Books about the Great Patriotic War. Great Patriotic War Encyclopedia of WWII 1941 1945 12 volumes

The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. In 12 volumes. Year of publication: 2011-2015. Genre or theme: Military history. Publisher: Voenizdat. ISBN: 975-5-203-02-113-7. Russian language. Format: PDF

Dedicated to the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland.

"Military Publishing House" (Moscow) published a twelve-volume fundamental encyclopedia "The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945". This work will make it possible to deeply and comprehensively comprehend the events of that period and convey the truth about the Great Patriotic War.

Each volume helps to comprehend the decisive battles and events, calls for an active fight against the falsification of the history of the fight against fascism and the victory over it, with attempts to justify Nazism, its crimes and inhumanity.

VOLUME ONE. MAIN EVENTS OF THE WAR.

From the Main Editorial Commission.
Historical and cognitive foundations of the study of the Great Patriotic War.
The origin of the war.
Disruption of the Blitzkrieg.
The turn of the war to the west.
Germany is in the grip of two fronts.
Behind the front line.
The feat of the people.
Final of the Great Patriotic War. War with Japan.
Improving the art of fighting.
USSR and the Anti-Hitler Coalition.
The history of the Great Patriotic War and the present.

Volume one. The main events of the war

VOLUME SECOND. ORIGIN AND BEGINNING OF THE WAR.

At the origins of the war.
The beginning of the Second World War and the policy of the USSR.
USSR on the eve of the German attack.
The entry of the Soviet people into the fight against the aggressor.
Results of the first months of the war.
Volume two. Origin and beginning of the war

VOLUME THIRD. BATTLES AND BATTLES THAT CHANGE THE TURN OF THE WAR.

The military-political situation by the fall of 1941
"All for the defense of Moscow."
First major victory.
The enemy is stopped at Stalingrad.
Struggle for the Caucasus.
Preconditions for changing the course of the war.
The defeat of the enemy at Stalingrad.
Break of the blockade of Leningrad.
On the eve of the Battle of Kursk.
Fiery arc.
Battle for the Dnieper.
Military art of the Soviet Armed Forces.
The growth of the power and international authority of the USSR.

Volume three. Battles and battles that changed the course of the war

VOLUME FOUR. LIBERATION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE USSR. 1944 YEAR.

The situation and plans of the parties by the beginning of 1944
In the North and Northwest.
Battles in Eastern Belarus.
Liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea.
The situation and plans of the parties for the summer of 1944
The offensive in Karelia and the Arctic.
Operation Bagration.
Liberation of the western regions of Ukraine and Moldova.
Expulsion of the enemy from the Baltic states.
Front without front line.
Military and political results of 1944
The development of the Soviet Armed Forces and military art.
Socio-economic development: turning on a peaceful track.

Volume four. Liberation of the territory of the USSR. 1944 year

VOLUME FIVE. THE VICTORY FINAL. FINAL OPERATIONS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR IN EUROPE. WAR WITH JAPAN.

Situation in Europe. Transfer of military operations of the Armed Forces of the USSR to foreign territory.
On the southern wing of the Soviet-German front.
Fighting in East Prussia and Pomerania. Conclusion from the war between Finland and Norway.
Liberation of Poland and Silesia.
The final operations of the Soviet troops in Europe.
Situation at the Asia-Pacific War Theater in 1945
The defeat of the Japanese armed forces in China, Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
Military and political activities Of the Armed Forces of the USSR in the foreign territories of Europe and Asia.
The end of the war and the problems of the world.

Volume five. The victorious final. The final operations of the Great Patriotic War in Europe. War with Japan

VOLUME SIX. THE SECRET WAR. INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE IN THE YEARS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR.

Domestic and foreign historiography of the activities of Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence during the Great Patriotic War.
Intelligence activities on the eve of the war.
Counterintelligence agencies in the pre-war years.
Foreign intelligence during the war.
Military intelligence during the war.
Special services of Nazi Germany on the Soviet-German front.
Activities of military counterintelligence agencies in the first period of the war.
The activities of the military counterintelligence agencies in the years of radical change.
The activities of military counterintelligence in the final period of the war.
State security agencies in the fight against the enemy in the occupied Soviet territory.
The activities of the territorial bodies of the NKVD - NKGB to ensure the security of the country's rear.
The struggle of the state security organs and the NKVD troops against the armed underground on the territory of the USSR
Fight against subversive activities of the Japanese intelligence services.

Volume six. Secret War. Intelligence and counterintelligence during the Great Patriotic War

VOLUME SEVEN. ECONOMY AND WEAPONS OF WAR.

Economy and defense industry of the USSR on the eve of the war.
Mobilization of the USSR economy and the transition to a wartime economy.
Evacuation as an integral part of economic restructuring in wartime.
Creation of economic prerequisites for a radical turning point in the war.
The economy of the final period of the war.
The main components of the successful solution of the problems of the country's economy during the war.
Armament and military equipment on the eve of the war.
The development of weapons of the opposing sides in the course of hostilities.
Struggle for superiority in armament and technical equipment of the armed forces.

Volume seven. Economy and weapons of war

VOLUME EIGHT. FOREIGN POLICY AND DIPLOMACY OF THE SOVIET UNION DURING THE WAR.

The main trends in modern Russian historiography of the foreign policy of the USSR during the war.
Soviet foreign policy on the eve of the war: achievements, mistakes, consequences.
The restructuring of foreign policy and diplomacy of the USSR on a military basis.
Strengthening the Anti-Hitler Coalition: Achievements and Challenges.
Soviet Union at the Moscow and Tehran conferences.
Strengthening the international positions of the USSR.
USSR and the liberation of European countries.
Yalta conference of the leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain.
USSR and the end of the war in Europe.
USSR and the creation of the UN.
Berlin (Potsdam) conference and its results.
Politics Soviet Union in relation to militaristic Japan at the final stage of the Second World War.
Diplomacy and diplomatic service of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.

Volume eighth. Foreign policy and diplomacy of the Soviet Union during the war

VOLUME NINE. ALLIES OF THE USSR IN THE ANTIGITLER COALITION.

Historiography of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Armed struggle in the European theater of operations.
End of the war in Europe.
Military operations in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
Fighting in Africa and Asia-Pacific.
Anti-fascist resistance in Europe.
Society and economy of allied and neutral countries during the war.
Military-economic cooperation of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition.
Political and strategic interaction of allies.

Volume nine. Allies of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition

VOLUME TEN. "STATE. SOCIETY AND WAR. "

State and society during the Great Patriotic War: the main directions of research.
Power and society on the eve of the Great Patriotic War.
Restructuring of public administration and activities of public organizations with the beginning of the war.
Work in the rear and contribution civilian population into victory.
Everyday life in wartime conditions.
State national policy in the conditions of war.
Science and education during the war.
Culture during the war.
The image of the enemy and the image of the ally in the perception of the Soviet people.
Socio-economic consequences of the war.

Volume ten. "State. Society. War."

VOLUME ELEVEN. POLICY AND STRATEGY OF VICTORY: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY AND THE ARMED FORCES OF THE USSR IN THE YEARS OF WAR.

The main directions of politics and strategy of victory.
The first decisions of the State-Political Leadership to transfer the country to martial law.
The State Defense Committee in the system of emergency bodies for the strategic leadership of the country and the Armed Forces.
Headquarters of the Supreme Command: structure, functions and methods of strategic leadership of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
General Staff in the leadership of the armed struggle.
People's Commissars of Defense and the Navy in the system of strategic leadership of the Armed Forces.
Bodies of state security and law and order in the system of strategic leadership of the country and the Armed Forces.
Leading the struggle of the people behind enemy lines.
Mobilizing society to wage war.
Peculiarities military policy and the strategy of the USSR in the war against Japan.
Generalization of combat experience and bringing it to the attention of the troops of the Red Army and the Forces of the Navy.

Volume eleventh. Politics and strategy of victory: strategic leadership of the country and the Armed Forces of the USSR during the war

VOLUME TWELVE. RESULTS AND LESSONS OF THE WAR.

Results of the Great Patriotic War.
Spiritual and moral foundations of victory.
The source of the spiritual strength of society.
The economic foundation of victory.
Military and military theoretical lessons.
Experience in the provision of armed struggle.
The role of statesmen and military leaders in achieving victory.
The origin and evolution of the Cold War.
Conflict of economic interests as a source of wars in the 20th century.
For the truth of history.
War as a national and global threat.
Chronograph of the Great Patriotic War.

Volume twelve. Results and lessons of the war

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Socio-economic and political situation in the USSR on the eve of the war

By the beginning of the 3rd five-year plan was in the main. completed technical reconstruction in the industry. In terms of the total volume of industrial production, the country took 1st place in Europe and 2nd in the world. In 3 years of the 3rd five-year plan, the gross industrial output has grown 1.5 times, 3,000 new large industrial enterprises have been put into operation. From early 1939 to mid-1941, the share of defense spending in the country's budget increased from 26 to 43%. In the east. In regions of the country, backup enterprises were built. The production of new types of military equipment was mastered, including T-34 and KV tanks, BM-13 rocket launchers, Il-2 attack aircraft, Pe-2 high-speed dive bomber, Yak-1, MiG-3, LaGG fighters. 3. All this made it possible to significantly increase the technical equipment of the Red Army. The annual growth of military production in 1938–40 was three times higher than the growth of all industrial production. But at such a rate, it was possible to provide the army with new weapons only in 1942–43.

The fulfillment of the five-year plans was largely achieved by the militarization of labor. Workers and employees were forbidden to move from one enterprise to another without the permission of the management. Since 1940, young people have been mobilized for vocational schools every year. Bonded labor was still widely used in the GULAG system of the NKVD.

The size of the Red Army grew rapidly. On September 1, 1939, the USSR adopted a law "On General Military Duty". By 22.6.1941, 5774 thousand people served in the Armed Forces of the USSR. Commanders who distinguished themselves in battles in Spain, Mongolia and Finland were promoted to the leadership of the army. The number of command personnel of the Red Army in 1937–40 increased 2.8 times. However, by 1941, only 7.1% of the command staff had a higher military education. Most of the commanders did not have the proper military experience.

In the 30s. The country's leadership, using the most stringent measures, primarily with the help of repression, completed the formation of a system of total control over all spheres of economic, political and social life. In 1939, 2,552 people were sentenced to death for counter-revolutionary and state crimes, in 1940 - 1,649 people; in 1941, including the military half-year, 8001 people were sentenced to capital punishment.

The ideological preparation of the population for war was carried out through the purposeful formation of national consciousness and patriotism. The goals of national-patriotic education were the wide celebration of the centenary of the memory of A.S. Pushkin; the release of the film "Peter the First", in which he grew up. the emperor appeared as the greatest state. activist; opening of the Borodino Historical Museum (1937), an exhibition in the Hermitage “The Great Past of Rus. of the people in the monuments of art and items of arms ”(Sept. 1938). In nov. 1938 the film "Alexander Nevsky" was released - a patriotic film "about the greatness, power and valor of Russian. people, their love for their homeland, about the glory of the Russian. weapons ". An event in the cultural and political life of Moscow was the opening in February. 1939 at the Tretyakov Gallery, an exhibition at which for the first time in the years of the Sov. the authorities were presented the best canvases of Rus. artists of the 18th – 20th centuries. Mikhail Glinka's opera Ivan Susanin, which premiered in April, had a great resonance. 1939.

In 1939–40 there were signs of changes in the state's policy towards the church, the government corrected the previous anti-religious course. 11/11/1939 by the decision of the Politburo, instructions regarding the persecution of the servants of the Rus were canceled. Orthodox Church and believers.

The beginning of the war

The implementation of Hitler's plan "Barbarossa" began at 0330 hours on 22/06/1941. Romania, Finland, Italy and Hungary took the side of Germany against the USSR. The grouping of German troops totaled 5.5 million people. They were opposed by the owls. troops zap. military districts numbering 2.9 million people. The suddenness of the attack caused disturbances in the command and control of the troops. Sov. the armies were forced to withdraw. On June 24 they left Vilnius, on June 28 - Minsk. On June 30, the Germans captured Lviv, on July 1 - Riga.

The restructuring of the country on a military basis began to acquire organization from 30/06/1941, when the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Council of People's Commissars decided to create the State Defense Committee (GKO). He directed the activities of all state. departments and institutions on which the course and outcome of the war depended. The restructuring of party and state structures was based on the principle of maximum centralization of leadership. During the war years, no party congresses, meetings of the Organizing Bureau and the Secretariat of the Central Committee were held. On 23 June 1941, the Headquarters of the High Command was established.

The program of action to transform the country into a single military camp is formulated in the "Directive of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) to the party and Soviet organizations of the front-line regions on the mobilization of all forces and resources to defeat the fascist invaders" dated 06/29/1941. This directive formed the basis of Stalin's speech on the radio on 3.7.1941. Stalin acknowledged heavy losses, spoke of the danger hanging over the country, expressed hope for help from Great Britain and the United States, which were becoming allies in the struggle, defined the outbreak of war as a Patriotic, nationwide war. On July 18, 1941, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) adopted a resolution on organizing the struggle in the rear of the German troops by the forces of party organs and the NKVD organs. On May 30, 1942, the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement was formed under the SVGK (headed by P.K.Ponomarenko).

The general mobilization of those who were born in 1905-18 made it possible by July 1941 to replenish the army by 5.3 million people. In August, conscripts born in 1890-1904 and conscripts born in 1923 were mobilized. The appeal of subsequent ages (up to 1927 birth) was carried out in the usual manner. During the war years, 34.5 million people were mobilized into the army and for work in industry, taking into account those who had already served at the beginning of the war. Mobilization made it possible to form 648 divisions, of which 410 in 1941.

The stage of defensive battles and the retreat of the Red Army lasted from June to December 1941. In an attempt to turn the tide on the fronts, the authorities resorted to extraordinary measures. On July 16, 1941, the institution of military commissars was introduced in corps, divisions and regiments, as well as the institution of political instructors in companies, batteries and squadrons. In July 1941, the commander of the Western Front D.G. Pavlov and a group of generals of the Western and Northwestern Fronts were charged with cowardice, the collapse of command and control, and sentenced to capital punishment for the defeat of the Red Army in border battles. Until Apr. 1942 30 generals were shot on charges of similar crimes. In aug. 1941 an order was issued on the responsibility of servicemen for surrendering and leaving weapons to the enemy. In 1941, the Autonomous Republic of the Volga Germans was liquidated, the population was resettled to the east of the country. However, the methods of intimidation did not give the expected result.

During the Battle of Smolensk, the German plan for a lightning war was thwarted, but the German offensive continued. 9/8/1941 after the capture of the Mga station, Leningrad fell into the ring of the blockade. At the beginning of September, the tank group of Colonel-General H. Guderian turned from the Smolensk region to the south and 16 Sept. united east of Kiev with the tank group of E. von Kleist, advancing from the south. Surrounded Kiev fell on September 19. St. 530 thousand owls the soldiers died and were captured. 10/25/1941 Kharkov fell. In November, the Germans captured the south-west. part of Donbass, went to Rostov-on-Don. 16 oct. owls. troops left Odessa after 73 days of defense. From 30 oct. there was a battle for Sevastopol, which lasted 250 days.

9/30/1941 German troops began to carry out Operation Typhoon. The battle for Moscow began. By Oct 7. the enemy managed to encircle 4 owls in the area of ​​Vyazma. army. 10 oct. the troops of the Western and Reserve fronts were united in the Western Front under the command of G.K. Zhukov and fought on the Mozhaisk defense line. By the end of October, the enemy was stopped at the line east of Volokolamsk and along the Nara and Oka rivers to Aleksin.

German tank forces, advancing from the Roslavl and Shostka areas, reached the Tarusa-Tula line by the end of October. Attempts to capture Tula, made from 10/29/1941, were repulsed. 18 nov. the Germans launched an offensive with the aim of bypassing Tula from the east; by November 25 they reached the approaches to Kashira. 14 oct. the Germans captured the cities of Rzhev and Kalinin. On the Klin-Solnechnogorsk and Volokolamsk-Istra directions to the enemy by 15 Nov. managed to reach Dmitrov, occupy Yakhrom, Lobnya, Krasnaya Polyana, Kryukovo. In early December, the German offensive stopped.

The most difficult days for Moscow began on 10/15/1941, when the State Defense Committee adopted a decree on the evacuation of the capital. Two hundred trains and 80 thousand trucks were taken out by the embassy and state. property. St. 500 thousand Muscovites created defensive lines around the city. Meanwhile, rumors about the approach of German troops and the government's decision to leave Moscow in a number of cases gave rise to the flight of administrative workers at various levels, the burning of archival documents, and robbery of shops. The riots were stopped. On 10/19/1941 a state of siege was introduced in the capital by a decree of the State Defense Committee.

As a result of the summer-autumn campaign of 1941, irrecoverable losses of the Red Army personnel amounted to 3.1 million people. (2.3 million of them disappeared without a trace - they died surrounded or were captured). Together with sanitary (wounded, shell-shocked, sick) losses increased to 4.5 million people. The failures of the first stage of the war and the need to mobilize all forces to continue the struggle determined the appeal of the USSR leadership to national-patriotic ideas and slogans. A manifestation of such an ideological policy was the Stalinist parting words to the troops at the parade on 11/7/1941. Stalin urged to remember the names of those who created and defended Russia, its heroes - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov. On December 10, 1941, an order was issued to remove the slogan "Workers of all countries, unite!"

Counteroffensive near Moscow

The troops of the Western, Kalinin and Southwestern fronts were involved in the counterattack near Moscow. The owls. the side had 1,100 thousand soldiers and officers against 1708 thousand enemy soldiers and officers. Sov. the command advanced to Moscow reserves from the Far East. By dec. 1941 Sov. intelligence had reliable information that Japan did not intend to start military operations against the USSR.

12/05/1941 at 3 am the Red Army launched a counteroffensive on the front from Kalinin (now Tver) to Yelets. At the same time, active hostilities were conducted southeast of Leningrad and in the Crimea, which made it impossible for the Germans to transfer reinforcements. Within a month of fighting, Moscow, Tula and part of the Kalinin region were liberated. However, by March 1942 the power of the Sov. offensive dried up: the troops suffered heavy losses. It was not possible to develop success in the counteroffensive along the entire front.

The offensive operation in the Barvenkovo ​​area (south of Kharkov), carried out on January 18–31, 1942, did not achieve its goals. An attempt to break the blockade of Leningrad ended in failure. The 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front was surrounded. The commander of the army, Lieutenant General A.A. Vlasov surrendered and, being in the Vinnitsa camp for captured officers, agreed to cooperate with the enemies of his people and lead the "anti-Stalinist movement" (he was later executed in the USSR).

