Libya, French North Africa, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Mediterranean Sea.
* African theater: Ethiopia, Italian Somalia, British Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, Madagascar.
* Pacific theater: China (eastern and northeastern part), Korea, USSR (Far East), Japan, South Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, Aleutian Islands, Mongolia, Hong Kong, French Indochina, Burma, Andaman Islands, Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak , Dutch East Indies, Sabah, Brunei, New Guinea, Papua, Solomon Islands, Philippines, Hawaiian Islands, Guam, Wake, Midway, Mariana Islands, Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, Gilbert Islands, many small islands of the Pacific Ocean, most of the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean.
Prerequisites for the war in Europe
The Treaty of Versailles extremely limited Germany's military capabilities. However, with the coming to power of the National Socialist Workers' Party led by Adolf Hitler in 1933, Germany began to ignore all the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles - in particular, it restored conscription into the army and quickly increased the production of weapons and military equipment. October 14, 1933 Germany withdraws from the League of Nations and refuses to participate in the Geneva Disarmament Conference. July 24, 1934 Germany attempts to carry out the Anschluss of Austria by inspiring an anti-government putsch in Vienna, but is forced to abandon its plans due to the sharply negative position of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who moved four divisions to the Austrian border.
In the 1930s, Italy pursued an equally aggressive foreign policy. On October 3, 1935, it invades Ethiopia and captures it by May 1936 (see Italo-Ethiopian War). In 1936, the Italian Empire was proclaimed.
The act of unjustified aggression displeases the Western powers and the League of Nations. The deterioration of relations with Western powers is pushing Italy towards rapprochement with Germany. In January 1936, Mussolini gave his consent in principle to the annexation of Austria by the Germans, subject to their refusal to expand in the Adriatic. On March 7, 1936, German troops occupy the Rhineland demilitarized zone. Great Britain and France do not offer effective resistance to this, limiting themselves to formal protest. November 25, 1936 Germany and Japan conclude the Anti-Comintern Pact on the joint fight against communism. On November 6, 1937, Italy joins the pact.
In March 1938, Germany freely annexed Austria (see Anschluss), and in October 1938, as a result of the Munich Agreement, it annexed the Sudetenland that belonged to Czechoslovakia. Consent to this act is given by England and France, and the opinion of Czechoslovakia itself is not taken into account. On March 15, 1939, Germany, in violation of the agreement, occupied the Czech Republic (see German occupation of the Czech Republic). The German protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia is created on Czech territory. Hungary and Poland participate in the division of Czechoslovakia. Slovakia was declared an independent pro-Nazi state. On February 24, 1939, Hungary joined the Anti-Comintern Pact, and on March 27, Spain, where Francisco Franco came to power after the end of the civil war.
All these actions do not meet serious resistance from Great Britain and France, who do not dare to start a war and are trying to save the system of the Versailles Treaty with reasonable, from their point of view, concessions (the so-called “policy of appeasement”). However, after Hitler’s violation of the Munich Treaty, both countries are increasingly realizing the need for a tougher policy, and in the event of further German aggression, Great Britain and France give military guarantees to Poland. After Italy captured Albania on April 7-12, 1939 (see Italian-Albanian War), Romania and Greece received the same guarantees.
Objective conditions also made the Soviet Union an opponent of the Versailles system. Due to the internal crisis caused by the events of the First World War, the October Revolution and the Civil War, the level of the country's influence on European and world politics decreased significantly. At the same time, the strengthening of the regime of personal power of I.V. Stalin and the results of industrialization stimulated the leadership of the USSR to take measures to return the status of a world power. The Soviet government skillfully used official diplomatic channels, the illegal possibilities of the Comintern, social propaganda, pacifist ideas, anti-fascism, and assistance to some victims of aggressors to create the image of the main fighter for peace and social progress. The struggle for “collective security” became Moscow’s foreign policy tactic, aimed at strengthening the weight of the USSR in international affairs and preventing the consolidation of other great powers without its participation. However, the Munich Agreement clearly showed that the USSR is still far from becoming an equal subject of European politics.
