143,000,000 Soviet citizens killed, 1,800,000 dead in captivity or immigrated - the Great Patriotic War broke into every house on June 22, 1941. For 4 terrible years on the fronts, fathers, sons, brothers, sisters, mothers and wives remained “lying with bones”. The Second World War is called "a terrible lesson of the past", "a political miscalculation", "a bloody massacre". Why did the terrible war begin, what is its course, what are the results?
Background of World War II. Where "legs grow"
The prerequisites are hidden in the Versailles-Washington system established after the First World War. Germany with her ambitions was humiliated and brought to her knees. In the 1920s, the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which promoted ultra-right views, entered the political lease. Supporters of the party proclaimed the ideas of "revenge for the defeat in the First World War", establishing the world domination of the German nation. European politicians looked at a "rising Germany" and thought they could manage it. France and Great Britain "pushed" the country to the borders of the Union, pursuing their own benefits. But they could not think that on September 1, 1939, German troops would invade Poland (the Second World War would begin).
ATTENTION! The Second World War lasted more than 6 years (September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945). WWII - June 22, 1941 - May 9, 1945.
Why did the Great Patriotic War start? 3 reasons
Historians talk about dozens of factors that influenced the start of the war. To be honest, the war began with the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939. "Behind Europe's back" Germany and the Soviet Union agree that they will be "on the same side." After the start of World War II, the USSR invaded Poland on September 17, 1939. On September 22, 1939, the parade of the Wehrmacht and the Red Army is solemnly held in Brest.
Joseph Stalin did not believe that Hitler would "stab a knife in the back" and attack the USSR. Moreover, when Minsk fell on June 28, 1941, the leader was in a panic (and even thought that he would be arrested for a crime against the people). The first days of the Second World War, the Red Army retreated, and the Germans easily took one city after another.
Let's not forget that repressions were widespread in the USSR: during the last "purge" in June 1941, experienced military leaders were destroyed (shot, expelled).
The causes of WWII lie in:
- Hitler's desire for "domination of the whole world" ("Germany from sea to sea"). Resources were needed for the conquests, and the territory of the USSR with its natural wealth seemed to be a "tidbit".
- The desire of the Soviet authorities to "crush" Eastern Europe.
- Contradictions between the socialist system and capitalism.
What plans did Germany have?
German tacticians and strategists had several plans on the territory of the Soviet Union.
- Military plan "Barbarossa". In the summer of 1940, a “blitzkrieg” plan was developed: in 10 weeks (i.e., 2.5 months), German troops were to paralyze the industry of the Urals, crush the European part of the country and reach the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line. On June 17, 1941, Hitler signed the very order that launched the offensive.
- "Ost". Jews and Gypsies were completely annihilated; Belarusians, Russians and Ukrainians turned into "slaves" who served the German invaders. Up to 140,000,000 people were to be destroyed. Mass genocide, violence, murders, concentration camps, torture, medical "experiments" - all this awaited those who live today in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine.
- "Oldenburg" and "Goering's Green Folder". Cultural and historical values were to be taken to Germany. Soviet museums were simply robbed, and gold, precious stones, art and antiques were sent to the West by carriages.
By the summer of 1941, 5,500,000 soldiers trained to kill were stationed near the borders of the USSR against 2,900,000 Soviet soldiers (this is exactly the number of military men who were concentrated in the border districts). It’s not worth talking about weapons: one rifle for three, a limited number of bullets, “rusty iron” - all this “surfaced” more than once in the memoirs of veterans.
The Soviet Union was not ready for war:
- Stalin ignored memos about "pulling up" the German armies to the frontiers. It seemed to the leader that Germany would not invade and fight on 2 fronts.
- Lack of talented military leaders. The "War of Little Blood" technique proved to be a failure. The opinion that the Red Army would move to the West, and the workers of the whole world would join its ranks, also turned out to be untenable.
- Problems with the supply of the army. According to some reports, the Wehrmacht had 16 times more rifles (not to mention tanks and aircraft). The warehouses were close to the borders, so they were quickly captured by the enemy.
Despite all the miscalculations and problems, the Soviet soldiers wrested victory with sweat and blood. In the rear, women, children, the elderly, and the disabled produced weapons day and night; partisans risked their lives trying to collect as much information as possible about enemy groups. The Soviet people rose to the defense of the Motherland with their breasts.
How did events develop?
Historians talk about 3 main stages. Each of them is divided into dozens of small stages, and behind every success of the Red Army are the shadows of dead soldiers.
