1st day of war
Hundreds of German planes invade the cloudless skies of the USSR, carrying a deadly cargo to cities, villages and military installations. Enemy aviation is carrying a strike to a depth of over 400 km. Murmansk, Smolensk, Sevastopol, Minsk, Kiev and other cities are subjected to massive raids.
Areas where troops are stationed, especially tank and motorized formations, bridges and railway junctions, headquarters and communication lines, are subjected to fierce bombardment. Buildings, military warehouses are crumbling and burning, civilians and their defenders are dying.
Fascism came to us with the war,
To rule the Russian land
And eradicate the Russian spirit,
To flood Russia with blood.
German tanks on the border with the USSR
Smolensk land burning from fascist bomb raids
German landing
Soviet rocket launchers repel the attack of the Nazi invaders, June 22, 1941.
Machine gunners of the Red Army defend themselves during the German invasion of the USSR
Wehrmacht soldiers watch the burning village
People are leaving their villages
Fights in the border area. Summer 1941
German vehicles on the march
The dead Soviet soldiers at the captured trenches
The first Russian prisoners
June 22, 1941. Sunday. This day will forever go down in history for the Soviet people as a day of tragedy, sorrow, the day of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
At the same time ... Nazi German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels reads Hitler's proclamation on the attack on the USSR on June 22, 1941. In it, he pays special attention to the preemptive attack by the USSR.
In particular, it is argued that the USSR allegedly sought to blow up Germany from the inside, preparing the seizure and Bolshevization of Western European states, the invasion of the Balkans, the capture of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.
Nazi German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels reads Hitler's proclamation on the attack on the USSR on June 22, 1941
At the Nuremberg Trials, the former head of the German press and radio broadcasting Fritzsche admits that he organized a wide campaign of anti-Soviet propaganda, trying to convince the public that it was not Germany, but the USSR, that was to blame for this war.
Hans Fritsche
190 divisions, over 4,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 47,000 guns and mortars, about 4,300 aircraft and up to 250 ships were moved by Nazi Germany along the entire huge front from the Baltic to the Black Sea. The fate of not only our state, but the entire world civilization now depends on the outcome of this war.
Joseph Goebbels notes in his diary: “June 22, 1941 (Sunday): the attack on Russia will begin at night at 3.30. It is still not entirely clear to me whether the Fuehrer's appeal will be read out on the radio immediately or only in the morning, at 7 o'clock. We want to immediately, on the first day, read on the radio a warning against sabotage groups of Russian paratroopers. A secret report from one of our agents strongly warns of such planned attempts. The international community is in complete darkness. Plus, the West will soon get relief.
The time for the announcement of the appeal must still be determined by the Fuehrer and myself. I'm on my way to the Imperial Chancellery. The Fuehrer is taking a short walk in his car. He looks completely overwhelmed. Upon his return, a discussion of the situation immediately begins. He has prepared a new appeal to the people, which is slightly superior to the other - to the soldiers. I propose a few minor changes. It is excellent and sums up the heart of the matter.
So, the offensive starts at 3.30. 160 manned divisions. The offensive line is 3,000 kilometers long. The largest concentration of troops in the world. As the hour of decision draws near, the Fuehrer is freed more and more from the terrible burden that was pressing on him. It just thaws out. It seems that all fatigue subsides from him. We walk for 3 hours through his salon. I can once again glimpse his inner world. We have no choice but to attack. This cancerous tumor must be burned out with a hot iron. Stalin must fall. Dekanozov (the then ambassador of the USSR in Germany) in Berlin again protested against the violation of the border by our aircraft. An evasive answer was given to him! Duce will be briefed on Sunday. In general terms, it is oriented during the last encounter at Brenner Pass. We ourselves determine the tendency of the struggle. It is unambiguous and clear. First of all, we use the argument that Russia's ambivalent position has hitherto prevented the resolution of the question of England. The Fuehrer highly appreciates the Peace Party in England. Otherwise, the incident with Hess would not have been hushed up so systematically.
After much hesitation, the time for the reading of the appeal was set at 5:30. By that time, the Fuhrer will know how the offensive is going, and the people and the whole world should know about it. We listened to the fanfare for an hour. At the same time, we both settled on a short tune from a song by Horst Wessel. The Fuehrer is very pleased with our work in this area. This concludes our preparations. He has been working on all this since July last year, and now the moment has come. Everything that can be done has been done. And now military happiness should decide everything ”(room 89).
The main base of the Black Sea Fleet - Sevastopol - is one of the first to take on an air strike. The enemy's attempt by a sudden raid to disable the warships and mine the exit from the Northern Bay to the sea is thwarted by the air defense units of the city and the fleet. The enemy fails to damage the bases of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.
At the same time, the enemy launched battles in the land theater. The air units of the districts did not have time to disperse and camouflage their aircraft and suffered heavy losses from surprise attacks by the enemy, who has air superiority. The troops of the Soviet Army are deprived of reliable air cover (office 79).
On land, the enemy begins his offensive with powerful artillery preparation. He unleashes a flurry of fire at border outposts, unfinished fortifications, military towns, camps, communications centers and other objects all the way from the Baltic to the Black Sea. The unexpectedness of fire raids causes large losses of personnel and weapons and in some areas disrupts the organized deployment of divisions of the border districts.
8th and 11th armies of the Baltic Special Military District, 4th Army of the Western Special District; The 22nd Panzer Division, located in Brest, loses several hundred men, over 100 tanks, more than half of its artillery and motor vehicles, ammunition and fuel supplies from artillery fire and enemy air raids. The combat capability of these troops, like many others, is becoming undermined.
Everything is "Zehr Good!"
The border guards entered into an open battle with the enemy. Armed only with small arms, they bravely meet the enemy and fight to the death in battles with him. The outposts of the Avgustovsky, Lomzhinsky, Brestsky, Vladimir-Volynsky, Peremyshl, Rava-Russky, Kagulsky and other border detachments (room 79) are distinguished by their staunchness and heroism.
In the Avgustov area, 32 border guards, headed by the head of the outpost, Lieutenant V.M.Usov and political instructor A.G. Sharapov, repulse seven fierce enemy attacks in ten hours.
Usov Viktor Mikhailovich (12/22/1916 - 06/22/1941)
The border guards of the 4th frontier outpost under the command of Senior Lieutenant I. G. Tikhonov die a heroic death in an unequal struggle, but do not leave the line on the Bug River.
At the 4th border outpost. 1941 year. From right to left: Senior Lieutenant Illarion Tikhonov - head of the 4th outpost, Mikhail Andreevich Zuikov - deputy head of the outpost for political affairs, Ivan Petrovich Belyaev - deputy political instructor
Fierce battles take place with the enemy of one of the outposts of the Vladimir-Volynsky border detachment, commanded by Lieutenant A.V. Lopatin, the valiant and selfless struggle of the outposts of Senior Lieutenant M.E. Maksimov, Lieutenants P.K. Starovoitov, F.I. V. Sachkov, F. I. Kuzmin, A. Lukyanov, N. Slyusarev and many other border guards.
It is impossible to list all the heroes of the border guards, known and remaining unknown, who heroically defended their homeland on the first day of the war.
Enemy troops also meet stubborn resistance on the line of fortified areas under construction. Where individual machine-gun and artillery battalions manage to occupy ready-made concrete structures, the enemy does not pass (room 79).
The garrison of the Brest Fortress, which consisted of a small part of the combat forces of the 6th and 42nd rifle divisions, the 33rd engineer regiment, the 9th outpost of the 17th border detachment (for almost a month), attracts the 45th and part of the forces of 31 th infantry division of the enemy and inflicts heavy losses on them.
Brest Fortress. 1941 g.
German troops are fighting at the walls of the Brest Fortress, June 1941
German soldiers during the fighting. Brest
Here are the names of the heroes of the Brest Fortress - the leaders of the defense captain I.N.Zubachev and regimental commissar E.M. Fomin, communists Major P.M.Gavrilov, captain V.V.Shablovsky, lieutenant A.M. Matevosyan, S. S. Skripnik, A. A. Kostyakov, V. I. Bytko, K. F. Kasatkin and many, many others.
Ivan Nikolaevich Zubachev
Efim Moiseevich Fomin
Peter Mikhailovich Gavrilov
Vladimir Vasilievich Shablovsky
Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov
Samvel Matevosyan
The feat of defense of Liepaja is immortal: the 67th Infantry Division under the command of Major General N.A. Dedaev, the personnel of the Liepaja Naval Base headed by Captain 1st Rank M.S.Klevensky, the border detachment under the command of Major V. I. Yakusheva, workers of Liepaja, led by secretaries of the Liepaja City Party Committee M. Buka and J. Zars.
Nikolay Alekseevich Dedaev
The immortal feat is performed by 23 soldiers of the 18th battalion, led by the communists, junior lieutenants N.G. Zimin, P.P.Seleznev and foreman I.F.Rokhin. They repel violent attacks from a numerically superior enemy. They die, having fulfilled their military duty.
In extremely unfavorable conditions, our field troops come into battle with the enemy. They move to the deployment lines already weakened.
Many units, retreating, offer organized resistance to enemy troops. Artillerymen courageously repulsed attacks of German tanks. The 9th anti-tank brigade of Colonel N.I. Polyansky in the area of Siauliai and the 1st anti-tank brigade of General KS Moskalenko in the Ukraine (office 79) are fighting bravely and skillfully.
The first battles, the first tragic minutes ...