During the political crisis of 1939, two military-political blocs emerged in Europe: Anglo-French and German-Italian, each of which was interested in an agreement with the USSR. Under these conditions, on August 23, 1939, in Moscow, the USSR signed a Non-Aggression Treaty with Germany. The secret protocol provided for the division of spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, including the Baltic states and Poland.
Poland, having concluded alliance treaties with Great Britain and France, which are obliged to help it in the event of German aggression, refuses to make concessions in negotiations with Germany (in particular, on the issue of the Danzig Corridor). Germany, France, Great Britain and other countries begin preparations for war. As a result of mobilization, by September 1939, Germany had an army of 4.6 million people, France - 2.67 million people, Great Britain - 1.27 million people.
Invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, German armed forces invade Poland. Slovak troops also took part in the fighting on the side of Germany.
September 3 Great Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany. Within a few days, the UK and France will be joined by Canada, Newfoundland, the Union of South Africa and Nepal. The Second World War has begun.
However, on Western Front the allied Anglo-French troops do not take any active action (see Strange War). Only at sea did the war begin immediately: on September 3, the German submarine U-30 attacked the English passenger liner Athenia without warning.
In Poland, during the first week of fighting, German troops cut through the Polish front in several places and occupied part of Mazovia, western Prussia, the Upper Silesian industrial region and western Galicia. By September 9, the Germans managed to break down Polish resistance along the entire front line and approach Warsaw.
On September 10, the Polish commander-in-chief Edward Rydz-Smigly gives the order for a general retreat to southeastern Poland, but the bulk of his troops, unable to retreat beyond the Vistula, find themselves surrounded. By mid-September, having never received support from the west, the Polish armed forces ceased to exist as a single whole; only local centers of resistance are preserved.
The Soviet government declares that it “takes under its protection the lives and property of the Ukrainian and Belarusian population of the eastern regions of Poland and will advance its troops to protect them from German aggression.” On September 17, Soviet troops invade the eastern regions of Poland, due to the fact that on the night of September 16-17, the Polish government and high command fled the country into Romanian territory. On September 19, the Red Army captured Vilna, on September 20 - Grodno and Lvov, and on September 23 it reached the Bug River.
Even before the USSR entered the war, on September 14, Guderian's 19th Panzer Corps captured Brest with a throw from East Prussia. The Brest Fortress was defended for several more days by Polish troops under the command of General Plisovsky. Only on the night of September 17 did its defenders leave the forts in an organized manner and retreat beyond the Bug.
On September 28, the Germans occupied Warsaw, on September 30 - Modlin, on October 2 - Hel. On October 6, the last units of the Polish army capitulate. The demarcation line between German and Soviet forces on the territory of former Poland is established in accordance with a secret protocol signed along with the Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Part of the western Polish lands is transferred to the Third Reich. These lands are subject to so-called “Germanization”. The Polish and Jewish population is deported from here to the central regions of Poland. In the remaining territories, a General Government is created, where mass repressions are carried out against the Polish people. The most difficult situation is for the Jews driven into the ghetto.
The territories ceded to the USSR were included in the Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR and Lithuania. Soviet power is established here, socialist transformations are carried out (nationalization of industry, collectivization of the peasantry), which is accompanied by deportations and repressions against the former “ruling classes” - representatives of the bourgeoisie, landowners, rich peasants, and part of the intelligentsia. According to one source, out of 5 million[source?] ethnic Poles living in these territories, 1.5 million[source?] were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan in 1939-1941. According to other sources, only a few tens of thousands of people were evicted from the Baltic states
October 6, 1939 Hitler makes a proposal to convene a peace conference with the participation of all major powers to resolve existing contradictions. France and Great Britain say they will agree to the conference only if the Germans immediately withdraw their troops from Poland and the Czech Republic and return these countries to independence. Germany rejected these terms, and as a result the peace conference never took place. The German command begins to prepare for an attack on the West.
Battle of the Atlantic
Despite the refusal of the peace conference, Great Britain and France from September 1939 to April 1940 continued to wage a passive war and made no attempts to attack. Active combat operations are carried out only on sea lanes. Even before the war, the German command sent 2 battleships and 18 submarines to the Atlantic Ocean, which, with the opening of hostilities, began attacks on merchant ships of Great Britain and its allied countries. From September to December 1939, Great Britain loses 114 ships from attacks by German submarines, and in 1940 - 471 ships, while the Germans lost only 9 submarines in 1939. Attacks on Great Britain's maritime communications led to the loss of 1/3 of the tonnage of the British merchant fleet by the summer of 1941 and created a serious threat to the country's economy.