Strategic defense. June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942
At this time, the Barbarossa plan collapsed. At the first stages, the enemy troops took Ukraine, the Baltic States and Belarus without any problems. Ahead was Moscow - an important geopolitical and economic goal. The capture of Moscow would automatically mean the fragmentation of the Red Army and the loss of control.
September 30, 1941 - January 7, 1942, i.e. for almost 4 months there were heavy battles with varying success, but the Soviet troops were able to push the enemy back.
The Battle of Moscow was Hitler's first failure. It became clear that the "blitzkrieg" had failed; the Western world saw that the "invincible Adolf" could lose; the morale and fighting spirit of the people rose.
But ahead were Stalingrad and the Caucasus. The victory near Moscow gave a "respite". A partisan struggle gradually unfolds, an anti-Hitler coalition is formed. The USSR is transferring the economy to a military footing, so the supply of the army is improving (KV-1 and T-34 tanks, Katyusha rocket launcher, IL-2 attack aircraft).
Root fracture. November 19, 1942 - end of 1943
Until the autumn of 1942, victories were either on the side of the USSR or on the side of Germany. At this stage, the strategic initiative passes into the hands of the Soviet Union: 26 strategic operations (23 of them offensive), allied assistance and lend-lease, the “first news” of the collapse of the Nazi coalition, strengthening the authority of the USSR.
All results were given in sweat and blood. At this stage, a number of major battles are distinguished, which “turned the tide” of the war.
- Battle of Stalingrad and the defeat of the German troops;
- the battle for the Dnieper;
- Kursk Bulge.
The stage ends at the end of 1943 with the liberation of Kyiv and the “forcing of the Dnieper”.
Europe liberated from Nazism. January 1944 - May 9, 1945
Recall that World War II ended on September 2, 1945. But Europe was freed from the shackles of Nazism in the spring.
In the autumn of 1944, the Soviet command carried out a number of operations to liberate the country's territory from enemy armies: Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya, Lvov-Sandomierz, Iasi-Kishinevskaya. The besieged Leningrad was liberated, which turned out to be “cut off” from food and security. Thanks to the East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, West Carpathian operations, it was possible to create all the conditions to "go to Berlin."
On May 1, 1945, Adolf Hitler takes poison and leaves the people "to their fate." The provisional government, which "by chance" was headed by K. Doenitz, in "death convulsions" is trying to bargain for a separate peace with Great Britain and France, but fails. Ahead of the tribunals, high-profile scandals, trials and sentences. On May 8, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender is signed in Karlshorst (a suburb of Berlin). Germany is defeated.
May 9, 1945 becomes Victory Day, a symbol of endless courage, unity and ability to repulse the enemy.
The Great Patriotic War is a terrible lesson in history, for which the Soviet Union paid too high a price. The exact number of dead is impossible to calculate (figures vary from source to source). But the Soviet people also faced another task - to raise the ruined economy from its knees.
THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR of 1941-1945 - the liberation war of the peoples of the USSR against Nazi Germany and its allies, the most important and decisive part of the Second World War of 1939-1945.
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Igor Tyshkevich, "Khvilya"
Frankly, I have always found it strange to listen to disputes about terminology. Especially in relation to the memory of the dead and the feat of heroes. Great Patriotic War or World War II. Whatever you call it, the feat of those who defeated fascism should not be forgotten.
And they do not forget - all over the world, they honor the memory of the departed and are proud of the living. Moreover, the status of veterans is fixed by law. In many countries. As for how to call that war, even in the post-Soviet space, both terms are used. But not in Russia. Strange, more than strange.
Decided to figure it out. Digging into history books - multiplying discussions. I decided to go the other way - to look at the reasons for the attitude of the state to terminology. And this is best done by studying the laws. Moreover, the Kremlin itself gives reasons. Remember the hype with the law, which the media dubbed the act "on the protection of historical memory"?
If you just read it - everything seems to be normal. Responsibility is introduced for the propaganda of Nazi symbols, as well as "other paraphernalia or symbols, the promotion or public demonstration of which is prohibited by federal laws" (1) .
And also a couple of phrases are added to the law of the Russian Federation "On perpetuating the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." In particular, propaganda of paraphernalia and symbols of organizations that collaborated with structures (or persons) recognized as war criminals is prohibited. There is a really interesting postscript in the list of bans. War criminals are considered to be those who are recognized as such, including “sentences by national, military or occupation tribunals, based on the verdict of the International Military Tribunal for the trial and punishment of the main war criminals of the European Axis countries (Nuremberg Tribunal) or issued during the Great Patriotic War, World War II war." (2) And here again there are two terms - the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War.
