Taking into account the agreement with the allies on the opening of a second front, the growing power of the Red Army and the increased level of Soviet military art, the Supreme High Command Headquarters adopted a plan for a decisive offensive in 1944. It provided for the sequential conduct of 10 major strategic operations of groups of fronts along the entire front with the goal of completely expelling the enemy from the territory USSR and the liberation of the peoples of Europe.

The offensive was carried out continuously, the Red Army did not give respite to the enemy. During the winter - spring of 1944, the combat operations near Leningrad and Novgorod, where Soviet troops advanced 220–280 km, defeating and destroying 20 enemy divisions. Right Bank Ukraine and Crimea were liberated. The struggle for Crimea once again clearly demonstrated the superiority of military art over the Nazi art. In 1941–1942 The Nazis besieged Sevastopol for 250 days. In 1944, Soviet troops, together with naval forces, crushed the enemy’s defenses in Crimea in 35 days. Only when evacuating by sea from strikes Black Sea Fleet the enemy lost 42 thousand soldiers and officers, and 61 thousand who were unable to evacuate were captured. As a result of the continuous offensive from the end of December 1943 to mid-May 1944, our troops covered more than 1000 km. The Nazis' plans to hold the occupied territories of the USSR were thwarted.

In the spring, the Allies prepared the landing of their troops in Northern France (Operation Overlord). Its goal was to invade the European continent, capture the northwestern part of France and create conditions in order to “strike at the heart of Germany and destroy its armed forces.” Roosevelt believed that the Americans should take Berlin.

Operation Overlord is the largest strategic landing in history; a huge expeditionary force of 2 million 876 thousand people took part in it. The landing began at dawn on July 6th.

Simultaneously with the offensive in the west, in the summer of 1944, the largest offensive operations were launched on the Soviet-German front.

On June 10, the operation to liberate Karelia began, which led the Finnish government to the need to decide to leave the war. This was followed by the main attack in Belarus and Western Ukraine against the German Army Groups Center and Northern Ukraine.

The Belarusian Operation Bagration was one of the largest in World War II. Soviet troops continued their rapid offensive in Lithuania and Latvia, reaching the border of East Prussia. During the offensive in Belarus, the Lvov-San Domir operation began to liberate Western Ukraine.

By the end of July, Soviet troops, during a continuous offensive, had fought about 600 km. Pursuing the enemy, our soldiers entered the territory of Poland. The process of liberating Polish land from invaders was combined with the struggle of the progressive forces of Poland for the creation of an independent Polish state friendly to the Soviet Union.

The joint offensive of the anti-Hitler coalition troops and the approach of the Red Army intensified the collapse of the Hitler bloc and intensified the struggle of anti-fascist forces in the countries of Eastern, Central and Southern Europe.

During the offensive of the Anglo-American troops, in addition to the uprising in France, which made a significant contribution to the liberation of their homeland, armed uprisings against the occupiers also occurred in Belgium and Denmark. In Belgium, the rebels liberated Antwerp; in Denmark, resistance forces did not receive the support of Anglo-American troops and the occupiers managed to suppress the uprising. In all countries Western Europe liberated by Anglo-American troops, power remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie, and the Resistance units were disarmed.

In the countries of Eastern, Southern and Central Europe, the process of defeating Hitler's troops by armed forces Soviet Union merged with liberation anti-fascist revolutionary democratic uprisings and revolutions.

As a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops in 1945, Hitler's army suffered a crushing defeat, and the imminent end of the war became obvious. The Nazis' hopes for a protracted war for “Fortress Germany” collapsed completely.

Coordination of a further attack on Germany from the west and east and the problems of the post-war world order urgently required the convening of a new conference of the heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain. At the suggestion of the Soviet Union, Yalta was chosen as the venue. This decision showed the increased authority of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition and its decisive role in ending the Second World War.

Crimean (Yalta) Conference of Heads of Government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain - I.V. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill, took place from February 4 to 11, 1945 and became the culmination point, the pinnacle of cooperation between the leading powers of the anti-Hitler coalition.

The Western powers realized that the Soviet Union could liberate Europe alone. In a broad political sense, the Yalta Conference is international recognition of a radical change in the balance of forces in Europe and the world as a result of the victorious war of the Soviet people, recognition by the largest states of an opposing social system, the fundamental fact of the transformation of the USSR into a leading global power, recognition of its decisive role in the defeat of fascism.

All three powers achieved unity in matters of military strategy with the goal of ending the war as quickly as possible. The military headquarters agreed on cooperation and, accordingly, the boundaries of the occupied zones were fundamentally determined.

The central political question was resolved - about the future of Germany. The Soviet Union prevented the division of the German state. The heads of state outlined the foundations of a coordinated policy on the principles of democratization, demilitarization, denazification, and the creation of guarantees that Germany “will never be able to disrupt the peace.”

An agreement was reached on the Polish question, which opened the way for the development of a free and independent Polish state within historically fair boundaries.

The conference participants showed unity and agreement on the issue of creating the UN. The Declaration on the Liberation of Europe adopted in Yalta and the final document “Unity in the organization of peace, as well as in the conduct of war,” created the basis for new international relations, most consistent with the objective needs of world development.

The fate of the second source of aggression was predetermined, the date for the USSR's entry into the war was fixed at Far East.

It is important to emphasize that in Yalta the principle of equality of parties prevailed. “The United States cannot expect that everything will be done at its discretion 100%, just as it is impossible for Russia and Great Britain,” President Roosevelt noted.

The Crimean Conference put an end to the diplomatic attempts of the Nazi leadership to achieve negotiations with the allies.

At a meeting on February 5, when asked by Stalin, Churchill was forced to declare that if Hitler or Himmler made proposals for surrender, the Allies would answer them that they would not negotiate with them as war criminals. There were reasons for Stalin to pose such a question. The Soviet leadership was aware of the fact that Keitel and Eisenhower exchanged telegrams about a “100-day truce” and other contacts with representatives of the Allied administration.

However, the Crimean Conference did not stop the attempts of the German monopolists to come to an agreement with the West. One of the ways of such a conspiracy was the plan of German industrialists to propose to the Anglo-American leadership to occupy the largest possible part of Germany, while holding the eastern front with German troops with all their might. And if the allies do not agree to a separate agreement, then generally open the western front with the generals of the German army through the sequential surrender of individual groups of German troops and thereby bypass the political act of unconditional surrender. Hitler, for his part, attempted collusion through American intelligence (“Wolf Mission”). On March 22, the Soviet government demanded the end of separate negotiations with the Nazis. This issue became the subject of correspondence between heads of government. On April 12, Roosevelt wrote to Stalin that “the Berne incident is a thing of the past.” This was the last message from US President F.D. Roosevelt.

The coordinated offensive from the west and east squeezed Hitler’s army in a giant vice.

Between February and the first half of April, Soviet troops, during fierce battles with the main forces of the Wehrmacht, defeated large enemy groups on the flanks of the Soviet-German front and liberated Vienna. The assault on Berlin was ahead. On the western front, in early February, the Allied armies launched an offensive towards the Rhine, breaking the Siegfried Line. In March, the Allies cleared the left bank of the Rhine and captured bridgeheads on its eastern bank. Conditions were created for encircling the Ruhr and advancing deep into Germany. By April 1, the encirclement of the Russian group was completed, and on April 14, it was cut into two parts. On April 17, the commander of Army Group B, Field Marshal Model, gave the order to stop resistance and announced the disbandment of his troops. This was the actual beginning of the mass surrender of Nazi troops.

Speaking about the final operations of the spring of 1945, it is necessary to note the increased fierceness of the struggle of the Nazi army on the Soviet-German front. In the first half of April, 214 Nazi divisions were concentrated there, a contingent born in 1929 was drafted into the army, and brutal measures were taken to force the army to fight to the last. Hitler still hoped that the Americans and British “would not leave him in trouble.” On April 16, in an address to the troops, he assured that Roosevelt's death would cause a turn in the war. The struggle for Berlin formed a central link in the strategy and politics of the last days of fascism. Hitler's leadership considered it “better to surrender Berlin to the Anglo-Saxons than to let the Russians into it.” Berlin and its approaches were turned into a powerful defensive area.

On April 16, the Berlin Strategic Operation began. Soviet troops broke through the enemy's deeply layered defenses and entered the suburbs of Berlin. On April 25, the encirclement of the Berlin group was completed. Heavy fighting ensued with fascist troops who fought with fanatical, furious despair. Early in the morning of May 1, the Red Banner hoisted over the Reichstag; it was hoisted by scouts of the 756th Infantry Regiment of the 150th rifle division M.A. Egorov and M.V. Kantaria, led by the battalion political officer, Lieutenant A.P. Berest.

After the suicide of Hitler and Goebbels in surrounded Berlin, Admiral Doenitz became the head of the fascist government. The Soviet command demanded unconditional surrender from him, but the German command did not give such an order, trying to lead as many of its units and formations as possible to surrender to the Anglo-American troops. Across the Western and Italian fronts, the Allies accepted partial surrenders, bypassing the signing of the German Unconditional Surrender Act, while simultaneously rapidly advancing into German territory. At the insistence of the Soviet government, on May 8, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed. It was held in liberated Berlin under the chairmanship of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukova. Only after the signing of the Act did German troops in the east begin to lay down their arms everywhere. However, in order to overcome the resistance of the Nazis in Czechoslovakia, where May 5 began against them popular uprising in Prague, they still had to fight until May 9, when Soviet tank troops completely liberated Prague. The last days of the war were marked by the day of liberation of the fraternal Czechoslovak people. The Soviet Army fully fulfilled its international duty as a liberating army.

The war in Europe was over. The victorious countries began to develop documents about the post-war world. The foundations of the post-war world were laid in the decisions of the Crimean Conference, where none of the great powers could pretend to impose their opinion on others. In Roosevelt's words, "The Crimea Conference means the end of the system of unilateral action, closed alliances, spheres of influence, balance of power and all other political intrigues that have been resorted to for centuries without success."

What the president understood during the war years, his successors could not and did not want to understand.

After the surrender of Germany, issues of the post-war structure of Europe were resolved at a new conference of the heads of government of the three powers of the USSR, USA and Great Britain, which was held from July 7 to August 2, 1945 near Berlin - in Potsdam. The Potsdam Conference summed up the results of the Second World War in Europe and went down in history as an event historical significance. The decisions taken there corresponded to the liberating anti-fascist nature of the war and were a turning point in the life of Europe from war to peace. However, the leaders of England (Churchill and then Atlee) and the USA (Truman) tried this time to take a “hard position” against the USSR.