Soviet-Finnish War
November 30, 1939 The Soviet Union invades Finland following its refusal to exchange the Karelian Isthmus for other territories and provide military bases on the islands and the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, the so-called “people's government” of Finland was formed in Moscow, headed by the famous Finnish communist and Comintern figure Otto Kuusinen. From December to February, Soviet troops made many attempts to break through the Mannerheim Line, but did not achieve much success, despite their superiority in forces.
On December 14, 1939, the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations for starting a war. Great Britain and France, which consider the USSR to be an ally of Germany after the conclusion of the Non-Aggression Treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union, decide to prepare a landing force for landing on the Scandinavian Peninsula in order to prevent Germany from seizing the Swedish iron ore deposits and at the same time provide ways for the future transfer of their troops to help Finland. However, Sweden and Norway, trying to maintain neutrality, categorically refuse to accept Anglo-French troops on their territory. On February 16, 1940, British destroyers attacked the German ship Altmark in Norwegian territorial waters. 1 March Hitler, previously interested in preserving the neutrality of the Scandinavian countries, signs a directive to seize Denmark and Norway (Operation Weserübung) to prevent a possible Allied landing.
At the beginning of March 1940, Soviet troops break through the Mannerheim Line and capture Vyborg. On March 13, 1940, a peace treaty was signed in Moscow between Finland and the USSR, according to which Soviet demands were satisfied. The border between the countries on the Karelian Isthmus, in the area of Leningrad and the Murmansk Railway, has been pushed to the northwest. Kuusinen's "People's Government" ceases to exist. Despite the end of the Winter War, the Anglo-French command continues to develop a plan military operation in Norway, but the Germans manage to get ahead of them.
European blitzkrieg
In Denmark, the Germans, using sea and airborne landings, freely occupy all the most important cities and destroy Danish aircraft in a few hours. Under the threat of bombing of the civilian population, the Danish King Christian X is forced to sign a surrender and orders the army to lay down their arms.
In Norway, on April 9-10, the Germans captured the main Norwegian ports of Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen, and Narvik. On April 14, the Anglo-French landing force landed near Narvik, on April 16 - in Namsos, on April 17 - in Åndalsnes. On April 19, the Allies launched an attack on Trondheim, but failed and were forced to withdraw their forces from central Norway in early May. After a series of battles for Narvik, the Allies also evacuated the northern part of the country in early June. On June 10, 1940, the last units of the Norwegian army surrendered. Norway finds itself under the control of the German occupation administration (Reichskommissariat); Denmark, declared a German protectorate, was able to maintain partial independence in internal affairs.
After Denmark's surrender, British and American troops occupy its colonies - the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland - to prevent their capture by the Germans.
May 10, 1940 Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg with 135 divisions. The 1st Allied Army Group advances into Belgium, but does not have time to help the Dutch, since the German Army Group B makes a rapid push into southern Holland and captures Rotterdam on May 12. On May 15, the Netherlands capitulates. It was believed that in retaliation for the stubborn resistance of the Dutch, which was unexpected for the Germans, Hitler, after signing the act of surrender, ordered massive bombing of Rotterdam, which was not caused by military necessity and led to enormous destruction and casualties among civilians. At the Nuremberg trials it became clear that the bombing of Rotterdam took place on May 14th. The Dutch government capitulated only after the bombing of Rotterdam and the threat of bombing of Amsterdam and The Hague.
In Belgium, on May 10, German paratroopers captured bridges over the Albert Canal, which made it possible for large German tank forces to force it before the Allies arrived and reach the Belgian Plain. Brussels fell on May 17.
But the main blow is delivered by Army Group A. Having occupied Luxembourg on 10 May, Guderian's three panzer divisions crossed the southern Ardennes and crossed the Meuse River west of Sedan on 14 May. At the same time, Hoth's tank corps breaks through the northern Ardennes, difficult for heavy equipment, and on May 13 crosses the Meuse River north of Dinant. The German tank armada rushes to the west. Belated attacks by the French, for which the German attack through the Ardennes turns out to be a complete surprise, unable to contain it. On May 16, Guderian's units reach the Oise; On May 20, they reach the coast of Pas-de-Calais near Abbeville and turn north to the rear of the allied armies. 28 Anglo-Franco-Belgian divisions are surrounded.