However, everything becomes clear if you look at the Russian law "On Veterans". His first articles define who a veteran of the Great Patriotic War is. Everything seems to be the same as in neighboring countries. With just one addition. Veterans of the Second World War are recognized as persons who performed combat missions on the territory of the USSR until 1957. Including "those who took part in military operations to eliminate the nationalist underground in the territories of Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the period from January 1, 1944 to December 31, 1951." It's already strange - the Patriotic War ended in 1945 - this is how textbooks teach. And the anti-Soviet underground was not fascist.
But even greater surprise awaits those who muster up the courage to read the law to the end. There are such applications there - a list of states, cities, territories and periods of hostilities with the participation of citizens of the Russian Federation (3) .
Here is section 1 in full:
Civil War: February 23, 1918 to October 1922
Soviet-Polish war: March - October 1920
Fighting in Spain: 1936 - 1939
War with Finland: from November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940
Great Patriotic War: from June 22, 1941 to May 9 (11), 1945
War with Japan: August 9, 1945 to September 3, 1945
Combat operations to eliminate the Basmachi: from October 1922 to June 1931
The fighting in the area of Lake Khasan: from July 29 to August 11, 1938
Fighting on the Khalkhin Gol River: from May 11 to September 16, 1939
Combat operations during the reunification of the USSR, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus: from September 17 to September 28, 1939
Fighting in China: from August 1924 to July 1927; October - November 1929; from July 1937 to September 1944; July - September 1945; from March 1946 to April 1949; March - May 1950 (for the personnel of the Air Defense Forces Group); from June 1950 to July 1953 (for the personnel of military units that took part in the hostilities in North Korea from the territory of China)
Fighting in Hungary: 1956
Fighting near Damansky Island: March 1969
Fighting near Lake Zhalanashkol: August 1969
Why did I do it? Answer in section 2.
“Persons who took part in wars and hostilities in the states (territories) and in the defense of cities specified in sections I and II are subject to Articles 2 and 4 of the Federal Law “On Veterans.”
That is, they are all considered veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
Stop, you say. But after all, the Second World War is a war against fascism. Yes. But according to Russian law, those who, for example, together with Nazi Germany, stormed the Brest Fortress in 1939 fought fascism in such a cunning way.
The shooting of residential buildings in Budapest from tanks in 1956 is also a fight against fascism.
Like the Korean War. By the way, the one that was fought against the international contingent sent by the decision of the UN!
All these people are veterans of the Second World War, fighters against fascism.
And now the funniest part. The status of a veteran of the Great Patriotic War is recognized to some extent by all countries of the former USSR. And international treaties within the CIS guarantee such veterans social benefits without confirmation of status by national authorities. That is, a "veteran" from the Russian Federation who came to Belarus or Ukraine is considered a veteran of the Second World War on the basis of Russian documents.
But this man probably did not fight in 1939-1945. And all his exploits were reduced to a war against the same Belarusians, Ukrainians in the 50s. Or, for example, participation in the war against UN troops. And this person, according to international obligations, should be honored on an equal footing with a real fighter against fascism.
Further more. An interesting substitution of concepts. If an ordinary politician talks about the "Russian world", it's one thing. But if a “veteran of the Patriotic War” comes forward with these theses, it is already more difficult to object - simply because of respect for age and status. And the fact that this person received the status and title was not at all for the fight against fascism is the tenth thing.
Why, Russia can erect monuments to such people. And any encroachment on them, according to Russian laws, is an encroachment on the memory of the Great Patriotic War.
Here is a quote from the law
“The monuments of the Great Patriotic War include sculptural, architectural and other memorial structures and objects that perpetuate the memory of events, participants, veterans and victims of the Great Patriotic War.”
And here is another (excerpts from article 8:
“On the basis of relevant international treaties, the Russian Federation provides for the construction, preservation and restoration of monuments ... which are located outside the territory of the Russian Federation.”
That is, he will receive, for example, the Russian Embassy in Belarus a piece of land. Let's say near Baranovichi or Novogrudok. And he will erect a monument to the brave soldiers who destroyed local residents in the 50s. Including under the guise of "national partisans". (confirmation of the application of the methodology - the manual of the higher school of the KGB (Boichenko, Eremin) Belarusian bourgeois nationalists (4) ).