During the conference, the US government made its first attempt to start a new, “nuclear diplomacy”. On July 1, 1945, the Truman government decided: “The bomb must be used against Japan as soon as possible.” On July 24, President Truman, with a pointed air of importance, informed Stalin that the Americans had created a new bomb of enormous destructive power. After the conference, Stalin gave instructions to speed up work on creating nuclear weapons. The alarming era of the threat of nuclear war has begun.

Having received assurances that the USSR would enter the war with Japan in accordance with the agreement at the Yalta Conference, the USA and Great Britain. China also joined. A declaration of Japan's unconditional surrender was published in Potsdam. The Japanese government rejected the declaration.

The Soviet Union began deploying and preparing forces to enter the war. The government of the Mongolian People's Republic also took part in the war. Japan at that time had large forces in large territories of China and Korea. It retained Indochina, Thailand, Malaysia, and almost all of Indonesia under its control. The largest group of the Japanese army was in Northeast China on the borders of the USSR - the Kwantung Army numbering over 1 million people. According to the calculations of the US command, the war with Japan without the participation of the Soviet Union could last until 1947 with heavy losses.

The US government hastened to complete preparations for the atomic bombing of Japan, despite the obvious futility of Japanese resistance after the USSR entered the war. On the morning of August 6, the first atomic bomb (“Little”) was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. Of the 306 thousand inhabitants of the city, 90 thousand people died immediately, tens of thousands died later, 90% of the buildings burned down, the rest turned into ruins.

On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan and joined the Potsdam Declaration. On the night of August 9, the Soviet armed forces launched an offensive. On August 10, the MPR also declared war on Japan. The Truman government ordered a second attack on Japan as quickly as possible. atomic bomb. On August 9, an American plane bombed the city of Nagasaki with an atomic bomb. The city was destroyed. In total, about 100 thousand people died from the two atomic bombings, about 400 thousand were injured and were exposed to fatal radioactive radiation. Hundreds of thousands died from the effects of radiation exposure in the following years.

The atomic bombings had no strategic significance; they were intended to intimidate the Japanese and the whole world, primarily the USSR, as a demonstration of US military power.

Soviet troops rapidly advanced deep into the territory of Manchuria, overcoming many years of fortifications and fanatical resistance of Japanese troops. Within a few days, the Kwantung Army was defeated. On August 14, the Japanese government announced that it was capitulating and accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, but did not give an order to its troops to lay down their arms, and therefore the Soviet Army continued the offensive. On August 18, Soviet troops linked up with units of the 8th People's Revolutionary Army of China. August 19 soldiers and officers Kwantung Army began to surrender en masse.

Soviet troops liberated Northeast China and North Korea (South Korea up to the 38th parallel was occupied by American troops according to the agreement), and captured South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

Units of the People's Liberation Army entered Northeast China and were given weapons from the capitulated Kwantung Army. Under the leadership of the CPC, people's authorities were created here, military units were formed, and the Manchurian revolutionary base was created. Which played a decisive role in the subsequent revolutionary movement of China.

IN North Korea was recreated Communist Party and the people's authorities were formed - the People's Committees, which began to carry out socialist and democratic reforms.

With the defeat of Japan, uprisings broke out in many occupied and dependent countries and people's democratic revolutions took place - in Vietnam, Malaya, Indonesia, Burma.

On August 28, an advance detachment of American troops arrived at an airfield near Tokyo, and a few days later they occupied the Japanese Islands. Some prominent dignitaries, including Prince Konoe, committed suicide.

On September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay on the battleship Missouri, under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Pacific, General MacArthur, the signing of the act of surrender of Japan took place. From the Soviet Union, General K.N. Derevyanko signed the Act. The whole ceremony lasted 20 minutes.

This is how the Second ended World War, which lasted exactly 6 years.

Under the influence of the Soviet Union and with its help, a number of countries in Europe and Asia are taking the path of socialist transformation: Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, North Korea, Vietnam, China), conditions arose for the formation of a world system of socialism.

In the world of capitalism, only the United States emerged from the war significantly stronger both economically and militarily, taking its place as the leader of the capitalist system. The capitalist countries of the world fall under the economic and political influence of the United States, which takes on the role of defender of the foundations of capitalism in the world, relying on military and nuclear force.

The heroic struggle of the communists at the head of the anti-fascist Resistance, their authority among the masses caused the growth of the world communist movement. In a number of capitalist countries (Italy, France, Belgium, Finland), communists have entered the governments and democratic reforms are being carried out.

The war strengthened the national liberation movement in colonial and dependent countries. The process of collapse of the colonial system as a whole began, the creation of independent states, and the formation of “third world” countries.

The pacifist movement, the desire of peoples for peace and the prevention of a new world war have intensified, and democratic movements are developing. The ideas of bourgeois liberalism, the desire to smooth out social contradictions and impart stability to the economic and political system of Western democracy, are further developed.

Historical experience The tragedy of two world wars teaches that the military danger emanating from reactionary forces must be countered by the unification of all the progressive forces of the world - by their active struggle for peace and disarmament. Experience shows that it is especially important to reveal the expansionist and hegemonic aspirations of aggressive forces, to prevent the organizers of aggression and wars from capturing important positions. The Second World War taught the peoples. Especially the Soviet Union, vigilance in order to promptly counter a military threat with the country’s corresponding defense capability, capable of stopping and thwarting aggression.

Victory in the war was achieved thanks to the friendship of the Soviet peoples. Russians and Ukrainians, Belarusians and Kazakhs, Georgians and Armenians, Azerbaijanis and Turkmens fought as one people, not divided by nationality. There are numerous examples of deep friendship between workers and soldiers of various nationalities. There are frequent cases when Uzbeks raised the children of Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, etc., who had lost their parents, when a Kazakh, Russian and Kyrgyz put their shoulder under the same burden, when a Russian shaded a Chuvash with his chest, and an Udmurt shielded a Belarusian, etc. Friendship of the peoples of the USSR was one of the most important factors in the victory over the fascist aggressors.

The most important result of the fighting was the defeat of the bloc of fascist states, which saved the world from the threat of enslavement. The Soviet peoples have proven their right to independently choose their path of development. Many peoples of Europe and Asia were liberated from enemy occupation. The path of peaceful, democratic development was open to them. As a result of the war, the international authority of the USSR was significantly strengthened.

Significant territorial changes. The Kuril Islands were transferred to the USSR and Southern Sakhalin, the right to lease Port Arthur. East Prussia with Koenigsberg went to us, and the border with Poland passed along the “Curzon Line”. Our border with Finland and Czechoslovakia has changed slightly. Poland received a significant part of German territory. The border of Yugoslavia with Italy and a number of other borders have changed. The aggressor states lost all their colonies.

Victory in the war was achieved by the joint efforts of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. However, the main burden of the war fell on the shoulders of the Soviet people. Fascist Germany, having set socio-political goals in the war: the destruction of Soviet social and political system, the socialist economic system - threw its main forces against us. During 1941 and 1942 we fought against her virtually one on one. Even in 1943, when our allies landed in Sicily, the situation changed little.

The most important lessons of World War II are as follows. It once again showed that the entire burden of the war falls on the shoulders of the peoples. Among the masses there are no people interested in war. This interest is present in ruling circles. They generate ideas designed to ensure preparation for war and the war itself.

One of the lessons is that a war is much easier to start than to end. A war, having begun, then develops according to its own laws, and its outcome is almost impossible to plan. Victory does not always come to the one who started the war. The German fascists planned a short-term victorious war. But it turned out to be protracted and led to defeat.

There is another extremely important lesson in this regard. A war cannot be planned either in scale or in the nature of the means used. Starting as local, it can draw other states into its orbit and become global. Such a course of events is all the more likely the higher the level of development of human society. The complex interweaving of economic and political ties leads to drawing states into conflict, often against the wishes of the people at the helm of the state. Currently, any local conflict can become the fuse of a new world war. Moreover, it is impossible to limit the use of existing means of warfare, including the most destructive.

To create an effective system of international security using the united forces of peace and progress is the most important task of our time. In this lesson of the second world war. And people turn to its history to prevent the death of civilization on earth.

In January 1944, as a result of the successful operation of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic fronts, the blockade of Leningrad was lifted. In the winter of 1944, through the efforts of three Ukrainian fronts, Right Bank Ukraine was liberated, and by the end of spring the western border of the USSR was completely restored.

Under such conditions, at the beginning of the summer of 1944, a second front was opened in Europe.

The headquarters of the Supreme High Command developed a plan that was grandiose in scale and successful in tactical ideas complete liberation Soviet territory and the entry of Red Army troops into Eastern Europe with the aim of liberating her from fascist enslavement. This was preceded by one of the major offensive operations - the Belarusian one, which received the code name "Bagration".

As a result of the offensive, the Soviet Army reached the outskirts of Warsaw and stopped on the right bank of the Vistula. At this time, a popular uprising broke out in Warsaw, brutally suppressed by the Nazis.

In September-October 1944, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia were liberated. They took an active part in the hostilities of the Soviet troops partisan units of these states, which then formed the basis of their national armed forces.

Fierce battles broke out for the liberation of the lands of Hungary, where a large group of fascist troops was located, especially in the area of ​​Lake Balaton. For two months, Soviet troops besieged Budapest, the garrison of which capitulated only in February 1945. Only by the middle of April 1945 was the territory of Hungary completely liberated.

Under the sign of the victories of the Soviet Army, from February 4 to 11, a conference of the leaders of the USSR, USA and England was held in Yalta, at which issues of the post-war reorganization of the world were discussed. Among them are the establishment of the borders of Poland, the recognition of the USSR's demands for reparations, the question of the USSR's entry into the war against Japan, the consent of the Allied powers to the annexation of the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin to the USSR.

April 16 - May 2 - Berlin operation - the last major battle of the Great Patriotic War. It took place in several stages:

Capture of the Seelow Heights;

Fighting on the outskirts of Berlin;

Assault on the central, most fortified part of the city.

On the night of May 9, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was signed.

July 17 - August 2 - Potsdam Conference of Heads of State - members of the anti-Hitler coalition. The main question is the fate of post-war Germany. Control was created. nal council is a joint body of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France to exercise supreme power in Germany during the period of its occupation. He paid special attention to issues of the Polish-German border. Germany was subject to complete demilitarization, and the activities of the Social Nazi Party were prohibited. Stalin confirmed the USSR's readiness to take part in the war against Japan.

The US President, who had received positive results from nuclear weapons tests at the beginning of the conference, began putting pressure on the Soviet Union. Work on the creation of atomic weapons in the USSR also accelerated.

On August 6 and 9, the United States nuclear-bombed two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which had no strategic significance. The act was of a warning and threatening nature, primarily for our state.