It is very difficult for a person who was born in the second half of the twentieth century and lives at the beginning of the twenty-first to imagine how we, participants in the war, felt then, on June 22, 1941. But, thank God, there were also those who did not suffer the fate of the soldiers who died from the first bullet or were captured before they realized what had happened. This is what they tell us about that tragic day.
Vladimir Ilyashenko, sergeant, machine gunner:
“The day before, on Saturday, we boys went to the Zarafshan River to fish. On Sunday we went fishing, happy with the catch, not knowing that the war had begun.
On the street next to ours, fellow guys told us: "The USSR is at war with Germany, and you go fishing." We didn't believe it at first. After all, we had a peace treaty with Germany, but when we came home, we heard the same from our parents. There had been talk of a possible German attack on the USSR before, but no one believed it.
Without even eating, we gathered in the courtyard to talk. We regretted that we would not have time to fight. After all, the Germans will quickly be defeated. At that time we were fifteen or sixteen years old, and we were not yet subject to conscription. We were all in an arch-patriotic mood.
“We need to go to the military registration and enlistment office and strive to be sent to the front,” these were our statements. But there were also objections. They doubted that they would understand us ".
The enemy is on the offensive
Gennady Kirkevich, military engineer:
“We took up positions on a hill near Dubossary. The hill was covered with a small forest, but the German aviation saw our positions and gave a tip to the German artillery. The fire was continuous and very strong. Moreover, Messerschmitts and Henkels were still firing at us from above. In addition to machine guns, the planes were also armed with howling sirens to influence the psyche. During the dive, the sirens sounded. For many of my fighters, this had a profound effect. I remember: twisted faces and bulging eyes. But I ordered them to lie face down to the ground and wait for my signal to throw. Especially one Tatar could not calm down, I do not remember his name, he screamed in horror. I had to poke him in the ass with a bayonet. At the right moment, we ran to another position. Artillery was supposed to come to help us, but the help was still insufficient. Finally, we were replaced by some artillery units and other military formations, and we began to withdraw from Dubossary. "
Messerschmitts BF 109
German bomber Heinkel Non-111N
The HE-111 bomber was the backbone of German bomber aviation in 1941.
Vladimir Vinogradov, foreman, infantryman:
“Three days before June 22, an order came to hang blankets on the windows at night, to darken and sleep in uniform ... The personnel were given ammunition and gas masks. The commanding staff was transferred to the barracks position. On the evening of June 21, the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Mkrtychev, summoned all the commanders and political workers and once again stressed that no one should leave the unit: the most alarming messages are coming from the border, anything can happen. At 6 o'clock in the morning we were again alerted. As in the previous days, we left the unit, not knowing that the war had already begun ... About an hour later in the direction of the city of Lutsk, where the headquarters of the 5th Army was located, we saw the first air battle in which we took part a dozen and a half aircraft, ours and German. We looked through binoculars who had them, but it was difficult to distinguish which planes were ours, which were German. Several planes were shot down and fell down with burning candles. This was the first impression of the war. It became somehow creepy ... When we drove into Lutsk, there was no other road, the city was already on fire in many places. And houses were burning on both sides, cars were passing between the flaming houses at high speed ... On the same day we destroyed the German troops who were trying to seize the bridge across a rather wide river, and then moved on to the border, where we soon met with German field troops. " ...
The invasion of German soldiers in one of the villages
Victor Vargin, infantryman:
“The first day, June 22, I remember well. The day was sunny and clear. Our house was on the outskirts of Hanko near some kind of battery, we also got food from there. I don't know what kind of battery it was - a long-range one, or what? I had an appointment with the girl at 12 o'clock, and at one o'clock the start of the war was announced. Of course, the girl did not come. It's just a fact, an interesting detail. And at six o'clock in the evening there was a raid on Hanko by German planes. I remember now - the whole sky is covered with white umbrellas of gaps. Pooh! Pooh! And I hear you slap! Slap! Fragments from anti-aircraft shells fall. "
Valentina Avanesova, candidate of pedagogical sciences:
“After the ball at school 439, the 10th grade graduates on Sunday 22 June decided to continue the joyful holiday in nature in Kuzminki. And I, who got the first job in my life as a pioneer leader of a factory pioneer camp, on June 22, 1941 at the Yaroslavl station with excitement greeted my future wards. It was a wonderful day. The brass band of the defense plant No. 252 was playing. Merry marches and songs created a festive atmosphere. Small groups of pioneers arrived at the station - children of workers and employees of the plant. In white panama hats and shirts and with red ties, cheerful and noisy, they gave the impression of truly happy children. I was in "seventh heaven" from the consciousness of my future useful work with them. And suddenly something incomprehensible, alarming began at the station. People were talking in anticipation of an important radio message. And it started. In tense silence, people listened to the radio speech of VM Molotov. War! Hitlerite Germany attacked our country! And yet we went to the pioneer camp. In the train cars, everyone was silent - adults and children. I still feel this disturbing silence now, many decades later ”.
People learned about the war
June 22, 1941. The Central Committee of the party convenes a meeting in the Kremlin, which is attended by the first secretaries of the district party committees of the capital. At the meeting it was reported that the Central Committee of the party supports the patriotic movement of the working people of Moscow and Leningrad, who called for the creation of many thousands of people's militia on a voluntary basis. This decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) in a few hours becomes known to all residents of the capital.
12 hours 15 minutes June 22 ... On the instructions of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Soviet government, the deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. On behalf of the government, he calls on the Soviet people to rebuff the aggressor and expresses firm confidence in victory over him (office 4).
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (Scriabin)
The building of the Central Telegraph on Gorky Street, where in 1941 the Radio Committee studio was located, from which Molotov spoke
Residents of Moscow listen to the radio speech of V.M.Molotov about the German attack on the USSR
Yuri Levitan announces the beginning of the war on the radio
After VM Molotov's speech, large-scale rallies were organized at the enterprises and factories of Moscow, at which Muscovites vow to devote all their strength to defeat the enemy.
Meeting at the "Hammer and Sickle" plant (Moscow, June 1941)
Meeting at the Leningrad Kirov plant about the beginning of the war
A group of people, among whom was a seaman of the Baltic Fleet, attentively listens to Molotov's speech
By that time. Fierce fighting has been going on in the west of the country for six hours. German planes bomb airfields, Wehrmacht soldiers enter cities and villages, killing and capturing thousands of Red Army soldiers. At this time, the garrison of the Brest Fortress fights surrounded, suffering heavy losses. Many of its defenders, like thousands of other soldiers of the Red Army, perish much earlier - in the first minutes of the war, when a hail of enemy artillery shells falls on the barracks.
The image of a soldier who died in the very first battle, without firing a single shot, without even seeing his enemy, is a tragic image, personifying all those who were taken by surprise by the war - the French in the Ardennes in May 1940, the Poles on the island of Westerplatte, who On September 1, 1939, the Americans were killed by shells from the battleship Schleswig-Holstein at the naval base in Pearl Harbor. The same thing happened with a huge number of Red Army soldiers on Sunday morning, June 22, 1941. They did not understand what was happening and died under the bombs of German planes.
They, of course, knew that there would be a war. Everyone who served in the Red Army in the summer of 1941 spoke about this. All as one say that on the night of June 22, most of the military units stationed near the western state borders were put on high alert. Even a week before the start of the war, they talked about it almost openly, as something inevitable. And yet, human nature is such that he will believe in the best to the last. So the Red Army men believed in an almost incredible non-aggression pact, they believed in Stalin, who insisted that if there was a war, it would be only with little blood on enemy territory, they turned a blind eye to the obvious preparations on the other side of the border, reports of scouts, defectors, to common sense, finally. Such faith cannot be destroyed with one blow! The Red Army men died in the first minutes of the war, not having time to realize that it would last for many years.
Or they survived ... Looking at the photographs of the soldiers who surrendered in June 1941, it is clear that they could not even really understand what had happened, did not have time to get scared ...
Soviet soldiers (left) march to the German rear with their hands up, and a column of German soldiers is heading to the front in the first days of hostilities between Germany and the USSR
The first refugees
At the same time. In order to mobilize all the forces of the Soviet people to repulse the enemy, as well as to ensure public order and state security in the country, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopts a number of decrees: announcing the mobilization of citizens of 1905-1918 from June 23rd. birth (contingent born in 1919–1922 was in active military service) in the territory of 14 military districts; martial law is introduced in the Karelo-Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Byelorussian, Ukrainian SSR, Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Moscow, Moscow and a number of other regions of the Russian Federation.
ORDER OF THE PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE USSR
On the mobilization of those liable for military service in the Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kiev special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North Caucasian and Transcaucasian military districts
On the basis of article 49, paragraph "l" of the Constitution of the USSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces the mobilization in the territory of military districts - Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kiev special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North Caucasian and Transcaucasian.
Persons liable for military service born from 1905 to 1918 inclusive are subject to mobilization.
Chairman of the Presidium
Of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR M. KALININ
Secretary of the Presidium
Of the Supreme Council A. GORKIN
Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council
on the mobilization of those liable for military service.
In accordance with the Decree "On martial law", all functions of state authorities in areas declared under martial law are transferred to the military authorities - military councils of fronts, armies, military districts, and where they do not exist - to the command of military formations. At the same time, the provision on military tribunals in areas declared under martial law and in areas of hostilities is being approved.
13.00 h. June, 22 ... The head of the local air defense (MAPD) of the city of Moscow, brigade commander S. A. Frolov introduces in the capital a threatened position in the MAP for the entire population, heads of enterprises, institutions and house administrations of the city (room 4).
