The USSR introduces World War 2. USSR during the Great Patriotic War

In the second half of the 1930s. Hitler behaved extremely aggressively towards Russia. He openly proclaimed a future war. However, the Anglo-French leaders generally pursued a policy of “appeasement” of Hitler and tried to direct his aggression to the east. In March 1939, Stalin sharply criticized this policy, saying that it was they, not Germany, who were the warmongers. However, on April 17, 1939, the Soviet government proposed that England and France conclude a mutual assistance agreement in case of aggression. But these negotiations turned out to be unsuccessful, since their participants sought not so much for real agreements as for putting pressure on Germany.

On August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact for a period of 10 years and a secret protocol on the delimitation of spheres of influence were signed between the USSR and Germany. On September 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland without declaring war. And already on September 3, Poland's allies - England and France - declared war on Germany.

The main reasons for the war:

· economic and political contradictions and the struggle for the redivision of the world;

· contradictions between capitalism and socialism;

· the establishment of fascist regimes in a number of countries.

In mid-September, when the Polish troops were defeated, Germany withdrew its army to the borders of the Soviet Union. Finland refused Stalin’s proposal to move the border away from Leningrad in exchange for territory in Karelia. On November 30, 1939, the Soviet-Finnish war began, which lasted until the spring of 1940. On March 12, the Soviet-Finnish peace treaty was signed, according to which the USSR ceded the territory of the Karelian Isthmus. The League of Nations expelled the USSR from its membership, condemning its actions. In May of the same year, Germany attacked Belgium and Holland. Holland and Belgium capitulated on May 14 and 28, respectively. On June 10, Italy entered the war against France and England. June 22, 1940 The Franco-German armistice was signed. According to it, Germany occupied most of its territory, and France paid huge sums. On June 25, Italy signed an armistice agreement with France.

On June 14 and 16, 1940, the USSR government demanded that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia change the composition of their governments and allow the entry of additional troops. In August 1940, these states joined the USSR.

After the defeat of France, England remained the only country that continued the war with Germany. In May 1940, the British government was headed by Winston Churchill. America provided assistance to the country. In March 1941, the US Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act.

After Hitler's plan to seize England failed, Germany began preparations for war against the USSR. The Barbarossa attack plan was being developed.

On September 27, 1940, the Tripartite Pact was signed between Germany, Italy and Japan, according to which they promised to support each other. Soon it was joined by Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. German troops were stationed in these territories.

On October 28, Italy attacked Greece in hopes of a short war, but encountered stubborn resistance. At the request of Mussolini on April 6, 1940. Germany attacked Greece and Yugoslavia. Surpassing them in power, it quickly broke the resistance of the Yugoslav and Greek armies.

By the summer of 1941, Germany and Italy had occupied 12 European countries. They established the so-called “new orders” that prohibited demonstrations that eliminated democratic freedoms. A huge number of people were imprisoned in concentration camps. The economies of these countries were used in the interests of the occupiers. An anti-fascist and patriotic resistance movement arose against the “new order”.

On the morning of June 22, 1941, Germany, violating the non-aggression pact, attacked the USSR without declaring war. Allied with Germany were Romania, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and Italy. A sudden attack on Soviet airfields put a significant part of the aircraft out of action. The Germans quickly advanced. By the winter of 1941, they captured the Baltic states, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, blocked Leningrad and approached Moscow.

From October 1941 to April 1942, fierce battles took place near Moscow. In December 1941, in the Battle of Moscow, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive. The enemy was driven back. In the spring of the following 1942, the Red Army was defeated in the Crimea and near Kharkov. And in the middle of summer, German troops were stopped on the approaches to Stalingrad and the Caucasus.

In July 1941, an Anglo-Soviet agreement on joint actions in the war against Germany was signed, and in June 1942, a Soviet-American agreement on mutual assistance. A military-political alliance against the aggressors was formed, which included the USSR, the USA and Great Britain.

From November 1942 to February 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad lasted.

On November 19, 1942, Soviet troops under the leadership of Rokossovsky, Zhukov, Vatutin and other commanders launched a counteroffensive near Stalingrad. Here they defeated the fascist troops and their allies. This was a radical turning point in the course of the war.

In July - early August 1943, Soviet troops defeated Nazi troops on the Kursk Bulge.

In November 1942, in North Africa, the Anglo-American landing force, together with the French troops located there, having defeated the Italian-German group, seized control of the Mediterranean Sea, which opened the way for them to invade Italy.

In July 1943, Anglo-American troops landed in southern Italy. Marshal Badoglio, appointed after Mussolini's arrest, entered into secret negotiations with England and the United States. On September 8, 1943, Italy signed an armistice agreement and left the war. In response, the Germans occupied Central and Northern Italy, disarmed the army and blocked the path of Anglo-American troops. As a result, an Italian front was formed, which divided Italy into two parts.

In November - December 1943, the Tehran Conference of the Heads of Government of the three Allied Powers took place, at which it was decided to open a second front in France by the summer of 1944.

On June 6, 1944, Anglo-American troops landed in northern France. And on August 15 of the same year, the American and French armies were on the Mediterranean coast of France. A second front was opened. In August 1944, Allied forces, with the assistance of French Resistance units, entered Paris. And by September 1944, almost all of France was liberated.

In February 1945, the Yalta Conference took place, at which the decision to destroy the German armed forces was discussed. At the Crimean Conference, the heads of the three powers entered into a secret agreement according to which the USSR would enter the war with Japan two to three months after the end of the war in Europe.

In February 1945 Allied troops launched a new offensive on the Western Front. Soviet troops were moving towards. In the spring of 1945 Hungary was liberated. The troops of Zhukov, Konev, Rokossovsky and other commanders approached Prague, Vienna, Berlin and Bratislava. On April 25, 1945, a meeting took place between the advanced units of Soviet and American troops on the Elbe. The USSR troops, having surrounded Berlin, proceeded to storm it.

On April 30, 1945, in recent events, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler committed suicide. The Berlin garrison laid down its arms.

The main result of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War was the victory over fascism, in which the USSR played a decisive role. Throughout the Second World War, the Soviet-German front was the main one: it was here that 507 divisions of the Wehrmacht and 100 divisions of Germany’s allies were defeated, while US and British troops defeated 176 divisions.

One of the main results of the war was a new geopolitical situation, which was characterized by a confrontation between two systems - capitalist and socialist. In 7 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, leftist, democratic forces came to power. From that time on, the USSR was surrounded mainly by friendly states.

The Soviet people paid a huge price for these gains. 27 million Soviet citizens died. 1,710 cities and over 70 thousand villages lay in ruins.

Victory in the war was achieved thanks to the unparalleled courage and patriotism of the Soviet people, which was manifested in the creation of the people's militia and the partisan movement. One of the sources of victory was the friendship of the peoples of the USSR, which went through a harsh school and was tested in war conditions. The selfless labor of millions of home front workers provided the economic basis for military victories.

It is difficult to imagine what results the Second World War would have led to if not for the titanic and selfless work of millions of peasants and workers, engineers and designers, leading cultural and scientific figures who mobilized the people of the Soviet Union to defeat the aggressor.

The half-lost economic potential and the relocation of hundreds of industrial enterprises to the eastern part of the country, irreparable human losses and enormous destruction in the national economy at the very beginning of the war led to a significant reduction in industrial production. The USSR economy entered a period of decline. This was especially noticeable for the defense industries. At the end of 1941, the volume of gross output of Soviet industry decreased by half. Under the current conditions, the government of the country was forced to take the most severe measures to strengthen the rear. From the very beginning of the aggression on the part of the fascists, they began to carry out mass mobilizations of the civilian population to the labor fronts.