And that's all, gentlemen, this is a monument to the Great Patriotic War. And if the “grateful” Belarusians try to protest, they are fascists. They are against the people's memory. Against the Great Victory.
This is how the trick comes out. And, to be honest, I am more and more inclined to the opinion - stop playing with the Great Patriotic War. Let's leave this term to Moscow. Our ancestors fought against fascism on the fronts of World War II. In 1939 defending Grodno, Pinsk, Kobrin, Brest. Then the fronts of the USSR, France, Italy. And the partisan movement in the same Belarus did not begin in 1941. But in 1939. Then, when the "veterans of the Patriotic War" were marching together with units of the Wehrmacht through the streets of Brest. The “partisan” also ended not in 1944. The last detachment left Belarus in the late 50s. This is our memory. These are our grandfathers. If the current citizens of the Russian Federation who fought in the Second World War stood shoulder to shoulder with them, respect for such veterans.
And to honor the punitive corps in Hungary, war criminals in Korea or NKVD workers who shot Belarusians, Ukrainians, citizens of the Baltic countries in the late 40s and early 50s, we will leave it to the Kremlin. These are their troops, these are their interests, this is their memory. Which has nothing to do with the fight against fascism.
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Sources.
On June 22, 1941, at 4 o'clock in the morning, fascist Germany treacherously invaded the USSR without declaring war. This attack ended the chain of aggressive actions of Hitlerite Germany, which, thanks to the connivance and instigation of the Western powers, grossly violated the elementary norms of international law, resorted to predatory seizures and monstrous atrocities in the occupied countries.
In accordance with the Barbarossa plan, the fascist offensive began on a broad front by several groupings in various directions. The army was stationed in the north "Norway" advancing on Murmansk and Kandalaksha; an army group was advancing from East Prussia to the Baltic states and Leningrad "North"; most powerful army group "Centre" had the goal of defeating units of the Red Army in Belorussia, capturing Vitebsk-Smolensk and taking Moscow on the move; army group "South" was concentrated from Lublin to the mouth of the Danube and led the attack on Kyiv - Donbass. The plans of the Nazis boiled down to delivering a surprise strike in these areas, destroying border and military units, breaking through to the rear, capturing Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv and the most important industrial centers of the southern regions of the country.
The command of the German army expected to end the war in 6-8 weeks.
190 enemy divisions, about 5.5 million soldiers, up to 50 thousand guns and mortars, 4300 tanks, almost 5 thousand aircraft and about 200 warships were thrown into the offensive against the Soviet Union.
The war began in exceptionally favorable conditions for Germany. Before the attack on the USSR, Germany captured almost all of Western Europe, whose economy worked for the Nazis. Therefore, Germany had a powerful material and technical base.
Germany's military products were supplied by 6,500 largest enterprises in Western Europe. More than 3 million foreign workers were involved in the military industry. In Western European countries, the Nazis looted a lot of weapons, military equipment, trucks, wagons and steam locomotives. The military and economic resources of Germany and its allies greatly exceeded those of the USSR. Germany fully mobilized its army, as well as the armies of its allies. Most of the German army was concentrated near the borders of the Soviet Union. In addition, imperialist Japan threatened an attack from the East, which diverted a significant part of the Soviet Armed Forces to defend the country's eastern borders. In the theses of the Central Committee of the CPSU "50 years of the Great October Socialist Revolution" an analysis of the reasons for the temporary failures of the Red Army in the initial period of the war is given. They are connected with the fact that the Nazis used temporary advantages:
- the militarization of the economy and the whole life of Germany;
- lengthy preparations for a war of conquest and more than two years of experience in conducting military operations in the West;
- superiority in armament and the number of troops concentrated in advance in the border zones.
They had at their disposal the economic and military resources of almost all of Western Europe. The miscalculations made in determining the possible timing of an attack by Nazi Germany on our country and the related omissions in preparing to repulse the first blows played their role. There were reliable data on the concentration of German troops near the borders of the USSR and the preparation of Germany for an attack on our country. However, the troops of the western military districts were not brought to a state of full combat readiness.