14.00 h. June, 22. Huge queues form at the doors of military enlistment offices, among which there are 17-year-olds from many Moscow and Moscow region schools. Schoolchildren are denied mobilization for the front. The next day they will again come to the military registration and enlistment office and will stand there until, at last, they will not be taken into the militia units.
Young workers, mobilized into the ranks of the Red Army, go to the location of their unit
Enrollment in the volunteer people's squads also goes through the Komsomol. Basically, mobilization goes through the district committees of the Komsomol. Here enrollment is made in military schools and special units of the Red Army (sabotage and reconnaissance detachments, guards mortar units, airborne troops, etc.), fighter detachments, air defense units and in the direction of Komsomol members for the construction of defensive structures (room 3) ...
The news of the creation of divisions of the people's militia quickly spreads around all enterprises and institutions in Moscow. “The workers of the Republic of Kazakhstan, its secretaries,” recalls Major Nekhayev, the former commissar of the headquarters of the 9th rifle division of the people's militia, “completely devoted themselves to organizing their own combat division. At the call of the party, old and young communists, cadres and young workers, intellectuals and civil servants flooded into the unit.
Hood. D. Moore
Enrollment in the Red Army at the factory
The workers of the Kirov plant in Leningrad go to the front
18:00 June 22. On the territory of each district of Moscow and the Moscow region, recruiting centers are created: one or two assembly points for private and junior command personnel (each with a capacity of 1,800 people per day. For example, in the Moskvoretsky district - in the Kalinin club (Dobryninskaya sq., 62) , one assembly point for the commanding staff (in the Kirovsky district - in the premises of school No. 514) and one or two collection points for vehicles (in the Moskvoretsky district - in the house of Gorvnutorg (Arbuzovsky lane). political instructors of teams, agitators, etc.).
At the same time, recruitment of volunteers is carried out at the place of work, as well as at the place of residence for single volunteers. In this regard, a resident of the Kirovsky district, for example, who worked in the Kievsky district, turns out to be a fighter not in the division of his own district, but in the division of the people's militia of the Kievsky district, etc. All these factors mentioned above will lead to great difficulties in clarifying the fate of the Moscow militia. In addition, the militias of a number of Moscow districts, instead of the people's militia divisions, are assigned to the regular divisions of the Red Army (room 3).
At the collection point in Moscow
June 22 evening ... In all parishes, a "Message" is read from the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Sergius: "Let's remember the leaders of the Russian people ... Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, who laid down their souls for the people and the Motherland."
From archival materials and documents of the current period
23 hours (GMT) June 22 ... Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses British citizens with the following words:
W. Churchill
“I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes, where their mothers and wives pray - yes, for there are times when everyone prays - for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, their protector and support. I see tens of thousands of Russian villages, where livelihoods are pulled out with such difficulty from the earth, but where there are primordial human joys, where girls laugh and children play. I see the vile Nazi war machine approaching all this, with its dapper, rattling spurs of Prussian officers, with its skillful agents who have just pacified and tied a dozen countries hand and foot. I also see a gray drilled obedient mass of fierce Hunnic soldiers approaching like clouds of crawling locusts. In the sky I see German bombers and fighters with unhealed scars from the wounds inflicted on them by the British, rejoicing that they have found what they think are easier and more reliable prey. Behind all this noise and thunder, I see a bunch of villains who plan, organize and bring this avalanche of disasters to humanity ... ”.
When the late Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the famous 20th century English commander, was asked to compile a list of military mistakes to avoid, he wrote at number one: “Invasion of Russia. It's always a bad idea. " As if in confirmation of this and many other statements of various historical figures, including the "iron chancellor" of Germany Otto von Bismarck, exactly three years after the German invasion of the USSR - June 22, 1944 - the Soviet command launched Operation Bagration. Later, historians will call this operation a "catastrophe" for the German army. By the way, they also called the German operation "Barbarossa" for the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.
Hood. I. M. Toidze
This text is an introductory fragment.508th day of the war The situation of the Soviet troops in Stalingrad continues to deteriorate. The representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command A.M. Vasilevsky stated: “While our troops on the Stalingrad direction focused all their attention on training
From the author's book509th day of the war From July to November 1942, in battles in the Don, Volga and Stalingrad regions, the enemy loses up to 700 thousand people, more than a thousand tanks, over 2 thousand guns and mortars, and up to 1400 aircraft. The general operational position of the German troops in the Volga region is becoming more complicated.
From the author's book510th day of war The counter-offensive plan was finally approved on November 13, 1942 after the report of G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky by the State Defense Committee chaired by I.V. Stalin. Supreme Commander-in-Chief I. V. Stalin, who devoted a lot of time
From the author's book511th day of the war The leaders of the Hitlerite army and the troops allied with it believe that the Red Army is incapable of widespread offensive operations. The commander of the Italian troops on the Soviet-German front, General Messe on November 14, 1942, that is, almost on the eve of the transition
From the author's book512th day of the war By the middle of November 1942, the German offensive was running out of steam and the operational position of the units advancing on Stalingrad was extremely unfavorable. Both flanks of the enemy grouping are covered by Soviet troops. In the same period
From the author's book513th day of the war November 16, 1942 After four months of intense fighting in Stalingrad, Soviet troops annihilated more than 6 thousand Nazis. Day after day, the Nazi army is losing thousands and thousands of its soldiers and officers. The Nazis have long been preparing to announce the capture
From the author's book514th day of the war The 125-day defensive battle of the Soviet troops between the Volga and Don rivers ended. The troops of the fronts were firmly entrenched and inflicted blows on the enemy in one sector or another, creating a tense situation that did not allow him to regroup
From the author's book515th day of the war Preparations for the counteroffensive have been completed. Despite the extremely short time allotted for preparation, the three fronts manage to regroup and take the starting position for the offensive. Staff workers, chiefs of combat arms and services as
From the author's book448th day of the war September 12, 1942 From this day begins the second stage of the Stalingrad defensive operation, which is characterized by the fact that on the near approaches to Stalingrad, Soviet soldiers will have to repel an even more frenzied onslaught of the enemy. Red Army troops and this
From the author's book449th day of the war At Stalingrad, the fascist troops have superiority in forces and means, as well as the initiative of action. They have a large number of vehicles, which provides them with a significant advantage in maneuvering. To this day, the enemy has focused on
From the author's book469th day of the war Difficult tasks are put forward for the Red Army. After long and difficult defensive battles, it will have to deploy broad offensive actions and wrest the strategic initiative from the enemy. The main efforts are supposed to be concentrated in the south, in
From the author's bookJune 6: D-Day (1738th War Day) Even when only a few hours remained until D-Day, the deception continued. In accordance with the plans for Operations Texable and Glimmer, a squadron of British Lancasters dropped a huge number of strips of aluminum foil. Made
“On June 21 at 21.00, a soldier who escaped from the German army, Alfred Liskov, was detained at the site of the Sokal commandant's office. Since there was no interpreter in the commandant's office, I ordered the commandant of the area, Captain Bershadsky, to deliver the soldier to the city of Vladimir by a truck to the headquarters of the detachment.
At 0.30 on June 22, 1941, the soldier arrived in the city of Vladimir-Volynsk. Through an interpreter at about 1 am, soldier Liskov indicated that on June 22 at dawn the Germans should cross the border. I immediately reported this to the officer in charge of the headquarters of the troops, brigade commissar Maslovsky. At the same time, I personally told the commander of the 5th Army, Major General Potapov, by telephone, who was suspicious of my message, not taking it into account.
I personally was also not firmly convinced of the veracity of the message of the soldier Liskov, but nevertheless called the commandants of the precincts and ordered to strengthen the protection of the state border, to put up rumors on the river. Bug and in the event of a crossing of the Germans across the river, destroy them with fire. At the same time I ordered that if anything suspicious is noticed (any movement on the adjacent side), immediately report to me personally. I was at the headquarters all the time.
The commandants of the polling stations at 1.00 on June 22 reported to me that nothing suspicious was noticed on the adjacent side, everything was calm ... "("The mechanisms of war" with reference to the Russian State Archive, f. 32880, on. 5, d. 279, l. 2. Copy).
Despite doubts about the reliability of the information transmitted by the German soldier, and the skeptical attitude towards it on the part of the commander of the 5th Army, it was promptly transferred to the "top".
From a telephone message from the UNKGB in the Lviv region to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR.
" On June 22, 1941, at 3:10 am, the UNKGB in the Lviv region transmitted the following message by telephone to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR: “A German corporal who crossed the border in the Sokal region showed the following: his surname was Alfred Germanovich Liskov, 30 years old, a worker, a carpenter of a furniture factory in Kolberg (Bavaria), where he left his wife, child, mother and father.
The corporal served in the 221st engineer regiment of the 15th division. The regiment is located in the village of Tselezha, 5 km north of Sokal. Drafted into the army from the reserve in 1939.
He considers himself a communist, is a member of the Union of Red Front Soldiers, says that life in Germany is very difficult for soldiers and workers.
Before the evening, his company commander, Lieutenant Schultz, gave an order and said that tonight, after artillery preparation, their unit would begin crossing the Bug on rafts, boats and pontoons. As a supporter of the Soviet regime, having learned about this, he decided to run to us and inform us. "("History in documents" with reference to "1941. Documents". Soviet archives. "Izvestia of the Central Committee of the CPSU", 1990, No. 4. ").
G.K. Zhukov recalls: "At about 24 hours on June 21, the commander of the Kiev district, MP Kirponos, who was at his command post in Ternopil, reported on high frequency [...] another German soldier appeared in our units - 222- 1st Infantry Regiment of the 74th Infantry Division. He swam across the river, appeared to the border guards and said that at 4 o'clock the German troops would go on the offensive. MP Kirponos was ordered to quickly transmit a directive to the troops on bringing them to combat readiness ... ".