On the night of August 9, 1945, the Soviet Union began military operations against Japan. Three fronts were formed: Transbaikal and two Far Eastern. Together with the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Military Flotilla, the selected Japanese Kwantung Army was defeated and North China, North Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were liberated.

On September 2, 1945, the Second World War ended with the signing of the Japanese Surrender Act on the American military cruiser Missouri.

Policy and strategy of the USSR and Anglo-American allies in the liberation of Europe

At the final stage of the war in Europe, the advance of troops largely determined the post-war balance of power. The Resistance Movement, where the leading role was played by communist parties, could also determine the political structure in the states liberated from the fascists. Politics and military strategy during this period were particularly closely intertwined. The Soviet leadership sought to quickly and decisively end the war with the complete defeat of fascism. At the same time, the task of strengthening the post-war international position of the USSR was also solved. The Anglo-American leadership sought to strengthen its influence in Europe, preserve the capitalist system as much as possible and limit the influence of the USSR. All this complicated allied relations and left an imprint on strategic decisions.

Taking into account the agreement reached with the allies on the opening of a second front, the growing power of the Red Army and the increased level of Soviet military art, the Supreme High Command Headquarters adopted a plan for a decisive strategic offensive in 1944. It provided for the consistent conduct of ten largest operations groups of fronts with the goal of completely expelling the enemy from the territory of the USSR and liberating the peoples of Europe.

The offensive, launched in the winter of 1944 near Leningrad and Novgorod, continued continuously. The Red Army gave no respite to the enemy. From the end of December 1943 to mid-May 1944, our troops marched to the west over 1,000 km, defeated 99 enemy divisions and 2 brigades (of which 22 divisions and 1 brigade were destroyed). To Right Bank Ukraine - the main direction of the offensive - the Nazi command transferred 43 divisions and 4 brigades, of which 34 divisions and all brigades were from European countries and from Germany itself.

In the spring of 1944, Soviet troops reached the southwestern border of the USSR and transferred the fighting to the territory of Romania. The troops of generals F.I. Tolbukhin and A.I. Eremenko, together with the forces of the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Military Flotilla under the command of admirals F.S. Oktyabrsky and S.G. Gorshkov, liberated Crimea.

By this time, the Allies had prepared the landing of their troops in northern France. Operation Overlord is the largest strategic landing in history; a huge expeditionary force of 2 million 876 thousand people took part in it. The landing began at dawn on July 6th. In the first two days, 250 thousand people with 300 guns and 1,500 tanks were transferred. While paying tribute to the scale and skill of the Allied landing operations, it is necessary to evaluate the weaknesses of the German “Atlantic Wall”; the main forces of the Wehrmacht fought on the Soviet-German front.

Simultaneously with the Allied offensive in the west, in the summer of 1944, the largest offensive operations of the Red Army were launched. On June 10, the liberation of Karelia began, which led the Finnish government to the decision to withdraw from the war. Then came the main blow in Belarus and Western Ukraine.

The Belarusian operation (“Bagration”) is one of the largest in World War II. It was carried out on a front 1,100 km wide by forces of 4 fronts, numbering about 2 million people, 36,400 guns and mortars, 5,200 tanks and self-propelled guns, 5,300 aircraft. 40% of the personnel, 77% of the tanks and 53% of the aircraft of the entire active army were concentrated on 26% of the entire length of the Soviet-German front. This made it possible to achieve superiority in forces: in number of troops - 2:1; guns - 3.8:1; tanks - 5.8:1; airplanes - 3.9:1. The offensive began suddenly for the enemy, who was waiting for him in the south. On June 23, after powerful air strikes and active actions of Belarusian partisans, Soviet troops penetrated the enemy’s defenses. Tank and mechanized groups rushed into the gaps formed. On July 3, Minsk was liberated, to the east of which 105 thousand German soldiers and officers remained encircled. In other “cauldrons” near Vitebsk and Bobruisk, another 30 thousand and 40 thousand, respectively, are surrounded. The front troops were commanded by I. Kh. Bagramyan, G. F. Zakharov, K. K. Rokossovsky, I. D. Chernyakhovsky.

Soviet troops developed a rapid offensive and reached the border of East Prussia to the Grodno-Bialystok line, and in the south to Brest. During the offensive in Belarus, the Lvov-Sandomierz operation began to liberate Western Ukraine.

In connection with the entry of our troops into Polish territory, the Soviet government, in its statement, declared the independence of Poland and entered into an agreement with the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKNO) on relations between the Soviet command and the Polish administration. The PCNO took upon itself the leadership of the struggle of the Polish people against the occupiers and the restoration of the economy in the liberated areas, and began carrying out democratic reforms.

At the direction of the London emigrant government, the leadership of the Polish underground, without warning the Soviet command, began an uprising in Warsaw with the aim of bringing to power an emigrant Polish government with an anti-Soviet orientation. Soviet troops, exhausted by that time from long-term battles, were unable to provide effective assistance to the rebels; attempts to connect with the rebels did not yield positive results. The Germans brutally suppressed the uprising and destroyed Warsaw.

The grandiose offensive of the Red Army strengthened the public demand in the United States and England to intensify actions in France. But the Allied offensive from the Normandy bridgehead began only on July 25, 5 days after failed assassination attempt on Hitler. German troops tried to launch a counterattack, but were unsuccessful, and began to retreat. On August 15, the Allied landing also landed in the south of France, after which the Germans began an organized retreat along the entire Western Front. By August 25, the Allies captured the territory of France between the Seine and Loire. Throughout the country, Resistance fighters entered into battle with the occupiers. The armed struggle of the French people significantly helped the offensive of the Allied forces. The central element of the struggle was the successful Parisian armed uprising, led by the Communists.

The allied command, trying to strengthen its influence in the country and prevent the strengthening of the communists, delayed the agreement with the French government after the landing and implemented the occupation regime for 3 months. Only on August 26, after the liberation of Paris, the allies signed an agreement with the French authorities, since they preferred, in Churchill’s words, “de-Gaulle’s France to communist France.”

Hitler's command withdrew troops to the former Franco-German border and took emergency measures to strengthen the “western defensive rampart.” The Allied armies advanced after the retreating German units without encountering significant opposition. On September 2 they crossed the Belgian border, liberated Brussels, and on September 10 captured Luxembourg. By this time, the Germans had occupied the Siegfried defensive line and stopped the Allied advance there.

The joint offensive of the anti-Hitler coalition troops accelerated the collapse of the Hitler bloc and intensified the struggle of anti-fascist forces in the countries of Eastern, Central and Southern Europe. In the countries occupied by Nazi Germany and the states allied with it, a sharp polarization of forces occurred during the war. The big bourgeoisie and reactionary circles united with the fascist regime, and leftist forces led by communists rallied in the anti-fascist Resistance movement. The struggle of anti-fascist forces for national liberation merged with revolutionary struggle for democratic and socialist transformations. The victories of the Soviet Union made socialism popular among the broad masses and strengthened the influence of communist parties. The entry of Soviet troops into the countries of Eastern and Central Europe revolutionized the liberation movement and provided support to socialist-oriented political forces.

The policy of the Anglo-American allies in the liberated territories of European states was aimed at preserving pre-war regimes, weakening the influence of communist parties, fully restraining revolutionary processes and asserting their political influence. These contradictions seriously threatened the unity of the anti-Hitler coalition. The art of politics, its close connection with the effective strategy of each side during the offensive, largely determined the course of socio-political processes in European countries at the final stage of the Second World War.

In the area of ​​the offensive of the Anglo-American troops, in addition to the uprising in France, which made a significant contribution to the liberation of their homeland, armed uprisings against the occupiers also occurred in Belgium and Denmark. In Belgium, the rebels liberated Antwerp, but in Denmark the Resistance forces did not receive the support of the Anglo-American troops, and the occupiers managed to suppress the uprising. In all the countries of Western Europe liberated by Anglo-American troops, power remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie, and the Resistance units were disarmed. However, the role of communist parties during the liberation struggle remained so great that the governments of almost all liberated countries included representatives of communist parties and united left forces, despite the efforts of the ruling circles of the USA and Great Britain.

The work of communist parties under the prevailing conditions during the war differed sharply in each country, and the political situation changed extremely quickly. In the new conditions, the activities of the Comintern had already outlived their usefulness, and by a special decision of the Presidium of the ECCI, the Comintern was dissolved in May 1943. This decision was also important for strengthening the anti-Hitler coalition.

In the countries of Eastern, Southern and Central Europe, the process of defeating Hitler's troops by the armed forces of the Soviet Union merged with liberating anti-fascist people's democratic uprisings and revolutions.

During the Iasi-Chisinau operation to liberate Moldova, an anti-fascist uprising began in Bucharest on August 23, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Romania and in agreement with the Romanian king. A “government of national unity” was created, which announced the cessation of hostilities against the United Nations and Romania’s acceptance of the truce conditions presented by the USSR, England and the USA in the spring of 1944, but rejected then by the fascist government of Antonescu. Hitler ordered German troops stationed in the rear areas of Romania to suppress the uprising and launch an air strike on Bucharest. The Soviet leadership decides to provide prompt assistance to the rebels. Leaving 34 divisions to defeat the encircled enemy troops, the Soviet command sent 50 divisions deep into Romania. By August 29, the encircled enemy troops were defeated, and 208.6 thousand people were taken prisoner. By August 31 soviet soldiers together with Romanian formations and work detachments, they liberated Ploesti, and then entered Bucharest, enthusiastically greeted by the residents.

During the liberation of Romania, Soviet troops reached the borders of Bulgaria, where by the summer of 1944 a communist-led guerrilla war had begun against the monarcho-fascist government, which had drawn Bulgaria into a bloc with Germany and provided its territory and resources for the fight against the USSR. In 1944, Bulgaria continued to actively help Germany. The new government of Bulgaria, formed on September 2, 1944, declared neutrality, but still left its territory at the disposal of the German fascists.

On September 5, the Soviet government announced that the policy of so-called neutrality was providing direct assistance Hitler's Germany. It led to the fact that the Soviet Union “will henceforth be in a state of war with Bulgaria.” On September 7, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front crossed the Romanian-Bulgarian border without firing a single shot, greeted by the Bulgarian people as liberators.

On this day, at an illegal meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the BKP, a decision was made to start the uprising at 2 a.m. on September 9. The uprising in Sofia was bloodless and achieved complete victory; ministers and senior military leaders were arrested. The leadership of the Fatherland Front came to power and declared war on Germany. Bulgarian army together with Soviet troops entered into armed struggle with the Nazis. The people's government that came to power immediately began to carry out political and socio-economic reforms in the country.