All these reasons put the Soviet country in a difficult position. However, the enormous difficulties of the initial period of the war did not break the fighting spirit of the Red Army, did not shake the stamina of the Soviet people. From the first days of the attack, it became clear that the blitzkrieg plan had collapsed. Accustomed to easy victories over the Western countries, whose governments betrayed their people to be torn to pieces by the occupiers, the fascists met stubborn resistance from the Soviet Armed Forces, border guards and the entire Soviet people. The war lasted 1418 days. Groups of border guards bravely fought on the border. The garrison of the Brest Fortress covered itself with unfading glory. The defense of the fortress was led by Captain I. N. Zubachev, regimental commissar E. M. Fomin, Major P. M. Gavrilov and others. (In total, about 200 rams were made during the war years). On June 26, the crew of Captain N.F. Gastello (A.A. Burdenyuk, G.N. Skorobogaty, A.A. Kalinin) crashed into a column of enemy troops on a burning plane. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers from the first days of the war showed examples of courage and heroism.
Lasted two months Smolensk battle. Born here near Smolensk soviet guard. The battle in the Smolensk region delayed the enemy advance until mid-September 1941.
During the Battle of Smolensk, the Red Army thwarted the plans of the enemy. The delay of the enemy offensive in the central direction was the first strategic success of the Soviet troops.
The Communist Party became the leading and guiding force for the defense of the country and the preparation for the destruction of the Nazi troops. From the first days of the war, the Party took urgent measures to organize a rebuff to the aggressor, carried out a huge amount of work to restructure all work on a war footing, to turn the country into a single military camp.
“For a real war,” wrote V. I. Lenin, “a strong organized rear is necessary. The best army, the most devoted to the cause of the revolution, people will be immediately exterminated by the enemy if they are not sufficiently armed, supplied with food, and trained ”(V. I. Lenin, Poln. sobr. soch., vol. 35, p. 408).
These Leninist instructions formed the basis for organizing the struggle against the enemy. On June 22, 1941, on behalf of the Soviet government, V. M. Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, spoke on the radio about the "robber" attack of fascist Germany and a call to fight the enemy. On the same day, a Decree was adopted by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the introduction of martial law on the European territory of the USSR, as well as a Decree on the mobilization of a number of ages in 14 military districts. On June 23, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution on the tasks of party and Soviet organizations in war conditions. On June 24, the Evacuation Council was formed, and on June 27, by a decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR “On the procedure for the export and placement of human contingents and valuable property”, the procedure for the evacuation of productive forces and the population to the eastern regions was determined. In the directive of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated June 29, 1941, the most important tasks for mobilizing all forces and means to defeat the enemy were set out to party and Soviet organizations in the front-line regions.
“... In the war with fascist Germany imposed on us,” this document said, “the question of life and death of the Soviet state is being decided, of whether the peoples of the Soviet Union should be free or fall into enslavement.” The Central Committee and the Soviet government urged to realize the full depth of the danger, to reorganize all work on a war footing, to organize all-round assistance to the front, to increase the production of weapons, ammunition, tanks, aircraft in every possible way, to export all valuable property in the event of the forced withdrawal of the Red Army, and to destroy what cannot be taken out , in the areas occupied by the enemy to organize partisan detachments. On July 3, the main provisions of the directive were outlined in a radio speech by IV Stalin. The directive determined the nature of the war, the degree of threat and danger, set the tasks of turning the country into a single military camp, strengthening the Armed Forces in every possible way, restructuring the work of the rear on a military basis, and mobilizing all forces to repulse the enemy. On June 30, 1941, an emergency body was created to quickly mobilize all the forces and means of the country to repel and defeat the enemy - State Defense Committee (GKO) headed by I. V. Stalin. All power in the country, state, military and economic leadership was concentrated in the hands of the State Defense Committee. It united the activities of all state and military institutions, party, trade union and Komsomol organizations.
Under war conditions, the restructuring of the entire economy on a war footing was of paramount importance. approved at the end of June "Mobilization national economic plan for the III quarter of 1941", and on August 16 "The military economic plan for the IV quarter of 1941 and for 1942 for the regions of the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia". In just five months of 1941, more than 1360 large military enterprises were relocated and about 10 million people were evacuated. Even according to bourgeois experts industry evacuation in the second half of 1941 and early 1942 and its deployment in the East should be considered among the most amazing feats of the peoples of the Soviet Union during the war. The evacuated Kramatorsk plant was launched 12 days after arriving at the site, Zaporozhye - after 20. By the end of 1941, the Urals produced 62% of iron and 50% of steel. In scope and significance, this was equal to the largest battles of wartime. The restructuring of the national economy on a war footing was completed by the middle of 1942.