However, there was no time left. The above-mentioned head of the 90th border detachment M.S. Bychkovsky continues his testimony as follows:
"... In view of the fact that the translators in the detachment are weak, I summoned a German teacher from the city who speaks excellent German, and Liskov repeated the same thing again, that is, that the Germans are preparing to attack the USSR at dawn on June 22, 1941. himself a communist and said that he had come to warn him on his own initiative.
Without finishing the questioning of the soldier, I heard heavy artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant's office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was confirmed immediately by the interrogated soldier. Immediately began to call the commandant, but the connection was broken ... "(cit. ist.) The Great Patriotic War began.
03:00 - 13:00, General Staff - Kremlin. The first hours of the war
Was the German attack on the USSR completely unexpected? What did the generals, the General Staff and the People's Commissariat of Defense do in the first hours of the war? There is a version that the beginning of the war was simply overslept - both in the border units and in Moscow. Confusion and panic arose with the news about the bombing of Soviet cities and about the transition of fascist troops to the offensive in the capital.
GK Zhukov recalls the events of that night: “On the night of June 22, 1941, all employees of the General Staff and the People's Commissariat of Defense were ordered to remain in their places. At that time, the People's Commissar of Defense and I were in continuous negotiations with the commanders of the districts and chiefs of staff, who reported to us about the growing noise on the other side of the border. This information they received from the border guards and the forward units of the cover. Everything indicated that the German troops were moving closer to the border. "
The first message about the beginning of the war came to the General Staff at 0300 hours on June 22, 1941.
Zhukov writes: “At 0300 hours I received a call on HF from the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, FS Oktyabrsky, and said: full combat readiness. I ask for instructions "[...]
“At 4 o'clock I again talked to FS. Oktyabrsky. He reported in a calm tone: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike at the ships was thwarted. But there is destruction in the city. "
As can be seen from these lines, the Black Sea Fleet did not take the beginning of the war by surprise. The air attack was repulsed.
03.30: Chief of Staff of the Western District, General Klimovskikh, reported on the enemy air raid on the cities of Belarus.
03:33 The chief of staff of the Kiev district, General Purkaev, reported on the air raid on the cities of Ukraine.
03:40: The commander of the Baltic region, General Kuznetsov, reported on the raid on Kaunas and other cities.
03:40: People's Commissar of Defense S. K. Timoshenko ordered Chief of the General Staff G. K. Zhukov to call Stalin at Blizhnyaya Dacha and report on the beginning of hostilities. After listening to Zhukov, Stalin ordered:
Come with Tymoshenko to the Kremlin. Tell Poskrebyshev to summon all the members of the Politburo.
04.10: The Western and Baltic special districts reported on the beginning of hostilities by German troops in the land sectors.
At 4:30 am, members of the Politburo, People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko and Chief of the General Staff Zhukov gathered in the Kremlin. Stalin asked to urgently contact the German embassy.
The embassy said that Ambassador Count von Schulenburg asked to be received for an urgent message. Molotov went to meet with Schulenberg. Returning to the office, he said:
The German government has declared war on us.
At 7:15 am, JV Stalin signed a directive to the Armed Forces of the USSR on repelling Hitler's aggression.
At 0930 hours, in the presence of S.K. Timoshenko and G.K. Zhukov, J.V. Stalin edited and signed a decree on mobilization and the imposition of martial law in the European part of the country, as well as on the formation of the Headquarters of the High Command and a number of other documents ...
On the morning of June 22, it was decided that at 12 o'clock VM Molotov would address the peoples of the Soviet Union with a Statement of the Soviet Government.
"JV Stalin," recalls Zhukov, "being seriously ill, of course, could not make an appeal to the Soviet people. He, together with Molotov, drew up a statement."
"At about 13 o'clock, J. V. Stalin called me," Zhukov writes in his memoirs, "and said:
Our front commanders do not have sufficient experience in directing the combat operations of troops and, apparently, were somewhat confused. The Politburo has decided to send you to the Southwestern Front as a representative of the Headquarters of the High Command. We will send Shaposhnikov and Kulik to the Western Front. I called them to my place and gave the appropriate instructions. You need to fly immediately to Kiev and from there, together with Khrushchev, go to the front headquarters in Ternopil.
I asked:
And who will be in charge of the General Staff in such a difficult situation?
J.V. Stalin replied:
Leave Vatutin to yourself.
Don't waste your time, we'll manage it somehow.
I called home not to be expected, and after 40 minutes I was already in the air. Then I just remembered that I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. The pilots helped me out by treating me to strong tea with sandwiches. " (the chronology is based on the memoirs of G.K. Zhukov).
05:30. Hitler announces the beginning of the war with the USSR
On June 22, 1941, at 5:30 a.m., Reich Minister Dr. Goebbels, in a special broadcast on Greater German Radio, read out Adolf Hitler's address to the German people in connection with the outbreak of the war against the Soviet Union.
“... Today, 160 Russian divisions are stationed on our border,” the appeal said. “In recent weeks, there have been continuous violations of this border, not only ours, but also in the far north and in Romania. that they carelessly fly over this border, as if they want to show us that they already feel they are the masters of this territory.On the night of June 17-18, Russian patrols again invaded the territory of the Reich and were driven out only after a long skirmish. But now the hour has come when it is necessary to oppose this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow.
German people! At this moment, the greatest military action in its length and volume that the world has ever seen is taking place. Allied with the Finnish comrades are the fighters of the victor at Narvik near the Arctic Ocean. German divisions under the command of the conqueror of Norway, together with the Finnish heroes of the struggle for freedom under the command of their marshal, defend Finnish soil. The formations of the German eastern front are deployed from East Prussia to the Carpathians. On the banks of the Prut and in the lower reaches of the Danube to the Black Sea coast, Romanian and German soldiers are united under the command of the head of state Antonescu.
The task of this front is no longer to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and thereby save everyone.
Therefore, today I decided to put the fate and future of the German Reich and our people back into the hands of our soldiers. May the Lord help us in this struggle! "
Battles all along the front
Fascist troops launched an offensive along the entire front. Not everywhere did the attack develop according to the scenario conceived by the German General Staff. The Black Sea Fleet repulsed an air raid. In the south, in the north, the Wehrmacht failed to gain an overwhelming advantage. Heavy positional battles began here.
Army Group North ran into fierce resistance from Soviet tank crews near the town of Alytus. Capturing the crossing of the Niemen was critical to the advancing German forces. Here, units of the 3rd Panzer Group of the Nazis stumbled upon organized resistance from the 5th Panzer Division.
Only dive bombers managed to break the resistance of the Soviet tankers. The 5th Panzer Division had no air cover, and under threat of destruction of manpower and materiel began to withdraw.
Bombers dived into Soviet tanks until noon on June 23rd. The division lost almost all armored vehicles and, in fact, ceased to exist. However, on the first day of the war, the tankers did not leave the line and stopped the advance of the fascist troops inland.
The main blow of the German troops fell on Belarus. Here the Brest Fortress stood in the way of the Nazis. In the first seconds of the war, a hail of bombs fell on the city, followed by heavy artillery fire. After that, parts of the 45th Infantry Division went on the attack.
Hurricane fire of the Nazis caught the defenders of the fortress by surprise. However, the garrison, which numbered 7-8 thousand people, put up fierce resistance to the advancing German units.
By midday on June 22, the Brest Fortress was completely surrounded. Part of the garrison managed to escape from the "cauldron", part was blocked and continued to resist.
By the evening of the first day of the war, the Nazis managed to capture the southwestern part of the fortified city, the northeast was under the control of Soviet troops. Pockets of resistance remained in the territories controlled by the Nazis.
Despite the complete encirclement and the overwhelming superiority in people and technology, the Nazis failed to break the resistance of the defenders of the Brest Fortress. Clashes continued here until November 1941.
Air supremacy battle
From the first minutes of the war, the USSR Air Force entered into a fierce battle with enemy aircraft. The attack was sudden, some of the aircraft did not manage to rise from the airfields and were destroyed on the ground. The biggest blow was taken by the Belarusian Military District. The 74th Assault Aviation Regiment, which was based in Pruzhany, was attacked at about 4 o'clock in the morning by Messerschmites. The regiment did not have air defense systems, the planes were not dispersed, as a result of which the enemy aircraft smashed the equipment as at a training ground.
A completely different situation developed in the 33rd Fighter Aviation Regiment. Here the pilots entered the battle as early as 3.30 am, when a German plane was shot down by Lieutenant Mochalov's flight over Brest. This is how the site of the Aviation Encyclopedia "Corner of the Sky" describes the battle of the 33rd IAP (article by A. Gulyas):
"Soon about 20 He-111 flew into the airfield of the regiment under the cover of a small group of Bf-109. At that time there was only one squadron, which took off and entered the battle. Soon it was joined by the other three squadrons returning from patrolling the Brest-Kobrin area. The enemy lost 5 aircraft in the battle. Two He-111s were destroyed by Lieutenant Gudimov. The last victory he won at 5.20 am, ramming a German bomber. Twice more, the regiment successfully intercepted large groups of Heinkels on the distant approaches to the airfield. already in the last liters of fuel, the I-16 regiments were attacked by Messerschmitts. No one was able to take off to help. The airfield was under continuous attack for almost an hour.