The main event of the first year of the war was the defeat of Germany in the battle of Moscow. The prospect of a protracted war loomed before Germany. Japan refrained from speaking out against the USSR. The rise of anti-fascist resistance in Western Europe began. The Soviet Union was turning into a decisive factor in World War II, which contributed to the strengthening of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Battle of stalingrad

In the spring and summer of 1942, the German command was preparing DOS. blow in the south, seeking to seize the Caucasus and the Lower Volga region. Sov. troops in the south were not enough to contain the offensive, which resulted in major defeats. The strategic initiative was again in the hands of the enemy. 4/4/1942 Sevastopol fell. On June 28, the German army group "Weichs" launched an offensive in the Voronezh direction. On July 6, the enemy managed to capture b. h. Voronezh.

In the battles to the south. wing of the Soviet-German front, German troops occupied the Donbass, entered the great bend of the Don, posing a threat to Stalingrad. On July 24, Rostov-on-Don fell. Failures adversely affected the fighting efficiency of the owls. troops, panic and desertion reappeared.

On July 28, the People's Commissar of Defense issued order No. 227 ("Not one step back!"), Which was intended to suppress manifestations of cowardice and desertion by the most severe measures, and categorically prohibited retreat without a special order from the command.

To raise the spirit of the people in difficult times, the authorities again turned to the historical sources of patriotism. On July 29, military orders were established in honor of the heroes of the past: Suvorov, Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky.

In aug. 1942 the enemy reached the banks of the Volga in the Stalingrad region, to the foothills of the west. parts of the Caucasian ridge, to the passes of its central part and to the region of Mozdok. The enemy was stopped at these lines. 25 Aug battles began for Stalingrad. 13 Sep the storming of the city began, which was defended by the troops of the South-Eastern and Stalingrad fronts under the command of Colonel-General A.I. Eremenko. Stalingrad became a symbol of mass heroism and resilience of the owls. people. By mid-November, the offensive capabilities of the Germans dried up, and they went over to the defensive. Resilience of owls. troops allowed to gain time to prepare a counteroffensive.

To the 2nd floor. 1942 Sov. the leadership managed to achieve a general superiority of forces over the enemy troops. The industry, converted to a war footing, rapidly increased the production of weapons. The size of the army was approaching 6.6 million people. against 6.2 million in the Wehrmacht and the armies of Germany's allies. The idea of ​​a counter-offensive at Stalingrad was born on 12 September. and consisted in delivering powerful blows to the flanks of the enemy grouping. With luck, the strategic situation in the south of the country changed in favor of the USSR. Operation "Uranus" was prepared in secret from the enemy. It was carried out by the troops of 3 fronts with the assistance of the Volga military flotilla. The leadership of the preparation of the counteroffensive on the Southwestern and Don fronts was entrusted to Zhukov, on the Stalingrad fronts - to A.M. Vasilevsky.

11/19/1942 Sov. the troops launched a counteroffensive. 23 nov. parts of the Stalingrad and Southwestern Fronts united at the town of Kalach-na-Donu. 22 divisions of the enemy (over 330 thousand people) were surrounded. The destruction and capture of the encircled troops continued until 2.2.1943. The commander of the 6th German Army, Field Marshal F. Paulus, was captured. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the enemy lost 25% of their forces operating on the Eastern Front. The losses of the Red Army amounted to 470 thousand soldiers and officers.

The successful implementation of the operation was marked by the awarding of the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union to Zhukov (18 January) and Vasilevsky (16 February). On March 6, the rank of marshal was awarded to Stalin. These were the first awards of the highest military rank since the beginning of the war. In 1944, 6 more military leaders became its owners: I. S. Konev, L. A. Govorov, K. K. Rokossovsky, R. Ya. Malinovsky, F. I. Tolbukhin, K. A. Meretskov.

A radical turning point in the course of the war

The victory at Stalingrad was reinforced by a general offensive by the Sov. troops. The enemy was forced to withdraw its units from the North Caucasus. 18/01/1943 the blockade of Leningrad was broken. Between Lake Ladoga and a corridor up to 11 km wide was pierced by the front line, along which roads and railways were laid. The city, which lost 642 thousand people during the blockade. from hunger and disease and 21 thousand from shelling, he breathed more freely. For the 1st half. 1943 the cities of Rzhev, Vyazma, Rostov-on-Don, Shakhty, Kursk and others were liberated.

By the summer of 1943, the front had stabilized. The parties were preparing for the summer campaign. The German command was developing Operation Citadel, during which it hoped to defeat the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts defending the Kursk Bulge. Sov. the command revealed the enemy's plan in a timely manner and developed a response plan.

5/5/1943 German troops went on the offensive. Sowing. the flank of the Kursk salient, the enemy managed to wedge into the defense of the owls. troops in some areas of 10-35 km. To the south. flank the climax of the battle fell on the 7th day of the German offensive. July 12 near the village. Prokhorovka, St. thousands of Soviet and German tanks. The losses of the Germans were such that they could no longer count on a breakthrough. 07/15/1943 Operation Citadel was terminated, the Germans retreated to their original positions. The commander of Army Group South, Field Marshal E. von Manstein, and his staff believed that for active operations the Sov. side of the forces left.

However, earlier, on July 12, owls. the troops launched an offensive against the Oryol grouping of the enemy, which resulted in the liberation of Orel (Aug. 5). The offensive continued. 3 aug. the Belgorod-Kharkov operation began. 5 aug. liberated Belgorod, 23 Aug. - Kharkov. 5 aug. for the first time during the war years, Moscow saluted in honor of the liberated cities. This salute was also sounded in memory of 70 thousand people who died in battles on the Kursk Bulge, and 183 thousand during subsequent offensive operations. Freeing Oryol, Belgorod, Kharkov, owls. troops went over to a general offensive on a front of 2 thousand km. A radical change in the course of the Vel. Otech. The war ended with the battle for the Dnieper. 11/6/1943 Kiev was liberated. From Dec. 1941 to Dec. 1943 53% of the territory occupied by the enemy was liberated, where about 46 million people lived before the war. By 1944, half of the enemy's divisions had been defeated, and the disintegration of the fascist bloc began. Italy withdrew from the war.

Final operations of the war

In Jan. 1944 by the efforts of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted. At the end of January and February, after the completion of the Korsun-Shevchenko offensive operation, Right-Bank Ukraine was liberated. In March, owls. troops went to the state. border of the USSR with Romania and on the night of March 28 crossed the border river. Rod. In April and May, Odessa, Sevastopol and the whole Crimea were liberated. In June, a blow was struck on the Karelian Isthmus. In August, owls. troops liberated Karelia. On September 19, Finland signed an armistice agreement with the USSR.

On June 23, one of the largest offensive operations in the war, Bagration, began, which resulted in the liberation of Belarus, Lithuania and part of Latvia. 17 Aug troops went to the west. the border of Belarus. In July, the battle for the liberation of Western Ukraine began. It was led by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front. With the completion of the Lvov-Sandomierz operation in August, Ukraine was completely liberated.

In August, the Jassy-Kishinev grouping of German and Romanian troops was defeated, which resulted in the liberation of Moldova and the surrender of Romania. By the end of October, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, together with the Romanian units that opposed Germany, completely liberated Romania. 8 Sep The Red Army entered the territory of Bulgaria, which led to a popular armed uprising against the fascist dictatorship. 9 Sep the fascist government was overthrown, power passed into the hands of the government of the Fatherland Front.

Estonia and part of Latvia were liberated in September and October. In oct. 1944 the forces of the Karelian Front and the Northern Fleet liberated the Arctic, owls. troops entered the territory of Norway. In September - October, a strike by the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front between the Tisza and the Danube followed. Build up the blow, owls. troops by Feb. 1945 occupied the territory of Hungary, united with the troops of the allied Yugoslavia, liberated Transcarpathia.

In the summer and autumn of 1944, the following were liberated: Petrozavodsk (June 28), Minsk (July 3), Vilnius (July 13), Chisinau (August 24), Tallinn (Sept.22), Riga (October 13), thousands of other cities and sat down. The troops of Germany and its allies were completely expelled from the territory of the USSR in November. 1944 (with the exception of the Liepaja and Ventspils districts in Latvia, liberated in May 1945). 1.6 million soviet died on the battlefields in 1944. soldier. To the end. 1944 - early. 1945 The Red Army liberated Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia (together with units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia), Hungary, Poland, part of Austria and Czechoslovakia. 19/1/1945 Sov. units entered the territory of Germany. Apr 13. the center of East Prussia Königsberg was taken. In 1945 Sov. troops successfully carried out the largest offensive operations during the war years: East Prussian, East Pomeranian, Vienna, Prague.

Anti-Hitler coalition

After the German attack on the Soviet Union, the governments of Great Britain and the United States declared their support for the USSR in its struggle against aggression. 07/12/1941 in Moscow signed a Soviet-British agreement on joint actions. Both countries pledged to support each other in the war against Germany, not to negotiate with her, not to conclude an armistice or peace treaty, except with mutual consent. Similar agreements were concluded with the governments of Czechoslovakia (July 18) and Poland (July 30), created in exile.

In aug. 1941 Great Britain and the United States signed a declaration of war objectives - the Atlantic Charter. It said that territorial changes following the results of the war would be possible only with the consent of the states that participated in the war against fascism, that they would respect the right of peoples to choose their own form of government, and create equal opportunities for economic cooperation between countries. Sov. the government in September agreed with the DOS. principles of the charter. However, the question of opening a 2nd front against Hitler in the West, posed by Stalin in his message to W. Churchill on 18/07/1941, did not meet with understanding. The British Prime Minister believed that his country "could not be ready for this before the summer of 1943."

More concrete results were achieved at the conference of the USSR, USA and Great Britain on military supplies, held in Moscow on 29.9–1.10.1941. Allies pledged monthly from Oct. 1941 to June 1942 to supply the USSR with 400 aircraft, 500 tanks, and materials of military importance. The Soviet Union was provided with an interest-free loan in the amount of $ 1 billion. Lend-lease deliveries for a number of types of aid - airplanes, trucks, gunpowder, canned food - were greatly aided by the Sov. military successes.

On 1.1.1942, the United States and 25 states of the anti-fascist coalition signed a declaration under which they pledged to use their military and economic resources against the fascist bloc. Until 1945, St. 20 countries. Together they became known as the United Nations.

The successes of the owls. troops in 1942–43 created favorable conditions for the opening of the 2nd front in Europe. In May 1943, shortly after the start of the Washington Conference with the participation of F.D. Roosevelt and Churchill (it depended on its results whether the 2nd front was opened), the Comintern was dissolved in the USSR, which was positively received in Western countries, especially in the USA ... At a conference of foreign ministers in Moscow in October. 1943 a protocol was signed confirming the intentions of the app. Allies to launch an operation in Northern France in the spring of 1944. At a conference in Tehran (28.11–1.12.1943), the first meeting of the heads of government of the Big Three took place, which decided the cardinal issues of warfare and the post-war world order. The final document of the conference stated that the crossing of the English Channel would be undertaken in May 1944. The Allies agreed to the transfer of part of East Prussia to the USSR and the restoration of independent Poland within the borders of 1918. In turn, the USSR agreed to enter the war with Japan no later than 3 months after the victory over Germany. The agreements largely contributed to the early victorious end of World War II.

6/6/1944 the Allies landed troops in France. The Normandy landing operation (6.6–24.7.1944) was the largest landing operation of the 2nd World War. It was attended by approx. 1 million people By the end of October, the Allied troops reached the west. border of Germany.

At the final stage of the war, the allies in the anti-fascist coalition worked out a number of fundamental decisions that determined the features of the post-war world order. At the Yalta (Crimean) conference of the heads of government of the Big Three (4-11.2.1945), plans for the final defeat of Germany, the conditions for its surrender, the order of occupation, and the mechanism of union control were agreed upon. The occupation, to which France was also allowed, was undertaken in order to demilitarize, denazify and democratize Germany. The USSR's demands for reparations in the amount of $ 10 billion were recognized as legal. The "Declaration on a Liberated Europe", adopted at the conference, provided for the elimination of traces of Nazism in the liberated countries of Europe and the creation of democratic institutions at the choice of the peoples. Stalin confirmed at the conference his promise to enter the war with Japan and received the consent of the allies to return the south to the Soviet Union. parts of Sakhalin, the transfer of the Kuril Islands, etc. In Yalta, decisions were also made to convene a United Nations conference in San Francisco on 4/25/1945 to prepare the charter of an international security organization.

The most important factor of a radical turning point in the course of the war on the Soviet-German front was completed by the middle. 1942 restructuring of the rear in a military manner. The failures of the first stage of the war seriously complicated the position of the Sov. economy. In the summer of 1941, the evacuation of industrial enterprises to the east began. regions of the country. For this work, the Council for the Evacuation of the State Defense Committee was created. By the beginning. In 1942, more than 1.5 thousand industrial enterprises were transported (of which 1360 were defense ones), the number of evacuated workers reached a third of the full-time staff. The deterioration of the food supply forced the introduction of food cards in Moscow and Leningrad from 18/07/1941. At the end of 1941, the rationing system was introduced throughout the country as a whole. The loss of military factories sharply reduced the supply of shells, mines, and bombs to the army. The fall in ammunition production continued until the end of the year. Hundreds of thousands of skilled workers were mobilized into the army, replaced by women, teenagers and old people. From 12/26/1941 workers and employees of military enterprises were also declared mobilized for the period of the war: unauthorized departure from enterprises was punishable as desertion. From Dec. 1941 the fall in industrial production was stopped. The production of almost all industries was switched to the production of military products. In the Urals and in the east. regions produced 3/4 of all military equipment, weapons, ammunition. In the fall of 1942, military production completely restored the lost capacity. In 1943, the output of military products increased by 20% in comparison with 1942, in the subsequent period - 3 times. With less industrial potential than the Third Reich and the countries working on it, the USSR from the end. 1942 began to produce significantly more tanks, aircraft, and other types of weapons than they did. The quality of the owls. military equipment - fighters A. S. Yakovlev, S. A. Lavochkin; stormtroopers S. V. Ilyushin; bombers A. N. Tupolev, V. M. Petlyakov; tanks by A. A. Morozov, J. Ya. Kotin; artillery systems of V.G. Grabin, F.F.Petrov, I.I. Ivanov - was higher than similar samples of the German army. Branches and enterprises of the military economy were managed by talented production organizers: B. L. Vannikov, V. A. Malyshev, P. I. Parshin, I. T. Peresypkin, I. F. Tevosyan, D. F. Ustinov, A. V. Khrulev, A. I. Shakhurin and others.

During the war years, the USSR began to create nuclear weapons. The work began with the orders of the State Defense Committee dated 9/28/1942 and 02/11/1943. In accordance with these decisions, Laboratory No. 2 of the USSR Academy of Sciences was created in Moscow on April 12, 1943. 1944 Law Academic Institute. The scientific management of the atomic project was headed by 39-year-old professor I. V. Kurchatov.

In the ideological field, during the war, a line was pursued to strengthen patriotism. It was taken into account that citizens of all nationalities at the front fought for a common homeland, while the role of the Russian was objectively increasing. of the people (on the eve of the war, Russians constituted 51.8% of the population of the USSR, among the mobilized them there were 65.4%). In 1942, work began on replacing the old anthem - "Internationale" - with a patriotic anthem. From the beginning. 1944 transfer of owls. radio began with the performance of the anthem of the USSR (music by A.V. Aleksandrov, text by S.V. Mikhalkov, G. El-Registan), which simultaneously emphasized the growing state. the status of national regions, and the dominant position in the state of Rus. people. Turning to traditions grew up. statehood explains the return of the Red Army to uniforms with shoulder straps, officer ranks, the establishment of Suvorov schools on the model of the old cadet corps.

The authorities highly appreciated the patriotic activity of the church in collecting money and things for the needs of the front. New steps were taken to recognize the important role of the church. On 4 September 1943, Stalin met with Metropolitans Sergius, Alexy and Nikolai, at which they discussed ways to normalize state-church relations in the USSR. 8 Sep the Council of Bishops was convened to elect the Patriarch, whose throne had been empty since 1925. 12 Sept. The Council elected Metropolitan Sergius the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The culmination of the recognition of the Sov. the power of the role and authority of the church was the holding of the Local Council of Rus. Orthodox Church, convened in connection with the death of the patriarch. The Council adopted the "Regulation on the management of Rus. Orthodox Church ", which the Moscow Patriarchate was guided by until 1988, and elected Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The settlement of state-church relations extended to other religious associations that launched patriotic activities. Public organizations contributed to the victory - trade unions (organizers of the competition and other patriotic initiatives), the Komsomol, the Society for the Promotion of Defense, Aviation and Chemical Construction, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, and anti-fascist committees.

Education by owls. feelings of hatred and revenge by means of political educational work, encouraged at the first stages of the war and expressed in the calls "Death to the German occupiers!", "Kill the German!" blind rage towards the German people.

On January 27, 1944, by the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), the rights of the Union republics in the field of defense and foreign relations were expanded, which was associated with the upcoming UN organization. At the same time, the opposite trend was gaining strength. On January 31, 1944, a decree was adopted on the eviction of Chechens and Ingush to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (in 1943, Karachais and Kalmyks were evicted). In 1944, Balkars and Crimean Tatars were deported from their native places. The authorities justified the deportations by the fact that during the occupation of the territory of the USSR by the Nazi troops, representatives of these peoples collaborated with the invaders, waged an armed struggle against the Red Army. Meskhetian Turks were evicted from the regions bordering with Turkey. St. 3 million people The deportation of the Chechens, Ingush and Crimean Tatars ended with the abolition of the autonomies of these peoples.

The situation in the occupied territory. In the territories occupied by the Nazis, economic exploitation and plunder were accompanied by massive repressions and destruction of the population. The total number of victims of the occupation regime exceeded 14 million. - 1/5 of the population living here. Jews and Gypsies were subjected to universal extermination, various ethnic groups were pitted against each other. The order on the release from German captivity of the Volga Germans, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Romanians and Finns, which was in force until 11/13/1941, was calculated to disunite the peoples of the USSR (318.8 thousand people were released).

The invaders tried to win over to their side a part of the population dissatisfied with the Bolshevik regime. Collaborators were sent to police units, to military formations. In the occupied territory, there were 60.4 thousand policemen from the local population, 130 newspapers were published with the participation of local journalists. On Sept. 1943 against the troops of the Transcaucasian Front, formations created by the Germans from the Sov. prisoners of war.

Main the mass of people in the territory occupied by the enemy did not lose hope of liberation. Resilience of owls. citizens caught up in the occupation became one of the factors of victory. They sabotaged the activities of the occupation authorities, went into underground organizations and partisan detachments. The core of the detachments consisted of previously prepared Party and Sov. workers, employees of the NKVD, servicemen who could not get out of the encirclement, reconnaissance and sabotage groups, being transferred from behind the front line. The total number of partisans during the war years was 2.8 million. The partisans diverted up to 10% of the enemy's armed forces.