The advance of Soviet troops in Bulgaria dramatically changed the entire situation in southern Europe. The Yugoslav partisans, who, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia for 3.5 years, waged a heroic struggle against the Nazis and their accomplices, received direct assistance from the Red Army. In accordance with the agreement between the government of the USSR and the leadership of the liberation movement of Yugoslavia, Soviet troops, together with Yugoslav and Bulgarian units, carried out the Belgrade operation. Having defeated the German army group, they liberated Belgrade, which became the seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia, headed by Joseph Broz Tito. The Yugoslav People's Army received a strong rear and military assistance for further struggle for the complete liberation of the country. In Albania, by the end of November, German troops were expelled by popular resistance forces, and there, too, a Provisional Democratic Government was formed.

Simultaneously with the offensive in the Balkans, the Red Army advanced into the Eastern Carpathians to help the Slovak partisans and the borders of Hungary. Overcoming fierce enemy resistance, Soviet soldiers liberated a third of Hungarian territory by the end of October and launched an offensive against Budapest. The Anti-Fascist Front of Hungary created the Insurgent Liberation Committee, which included several political parties led by the communist one. The liberated territory became the basis for the creation of people's power and the development of the people's democratic revolution in the country. In December, the Provisional National Assembly formed the Provisional Government, which declared war on Germany and began to reorganize the political and economic life of the country on a democratic basis.

In October, troops of the Karelian Front (General K. A. Meretskov) together with the forces of the Northern Fleet (Admiral A. G. Golovko) liberated the Soviet Arctic and part of Northern Norway. Carrying out a liberation mission in Europe, the Red Army fought together with the allied people's armies foreign countries. The People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and Yugoslav partisans, the Polish Army (1st and 2nd armies) and Polish partisans, the 1st Czechoslovak Corps and Czechoslovak partisans acted against the common enemy - Hitler's troops - from late August - early September 1944 . - Romanian and Bulgarian armies, and at the final stage of the war - parts of the new Hungarian army. In the fire of the war against fascism, the foundations of the military commonwealth of the armed forces of the USSR and the new people's republics were formed. Particularly heavy fighting took place in Hungary during the Budapest operation, which began on October 29 and lasted until February 13, 1945 by the forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, the Danube Flotilla with the involvement of the 1st Bulgarian Army and the 3rd Yugoslav Army. A bloody defensive battle took place in the area of ​​Lake Balaton, where Soviet troops steadfastly withstood a powerful enemy tank attack.

In the autumn of 1944, the German armed forces stabilized the situation on the Western and Italian fronts and organized fierce resistance on the Eastern Front. Hitler's leadership decided to take active action on the Western Front in order to achieve a separate peace with the Anglo-American allies “on the principle of force”, launching a major counter-offensive in the Ardennes. This was the Wehrmacht's first prepared major offensive against the Anglo-American troops and Hitler's last bid to exit the war on terms acceptable to him. German industrialists took all measures to provide the Wehrmacht with the necessary weapons and material means. At the cost of brutal exploitation of millions of foreign workers, it was possible to increase military production in the fall of 1944 to highest level for the entire war (this simultaneously shows the low effectiveness of strategic bombing by allied aviation for several years).

The sudden offensive of Hitler's troops on December 16, 1944 in the Ardennes caused a serious defeat American army. The German advance created a critical situation for the Allies in Europe. D. Eisenhower (commander of the Allied forces in Europe), assessing the current situation, came to the conclusion that it would be difficult for the Allies to independently cope with the offensive of German troops and asked Roosevelt to find out the prospects for a new Soviet offensive. Churchill on January 6, 1945 asked Stalin to inform him of the possibility of a major offensive on the Vistula front or elsewhere during January. Stalin announced on January 7, 1945 that, taking into account the position of our allies, broad offensive actions would be taken on the central sector of the front no later than the second half of January. By decision of the Headquarters, the start of the final offensive of the Red Army was postponed from January 20 to January 12.

The final stage of the war. conference.

On January 17, Warsaw was liberated, on January 19 - Lodz and Krakow, which the Nazis mined during the retreat, but Soviet intelligence officers managed to save the city. In order to preserve the Silesian industrial region, the front commander I. S. Konev gives the German troops the opportunity to escape from the encirclement, smashing the retreating formations during the pursuit. By the end of January - beginning of February, troops of the 1st Belorussian (Marshal Zhukov) and 1st Ukrainian (Marshal Konev) fronts reached the Oder, capturing large bridgeheads on its western bank. There were 60 km left to Berlin. Troops of the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts (Marshals Rokossovsky and Vasilevsky) together with the Red Banner Baltic Fleet (Admiral V.F. Tribune) led an offensive in East Prussia and Pomerania. In the south, Soviet troops advanced into Czechoslovakia and began the liberation of Budapest.

As a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops in the winter of 1945, Hitler’s army suffered a crushing defeat, and the imminent end of the war became a fact. The Nazis’ hopes for a protracted war for “Fortress Germany” and for a split in the anti-Hitler coalition collapsed completely.

Coordination of a further attack on Germany from the west and east and the problems of the post-war world order urgently required the convening of a new conference of the heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain. At the suggestion of the Soviet Union, Yalta was chosen as the venue. This decision showed the increased authority of the USSR and its decisive role in ending the Second World War. The Crimean (Yalta) Conference of the Heads of Government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain (J.V. Stalin, F. Roosevelt, W. Churchill) was held from February 4 to 11, 1945. All three powers were united in matters of military strategy with the goal of ending the war as quickly as possible . The military headquarters agreed on cooperation and, accordingly, the boundaries of the occupation zones were fundamentally determined.

The central issue has been resolved - about the future of Germany. The heads of state outlined the foundations of a coordinated policy on the principles of democratization, demilitarization, denazification, and the creation of guarantees that Germany “will never be able to disrupt the peace.” An agreement was reached on the Polish question, which opened the way for the development of a free and independent Polish state within historically just borders. The fate of the second source of aggression is predetermined, the date for the USSR's entry into the war in the Far East is fixed - 3 months after the end of the war with Germany. In Yalta, the principle of equality of arms prevailed. “The United States cannot expect that everything will be done at its discretion 100%, since this is also impossible for Russia and Great Britain,” noted President Roosevelt.

After the Yalta Conference, a coordinated offensive of the anti-Hitler coalition forces began from the east and west. It should be noted that during its course, fierce resistance to the Nazi army was organized mainly on the Soviet-German front (in the first half of April, 214 Nazi divisions were concentrated there). A contingent born in 1929 was drafted into the army, and brutal measures were taken to force the army to fight “to the last soldier.”

On April 13, Roosevelt died suddenly, and G. Truman became President of the United States. As a senator in 1941, he said that if Germany wins, we must help the Soviet Union, and if the USSR begins to win, then we must help Germany, and “let them kill as many as possible.” On April 16, in an address to the troops, Hitler assured that Roosevelt's death would cause a turn in the war. The struggle for Berlin formed a central link in the strategy and politics of the last days of fascism. Hitler's leadership believed that “it was better to surrender Berlin to the Anglo-Saxons than to let the Russians into it.” Berlin and its approaches have been turned into a powerful defensive area.

On April 16, the Berlin Strategic Operation began. Soviet troops broke through the enemy's deeply layered defenses and entered the suburbs of Berlin. On April 25, the encirclement of the Berlin group was completed. Heavy battles ensued with fascist troops fighting with fanatical, furious despair.

Meanwhile, along the entire Western and Italian fronts, the Allies accepted the partial surrender of Nazi troops (bypassing the signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany), quickly advancing through German territory. At the insistence of the Soviet government, on May 8, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed by all allies. It was held in liberated Berlin under the chairmanship of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. Only after the signing of the act did German troops in the east begin to lay down their arms everywhere. However, in order to overcome the resistance of the Nazis in Czechoslovakia, where a popular uprising began against them in Prague on May 5, battles had to be fought even before May 9, when Soviet tank troops completely liberated Prague. The last day of the war became the day of liberation of the fraternal Czechoslovak people. The Red Army fully fulfilled its international duty as a liberating army.

May 9 - Victory Day of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War was approved as a national holiday.

The defeat of Japan and the end of World War II

The war in Europe is over. The victorious countries began to develop documents about the post-war world. The Potsdam Conference of July 7 - August 2, 1945 summed up the outcome of the Second World War in Europe. The decisions taken there corresponded to the liberating anti-fascist nature of the war and became a turning point in the life of Europe from war to peace. However, the leaders of England (Churchill and then Atlee) and the USA (Truman) tried this time to take a “hard position” against the USSR. During the conference, the US government made its first attempt at "nuclear diplomacy". Truman informed Stalin about the creation of a new powerful weapon in the United States.

Having received assurances that the USSR would enter the war with Japan in accordance with the agreement at the Yalta Conference, the United States and Great Britain, joined by China, published a declaration in Potsdam on the unconditional surrender of Japan. The Japanese government rejected it.

The Soviet Union began deploying and preparing forces to enter the war with Japan. The Mongols also took part in the war: the People's Republic. Japan at that time had large forces in vast territories of China, Korea, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. The largest group of the Japanese army (the Kwantung Army numbering over 1 million) was located in Manchuria - on the borders of the USSR. According to the calculations of the US command, the war with Japan without the participation of the Soviet Union could last until 1947 with heavy losses.

The US government hastened to complete preparations for the atomic bombing of Japan despite the obvious futility of Japanese resistance after the USSR entered the war. On the morning of August 6, the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. Of the 306 thousand inhabitants, 140 thousand died immediately, tens of thousands died later, 90% of the buildings burned down, the rest turned into ruins.

On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan and joined the Potsdam Declaration. On the night of August 9, the Soviet Armed Forces launched an offensive. The Truman government ordered the second atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan as quickly as possible. On August 9, an American plane atomic bombed the city of Nagasaki, the number of victims was about 75 thousand people. The atomic bombings had no strategic significance; they were intended to intimidate the whole world, primarily the USSR, demonstrating the military power of the United States.

After receiving news of the USSR's entry into the Japanese war by radio on the morning of August 9, Prime Minister K. Suzuki convened a meeting of the Supreme Council for the Management of the War and told those present: “The entry of the Soviet Union into the war this morning puts us in a completely hopeless situation and makes it impossible to continue further.” war."

Soviet historians, like many foreign ones, adhere to the conclusion of the Japanese researcher N. Rekishi: “Although the United States is trying to present the atomic bombing of Japanese cities as the result of a desire to speed up the end of the war, in reality there were no casualties among civilians, and the entry of the USSR into the war determined the speedy end of the war.” (Orlov A. The secret battle of the superpowers. - M., 2000.)