The Party did a great deal of organizational work in the army. In accordance with the decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, on July 16, 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree "On the reorganization of political propaganda bodies and the introduction of the institution of military commissars". From July 16 in the Army, and from July 20 in the Navy, the institution of military commissars was introduced. During the second half of 1941, up to 1.5 million communists and more than 2 million Komsomol members were mobilized into the army (the party sent up to 40% of the entire membership to the active army). Prominent party leaders L. I. Brezhnev, A. A. Zhdanov, A. S. Shcherbakov, M. A. Suslov and others were sent to party work in the army.
On August 8, 1941, I. V. Stalin was appointed Supreme Commander of all the Armed Forces of the USSR. In order to concentrate all the functions of managing military operations, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was formed. Hundreds of thousands of communists and Komsomol members went to the front. About 300 thousand of the best representatives of the working class and intelligentsia of Moscow and Leningrad joined the ranks of the people's militia.
Meanwhile, the enemy stubbornly rushed to Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, Odessa, Sevastopol and other major industrial centers of the country. An important place in the plans of fascist Germany was occupied by the calculation of the international isolation of the USSR. However, from the very first days of the war, an anti-Hitler coalition began to take shape. Already on June 22, 1941, the British government announced its support for the USSR in the fight against fascism, and on July 12 signed an agreement on joint actions against Nazi Germany. On August 2, 1941, US President F. Roosevelt announced economic support for the Soviet Union. September 29, 1941 gathered in Moscow tri-power conference(USSR, USA and England), which developed a plan for Anglo-American assistance in the fight against the enemy. Hitler's calculation for the international isolation of the USSR failed. On January 1, 1942, a declaration of 26 states was signed in Washington anti-Hitler coalition about the use of all the resources of these countries for the struggle against the German bloc. However, the allies were in no hurry to provide effective assistance aimed at defeating fascism, trying to weaken the belligerents.
By October, the Nazi invaders, despite the heroic resistance of our troops, managed to approach Moscow from three sides, simultaneously launching an offensive on the Don, in the Crimea, near Leningrad. Heroically defended Odessa and Sevastopol. September 30, 1941 the German command begins the first, and in November - the second general offensive against Moscow. The Nazis managed to occupy Klin, Yakhroma, Naro-Fominsk, Istra and other cities of the Moscow region. Soviet troops fought a heroic defense of the capital, showing examples of courage and heroism. The 316th rifle division of General Panfilov fought to the death in fierce battles. A partisan movement unfolded behind enemy lines. About 10 thousand partisans fought near Moscow alone. On December 5-6, 1941, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive near Moscow. At the same time, offensive operations were launched on the Western, Kalinin and Southwestern fronts. The powerful offensive of the Soviet troops in the winter of 1941/42 drove the fascists back in a number of places at a distance of up to 400 km from the capital and was their first major defeat in World War II.
Main result Moscow battle consisted in the fact that the strategic initiative was wrested from the hands of the enemy and the blitzkrieg plan failed. The defeat of the Germans near Moscow was a decisive turn in the military operations of the Red Army and had a great influence on the entire subsequent course of the war.
By the spring of 1942, the production of military products was established in the eastern regions of the country. By the middle of the year, most of the evacuated enterprises were deployed in new places. The transfer of the country's economy to a military footing was largely completed. In the rear - in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Siberia, the Urals - there were more than 10 thousand industrial construction projects.
Instead of men who went to the front, women and youth came to the machines. Despite very difficult living conditions, Soviet people worked selflessly to ensure victory at the front. They worked one and a half to two shifts to restore industry and supply the front with everything necessary. All-Union socialist competition developed widely, the winners of which were awarded Red Banner GKO. In 1942 agricultural workers organized overplanned crops for the defense fund. The collective farm peasantry supplied the front and rear with food and industrial raw materials.
The situation in the temporarily occupied regions of the country was exceptionally difficult. The Nazis plundered cities and villages, mocked the civilian population. At the enterprises, German officials were appointed to oversee the work. The best lands were selected for farming for German soldiers. In all occupied settlements, German garrisons were kept at the expense of the population. However, the economic and social policy of the Nazis, which they tried to pursue in the occupied territories, immediately failed. The Soviet people, brought up on the ideas of the Communist Party, believed in the victory of the Soviet country, did not succumb to Hitler's provocations and demagogy.
Winter offensive of the Red Army in 1941/42 dealt a powerful blow to fascist Germany, to its military machine, but the Nazi army was still strong. Soviet troops fought stubborn defensive battles.