Victory

The final battle in Vel. Otech. the war, which began on April 16, became. battle for Berlin. For the Berlin operation, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian (commander - Marshal Rokossovsky), 1st Belorussian (Marshal Zhukov) and 1st Ukrainian (Marshal Konev) fronts were involved, part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet (commander - Admiral V.F. Tributs) ... Apr 21 tanks of the 3rd Guards Tank Army of PS Rybalko went to the north-east. outskirts of Berlin. Apr 25. the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front cut the routes leading to Berlin from the west, and joined forces with the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, which surrounded the city from the south. On the same day, in the area of ​​Torgau on the Elbe, Soviet and American troops met.

On the ninth day of the storming of Berlin, April 30. at 21 h 50 min, Sergeant M. A. Egorov and Junior Sergeant M. V. Kantaria hoisted the Victory Banner on the Reichstag building. At 0630 hours on May 2, the head of the defense of Berlin, General H. Weidling, ordered the surrender of the troops of the Berlin garrison. In the middle of the day, the resistance of the Nazis in the city ceased. At the same time, the joint actions of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts eliminated the encircled groupings of German troops southeast of Berlin. On the night of May 9, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, the Act of surrender of the German armed forces was signed. Conducted. Otech. the war is over. May 9 is declared Victory Day in the USSR.

Potsdam conference

Education of the United Nations. Sharp confrontation over the problems of post-war settlement unfolded on 17.7-28.1945 at the Potsdam (Berlin) conference of the heads of government of the victorious powers. Sov. the delegation was headed by Stalin, the American - by US President H. Truman, the British - first by Churchill, and from July 28, his successor as Prime Minister K. Attlee. At the conference, mutually acceptable decisions were reached on the dissolution of the German armed forces, the liquidation of its military industry, the destruction of monopolies, the prohibition of the National Socialist Party, Nazi and military propaganda, and the punishment of war criminals. The conference confirmed the transfer of Königsberg and the adjacent area to the USSR, established new zap. Poland's borders along the Oder and Neisse rivers.

To govern Germany during the occupation, a Control Council was established - a joint body of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France. It included the commander of the armed forces in the zone of occupation from each side.

In April - June 1945, the founding conference of the United Nations Organization (UN) was held in San Francisco. On it, the UN Charter was developed and entered into force on 10/24/1945. It has become an instrument for maintaining and strengthening peace between peoples and states.

Participation of the USSR in the war with Japan

9/8/1945 The Soviet Union entered the war with Japan. St. 1.5 million people under the command of Marshal Vasilevsky. Together with the owls. troops against the Japanese armed forces were the troops of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army. By 20 Aug. owls. the troops advanced into the depths of Manchuria from the west by 400–800 km, from the east and north - by 200–300 km, reached the Manchurian plain and dismembered the enemy troops into isolated groupings. From 19 Aug the Japanese began to surrender. The successful conduct of the offensive operation made it possible to liberate Manchuria and sowing in a short time. part of Korea - an area of ​​over 1.3 million km 2 with a population of St. 40 million people, as well as South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. 09/02/1945 aboard the American battleship Missouri in the Tokyo Hall. the act of unconditional surrender of Japan was signed. World War II ended in victory for the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Outcomes

The losses of the USSR in the war were enormous. The war has become a tragedy for the peoples of the country. The material damage inflicted on the Soviet Union amounted to almost 30% of its national wealth; for comparison: Great Britain - 0.9%, USA - 0.4%. Population of the USSR by the beginning. 1946 decreased to 170.5 million. The total human losses as a result of the war amounted to at least 26.6 million people. Losses of the Armed Forces of the USSR - 11.4 million people. According to approximate data, in the occupied territory, the Nazis exterminated 7.4 million civilians, another 4.1 million people. died of hunger and disease. 5.3 million Sov. people were forcibly taken to work in Germany. Of these, 2.2 million died in Nazi captivity, 451 thousand for various reasons became emigrants. During the war years, all the peoples of the USSR suffered irreparable losses. Among the dead servicemen, Russians accounted for 5.7 million people. (66.4% of all dead), Ukrainians - 1.4 million (15.9%), Belarusians - 253 thousand (2.9%), Tatars - 188 thousand (2.2%), Jews - 142 thousand (1.6%), Kazakhs - 125 thousand (1.5%), Uzbeks - 118 thousand (1.4%).

The Soviet Union came out of the war by expanding its borders. The USSR included the territories of the Baltic States, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, part of Prussia. Klaipeda was reunited with the Lithuanian SSR. Under an armistice agreement with Finland, the USSR received the Petsamo area and began to border on Norway. Under treaties on borders with Czechoslovakia and Poland, Subcarpathian Rus and the Volodymyr-Volynsky region were annexed to the USSR. In the east, the borders of the USSR include South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. In oct. 1944 Tuva voluntarily became part of the RSFSR as an autonomous region, transformed in 1961 into an autonomous republic.

The encyclopedic dictionary “The Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945 ”contains more than 10,000 articles and illustrations dedicated to the great feat of the Soviet people and the Armed Forces of the USSR in the war against Nazi Germany and its satellites.

Unfortunately, among the huge amount of reference literature published in our country in recent years, there is no encyclopedic work on the Great Patriotic War. The last time such a book, the Great Patriotic War encyclopedia, was published 30 years ago, in 1985. Andrei Golubev and Dmitry Lobanov were able to fill this unfortunate gap on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, having prepared for the first time in history modern Russia the most complete encyclopedic dictionary “The Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945 ".

This major work contains information about all the most notable events of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. and the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945, the famous Soviet commanders and heroes, weapons and branches of the armed forces, the largest military operations and the fronts that participated in them.

The articles of the dictionary cover the main military actions of the Soviet Armed Forces, their organization and armament, the military economy, foreign policy USSR during the war, a contribution to the victory over the enemy of Soviet science and culture. The work of the rear and its unity with the front is widely covered. There are biographical information about the leaders of the party and state, the largest Soviet military leaders, about the heroes of the front and rear, outstanding figures of science and culture.

The book was created taking into account the latest historical research and is designed both for a trained reader, who can become a useful reference tool in his work, and for students and those who are interested in the history of our Fatherland. It will be in demand in school, university and public libraries and is irreplaceable as a guide to the patriotic education of youth.

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The Great Patriotic War was the largest event of the 20th century, which determined the fate of many peoples. Questions about its prehistory, reasons, nature, periodization, results have been and remain the subject of discussions in scientific, political circles and in public opinion. In Russia, they have become especially acute in connection with the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the war, and it is obvious that they will continue for a long time.

A number of researchers believe that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, concluded by the USSR and Germany on August 23, 1939, opened the way to World War II. According to some, this pact was Stalin's “disastrous miscalculation” caused by fear of the possibility of creating an anti-Soviet coalition of Germany and the Western powers; according to others, it was a well-thought-out move by the Soviet leadership, which sought to provoke a military conflict between the Reich and Great Britain and France and, taking advantage of their mutual weakening, to establish control over Southeast and Central Europe. It is also believed that thanks to the pact, Germany was able to attack Poland in September 1939 without fear of an attack by the Red Army (RKKA) from the east, and then, having a relatively safe eastern rear, defeat France in May-June 1940; in addition, it purchased large consignments of strategic raw materials from the USSR. On the other hand, it is believed that the USSR, with the tacit consent or diplomatic support of Berlin, was able to realize its plans for Poland, the Baltic republics, Romania and Finland, since on September 17, 1939, after the Wehrmacht (German armed forces) defeated the main forces of the Polish army, Soviet troops occupied Western Ukraine and Belarus. As a result of the war with Finland (November 1939 - March 1940), the USSR received a strategically important area on the Karelian Isthmus and a number of territories north of Lake Ladoga; in June 1940 annexed Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; in July he obtained from Romania the transfer of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to him. There is another interpretation: the USSR was forced to conclude an agreement with Germany in August 1939 after the failure of attempts to enter into an anti-Hitler alliance with Britain and France: this agreement allowed the USSR to avoid being drawn into World War II at its first stage, to strengthen its defensive potential and push the borders back to west, creating more favorable conditions for repelling German aggression.

The Wehrmacht's victories in the West in 1939-1940 dramatically changed the military-political situation in Europe. In the eyes of the Nazi elite, the alliance with the USSR has largely lost its value. In the fall of 1940, Germany established military cooperation with Finland and Romania, which caused Stalin's concern. A number of scholars argue that at that moment the Soviet leadership made an attempt to negotiate with Hitler on a new division of spheres of influence in Europe and Asia. At the Soviet-German negotiations held in November 1940, German diplomacy invited the USSR to join the Triple Pact of the fascist powers of Germany, Italy and Japan (historians still argue how serious this proposal was), but Moscow demanded Berlin's consent to the occupation of Finland by Soviet troops. , Bulgaria and parts of Turkey, and the new Molotov-Ribbentrop pact did not take place.

After the unsuccessful outcome of the negotiations, Hitler made the final decision to attack the USSR and in December 1940 approved the Barbarossa plan ( see below). From the point of view of the Nazi leadership, the war with the USSR was inevitable for military-strategic and political-ideological reasons. The communist regime was viewed by him as alien and unpredictable, and at the same time capable of inflicting a heavy blow at any moment convenient for him. With Britain continuing to resist, "getting bogged down" in the war in the east meant for Germany the beginning of a grueling struggle on two fronts with the powers with enormous human, natural and industrial resources, and inevitable final defeat. A possible invasion of Romania by the Red Army would deprive the Wehrmacht of its main source of strategic fuel and open its way to Germany and Central Europe across the Hungarian Plain. Only the quick defeat of the USSR as a result of a surprise attack gave the Germans the opportunity to secure dominance on the European continent. In addition, it gave them access to the rich industrial and agricultural regions of Eastern Europe - Ukraine, the Donbass, the Caucasus - and the almost immense "living space" so desired for them.

Germany managed to create a broad anti-Soviet coalition and involve a number of countries in Southeast, Central and Northern Europe in it. On November 20, 1940, Hungary joined it, on November 23 - Romania, on March 1, 1941 - Bulgaria, in early June - Finland.

At the same time, according to some historians, Stalin himself, at the end of 1939, decided on a preemptive attack on Germany in the summer of 1941. In the first half of 1941, he tried to diplomatically secure the neutrality of Turkey, Yugoslavia and Japan in the brewing military conflict with the Germans: in March 1941 the Soviet government obtained a promise from Turkey to remain neutral in the event of an attack by a third country on the USSR; On April 5, 1941, a treaty of friendship and non-aggression was signed with Yugoslavia, but a few days later Yugoslavia was occupied by the Wehrmacht; On April 13, the USSR signed a non-aggression pact with Japan. On May 15, the General Staff of the Red Army presented to Stalin Strategic Deployment Plan Considerations on the delivery of a preemptive strike against Germany; according to the deputy. Chief of Staff G.K. Zhukov, he refused to approve this document. However, already on June 15, Soviet troops began strategic deployment and advancement to the western border. According to one version, this was done with the aim of striking Romania and the German-occupied Poland, according to another, in order to frighten Hitler and force him to abandon plans to attack the USSR.

The parties' plans.

The Barbarossa plan was based on the idea of ​​a "blitzkrieg" (lightning war). It was supposed to inflict deep tank strikes on the Soviet troops for their encirclement and complete defeat to the west of the Dvina and Dnieper and before the winter of 1941 to reach the Volga-Arkhangelsk line. German intelligence did not reveal the presence of any large formations of the Red Army to the east of the Dvina-Dnieper line, and therefore the Nazis did not expect to meet at least some serious resistance there. The directions of the main attacks of the Germans were Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev. In the event of an attack by Germany, the Soviet command planned to launch a series of powerful counterattacks and transfer hostilities to enemy territory.

Forces of the parties.

By the beginning of the war, the Red Army outnumbered the Wehrmacht in all types of military equipment: in guns and mortars by 40%, in tanks by almost 4.5 times, in aircraft by more than 2 times, but inferior to him in numerical strength (3,289,850 versus 4 306 800). German troops on the eastern front were divided into three main groups - Army Group North (W. von Leeb), Army Group Center (F. von Bock), and Army Group South (G. von Rundstedt); Army Group Norway and Finnish formations were stationed on the Karelian border and in the Arctic Circle, and Romanian troops on the Moldavian one. As for the Red Army, its first echelon, located between the western border and the Dnieper, was organized into four fronts - North-West (F.I. Kuznetsov), West (D.G. Pavlov), South-West (M.P. .Kirponos) and Yuzhny (I.V. Tyulenev). Behind the Dnieper was the second strategic echelon, created in the fall of 1940; its units were mainly recruited from former prisoners.

The first period of the war

The first stage of the German offensive

(June 22 - July 10, 1941). June 22 Germany started a war against the USSR; on the same day Italy and Romania joined it, on June 23rd - Slovakia, on June 27th - Hungary.

The German invasion caught Soviet troops by surprise; on the very first day, a significant part of the ammunition, fuel and military equipment; the Germans managed to ensure complete air supremacy (about 1200 aircraft were disabled, most of them did not even have time to take off). On the Leningrad axis, enemy tanks wedged deeply into Lithuanian territory. The attempt of the command of the North-Western Front (NWF) to deliver a counterstrike with the forces of two mechanized corps (about 1,400 thousand tanks) ended in failure, and on June 25 it was decided to withdraw troops to the line of the Western Dvina. However, on June 26, the German 4th Panzer Group crossed the Western Dvina near Daugavpils and began to develop an offensive in the Pskov direction. On June 27, Red Army units left Liepaja. The 18th German Army occupied Riga and entered southern Estonia. On July 9, Pskov fell.

An even more difficult situation developed on the Western Front (WF). The counterattacks of the 6th and 14th Panzer Corps of the Red Army failed; during the fighting on June 23-25, the main forces of the Western Front were defeated. The 3rd German Panzer Group (Goth), developing an offensive in the Vilnius direction, bypassed the 3rd and 10th armies from the north, and the 2nd Panzer Group (H.V. Guderian), leaving the Brest Fortress in the rear (it held until July 20), broke through to Baranovichi and bypassed them from the south. Despite the stubborn resistance shown to the Germans on the approach to Minsk by the 100th division, on June 28 they took the capital of Belarus and closed the encirclement ring, into which eleven divisions fell. By the decision of the military tribunal, Pavlov and his chief of staff V.E. Klimovskikh were shot; The ZF troops were headed by the People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko. In early July, the mechanized formations of Guderian and Gotha overcame the Soviet defense line on the Berezina and rushed to Vitebsk, but unexpectedly ran into the troops of the Second Strategic Echelon (five armies). During a tank battle on July 6-8 between Orsha and Vitebsk, the Germans defeated Soviet troops and took Vitebsk on July 10. The surviving units retreated beyond the Dnieper and stopped on the Polotsk - Lipetsk - Orsha - Zhlobin line.

The military operations of the Wehrmacht in the south, where the most powerful group of the Red Army was located, were not so successful. In an effort to stop the offensive of the 1st German tank group Kleist, the command of the Southwestern Front (SWF) launched a counterattack with six mechanized corps (more than 1,700 tanks). During the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War on June 26-29 in the area of ​​Lutsk, Rovno and Brody, Soviet troops could not defeat the enemy and suffered huge losses (60% of all tanks in the South-Western Front), but they prevented the Germans from making a strategic breakthrough and cutting off the Lvov grouping (6 and 26th armies) from the rest of the forces. By July 1, the troops of the South-Western Front withdrew to the fortified line Korosten - Novograd Volynsky - Proskurov. In early July, the Germans broke through the right wing of the South-Western Front near Novograd Volynsky and captured Berdichev and Zhitomir, but thanks to the counterattacks of the Soviet troops, their further advance was stopped.

On July 2, after Romania entered the war, German-Romanian troops crossed the Prut at the junction of the South-Western Front and the Southern Front (SW; formed on June 25) and rushed to Mogilev Podolsky. By July 10, they reached the Dniester.

Finland entered the war on June 26. On June 29, German-Finnish troops launched an offensive in the Arctic to Murmansk, Kandalaksha and Loukhi, but could not advance deep into Soviet territory.

By the second decade of July 1941, the Germans defeated the main forces of the NWF and ZF (six armies) and captured northern Moldova, western Ukraine, most of Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and southern Estonia. Nevertheless, the command of the Wehrmacht failed to solve the main task - to destroy all the forces of the Red Army to the west of the Dvina-Dnieper line.

The main reason for the defeats of the Red Army, despite its quantitative and often qualitative (T-34 and KV tanks) technical superiority, was the poor training of privates and officers, the low level of operation of military equipment and the lack of experience of the troops in conducting large military operations in conditions modern warfare... The repressions against the high command in 1937-1940 also played a significant role. ...

Organization of the leadership of the war.

On June 23, an extraordinary body of the highest military command, the Headquarters of the High Command, chaired by the People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko, was created to direct the military operations. In late June - early August, there was a maximum centralization of military and political power in the hands of Stalin. On June 30, he headed the State Defense Committee, the extraordinary supreme body of the country's leadership; on July 10, the Headquarters of the High Command, reorganized into the Headquarters of the Supreme Command; On July 19, he took the post of People's Commissar of Defense, on August 8 - the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

On June 22, the USSR mobilized those liable for military service born in 1905-1918. From the first days of the war, there was a massive enrollment of volunteers in the Red Army. On July 18, the Soviet leadership made a decision to organize a partisan movement in the occupied and front-line areas, which became widespread in the second half of 1942. Despite the difficulties associated with the German offensive, in the summer and autumn of 1941 it was possible to evacuate to the east approx. 10 million people and more than 1350 large enterprises... The militarization of the economy began to be carried out with tough and vigorous measures; all the material resources of the country were mobilized for military needs.

The emergence of the anti-Hitler coalition.

In the evening of June 22, British Prime Minister W. Churchill made a radio announcement about support for the USSR in its fight against Hitlerism. On June 23, the US State Department welcomed the efforts of the Soviet people to repel the German invasion, and on June 24, US President Franklin Roosevelt promised to provide the USSR with all kinds of assistance. On July 12, a Soviet-British agreement on joint actions against Germany was concluded in Moscow; On August 16, Great Britain granted a loan of £ 10 million to the Soviet government. Art. In the fall of 1941, the United States began supplying raw materials and military materials to Russia. An anti-German alliance of the three great powers arose. ...

Second stage of the German offensive

(July 10 - September 30, 1941). On July 10, Finnish troops launched an offensive in the Petrozavodsk and Olonets directions, on August 31 - on the Karelian Isthmus. On August 23, the Northern Front was divided into Karelian (KarF) and Leningrad (LenF). On September 1, the 23rd Soviet Army on the Karelian Isthmus withdrew to the line of the old state border, which had been occupied before the Finnish war of 1939-1940. On September 23, the German-Finnish units were stopped in the Murmansk direction. In September - early October, the Finns captured Western Karelia; On September 5, they took Olonets, and on October 2 - Petrozavodsk. By October 10, the front stabilized along the line Kestenga - Ukhta - Rugozero - Medvezhyegorsk - Lake Onega. - river Svir. The enemy was unable to cut the routes of communication between European Russia and the northern ports.