Soviet troops rapidly advanced deep into the territory of Manchuria, overcoming many years of fortifications and resistance of Japanese troops. Within a few days, the Kwantung Army was defeated, and on August 14, the Japanese government decided to surrender; on August 19, soldiers and officers of the Kwantung Army began to surrender en masse. Soviet troops, together with the forces of the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Red Banner Flotilla, liberated Northeast China and North Korea, captured South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

Units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered Northeast China and were given weapons from the capitulated Kwantung Army. Under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, people's authorities and military units were created here, and the Manchurian revolutionary base was formed, which played a decisive role in the subsequent development of the revolutionary movement in China.

In North Korea, the Communist Party was restored and people's authorities were formed - the People's Committees, which began to carry out socialist and democratic reforms. With the defeat of Japan, uprisings broke out in many occupied countries and people's democratic revolutions took place - in Vietnam, Malaya, Indonesia and Burma.

On September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay on the battleship Missouri, under the chairmanship of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Pacific, General MacArthur, the signing of the Act of Surrender of Japan took place. From the Soviet Union, General K.N. Derevianko signed the Act, the whole ceremony took place in 20 minutes. Thus ended the Second World War - the most tragic period in the history of the 20th century.

The historical role of the USSR in the defeat of fascism. Sources of Victory

The defeat of fascism was achieved through the combined efforts of the states of the anti-Hitler coalition and forces

countries. Each country contributed to the victory by playing its role in this global battle. The historical role of the state in the defeat of fascism constitutes the national pride of the people, determines the country's authority in the post-war world and political weight in resolving international issues. That is why Western historiography is trying to belittle and distort the role of the USSR in World War II.

The course of events discussed earlier, the analysis of the policies and strategies of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition show that the USSR played an outstanding historical role in the general anti-fascist struggle.

The historical role of the USSR in World War II lies in the fact that the Soviet Union was the main military-political force that determined the victorious course of the war, its decisive results and, ultimately, the protection of the peoples of the world from enslavement by fascism.

The general assessment of the role of the USSR in the war is revealed in the following specific provisions.

1) The Soviet Union is the only force in the world that, as a result of a heroic struggle, stopped the continuous victorious march of aggression in 1941 fascist Germany in Europe.

This was achieved at a time when the power of Hitler's military machine was greatest, and the military capabilities of the United States were just being developed. The victory near Moscow dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the German army, contributed to the rise of the Resistance movement and strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition.

2) The USSR, in fierce battles with the main force of the fascist bloc - Hitler's Germany, achieved a radical turning point during the Second World War in favor of the anti-Hitler coalition in 1943.

After the defeat at Stalingrad, Germany, and after it Japan, switched from an offensive war to a defensive one. In the Battle of Kursk, the ability of Hitler's army to resist the advance of Soviet troops was finally broken, and the crossing of the Dnieper opened the way to the liberation of Europe.

3) Soviet Union in 1944-1945. carried out a liberation mission in Europe, eliminating fascist rule over the majority of enslaved peoples, preserving their statehood and historically just borders.

4) The Soviet Union made the greatest contribution to the conduct of the general armed struggle and defeated the main forces of the army of the Hitler bloc, thereby stipulating the complete and unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan.

This conclusion is based on the following comparative indicators of the armed struggle of the Red Army and the armies of the Anglo-American allies:

— The Red Army fought against the bulk of the troops of Nazi Germany. In 1941 - 1942 More than 3/4 of all German troops fought against the USSR; in subsequent years, more than 2/3 of the Wehrmacht formations were on the Soviet-German front. After the opening of the second front, the Eastern Front remained the main one for Germany; in 1944, 181.5 German divisions operated against the Red Army, 81.5 German divisions opposed the Anglo-American troops;

- on the Soviet-German front, military operations were carried out with the greatest intensity and spatial scope. Out of 1,418 days, 1,320 were active battles. On the North African front, respectively, out of 1,068 - 309; Italian out of 663 - 49. The spatial scope was: along the front 4 - 6 thousand km, which is 4 times more than the North African, Italian and Western European fronts combined;

— The Red Army defeated 507 Nazi and 100 allied divisions, almost 3.5 times more than the allies on all fronts of World War II. On the Soviet-German front, the German armed forces suffered more than 73% losses. The bulk of them were destroyed here military equipment Wehrmacht: more than 75% of aircraft (over 70 thousand), up to 75% of tanks and assault guns (about 50 thousand), 74% of artillery pieces (167 thousand);

- continuous strategic offensive of the Red Army in 1943 - 1945. rapidly shortened the duration of the war, created favorable conditions for the conduct of hostilities by the Allies and intensified their military efforts for fear of being “late” in the liberation of Europe.

These historical facts Western historiography and propaganda carefully suppress or grossly distort, attributing the decisive contribution to the victory to the United States and England. In the last decade of the 20th century. they are echoed by some domestic historians and publicists of an anti-Soviet and Russophobic orientation.

The historical role that befell the USSR in the defeat of fascism was worth heavy losses. The Soviet people brought their most sacrificial share to the altar of victory over fascism. The Soviet Union lost 26.6 million people in the war, tens of millions were wounded and maimed, the birth rate fell sharply, and enormous damage was caused to health; all Soviet people experienced physical and moral suffering; fell standard of living population.

Enormous damage has been caused to the national economy. The USSR lost 30% of its national wealth. The cost of damage amounted to 675 billion rubles. 1,710 cities and towns, more than 70 thousand villages, more than 6 million buildings, 32 thousand enterprises, 65 thousand km were destroyed and burned railways. The war devastated the treasury, prevented the creation of new values ​​in the national heritage, and led to a number of negative consequences in the economy, demography, psychology, and morality, which together amounted to the indirect costs of the war.

Direct losses of the Soviet Armed Forces (including troops of the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs), i.e. killed, died of wounds, went missing, did not return from captivity and non-combat losses, amounted to 8,668,400 people during the war years, taking into account the Far Eastern campaign, including including the army and navy 8,509,300 people. A significant part of the losses occurred in 1941 - 1942. (3,048,800 people). In the battles for the liberation of the peoples of Europe and the complete defeat of fascism, hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers laid down their lives: during the liberation of Poland - 600 thousand, Czechoslovakia - 140 thousand, Hungary - 140 thousand, Romania - about 69 thousand, Yugoslavia - 8 thousand, Austria - 26 thousand, Norway - more than a thousand, Finland - about 2 thousand, over 100 thousand Soviet soldiers died on German soil.

Anti-Soviet propaganda abroad and some Russian means mass media, who carry out the same ideological indoctrination of the population, blasphemously juggle with the figures of losses in the Great Patriotic War. Comparing different types losses in the USSR and Germany, draw a conclusion about “vain rivers of blood” and “mountains of corpses” of Soviet soldiers, blaming them on the “Soviet system,” questioning the very victory of the USSR over fascism. Falsifiers of history do not mention that Nazi Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet Union, unleashing mass destruction on the civilian population. The Nazis used an inhumane blockade of cities (700,000 people died from hunger in Leningrad), bombing and shelling of civilians, carried out mass executions of civilians, drove civilian population to forced labor and concentration camps, where they were subjected to mass extermination. The Soviet Union strictly complied with the agreements on the maintenance of prisoners of war and showed a humane attitude towards them. The Soviet command avoided conducting combat operations in densely populated areas, and in a number of cases made it possible Hitler's troops leave them freely. There were no reprisals against the civilian population in the territories occupied by Soviet troops. This explains the difference in losses among the civilian population of the USSR and Germany.

According to recent studies (Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century. Losses of the armed forces: Statistical research/ Ed. G. F. Krivosheeva. - M.. 2001.) irretrievable losses of the armed forces directly (according to our and foreign researchers) in the Red Army together with allies - Polish, Czechoslovak, Bulgarian, Romanian soldiers - by the end of the war amounted to 10.3 million people, of which Soviet soldiers - 8,668,400, including those killed in captivity (according to official archival data). The losses of the fascist bloc totaled 9.3 million people, of which 7.4 million were to fascist Germany, 1.2 million to its satellites in Europe and 0.7 million to Japan in Manchurian operation. Thus, if we exclude our losses associated with the brutal treatment of prisoners of war by the Nazis, then the discrepancy with Germany’s combat losses is quite insignificant, despite the most difficult conditions at the beginning of the war.

Speaking about losses, we must remember the main thing - the result of the war. The Soviet people defended their independence, the USSR made a decisive contribution to the victory over fascism, saving humanity from enslavement by the very reactionary system of imperialism. Nazi Germany was defeated, Hitlerism was eradicated, and there were no military clashes in Europe for almost half a century. The Soviet Union received guaranteed security for its European borders.

The Soviet Union withstood the heaviest invasion and won greatest victory throughout the thousand-year history of Russia. What are the sources of strength of the Soviet people in this gigantic battle? The answer to this question constitutes the main content of one of the important lessons of the history of the 20th century. for contemporaries and descendants. Western historiography, as a rule, avoids this issue, or refers to the mistakes of the German command, severe climatic conditions Russia, the traditional endurance of the Russian soldier, the “cruelty of the totalitarian Soviet regime,” etc. The scientific approach to analyzing the sources of victory is based on strict adherence to the basic principles historical science- objectivity, historicism, social approach in their organic unity.

First of all, it is necessary to note the following historical facts. Capitalist royal Russia in the First World War, having a larger territory than the USSR, it began the war in 1914 with an offensive against the enemy, whose main forces were deployed in the West. It fought the war with Germany having a second front from the very beginning against 1/3 to 1/2 of the armed forces of the countries of the Central Bloc, and in 1916 it was defeated. The Soviet Union withstood a powerful blow from the aggressor; For 3 years he fought without a second front with 3/4, and after its opening - with 2/3 of the troops of the Hitlerite bloc, using the resources of all of Europe; defeated the most powerful military machine of imperialism and achieved a decisive victory. This is the conclusion.

The main source of victory is the socialist social system.

It became the basis for the following specific sources of victory in armed struggle.

1) The spiritual power of the Soviet people, which caused mass heroism at the front and in the rear. The just liberation goals of the war made it truly Great, Patriotic, People's.

Soviet patriotism, which absorbed Russia's military traditions and national pride, also included socialist ideals. The spiritual power of the people was manifested in the high morale of the troops and labor tension in the rear, in perseverance and dedication in fulfilling their duty to the Motherland, in the heroic struggle behind enemy lines and in the mass partisan movement.