By April 1942, the scope of mobilization expanded to include residents of rural areas. Such measures primarily affected adolescents and women. For example, in 1942, half of the people employed in the national economy were women. The most problematic issue at that time was the selection of qualified personnel. No more than 27% of specialists and workers remained at the evacuated enterprises, so by the end of 1942 a special training plan was developed, designed to conduct short-term training courses for 400 thousand people. In total, 4.5 million people were trained in 1942. But, be that as it may, the number of workers fell to 18.4 million people, compared to 33.9 million in 1940.

The USSR at that time focused on providing military forces with military equipment and weapons. Even at the beginning of the war, due to significant losses, Soviet aviation was greatly weakened. The situation required the immediate release of new combat aircraft.

The tank industry launched mass production of combat vehicles of a new design.

Many efforts were made by engineers and workers to increase the number of weapons and ammunition produced, which were so lacking at the fronts.

But by the end of 1941, the needs of the navy and army for military equipment and weapons were not fully satisfied. To produce tanks, aircraft and other military equipment, a lot of high-quality steel was needed. Due to the relocation of the defense industry to Western Siberia in the Urals, changes had to be made to the system of organization and production technology at many metallurgical plants.

Agriculture suffered serious damage during the war years. Despite all the efforts made by agricultural workers in 1941, grain procurement and production of other products decreased significantly. The southeastern and eastern regions of the country, such as Siberia, the Volga region, Central Asia and Kazakhstan, became the production and raw material base. Be that as it may, by mid-1942 the Soviet Union had established a military economy that was able to ensure the production of military products.

Already in 1943, the USSR economy began to grow due to a general rise in production.

National income, industrial output, the state budget, and transport freight turnover have increased significantly. In mid-1943, the opportunity arose to speed up the rearmament of the navy and army with the latest military equipment.

Military production reached its highest point in 1944. Such heights were achieved thanks to the presence of a solid foundation for the continuous development of the main industries. The increase in the number of products occurred due to more efficient use of the capacities of existing factories, the introduction of new industrial enterprises and the restoration of factories and factories in the reclaimed territories. The economy of the USSR, and in particular the chemical industry, metalworking, mechanical engineering and the production of weapons and ammunition, significantly exceeded pre-war standards. There has also been an increase in agricultural output, capital investment and retail trade turnover.

The eastern regions of the country played a particularly important role in the production of heavy industry products. Metal production also increased in the southern and central parts of the USSR. As a result, by the end of hostilities, almost twice as much steel was smelted compared to 1943. The economy of the USSR received a significant impetus to development, thanks to an increase in the production of rolled products, non-ferrous metals and special steels. The fuel and energy base has expanded. The level of coal production has stabilized.

Experience has proven that the command system of production management, formed on the eve of the war, had significant opportunities for mobilizing the country's economic potential. It was especially characterized by agility and flexibility combined with repressive measures that played an important role in personnel and production management. All this was the reason that the economy of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War not only did not collapse, but also strengthened its position.

Strengthening defense capability was carried out in two directions. The first is the build-up of the military-industrial complex. From 1939 to June 1941, the share of military expenditures in the Soviet budget increased from 26 to 43%. The output of military products at this time was more than three times faster than the general rate of industrial growth. In the east of the country, defense factories and backup enterprises were built at an accelerated pace. By the summer of 1941, almost 20% of all military factories were already located there. The production of new types of military equipment was mastered, some samples of which (T-34 tanks, BM-13 rocket launchers, Il-2 attack aircraft, etc.) were qualitatively superior to all foreign analogues. In June 1941, the army had 1,225 T-34 tanks (M.I. Koshkin Design Bureau) and 638 KV heavy tanks (Zh.Ya. Kotin Design Bureau). However, it took at least 2 years to completely re-equip the tank fleet.

On the eve of the war, Soviet aviation was also in the stage of rearmament. By this time, most of the aircraft that brought the country world fame and set 62 world records had already lost their superiority over foreign technology. It was necessary to update the aircraft fleet and create a new generation of combat vehicles. Stalin constantly monitored the development of aviation and met with pilots and designers.

The slightest changes in the design of production vehicles were made only with the permission of Stalin and were formalized by resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. From the beginning of 1941, the aviation industry completely switched to producing only new aircraft. By the beginning of the war, the army received 2.7 thousand of the latest aircraft: Il-2 attack aircraft (S.V. Ilyushin Design Bureau), Pe-2 bombers (V.M. Petlyakov Design Bureau), LaGG-3 and Yak-1 fighters (Design Bureau S A. Lavochkin, A. I. Mikoyan and Design Bureau A. S. Yakovlev). However, new types of aircraft accounted for only 17.3% of the USSR Air Force aircraft fleet. Only 10% of combat pilots managed to master the new machines. Thus, the process of rearmament of the Air Force was in full swing and required at least 1.5 years to complete it.

The second direction of strengthening the country's defense capability was the reorganization of the Red Army, increasing its combat capability. The army switched from a mixed to a territorial-personnel system of organizations, which was introduced in the 1920s to save money. in the personnel system. On September 1, 1939, a law on universal conscription was introduced. The number of armed forces from August 1939 to June 1941 increased from 2 to 5.4 million people. The growing army needed a large number of qualified military specialists. At the beginning of 1937, there were 206 thousand officers in the army. Over 90% of the command, military medical and military technical personnel had higher education. Among political workers and business executives, from 43 to 50% received military or special education. At that time this was a good level.

Tens of thousands of officers received new appointments every year. The personnel leapfrog had a negative impact on the level of discipline and combat training of the troops. There was a huge shortage of commanders, which grew from year to year. In 1941, the ground forces alone lacked 66,900 commanders at headquarters, and in the Air Force, the shortage of flight technical personnel reached 32.3%.

The Soviet-Finnish War (November 30, 1939 – March 12, 1940) revealed shortcomings in the tactical training of the Red Army. Stalin removes Voroshilov from his post as People's Commissar of Defense. The new People's Commissar of Defense S. Timoshenko, analyzing the results of the war, in particular, noted that “our commanders and staffs, lacking practical experience, did not know how to truly organize the efforts of the military branches and close interaction, and most importantly, they did not know how to truly command "

The results of the Finnish war forced Stalin to take a whole range of measures aimed at strengthening the command staff of the Red Army. Thus, on May 7, 1940, new military ranks were introduced in the Soviet Union, and a month later over 1,000 people became generals and admirals. Stalin relied on younger military leaders. People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko was 45 years old, and Chief of the General Staff K.A. Meretskov is 43. The Navy was headed by 34-year-old Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov, and the air force - 29-year-old General P.V. Leverages. The average age of regimental commanders at that time was 29 - 33 years, division commanders - 35 - 37 years, and corps commanders and army commanders - 40 - 43 years. The new nominees were inferior to their predecessors in terms of education and experience. Despite great energy and desire, they did not have time to master their responsibilities for leading troops in difficult conditions.

L. Trotsky, while in exile and actively fighting against Stalin, repeatedly publicly stated: “Not everyone in the Red Army is loyal to Stalin. They still remember me there.” Realizing this, Stalin began a thorough purge of his main support - the army and the NKVD - of all “unreliable elements.” Stalin's faithful ally V.M. Molotov told the poet F. Chuev: “1937 was necessary. Considering that after the revolution we fought left and right, we won, but remnants of enemies from different directions existed and in the face of the looming danger of fascist aggression they could unite. We owe it to 1937 that we did not have a “fifth column” during the war.