On July 10, Army Group North (23 divisions) launched an offensive in the Leningrad and Tallinn directions. At the end of July, the Germans reached the border of the Narva, Luga and Mshaga rivers, where they were detained by desperately resisting detachments of sailors, cadets and the people's militia. An attempt by the Reserve Army (K.M. Kochanov) to deliver a counterstrike to the rear of the advancing German troops on August 12 near the lake. Ilmen failed (Kochanov and his chief of staff were shot "for sabotage"). Novgorod fell on August 15, and Gatchina fell on August 21. On 23 August, battles for Oranienbaum began; the Germans were stopped southeast of Koporye. On August 28-30, the Baltic Fleet was evacuated from Tallinn to Kronstadt. At the end of August, the Germans launched a new onslaught on Leningrad. On August 30, they reached the Neva, cutting off the railway communication with the city, and on September 8 they took Shlisselburg and closed the blockade ring around Leningrad. Only the tough measures of the new commander of LenF G.K. Zhukov made it possible to stop the enemy by September 26.

In mid-July, Army Group Center launched a general offensive against Moscow. Guderian crossed the Dnieper at Mogilev, and Goth struck from the direction of Vitebsk. On July 16, Smolensk fell, and three Soviet armies were surrounded. The counterattack of Soviet troops on July 21 failed, but the fierce nature of the fighting forced the Germans on July 30 to stop their offensive in the Moscow direction and concentrate all their forces on eliminating the Smolensk "cauldron". By August 5, the encircled troops surrendered; 350 thousand people were taken prisoner. On the right flank of the ZF, the 9th German army captured Nevel (July 16) and Velikie Luki (July 20).

On August 8, the Germans resumed their offensive against Moscow. They advanced 100-120 km, but on August 16 the Reserve Front struck a counterattack on Yelnya. At the cost of huge losses, Soviet troops forced the enemy to leave the city on September 6. The Battle of Yelnya was the first successful operation of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War.

In Moldova, the command of the Law Firm tried to stop the Romanian offensive with a powerful counterattack of two mechanized corps (770 tanks), but it was repulsed. On July 16, the 4th Romanian Army took Chisinau, and in early August pushed the Separate Maritime Army back to Odessa; the defense of Odessa bound the forces of the Romanians for almost two and a half months. Soviet troops left the city only in the first half of October.

At the end of July, Rundstedt's troops launched an offensive in the Belaya Tserkov area. On August 2, they cut off the 6th and 12th Soviet armies from the Dnieper and surrounded them near Uman; 103 thousand people were taken prisoner, including both commanders. The Germans broke through into Zaporozhye and moved through Kremenchug to the north, entering the rear of the Kiev grouping of the South-Western Front.

On August 4, Hitler decided to turn the 2nd Army and 2nd Panzer Group to the south in order to completely encircle the forces of the SWF. An attempt by the Bryansk Front (BrF) on August 25 to prevent their offensive failed. In early September, Guderian crossed the Desna and on September 7 captured Konotop (“Konotop breakthrough”). The 1st and 2nd Panzer Groups merged at Lokhvitsa and the "Kiev Cauldron" slammed shut. Five Soviet armies were surrounded; the number of prisoners was 665 thousand. Front commander Kirponos committed suicide. The left-bank Ukraine was in the hands of the Germans; the way to Donbass was open; Soviet troops in the Crimea were cut off from the main forces. Only in mid-September did the SWF and the SF manage to restore the defense line along the Psel - Poltava - Dnepropetrovsk - Zaporozhye - Melitopol river line.

Defeats at the fronts prompted the General Headquarters to issue Order No. 270 on August 16, which qualified all soldiers and officers who surrendered as traitors and deserters; their families were deprived of state support and were subject to exile.

The third stage of the German offensive

(September 30 - December 5, 1941). On September 30, Army Group Center began an operation to seize Moscow (Typhoon). Soviet intelligence was unable to determine the direction of the main attack. German tank formations easily broke through the defense line of the Bryansk and Reserve fronts. On October 3, Guderian's tanks broke into Oryol and took the road to Moscow. On October 6-8, all three armies of the BrF were surrounded south of Bryansk, and the main forces of the Reserve (19th, 20th, 24th and 32nd armies) - west of Vyazma; the Germans captured 664 thousand prisoners and more than 1200 tanks. The Soviet command did not have reserves to close the huge gap of 500 km. But the advance of the 2nd tank group of the Wehrmacht on Tula was thwarted by the stubborn resistance of the brigade of ME Katukov near Mtsensk (October 6-13); The 4th Panzer Group took Yukhnov and rushed to Maloyaroslavets, but was detained near Medyn by Podolsk cadets (October 6-10); the autumn thaw also slowed down the German advance.

On October 10, the Germans attacked the right wing of the Reserve Front (renamed the Western Front); On October 12, the 9th Army captured Staritsa, and on October 14 - Rzhev; on the same day the 3rd Panzer Group occupied Kalinin almost unhindered; Soviet troops withdrew to the Martynovo - Selizharovo line. On October 19, a state of siege was declared in Moscow. On October 23, the 4th Panzer Group captured Volokolamsk. Having overcome the resistance of the Podolsk cadets, the 4th Army broke through to Borovsk. On October 24, Guderian resumed his offensive against Tula. On October 29, he tried to take the city, but was recaptured with heavy losses for himself. In early November, the new commander of the Polar Fleet Zhukov, with an incredible effort of all forces and constant counterattacks, managed, despite huge losses in manpower and equipment, to stop the Germans in other directions.

On November 16, the Germans launched the second stage of the offensive against Moscow, planning to encircle it from the north-west and south-west. On the Dmitrovsky direction, they reached the Moscow-Volga canal and crossed to its eastern bank near Yakhroma, captured Klin in the Khimki direction, crossed the Istra reservoir, occupied Solnechnogorsk and Krasnaya Polyana, and took Istra in Krasnogorsk. In the southwest, Guderian approached Kashira. However, as a result of fierce resistance from the armies of the ZF, the Germans in late November - early December were stopped in all directions. The attempt to take Moscow failed.

On September 27, the Germans broke through the defense line of the Law Firm. On October 7-10, they surrounded and destroyed the 9th and 18th armies north-west of Berdyansk and rushed to Artemovsk and Rostov-on-Don. Kharkov fell on October 24. By November 4, Soviet troops withdrew to the Balakleya - Artemovsk - Pugachev - Khopry line; most of the Donbass was in the hands of the Germans. On November 21, the 1st Panzer Army captured Rostov-on-Don, but was unable to break through to the Caucasus. In the course of a successful counterattack by the LF troops on November 29, Rostov was liberated, and the Germans were driven back to the Mius river.

In the second half of October, the 11th German army broke through to the Crimea and by mid-November captured almost the entire peninsula. Soviet troops managed to hold only Sevastopol.

On October 16, Army Group North began an operation in the Tikhvin direction, intending to seize the southeastern coast of Lake Ladoga and, having united with the Finns, cut off the only link between Leningrad and the mainland through Ladoga. On October 24, Malaya Vishera fell. The Germans broke through the defenses of the 4th Army on the Volkhov River and took Tikhvin on November 8. But the counterattacks of Soviet troops near Novgorod on November 10, near Tikhvin on November 19 and near Volkhov on December 3 stopped the further advance of the Wehrmacht. On November 20, Malaya Vishera was liberated, on December 9, Tikhvin, and the Germans were pushed back beyond the Volkhov River.

Red Army counteroffensive near Moscow

(December 5, 1941 - January 7, 1942). On December 5-6, the Kalininsky (KalF), Western and Southwestern Fronts switched to offensive operations in the northwestern and southwestern directions. The successful advance of Soviet troops forced Hitler on December 8 to issue a directive to go over to the defensive along the entire front line. In the north-western direction, the ZF troops liberated Yakhroma on December 8, Klin and Istra on December 11, Solnechnogorsk on December 12, Volokolamsk on December 20, and KalF troops on December 16 recaptured Kalinin and reached Rzhev by the end of December. In the south-western direction, units of the South-Western Front on December 8 returned Efremov, and on December 9 - Yelets, encircling the 2nd German army; parts of the ZF threw the enemy back from Tula, on December 30 occupied Kaluga and reached the Sukhinichi area. On December 18, the ZF troops launched an offensive in the central direction; On December 26 they liberated Naro-Fominsk, on December 28 - Borovsk, on January 2, 1942 - Maloyaroslavets. As a result, by the beginning of 1942 the Germans were driven back 100–250 km to the west. There was a threat of coverage of the Army Group "Center" from the north and south. The strategic initiative passed to the Red Army.

Rzhev-Vyazemskaya offensive operation

(January 8 - April 20, 1942). The success of the operation near Moscow prompted the Stavka to decide on the transition to a general offensive along the entire front from Lake Ladoga to the Crimea. It was planned to deliver the main blow to Army Group Center by forces of the North-Western, Western and Kalinin Fronts.

On January 8, the KalF troops broke through to the west of Rzhev and rushed to Sychevka; parts of the ZF overcame the enemy defenses at Ruza and Medyn, drove the Germans back to Gzhatsk and went to Vyazma. However, the enemy managed to hold Sychevka and prevent the union of the troops of both fronts at Vyazma. Having pulled up the reserves, the commander of the 9th Army V.Model launched a counteroffensive on January 22, which led to the complete or partial encirclement of the 29th, 33rd, 39th Soviet armies and two cavalry corps. In early March, the Stavka tried to organize a new offensive against Rzhev and Vyazma. Soviet troops repulsed Yukhnov, but, having suffered huge losses, in mid-April they were forced to go on the defensive. The Germans held the Rzhev-Vyazemsky bridgehead, which was a potential threat to Moscow.

The offensive of the NWF troops, which began on January 7-9, turned out to be more successful. On January 16, they liberated Andreapol, on January 21 Toropets, on January 22 they blocked Kholm and created a threat to the Army Group Center from the north. By the end of February, they had deeply wedged themselves between the old Russian and Demyansk groups of the enemy and took the latter in the pincers. True, in mid-April, Demyansk was unblocked by the Germans.

Although the attempt to crush Army Group Center near Rzhev and Vyazma failed, the offensive operations of the Soviet troops in December 1941 - April 1942 led to a significant change in the military-strategic situation on the Soviet-German front: the Germans were driven back from Moscow, and Moscow and part of Kalinin were liberated. Oryol and Smolensk regions. There was also a psychological turning point among the soldiers and civilians: faith in victory was strengthened, the myth of the Wehrmacht's invincibility collapsed. The collapse of the lightning-fast war plan gave rise to doubts about the successful outcome of the war, both among the German military-political leadership and among ordinary Germans.

Luban operation

(January 13 - June 25). Simultaneously with the Rzhev-Vyazemskaya, the Lyuban operation was carried out, with the aim of breaking the blockade of Leningrad. January 13, the forces of Volkhovsky and Leningrad fronts launched an offensive in several directions, planning to link up at Lyuban and surround the Chudov group of the enemy. But only the 2nd Shock Army managed to break through the German defenses: on January 14, it crossed the Volkhov, and at the end of January, having captured Myasny Bor, overcame the Chudovo-Novgorod defensive line. However, she could not get through to Lyuban; due to strong resistance from German troops, she had to change the direction of the offensive from northwest to west. By early March, she had captured a large wooded area between the Chudovo-Novgorod and Leningrad-Novgorod railways. On March 19, the Germans launched a counterattack, cutting off the 2nd Shock Army from the rest of the VolkhF forces. In late March - early June, Soviet troops repeatedly tried (with varying success) to unblock it and resume the offensive. On May 21, the Headquarters decided to withdraw it, but on June 6 the Germans completely closed the encirclement ring. On June 20, soldiers and officers were ordered to leave the encirclement on their own, but only a few managed to do this (according to various estimates, from 6 to 16 thousand people); Army commander A.A. Vlasov surrendered.

Military operations in May-November 1942.

The Wehrmacht command decided to strike the main blow during the 1942 summer campaign in the southern direction in order to capture the Caucasus with its oil-bearing regions and the fertile valleys of the Don and Kuban, but before that to eliminate the Soviet grouping in the Crimea. Starting the operation on May 8 and defeating the Crimean Front (almost 200 thousand people were captured), the Germans occupied Kerch on May 16, and Sevastopol in early July.

On May 12, the troops of the South-Western Front and the Southern Front launched an offensive on Kharkov. For several days it developed successfully, but on May 17 the Germans carried out two counterattacks; On May 19, they defeated the 9th Army, throwing it back beyond the Seversky Donets, went to the rear of the advancing Soviet troops and on May 23 took them in pincers; the number of prisoners reached 240 thousand, only 22 thousand people escaped from the encirclement.

On June 28-30, the German offensive began against the left wing of the BrF (from Kursk) and the right wing of the South-Western Front (from Volochansk). After breaking through the defense line, at the junction of the two fronts, a gap was formed with a depth of 150–400 km. A counterattack by Soviet troops from the Yelets area could not change the situation. On July 8, the Germans captured Voronezh and reached the Middle Don. On July 17, the Wehrmacht launched an offensive operation in the southeast direction. By July 22, the 1st and 4th Panzer Armies had reached the Southern Don. On July 24, Rostov-on-Don was taken. Amid a military catastrophe in the south, on July 28, Stalin issued order No. 227 "Not a step back", which provided for severe punishments for retreating without orders from above, detachments to fight unauthorizedly leaving positions, penal units for actions in the most dangerous sectors of the front. On the basis of this order, approx. 1 million servicemen, of whom 160 thousand were shot, and 400 thousand were sent to penal companies.

Although the Soviet command managed to withdraw most of the troops to the left bank of the Don, they were unable to gain a foothold on the Don line. Already on July 25, the Germans crossed the Don and rushed south. Salsk fell on July 31. On August 5, the 1st Panzer Army captured Voroshilovsky (Stavropol), crossed the Kuban, entered Armavir on August 6, and Maikop on August 9; on the same day Pyatigorsk was taken. On August 11–12, the 17th Army captured Krasnodar and moved towards Novorossiysk. In mid-August, the Germans established control over almost all the passes of the central part of the Greater Caucasus Range; On August 25 they occupied Mozdok. In early September, under threat of encirclement, Soviet troops left Taman Peninsula. On September 11, the 17th Army occupied Novorossiysk, but was unable to break through to Tuapse. On the Grozny direction, the Germans occupied Nalchik on October 29 and at the beginning of November came close to Ordzhonikidze. But they failed to take Ordzhonikidze and Grozny, and in mid-November their further advance was stopped.

On August 16, German troops launched an offensive against Stalingrad, seeking to take the city with simultaneous strikes from the northwest and southwest. Having crossed the Don near Kalach, the 6th Army reached the Volga on 23 August north of Stalingrad; On September 12, the 4th Panzer Army, which had been transferred from the Caucasian direction, also broke through to the city. On September 13, fighting began in Stalingrad itself. In the second half of October - the first half of November, the Germans captured a significant part of the city, but could not break the resistance of the defenders.

By mid-November, the Germans had established control over the Right Bank of the Don and most of the North Caucasus, but did not achieve their strategic goals - to break through to the Volga and Transcaucasia. This was prevented by the counterattacks of the Red Army in other directions, which, although not crowned with success, nevertheless did not allow the Wehrmacht command to transfer reserves to the south. So, in July-September, NWF units made three attempts to defeat the enemy's Demyansk grouping. In late July - early August, the forces of the Kalinin and Western Fronts undertook the Rzhev-Sychevskaya (July 30) and Pogorelo-Gorodishchenskaya (August 4) operations to eliminate the Rzhev-Vyazemsky ledge - the first major summer offensive of Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War and one of the the most bloody (losses amounted to 193.5 thousand people): during the Battle of Rzhevskaya on July 30 - August 7 ("Rzhevskaya meat grinder") and subsequent attacks on Rzhev in the second half of August - first half of September, the KalF troops failed to take the city, and the initially successful offensive of the ZF against Sychevka was drowned out after a grand tank battle between Zubtsov and Karmanovo (about 1,500 tanks on both sides). From early August to early October, the Red Army carried out a series of attacks near Voronezh: units of the Voronezh Front (VorF) captured several bridgeheads on the right bank of the Don, but the approaching German reserves did not allow them to seize the city. At the end of August, the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts made a new attempt to break the blockade of Leningrad; The VolkhF offensive ended in failure, but the LenF troops were able to breach the blockade ring near Shlisselburg, and only with the help of the 11th Army transferred from the Crimea did the Germans eliminate it by the beginning of October.

Victory at Stalingrad

(November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943). Having concentrated significant forces in the southern direction by mid-November, the Soviet command began to carry out Operation Saturn to encircle and defeat the German (6th and 4th Panzer armies) and Romanian (3rd and 4th armies) troops near Stalingrad ... On November 19, units of the South-Western Front broke through the defenses of the 3rd Romanian army and on November 21 they took from Raspopinskaya and took five Romanian divisions in pincers. On November 20, the troops of the Stalingrad Front made a breach in the defense of the 4th Romanian Army south of the city... On November 23, subdivisions of the two fronts united at the Soviet and surrounded the enemy's Stalingrad grouping (6th Army of F. Paulus; 330,000 men). To save her, the Wehrmacht command at the end of November created the Don Army Group (E. Manstein); On December 12, she launched an offensive from the Kotelnikovsky area, but on December 23 she was stopped at the Myshkov River. On December 16, the troops of the Voronezh and Southwestern Fronts began Operation Little Saturn in the Middle Don, defeated the 8th Italian Army, and by December 30 reached the Nikolskoye - Ilyinka line; the Germans had to abandon plans for the release of the 6th Army. Their attempt to organize its supply by air was thwarted by the active actions of the Soviet aviation. On January 10, the Don Front launched Operation Ring to destroy the German troops encircled in Stalingrad. On January 26, the 6th Army was split into two parts. On January 31, the southern grouping headed by F. Paulus surrendered, on February 2 - the northern one; 91 thousand people were captured.

The Battle of Stalingrad, despite heavy losses of Soviet troops (approx. 1.1 million; losses of the Germans and their allies amounted to 800 thousand), marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. For the first time, the Red Army carried out a successful offensive operation of several fronts to encircle and defeat the enemy grouping. The Wehrmacht suffered a major defeat and lost strategic initiative. Japan and Turkey abandoned the intention to enter the war on the side of Germany.

By this time, a turning point had also taken place in the sphere of the Soviet military economy. Already in the winter of 1941/1942 it was possible to stop the decline in mechanical engineering. In March 1942, the ferrous metallurgy began to rise, and in the second half of 1942 - in the energy and fuel industries. By the beginning of 1943, a clear economic superiority of the USSR over Germany had emerged.

Offensive actions of the Red Army in the central direction in November 1942 - January 1943.

Simultaneously with Operation Saturn, the forces of the Kalinin and Western Fronts carried out Operation Mars (Rzhevsko-Sychevskaya) with the aim of eliminating the Rzhev-Vyazma bridgehead. On November 25, KalF troops broke through the Wehrmacht defenses at Bely and Nelidov, on December 3 - in the Nelyubino - Litvinovo sector, but as a result of a German counterstrike they were surrounded at Bely. The ZF formations made their way through the Rzhev-Sychevka railway and raided the enemy rear, but significant losses and a lack of tanks, guns and ammunition forced them to stop. On December 20, the operation had to be terminated. The losses of the Red Army were, according to various sources, from 200 to 500 thousand people, but this operation did not allow the Germans to transfer part of their forces from the central direction to Stalingrad.