An act of the greatest self-sacrifice in the name of victory over the enemy and a sense of military camaraderie was the feat of Alexander Matrosov, who closed the embrasure of the enemy pillbox. The first such feat, documented, was performed by the political commissar of a tank company, Alexander Pankratov, on August 24, 1941. Now history knows more than 200 heroes who have accomplished such feats. Aerial ramming became a widespread phenomenon during the war years; it was carried out by 561 fighter pilots, 19 attack aircraft crews and 18 bombers, only 400 of them were able to land their vehicles or escape by parachute, the rest died (the Germans did not even ram over Berlin). 33 people rammed twice, Lieutenant A. Khlobystov three times, Lieutenant B. Kovzan four times. 28 Panfilov heroes who closed the path will forever go down in history German tanks to Moscow, and the feat of five marines led by political instructor N. Filchenkov, who at the cost of their lives stopped a tank column breaking through to Sevastopol. The whole world was amazed by the resilience of the defenders of Stalingrad, the symbol of which is “Pavlov’s House”. The feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who was not broken by the torture of the Nazis, became a legend. 100 nations and nationalities of the country showed heroism in the fight against a common enemy. Of the total number of over 11 thousand people, the heroes of the Soviet Union were 7,998 Russians, 2,021 Ukrainians, 299 Belarusians, 161 Tatars, 107 Jews, 96 Kazakhs, 90 Georgians, 89 Armenians, 67 Uzbeks, 63 Mordvins, 45 Chuvash, 43 Azerbaijanis, 38 Bashkirs, 31 Ossetians, 16 Turkmen, 15 Lithuanians, 15 Tajiks, 12 Kyrgyz, 12 Latvians, 10 Komi, 10 Udmurts, 9 Estonians, 8 Karelians, 8 Kalmyks, 6 Adygeans, 6 Kabardians, 4 Abkhazians, 2 Moldavians, 2 Yakuts , 1 Tuvan, etc.

2) The unity of Soviet society in the fight against the enemy.

The social homogeneity of society and the absence of exploiting classes in it were the basis for the moral and political unity of all Soviet people during the years of difficult trials. With their minds and hearts, they realized that in unity they had strength and hope for salvation from the foreign yoke. The friendship of the peoples of the USSR, based on social homogeneity, socialist ideology and common goals of struggle, also stood the test. The Nazis failed to create a “fifth column” in the USSR, to split the Soviet Union, and the lot of the traitors was the anger and contempt of the people.

3) Soviet state system.

Folk character Soviet power determined the people's complete trust in state leadership in the difficult trials of war. High centralization of public administration, organized work of the system government agencies and public organizations ensured the rapid mobilization of all the forces of society to solve the most important problems, transforming the country into a single military camp, close unity of the front and rear.

4) Socialist economy, its planning and distribution economic mechanism and mobilization abilities.

The socialist national economy triumphed over the German war economy, which exploited the superior potential of all of Europe. The powerful industry and collective farm system created in the pre-war years provided the material and technical capabilities for a victorious war. The quantity of weapons and military equipment significantly exceeded that of Germany, and in terms of quality it was the best in the world. The Soviet rear provided the army with the human resources necessary for victory and ensured that the front was supplied without interruption. The effectiveness of centralized control ensured a gigantic maneuver of productive forces in the difficult conditions of the army's retreat from west to east and the restructuring of production for military needs in the shortest possible time.

5) Activities of the Communist Party.

The party was the core of society, the spiritual basis and organizing force, the real vanguard of the people. The communists carried out the most difficult and dangerous tasks voluntarily, and were an example in the performance of military duty and selfless work in the rear. Party as a leader political force provided effective ideological and educational work, organized mobilization and production activities, and successfully completed the most important task of recruiting leaders for waging war and organizing production. Of the total number of deaths at the front, 3 million were communists.

6) Soviet military art, the art of conducting military operations on various scales - in battle, operations (operational art), campaigns and warfare in general (strategy).

The art of war ultimately realized all the sources of victory in the course of armed struggle. Soviet military science and military art proved superior to the military theory and practice of Germany, which were considered the pinnacle of bourgeois military affairs and were taken as a model by military leaders throughout the capitalist world. This superiority was achieved during a fierce struggle, using combat experience flexibly and quickly, comprehensively taking into account the requirements of the actual conditions of warfare and the lessons of the failures of the first period.

In the strategy, the superiority of Soviet military art was expressed in the fact that none of the final goals of the offensive campaigns of Hitler’s armed forces, despite the heavy defeats of the Soviet troops during the defense, were achieved: in 1941 - defeat near Moscow and the failure of the “blitzkrieg” plan , in 1942 - defeat at Stalingrad and the collapse of Hitler’s plan to achieve a radical turning point in the war with the USSR. The goals of the Wehrmacht's strategic defense were not achieved either. During the transition to maneuverable strategic defense Hitler's command failed to disrupt the offensive of the Red Army in 1943 and achieve stabilization of the front. Positional maneuver defense 1944 - 1945 could not bleed and stop the steadily developing advance of the Red Army. During the war, a new, most effective form of strategic action in World War II was brought to perfection - the operation of a group of fronts under the leadership of the Supreme Command Headquarters. Soviet troops successfully carried out hundreds of front-line and army operations, which, as a rule, were distinguished by their creative nature and novelty of methods of action that were unexpected for the enemy.

Noting the superiority of Soviet military art (which was recognized by all contemporaries, including military leaders of the defeated Reich, for example Field Marshal Paulus), it is necessary to point out that military science has several criteria for assessing military art for various types of combat operations on land, sea and in the air. In its most general form, an indicator of the level of military art is manifested in the defeat of the opposing enemy’s forces, the defense of one’s own and the acquisition of his territory, and forcing surrender or peace as a result of war. This also takes into account the ratio of losses on the battlefields, sometimes called the “price of victory.” Slanderers Soviet history often distort the main indicator of military art. They “forget” about the victory achieved, the complete surrender of Nazi Germany in defeated Berlin, and falsified figures for the ratio of losses in favor of the Nazi army are presented as the main result of the struggle. They do not note that the number of losses of Soviet troops includes those killed in concentration camps more than 1.2 million prisoners were captured as a result of the brutal treatment of the Nazis, and more than 3 million losses occurred in the first stage of the war, when the struggle was waged in extremely difficult, unequal conditions.

Thus, in all respects, Soviet military art surpassed the fascist German art, which was considered the pinnacle of military science in the West. It should be taken into account that the Soviet Union bore the brunt of the fight against Hitler’s army, and the small losses of the Anglo-American troops were determined by the policy of delaying the second front and the “peripheral” strategy in anticipation of decisive results in the struggle on the Soviet-German front.

In assessing the superiority of Soviet military art, it is important to emphasize that armed struggle is not only a battle of troops, but also a clash of minds and wills of opposing military leaders. In the battles of the Great Patriotic War, an intellectual victory over the enemy was achieved. The superiority of the intellect of the leadership, and not the “mountain of corpses,” determined the brilliant victories of the Soviet troops on the battlefields and the victorious end of the war in defeated Berlin, the complete surrender of the fascist army.

During the war years, a galaxy of talented military leaders, commanders and naval commanders emerged in the Soviet armed forces - commanders of fronts, fleets, armies and flotillas, who showed brilliant examples of military art: A. I. Antonov, I. Kh. Bagramyan, A. M. Vasilevsky, N. F. Vatutin, N. N. Voronov, L. A. Govorov, A. G. Golovko, A. I. Eremenko, M. V. Zakharov, I. S. Konev, N. G. Kuznetsov, R. Ya Malinovsky, F. S. Oktyabrsky, K. K. Rokossovsky, F. I. Tolbukhin, V. F. Tributs, A. V. Khrulev, I. D. Chernyakhovsky, V. I. Chuikov, B. M. Shaposhnikov and a lot others.

The most outstanding, who received worldwide recognition as a great commander of the 20th century, is Marshal of the Soviet Union, four times Hero of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov, who since the summer of 1942 has carried out the functions of leading military operations as Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The prominent American publicist E. Salisbury, in his book “The Great Battles of Marshal Zhukov” (M., 1969), assessed his activities as follows: “the name of this stern, decisive man, the commander of commanders in waging war by mass armies, will shine above all other military leaders. He turned the tide of battle against the Nazis, against Hitler, not once, but many times.”

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Chairman of the State Defense Committee, leader of the Soviet state, who led the war of the Soviet people as a whole, was Secretary General Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Generalissimo I.V. Stalin, who went down in history as one of the outstanding political and state figures of the Second World War. Roosevelt and Churchill, as heads of the Allied states, highly valued Stalin's personal contribution to achieving victory over fascism.

G.K. Zhukov in 1969, five years before his death, deeply pondering the results of the war, gave the following assessment of Stalin: “Is I.V. Stalin really an outstanding military thinker in the field of building the armed forces and an expert on operational-strategic issues ? I studied J.V. Stalin thoroughly as a military leader, since I went through the entire war with him. J.V. Stalin mastered the organization of front-line operations and operations of groups of fronts and directed them with full knowledge affairs, having a good understanding of large strategic issues. These abilities of J.V. Stalin were especially evident starting from Stalingrad. In leading the armed struggle as a whole, J.V. Stalin was helped by his natural intelligence and rich intuition. He knew how to find the main link in a strategic situation and, seizing on it, counter the enemy, carry out one or another offensive operation. Undoubtedly, he was a worthy Supreme Commander." This assessment of Stalin was well thought out by Zhukov in the quiet of his office at his desk, corrected more than once and rewritten in its final form for posterity.

Won a historic victory over fascism Soviet people and Russian socialism, barely formed in 20 years. In the brutal struggle against reactionary Western European imperialism, they proved their superiority. Russian civilization has passed the most difficult test. The socialist system gave it enormous vitality in the centuries-long confrontation with the West. He opened up space for the creative forces of the people, united them in a single will, created the economic basis of the armed struggle and promoted people's talents to leadership.

Millions of Soviet people gave their lives in the name of victory and the future of their Motherland.

Crimean (Yalta) conference

February 4–11, 1945. near Yalta (Crimea) in the Livadia Palace, the second meeting of the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain - took place. J.V. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill mainly discussed not so much military plans for the defeat of Germany, but post-war world structure. They agreed on the terms of Germany's unconditional surrender and stipulated the terms of its occupation and demilitarization.

D. Nalbaldyan. Crimean Conference.1945

In Yalta, a decision was made to convene the founding conference of the United Nations, which was to be created in order to prevent new wars in the future. The Declaration of a Liberated Europe was adopted, proclaiming the need to coordinate the actions of the USSR, USA and Great Britain in post-war Europe. The USSR confirmed its promise to enter the war against Japan 2-3 months after the defeat of Germany.