On the very eve of the Great Patriotic War, as a result of the implementation of the non-aggression pact with Germany, the Soviet Union moved its borders to the west by 400-500 km. The USSR included Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, as well as Bessarabia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The population of the Soviet Union increased by 23 million people. As Tippelskirch noted, many leading German generals regarded this as a blunder by Hitler. In the spring of 1941, the General Staff of the Red Army, together with the headquarters of the districts and fleets, developed the “Plan for the Defense of the State Border of 1941”, according to which the troops of the border districts were supposed to prevent the enemy from invading the territory of the USSR, and firmly cover mobilization, concentration and deployment with stubborn defense in fortified areas the main forces of the Red Army; active aviation operations will delay the concentration and disrupt the deployment of enemy troops, thereby creating the conditions for a decisive offensive. Covering the western border of the USSR, a length of 4.5 thousand km, was entrusted to the troops of 5 military districts. It was planned to include about 60 divisions in the first echelons of the covering armies, which, as the first strategic echelon, were supposed to cover the mobilization and entry into battle of the troops of the second strategic echelon. Despite the TASS statement of June 14, 1941, which denied rumors of an impending war, starting in April 1941, urgent measures were taken to increase the combat readiness of the army. A number of these measures were built taking into account the proposals of the General Staff dated May 15, 1941, according to which it was planned to defeat the main forces of the Nazi troops concentrated to attack the USSR (some historians, without sufficient grounds, believe that this document was “practical preparation on the instructions of Stalin pre-emptive strike against Germany").

In April-May, 800 thousand reservists were called up (under the guise of training camps) to replenish the troops of the western districts. In mid-May, the hidden transfer of second-echelon troops in the amount of 7 armies (66 divisions) from the internal districts to the western ones began, bringing them to full combat readiness. On June 12, 63 divisions of reserves from the western districts moved secretly to the border as part of the covering armies, in night marches. On June 16, 52 divisions began to be transferred from the places of permanent deployment of the second echelon of covering armies (under the guise of exercises) to the concentration areas of 52 divisions. Although Soviet troops were pulled up to the border, their strategic deployment was carried out without leading the covering troops to repel the preemptive strike of the aggressor. The mistake of the military-political leadership at the moment was an inadequate assessment of the state of the Armed Forces: the Red Army was unable to launch a counterattack and did not have real capabilities for defense. The plan for covering the border, developed by the General Staff in May 1941, did not provide for the equipping of defensive lines by troops of the second and third operational echelons.

In preparing for war against the USSR, the German leadership sought to hide its intentions. It saw the surprise of the attack as one of the decisive factors for the success of the war, and from the very beginning of the development of its plans and preparations, it did everything possible to disorient the Soviet government and command. The Wehrmacht leadership sought to hide all information about Operation Barbarossa from the personnel of its troops for as long as possible. In accordance with the instructions of the OKW headquarters dated May 8, 1941, the commanders of formations and units were to inform the officers about the upcoming war against the USSR approximately 8 days before the start of the operation, and the rank and file and non-commissioned officers - only in the very last days. The instructions required creating the impression among German troops and the population that the landing on the British Isles was the main objective of the Wehrmacht’s summer campaign in 1941, and that the activities in the East “are defensive in nature and aimed at preventing a threat from the Russians.” From the autumn of 1940 to June 22, 1941, the Germans managed to carry out a whole range of activities aimed at large-scale disinformation regarding England and the USSR. Hitler managed to drive a wedge of mistrust between Stalin and Churchill. The warnings of Soviet intelligence officers were contradictory and the country's leadership rightly refused to listen to them. In addition, there was a belief that Hitler would not risk a war on two fronts, and that a premature clash between Germany and the USSR was being provoked by England and the USA. According to Stalin’s calculations, Germany could only defeat England no earlier than the spring of 1942.

However, Stalin's iron logic did not take into account Hitler's adventuristic spirit. The famous West German historian of World War II G.-A. Jacobsen writes that for Hitler the following considerations had much greater weight in the decision to attack the USSR. “If the Soviet Union - England's last continental sword - is defeated, Great Britain will have scarcely any hope of future resistance. She would have to stop fighting, especially if she could get Japan to act against England and East Asia before the United States entered the war. If, despite all this, she continues to fight, Hitler decided, by capturing European Russia, to conquer new huge economically important areas, using the reservoir of which he, if necessary, will be able to withstand a longer war. Thus, his great dream was finally realized: Germany acquired in the East the living space that it claimed for its population. At the same time, no state in Europe could no longer challenge Germany’s dominant position... Not the least important role was played by the fact that the “final clash” of both systems - National Socialism and Bolshevism - would one day become inevitable anyway; this moment seemed to Hitler the most favorable for this, because Germany had strong, battle-tested armed forces and, in addition, was a country highly equipped for war.”

At a meeting at the Berghof on July 31, 1940, Hitler said the following: “If Russia is defeated, England’s last hope will fade away. Germany will then become the ruler of Europe and the Balkans... During this clash with Russia must be ended. In the spring of 1941... The sooner Russia is defeated, the better. The operation makes sense only if we defeat this state with one blow.” Another major historian, the Englishman A. Taylor, notes that “the invasion of Russia can be presented (and it will be presented by Hitler) as a logical consequence of the doctrines that he proclaimed for about 20 years. He began his political career as an anti-Bolshevik, set himself the task of destroying Soviet communism... He saved Germany from communism, as he himself claimed; now he will save the world. "Lebensraum" (living space) was Hitler's doctrine, which he borrowed from geopoliticians in Munich shortly after the First World War. Germany must have living space if it wants to become a world power, and it can only be mastered by conquering Russia.”

Traditionally, the history of the Great Patriotic War is divided into three main stages:
. the initial period of the war - from June 22, 1941 to November 19, 1942,
. the period of radical change during the war - from November 19, 1942 to the end of 1943,
. the period of the victorious end of the war - from the beginning of 1944 to May 9, 1945.

On the night of June 22, 1941, the German invasion of the USSR began without a declaration of war. Hitler's allies were Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Italy, which also sent their troops. Germany was actually supported by Bulgaria, Türkiye, and Japan, which formally remained neutral. The factor of surprise played a largely decisive role in the temporary failures of the Red Army. In the very first hours and days, Soviet troops suffered huge losses. On June 22, 1,200 aircraft were destroyed (800 of them at airfields). By July 11, about 600 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers were captured. Within a month, German troops advanced 350 - 500 km, reaching the old border. Another important factor in the Red Army's failures was its lack of experience in modern warfare. German troops, who captured almost all of Europe, tested the latest battle tactics. In addition, as a result of the plunder of the occupied countries, the Nazis received various materials and property worth 9 billion pounds sterling, which was twice the pre-war national income of Germany. The Nazis had at their disposal weapons, ammunition, equipment, vehicles captured from 12 British, 22 Belgian, 18 Dutch, 6 Norwegian, 92 French and 30 Czechoslovak divisions, as well as weapons accumulated in the occupied countries and the current production of their defense enterprises. As a result, the German military-industrial potential by June 1941 was 2.5 times higher than the Soviet one. It should also be taken into account that the main attack of the German troops was expected in the south-west direction, towards Kyiv. In fact, the main blow of the German troops was delivered by Army Group Center in a westerly direction towards Moscow.