In this situation, the nationwide struggle of the Soviet people behind enemy lines played an important role, especially partisan movement.
Thousands of Soviet people went to partisan detachments. A partisan war developed widely in the Ukraine, in Belorussia and in the Smolensk region, in the Crimea and in a number of other places. In cities and villages temporarily occupied by the enemy, underground party and Komsomol organizations operated. In accordance with the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of July 18, 1941 No. "On the organization of the struggle in the rear of the German troops" 3,500 partisan detachments and groups, 32 underground regional committees, 805 city and district party committees, 5,429 primary party organizations, 10 regional, 210 inter-district city and 45 thousand primary Komsomol organizations were created. To coordinate the actions of partisan detachments and underground groups with units of the Red Army, by decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on May 30, 1942, at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the central headquarters of the partisan movement. Headquarters for the leadership of the partisan movement were formed in Belarus, Ukraine and other republics and regions occupied by the enemy.
After the defeat near Moscow and the winter offensive of our troops, the Nazi command was preparing a new major offensive with the aim of capturing all the southern regions of the country (Crimea, the North Caucasus, the Don) up to the Volga, capturing Stalingrad and tearing Transcaucasia from the center of the country. This posed an exceptionally serious threat to our country.
By the summer of 1942, the international situation had changed, characterized by the strengthening of the anti-Hitler coalition. In May - June 1942, agreements were signed between the USSR, Britain and the USA on an alliance in the war against Germany and on post-war cooperation. In particular, an agreement was reached on the opening in 1942 in Europe second front against Germany, which would have greatly accelerated the defeat of fascism. But the allies in every possible way delayed its opening. Taking advantage of this, the fascist command transferred divisions from the Western Front to the Eastern. By the spring of 1942, the Nazi army had 237 divisions, massive aviation, tanks, artillery and other types of equipment for a new offensive.
intensified Leningrad blockade, almost daily subjected to artillery fire. In May, the Kerch Strait was captured. On July 3, the High Command ordered the heroic defenders of Sevastopol to leave the city after a 250-day defense, since it was not possible to keep the Crimea. As a result of the defeat of the Soviet troops in the area of Kharkov and the Don, the enemy reached the Volga. The Stalingrad Front, created in July, took upon itself the powerful blows of the enemy. Retreating with heavy fighting, our troops inflicted huge damage on the enemy. In parallel, the fascist offensive was going on in the North Caucasus, where Stavropol, Krasnodar, Maykop were occupied. In the Mozdok area, the Nazi offensive was suspended.
The main battles unfolded on the Volga. The enemy sought to capture Stalingrad at any cost. The heroic defense of the city was one of the brightest pages of the Patriotic War. The working class, women, old people, teenagers - the entire population rose to the defense of Stalingrad. Despite the mortal danger, the workers of the tractor factory daily sent tanks to the front lines. In September, fighting broke out in the city for every street, for every house.
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Everyone knows that the Great Patriotic War ended on May 9, 1945. But if fascist Germany was defeated at that time, then the anti-fascist coalition had the last enemy left - Japan, which did not want to surrender. But little Japan, although it lost all its allies, did not think to capitulate even after 60 countries declared war on it at once, but it was the Soviet Union that put an end to World War II by declaring war on the country of the Rising Sun on August 8, 1945.
Yalta Conference
The decision to declare war on Japan by the USSR was made in the winter of 1945 during the Yalta Conference of the anti-Hitler coalition. Then, from February 4 to 11, the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, already feeling like winners, literally divided the world into pieces. Firstly, they drew new borders on the territories that had previously been occupied by Nazi Germany, and secondly, they resolved the further issue of an alliance between the West and the USSR, which lost any meaning after the end of the war.
But for us, within the framework of the article on the end of the Second World War, the decision on the fate of the Far East is much more important. According to the agreement reached by Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and, after the victory over Germany and the end of the war in Europe, the Soviet Union undertook to go to war with Japan, for which in exchange it received lost during the Russo-Japanese War (1904 - 1905 years) of the territory of the Kuril Islands. In addition, the USSR promised to lease Port Arthur and the Chinese Eastern Railway.
There is a version that it was the war with Japan that the USSR paid for the lend-lease agreement, which in the Soviet Union was called the "October 17 Program". Recall that under the treaty, the United States transferred more than 17.5 tons of ammunition, equipment, strategic raw materials and food to the USSR. In exchange, the United States demanded that the USSR, after the end of the war in Europe, launch an offensive against Japan, which attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, forcing Roosevelt to enter World War II.