The 123 Fighter Aviation Regiment, whose airfield was located near the town of Imenin, as well as the 74th Attack Aviation Regiment, did not have anti-aircraft cover. However, its pilots were in the air from the first minutes of the war:
"By 5.00 am BN Surin already had a personal victory - he shot down Bf-109. On the fourth sortie, being seriously wounded, he brought his" seagull "to the airfield, but could no longer land. Obviously, he died in the cockpit while leveling ... Boris Nikolayevich Surin fought 4 battles, personally shot down 3 German planes. At sunset, two Bf-109s were sent as victims of his brisk "seagulls"! .. "- the Aviation Encyclopedia informs.
"At about eight in the morning, four fighters piloted by Mr. M.P. Mozhaev, officers G.N.Zhidov, P.S. Ryabtsev and Nazarov flew against eight Messerschmitts-109s. , the Germans knocked it out. Rescuing a comrade, Mozhaev shot down one fascist. Zhidov set fire to the second. Having expended the ammunition, Ryabtsev rammed the third enemy. Thus, in this battle the enemy lost 3 cars, and we lost one. For 10 hours, the pilots of the 123rd IAP fought heavy battles, making 10 -14 and even 17 sorties. Technicians, working under enemy fire, ensured the readiness of the aircraft. During the day, the regiment shot down about 30 (according to other sources, more than 20) enemy aircraft, losing 9 of its own in the air. "
Unfortunately, in the absence of communications and the reigning confusion, the timely delivery of ammunition and fuel was not organized. Combat vehicles fought to the last drop of gasoline and the last bullet. Then they froze dead on the airfield and became easy prey for the Nazis.
The total losses of Soviet aircraft on the first day of the war amounted to 1,160 aircraft.
12:00. Radio speech by V.M. Molotov
At noon on June 22, 1941, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov read out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union:
"CITIZENS AND CITIZENS OF THE SOVIET UNION!
The Soviet government and its head, Comrade Stalin, instructed me to make the following statement:
Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without making any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombarded our cities from their planes - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Enemy aircraft raids and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory.
This unheard-of attack on our country is treachery unparalleled in the history of civilized nations. The attack on our country was carried out in spite of the fact that a non-aggression pact was concluded between the USSR and Germany and the Soviet government fulfilled all the terms of this treaty with all conscientiousness. The attack on our country was carried out in spite of the fact that during the entire period of the validity of this treaty the German government could never present a single claim to the Soviet Union regarding the fulfillment of the treaty. All responsibility for this predatory attack on the Soviet Union falls entirely on the German fascist rulers.
Already after the attack, the German ambassador in Moscow Schulenburg, at 5:30 in the morning, made me, as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, a statement on behalf of his government that the German government had decided to launch a war against the Soviet Union in connection with the concentration of Red Army units near the eastern German border.
In response to this, on behalf of the Soviet government, I declared that until the last minute the German government had not made any claims to the Soviet government, that Germany had attacked the Soviet Union, despite the peace-loving position of the Soviet Union, and that thereby Nazi Germany was the attacking party. ...
On behalf of the government of the Soviet Union, I must also declare that at no point did our troops and our aviation violate the border, and therefore the statement made this morning by the Romanian radio that allegedly Soviet aviation fired at Romanian airfields is a complete lie and a provocation. The same lie and provocation is the whole of today's declaration of Hitler, who is trying, retroactively, to concoct accusatory material about the Soviet Union's failure to comply with the Soviet-German pact.
Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already been accomplished, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repulse the robbery attack and expel the German troops from the territory of our homeland.
This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose sufferings we well understand, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French, Czechs, Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples ...
The Government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and the brave falcons of Soviet aviation will honor their duty to the homeland, to the Soviet people, and deal a crushing blow to the aggressor.
This is not the first time our people have had to deal with an attacking arrogant enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon's campaign in Russia with the Patriotic War, and Napoleon was defeated, came to his collapse. The same will happen with the arrogant Hitler, who has announced a new campaign against our country, the Red Army and all our people will once again wage a victorious patriotic war for the homeland, for honor, for freedom.
The government of the Soviet Union expresses its firm conviction that the entire population of our country, all workers, peasants and intellectuals, men and women, will treat their duties and work with due consciousness. Our entire people must now be united and united as never before. Each of us must demand from ourselves and from others discipline, organization, dedication, worthy of a real Soviet patriot, in order to meet all the needs of the Red Army, navy and aviation in order to ensure victory over the enemy.
The government calls on you, citizens and women of the Soviet Union, to rally your ranks even more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader, Comrade Stalin.
Our cause is right. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".
The first atrocities of the fascists
The first case of atrocities by the German army on the territory of the Soviet Union falls on the first day of the war. On June 22, 1941, the Nazis, advancing, broke into the village of Albinga in the Klaipeda region of Lithuania.
The soldiers robbed and burned down all the houses. Residents - 42 people - were herded into a barn and locked up. During the day on June 22, the Nazis killed several people - beaten to death or shot.
The next morning, the systematic destruction of people began. Groups of peasants were taken out of the barn and shot in cold blood. First, all the men, then the turn came to women and children. Those who tried to escape into the forest were shot in the back.
In 1972, a memorial ensemble to the victims of fascism was created near Ablinga.
The first summary of the Great Patriotic War
RED ARMY MAIN COMMAND SUMMARY
for 22.VI. - 1941
At dawn on June 22, 1941, the regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the BALTIC to the BLACK SEA and during the first half of the day they were restrained by them. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced units of the field forces of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and KRISTYNOPOL areas did the enemy manage to achieve insignificant tactical successes and occupy the townships of KALVARIA, STOYANUV and TSEKHANOVETS (the first two are 15 km away and the last 10 km away from the border).
Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and settlements, but everywhere they met a decisive rebuff from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy aircraft. from the RIA Novosti funds
23:00 (GMT). Winston Churchill's speech on BBC radio
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on June 22 at 23:00 GMT made a statement in connection with the aggression of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union.
"... The Nazi regime has the worst features of communism," he said in particular on the BBC radio. Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than I. I will not take back a single word that I said about it.But all this pales before the spectacle unfolding now.The past with its crimes, madness and tragedies is disappearing.
I see Russian soldiers standing on the doorstep of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial.
I see them guarding their homes, where their mothers and wives pray - yes, for there are times when everyone prays - for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, their protector and support.
I see tens of thousands of Russian villages, where livelihoods are pulled out with such difficulty from the earth, but where there are primordial human joys, where girls laugh and children play.
I see the vile Nazi war machine approaching all this, with its dapper, rattling spurs of Prussian officers, with its skillful agents who have just pacified and tied a dozen countries hand and foot.
I also see a gray drilled obedient mass of fierce Hunnic soldiers approaching like clouds of crawling locusts.
In the sky I see German bombers and fighters with unhealed scars from the wounds inflicted on them by the British, rejoicing that they have found what they think are easier and more reliable prey.
Behind all this noise and thunder, I see a bunch of villains who plan, organize and bring this avalanche of disasters to humanity ... must speak up immediately, without a single day of delay. I have to make a statement, but can you doubt what our policy will be?
We have only one, single, unchanging goal. We are determined to destroy Hitler and all traces of the Nazi regime. Nothing can turn us away from it, nothing. We will never agree, we will never enter into negotiations with Hitler or with anyone from his gang. We will fight with him on land, we will fight with him at sea, we will fight with him in the air, until, with God's help, we rid the earth of his very shadow and free the peoples from his yoke. Any person or state that fights against Nazism will receive our help. Any person or state that goes with Hitler is our enemy ...
This is our policy, this is our statement. Hence it follows that we will render all the assistance we can to Russia and the Russian people ... "
June 22, 1941 will forever remain in the history of our country as the day of the beginning of a bloody and brutal war. NTV tells what happened on that terrible morning and how the Great Patriotic War began.
Read below
June 21, 1941
13:00 (Berlin time) German forces received the Dortmund signal indicating that the offensive would begin on 22 June as planned.
In Germany, Colonel General Guderian checked the readiness of the forward combat units for the offensive: “... Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they were unaware of our intentions. In the courtyard of the Brest fortress, which could be seen from our observation posts, to the sounds of an orchestra, they conducted a guard set-up. The coastal fortifications along the Western Bug were not occupied by Russian troops. "
21:30 In Moscow, a conversation between the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov and the German Ambassador Schulenburg took place. Molotov protested against multiple violations of the USSR border by German planes. The ambassador avoided answering.
23:00 German minelayers, who were in Finnish ports, began to mine the exit from the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, Finnish submarines began laying mines off the coast of Estonia.
June 22, 1941
00:10 The border troops detained a defector from the German side, Alfred Liskov, who left the location of his unit and swam across the Bug. During the interrogation, the detainee said that at about 4 am the German army would begin crossing the Bug.
01:00 Stalin summoned Chief of the General Staff Georgy Zhukov and People's Commissar of Defense Semyon Timoshenko to the Kremlin. They reported on Liskov's message. They are joined by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov. Zhukov and Tymoshenko insist on issuing Directive # 1.
01:45
Directive No. 1 was sent to the districts with the order to secretly occupy firing points on the border, not to succumb to provocations and to bring the troops to combat readiness.
"1. During 22-23.6.41, a surprise attack by the Germans on the fronts of the LPO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO is possible. The attack can begin with provocative actions.
2. The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications. At the same time, the troops of the Leningrad, Baltic, Western, Kiev and Odessa military districts should be in full combat readiness to meet a possible surprise strike by the Germans or their allies.