The KalF offensive in the Velikie Luki direction (November 24, 1942 - January 20, 1943) turned out to be more successful. On January 17, his troops occupied Velikiye Luki. The Toropetsky ledge overhanging the left flank of Army Group Center was expanded.

Liberation of the North Caucasus

(January 1 - February 12, 1943). The victory at Stalingrad developed into a general offensive by the Red Army along the entire front. On January 1-3, an operation began to liberate the North Caucasus and the Don bend. The troops of the Law Firm struck a blow in the Rostov and Tikhoretsk, and the troops of the Transcaucasian Front - in the Krasnodar and Armavir directions. On January 3, Mozdok was liberated, on January 10-11 - Kislovodsk, Mineralnye Vody, Essentuki and Pyatigorsk, on January 21 - Stavropol. On January 22nd, the troops of the Southern and Transcaucasian fronts joined up at Salsk. On January 24, the Germans surrendered Armavir, on January 30 - Tikhoretsk. On February 4, the Black Sea Fleet landed troops in the Myskhako area south of Novorossiysk. Krasnodar was taken on February 12. However, the lack of forces prevented the Soviet troops from encircling the enemy's North Caucasian grouping (Army Group "A"), which managed to retreat to Donbass. The Red Army was also unable to break through the "Blue Line" (the German defensive line in the lower reaches of the Kuban) and drive the 17th Army out of Novorossiysk and the Taman Peninsula.

Breaking the blockade of Leningrad

(January 12-30, 1943). On January 12, 1943, the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts launched a joint strike from the east and west on the Shlisselburg-Sinyavinsky ledge to break the blockade of Leningrad (Operation Iskra); On January 18, a corridor was pierced along the shores of Lake Ladoga, 8–11 km wide; the land connection of the city on the Neva with the mainland was restored. However, a further advance south towards Mga in the last decade of January ended in failure.

Military operations in the south and center in January-March 1943.

Given the weakness of the German defense on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, the Headquarters decided to conduct a large-scale operation to liberate Donbass, Kharkov, Kursk and Oryol regions. On January 13-14, the troops of the VorF broke through the German defenses south of Voronezh, and parts of the South-Western Front - south of Kantemirovka and, joining up west of Ostrogozhsk, took in pincers thirteen divisions of Army Group B (Ostrogozh-Rossoshan operation); the enemy lost more than 140 thousand people, of which 86 thousand were prisoners. Through the formed 250-km gap, the Worf units rushed north on January 24, and the left wing of the BrF on January 26 began an oncoming offensive to the south. Voronezh was liberated on January 25. On January 28, Soviet troops surrounded and destroyed the main forces of the 2nd German army and the 3rd Hungarian corps to the south-east of Kastorny (Voronezh-Kastornoye operation).

At the end of January, the South-Western Front and the Law Faculty launched an offensive into the Donbass. The troops of the South-Western Front defeated the 1st German Tank Army and liberated the Northern Donbass; units of the SF broke through to the bend of the Don, on February 11 captured Bataisk and Azov, and on February 14 Rostov-on-Don and reached the Mius river. On February 2, the VorF launched an offensive in the Kharkov direction; On February 16, Kharkov was occupied. The success of operations in the south prompted the General Headquarters to decide on a simultaneous offensive in the central sector of the front; On February 8, the troops of the VorF took Kursk, on February 12, units of the BrF broke through the German defenses and moved to Orel. However, the Wehrmacht command was able to quickly transfer two SS tank divisions to the south and, taking advantage of the extended communications of the advancing Soviet armies, inflict a powerful counterattack on the SWF troops on February 19, dropping them beyond the Seversky Donets by the end of February, and on March 4 attack the left wing of the Worf; On March 16, the Germans captured Kharkov again, on March 18 - Belgorod. Only a great exertion of forces was able to stop the German offensive; the front stabilized along the line Belgorod - Seversky Donets - Ivanovka - Mius. Thus, due to the miscalculation of the Soviet command, all the previous successes of the Red Army in the south were nullified; the enemy acquired a foothold for attacking Kursk from the south. The offensive on the Novgorod-Seversk and Oryol directions did not bring significant results. By March 10, the Worf troops reached the Seim and Northern Dvina rivers, but the "dagger" flank attacks of the Germans forced them to withdraw to Sevsk; formations of the BrF failed to break through to Orel. On March 21, both fronts went over to the defensive along the Mtsensk - Novosil - Sevsk - Rylsk line.

The actions of the NWF against the Demyansk group of the enemy turned out to be more successful. Although the Soviet offensive that began on February 15 did not lead to its defeat, it forced the Wehrmacht command to withdraw the 16th Army from the Demyansk salient. By the beginning of March, units of the NWF reached the border of the Lovat River. But their advance in a westerly direction in the area of ​​Staraya Russa (March 4) was stopped by the Germans on the Redya river.

Fearing the encirclement of the main forces of Army Group Center on the Rzhev-Vyazma bridgehead, the German command began on March 1 their systematic withdrawal to the Spas - Demensk - Dorogobuzh - Dukhovshchina line. On March 2, units of the Kalinin and Western Fronts began pursuing the enemy. Rzhev was released on March 3, Gzhatsk on March 6, and Vyazma on March 12. By March 31st, the bridgehead, which had existed for fourteen months, was finally eliminated; the front line moved away from Moscow by 130–160 km. At the same time, the alignment of the German defensive line allowed the Wehrmacht to transfer fifteen divisions to defend Eagle and thwart the BrF offensive.

The January-March 1943 campaign, despite a series of setbacks, led to the liberation of a huge territory of 480 thousand square meters. km. (North Caucasus, lower reaches of the Don, Voroshilovgrad, Voronezh, Kursk regions, part of the Belgorod, Smolensk and Kalinin regions). The blockade of Leningrad was broken, the Demyansky and Rzhev-Vyazemsky ledges, which went deep into the Soviet defense, were eliminated. Control was restored over the two most important waterways of European Russia - the Volga and the Don. The Wehrmacht suffered huge losses (about 1.2 million people). The depletion of human resources forced the Nazi leadership to carry out a total mobilization of the older (over 46 years old) and younger (16-17 years old).

Since the winter of 1942/1943, partisan movement in the German rear. The partisans inflicted serious damage on the German army, destroying manpower, blowing up warehouses and trains, disrupting the communications system. The largest operations were raids by M.I. Naumov's detachment across Kursk, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovograd, Odessa, Vinnitsa, Kiev and Zhitomir (February-March 1943) and S.A. Kovpak's detachment across Rivne, Zhytomyr and Kiev regions (February-May 1943).

Defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge

(5-23 July 1943). In April-June 1943, a relative calm reigned on the Soviet-German front. Active battles took place only in the south: in May, the troops of the North Caucasian Front tried unsuccessfully to overcome the Blue Line, while Soviet aviation won the air battle in the Kuban (more than 1,100 German aircraft were destroyed).

Large-scale hostilities resumed in July. The Wehrmacht command developed Operation Citadel to encircle a strong Red Army grouping on the Kursk salient by counter tank attacks from the north and south; if successful, it was planned to carry out Operation Panther to defeat the South-Western Front. However, Soviet intelligence guessed the plans of the Germans, and in April-June a powerful defensive system of eight lines was created on the Kursk salient.

On July 5, the 9th German Army launched an offensive against Kursk from the north, and the 4th Panzer Army from the south. On the northern flank, the attempts of the Germans to break through in the direction of Olkhovatka, and then Ponyri were unsuccessful, and on July 10 they went on the defensive. On the southern wing, the Wehrmacht's tank columns reached Prokhorovka on July 12, but were stopped by a counterstrike from the 5th Guards Tank Army; by 23 July, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts had thrown them back to their starting lines. Operation Citadel failed.

On July 12, units of the Western and Bryansk fronts broke through the German defenses at Zhilkovo and Novosil and rushed to Orel; On July 15, the Central Front launched a counteroffensive on the northern wing of the Kursk salient. Bolkhov was released on July 29, and Oryol on August 5. By August 18, Soviet troops cleared the Oryol salient from the enemy, but their further advance was stopped on the Hagen defensive line east of Bryansk.

On July 17, the South-Western Division began an offensive on the Seversky Donets River and the Southern Division on the Mius River. Attempts to break through the German defenses in the second half of July were unsuccessful, but they prevented the Wehrmacht from transferring reinforcements to Kursk. On August 13, Soviet troops resumed offensive operations in the south. By September 22, units of the South-Western Front drove the Germans back across the Dnieper and reached the approaches to Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporozhye; formations of the Law Firm forced Mius, on August 30 they occupied Taganrog, on September 8 Stalino (present-day Donetsk), on September 10 Mariupol and reached the Molochnaya River. The result of the operation was the liberation of Donbass.

On August 3, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts broke through the defenses of Army Group South in several places and captured Belgorod on 5 August. On August 11–20, they repulsed a German counterattack in the area of ​​Bogodukhovka and Akhtyrka. On August 23, Kharkov was taken.

On August 7-13, the forces of the Western and Kalinin Fronts delivered a series of attacks on the left wing of Army Group Center. The offensive developed with great difficulty due to the fierce resistance of the enemy. Only in late August - early September was it possible to liberate Yelnya and Dorogobuzh, and the entire line of German defense was broken only by September 16. On September 25, by means of flanking attacks from the south and north, the troops of the Polar Division captured Smolensk and by the beginning of October entered the territory of Belarus. Parts of the KalF took Nevel on 6 October.

On August 26, the Central, Voronezh and Steppe fronts began to carry out the Chernigov-Poltava operation. The troops of the Central Front broke through the enemy defenses south of Sevsk and occupied the city on August 27; On August 30 they captured Glukhov, September 6 - Konotop, September 13 - Nizhyn and reached the Dnieper on the Loev - Kiev section. Parts of the VorF, taking advantage of the retreat of the Germans from the Akhtyr salient, liberated Sumy on September 2, Romny on September 16 and reached the Dnieper on the Kiev-Cherkassy section. The formations of the Steppe Front, inflicting a blow from the Kharkov region in early September, took Krasnograd on September 19, Poltava on September 23, Kremenchug on September 29 and approached the Dnieper in the Cherkassy-Verkhnedneprovsk sector. As a result, the Germans lost almost all of the Left-Bank Ukraine. At the end of September, Soviet troops crossed the Dnieper in several places and captured 23 bridgeheads on its right bank.

On September 1, the troops of the BrF overcame the Wehrmacht defense line "Hagen" near Bryansk. Having reached the Desna, they occupied Bryansk on September 17, and by September 25, relying on the active help of the partisans, they liberated the entire Bryansk industrial region. By October 3, the Red Army reached the line of the Sozh River in Eastern Belarus.

On September 9, the North Caucasian Front, in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Military Flotilla, launched an offensive on the Taman Peninsula. Having broken through the Blue Line, Soviet troops took Novorossiysk on September 16, and by October 9 they had completely cleared the peninsula of the Germans. On November 1-3, three troops landed on the eastern coast of Crimea near Kerch. By November 12, they occupied the northeastern ledge of the Kerch Peninsula, but were unable to capture Kerch.

On September 26, units of the Law Firm launched an offensive in the Melitopol direction. Only after three weeks of fierce fighting did they manage to cross the river. Dairy and breach the "Vostochny Val" (German defensive line from the Sea of ​​Azov to the Dnieper); Melitopol was liberated on October 23rd. Having defeated eight divisions of the Wehrmacht, the troops of the Southern Front (from October 20, the 4th Ukrainian), on October 31 reached Sivash and Perekop, blocking the German grouping in the Crimea, and by November 5 they reached the lower reaches of the Dnieper. On the Dnieper Left Bank, the enemy was able to hold only the Nikopol bridgehead.

On October 10, the South-Western Front launched an operation to eliminate the Zaporizhzhya bridgehead and on October 14 captured Zaporozhye. On October 15, the troops of the right wing of the Southwestern Front (from October 20, the 3rd Ukrainian) launched an offensive in the Kryvyi Rih direction; On October 25, they liberated Dnepropetrovsk and Dneprodzerzhinsk.

On October 11, the Voronezh (from October 20, 1st Ukrainian) Front began the Kiev operation. After two unsuccessful attempts (October 11-15 and October 21-23) to take the capital of Ukraine by attack from the south (from the Bukrin bridgehead), it was decided to deliver the main attack from the north (from the Lyutezh bridgehead). On November 1, in order to divert the enemy's attention, the 27th and 40th armies moved to Kiev from the Bukrinsky bridgehead, and on November 3, the shock group of the 1st UV suddenly attacked it from the Lyutezhsky bridgehead and broke through the German defenses. On November 6, Kiev was liberated. Developing a swift offensive in the western direction, Soviet troops captured Fastov on November 7, Zhitomir on November 12, Korosten on November 17, and Ovruch on November 18.

On November 10, the Belorussian (formerly Central) Front struck a blow in the Gomel-Bobruisk direction. On November 17, Rechitsa was taken, on November 26 - Gomel. The Red Army reached the nearest approaches to Mozyr and Zhlobin. The offensive of the right wing of the ZV on Mogilev and Orsha was not crowned with success.

On November 13, the Germans, pulling up their reserves, launched a counteroffensive against the 1st UV in the Zhytomyr direction in order to recapture Kiev and restore the defense along the Dnieper. On November 19, they again captured Zhitomir, on November 27 - Korosten. However, they failed to break through to the capital of Ukraine, on December 22 they were stopped on the Fastov - Korosten - Ovruch line. The Red Army held a vast strategic Kiev bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper.

On December 6, the 2nd UV launched an offensive near Kremenchug. Cherkasy and Chigirin were liberated on December 12-14. At the same time, units of the 3rd UV crossed the Dnieper near Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye and created a bridgehead on its right bank. However, in the future, the fierce resistance of the Germans prevented the troops of both fronts from breaking through to the area of ​​Krivoy Rog and Nikopol, rich in iron and manganese ore.

During the period of hostilities from June 1 to December 31, the Wehrmacht suffered huge losses (1 million 413 thousand people), which it was no longer able to fully compensate. A significant part of the territory of the USSR occupied in 1941-1942 was liberated. The plans of the German command to gain a foothold on the Dnieper lines failed. Conditions were created for the expulsion of the Germans from the Right-Bank Ukraine.

After a series of failures throughout 1943, the German command abandoned attempts to seize the strategic initiative and went over to a tough defense. The main task of the Wehrmacht in the north was to prevent the Red Army from breaking through to the Baltic and East Prussia, in the center to the border with Poland, and in the south to the Dniester and the Carpathians. The Soviet military leadership set the goal of the winter-spring campaign of 1944 to defeat the German troops on the extreme flanks - in the Right-Bank Ukraine and near Leningrad.

Liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea

(December 24, 1943 - May 12, 1944). On December 24, 1943, the troops of the 1st UV launched an offensive in the western and southwestern directions (Zhitomir-Berdichev operation). On December 28 they liberated Kazatin, January 29 - Korosten, December 31 - Zhitomir, January 4, 1944 - Belaya Tserkov, January 5 - Berdichev, January 11 - Sarny and created a threat of a deep breakthrough in the Uman region. Only at the cost of a great effort and significant losses did the Germans manage to stop the Soviet troops on the Sarny - Polonnaya - Kazatin - Zhashkov line. On January 5-6, units of the 2nd UV attacked the Kirovograd direction and on January 8 captured Kirovograd, but on January 10 they were forced to stop the offensive. The Germans did not allow the combination of the troops of both fronts and were able to keep the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky ledge, which posed a threat to Kiev from the south.

On January 24, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts launched a joint operation to defeat the enemy's Korsun-Shevchenko grouping. On January 28, the 6th and 5th Guards Tank Armies united at Zvenigorodka and closed the encirclement ring. On January 30, Kanev was taken, on February 14 - Korsun-Shevchenkovsky. On February 17, the liquidation of the "boiler" was completed; more than 18 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers were captured.

On January 27, units of the 1st UV struck from the Sarn area in the Lutsk-Rovno direction. Having forced the Pripyat, they occupied Lutsk and Rovno on February 2, Shepetovka on February 11, and by mid-February reached the Rafalovka - Lutsk - Dubno - Yampol - Shepetovka line.

On January 30, the offensive of the troops of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts began on the Nikopol bridgehead. Having overcome the fierce resistance of the enemy, on February 8 they captured Nikopol, on February 22 - Krivoy Rog, and by February 29 they reached the Ingulets river.

As a result of the 1943/1944 winter campaign, the Germans were finally driven back from the Dnieper. In an effort to carry out a strategic breakthrough to the borders of Romania and prevent the Wehrmacht from gaining a foothold on the Southern Bug, Dniester and Prut rivers, the Stavka developed a plan to encircle and defeat Army Group South in Right-Bank Ukraine through a coordinated strike of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts ...

In the beginning of March 1944, the forces of three fronts launched a large-scale offensive operation in the 1,100-km strip from Lutsk to the mouth of the Dnieper. On March 4, the troops of the 1st UV made a breach in the German defense and rushed south to Chernivtsi. Thanks to the transfer of fresh reserves (1st Hungarian Army, etc.), the Germans managed to suspend the Red Army offensive in this sector, but in the last decade of March it began to develop at a rapid pace: on March 20, Vinnitsa and Zhmerinka were liberated, on March 25 - Proskurov, on March 26 - Kamenets-Podolsky, March 28 - Kolomyia, March 29 - Chernivtsi, April 14 - Tarnopol. Units of the 1st UV carried out a coverage of Army Group "South" from the west and reached the foothills of the Carpathians; by April 17, they reached the Kovel-Vladimir-Volynsky-Brody-Buchach-Kolomyya-Vizhnitsa line. However, the front command (Zhukov) did not take the necessary measures to strengthen the encirclement of the enemy's Kamyanets-Podolsk grouping, which allowed twenty German divisions to break through to the west to Kalush.

The 2nd UV, which began the offensive on March 5, was rapidly moving in the Dubossary direction; On March 10, its units occupied Uman, crossed the Southern Bug and Dniester, on March 26 they took Mogilev-Podolsky and reached the Prut, on March 27 they crossed the USSR state border west of Balti, on April 10-15 they crossed the Siret River, broke through to Suceava (northeastern Romania) and came close to Iasi and Chisinau. But because of the fierce resistance of the Germans on the fortified Iasi-Dubossary line, they were forced to stop the offensive by April 17.

The offensive operation of the 3rd UV in the Odessa direction began on March 6. Its success facilitated the transfer of a number of German formations to Western Ukraine to the line of action of the 1st UV. Having defeated the 6th German army near Snigirevka, Soviet troops occupied Kherson on March 13, and by March 18 they reached the Southern Bug, but could not force it on the move. Having resumed the offensive on March 26, they overcame the German defenses on the Southern Bug, liberated Nikolaev on March 28, took Odessa by storm on April 10, and on April 14 reached the lower reaches of the Dniester and captured several bridgeheads on its right bank.