Soviet-Japanese War
Be that as it may, but if not the whole world, then a significant part took up arms against Japan. So, on May 15, 1945, Japan canceled all agreements with Germany in connection with its surrender. In June of the same year, the Japanese began to prepare to repel an attack on their islands, and on July 12, the Japanese ambassador in Moscow turned to the USSR authorities with a request to become a mediator in peace negotiations. But he was informed that Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov had left for Postdam, so they could not yet answer the request. It was in Potsdam that Stalin, by the way, confirmed that the USSR would go to war with Japan. On July 26, following the results of the Potsdam Conference, the United States, Great Britain and China presented Japan with terms of surrender, which, however, were rejected. Already on August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan.
The Soviet-Japanese war consisted of the Manchurian, South Sakhalin, Kuril and three Korean landing operations. The fighting began on August 9, when the Soviet Union carried out intensive artillery preparation from the sea and land, which preceded the ground combat operations as part of the Manchurian operation. On August 11, the South Sakhalin operation began, and on August 14, the Japanese command turned to the Soviet command for a truce, while the fighting on their part did not stop. So, the surrender order was issued only on August 20, but it did not reach some troops immediately, and some even refused to obey the order, preferring to die rather than surrender.
Thus, separate military clashes continued until September 10, although the act of surrender of Japan, which marked the end of World War II, was signed on September 2.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Second World War, and in particular the war against Japan, was marked by an event that will forever remain a black spot in world history - on August 6 and 9, the United States was committed.
The official goal of the bombing was to accelerate the Japanese surrender, but many historians and political scientists believe that the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order, firstly, to prevent the USSR from strengthening its influence in the Pacific, and secondly, to take revenge on Japan for the attack to Pearl Harbor, and thirdly, to demonstrate to the USSR its nuclear power.
Whatever the reason for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it cannot be justified, and primarily because of the loss of life.
Hiroshima was the seventh largest city in Japan. 340 thousand people lived here, as well as the headquarters of the Fifth Division and the Second Main Army. In addition, the city was an important strategic supply point for the Japanese army, and it was for the latter reason that it was chosen as a target for the atomic bombing.
On the morning of August 6, 1945, several American planes were approaching on Japanese radar. At first, an air raid was announced, but due to the small number of aircraft (only three cars), it was canceled, deciding that the Americans were making another reconnaissance. However, a B-29 bomber at an altitude of 9 kilometers dropped an atomic bomb called the Little Boy, which exploded over the city at an altitude of 600 meters.
The consequences of the explosion were horrendous. Birds flying past were burned alive, people at the epicenter of the explosion turned into ashes. In the first seconds of the explosion, about 90% of people who were at a distance of 800 meters from the epicenter died. Subsequently, people died from exposure. Hiroshima was wiped off the face of the earth. About 80 thousand people died directly from the explosion. Taking into account long-term effects, more than 200 thousand people became victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Before Japan had time to recover from this tragedy, a new one followed - the bombing of Nagasaki. Initially, the United States planned to carry out an atomic attack on Nagasaki only on August 11th. But due to the worsening weather these days, the operation was postponed to August 9. The atomic bomb was dropped when the bombardier-gunner Yermit Bihan noticed the silhouette of the city stadium in the gap between the clouds. The explosion occurred at an altitude of about 500 meters. Between 60,000 and 80,000 people died directly from the explosion. In subsequent years, the number of victims increased to 140 thousand people.
No matter how terrible the consequences of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were, the US planned to drop 7 more atomic bombs on Japan - one in August, three in September and three in October. Fortunately, this did not happen.
Until now, disputes about the expediency of the atomic bombing of Japan have not subsided. Some argue that they were necessary for the surrender of Japan, while others are sure that this act is a war crime.
Significance of the Soviet-Japanese War
Many historians agree on one thing: even despite the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, without the participation of the Soviet Union in the war against Japan, the Second World War lasted for several more years. Even the leaders of the US military headquarters convinced Roosevelt that Japan would not capitulate until 1947. But this victory would cost the Americans the lives of millions of soldiers. Therefore, it was the USSR's declaration of war on Japan that became a huge contribution to accelerating the end of World War II.
It should be noted that the events of those years are still echoing in relation to Russia and Japan. Both countries are actually in a state of war, since a peace treaty between them has not been signed. The stumbling block in this matter remains the Kuril Islands, occupied by the USSR in 1945.
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