3. I order:
a) during the night on 22.6.41, secretly occupy firing points of fortified areas on the state border;
b) before dawn on 22.6.41, to disperse all aviation, including military, to field airfields, carefully camouflage it;
c) bring all units on alert. Keep the troops dispersed and disguised;
d) bring the air defense on alert without an additional increase in the assigned personnel. Prepare all activities to darken cities and objects;
e) do not carry out any other events without a special order.
Tymoshenko. Zhukov."
3:07 The first reports of shelling began to arrive.
3:40 People's Commissar of Defense Semyon Timoshenko asks Zhukov to report to Stalin about the beginning of full-scale hostilities. At this time, the cities of Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Volkovysk, Kiev, Zhitomir, Sevastopol, Riga, Vindava, Libava, Shauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius and many others were bombed.
The chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet, Rear Admiral I. D. Eliseev, ordered the opening of fire on German aircraft that had invaded Soviet airspace.
4:00 German troops launched an offensive. The Great Patriotic War began.
Photo: TASS
4:15 The defense of the Brest Fortress began.
4:30 The Western and Baltic districts reported on the beginning of large-scale hostilities by German troops on land sectors. 4 million soldiers of Germany and allies invaded the border territory of the USSR. 3,350 tanks, 7,000 different guns and 2,000 aircraft were involved in the battles.
4:55 Almost half of the Brest Fortress is occupied by German troops.
5:30 The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, in which it stated: “Bolshevik Moscow is ready to strike in the back of National Socialist Germany, which is fighting for existence. The German government cannot be indifferent to the serious threat on the eastern border. Therefore, the Fuehrer ordered the German armed forces to avert this threat by all means and means ... "
7:15 Directive No. 2 was sent to the western military districts of the Soviet Union, which ordered the USSR troops to destroy enemy forces in areas where the border was violated, as well as “reconnaissance and combat aviation to establish the location of enemy aviation and the grouping of its ground forces. Destroy aircraft at enemy airfields and bomb the groupings of his ground troops with powerful blows from bomber and assault aviation ... "
9:30 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin signed decrees on the introduction of martial law in the country, on the formation of the Headquarters of the High Command, on military tribunals and general mobilization, which were subject to all persons liable for military service from 1905 to 1918 born.
Photo: TASS
10:00 An air raid on Kiev and its suburbs was completed. A railway station, factories, power plants, military airfields and residential buildings were attacked.
12:00
The People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR made a radio speech. V. M. Molotov.
“... Today at 4 o'clock in the morning, without making any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombarded our cities from their planes - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Enemy aircraft raids and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory ... Germany attacked the USSR, despite the peace-loving position of the Soviet Union, and thus Nazi Germany is the attacking party ...
Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already been accomplished, the Soviet government has given our troops an order to repulse the predatory attack and expel the German troops from the territory of our Motherland ... Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".
After a while, the text of Molotov's speech was repeated by the famous announcer Yuri Levitan. There is still an opinion that he was the first to read the message about the beginning of the war on the radio.
12:30 German troops entered Grodno. Minsk, Kiev and Sevastopol were subjected to repeated bombing.
13:00
Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano said that Italy had declared war on the USSR:
"In view of the current situation, due to the fact that Germany has declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and as a member of the Triple Pact, also declares war on the Soviet Union from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory, that is, from 5.30 on June 22"
14:00 The Brest Fortress continued to defend itself. The German commanders decided that only infantry would take the fortress - no tanks. It took no more than 8 hours to capture it.
Photo: TASS / Valery Gende-Rote
15:00 German bomber pilots continue air raids. The Baltic strategic defensive operation of the North-Western Front of F.I.Kuznetsov and part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet began. At the same time, the Byelorussian strategic defensive operation of the Western Front of D.G. Pavlov and the defensive operation in Western Ukraine of the Southwestern Front began.
16:30 Beria, Molotov and Voroshilov left the Kremlin. In the first days after the start of the war, no one met with Stalin anymore, and there was practically no connection with him. Stalin made a speech to the Soviet people only on July 3, 1941. Historians still argue about why this happened.
18:30 One of the German commanders gives the order to "pull back their own forces" from the Brest Fortress. This was one of the first orders for the retreat of German troops.
Photo: TASS
19:00 The commander of the German Army Group Center gives the order to stop the shooting of the first Soviet prisoners of war and to create special camps for them.
21:15 Directive # 3 was sent to the western military districts of the Soviet Union. In it, the People's Commissar of Defense Semyon Timoshenko orders the bombing of Konigsberg and Danzig, as well as air strikes 100-150 km deep into Germany.
23:00
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is making a radio address in which he declares that Britain is ready to provide the USSR with all the assistance it can give.
“... We are determined to destroy Hitler and all traces of the Nazi regime. Nothing can turn us away from it, nothing. We will never agree, we will never enter into negotiations with Hitler or with anyone from his gang. We will fight with him on land, we will fight with him at sea, we will fight with him in the air, until, with God's help, we rid the earth of his very shadow and free the peoples from his yoke. Any person or state that fights against Nazism will receive our help. Any person or state that goes with Hitler is our enemy ... This is our policy, this is our statement. Hence it follows that we will render all the assistance we can to Russia and the Russian people. We will appeal to all our friends and allies in all parts of the world with an appeal to adhere to the same course and to carry it out as steadily and unswervingly to the end, as we will ... ”.
23:50 The Main Military Council of the Red Army sent out a directive, which ordered on June 23 to inflict counterattacks on the enemy forces.
June 23, 1941
00:00 In the night radio news for the first time, a summary of the main command of the Red Army appeared: “At dawn on June 22, 1941, the regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced units of the field forces of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristinopol directions did the enemy manage to achieve insignificant tactical successes and occupy the townships of Kalwaria, Stoyanov and Tsekhanovets (the first two are 15 km away and the last 10 km from the border). Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and settlements, but everywhere they met a decisive rebuff from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy aircraft. "
Photo: TASS / Nikolay Surovtsev
It is known that on the first day of the war, German troops advanced along the entire border 50-60 km deep into the territory of the USSR. There were still almost 4 years of war ahead.
Victory will be ours: how the Great Patriotic War began
After the abnormally cold winter of 1940-1941. an unusually warm summer has come in Moscow. Sunday, June 22, 1941 could be the most ordinary day off for more than 200 million Soviet citizens. They would take tickets to the cinema for the premiere of the long-awaited comedy "Hearts of Four" or the match "Dynamo - CDKA", would take the children to a museum or a zoo, would invite friends and family home. If the most terrible war in the history of the people had not begun on June 22, 1941.
Location: Lviv region, Ukrainian SSR
At 21 o'clock Saturday, June 21, soldiers of the border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained the German corporal Alfred Liskoff, who swam across the Bug river. The chief of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky, kept memories of this event in his diaries: “The translators in the detachment were weak, and I ordered the commandant of the section, Captain Bershadsky, to deliver the soldier to the city of Vladimir - Volynsk to the headquarters of the detachment.
“At 00:30, in the presence of a translator, Liskof called himself a communist, a supporter of Soviet power, although he served in the 221st sapper regiment in the village of Tselezha since 1939 under the command of Lieutenant Schultz. The soldier announced that the Germans were preparing to attack the Soviet Union at dawn on June 22. I didn't want to believe what I heard. "
Before finishing the interrogation, Bychkovsky heard in the direction of the first commandant's office. “I understood that the Germans opened volleys at our territory in the area of Ustylug, this was confirmed by the interrogated soldier,” he wrote later.
At the same time, the commander of the Kiev district, Mikhail Kirponos, who served in Ternopil, reported to the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov about the appearance on the border of another German soldier of the 222nd Infantry Regiment of the 74th Infantry Division. And in 3 hours 07 minutes the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Philip Oktyabrsky, phoned on HF, he said: “The air surveillance, warning and communications system of the fleet reports on the approach from the sea side of a large number of unknown aircraft, the fleet is in full combat readiness. I ask for instructions. " After 53 minutes Oktyabrsky called again and reported in a calm tone: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. The attempt to strike at the ships was thwarted, but there is destruction in the city, ”he wrote in his own.
After this call, alarm messages began to arrive almost every five minutes. At 03:30, General Vladimir Klimovskikh, Chief of Staff of the Western District, who reported on the enemy air raid on the cities of Belarus, three minutes later, Maxim Purkaev, Chief of Staff of the Kiev District, reported about the raid on Ukraine, at 03:40 there was a call from General Fyodor Kuznetsov, commander of the Baltic region, who confirmed the strikes on Kaunas on the Neman.
At 4:30 am, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov appeared with a report from the German embassy: "Ambassador Count von Schulenburg confirmed that the German government has declared war on us."
At the same moment Zhukov received an order from the People's Commissar of Defense Semyon Timoshenko: to call the "Blizhnyaya Dacha" in Kuntsevo and report to Stalin about the beginning of hostilities. The answer came immediately: “Go to the Kremlin and warn Poskrebyvshev ( the first head of the special sector of the Central Committee) to summon all members of the Politburo. " At the beginning of the fifth morning, a military Directive No. 1, ordering the troops of the Leningrad, Baltic, Western, Kiev and Odessa military districts to be in full combat readiness, to meet a possible surprise strike from the Germans or their allies.
Western Special Military District Directive
I am passing on the order of the People's Commissariat of Defense for immediate execution: During June 22 - 23, 1941, a surprise attack by the Germans is possible on the fronts of the LVO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO. The attack can start with provocative actions.
The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications.