According to the Barbarossa plan, it was planned to destroy the main forces of the Red Army in 10 weeks. The result of the plan was to be the expansion of the eastern border of the Reich to the Arkhangelsk - Astrakhan line. To guide the country's defense, on June 30, 1941, the State Defense Committee (GKO) was created, headed by I.V. Stalin. On June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the High Command of the Armed Forces was formed (from July 10 - the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command). Its members included A.N. Antonov, N.A. Bulganin, A.M. Vasilevsky (Chief of the General Staff from June 1942), N.G. Kuznetsov (People's Commissar of the Navy), V.M. Molotov, S.K. Timoshenko, B.M. Shaposhnikov (Chief of the General Staff in July 1941 - May 1942). Stalin became People's Commissar of Defense on July 19, and Supreme Commander-in-Chief on August 8, 1941. Back on May 6, 1941, Stalin became chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Thus, all party, state and military power was now formally united in the hands of Stalin. Other emergency bodies were created: the Evacuation Council, the Committee for the Accounting and Distribution of Labor, etc.

The war that began was an unusual war. A war began, in which it was not only about the preservation of the social system or even statehood, but about the physical existence of the peoples inhabiting the USSR. Hitler emphasized that “we must wipe this country off the face of the earth and destroy its people.”

According to the Ost plan, after the victory, the dismemberment of the USSR, the forced deportation of 50 million people beyond the Urals, genocide, the destruction of leading cultural centers, and the transformation of the European part of the country into a living space for German colonists were envisaged. “The Slavs must,” wrote Nazi Party secretary M. Bormann, “work for us. If we don't need them, they can die. There is no need for a healthcare system. Slavic births are undesirable. They must use contraception and practice abortion, the more the better. Education is dangerous. As for food, they should not receive more than necessary." During the war years, 5 million people were deported to Germany, of which 750 thousand died as a result of cruel treatment.

The inhuman plans of the Nazis, their cruel methods of warfare strengthened the desire of the Soviet people to save their Motherland and themselves from complete extermination and enslavement. The war acquired a people's liberation character and rightly went down in history as the Great Patriotic War. Already in the first days of the war, units of the Red Army showed courage and resilience. From June 22 to July 20, 1941, the garrison of the Brest Fortress fought. Heroic defense of Liepaja (June 23-29, 1941), defense of Kyiv (July 7 - September 24, 1941), Odessa (August 5 - October 16, 1941), Tallinn (August 5-28, 1941), Moonsund islands (September 6 - October 22, 1941), Sevastopol (October 30, 1941 - July 4, 1942), as well as the Battle of Smolensk (July 10 - September 10, 1941) made it possible to disrupt the plan for a “blitzkrieg” - a lightning war . Nevertheless, in 4 months the Germans reached Moscow and Leningrad and captured 1.5 million square kilometers with a population of 74.5 million people. By December 1, 1941, the USSR had lost more than 3 million people killed, missing and captured.

In the summer and autumn of 1941, the State Defense Committee took a number of emergency measures. The mobilization was carried out successfully. Over 20 million people submitted an application to enlist in the Red Army as volunteers. At the critical moment of the struggle - in August - October 1941 - the people's militia, numbering about 2 million people, played a huge role in the defense of Moscow and Leningrad and other cities. In the vanguard of the fighting people was the Communist Party; By the end of the war, up to 80% of the members of the CPSU (b) were in the army. During the war, almost 3.5 million were accepted into the party. 3 million communists died in the battles for the freedom of the Motherland, which amounted to 3/5 of the pre-war membership of the party. Nevertheless, the number of the party grew from 3.8 to 5.9 million. The lower levels of the party played a big role in the first period of the war, when, by decision of the State Defense Committee, city defense committees were established in more than 60 cities, headed by the first secretaries of regional and city committees of the CPSU (b). In 1941, armed struggle began behind enemy lines. On July 18, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution “On the organization of struggle in the rear of German troops,” which obliged party committees to deploy underground party and Komsomol committees behind enemy lines, to organize and lead the partisan movement.

On September 30, 1941, the battle for Moscow began. In accordance with the Typhoon plan, German troops surrounded five Soviet armies in the Vyazma area. But the encircled troops fought bravely, pinning down significant forces of Army Group Center, and helped stop the enemy at the Mozhaisk line by the end of October. From mid-November, the Germans launched a new offensive against Moscow. However, by the beginning of December the forces of the German group were completely exhausted. On December 5-6, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive. By mid-January 1942, the enemy was driven back 120-400 km. This victory of the Red Army had enormous military and political significance. This was the first major defeat of the Germans since the beginning of World War II. The myth of the invincibility of Hitler's army was dispelled. The plan for a lightning war was finally thwarted. The victory near Moscow significantly strengthened the international authority of our country and contributed to the completion of the creation of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Under the cover of the Red Army, which was retreating in bloody battles, the most difficult work was unfolding in the country to mobilize the national economy. New people's commissariats were created for the operational management of key industries. Under the leadership of the Evacuation Council (chairman N.M. Shvernik, deputy N.A. Kosygin), an unprecedented transfer of industrial and other facilities to the East of the country took place. 10 million people, 1,523 large enterprises, and enormous material and cultural values ​​were taken there in a short period of time. Thanks to the measures taken, by December 1941 the decline in military production was stopped and from March 1942 its growth began. State ownership of the means of production and the strictly centralized economic management system based on it allowed the USSR to quickly concentrate all resources on military production. Therefore, while inferior to the aggressors in terms of the size of the industrial base, the USSR was soon far ahead of them in the production of military equipment. Thus, per one metal-cutting machine, the USSR produced 8 times more aircraft, and for every ton of steel produced, 5 times more tanks.

A radical change in the work of the Soviet rear predetermined a radical change in hostilities. From November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943, Soviet troops of three fronts: Stalingrad (commander A.I. Eremenko), Don (K.K. Rokossovsky) and Southwestern (N.F. Vatutin) - surrounded and destroyed fascist troops at Stalingrad. The Stalingrad victory was a radical turning point in the course of the war. It showed the whole world the strength of the Red Army, the increased skill of Soviet military leaders, the strength of the rear, which provided the front with a sufficient amount of weapons, military equipment and equipment. The international authority of the Soviet Union grew immeasurably, and the positions of Nazi Germany were seriously shaken. From July 5 to August 23, 1943, the Battle of Kursk took place, which completed a radical change. From the moment of the Battle of Kursk, Soviet troops maintained the strategic initiative until the end of the war. During the period from November 1942 to December 1943, 50% of the occupied territory was liberated. The military leadership talent of G.K. played a huge role in the development of offensive operations of the Red Army. Zhukova, A.M. Vasilevsky, K.K. Rokossovsky.

The partisan movement provided significant assistance to the Red Army. In May 1942, the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement was created, the chairman of which was appointed the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Belarus (Bolsheviks) P. Ponomarenko. In Moscow in 1942, a meeting of commanders of the largest partisan formations was held (S.A. Kovpak, M.A. Naumov, A.N. Saburov, A.F. Fedorov, etc.). The partisan struggle acquired its greatest scope in the North-West, in Belarus, a number of regions of Ukraine, and in the Bryansk region. At the same time, numerous underground organizations operated, engaged in reconnaissance, sabotage, and informing the population about the situation at the fronts.