The attempt of the French command to organize a counterattack at Arras on May 21-23 fails. On May 22, Guderian cuts off the Allies' retreat to Boulogne, on May 23 - to Calais and goes to Gravelines 10 km from Dunkirk, the last port through which the Anglo-French troops could evacuate, but on May 24 he is forced to stop the offensive for two days due to an inexplicable personal Hitler's order (“The Miracle of Dunkirk”). The respite allows the Allies to strengthen the defenses of Dunkirk and launch Operation Dynamo to evacuate their forces by sea. On May 26, German troops break through the Belgian front in West Flanders, and on May 28, Belgium, despite the demands of the Allies, capitulates. On the same day, in the Lille area, the Germans surrounded a large French group, which surrendered on May 31. Part of the French troops (114 thousand) [source?] and almost the entire English army (224 thousand) were taken out on British ships through Dunkirk. The Germans capture all British and French artillery and armored vehicles, vehicles abandoned by the Allies during the retreat. After Dunkirk, Great Britain found itself practically unarmed, although it retained its army personnel.
On June 5, German troops begin an offensive in the Lahn-Abbeville sector. Attempts by the French command to hastily plug the gap in the defense with unprepared divisions were unsuccessful. The French are losing one battle after another. The French defense disintegrates, and the command hastily withdraws its troops to the south.
June 10 Italy declares war on Great Britain and France. Italian troops invade the southern regions of France, but cannot advance far. On the same day, the French government evacuates Paris. On June 11, the Germans cross the Marne at Chateau-Thierry. On June 14 they entered Paris without a fight, and two days later they entered the Rhone Valley. On June 16, Marshal Pétain forms a new government of France, which already on the night of June 17 turns to Germany with a request for a truce. On June 18, French General Charles De Gaulle, who fled to London, calls on the French to continue their resistance. On June 21, the Germans, having encountered virtually no resistance, reached the Loire in the Nantes-Tours section, and on the same day their tanks occupied Lyon.
On June 22, a Franco-German armistice was signed in Compiegne, according to which France agreed to the occupation of most of its territory, the demobilization of almost the entire ground army and internment navy and aviation. In the free zone, as a result of the coup d'etat on July 10, the authoritarian regime of Pétain (Vichy Regime) was established, which set a course for close cooperation with Germany (collaborationism). Despite the military weakness of France, the defeat of this country was so sudden and complete that it defied any rational explanation.
The commander-in-chief of the Vichy troops, Francois Darlan, gives the order to withdraw the entire French fleet to the shores of the French North Africa. Due to fears that the entire French fleet might fall under the control of Germany and Italy, on July 3, 1940, British naval forces and aircraft attacked French ships at Mers-el-Kebir. By the end of July, the British have destroyed or neutralized almost the entire French fleet.
Expansion of the bloc of fascist states. Battles in the Balkans and the Middle East
The US government is gradually beginning to reconsider its foreign policy course. It increasingly actively supports Great Britain, becoming its “non-belligerent ally” (see Atlantic Charter). In May 1940, Congress approved an amount of 3 billion dollars for the needs of the army and navy, and in the summer - 6.5 billion, including 4 billion for the construction of a “fleet of two oceans.” Supplies of weapons and equipment for Great Britain are increasing. September 2, 1940 The United States transfers 50 destroyers to Great Britain in exchange for the lease of 8 military bases in the British colonies in the Western Hemisphere. According to the law adopted by the US Congress on March 11, 1941 on the transfer of military materials to warring countries on loan or lease (see Lend-Lease), Great Britain was allocated $7 billion. Lend-Lease later extended to China, Greece and Yugoslavia. The North Atlantic has been declared a “patrol zone” for the US navy, which is simultaneously beginning to escort merchant ships heading to the UK.