I order:
- During the night of June 22, 1941, secretly occupy firing points of fortified areas on the state border;
- Before dawn on June 22, 1941, to disperse all aviation, including military, to field airfields, carefully camouflage it;
- Bring all units on alert. Keep the troops dispersed and disguised;
- To bring the air defense to combat readiness without additional raising of the assigned personnel. Prepare all activities to darken cities and objects.
Until dawn, Bobruisk, Zhitomir, Riga, Libava, Vilnius, Grodno, Kobrin and many other border towns suffered from the bombing, the bombing with heavy losses was repulsed in Sevastopol. The bomb attack hit Kiev and its suburbs: by 10 am the railway station, the Bolshevik plant, military airfields, power plants and an aircraft plant were destroyed.
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
On the night of June 21-22, the first battle of the Great Patriotic War - Bialystok-Minsk, took place, as a result of which the main forces were surrounded and defeated. In Bialystok and Minsk "cauldrons" 11 rifle, 6 tank and 2 cavalry divisions fell, and on July 8, less than two weeks after the beginning of the bloody shelling, the forces of the Third Reich captured Minsk.
Location: Brest Fortress, Byelorussian SSR
At 4 o'clock in the morning On June 22, hurricane fire was opened on the barracks of the central part of the Brest Fortress, which took the garrison by surprise. The first attack of the heavy artillery battery ( armed with a 600-mm self-propelled mortar "Karl") by 4:40, the Wehrmacht troops occupied almost half of the fortress, destroyed the warehouses, damaged the water supply system, and interrupted communications. The surviving commanders were unable to penetrate the barracks due to too intense barrage fire in the central part of the fortress and at the entrance gate.
From the combat report on the actions of the 6th Infantry Division: “The Red Army and junior commanders without control from the middle commanders, dressed and undressed, left the fortress in groups and one by one, overcame the bypass channel, the Mukhavets River and the shaft under artillery and machine-gun fire. As a result, by 9 am the fortress was surrounded from the south-western side, the north-east was still under the control of the Soviet troops. "
Location: Berlin, Germany
Greater German Radio in its entire history has never started its work as early as it was on June 22, 1941.
At 05:30 am Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels addressed the people of the country, who read out an appeal: “The German people! There are 160 Russian divisions on our border today. Enemy pilots fly it carelessly, amused by this. Russian patrols invade the territory of the Reich, as if they feel they are the masters of this territory. Our task is not to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and the salvation of all. I decided to place the fate and future of the German Reich and our people in the hands of German soldiers. May the Lord help us in this struggle! "
The voice of the Minister of Public Education and Propaganda was repeated at 07:00 Berlin time, then at 09:00 and 11:00 in the morning. In Moscow, official statements were delayed. Famous Words: “Our cause is right. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours "Soviet citizens heard from Molotov's lips only in 12:15 according to the capital time.
In parallel with this, from 9 am in the Moscow studio, the famous announcer Yuri Levitan was also recorded, reading an appeal to the people of the USSR. It was he who would later become the most recognizable voice of the Great Patriotic War.
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
From Molotov's address: “Citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union! Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without making any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed our cities from their planes ... This is not the first time for our people. you have to deal with an attacking arrogant enemy. Our people responded to Napoleon's campaign in Russia with the Patriotic War ... The same will happen with Hitler, who announced a new campaign against our country. The Red Army and all our people will lead a victorious Patriotic War for the Motherland, for honor, for freedom. "
V 13:00 An hour after Molotov's appeal, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree "On the mobilization of those liable for military service", according to which on June 23 all men born from 1905 to 1918 inclusive were to join the ranks of the Red Army.
By 14 o'clock the Brest Fortress was completely surrounded by German troops, after an almost 8-hour battle, the 1st frontier post of Alexander Sivachev surrendered, 485 out of 666 Soviet outposts were captured, but none of them withdrew without an order. At 16:00, a directive from the People's Commissariat of Defense on a counteroffensive by Soviet troops with the task of defeating Hitler's troops on the territory of the USSR is scattered around the cities.
At the same time, ground forces are forbidden to cross the border, and aviation is ordered to strike at German territory to a depth of no more than 100 - 150 kilometers, but to attack Konigsberg and Memel. TO 17:00 On the territory of the Soviet Union, Germany unleashed a blow of unprecedented power: more than four thousand tanks, 47 thousand guns and mortars, up to 190 divisions, five million infantrymen.
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Location: London, UK
V 23:00 GMT on the BBC radio station was released an appeal by the Prime Minister of England Winston Churchill, who responded to the events in the USSR one of the first:
“Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more staunch opponent of communism than me. I will not take back a single word said about him, but it all pales before the sight that I see now. The past with its tragedies and crimes is receding. I see Russian soldiers, how they stand on the border of their native land and guard the fields that their fathers have plowed from time immemorial ... We must provide Russia with all the help we can, we will do it until the very end ... ".
Location: General Staff of the Red Army, Moscow
V 00:00 according to the capital's clock, the first report of the Great Patriotic War was received, confirming that at dawn on June 22, 1941, the regular troops of the German army attacked border units on the fronts from the Baltic to the Black Seas and were held back by them during the first half of the day. After fierce battles, the enemy was thrown back, but in the Grodno and Kristynopolsky directions, the troops of Nazi Germany still managed to achieve tactical successes and occupy Kalvariya, Tsekhanovets and Stoyanov 10-15 km away. from the border.
However, the officially announced data then were not entirely accurate, since the total losses of Soviet aviation already in the first days of the war amounted to more than 1,100 aircraft. 485 frontier outposts were under siege, the village of Albinga in the Klaipeda region of Lithuania was brutally devastated. In total, about 16,000 people died on the first day of the war, and up to 25,000 were injured. So the first day of the Great Patriotic War ended. There were still 1,417 days and nights of the most terrible war in the history of the Soviet people ahead.
June 21, 1941, 13:00. The German forces receive the code signal "Dortmund", confirming that the invasion will begin the next day.
Commander of the 2nd Panzer Group of Army Group "Center" Heinz Guderian writes in his diary: “Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they were unaware of our intentions. In the courtyard of the Brest fortress, which could be seen from our observation posts, to the sounds of an orchestra, they conducted a guard set-up. The coastal fortifications along the Western Bug were not occupied by Russian troops. "
21:00. Fighters of the 90th border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained a German soldier who crossed the border river Bug by swimming. The defector was sent to the headquarters of the detachment in the city of Vladimir-Volynsky.
23:00. German minelayers stationed in Finnish ports began to mine the exit from the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, Finnish submarines began laying mines off the coast of Estonia.
June 22, 1941, 0:30. The defector was taken to Vladimir-Volynsky. During the interrogation, the soldier introduced himself Alfred Liskov, servicemen of the 221st regiment of the 15th infantry division of the Wehrmacht. He said that at dawn on June 22, the German army would go on the offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German border. The information has been transferred to the higher command.
At the same time, the transmission of directive No. 1 of the People's Commissariat of Defense for parts of the western military districts began from Moscow. “During June 22 - 23, 1941, a surprise attack by the Germans is possible on the fronts of the LPO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO. An attack can start with provocative actions, ”the directive said. - "The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications."
The units were ordered to be put on alert, secretly occupy firing points of fortified areas on the state border, and to disperse aviation over field airfields.
It is not possible to bring the directive to the military units before the start of hostilities, as a result of which the measures specified in it are not carried out.
"I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory."
1:00. Commandants of the sections of the 90th border detachment report to the chief of the detachment, Major Bychkovsky: "nothing suspicious was noticed on the adjacent side, everything is calm."
3:05 ... A group of 14 German Ju-88 bombers drops 28 magnetic mines near the Kronstadt raid.
3:07. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to the Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov: “The VNOS [air surveillance, warning and communication] system of the fleet reports on the approach from the sea side of a large number of unknown aircraft; the fleet is in full combat readiness. "
3:10. The UNKGB for the Lviv region by telephone sends to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR information obtained during the interrogation of the defector Alfred Liskov.
Mobilization. Columns of fighters are moving to the front. Moscow, June 23, 1941. Anatoly Garanin / RIA Novosti
From the memoirs of the chief of the 90th border detachment major Bychkovsky: “Without finishing the questioning of the soldier, I heard heavy artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant's office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was confirmed immediately by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant, but the connection was broken ... "
3:30. Chief of Staff of the Western District General Klimovsky reports on the raid of enemy aircraft on the cities of Belarus: Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi and others.
3:33. The chief of staff of the Kiev district, General Purkaev, reports on the air raid on the cities of Ukraine, including Kiev.
3:40. Commander of the Baltic Military District, General Kuznetsov reports on enemy air raids on Riga, Šiauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas and other cities.
“The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike at our ships was thwarted "
3:42. Chief of the General Staff Zhukov calls Stalin and reports the beginning of hostilities by Germany. Stalin orders Tymoshenko and Zhukov to arrive at the Kremlin, where an emergency meeting of the Politburo is called.
3:45. The 1st frontier post of the 86th August border detachment was attacked by an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group. Outpost personnel under command Alexandra Sivacheva, joining the battle, destroys the attackers.
4:00. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to Zhukov: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike at our ships was thwarted. But there is destruction in Sevastopol. "
4:05. The outposts of the 86th August border detachment, including the 1st border post of senior lieutenant Sivachev, are subjected to powerful artillery fire, after which the German offensive begins. Border guards, deprived of communication with the command, engage in battle with superior enemy forces.
4:10. The Western and Baltic special military districts report on the beginning of hostilities by German troops on land sectors.
4:15. The Nazis open massive artillery fire on the Brest Fortress. As a result, warehouses were destroyed, communications were disrupted, and there were a large number of killed and wounded.