The result of the joint operation of the three Ukrainian fronts in March - the first half of April 1944 was the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine and Northern Moldova. Although German troops in the south (Army Groups South and A) and managed to avoid encirclement, they suffered significant damage (10 divisions were completely destroyed, 59 divisions lost more than 50% of their composition). The Red Army approached the borders of Germany's allies - Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria.

The final chord of the spring operation in the south was the expulsion of the Germans from the Crimea. On April 8, the 4th UV formations broke through the German defenses on the Sivash, rushed south and entered Simferopol on April 13. On April 11, a separate Maritime army captured Kerch and began to develop an offensive to the west. The 17th German army retreated to Sevastopol, which was besieged by Soviet troops on April 15. On May 7-9, troops of the 4th UV, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet, took the city by storm, and by May 12 defeated the remnants of the 17th Army that had fled to Cape Khersones.

Leningrad-Novgorod operation of the Red Army

(January 14 - March 1, 1944). Striving to finally eliminate the threat to Leningrad and begin the liberation of the northwestern regions of the USSR. The headquarters developed a plan for the defeat of Army Group North by the forces of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic Fronts. On January 14, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts launched an offensive south of Leningrad and near Novgorod. Defeating the 18th German army and pushing it back to Luga, they liberated Krasnoe Selo and Ropsha on January 19, Novgorod on January 20, MGU on January 28, Lyuban on January 29, Chudovo on January 29. In early February, units of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts reached the approaches to Narva, Gdov and Luga; On February 4, they took Gdov, on February 12, Luga. The threat of encirclement forced the 18th Army to hastily retreat to the southwest. On February 17, the 2nd PribF carried out a series of attacks against the 16th German army on the Lovat river; On February 18, his troops occupied Staraya Russa, February 21 Kholm, February 24 Dno, February 29 Novorzhev. In early March, the Red Army reached the Panther defensive line (Narva - Lake Peipsi - Pskov - Ostrov); most of the Leningrad and Kalinin regions were liberated,

Military operations in the central direction in December 1943 - April 1944.

As the tasks of the winter offensive of the 1st Baltic, Western and Belorussian Fronts, the Stavka set the troops to reach the Polotsk - Lepel - Mogilev - Ptich line and the liberation of Eastern Belarus.

In December 1943 - February 1944, the 1st PribF made three attempts to capture Vitebsk. During the first operation (December 13–31, 1943), his troops liberated Gorodok on December 24 and created a threat to the Vitebsk grouping from the north. During the second operation (February 3-18, 1944), at the cost of heavy losses, they wedged into the German defenses south of Vitebsk and cut the Vitebsk-Mogilev highway. The third operation (February 3–17) of the 1st PribF together with the ZF also did not lead to the capture of the city, but extremely depleted the enemy's forces.

The offensive operations of the ZF in the Orsha direction on February 22-25 and March 5-9, 1944 were also unsuccessful.

On the Mozyr direction, the Belorussian Front (BelF) on January 8 dealt a strong blow to the flanks of the 2nd German army, but thanks to a hasty retreat, it managed to avoid encirclement. On January 14 Mozyr and Kalinkovichi were released. Since mid-January, BelF has concentrated its activities in the Berezina Valley. On February 19, his troops launched a large-scale attack on Bobruisk from the southeast, and on February 21, from the east. On February 24, they occupied Rogachev. But the lack of forces prevented them from encircling and destroying the enemy's Bobruisk grouping, and on February 26 the offensive was stopped.

Formed on February 17 at the junction of the 1st Ukrainian and Belorussian (from February 24, 1st Belorussian) fronts, the 2nd Belorussian Front began the Polesye operation on March 15 with the aim of capturing Kovel and breaking through to Brest. Soviet troops surrounded Kovel, but on March 23 the Germans launched a counterattack and on April 4 they unblocked the Kovel grouping.

Thus, in the central direction during the winter-spring campaign of 1944, the Red Army was unable to achieve its goals; On April 15, she went on the defensive.

After the loss of most of the occupied territory of the USSR, the main task of the Wehrmacht was to prevent the Red Army from entering Europe and not to lose its allies. That is why the Soviet military-political leadership, having failed in attempts to reach a peace agreement with Finland in February-April 1944, decided to start the 1944 summer campaign with a strike in the north.

On June 10, 1944, the LenF troops, with the support of the Baltic Fleet, launched an offensive on the Karelian Isthmus and broke through three lines of the Finnish defense, on June 20 they took Vyborg. On June 21, the offensive of the Karelian Front began between the Ladoga and Onega lakes; Forcing the Svir River, its units liberated Olonets on June 25, and Petrozavodsk on June 28. On June 21, the formations of the Karelian Front also struck a blow near Povenets north of Lake Onega and on June 23 captured Medvezhyegorsk. Control was restored over the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the strategically important Kirov railway linking Murmansk with European Russia. By early August, Soviet troops had liberated the entire occupied territory east of Ladoga; in the Kuolisma area they reached the Finnish border. After being defeated, Finland entered into negotiations with the USSR on August 25. On September 4, she broke off relations with Berlin and ceased hostilities, on September 15, she declared war on Germany, and on September 19, she signed a truce with the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. By September 24, the part of Western Karelia held by the Finns was returned to the USSR. The entire northern front line (with the exception of the Petsamo region in the Arctic that remained in the hands of the Germans) was eliminated; the length of the Soviet-German front was reduced by a third. This allowed the Red Army to free up significant forces for operations in other directions.

The successes in Karelia prompted the Stavka to carry out a large-scale operation to defeat the enemy in the central direction with the forces of the three Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts (Operation Bagration), which became the main event of the summer-autumn campaign of 1944.

The general offensive of the Soviet troops began on June 23-24. The coordinated strike of the 1st PribF and the right wing of the 3rd BF ended on June 26-27 with the liberation of Vitebsk and the encirclement of five German divisions. The left wing of the 3rd BF, moving along railroad Moscow - Minsk, June 27 captured Orsha. The formations of the 2nd BF crossed the Dnieper on June 27 and occupied Mogilev on June 28. On June 26, units of the 1st BF took Zhlobin, on June 27-29 they surrounded and destroyed the enemy's Bobruisk grouping, and on June 29 they liberated Bobruisk. As a result of the swift offensive of the three Belorussian fronts, the attempt of the German command to organize a defense line along the Berezina was thwarted; On July 3, the troops of the 1st and 3rd BF broke into Minsk and took the 4th German army in pincers south of Borisov (eliminated by July 11).

The German front began to crumble. The formations of the 1st PribF occupied Polotsk on July 4 and, moving downstream of the Western Dvina, entered the territory of Latvia and Lithuania: on July 27 they captured Daugavpils and Shaulai, on July 30 - Tukums, on August 1 - Jelgava and reached the coast of the Gulf of Riga, cutting off the stationed in the Baltic States, Army Group North from the rest of the Wehrmacht. Parts of the right wing of the 3rd BF, taking Lepel on June 28, broke through into the valley of the river in early July. Viliya (Nyaris), Vileika was liberated on July 2, Vilnius on July 13, Kaunas on August 1, and, advancing with heavy fighting along the Neman, on August 17 reached the border of East Prussia.

The troops of the left wing of the 3rd BF, making a swift rush from Minsk, took Lida on July 3, on July 16, together with the 2nd BF - Grodno, and at the end of July approached the northeastern salient of the Polish border. The 2nd BF, advancing to the southwest, captured Bialystok on July 27 and drove the Germans across the Narev River. Parts of the right wing of the 1st BF, liberating Baranovichi on July 8, and Pinsk on July 14, at the end of July they reached the Western Bug and reached the central section of the Soviet-Polish border; Brest was taken on July 28.

As a result of Operation Bagration, Belarus, most of Lithuania and part of Latvia were liberated. The possibility of an offensive in East Prussia and Poland opened up.

Liberation of Western Ukraine and offensive in Eastern Poland

(July 13 - August 29, 1944). Trying to stop the advance of Soviet troops in Belarus, the command of the Wehrmacht was forced to transfer formations there from the rest of the Soviet-German front. This facilitated the operations of the Red Army in other directions. On July 13-14, the 1st UV offensive began in Western Ukraine. Having quickly broken through the German defenses south of Vladimir-Volynsky and north of Tarnopol, on July 17 its units surrounded a large enemy grouping (eight divisions) west of Brody (eliminated by July 22); On July 20, they captured Vladimir-Volynsky, Rava-Russkaya and Przemysl, on July 27 - Lvov and Stanislav (Ivano-Frankovsk), on August 6 - Drohobych. Already on July 17, they crossed the USSR state border and entered South-Eastern Poland, and on July 29 they approached the Vistula, crossed it and seized a bridgehead on the left bank near Sandomierz; On August 18, Sandomierz was taken.

On July 18, the left wing of the 1st BF launched an offensive near Kovel. On July 20, having crossed the Western Bug, Soviet troops moved across Poland in two directions - western (Lublin) and northwestern (Warsaw). On July 23, they occupied Lublin, on July 26 they reached the Vistula north of Demblin, crossed the river in the Mangushev area (July 27) and south of Pulaw (July 29) and created two bridgeheads on its left bank. At the end of July, they approached Prague (the right-bank suburb of Warsaw), which they managed to take only on September 14. In early August, the resistance of the Germans increased sharply, and the advance of the Red Army was stopped. Because of this, the Soviet command was unable to provide the necessary assistance to the uprising that broke out on August 1 in the Polish capital under the leadership of the Home Army, and by the beginning of October it was brutally suppressed by the Wehrmacht. The Germans were able to hold out on the line Lomza - Pultusk - Warsaw - Mangushev - west of Sandomir - Duklinsky pass.

By the end of July 1944, the Red Army finally liberated Ukraine and occupied most of Eastern Poland. For the first time in the war fighting were transferred to foreign territory. The nature of the Great Patriotic War has changed: from now on, its goal was the liberation of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe occupied by the Germans and the complete defeat of Germany and its allies.

Liberation of the Northern Baltic

(July 10 - November 24, 1944). In July, the Soviet command launched an operation to defeat Army Group North and liberate Estonia and Latvia. On July 10, the 2nd PribF launched an offensive in the Rezhitsa direction. On July 15, his units captured Opochka, on July 27 - Rezekne, on August 8 - Krustpils, but could not get through to Riga. Troops of the 3rd PribF, breaking through on July 17 the German defenses on the r. Velikaya and liberating Ostrov (July 21) and Pskov (July 23), entered northern Latvia and southern Estonia; the stubborn resistance of the Wehrmacht significantly slowed down the pace of the offensive, and only on 25 August did Soviet troops manage to occupy Tartu. On July 26, LF units captured Narva, but their further advance was soon stopped. As a result of the counteroffensive on August 21, the Germans eliminated the Tukums corridor and restored an uninterrupted defense line on the Baltic coast.

Offensive operations in the northern Baltic region resumed in mid-September. On September 14, all three Baltic fronts launched a coordinated strike in the Riga direction and by the end of September reached the approaches to the Latvian capital. At the same time, the troops of the 3rd PribF liberated northern Latvia. Units of the LF, starting the offensive on September 17, with a rapid rush broke through to Tallinn and on September 22, with the support of the Baltic Fleet, captured the Estonian capital. On September 23, they took Pärnu, on September 24 - Haapsalu, and by September 27 they completed the liberation of mainland Estonia.

The decisive act of liberation of the Baltic States was the Memel-Riga operation, carried out in the first half of October 1944. On October 5, the 1st PribF and 3-1 BF struck a surprise attack on the German group in western Lithuania. They could not immediately capture Memel, but on October 10 they reached the Baltic coast near Palanga and again cut off Army Group North from East Prussia. Units of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts broke through to Riga and took it on October 13. The remnants of Army Group North were driven back to northwestern Latvia and blocked there; Memel was also blocked.

At the end of September, the LF troops and Baltic sailors began to liberate the Moonsund Islands. On September 27, Soviet troops landed on the island of Hiiumaa, and on October 5, on the island of Saaremaa. At the beginning of October, the islands of Hiiumaa, Mukha and Vormsi were cleared from the Germans, by November 24 - Saaremaa.

With the liberation of the Baltic States, the line of the Soviet-German front was further reduced. Army Group North, pushed to the sea by Soviet troops, practically ceased to play a military-strategic role. The situation in the Baltic has changed significantly: favorable conditions have been created for the intensification of the actions of the Baltic Fleet; Soviet troops threatened the northern coast of Germany and its communications with Sweden.

Liberation of southern Moldova. The transition of Romania and Bulgaria to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition

(August 20 - late September 1944). At the end of August 1944, the Red Army carried out the Jassy-Kishinev operation, which had the goal of expelling the Germans from the still occupied southwestern regions of the USSR and withdrawing Romania from the war, which provided Germany's basic needs for oil products. On August 20, the 2nd UV to the northeast of Yassy, ​​and the 3rd UV to the south of Tiraspol broke through the enemy's defenses and began to develop the offensive in the southern and western directions, respectively. On August 21, troops of the 2nd UV took over Iasi. On August 23, the troops of the 3rd UV surrounded and forced to surrender the 3rd Romanian army near Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, on August 24 they liberated Chisinau and, together with units of the 2nd UV, took the 6th German army, the nucleus of the group, in ticks west of the Moldovan capital armies "South Ukraine". On August 25, the formations of the 3rd UV entered Leovo, reached the mouth of the Danube and captured Izmail. By August 29, the "Chisinau boiler" (eighteen divisions) was eliminated. The liberation of Moldova is over.

Defeats at the fronts led to the fall of the regime of I. Antonescu in Romania on August 23, 1944. The new government of C. Sanatescu declared war on Germany and turned to Stalin with a request for an armistice. On August 27, the troops of the 3rd UV broke through near Galati, on August 29, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet, they captured the port of Constanta and in early September reached the Bulgarian-Romanian border. Units of the 2nd UF on August 30 occupied the oil-bearing region of Ploiesti, on August 31 they entered Bucharest, and on September 5 they reached the Yugoslav-Romanian border at Turnu Severin. On September 12, an armistice was signed between Romania and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

The rapid advance of the 2nd UV to the northwest thwarted the plans of the Germans to capture the passes through the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians). On September 19, the Red Army captured Timisoara, on September 22 - Arad, and on September 23, crossed the southeastern border of Hungary in the Battoni region. By the end of September, the entire territory of pre-war Romania was cleared of the Germans.

On September 5, the USSR declared war on Bulgaria. On September 8, the troops of the 3rd UV crossed the Romanian-Bulgarian border and already on September 8-9 occupied the Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas and the Danube port of Ruse; by September 10, they controlled the entire northeast of Bulgaria. On the night of September 9, a coup d'etat took place in Sofia, overthrowing the Coburg monarchy. The new government of K. Georgiev declared war on Germany. On September 15, Soviet units entered Sofia, and at the end of September they were already on the Bulgarian-Yugoslav border. On October 28, Bulgaria signed an armistice with the USSR. Great Britain and the USA.

Offensive in the Eastern Carpathians

(September 8 - October 28, 1944) . In late August, an uprising broke out in Slovakia against the pro-German regime of J. Tiso. The Soviet command decided to carry out the Carpathian-Duklin operation to break through into Eastern Slovakia and join the rebels. On September 8, units of the 1st UV struck from the Krosno region (southeastern Poland) southward in the direction of the Duklinsky Pass, captured it after a month of fierce fighting and entered the territory of Czechoslovakia (October 6). In mid-October, the troops of the 4th UV, which launched an offensive in the Eastern Carpathians on September 20, broke through the Yablunytsky and Middle Veretsky passes and rushed west towards Slovakia: on October 24 they took Khust, on October 26 - Mukachevo, on October 27 - Uzhgorod and completely liberated Transcarpathian Ukraine. However, the Red Army did not manage to break through to the Presov-Kosice area and unite with the Slovak partisans; On October 28, the offensive operations were terminated. By early November, the Germans had suppressed the Slovak Uprising. The exit of the Red Army to the border of Yugoslavia created a threat of encirclement of the Army Group "E" stationed in Greece; Hitler gave the order to withdraw her to Yugoslav territory. The strengthening of the German grouping in the west of the Balkan Peninsula complicated the situation of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOAJ), which had already liberated southern and western Serbia by mid-September. In this situation, the Soviet command decided to conduct an offensive operation in eastern Yugoslavia together with the Bulgarian army and local partisans. On September 28, the troops of the 3rd UV from the Kladovo region struck in the northwestern (Belgrade) and southwestern (Krushevac) directions; in early October, they united in the valley of the Morava River with the detachments of the NOAU; the troops of the 2nd UV by October 8 cleared the area east of the Tisza from the enemy. On the same day, the Bulgarian army launched an offensive in Southeast Serbia and Macedonia; with the support of the partisans, she occupied Nis on October 14, cutting off the escape routes of the Wehrmacht units from Greece to Belgrade. On October 20, after overcoming the desperate resistance of the German garrison, the units of the 3rd UV, together with the NOAU, took the Yugoslav capital; after that, Soviet troops were transferred to Hungary. The liberation of the rest of Yugoslavia (Croatia, Slovenia, etc.) was entrusted to NOAJ by agreement between the Soviet and Yugoslav military commanders.

Operations in the Arctic and East Prussia

(October-November 1944). On October 7, KarF and the Northern Fleet attacked the 19th German Mountain Rifle Corps in the north of the Kola Peninsula and forced it to retreat. The 14th Soviet Army, pushing the retreating enemy, entered northern Finland, took Petsamo (Pechenga) on October 15, Nikel on October 22, broke through to northern Norway and captured Kirkenes on October 25. On November 9, the liberation of the Arctic Circle was completed.

At the same time, Soviet troops failed in East Prussia, where in mid-October the German Army Group Center repelled the offensive of the 3rd BF.

Offensive in Eastern and Central Hungary

(October 6, 1944 - February 13, 1945) . In early October 1944, the Red Army began an operation to defeat Army Group South in the interfluve of the Mures and Danube rivers and to withdraw Horthy Hungary, Germany's last ally in Europe, from the war. On October 6, units of the 2nd UV and Romanian troops launched an offensive in Transylvania. Having crossed the Muresh River, the right wing of the front instead of with the Romanians knocked out the enemy from Cluj, the capital of Transylvania on October 11, and the left wing captured Szeged on the same day. Having reached the Hungarian Plain, Soviet troops rushed to Debrecen, one of the largest cities in Hungary, and captured it on October 20. By October 25, the Germans were expelled from Transylvania. At the end of October, the entire left bank of the Tisza from Szeged to Szolnok was under the control of the Red Army. Having crossed the Tisza on a wide front, the 2nd UV on October 29 launched an offensive in Central Hungary; blows were struck in the Kaposvari, Budapest and Mishkolz directions. On November 4, Soviet troops reached the nearest approaches to the Hungarian capital, but could not take it on the move. On December 3, they captured Miskolts, on December 4 they reached the lake. Balaton. At the beginning of December, a new attempt was made to capture Budapest from the north and from the west, but it also failed; only in the last days of December did the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts manage to blockade the city. After repelling several attempts of the Wehrmacht to unblock Budapest in January 1945, in early February they defeated the enemy's Budapest grouping (about 120 thousand prisoners) and on February 13 occupied the Hungarian capital.