On September 27, 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact: delimitation of zones of influence in establishing a new order and mutual military assistance. At the Soviet-German negotiations held in November 1940, German diplomats invited the USSR to join this pact. The Soviet government declares that it will agree if the Germans agree to the entry of Soviet troops into Romania, Bulgaria, Finland and Turkey[source?]. The Germans do not accept such conditions. After an attempt to conclude a military alliance with the USSR fails, Hitler approves a plan to attack the USSR. For these purposes, Germany begins to look for allies in Eastern Europe. On November 20, Hungary joined the Triple Alliance, on November 23 - Romania, on November 24 - Slovakia, in 1941 - Bulgaria, Finland and Spain. On March 25, 1941, Yugoslavia joined the pact, but on March 27, in Belgrade, as a result of the actions of British agents, a military coup took place, and the Simovic government came to power, declaring young Peter II king and proclaiming the neutrality of Yugoslavia. April 5 Yugoslavia concludes a treaty of friendship and non-aggression with the USSR. In view of undesirable developments for Germany, Hitler decides to conduct a military operation against Yugoslavia and help Italian troops in Greece.
April 6, 1941, after massive bombing major cities, railway junctions and airfields, Germany and Hungary invade Yugoslavia. At the same time, Italian troops, with the support of the Germans, are conducting another offensive in Greece. By April 8, the armed forces of Yugoslavia were cut into several parts and actually ceased to exist as a single whole. On April 9, German troops, having passed through Yugoslav territory, entered Greece and captured Thessaloniki, forcing the Greek East Macedonian Army to capitulate. On April 10, the Germans capture Zagreb. On April 11, Croatian Nazi leader Ante Pavelić proclaims the independence of Croatia and calls on Croats to leave the ranks of the Yugoslav army, which further undermines its combat effectiveness. On April 13, the Germans capture Belgrade. On April 15, the Yugoslav government fled the country. On April 16, German troops enter Sarajevo. On April 16, the Italians occupied Bar and the island of Krk, and on April 17, Dubrovnik. On the same day, the Yugoslav army capitulates, and 344 thousand of its soldiers and officers are captured.
After the defeat of Yugoslavia, the Germans and Italians threw all their forces into Greece. On April 20, the Epirus army capitulates. An attempt by the Anglo-Australian command to create a defensive line at Thermopylae in order to block the Wehrmacht's path to central Greece was unsuccessful, and on April 20 the command of the allied forces decided to evacuate its forces. On April 21, Ioannina was captured. On April 23, Tsolakoglu signs the act of general surrender of the Greek armed forces. On April 24, King George II fled to Crete with the government. On the same day, the Germans captured the islands of Lemnos, Pharos and Samothrace. On April 27, Athens was captured.
On May 20, the Germans land troops on Crete, which is in the hands of the British. Although the British fleet thwarted the Germans' attempt to deliver reinforcements by sea, on May 21 the paratroopers captured the airfield at Maleme and ensured the transfer of reinforcements by air. Despite stubborn defense, British troops were forced to leave Crete by May 31. By June 2, the island was completely occupied. But due to the heavy losses of German paratroopers, Hitler abandoned plans for further landing operations to capture Cyprus and the Suez Canal.
As a result of the invasion, Yugoslavia was dismembered. Germany annexes northern Slovenia, Hungary - western Vojvodina, Bulgaria - Vardar Macedonia, Italy - southern Slovenia, part of the Dalmatian coast, Montenegro and Kosovo. Croatia is declared an independent state under an Italian-German protectorate. The collaborationist government of Nedić was created in Serbia.
After the defeat of Greece, Bulgaria annexes eastern Macedonia and western Thrace; the rest of the country is divided into Italian (western) and German (eastern) occupation zones.
On April 1, 1941, as a result of a coup in Iraq, the pro-German nationalist group of Rashid Ali-Gailani seizes power. By agreement with the Vichy regime, Germany on May 12 begins transporting military equipment to Iraq through Syria, a French mandate. But the Germans, busy preparing for war with the USSR, are not able to provide significant assistance to the Iraqi nationalists. British troops invade Iraq and overthrow the government of Ali Gailani. On June 8, the British, together with units of the Free French, invade Syria and Lebanon and by mid-July force the Vichy troops to capitulate.