Liberation of Europe from fascism

At the beginning of 1945, 10 Soviet fronts, consisting of 6.7 million people, equipped with 107.3 thousand guns and mortars, 12.1 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, and 14.7 thousand aircraft, fought on the Soviet-German front at the beginning of 1945. In December 1944 - January 1945, Anglo-American troops experienced serious difficulties in the Ardennes (southwest Belgium). Therefore, in January 1945, Soviet troops, at the request of W. Churchill, launched an offensive along the entire front line ahead of schedule.

January 12 – February 3, 1945 was held Vistula-Oder operation to defeat the German-Hungarian group in the Western Carpathians. Having broken through the enemy’s defenses and destroyed 17 divisions, the troops of the 1st Belorussian (commander G.K. Zhukov) and 1st Ukrainian (commander I.S. Konev) liberated the territory of Poland west of the Vistula. By the beginning of February, Soviet troops reached the Oder, capturing a number of bridgeheads on its left bank.

From the document (F.V. Mellenthin. Tank battles 1939-1945):

...On January 12, the long-awaited Russian offensive began with the advance of Konev’s troops from the Baranów bridgehead. Forty-two rifle divisions, six tank corps and four mechanized brigades broke into southern Poland and rushed into the industrial region of Upper Silesia...

On January 9, Guderian warned Hitler that “the Eastern Front resembles a house of cards,” but Hitler stubbornly continued to think that the Russian preparations were just a giant bluff. He demanded a firm hold on his positions and transferred tank reserves from Poland to Hungary, trying in vain to ease the situation of the troops in Budapest. As a result, a few days later the front of German troops on the Vistula collapsed. On January 17, Warsaw fell, on January 18, the Russians captured Lodz and Krakow, and on January 20, Zhukov’s advancing troops crossed the Silesian border. The frozen ground favored rapid advancement, and the Russian offensive developed with unprecedented strength and swiftness. It was clear that their High Command had completely mastered the technique of organizing the offensive of huge mechanized armies and that Stalin was determined to be the first to enter Berlin. On January 25, the Russians were already standing under the walls of my hometown Breslau, and by February 5 Zhukov reached the Oder near Küstrin, only 80 km from the German capital...

... It is impossible to describe everything that happened between the Vistula and Oder in the first months of 1945. Europe has not known anything like this since the fall of the Roman Empire.

January 13 - April 25, 1945 troops of the 2nd (commander K.K. Rokossovsky) and 3rd (commander I.D. Chernyakhovsky, from February 20 - A.M. Vasilevsky) Belarusian and units of the 1st Baltic ( commander I. Kh. Bagramyan) of the fronts in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet (commander V. F. Tributs) during East Prussian operation broke through the powerful defenses of the German Army Group Center, reached the Baltic Sea and eliminated the main enemy forces (over 25 divisions), occupying East Prussia and liberating the northern part of Poland.

Assault on Königsberg

When destroying the enemy at sea during the East Prussian operation, the submarine "S-13" under the command of Captain 3rd Rank A. I. Marinesko achieved outstanding success. On January 30, she sank the German liner "Wilhelm Gustloff" with a displacement of 25.5 thousand tons, on February 9 - the German steamer "General von Steuben" with a displacement of 14.7 thousand tons. Not a single Soviet submariner achieved such brilliant results in one trip. For military services, the S-13 boat was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

I. I. Rodionov. Destruction of the German liner "Wilhelm Gustlow"

By the beginning of April, the territory of Hungary, Poland and East Prussia was liberated from the enemy. In mid-April, troops of the 1st Belorussian (commander G.K. Zhukov), 2nd Belorussian (commander K.K. Rokossovsky) and 1st Ukrainian (commander I.S. Konev) fronts totaling 2.5 million people began the final operation to defeat Germany. According to the developed plan for the destruction of army groups "Center" and "Vistula", the capture of Berlin and access to the Elbe to connect with the allies, on April 16, units of the 1st Belorussian Front attacked the central section of the German fortification line on the Oder. They encountered stubborn resistance, especially at the Seelow Heights, which they managed to take only on April 17 at the cost of huge losses.

Battle of Seelow Heights

On April 17, 1945, in the sky over Berlin, the 62nd German plane was shot down by I. N. Kozhedub, squadron commander, deputy regiment commander, three times Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, during the war years he fought 120 air battles; shot down 62 aircraft.

I. N. Kozhedub

On April 19, having made a 30-km gap in the enemy’s defenses, units of the 1st Belorussian Front rushed to Berlin and on April 21 reached its suburbs. The 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Neisse on April 16, broke through the German defenses by April 19, defeated the 4th Tank Army and moved towards Berlin from the south. On April 25, troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian Fronts completed the encirclement of the Berlin group.

April 25, 1945 units of the 1st Ukrainian Front reached the Elbe and in the area Torgau met with units of the 1st American Army. Here is the Eastern and Western fronts connected.

Allied meeting in Torgau

The 2nd Belorussian Front attacked Army Group Vistula, rushing to the aid of Berlin. On April 20, his troops crossed the Oder and captured Stettin on April 26. On April 26, the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian Fronts began to liquidate two encircled Wehrmacht groups. On April 28, they captured the outskirts of the city and started fighting for the central quarters. On April 30, 1945, soldiers of the 150th Infantry Division M.A. Egorov and M.V. Kantaria hoisted the Red Banner of Victory over the Reichstag.

Hitler committed suicide that same day. On May 2, the Berlin garrison capitulated. On May 8, in Karlshorst near Berlin, representatives of the victorious countries and the German military command signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany. From the USSR, the document was signed by Marshal G.K. Zhukov.

On the same day, units of the 1st Ukrainian Front occupied Dresden. May 9, 1945. the remnants capitulated German army in Czechoslovakia. This day was announced Victory Day.

However, at that time the USSR only accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany; formally, the war with the Germans ended in 1955, when the decree “On ending the state of war between the Soviet Union and Germany” was issued.

On June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place on Red Square. He was received by Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. The parade was commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky. The lowering of German flags was carried out with gloves on to emphasize disgust towards the Nazis. After the parade, the gloves and wooden platform at the Mausoleum were ceremonially burned.

Potsdam Conference

From July 17 to August 2, 1945, a conference of leaders of the victorious powers was held in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam. Soviet delegation was headed by J.V. Stalin, the American one by G. Truman, and the English one by W. Churchill (he was replaced by the new Prime Minister K. Attlee on July 28). The question of the post-war structure of Europe took center stage. The decision was made to save Germany a single state, implement measures for its disarmament and demilitarization, the complete elimination of the remnants of the fascist regime (the so-called denazification). To do this, the troops of the victorious countries (including France) had to enter German territory, and the duration of their stay was not limited. The issue of reparation payments from Germany to the USSR as the country most affected by Hitler's aggression was resolved.

The Big Three at the Potsdam Conference

At the conference, the leaders of the victorious powers established new borders in Europe. The pre-war borders of the USSR were recognized, the territory of Poland was expanded at the expense of German lands. The territory of East Prussia was divided between Poland and the USSR. The USSR confirmed its commitment to declare war on Japan no later than 3 months.

War between the USSR and Japan

The Second World War, after the defeat of Germany, continued in the Far East, where the USA, England and China fought a war with Japan. On August 8, the USSR, faithful to its allied obligations, declared war on Japan. During the Manchurian operation, a crushing blow was dealt to the million-strong Japanese Kwantung Army.

For two weeks Soviet army under the command of Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky defeated the main forces of the Japanese, occupied Harbin and Mukden in Northeast China, Port Arthur, Dalniy, Pyongyang. During landing operations Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were liberated from the Japanese. Japan's losses on the Far Eastern Front in three weeks amounted to almost 800 thousand people.

On August 6 and 9, the US military carried out atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the official goal of hastening Japan's surrender. The “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” bombs killed from 90 to 166 thousand people in Hiroshima and from 60 to 80 thousand people in Nagasaki. The necessity and ethical validity of the atomic bombing of Japan is still a matter of debate.

Atomic explosions in Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right)

On September 2, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender was signed aboard the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. From Japan it was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs S. Mamoru and the Chief of the General Staff U. Yoshijiro, from the USA - General D. MacArthur, from the USSR - Lieutenant General K. N. Derevyanko.

Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan

Liberation of the USSR

• 1944 was the year of complete liberation of the territory of the USSR. During the winter and spring offensive operations of the Red Army, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted, the Korsun-Shevchenko enemy group was surrounded and captured, Crimea and most of Ukraine were liberated.
• On March 26, troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal I.S. Koneva were the first to reach the state border of the USSR with Romania. On the third anniversary of the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet country, a grandiose Belarusian war began. offensive, which ended with the liberation of a significant part of Soviet land from German occupation. In the fall of 1944, the state border of the USSR was restored along its entire length. Under the blows of the Red Army, the fascist bloc collapsed.

fascist army soviet blockade

The Soviet government officially stated that the entry of the Red Army into the territory of other countries was caused by the need to completely defeat the armed forces of Germany and did not pursue the goal of changing the political structure of these states or violating territorial integrity. Soviet troops had to fight on the territory of many European countries captured by the Germans, from Norway to Austria. Most of all (600 thousand) Soviet soldiers and officers died and were buried on the territory of modern Poland, more than 140 thousand - in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 26 thousand - in Austria.

The entry of the Red Army on a broad front into Central and South-Eastern Europe immediately raised the question of further relations between the countries of this region and the USSR. On the eve of and during the battles for this vast and vital region, the USSR began to openly support pro-Soviet politicians in these countries - mainly from among the communists. At the same time, the Soviet leadership sought recognition from the United States and England of their special interests in this part of Europe. Given the fact of the presence of Soviet troops there, Churchill in 1944 agreed with the inclusion of all Balkan countries, except Greece, into the sphere of influence of the USSR. In 1944, Stalin achieved the creation of a pro-Soviet government in Poland, parallel to the exile government in London. Of all these countries, only in Yugoslavia did Soviet troops receive strong support from Josip Broz Tito's partisan army. Together with the partisans, on October 20, 1944, the Red Army liberated Belgrade from the enemy.

Together with the Soviet troops, the Czechoslovak corps, the Bulgarian army, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army, and several Romanian units and formations took part in the liberation of their countries. In the summer of 1944, a wide conspiracy - from communists to monarchists - arose for this purpose in Romania. At this time, the Red Army was already fighting on Romanian territory. On August 23rd in Bucharest there was palace coup. The next day, the new government declared war on Germany.

On August 31, Soviet troops entered Bucharest. The Romanian armies joined the Soviet fronts. King Michael later even received the Order of Victory from Moscow (although before that his army fought against the USSR). At the same time, Finland managed to withdraw from the war on fairly honorable terms and signed an armistice on September 19, 1944.