At the final stage of the war, the Red Army had to complete the liberation of the territory of the USSR and liberate the countries of Europe. In January - February 1944, the Leningrad-Novgorod operation was carried out. On January 27, the siege of heroic Leningrad, which lasted 900 days, was lifted. In April - May Odessa and Crimea were liberated. In the context of the opening of the second front (June 6, 1944), Soviet troops launched attacks in different directions. From June 10 to August 9, the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation took place, as a result of which Finland left the war. From June 23 to August 29, the largest summer offensive operation of the Soviet troops in the war took place - Operation Bagration for the liberation of Belarus, during which Belarus was liberated and Soviet troops entered Poland. The Iasi-Kishinev operation on August 20-29 led to the defeat of German troops in Romania. In the fall of 1944, Soviet troops liberated Bulgaria and Yugoslavia from the Nazis.

At the beginning of 1945, ahead of previously planned dates, at the request of the allies, who experienced difficulties due to the German offensive in the Ardennes, Soviet troops began the Vistula-Oder operation (January 12 - February 3, 1945), as a result of which Poland was liberated . In February - March 1945, Hungary was liberated, and in April, Soviet troops entered the Austrian capital, Vienna. On April 16, the Berlin operation began. The troops of three fronts: the 1st and 2nd Belorussian and the 1st Ukrainian (commanders - Marshals G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky and I.S. Konev) - within two weeks defeated the 1-million enemy sk group and on May 2 captured the capital of Nazi Germany. On the night of May 8–9, Germany's surrender was signed. From May 6 to May 11, 1945, Soviet troops carried out the Prague operation, coming to the aid of the rebel Prague and defeating German troops in Czechoslovakia.

The Soviet Union made a huge contribution to the victory over Japan. Within three weeks, from August 9 to September 2, the Soviet Army defeated the most combat-ready and powerful 1-million-strong Kwantung Army, liberating Manchuria, as well as South Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and North Korea. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered. The Second World War ended with the victory of peace-loving, democratic, anti-militarist forces over the forces of reaction and militarism. The Soviet people made a decisive contribution to the defeat of fascism. Heroism and self-sacrifice became a mass phenomenon. The exploits of I. Ivanov, N. Gastello, A. Matrosov, A. Maresyev were repeated by many Soviet soldiers. During the war, the advantage of Soviet military doctrine was revealed. Such commanders as G.K. became especially famous. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky, I.S. Konev, A.M. Vasilevsky, R.Ya. Malinovsky, N.F. Vatutin, K.A. Meretskov, F.I. Tolbukhin, L.A. Govorov, I.D. Chernyakhovsky, I.Kh. Bagramyan.

The unity of the peoples of the USSR stood the test. It is significant that representatives of 100 nations and nationalities of the country became Heroes of the Soviet Union. The patriotic spirit of the Russian people played a particularly important role in the victory in the war. In his famous speech on May 24, 1945: “I raise a toast to the health, first of all, of the Russian people,” Stalin recognized the special contribution of the Russian people. Created in the late 30s. the administrative-command system made it possible to concentrate human and material resources in the most important areas to defeat the enemy.

The historical significance of the USSR's victory in the war lies in the fact that the totalitarian, terrorist model of capitalism, which threatened world civilization, was defeated. The possibility of a democratic renewal of the world and the liberation of the colonies opened up. The Soviet Union emerged from the war as a great power.

Causes, nature, main stages of the Great Patriotic War
On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. Thus began the Second World War. England and France, bound to Poland by a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance, declared war on Germany. During September, Poland was defeated. What the Anglo-French guarantees cost Poland was shown by the first month of the bloody war. Instead of 40 divisions, which the French headquarters promised the Polish command to throw against Germany on the third day of the war, only from September 9, separate parts of 9 divisions carried out an unsuccessful operation in the Saarland. Meanwhile, according to the Chief of the Wehrmacht General Staff Jodl, the Allies had 110 divisions on the Western Front against 22 German divisions, as well as an overwhelming advantage in aviation. However, England and France, having the opportunity to conduct a major battle against the Germans, did not do so. On the contrary, Allied planes dropped leaflets over the German trenches calling for them to turn their arms against the Soviets. The so-called “Phantom War” began, when virtually no fighting took place on the Western Front until April 1940.

On September 17, 1939, when German troops reached Warsaw and crossed the line specified in the secret protocol, by decision of the Soviet government, the Red Army troops were ordered to “cross the border and take under their protection the lives and property of the population of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus.” The reunification of the peoples of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus with Russia into a single statehood was the end of their centuries-long struggle to restore historical justice, since the entire territory from Grodno, Brest, Lvov and the Carpathians are primordially Russian lands. For the majority of Ukrainians and Belarusians, the arrival of the Red Army in 1939 meant a truly historic deliverance from brutal national, social and spiritual oppression.

On September 28, 1939, an agreement “On Friendship and Border” was signed between Germany and the USSR. According to the agreement, the western border of the USSR now ran along the so-called Curzon Line, recognized at one time by England, France, the USA and Poland. One of the secret protocols of the treaty stipulated that a small part of Southwestern Lithuania remained with Germany. Later, according to a secret protocol dated January 10, 1941, this territory was acquired by the USSR for 31.5 million Reichsmarks ($7.5 million). At the same time, the USSR managed to solve a number of important foreign policy problems.

In the fall of 1939, the USSR concluded treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the Baltic states. On their basis, garrisons of Soviet troops were stationed on the territory of these states. The purpose of this Soviet foreign policy action was to ensure the security of the Baltic states, as well as to prevent attempts to drag them into war. According to the agreement of October 10, 1939, the USSR transferred to Lithuania the city of Vilna and the Vilna region, which belonged to Belarus.

In the context of the aggravated military-political situation in Europe, ensuring the security of the northwestern approaches to Leningrad, the country's largest industrial center, became an urgent task for the USSR. Finland, which occupied pro-German positions, refused Soviet proposals to lease the port of Hanko to the USSR for 30 years for the construction of a military base, to transfer part of the Karelian Isthmus, part of the Rybachy Peninsula and several islands in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland - a total of 2761 km2 in exchange for 5529 km2 to the Soviet territories in Eastern Karelia. In response to Finland’s refusal, the USSR declared war on November 30, 1939, which lasted until March 12, 1940. Military assistance to Finland was provided by England, France, the USA, Sweden, Norway, and Italy. On December 14, 1939, the Council of the League of Nations adopted a resolution to expel the USSR from its ranks. According to the peace treaty of March 12, 1940, Finland agreed to push back its border with the USSR. The USSR pledged to withdraw its troops from the Petsamo region, voluntarily ceded to them by Finland under the 1920 treaty. The new border was extremely beneficial for the USSR not only from a political (security of Leningrad), but also from an economic point of view: 8 large pulp and paper enterprises were located on Soviet territory , Rauhala hydroelectric station, railway along Ladoga.

Providing the USSR with a German loan in the amount of 200 million marks (at 4.5% per annum) allowed the USSR to strengthen the country's defense capability, because what was supplied was either just weapons (ship weapons, samples of heavy artillery, tanks, aircraft, as well as important licenses ), or what weapons are made on (lathes, large hydraulic presses, etc., machinery, installations for producing liquid fuel from coal, equipment for other types of industry, etc.).

By April 1940, the so-called “Phantom War” ended. The German army, having accumulated significant human and military-technical forces, launched an all-out offensive in Western Europe. On April 5, Germany invaded Denmark, and a few hours later the Danish government capitulated. On April 9, Oslo was captured, but Norway resisted for about 2 months. By May 10, 1940, Germany had already captured Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. France was next in line. As a result of Operation Gelb, France was defeated and resisted for only 44 days. On June 22, Petain's government signed a capitulation, according to which most of French territory was occupied.