According to the leadership of Great Britain and the USSR, there was a threat of involvement in 1941 on the side of Germany as an active ally of Iran. Therefore, from August 25, 1941 to September 17, 1941, a joint Anglo-Soviet operation to occupy Iran was carried out. Its goal was to protect Iranian oil fields from possible capture by German troops and to protect the transport corridor (southern corridor), along which the Allies carried out Lend-Lease supplies to the Soviet Union. During the operation, Allied forces invaded Iran and established control over railways and oil fields of Iran. At the same time, British troops occupied southern Iran. Soviet troops occupied northern Iran.
The confrontation between the powers lasted 6 years, it covered a third of the entire territory of the planet, not only land, but also sea. Only 11 states maintained complete neutrality throughout the war, but they in one way or another provided support and sympathy to the countries participating in the armed conflict. The states that fought on the fronts were part of two huge coalitions, the “Axis Countries” (axis: Rome-Berlin-Tokyo), and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, which eventually included 59 states.
"Axis Powers"
The Axis coalition consisted of the following states: Germany, Italy, Japan. It was they who unleashed the most terrible war. Germany initiated the battles, its policies and tactics allowed fascist troops occupy Austria and the Czech Republic with virtually no fighting. With the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, the Second World War began.
Italy sided with Germany for one reason: its leader, Duce Mussolini, sympathized with the Hitler regime, but the country did not take an active part in the theater of war, so it did not pose a threat. Japan took part in the hostilities, but it was a Sino-Japanese war for the resources of China. When two atomic bombs fell on Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945, it quickly capitulated, realizing the pointlessness of further resistance. The Second World War is over.
Anti-Hitler coalition
The contribution of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition to the victory was uneven; some states carried out active military operations on the fronts, others helped with food and supplied military products. Some countries took part purely nominally, in fact - not at all. The USSR, along with the USA and Great Britain, made the maximum contribution to the defeat of the Nazis.
The USSR was drawn into the war when Germany attacked its territory on June 22, 1941. And from this date, until May 9, 1945, a special period begins within the Second World War - the Great Patriotic War. The most terrible battles of this period took place on the territory of the USSR. The most terrible of them was the siege of Leningrad. However, the country survived and since 1943 launched an offensive on all fronts.
When the Nazis were thrown out of the USSR in 1944, the United States opened a second front in Europe. But this was done not so much to help the USSR, since the outcome of the war was already predetermined, but to prevent the spread of communist ideas in Western Europe.
Losses in World War II
The USSR suffered the maximum losses, the entire European part of the country was destroyed, cities and villages were destroyed, factories were either bombed or evacuated to the Urals or Siberia. Over 27,000,000 Soviet citizens died, many of them were exterminated in concentration camps. The total destruction was estimated at $128 billion.
Germany lost 6,500,000 people, most of them not returning from the eastern front. The destruction in the country was estimated at $48 billion.
The Second World War was not only the most terrible tragedy in human history, but also the largest geopolitical conflict throughout the development of civilization. Dozens of countries were involved in this bloody confrontation, each of which pursued its own goals: influence, economic gain, protection of its own borders and population.
To achieve their goals, participants in World War II were forced to unite in coalitions. The allied groupings included countries whose interests and goals were most closely intertwined. But sometimes even countries that saw the post-war structure of the world in completely different ways united in such blocs in order to solve a higher task.
Who were the main and minor participants in World War II? The list of countries that were officially parties to the conflict is presented below.
Axis countries
First of all, let's look at the states that are considered to be the direct aggressors that started the Second World War. They are conventionally called the Axis countries.
Countries of the Tripartite Pact
The countries of the Tripartite or Berlin Pact were participants in World War II, who played a leading role among the Axis states. They concluded an alliance treaty between themselves on September 27, 1940 in Berlin, directed against their rivals and defining the post-war division of the world in the event of victory.
Germany- the most powerful military and economic state of the Axis countries, which acted as the main connecting force of this association. It was she who carried greatest threat and caused the heaviest damage to the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition. She is in 1939.
Italy- Germany's strongest ally in Europe. Started hostilities in 1940.
Japan- the third participant in the Tripartite Pact. It claimed exclusive influence in the Asia-Pacific region, within which it conducted military operations. Entered the war in 1941.