Throughout the war, Bulgaria was an ally of Germany and fought against England and the United States, but it did not declare war on the Soviet Union. September 5, 1944 The Soviet government declared war on Bulgaria, giving the order to launch an offensive, but one of infantry divisions The Bulgarian army, having lined up along the road, met our units with unfurled red banners and solemn music. After some time, the same events occurred in other directions. Spontaneous fraternization between Soviet soldiers and the Bulgarian people began. On the night of September 9, a bloodless coup took place in Bulgaria. A new government came to power in Sofia, under strong communist influence. Bulgaria declared war on Germany.

At the end of August 1944, a popular anti-fascist uprising broke out in Slovakia and units of the 1st Ukrainian Front, which included the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps under the command of General L. Svoboda, were sent to help it. Stubborn fighting began in the Carpathian Mountains region. On October 6, Soviet and Czechoslovak troops entered Czechoslovakia in the area of ​​the Duklinsky Pass. This day is now celebrated as Czechoslovak People's Army Day. Bloody battles lasted until the end of October. Soviet troops failed to completely overcome the Carpathians and connect with the rebels. But gradually the liberation of Eastern Slovakia continued. It involved both the rebels, who went to the mountains and became partisans, and the civilian population. The Soviet command helped them with people, weapons and ammunition.

By October 1944, Germany had only one ally left in Europe - Hungary. On October 15, the country's supreme ruler, Miklos Horthy, also tried to withdraw it from the war, but to no avail. He was arrested by the Germans. After this, Hungary had to fight to the end. Stubborn battles took place for Budapest. Soviet troops managed to take it only on the third attempt on February 13, 1945. And the last battles in Hungary ended only in April. In February, the Budapest group of Germans was defeated. In the area of ​​Lake Balaton (Hungary), the enemy made a last attempt to go on the offensive, but was defeated. In April, Soviet troops liberated the capital of Austria, Vienna, and in East Prussia captured the city of Königsberg.

The regime of German occupation in Poland was very harsh: during the war, out of 35 million inhabitants, 6 million people died. However, from the beginning of the war, there was a resistance movement here, called the Home Army. Patriotic Army"). It supported the Polish government in exile. On July 20, 1944, Soviet troops entered the territory of Poland. A provisional government of the country, led by the communists, was immediately created - the Committee of National Liberation. The Ludowa Army ("People's Army") was subordinate to it. Together with Soviet troops and units of the Ludowa Army Committee moved towards Warsaw. The Home Army strongly opposed the coming to power of this committee. Therefore, it tried to liberate Warsaw from the Germans with its own forces. On August 1, an uprising broke out in the city, in which most of the residents of the Polish capital participated. Soviet leadership reacted sharply negatively to the uprising. I. Stalin wrote to W. Churchill on August 16: “The Warsaw action represents a reckless, terrible adventure that costs the population great casualties. Given the current situation, the Soviet command came to the conclusion that it must dissociate itself from the Warsaw adventure, since it could not bear either direct or indirect responsibility for the Warsaw action." Without supporting the rebels, the Soviet leadership refused to drop them weapons and food from airplanes.

On September 13, Soviet troops reached Warsaw and stopped on the other side of the Vistula. From here they could watch how the Germans mercilessly dealt with the rebels. Now they began to receive assistance by dropping everything they needed from Soviet planes. But the uprising was already dying out. During its suppression, about 18 thousand rebels and 200 thousand Warsaw civilians were killed. On October 2, the leaders of the Warsaw Uprising decided to surrender. As punishment, the Germans almost completely destroyed Warsaw. Residential buildings were burned or blown up. The surviving residents left the city.

By the beginning of 1945, the Soviet active forces had twice as many soldiers as the opposing enemy, three times as many tanks and self-propelled guns, four times as many guns and mortars, and almost eight times as many combat aircraft. Our aviation reigned supreme in the air. Almost half a million soldiers and officers of its allies fought side by side with the Red Army. All this allowed the Soviet command to simultaneously launch an offensive along the entire front and strike the enemy where it was convenient for us, and when it was beneficial for us.

The winter offensive involved troops from seven fronts - three Belarusian and four Ukrainian. Troops of the 1st and 2nd Baltic Fronts continued to block the enemy grouping in Courland from land. The Baltic Fleet helped ground forces advance along the coast, and the Northern Fleet provided transportation through the Barents Sea. The offensive was scheduled to begin in the second half of January.

But the Soviet command was forced to amend its plan, and here's why. In mid-December 1944, the Nazis suddenly attacked American and British troops in the Ardennes, on the border of Belgium and France, and drove the allied forces 100 km west, towards the sea. The British felt this defeat especially painfully - the situation reminded them of the tragic days of June 1940, when their troops were pinned to the sea in the Dunkirk area. On January 6, Churchill turned to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces, J.V. Stalin, with a request to speed up the Red Army's transition to the offensive in order to ease the situation of the Anglo-American troops. This request was granted, and the Red Army, despite the incompleteness of preparations, launched a general offensive on January 12, 1945 from the shores of the Baltic to the southern spurs of the Carpathians. This was the largest and most powerful offensive of the entire war.

The main blow was delivered by the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, advancing from the Vistula, south of Warsaw, and moving west to the borders of Germany. These fronts were commanded by Marshals of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and I.S. Konev. These fronts included 2 million 200 thousand soldiers and officers, more than 32 thousand guns and mortars, about 6,500 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, about 5 thousand combat aircraft. They quickly broke the German resistance and completely destroyed 35 enemy divisions. 25 enemy divisions lost from 50 to 70% of their strength.

The continuous offensive to the west continued for 23 days. Soviet soldiers fought 500 - 600 km. On February 3 they were already on the banks of the Oder. Before them lay the land of Germany, from where the scourge of war came to us. On January 17, Soviet troops entered the Polish capital. The city, turned into ruins, looked completely dead. During the Vistula-Oder operation (February 1945), the territory of Poland was completely cleared of fascist occupiers; the Vistula-Oder operation saved the Allied troops in the Ardennes from defeat, where the Americans lost 40 thousand people.

The Soviet command proposed to arrange negotiations with the underground leadership of the Home Army. However, at the very first meeting, its head, General L. Okulitsky, was arrested. In June 1945, an open trial of the leaders of the Home Army took place in Moscow. As in previous open trials in Moscow, the defendants admitted their guilt and repented of their “anti-Soviet activities.” 12 of them were sentenced to imprisonment.

In mid-January, an equally powerful offensive by troops of the 3rd and 2nd Belorussian Fronts under the command of Army General I.D. launched in East Prussia. Chernyakhovsky and Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky. The Nazis turned East Prussia - a nest of Prussian landowners and the military - into a continuous fortified region with strong reinforced concrete defensive structures. The enemy organized the defense of their cities in advance. He covered the approaches to them with fortifications (by adapting old forts, he built pillboxes, bunkers, trenches, etc.), and inside the cities most of the buildings, including factories, were adapted for defense. Many buildings had an all-round view, others flanked the approaches to them. As a result, many strong strong points and resistance centers were created, reinforced with barricades, trenches, and traps. If we add to what has been said that the walls of some buildings were not penetrated even by 76-mm shells from ZIS-3 divisional guns, it becomes clear that the Germans were able to provide long-term and stubborn resistance to our advancing troops.

The enemy’s tactics in urban combat boiled down to firmly holding positions (fortified buildings, blocks, streets, alleys), using high-density fire to impede the movement of the attackers to the target of attack, and if it was lost, using a counterattack from neighboring houses, restore the position, create fire pockets in area of ​​the captured object and thereby inflict defeat on the advancing enemy and disrupt the attack. The garrison of the building (quarter) was quite large, since not only regular Wehrmacht troops, but also militia units (Volkssturm) participated in the defense of the city.

Our soldiers suffered heavy losses. On February 18, the hero of the Great Patriotic War, an outstanding commander, commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Army General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, fell on the battlefield, struck by a fragment of an enemy shell. Step by step, tightening the ring around the encircled German group, our units cleared the entire East Prussia of the enemy in three months of fighting. The assault on Konigsberg began on April 7. This assault was accompanied by unprecedented artillery and air support, for the organization of which the head of the Air Force, Air Marshal Novikov, received a Hero of the Soviet Union. The use of 5,000 guns, including heavy artillery of 203 and 305 (!) mm caliber, as well as 160 mm caliber mortars, and 2,500 aircraft “...destroyed the fortifications of the fortress and demoralized the soldiers and officers. Going out into the street to contact unit headquarters, we did not know where to go, completely losing our bearings, the appearance of such a destroyed and burning city changed” (an eyewitness account from the German side). On April 9, the main fascist fortress, the city of Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad), capitulated. Almost 100 thousand German soldiers and officers surrendered, tens of thousands were killed.

Meanwhile, in the south of the Soviet-German front, in the area of ​​Budapest liberated by Soviet troops on February 13, 1945, the Nazis unsuccessfully tried to seize the initiative and repeatedly launched counterattacks. On March 6, they even launched a large counteroffensive between Lakes Velence and Lake Balaton, southwest of Budapest. Hitler ordered large tank forces to be transferred here from the Western European front, from the Ardennes. But Soviet soldiers of the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian fronts, having repelled the fierce attacks of the enemy, resumed the offensive on March 16, liberated Hungary from the Nazis, entered the territory of Austria and on April 13 captured the capital, Vienna.

In February and March, our troops also successfully thwarted the enemy’s attempt to launch a counteroffensive in Eastern Pomerania and drove the Nazis out of this ancient Polish region. From mid-April 1945, troops of the 4th and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts launched the final battles for the liberation of Czechoslovakia. On April 30, the large industrial center of Czechoslovakia, Moravska Ostrava, was liberated. The capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, was liberated on April 4, but the capital of Czechoslovakia, Prague, was still far away. Meanwhile, on May 5, an armed uprising of city residents began in Nazi-occupied Prague.

The Nazis were preparing to drown the uprising in blood. The rebels radioed to allied forces with a call for help. The Soviet command responded to this call. Two tank armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front completed an unprecedented three-hundred-kilometer march from the outskirts of Berlin to Prague over the course of three days. On May 9, they entered the capital of the fraternal people and helped save it from destruction. All troops of the 1st, 4th and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts joined the offensive, which unfolded from Dresden to the Danube. The fascist invaders were completely expelled from Czechoslovakia.

On April 16, the Berlin operation began, ending two weeks later with the hoisting of the red banner over the defeated Reichstag. After the capture of Berlin, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front made a rapid march to the aid of the rebel Prague and on the morning of May 9 entered the streets of the Czechoslovak capital. On the night of May 8-9, 1945, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, representatives of the German command signed an act of unconditional surrender of all German armed forces. The war in Europe is over.