Germany's quick victory over France significantly changed the balance of power in Europe, which required the Soviet leadership to adjust its foreign policy course. Calculations for mutual attrition of opponents on the Western Front did not materialize. In connection with the expansion of German influence in Europe, there is a real danger of blocking certain circles of the Baltic countries with Germany. In June 1940, the USSR accused Lithuania of anti-Soviet actions, demanding to change the government and agree to station additional military units in Lithuania. On June 14, such consent was received from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The measures taken by Moscow decisively influenced the further course of events in this regard: the people's diets of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia (State Duma) on July 21-24, 1940 adopted a declaration on the proclamation of Soviet power in their countries and accession to the USSR. In August 1940, a session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR by its decision accepted Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia into the USSR.

In the summer of 1920, at the request of the USSR, Romania transferred Bessarabia to it, which was annexed to Moldova by the ASSR (1929 - 1940 Tiraspol). Thus, the USSR found itself in close proximity to the oil regions of Romania, the exploitation of which served the Reich as an “indispensable prerequisite for the successful conduct of war.” Hitler took retaliatory steps by concluding an agreement with the fascist government of General Antonescu on the transfer of German troops to Romania. The tension between the USSR and Germany escalated even more with the signing on September 27, 1940 in Berlin of a pact between Germany, Italy and Japan on the actual division of the world. Trip V.M. Molotov to Berlin on November 12-13, 1940 and his negotiations with Hitler and Ribbentrop did not lead to an improvement in the situation. An important achievement of the USSR's foreign policy was the conclusion of the Neutrality Treaty with Turkey (March 1941) and Japan (April 1941).

At the same time, right up to the start of the Great Patriotic War, economic and trade relations between the two countries intensively developed. According to Goebbels, Hitler assessed these agreements as a specifically Stalinist policy, designed to make the Reich economically dependent on the supply of industrial raw materials, which could be deprived of Germany at the right time. These are agricultural goods, petroleum products, manganese and chromium ores, rare metals, etc. The USSR received industrial products and weapons worth 462.3 million marks from German companies. These are metal-cutting machines, especially strong steel, technical equipment, and military equipment. At the same time, acutely scarce raw materials flowed into Germany from the United States or through branches of American corporations in third countries. Moreover, supplies of American oil and petroleum products were carried out until 1944. 249 US monopolies traded with Germany throughout the war.

Foreign policy of the USSR during the Second World War
The foreign policy of the Soviet Union was one of the factors of victory in the Great Patriotic War. Its main task was to create the best conditions in the international arena for victory over the enemy. The main goal also determined specific tasks:

1. To ensure that the “bourgeois” states that were at war with Germany and Italy became allies of the USSR.

2. To prevent the threat of an attack by Japan and neutral states being drawn into the war on the side of the fascist aggressors.

3. To promote liberation from the fascist yoke, restoration of sovereignty, and democratic development of countries occupied by aggressors.

4. Seek the complete elimination of fascist regimes and the conclusion of peace, excluding the possibility of a repetition of aggression.

The threat of enslavement imperiously demanded the unification of the efforts of all countries that fought against fascism. This determined the emergence of an anti-Hitler coalition of three great powers - the USSR, the USA and England. About 50 countries joined them during the war, including some of Germany's former allies. The international legal formalization of the coalition took place in several stages. The steps to its creation were the signing in Moscow on July 12, 1941 of the “Agreement between the governments of the USSR and Great Britain on joint actions in the war against Germany”, the conclusion of similar agreements of the USSR with the emigrant governments of Czechoslovakia and Poland, the exchange of notes on August 2 between the USSR and the USA on the extension for year of the Soviet-American trade agreement and economic assistance from the United States to the Soviet Union.

An important stage in the formation and strengthening of the anti-Hitler coalition was the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers of the three powers (September 29 - October 1, 1941), at which the USA and England committed from October 1, 1941 to June 30, 1942 to supply us with 400 aircraft, 500 tanks, 200 anti-tank rifles, etc. The USSR was provided with an interest-free loan in the amount of 1 billion dollars. However, deliveries under Lend-Lease were carried out slowly and in small quantities during this period. To strengthen the alliance with England and the USA, on September 24, the USSR joined the Atlantic Charter, signed on August 14, 1941 at a meeting between W. Churchill and F. Roosevelt. For the USSR this was not an easy decision. In this document, the United States and England stated that they do not seek territorial acquisitions in this war and will respect the right of peoples to choose their own form of government. The legality of the borders that existed before the outbreak of World War II was emphasized. The USSR was not considered by the allies as a real force on the world stage, and therefore there was not a word in the text of the document either about it or about the Soviet-German front. Essentially, their charter was of a separate nature and expressed the claims of the two powers to maintain world domination. The USSR expressed its agreement with the basic principles of the charter in a special declaration, emphasizing that their practical implementation must be consistent with the circumstances...

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, located in the Hawaiian Islands, without declaring war. On December 8, the United States declared war on Japan. England did the same. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The World War II zone expanded significantly. On January 1, 1942, in Washington, 26 states of the anti-fascist coalition, including the USSR, USA, England and China, signed a declaration under which they pledged to use all their military and economic resources to fight against the fascist bloc. These countries became known as the "United Nations".

On May 26, 1942, an agreement on alliance in the war and post-war cooperation was signed between England and the USSR. In June 1942, an agreement was signed between the United States and the USSR “On the Principles Applicable to Mutual Assistance and the Conduct of War against Aggression.” However, our allies were in no hurry to open a second front. During the London talks in May 1942, Churchill handed Molotov a note for Stalin that said: “We are not committed to action and cannot make any promise.” Churchill motivated his refusal by the lack of sufficient funds and forces. But in reality, political considerations played a major role. The British Minister of Aviation Industry M. Brabazon directly stated that “the best outcome of the struggle on the Eastern Front would be the mutual exhaustion of Germany and the USSR, as a result of which England would be able to occupy a dominant position in Europe.” This thesis echoed the infamous statement of the future US President Henry Truman: “If we see that Germany is winning, then we should help Russia, and if Russia wins, we should help Germany, and thus let them kill like as much as possible." Thus, plans for future leadership in the world of sea powers were already based on the fight against fascism in the Second World War.

On June 12, 1942, the Anglo-Soviet and Soviet-American communiqués were published, stating that "full agreement had been reached regarding the urgent tasks of creating a second front in Europe in 1942." However, not only 1942, but also 1943 passed, and the second front in Western Europe was never opened. Meanwhile, Allied forces launched major amphibious operations in North Africa and later in Sicily and Italy. Churchill even proposed replacing the second front with a strike “into the soft underbelly of Europe” - a landing in the Balkans in order to introduce Anglo-American troops into the countries of South-Eastern Europe before the Red Army advancing from the east approached, and thereby establish the dominance of the sea powers in this region, which played important geopolitical significance.

The victories of the Red Army at Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk were of enormous international significance. They demonstrated to the whole world the increased power of the Soviet state. Heavy losses of Nazi Germany on the Soviet-German front sharply weakened both its armed forces and the German rear. The Resistance movement intensified - Stalingrad became the beginning of a new stage of this movement in France, Belgium, Norway and other occupied countries. Anti-fascist forces grew in Germany itself, and disbelief in the possibility of victory increasingly took hold of its population. Under the influence of the defeat of the Italian army on the Soviet front and Allied operations in the Mediterranean, Italy capitulated on September 3, 1943 and broke with Nazi Germany. Mussolini was overthrown. Soon Allied troops landed in Italy. The Germans responded by occupying the northern and central parts of the country. The new Italian government declared war on Germany.