4:25. The 45th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht begins an attack on the Brest Fortress.
The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Residents of the capital on June 22, 1941, during the announcement on the radio of a government message about the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Evgeny Khaldey / RIA Novosti
"Protecting not individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe"
4:30. A meeting of members of the Politburo begins in the Kremlin. Stalin expresses doubt that what happened is the beginning of the war and does not exclude the version of a German provocation. People's Commissar of Defense Tymoshenko and Zhukov insist: this is war.
4:55. In the Brest Fortress, the Nazis manage to capture almost half of the territory. Further advance was stopped by a sudden counterattack of the Red Army.
5:00. German Ambassador to the USSR Count von Schulenburg presents to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov"A note from the German Foreign Ministry to the Soviet Government," which says: "The German government cannot be indifferent to a serious threat on the eastern border, so the Fuehrer ordered the German armed forces to ward off this threat by all means." An hour after the actual start of hostilities, Germany de jure declares war on the Soviet Union.
5:30. Reich propaganda minister on German radio Goebbels reads out the appeal Adolf Hitler to the German people in connection with the outbreak of the war against the Soviet Union: “Now the hour has come when it is necessary to oppose this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow ... what the world has seen ... The task of this front is no longer the protection of individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe and thereby the salvation of all. "
7:00. Reich Minister for Foreign Ribbentrop begins a press conference at which he announces the beginning of hostilities against the USSR: "The German army has invaded the territory of Bolshevik Russia!"
"The city is on fire, why aren't you broadcasting anything on the radio?"
7:15. Stalin approves the directive on repelling the attack of Hitlerite Germany: "For the troops with all their forces and means to attack the enemy forces and destroy them in the areas where they violated the Soviet border." Transmission of "directive No. 2" due to the violation of communication lines by saboteurs in the western districts. In Moscow, there is no clear picture of what is happening in the war zone.
9:30. It was decided that at noon the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov would address the Soviet people in connection with the outbreak of the war.
10:00. From the memories of the announcer Yuri Levitan: “They call from Minsk:“ Enemy planes over the city ”, they call from Kaunas:“ The city is on fire, why aren't you broadcasting anything on the radio? ”,“ Enemy planes over Kiev ”. Female crying, excitement: "Is it really a war? .." Nevertheless, no official messages were sent until 12:00 Moscow time on June 22.
10:30. From the report of the headquarters of the 45th German division about the battles on the territory of the Brest Fortress: “The Russians are fiercely resisting, especially behind our attacking companies. In the citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles. The fire of enemy snipers led to large losses among officers and non-commissioned officers. "
11:00. The Baltic, Western and Kiev special military districts were reorganized into the Northwestern, Western and Southwestern fronts.
“The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours"
12:00. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov read out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union: “Today at 4 o'clock in the morning, without making any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed our our cities - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, with more than two hundred people killed and wounded. Enemy aircraft raids and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory ... Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repulse the robbery attack and expel German troops from the territory of our homeland ... The government calls on you, citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally their ranks even more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader, Comrade Stalin.
Our cause is right. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".
12:30. Advanced German units break into the Belarusian city of Grodno.
13:00.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issues a decree "On the mobilization of those liable for military service ..."
"On the basis of article 49, clause" o "of the Constitution of the USSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces the mobilization in the territory of military districts - Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kiev special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North -Caucasian and Transcaucasian.
Persons liable for military service born from 1905 to 1918 inclusive are subject to mobilization. June 23, 1941 shall be considered the first day of mobilization. " Despite the fact that the first day of mobilization was named June 23, the recruiting offices at the military registration and enlistment offices begin to work by the middle of the day on June 22.
13:30. The Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov, flies to Kiev as a representative of the newly created Headquarters of the High Command on the Southwestern Front.
June 22, 1945 meeting of the Normandie-Niemen regiment at the Le Bourget airfield (France). From left to right: Captain-Engineer Nikolai Filippov, Major Pierre Matras, Major Engineer Sergei Agavelyan, Captain De Saint-Marceau Gaston and others. The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. RIA Novosti / RIA Novosti
14:00. The Brest Fortress is completely surrounded by German troops. The Soviet units, blocked in the citadel, continue to offer fierce resistance.
14:05. Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano declares: "In view of the current situation, due to the fact that Germany declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and as a member of the Triple Pact, also declares war on the Soviet Union from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory."
14:10. 1st frontier post of Alexander Sivachev has been fighting for more than 10 hours. Having only small arms and grenades, the border guards destroyed up to 60 Nazis and burned three tanks. The wounded head of the outpost continued to command the battle.
15:00. From the notes of the commander of Army Group "Center" Field Marshal Boca von: “The question of whether the Russians are carrying out a systematic withdrawal is still open. At present, there is ample evidence both for and against this.
It is surprising that nowhere is any significant work of their artillery noticeable. Heavy artillery fire is being conducted only in the north-west of Grodno, where the VIII Army Corps is advancing. Apparently, our air force has an overwhelming superiority over the Russian aviation. "
Of the 485 attacked frontier posts, none left without an order
16:00. After a 12-hour battle, the Nazis took up the positions of the 1st frontier post. This became possible only after all the border guards who defended it were killed. The head of the outpost, Alexander Sivachev, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.
The feat of the outpost of senior lieutenant Sivachev became one of hundreds committed by border guards in the first hours and days of the war. On June 22, 1941, the USSR state border from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea was guarded by 666 border outposts, 485 of them were attacked on the very first day of the war. None of the 485 outposts attacked on June 22 withdrew without orders.
The Hitlerite command took 20 minutes to break the resistance of the border guards. 257 Soviet frontier posts held the defense from several hours to one day. Over one day - 20, more than two days - 16, over three days - 20, more than four and five days - 43, from seven to nine days - 4, over eleven days - 51, over twelve days - 55, over 15 days - 51 outposts. Up to two months 45 outposts fought.
06/22/1941 The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The working people of Leningrad listen to the news about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Boris Losin / RIA Novosti
Of the 19,600 border guards who met the Nazis on June 22 in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, more than 16,000 were killed in the first days of the war.
17:00. Hitler's units manage to occupy the southwestern part of the Brest Fortress, the northeast remained under the control of the Soviet troops. Stubborn battles for the fortress will continue for weeks.
"The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox to protect the sacred borders of our Motherland"
18:00. The Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow and Kolomna, addresses the believers with a message: “Fascist robbers attacked our homeland. Trampling on any agreements and promises, they suddenly fell upon us, and now the blood of peaceful citizens is already irrigating their native land ... Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. Together with him, she bore trials, and was consoled by his successes. She will not leave her people even now ... The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox to defend the sacred borders of our Motherland. "
19:00. From the notes of the Chief of the General Staff of the Land Forces of the Wehrmacht, Colonel-General Franz Halder: “All armies, except for the 11th Army of Army Group South in Romania, went on the offensive according to plan. The offensive of our troops, apparently, was for the enemy on the entire front a complete tactical surprise. The border bridges across the Bug and other rivers have been captured everywhere by our troops without a fight and in complete safety. The complete surprise of our offensive for the enemy is evidenced by the fact that the units were taken by surprise in the barracks, the planes stood at airfields covered with tarpaulins, and the forward units, suddenly attacked by our troops, asked the command about what to do ... The Air Force command reported, that today 850 enemy aircraft have been destroyed, including whole squadrons of bombers, which, having taken off without fighter cover, were attacked by our fighters and destroyed. "
20:00. Directive No. 3 of the People's Commissariat of Defense was approved, ordering the Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive with the task of defeating Hitler's troops on the territory of the USSR with a further advance into enemy territory. The directive ordered to capture the Polish city of Lublin by the end of June 24.
06/22/1941 The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. June 22, 1941 Nurses provide assistance to the first wounded after a Nazi air raid near Chisinau. Georgy Zelma / RIA Novosti
"We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the assistance we can."
21:00. Summary of the Red Army High Command for June 22: “At dawn on June 22, 1941, the regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced units of the field forces of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristinopol directions did the enemy manage to achieve insignificant tactical successes and occupy the townships of Kalwaria, Stoyanov and Tsekhanovets (the first two are 15 km away and the last 10 km from the border).
Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and settlements, but everywhere they met a decisive rebuff from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy aircraft. "
23:00. Message from the Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill to the British people in connection with the German attack on the USSR: “At 4 o'clock this morning Hitler attacked Russia. All his usual formalities of treachery were observed with scrupulous accuracy ... suddenly, without a declaration of war, even without an ultimatum, German bombs fell from the sky on Russian cities, German troops violated Russian borders, and an hour later the German ambassador, who literally the day before, generously lavished his assurances to the Russians in friendship and almost alliance, paid a visit to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and declared that Russia and Germany were at war ...
Nobody has been a more staunch opponent of communism for the past 25 years than me. I will not take back a single word said about him. But it all pales before the spectacle unfolding now.
The past, with its crimes, follies and tragedies, is receding. I see Russian soldiers, how they stand on the border of their native land and guard the fields that their fathers plowed from time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes; their mothers and wives pray - oh, yes, because at such a time everyone is praying for the preservation of their loved ones, for the return of the breadwinner, patron, their defenders ...
We must give Russia and the Russian people all the help we can. We must call on all our friends and allies in all parts of the world to adhere to a similar course and pursue it as steadfastly and unswervingly as we will, to the very end. "
June 22 has come to an end. There were still 1,417 days of the worst war in the history of mankind ahead.
Loading...