On December 28, the Provisional National Government of Hungary, created in Debrecen, declared war on Germany.

At the beginning of 1945, the Red Army launched a series of operations in the central (Berlin) direction with the aim of the final liberation of Poland and the complete defeat of Germany. The first of them was the Vistula-Oder, during which the Soviet troops had to defeat Army Group "A" and go to the Oder.

On January 12, 1945, troops of the 1st UV struck from the Sandomierz bridgehead in the Radom-Breslav direction. On January 14, they broke through to Pinchuv and crossed the Nida River on a wide front. On January 15, Soviet tank columns took Kielce, and on January 16 they crossed the Pilica river. On January 17, the right wing of the 1st UV liberated Czestochowa, on January 19 it reached the German-Polish border, on January 20 it entered Silesia; units of the left wing captured Krakow on January 19, reached the Oder River on January 22 and occupied Katowice and other centers of the Upper Silesian industrial region on January 28. Formations of the right wing on January 26 seized a bridgehead on the left bank of the Oder near Breslau (Wroclaw).

On January 14, the 1st BF began the offensive from the Mangushevsky and Pulawsky bridgeheads in the Kutno-Lodz direction. Having broken through the enemy's defenses, the troops of the right wing turned north to Warsaw, and the troops of the left moved west and on January 16 captured Radom; his advanced tank formations liberated Lodz on January 19, crossed the Warta River on January 23, broke into Kalisz and crossed the Oder north of Steinau. Formations of the right wing, together with the 1st Polish Army, captured Warsaw in an enveloping maneuver on January 17; Soviet tank columns rushed along the corridor between the Vistula and Warta, took Bygdoszcz on January 23 and reached the Oder near Kustrin (Kostrzyn), 40 km from Berlin. Other parts of the right wing reached Poznan, bypassed it, bumping into the stubborn defense of the Germans (the Poznan group was destroyed only by February 23), and on January 29 entered the territory of Brandenburg and Pomerania; On February 3, the troops of the 1st BF captured the Oder crossings at Küstrin and Frankfurt an der Oder. However, the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, due to lack of forces, did not manage to continue the offensive and break through deep into Germany. In early February, the Germans, with the help of reinforcements from the west and internal reserves, were able to stop the advance of the Red Army; the front stabilized along the Oder.

At the same time, the forces of the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts carried out the East Prussian operation with the aim of destroying Army Group Center and taking East Prussia. On January 13, the troops of the 3rd BF struck from the Suwalki area in the Konigsbersk direction and on January 20 captured Insterburg. On January 14, the troops of the 2nd BF, moving out of the Narew Valley, broke through the German defense line covering East Prussia from the south, on January 19 they occupied Mlawa, on January 20 - the Allenstein station, blocking the main East Prussian railway artery, and on January 26 they reached the Danzig Gulf at Elbing, cutting off German troops in East Prussia from the rest of the forces. On January 28, the formations of the 1st PribF liberated Klaipeda. By the end of January, the East Prussian grouping was split into three parts (in the Braungsberg area, on the Zemland Peninsula and near Konigsberg). However, their liquidation lasted for two months. Only on March 29, the troops of the 3rd BF were able to destroy the largest "cauldron" southwest of Konigsberg, and on April 9 to capture the capital of East Prussia.

As a result of the Vistula-Oder and East Prussian operations, the Red Army liberated most of Poland, occupied East Prussia, entered German territory, reached the Oder and created bridgeheads on its western bank in the immediate vicinity of Berlin. The Wehrmacht lost almost half a million killed.

Liberation of southern Poland and eastern Slovakia

(January 12 - February 18, 1945). In parallel with the operations on the main (Berlin) direction of the 4th UV and the right wing of the 2nd UV, an operation was carried out to defeat the German-Hungarian grouping in the Western Carpathians. After breaking through the enemy's defenses and destroying seventeen enemy divisions, Soviet troops liberated the territory of Poland south of Krakow and the Czechoslovak lands east of Banska Bystrica and by mid-February reached the approaches to the Moravian-Ostrava industrial region.

Before the decisive blow to Berlin, the Headquarters decided to liquidate the enemy groupings on the northern and southern flanks of the central direction - in Eastern Pomerania and Silesia.

On February 10, the troops of the 2nd BF launched an offensive in Eastern Pomerania, however, due to a lack of reserves, their advance in the Lower Vistula valley was slow. The situation changed when on February 20, units of the right wing of the 1st BF, which completed the destruction of the Schneidemühl "cauldron" on February 17, struck in the Kolberg direction; in early March, they reached the Baltic Sea between Keslin (Koszalin) and Kohlberg (Kolobrzeg). The formations of the 2nd BF captured Gdynia on March 28, and Danzig (Gdansk) on March 30. By April 4, the Red Army had occupied all of Eastern Pomerania and established control over the coast from the Vistula to the Oder. The success of the operation eliminated the threat to Soviet troops from the north and freed up significant forces (ten armies) to participate in the Battle of Berlin.

On February 8, units of the 1st UV from the Breslau bridgehead launched an offensive in Lower Silesia. Bypassing the blocked Glogau and Breslau, they rushed westward, reached Sommerfeld on February 13, 80 km from the German capital, and on February 16 reached the Neisse River at its confluence with the Oder. Although they failed to break through to Berlin, they cut off the Upper Silesian grouping from Germany and drove the Germans out of Lower Silesia; it is true that the Glogausky "cauldron" was liquidated only on April 1, and the Breslavsky one on May 6.

On March 15, the troops of the 1st UV attacked the Wehrmacht in Upper Silesia. On March 18–20, they defeated the main enemy forces in the Oppeln (Opole) area and by March 31 reached the foothills of the Sudetenland on the German-Czechoslovak border. Dresden and Prague were under threat.

As a result of the East Pomeranian, Lower Silesian and Upper Silesian operations, Germany lost its most important industrial and agricultural regions.

German counteroffensive in western Hungary

(March 6-15, 1945). In the early spring of 1945, German troops made a last attempt to delay the defeat: trying to disrupt the impending offensive of the Red Army on the southern flank, on March 6, they struck the positions of the 3rd UV north of the lake. Balaton. They managed to drive a wedge 12-30 km into the Soviet defenses south of the lake. Velence and west of the Sharviz Canal, however, units of the 3rd UV, with the support of the 1st Bulgarian and 3rd Yugoslav armies, by mid-March managed to stop the enemy, whose losses amounted to more than 40 thousand people.

Offensive in western Hungary and eastern Austria

(March 16 - April 15, 1945). On March 16, 1945, the 3rd UV and the left wing of the 2nd UV began an operation to capture the regions of Hungary and the Vienna industrial region that remained in the hands of the Germans. At the end of March, they defeated Army Group South and part of Army Group E, as a result of which the entire southern flank of the German defense collapsed. By April 4, Soviet troops occupied western Hungary, crossed the Austro-Hungarian border, and on April 6 approached Vienna. After weeks of fierce street fighting, they captured the Austrian capital. By April 16, the Germans had been driven out of Burgenland and eastern Styria and Lower Austria.

Fall of Berlin. Capitulation of Germany

(April 16 - May 8). In mid-April 1945, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts embarked on the final operation to defeat Nazi Germany. A plan was developed for the destruction of Army Groups "Center" and "Vistula", the capture of Berlin and access to the Elbe to join with the allies.

On April 16, units of the 1st BF attacked the central section of the German line of fortifications on the Oder, but ran into stubborn resistance, especially at the Seelow Heights. Only on April 17, at the cost of huge losses, did they manage to take the heights. On April 19, they made a 30-km gap in the enemy's defenses, rushed to Berlin and on April 21, they reached its suburbs. Less bloody turned out to be the offensive of the 1st UV, which had already crossed the Neisse on April 16, by April 19 it had broken through the German defenses with a wide front, defeated the 4th Panzer Army and moved to Berlin from the south. On April 24, the troops of the 1st UV and 1st BF surrounded the Frankfurt-Guben grouping north of Cottbus (the 9th and the remnants of the 4th Panzer armies), and on April 25 they completed the encirclement of the Berlin group. On the same day, units of the 1st UV reached the Elbe and in the Torgau area met with units of the 1st American Army: the Eastern and Western Fronts merged.

The 2nd BF operated on the northern flank, seeking to prevent Army Group Vistula from coming to the aid of Berlin. On April 20, his troops crossed the Oder south of Stettin (Szczecin) and on April 26 captured Stettin itself.

On April 26, the 1st UV and 1st BF began to liquidate two encircled groups of the Wehrmacht. After repelling the attempt of the 12th German army to break through to Berlin from the west, by April 28 they captured the outskirts of the city and started fighting for the central quarters. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide. On May 1, the Reichstag was taken. Berlin surrendered on May 2. The day before, the defeat of the Frankfurt-Guben group was completed. By May 7, Soviet troops reached the line Wismar - Ludwigslust - Elbe - Zaale, agreed with the allies. On May 8, in Karlhost, representatives of the German command signed an act of unconditional surrender... On the same day, units of the 1st UV took Dresden. On May 9, German troops surrendered in northwestern Lithuania (Army Group Courland).

Liberation of Czechoslovakia

(March 10 - May 11, 1945). The last country liberated by the Red Army was Czechoslovakia. March 10, 4th UV, and on March 25, 2nd UV with the support of 1st and 4th Romanian armies launched an offensive in Western Slovakia. On April 4, units of the 2nd UV took Bratislava; by mid-April, they completed the liberation of the southwestern regions of Slovakia, and the troops of the 4th UV reached the Zilina - Trencin line near the Moravian border. In the second half of April, the Red Army launched military operations in Moravia. On April 26, the units of the 2nd UV took Brno; On April 30, units of the 4th UV took Ostrava and at the beginning of May captured the Moravian-Ostrava industrial region. By May 5, the liberation of Moravia was completed.

In early May, an uprising broke out against the German occupiers in Bohemia; On May 4, it engulfed Prague. On May 5, the command of Army Group Center moved large forces against the Czech capital, but on May 6-7, the Red Army had already begun an operation to liberate the Czech Republic: the 1st UV struck from the north (from Saxony), the 4th UV - from the east ( from Olomouc), 2nd UV - from the southeast (from Brno). On May 9, the troops of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts drove the Germans out of Prague, on May 10-11 they surrounded and destroyed their main forces east of the city and ended the war on the Chemnitz-Karlovy-Vary-Pilsen-Ceske Budejovice line.

Military operations in the Far East. Defeat of the Kwantung Army

(August 9 - September 2, 1945). Back in February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the USSR pledged to enter the war with Japan two or three months after the victory over Germany on the condition of returning to him what was lost by Russia as a result Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905. During the Potsdam Conference, the Allies issued a declaration (July 26, 1945), in which they demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan and announced their intention to occupy it until the election of a democratic government and punish Japanese war criminals.

On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan; Mongolia (MPR) joined it on August 10. On August 9, the 1st and 2nd Far Eastern and Trans-Baikal Fronts, with the support of the Pacific Fleet, began military operations against the Kwantung Army stationed in Manchuria. Parts of the left wing of the ZBF crossed Argun, captured the Manchur-Chzhalainor fortified area and bypassing the Hailar fortified area, began to develop an offensive in the Tsitsikar direction; by the end of August 14, they had overcome the Great Khingan Range at Boketu. Parts of the right wing, striking from Eastern Mongolia, captured the Halun-Arshan fortified area, crossed the Big Khingan and rushed to Xinjing (Changchun). By the end of August 14, they reached the Baicheng - Taonan - Dabanshan line, and the Mongol troops advancing westward approached Dolun. The troops of the right wing of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, striking from the Blagoveshchensk region, broke through the Japanese defenses on the Amur, overcame the Small Khingan and moved towards Mergen and Beian; formations of the left wing, forcing the Amur north of Tongjian, during fierce battles captured the Fujin (Fugdinsky) fortified area and began to advance westward upstream of the Songhua River. The troops of the 1st Far Eastern Fleet struck from Primorye, together with the landing detachments of the Pacific Fleet, captured the North Korean ports of Ungi (Yuki), Najin (Rasin), Chongjin (Seixin) and by the end of August 14 reached the Mishan-Mudanjiang-Tumyn line. As a result, the Kwantung Army was dismembered into several parts. On southern Sakhalin significant successes were achieved by the 16th Army of the 2nd Far Eastern Front: having started the offensive on August 11, it captured the Kotonsky fortified region on August 13 and rushed south.

On August 14, Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. However, hostilities in Manchuria continued. The troops of the left wing of the ZBF on August 19 took Qiqihar, and the troops of the right of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, capturing Beian on 20 August, reached Qiqihar from the northeast. On August 19, parts of the right wing of the ZBF occupied Xinjing and Shenyang (Mukden), parts of the 1st Far Eastern Front - Jirin, and the Soviet-Mongolian formations - Chengde (Rehe). On August 20, the troops of the left wing of the 2nd Far Eastern Fleet captured Harbin. On August 18, the Soviet landing began to land on the Kuril Islands. In this situation of complete defeat, the command of the Kwantung Army on August 19 decided to stop further resistance. On August 22, the troops of the ZBF entered Lushun (Port Arthur) and Dalian (Dalny); the troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front on the same day occupied the North Korean port of Wonsan (Genzan), and on August 24 - Pyongyang. On August 25, all of South Sakhalin was cleared of the Japanese, and on August 23–28, the Kuril Islands. On September 2, Japan signed the act of unconditional surrender.

Results of the Great Patriotic War.

The victory went to the USSR at a high price. The assessment of human losses is still the subject of fierce discussions. Thus, the irrecoverable Soviet losses at the fronts, according to various estimates, range from 8.5 to 26.5 million people. The total material damage and military costs are estimated at $ 485 billion. 1710 cities and townships, more than 70 thousand villages were destroyed.

But the USSR defended its independence and contributed to the complete or partial liberation of a number of European and Asian countries - Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Yugoslavia, China and Korea. He made a huge contribution to overall victory anti-fascist coalition over Germany, Italy and Japan: on the Soviet-German front, 607 Wehrmacht divisions were defeated and captured, almost 3/4 of all German military equipment was destroyed. The USSR played an important role in the post-war peace settlement; its territory expanded at the expense of East Prussia, Transcarpathian Ukraine, Petsamo region, southern Sakhalin, Kuril Islands. It became one of the leading world powers and the center of a whole system of communist states on the Euro-Asian continent.

Ivan Krivushin

APPENDIX 1. NON-Aggression TREATY BETWEEN GERMANY AND THE USSR

The Government of the USSR and the Government of Germany,

Guided by the desire to strengthen the cause of peace between the USSR and Germany and proceeding from the main provisions of the neutrality treaty concluded between the USSR and Germany in April 1926, they came to the following agreement:

Both Contracting Parties undertake to refrain from any violence, from any aggressive action and any attack against each other, both separately and jointly with other powers.

In the event that one of the Contracting Parties becomes the object of military action by a third power, the other Contracting Party will not support this power in any form.

Article III

The Governments of both Contracting Parties will remain in contact with each other in the future for consultation in order to keep each other informed of matters affecting their common interests.

Neither of the Contracting Parties will participate in any grouping of powers that is directly or indirectly directed against the other side.

In the event of disputes or conflicts between the Contracting Parties on issues of one kind or another, both parties will resolve these disputes or conflicts exclusively amicably by way of a friendly exchange of views or, if necessary, by creating commissions to resolve the conflict.

This agreement is concluded for a period of ten years with the fact that since one of the Contracting Parties does not denounce it one year before the expiration of the term, the term of the agreement will be considered automatically extended for the next five years.

Article VII

This treaty is subject to ratification as soon as possible. The exchange of the instruments of ratification is to take place in Berlin. The contract comes into force immediately after its signing.

When signing a non-aggression pact between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the undersigned plenipotentiaries of both sides discussed in a strictly confidential manner the issue of delimiting the spheres of mutual interests in Eastern Europe. This discussion led to the following result:

l. In the event of a territorial and political reorganization of the regions that are part of the Baltic states (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the northern border of Lithuania is at the same time the border of the spheres of interests of Germany and the USSR. At the same time, the interests of Lithuania in relation to the Vilna region are recognized by both parties.

2. In the event of a territorial and political reorganization of the regions that make up the Polish State, the border of the spheres of interests of Germany and the USSR will approximately pass along the line of the rivers Narew, Vistula and Sanaa.

The question of whether it is in mutual interests to preserve the independent Polish State and what the boundaries of this state will be, can be finally clarified only in the course of further political development.

In any case, both Governments will resolve this issue by way of friendly mutual consent.

3. Regarding the southeast of Europe, the Soviet side emphasizes the interest of the USSR in Bessarabia. The German side declares its complete political disinterest in these areas.

4. This protocol will be kept in strict confidence by both parties.

APPENDIX 2. AGREEMENT OF FRIENDSHIP AND BORDER BETWEEN THE USSR AND GERMANY

Moscow city

After the collapse of the former Polish state, the government of the USSR and the German government regard it exclusively as their task to restore peace and order in this territory and to provide the peoples living there with a peaceful existence corresponding to their national characteristics. To this end, they have come to an agreement as follows:

The government of the USSR and the German government establish a line as the boundary between mutual state interests in the territory of the former Polish state, which is plotted on the attached map and will be described in more detail in an additional protocol.

Both Parties recognize the boundary of mutual state interests established in Article I as final and will eliminate any interference of third powers in this decision.

Article III

The necessary state reorganization in the territory to the west of the line indicated in the article is carried out by the German government, in the territory to the east of this line - by the Government of the USSR.

The government of the USSR and the German government consider the above restructuring as a reliable foundation for further development friendly relations between their peoples.

This treaty is subject to ratification. The exchange of the instruments of ratification should take place as soon as possible in Berlin.

The agreement comes into force from the moment of its signing. Done in two originals, in German and Russian.

Authorized by the Government of the USSR V. Molotov For the Government of Germany I. Ribbentrop

Secret additional protocol

Moscow city

The undersigned plenipotentiaries state the agreement of the German Government and the Government of the USSR as follows:

The secret additional protocol signed on 23 August 1939 is amended in clause 1 in such a way that the territory of the Lithuanian state is included in the sphere of interests of the USSR, since, on the other hand, the Lubelskie Voivodeship and parts of the Warsaw Voivodeship are included in the sphere of interests of Germany (see map to signed today The Treaty of Friendship and the Border Between the USSR and Germany). As soon as the Government of the USSR takes special measures on the Lithuanian territory to protect its interests, then in order to naturally and easily draw the border, the present German-Lithuanian border is corrected in such a way that the Lithuanian territory, which lies south-west of the line indicated on the map, moves to Germany.