In connection with the decisive successes of the Red Army by the end of 1943, the essence of the problem of the second front also changed. Victory over Germany was already a foregone conclusion; it could have been achieved by the forces of the USSR alone. The Anglo-American side was now directly interested in opening a second front in Western Europe. From October 19 to October 30, 1943, a conference of the foreign ministers of three states was held in Moscow. The conference adopted the “Declaration on the Responsibility of the Nazis for the Atrocities committed,” and also prepared the conditions for a meeting of the heads of government of the USSR, the USA and England. This was also facilitated by the dissolution of the Communist International in May 1943. In an interview with Reuters correspondent I.V. Stalin pointed out that the dissolution of the Comintern exposes the lie about Moscow's intention to Bolshevize other states, that the Communist parties do not act in the interests of their peoples, but on orders from outside. The dissolution of the Comintern was positively received by the leaders of the Allies, primarily the United States. Relations between Moscow and other communist parties have changed; greater emphasis was placed on bilateral contacts between the leadership of the CPSU (b), primarily I.V. Stalin and V.M. Molotov, with the leaders of foreign communist parties.

On the eve of the Tehran meeting of allied leaders, US President F. Roosevelt said that “The United States must occupy North-West Germany... We must reach Berlin.” From the American point of view, Churchill's Mediterranean strategy, which was supported by the US government until mid-1943, had exhausted itself. A second front in the West gave America the opportunity to “keep the Red Army out of the vital areas of the Ruhr and Rhine, something that an offensive from the Mediterranean would never have achieved.” The growing American superiority in manpower and technology forced Churchill to accept their plan.

The Tehran Conference, at which I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill met for the first time, took place from November 28 to December 1, 1943. The main issue of the conference was the question of opening a second front. Despite Churchill’s attempts to put forward his “Balkan” option for discussion, the Anglo-American side was forced to set a deadline for the start of the Overlord plan - May 1944 (in fact, the landing began on June 6). At the conference, the Allies put forward projects for the dismemberment of Germany. At the insistence of the USSR, the question of Anglo-American plans for the dismemberment of Germany was transferred for further study. The conference participants exchanged views on the issue of the borders of Poland, and the Soviet delegation proposed adopting the “Curzon Line” as the eastern border, and the “River Line” as the western border. Oder". Churchill agreed in principle with this proposal, hoping that it would be possible to return the emigrant “London government” to power in Poland. The conference adopted the “Three Power Declaration on Iran.” Soviet and British troops were sent to Iran in 1941 in order to prevent the violation of the sovereignty of this neutral country by the Germans. The declaration provided for the withdrawal of allied forces and the preservation of Iran's independence and territorial integrity after the war. The issue of war with Japan was also discussed. The USSR agreed to enter the war against Japan. However, no specific agreement was concluded. The first meeting of the Big Three was a success. Despite the presence of acute disagreements on certain issues, the leaders of the three great powers were able to develop agreed upon solutions. The results of the Tehran Conference were a great success for Soviet foreign policy.

The help of the allies was of great importance for the USSR at the final stage of the war. It was, from start to finish, a well-thought-out foreign policy strategy of Western countries or, as Western historians put it, “an act of calculated self-interest.” Until 1943 inclusive, assistance to the USSR was provided by the Americans in such a way as to prevent it from gaining a decisive advantage over Germany. The overall supply plan under Lend-Lease was estimated at $11.3 billion. Although the total volume of industrial supplies amounted to 4% of gross industrial production in the USSR during the war years, the size of deliveries for individual types of weapons was significant. So, cars - about 70%. 14,450 aircraft were delivered (since 1942, the USSR produced 40 thousand aircraft annually), 7 thousand tanks (with 30 thousand tanks produced annually), machine guns - 1.7% (of the USSR production level), shells - 0.6 %, pistols - 0.8%, mines - 0.1%. After the death of F. Roosevelt, the new US President G. Truman on May 11, 1945 issued a directive to stop supplies to the USSR for military operations in Europe, and in August an order to stop all supplies to the USSR from the moment the act of surrender of Japan was signed. The refusal of unconditional assistance to the USSR indicated a radical change in the position of the United States, and it should be noted that the USSR, repaying debts under Lend-Lease, was obliged to pay 1.3 billion dollars (for 10 billion loans), while England paid only 472 million dollars for a loan of 30 billion dollars.

From February 4 to February 11, 1945, the Crimean Conference of the leaders of the three great powers was held in Yalta. At the conference, its participants solemnly proclaimed that the purpose of the occupation and Allied control of Germany was “the destruction of German militarism and Nazism and the creation of a guarantee that Germany would never again be able to disturb the peace.” The agreements “On the Zones of Occupation of Germany and on the Administration of Greater Berlin” and “On the Control Mechanism in Germany” were adopted. At the insistence of the USSR, an occupation zone for French troops was added to the three occupation zones - Soviet, American and British. Also, at the insistence of the Soviet side, the issue of German reparations was considered. Their total amount was about 20 billion dollars, of which the USSR claimed half. Roosevelt supported the Soviet position on this issue. The Polish question was a hot topic at the conference. England and the United States pinned their hopes of influencing Poland on the return of the émigré government there. Stalin did not want this. Its post-war relations with the USSR depended on the composition of the government in Poland. In response to W. Churchill’s remark that for England Poland is “a matter of honor,” Stalin noted that “for Russia this is a matter of both honor and security.” The USSR managed to achieve a legal end to the Polish émigré government. The conference determined the conditions for the USSR to enter the war against Japan two to three months after the end of the war in Europe. It was decided to convene a United Nations conference in San Francisco on April 25, 1945 to adopt the text of the UN Charter. The Crimean Conference adopted the “Declaration of a Liberated Europe” and the final document “Unity in the organization of peace, as well as in the conduct of war.” Both documents outlined specific joint actions to destroy fascism and rebuild Europe on democratic principles.

The outcome of the joint actions of the USSR, USA and England in World War II was summed up by the Potsdam Conference (July 17 - August 2, 1945). The USSR delegation was headed by I.V. Stalin, USA - President G. Truman, Great Britain - first W. Churchill, and from July 29 the new Prime Minister K. Attlee. The main issue of the conference is the question of the future of Germany. In relation to it, the so-called “3-D plan” was adopted; demilitarization, denazification (liquidation of the Nazi party) and democratization of Germany. The issue of German reparations was settled. At the conference, the Allies confirmed their agreement to transfer the city of Königsberg and its surrounding areas to the USSR and came to an agreement on the western border of Poland. The Soviet delegation confirmed in Potsdam the agreement concluded in Yalta on the USSR's entry into the war against Japan at the agreed time. The Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA) was also established, to which the Allies entrusted the preparation of a peace settlement, primarily the drafting of peace treaties with Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland. The Confederation confirmed the intention of the Allied powers to bring Nazi criminals to justice.

Despite the agreed decisions, the Potsdam Conference showed that the maritime powers had their own program of action in Germany, different from both the Soviet proposals and the obligations they had assumed. During the conference, the first experimental explosion of an atomic bomb was carried out in the United States, which the Americans soon used in Japan, barbarously killing hundreds of thousands of people in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki without any military necessity. This was an attempt at threatening political influence on the USSR, a harbinger of the approaching Cold War era.