Minor Axis members
Minor members of the Axis include participants in World War II from among the allies of Germany, Japan and Italy, who did not play primary roles on the battlefields, but nevertheless took part in hostilities on the side of the Nazi bloc or declared war on the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition. These include:
- Hungary;
- Bulgaria;
- Romania;
- Slovakia;
- Kingdom of Thailand;
- Finland;
- Iraq;
- Republic of San Marino.
States ruled by collaborationist governments
This category of countries includes states occupied during hostilities by Germany or its allies, in which governments loyal to the Axis bloc were established. It was the Second World War that brought these forces to power. The participants of the Tripartite Pact, therefore, wanted to position themselves in these countries as liberators, not conquerors. These countries include:
Anti-Hitler coalition
The symbol “Anti-Hitler Coalition” is understood as a union of countries that opposed the Axis states. The formation of this union bloc took place throughout almost the entire period during which the Second World War was going on. The participating countries were able to withstand the fight against Nazism and win.
Big three
The Big Three are participants in World War II from among the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition who made the greatest contribution to the victory over Germany and other Axis states. Possessing the highest military potential, they were able to turn the tide of hostilities, which initially were not in their favor. It was primarily thanks to these countries that the Second World War ended in triumph over Nazism. Participants in the battles from among other states of the Anti-Hitler coalition, of course, also deserved the gratitude of all the free peoples of the world for getting rid of the “brown plague,” but without the coordinated actions of these three powers, victory would have been impossible.
United Kingdom- the state that was the first to enter into open confrontation with Nazi Germany in 1939 after the latter’s attack on Poland. Throughout the war it created biggest problems for in Western Europe.
USSR- the state that suffered the greatest human losses during the Second World War. According to some estimates, they exceeded 27 million people. It is at the cost of blood and incredible efforts Soviet people managed to stop the victorious march of the Reich divisions and reverse the flywheel of the war. The USSR entered the war after being attacked by Nazi Germany in June 1941.
USA- later than all of the Big Three states to take part in hostilities (since the end of 1941). But it was the entry of the United States into the war that made it possible to complete the formation of the Anti-Hitler coalition, and successful actions in battles with Japan did not allow it to open a front in the Far East against the USSR.
Minor members of the Anti-Hitler Coalition
Of course, in such an important matter as the fight against Nazism, minor roles it cannot be, but the countries presented below still had less influence on the course of hostilities than the members of the Big Three. At the same time, they made their contribution to the end of such a grandiose military conflict as the Second World War. The countries participating in the Anti-Hitler Coalition, each according to their capabilities, gave battle to Nazism. Some of them directly opposed the Axis states on the battlefields, others organized a movement against the occupiers, and others helped with supplies.
Here you can name the following countries:
- France (one of the first to enter the war with Germany (1939) and was defeated);
- British states;
- Poland;
- Czechoslovakia (at the time of the outbreak of hostilities, in fact, no longer existed as a single state);
- Netherlands;
- Belgium;
- Luxembourg;
- Denmark;
- Norway;
- Greece;
- Monaco (despite neutrality, was alternately occupied by Italy and Germany);
- Albania;
- Argentina;
- Chile;
- Brazil;
- Bolivia;
- Venezuela;
- Colombia;
- Peru;
- Ecuador;
- Dominican Republic;
- Guatemala;
- Salvador;
- Costa Rica;
- Panama;
- Mexico;
- Honduras;
- Nicaragua;
- Haiti;
- Cuba;
- Uruguay;
- Paraguay;
- Türkiye;
- Bahrain;
- Saudi Arabia;
- Iran;
- Iraq;
- Nepal;
- China;
- Mongolia;
- Egypt;
- Liberia;
- Ethiopia;
- Tuva.
It is difficult to underestimate the breadth of the scope of such a monumental tragedy as the Second World War. The number of participants in the largest armed conflict of the 20th century was 62 countries. This is a very high figure, considering that at that time there were only 72 independent states. In principle, there were no countries that were not affected by this grand event at all, even though ten of them declared their neutrality. Neither the memoirs of World War II participants or concentration camp victims, nor even more so history textbooks, can convey the full scale of the tragedy. But the current generation should remember well the mistakes of the past so as not to repeat them in the future.