Under the authorization of the Government of the USSR V. Molotov

For the German government I. Ribbentrop

Secret additional protocol

Moscow city

The undersigned plenipotentiaries at the conclusion of the Soviet-German Treaty on Border and Friendship stated their agreement as follows:

Both sides will not allow any Polish agitation on their territories that affects the territory of another country. They will liquidate the embryos of such agitation in their territories and will inform each other about the appropriate measures for this.

For the Government of Germany I. Ribbentrop

Under the authorization of the Government of the USSR V. Molotov

APPENDIX 3. TELEGRAM OF THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GERMANY I. VON RIBBENTROP TO THE AMBASSADOR TO THE USSR F. SCHULENBURG

Urgently!

State secret!

On the radio!

To the Ambassador personally!

1. Upon receipt of this telegram, all encrypted materials must be destroyed. The radio must be disabled.

2. I ask you to immediately inform Herr Molotov that you have an urgent message for him and that you would therefore like to visit him immediately. Then please make the following statement to Herr Molotov:

“The Soviet plenipotentiary envoy in Berlin receives at this hour from the Reich Foreign Minister a memorandum with a detailed listing of the facts, briefly summarized below:

I. In 1939, the imperial government, casting aside serious obstacles arising from the contradictions between National Socialism and Bolshevism, tried to find a Soviet Russia understanding. Under the treaties of August 23 and September 28, 1939, the Reich government carried out a general reorientation of its policy towards the USSR and since then has taken a friendly position towards the Soviet Union. This policy of goodwill brought immense foreign policy benefits to the Soviet Union.

The imperial government therefore felt entitled to assume that from then on both nations, respecting state systems each other, without interfering in the internal affairs of the other side, will have good, lasting good-neighborly relations. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that the imperial government was completely wrong in its assumptions.

II. Soon after the conclusion of the German-Russian treaties, the Comintern resumed its subversive activities against Germany with the participation of official Soviet representatives who supported it. On a large scale, open sabotage, terror and political and economic espionage related to the preparation of the war were carried out. In all countries bordering Germany and in territories occupied by German troops, anti-German sentiments were encouraged, and German attempts to establish a stable order in Europe met with resistance. The Soviet chief of staff offered Yugoslavia a weapon against Germany, as evidenced by documents found in Belgrade. The declarations made by the USSR in connection with the conclusion of treaties with Germany regarding intentions to cooperate with Germany, thus turn out to be deliberate misleading and deception, and the very conclusion of treaties is a tactical maneuver to obtain agreements beneficial only to Russia. The guiding principle remained to penetrate into non-Bolshevik countries in order to demoralize them, and at the right time to crush them.

III. In the diplomatic and military spheres, as it became obvious, the USSR, contrary to the declarations made at the conclusion of the treaties that it did not want to Bolshevize and annex the countries within its spheres of interest, had the goal of expanding its military power in the western direction wherever it was. seemed possible, and carried out further Bolshevization of Europe. The actions of the USSR against the Baltic states, Finland and Romania, where Soviet claims extended even to Bukovina, demonstrated this clearly enough. The occupation and Bolshevization of the spheres of interest given to it by the Soviet Union are a direct violation of the Moscow agreements, although the imperial government turned a blind eye to this for some time.

IV. When Germany, with the help of the Vienna Arbitration of August 30, 1940, resolved the crisis in Southeast Europe resulting from the actions of the USSR against Romania, the Soviet Union protested and engaged in intensive military preparations in all areas. New attempts by Germany to reach an understanding, reflected in the exchange of letters between the Reich Foreign Minister and Mr. land and naval forces, complete absorption of Finland. This could not be allowed by Germany. Subsequently, the anti-German orientation of the Soviet policy became more and more obvious. The warning made to Germany in connection with its occupation of Bulgaria, and the statement made to Bulgaria after the entry of German troops, clearly hostile in nature, were in this regard as significant as the promises made by the Soviet Union to Turkey in March 1941 to protect Turkey. rear in the event of Turkey entering the war in the Balkans.

V. With the conclusion of the Soviet-Yugoslav friendship treaty of April 5 this year, which strengthened the rear of the Belgrade conspirators, the USSR joined the common Anglo-Yugoslav-Greek front directed against Germany. At the same time, he tried to get closer to Romania in order to persuade this country to break with Germany. Only the quick German victories led to the collapse of the Anglo-Russian plans to attack the German troops in Romania and Bulgaria.

Vi. This policy was accompanied by a constantly growing concentration of all available Russian troops on the entire front - from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, against which only a little later the German side took retaliatory measures. Since the beginning of this year, the threat directly to the territory of the Reich is increasing. The reports received in the past few days leave no doubt about the aggressive nature of these Russian concentrations and add to the picture of an extremely tense military situation. In addition to this, there are reports from England that negotiations are underway with Ambassador Cripps on even closer political and military cooperation between Britain and the Soviet Union.

Summarizing the above, the imperial government declares that the Soviet government, contrary to its obligations:

1) not only continued, but also intensified its attempts to undermine Germany and Europe;

2) pursued an increasingly anti-German policy;

3) concentrated on the German border all their troops in full combat readiness. Thus, the Soviet government violated the treaties with Germany and intends to attack Germany from the rear, while she is fighting for her existence. The Fuehrer therefore ordered the German armed forces to confront this threat with all the means at their disposal. "

End of declaration.

I ask you not to enter into any discussion of this message. The responsibility for the safety of the staff of the German Embassy lies with the Government of Soviet Russia.

Ribbentrop

APPENDIX 4. STALIN'S RADIO SPEECH

Comrades! Citizens!

Brothers and sisters!

Soldiers of our army and navy!

I appeal to you, my friends!

The treacherous military attack by Hitlerite Germany on our Motherland, which began on June 22, continues. Despite the heroic resistance of the Red Army, despite the fact that the best divisions of the enemy and the best units of its aviation have already been defeated and found their grave on the battlefields, the enemy continues to climb forward, throwing new forces to the front. Hitler's troops managed to capture Lithuania, a significant part of Latvia, the western part of Belarus, and part of Western Ukraine. Fascist aviation is expanding the areas of operation of its bombers, bombing Murmansk, Orsha, Mogilev, Smolensk, Kiev, Odessa, Sevastopol. A serious danger looms over our homeland.

How could it happen that our glorious Red Army surrendered a number of our cities and regions to the fascist troops? Are the German fascist troops really invincible troops, as the boastful fascist propagandists trumpet about it?

Of course not! History shows that there are no invincible armies and never happened. Napoleon's army was considered invincible, but it was defeated alternately by Russian, British, German troops. German army During the first imperialist war, Wilhelm was also considered an invincible army, but it was defeated several times by the Russian and Anglo-French troops and was finally defeated by the Anglo-French troops. The same must be said about Hitler's current German fascist army. This army has not yet met serious resistance on the continent of Europe. Only on our territory did it meet serious resistance. And if, as a result of this resistance, the best divisions of the German fascist army were defeated by our Red Army, this means that the Hitlerite fascist army can be defeated and will be defeated just as the armies of Napoleon and Wilhelm were defeated.

As for the fact that part of our territory was nevertheless captured by fascist German troops, this is mainly due to the fact that the war of fascist Germany against the USSR began under favorable conditions for German troops and unfavorable for Soviet troops. The fact is that the troops of Germany, as a country waging a war, had already been completely mobilized, and 170 divisions thrown by Germany against the USSR and moved to the borders of the USSR were in a state of full readiness, waiting only for a signal to act, while the Soviet troops needed it was still necessary to mobilize and move closer to the borders. Of no small importance here was the fact that fascist Germany unexpectedly and treacherously violated the non-aggression pact concluded in 1939 between her and the USSR, regardless of the fact that she would be recognized by the whole world as the attacking side. It is clear that our peace-loving country, unwilling to take the initiative to violate the pact, could not take the path of treachery.

One may ask: how could it have happened that the Soviet government agreed to conclude a non-aggression pact with such treacherous people and monsters as Hitler and Ribbentrop? Was it not a mistake on the part of the Soviet government? Of course not! A non-aggression pact is a peace pact between two states. It was precisely such a pact that Germany proposed to us in 1939. Could the Soviet government refuse such a proposal? I think that not a single peace-loving state can refuse a peace agreement with a neighboring power, if even such fiends and cannibals as Hitler and Ribbentrop are at the head of this power, and this, of course, under one indispensable condition - if the peace agreement does not affect neither directly nor indirectly, the territorial integrity, independence and honor of a peace-loving state. As you know, the non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR is just such a pact.

What have we gained by concluding a non-aggression pact with Germany? We ensured peace for our country for a year and a half and the possibility of preparing our forces to repel if Nazi Germany risked attacking our country in spite of the pact. This is a definite gain for us and a loss for Nazi Germany.

What did Nazi Germany gain and what did she lose by treacherously breaking the pact and attacking the USSR? She achieved by this some advantageous position for her troops in a short time, but she lost politically, exposing herself in the eyes of the whole world as a bloody aggressor. There can be no doubt that this short-term military gain for Germany is only an episode, and the enormous political gain for the USSR is a serious and long-term factor on the basis of which the decisive military successes of the Red Army in the war with Nazi Germany should unfold.

That is why all our valiant army, all our valiant navy, all our falcon pilots, all the peoples of our country, all the best people of Europe, America and Asia, and finally, all the best people of Germany - condemn the treacherous actions of the German fascists and sympathize to the Soviet government, approve of the behavior of the Soviet government and see that our cause is just, that the enemy will be defeated, that we must win.

Due to the war imposed on us, our country entered into mortal combat with its worst and most insidious enemy - German fascism. Our troops are fighting heroically against the enemy, armed to the teeth with tanks and aircraft. The Red Army and the Red Fleet, overcoming numerous difficulties, are selflessly fighting for every inch of Soviet soil. The main forces of the Red Army, armed with thousands of tanks and aircraft, enter the battle. The bravery of the soldiers of the Red Army is unparalleled. Our resistance to the enemy is growing stronger and stronger. Together with the Red Army, the entire Soviet people will rise to defend the Motherland.

What is required in order to eliminate the danger hanging over our Motherland, and what measures must be taken in order to defeat the enemy?

First of all, it is necessary that our people, the Soviet people, understand the full depth of the danger that threatens our country, and renounce complacency, carelessness, the mood of peaceful construction, which is quite understandable in pre-war time, but disastrous at the present time, when the war has radically changed the situation. The enemy is cruel and unforgiving. He sets as his goal the seizure of our lands, watered with our sweat, the seizure of our grain and our oil, obtained by our labor. It sets as its goal the restoration of the power of the landowners, the restoration of tsarism, the destruction of the national culture and national statehood of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Uzbeks, Tatars, Moldovans, Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis and other free peoples of the Soviet Union, their Germanization, their transformation into slaves of German princes and barons. Thus, it is about the life and death of the Soviet state, about the life and death of the peoples of the USSR, about whether the peoples of the Soviet Union should be free, or fall into enslavement. It is necessary for the Soviet people to understand this and stop being carefree, so that they mobilize themselves and reorganize all their work in a new, military way, which knows no mercy for the enemy.

Further, it is necessary that in our ranks there is no place for whiners and cowards, alarmists and deserters, so that our people do not know fear in the struggle and selflessly go to our patriotic war of liberation against the fascist enslavers. The great Lenin, who created our state, said that the main qualities of Soviet people should be courage, courage, ignorance of fear in the struggle, readiness to fight together with the people against the enemies of our Motherland. It is necessary that this splendid quality of a Bolshevik should become the property of millions and millions of the Red Army, our Red Navy and all the peoples of the Soviet Union.

We must immediately reorganize all our work on a war footing, subordinating everything to the interests of the front and the tasks of organizing the defeat of the enemy. The peoples of the Soviet Union now see that German fascism is indomitable in its furious anger and hatred for our Motherland, which has provided all working people with free labor and prosperity. The peoples of the Soviet Union must rise to defend their rights, their land against the enemy.

The Red Army, the Red Fleet and all citizens of the Soviet Union must defend every inch of Soviet land, fight to the last drop of blood for our cities and villages, and display the courage, initiative and intelligence that are characteristic of our people.

We must organize all-round assistance to the Red Army, ensure reinforced replenishment of its ranks, ensure its supply with everything necessary, organize the rapid advance of transports with troops and military supplies, and provide extensive assistance to the wounded.

We must strengthen the rear of the Red Army, subordinating all our work to the interests of this cause, ensure the intensified work of all enterprises, produce more rifles, machine guns, guns, cartridges, shells, aircraft, organize the protection of factories, power plants, telephone and telegraph communications, establish local air defense ...

We must organize a merciless struggle against all sorts of disorganizers of the rear, deserters, alarmists, spreading rumors, destroy spies, saboteurs, enemy paratroopers, rendering in all this quick assistance to our destroyer battalions. It must be borne in mind that the enemy is cunning, cunning, experienced in deceiving and spreading false rumors. All this must be taken into account and not succumb to provocations. It is necessary to immediately bring to trial by the Military Tribunal all those who, by their alarmism and cowardice, interfere with the work of defense, regardless of their faces.

With the forced withdrawal of the Red Army units, it is necessary to hijack the entire rolling stock, not to leave the enemy a single steam locomotive, not a single carriage, not to leave the enemy a kilogram of bread or a liter of fuel. Collective farmers must steal all their livestock, hand over grain to government agencies for safekeeping to transport it to rear areas. All valuable property, including non-ferrous metals, bread and fuel that cannot be removed, must, of course, be destroyed.

In the areas occupied by the enemy, it is necessary to create partisan detachments, horse and foot, create sabotage groups to fight parts of the enemy army, to incite guerrilla warfare everywhere and everywhere, to blow up bridges, roads, damage telephone and telegraph communications, set fire to forests, warehouses, carts. In the occupied areas, create unbearable conditions for the enemy and all his accomplices, pursue and destroy them at every step, disrupt all their activities.

The war with fascist Germany cannot be considered an ordinary war. It is not only a war between two armies. At the same time, it is a great war of the entire Soviet people against the German fascist troops. The goal of this nationwide patriotic war against the fascist oppressors is not only to eliminate the danger hanging over our country, but also to help all the peoples of Europe groaning under the yoke of German fascism. In this war of liberation, we will not be alone. In this great war, we will have loyal allies in the person of the peoples of Europe and America, including the German people enslaved by the Hitlerite rulers. Our war for the freedom of our Fatherland will merge with the struggle of the peoples of Europe and America for their independence, for democratic freedoms. It will be a united front of peoples standing for freedom against enslavement and the threat of enslavement from Hitler's fascist armies. In this regard, the historic speech of British Prime Minister Mr. Churchill on aid to the Soviet Union and the declaration of the US Government on its readiness to provide assistance to our country, which can only evoke a feeling of gratitude in the hearts of the peoples of the Soviet Union, are quite understandable and indicative.

Comrades! Our strengths are incalculable. A conceited enemy will soon have to be convinced of this. Together with the Red Army, many thousands of workers, collective farmers and intelligentsia are rising to fight the attacked enemy. The millions of our people will rise. The working people of Moscow and Leningrad have already begun to create a people's volunteer corps of many thousands to support the Red Army. In every city that is in danger of an enemy invasion, we must create such a popular militia, raise all the working people to fight in order to defend our freedom, our honor, our Motherland with our breasts - in our patriotic war against German fascism.<...>

Forward to our victory!

APPENDIX 5. PROVISION ON PENALTY ROTATIONS OF THE CURRENT ARMY

"APPROVED"

Deputy People's Commissar of Defense

General of the Army G. Zhukov

I. General Provisions

1. Penalty companies are intended to enable ordinary soldiers and junior commanders of all branches of the armed forces who are guilty of violating discipline through cowardice or instability to atone for their guilt before the Motherland by bravely fighting the enemy in a difficult sector of hostilities.

2. The organization, numerical strength and combat strength, as well as salaries for the maintenance of the permanent staff of penal companies are determined by a special staff.

3. Penalty companies are under the jurisdiction of the Military Councils of the armies. Within each army, from five to ten penal companies are created, depending on the situation.

4. A penalty company is assigned to a rifle regiment (division, brigade), in the sector of which it is assigned by order of the Army Military Council.

II. On the permanent composition of penal companies

5. The commander and military commissar of a company, commanders and political leaders of platoons and the rest of the permanent commanding staff of penal companies are appointed by order of the army from among the strong-willed and most distinguished commanders and political workers in battles.

6. The commander and military commissar of a penal company enjoy the disciplinary power of the commander and military commissar of the regiment in relation to penalties, deputy commanders and military commissars of a company - the power of the commander and military commissar of a battalion, and commanders and political leaders of platoons - the power of commanders and political leaders of companies.

7. For the entire permanent composition of penal companies, the terms of service in ranks, in comparison with the command, political and commanding personnel of the combat units of the active army, are reduced by half.

8. Each month of service in the permanent composition of a penal company is counted towards the appointment of a six-month pension.

III. About penalties

9. Ordinary soldiers and junior commanders are sent to penal companies by order of the regiment (separate unit) for a period of one to three months. Ordinary soldiers and junior commanders convicted with a suspended sentence (Note 2 to Article 28 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR) may also be sent to penal companies for the same terms, upon the verdict of the Military Tribunals (the active army and the rear).

The persons sent to the penal company are immediately reported on command and to the Army Military Council with a copy of the order or sentence attached.

10. The junior commanders sent to the penal company, by the same order for the regiment (Art. 9), are subject to demotion to the rank and file.

11. Before being sent to the penal company, the penalty box stands in front of the formation of its company (battery, squadron, etc.), the order for the regiment is read out and the essence of the crime committed is explained.

12. Penalties are issued with a special Red Army book.

13. For non-observance of an order, self-mutilation, escape from the battlefield or an attempt to go over to the enemy, the command and political personnel of the penal company must take all measures of influence, including execution on the spot.

14. Penalties can be appointed by order of the penal company to the posts of junior command personnel with the assignment of the rank of corporal, junior sergeant and sergeant.

Penalties appointed to the posts of junior command personnel are paid maintenance for their posts, the rest - in the amount of 8 rubles. 50 kopecks per month. Field money is not paid to penalties.

15. For military distinction, the penalty box may be released ahead of schedule on the recommendation of the command of the penal company, approved by the Army Military Council.

For a particularly outstanding military distinction, the penalty box, in addition, is presented for a government award.

Before leaving the penal company, the early released person stands in front of the company formation, the order for early release is read out and the essence of the accomplished feat is explained.

16. Upon completion of the appointed time, the penalties are presented by the command of the company to the Army Military Council for release, and upon approval of the submission, they are released from the penal company.

17. All those released from the penal company shall be reinstated in rank and in all rights.

18. Penalties who were wounded in battle are considered to have served their sentence, are reinstated in rank and in all rights and, upon recovery, are sent for further service, and the disabled are given a pension.

19. The families of the deceased penalty boxers are assigned a pension on a general basis.

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