The history of homeland. Edited by M.V. Zotova. - 2nd ed., rev. and additional
M.: Publishing house MGUP, 2001. 208 p. 1000 copies

World War II in facts and figures

Ernest Hemingway from the preface to the book "A Farewell to Arms!"

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Having left the city, halfway to the front headquarters, we immediately heard and saw desperate shooting across the entire horizon with tracer bullets and shells. And they realized that the war was over. It couldn't mean anything else. I suddenly felt bad. I was ashamed in front of my comrades, but in the end I had to stop the Jeep and get out. I started having some kind of spasms in my throat and esophagus, and I started vomiting saliva, bitterness, and bile. I don't know why. Probably from nervous release, which expressed itself in such an absurd way. During all these four years of war, in different circumstances, I tried very hard to be a restrained person and, it seems, I really was one. And here, at the moment when I suddenly realized that the war was over, something happened - my nerves gave way. The comrades did not laugh or joke, they were silent.

Konstantin Simonov. "Different days of the war. A writer's diary"

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Surrender of Japan

The terms of Japan's surrender were set out in the Potsdam Declaration, signed on July 26, 1945 by the governments of Great Britain, the United States, and China. However, the Japanese government refused to accept them.

The situation changed after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the entry into the war against Japan by the USSR (August 9, 1945).

But even despite this, members of the Supreme Military Council of Japan were not inclined to accept the terms of surrender. Some of them believed that the continuation of hostilities would lead to significant losses of Soviet and American troops, which would make it possible to conclude a truce on terms favorable to Japan.

On August 9, 1945, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki and a number of members of the Japanese government asked the emperor to intervene in the situation in order to quickly accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. On the night of August 10, Emperor Hirohito, who shared the Japanese government's fear of the complete destruction of the Japanese nation, ordered the Supreme Military Council to accept unconditional surrender. On August 14, the emperor's speech was recorded in which he announced Japan's unconditional surrender and the end of the war.

On the night of August 15, a number of officers of the Ministry of the Army and employees of the Imperial Guard attempted to seize the imperial palace, place the emperor under house arrest and destroy the recording of his speech in order to prevent the surrender of Japan. The rebellion was suppressed.

At noon on August 15, Hirohito's speech was broadcast by radio. This was the first address of the Emperor of Japan to ordinary people.

The Japanese surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, on board the American battleship Missouri. This put an end to the bloodiest war of the 20th century.

LOSSES OF PARTIES

Allies

USSR

From June 22, 1941 to September 2, 1945, about 26.6 million people died. Total material losses - $2 trillion 569 billion (about 30% of all national wealth); military expenses - $192 billion in 1945 prices. 1,710 cities and towns, 70 thousand villages and villages, 32 thousand industrial enterprises were destroyed.

China

From September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945, from 3 million to 3.75 million military personnel and about 10 million civilians died in the war against Japan. In total, during the years of the war with Japan (from 1931 to 1945), China's losses amounted, according to official Chinese statistics, to more than 35 million military and civilians.

Poland

From September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945, about 240 thousand military personnel and about 6 million civilians died. The territory of the country was occupied by Germany, and resistance forces operated.

Yugoslavia

From April 6, 1941 to May 8, 1945, according to various sources, from 300 thousand to 446 thousand military personnel and from 581 thousand to 1.4 million civilians died. The country was occupied by Germany, and resistance units were active.

France

From September 3, 1939 to May 8, 1945, 201,568 military personnel and about 400 thousand civilians died. The country was occupied by Germany and there was a resistance movement. Material losses - 21 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

Great Britain

From September 3, 1939 to September 2, 1945, 382,600 military personnel and 67,100 civilians died. Material losses - about 120 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

USA

From December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945, 407,316 military personnel and about 6 thousand civilians died. The costs of military operations are about 341 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

Greece

From October 28, 1940 to May 8, 1945, about 35 thousand military personnel and from 300 to 600 thousand civilians died.

Czechoslovakia

From September 1, 1939 to May 11, 1945, according to various estimates, from 35 thousand to 46 thousand military personnel and from 294 thousand to 320 thousand civilians died. The country was occupied by Germany. Volunteer units fought as part of the Allied armed forces.

India

From September 3, 1939 to September 2, 1945, about 87 thousand military personnel died. The civilian population did not suffer direct losses, but a number of researchers consider the deaths of 1.5 to 2.5 million Indians during the famine of 1943 (caused by an increase in food supplies to the British army) to be a direct consequence of the war.

Canada

From September 10, 1939 to September 2, 1945, 42 thousand military personnel and about 1 thousand 600 merchant seamen died. Material losses amounted to about 45 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

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I saw women, they were crying for the dead. They cried because we lied too much. You know how survivors return from war, how much space they take up, how loudly they boast of their exploits, how terrible they portray death. Still would! They might not come back either

Antoine de Saint-Exupery. "Citadel"

Hitler's coalition (Axis countries)

Germany

From September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945, according to various sources, from 3.2 to 4.7 million military personnel died, civilian losses ranged from 1.4 million to 3.6 million people. The costs of military operations are about 272 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

Japan

From December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945, 1.27 million military personnel were killed, non-combat losses - 620 thousand, 140 thousand were wounded, 85 thousand people were missing; civilian casualties - 380 thousand people. Military expenses - 56 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

Italy

From June 10, 1940 to May 8, 1945, according to various sources, from 150 thousand to 400 thousand military personnel died, 131 thousand were missing. Civilian losses ranged from 60 thousand to 152 thousand people. Military expenses - about 94 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

Hungary

From June 27, 1941 to May 8, 1945, according to various sources, from 120 thousand to 200 thousand military personnel died. Civilian casualties are about 450 thousand people.

Romania

From June 22, 1941 to May 7, 1945, according to various sources, from 300 thousand to 520 thousand military personnel and from 200 thousand to 460 thousand civilians died. Romania was initially on the side of the Axis countries; on August 25, 1944, it declared war on Germany.

Finland

From June 26, 1941 to May 7, 1945, about 83 thousand military personnel and about 2 thousand civilians died. On March 4, 1945, the country declared war on Germany.

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It is still not possible to reliably assess the material losses suffered by the countries on whose territory the war took place.

Over the course of six years, many large cities, including some state capitals, suffered total destruction. The scale of destruction was such that after the end of the war these cities were built almost anew. Many cultural values ​​were irretrievably lost.

RESULTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (from left to right) at the Yalta (Crimean) Conference (TASS Photo Chronicle)

The allies of the anti-Hitler coalition began to discuss the post-war structure of the world at the height of hostilities.

On August 14, 1941, on board a warship in the Atlantic Ocean near Fr. Newfoundland (Canada), US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the so-called. "Atlantic Charter"- a document declaring the goals of the two countries in the war against Nazi Germany and its allies, as well as their vision of the post-war world order.

On January 1, 1942, Roosevelt, Churchill, as well as the USSR Ambassador to the USA Maxim Litvinov and the Chinese representative Song Tzu-wen signed a document that later became known as "Declaration of the United Nations". The next day, the declaration was signed by representatives of 22 other states. Commitments were made to make every effort to achieve victory and not to conclude a separate peace. It is from this date that the United Nations traces its history, although the final agreement on the creation of this organization was reached only in 1945 in Yalta during a meeting of the leaders of the three countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. It was agreed that the UN's activities would be based on the principle of unanimity of the great powers - permanent members of the Security Council with the right of veto.

In total, three summits took place during the war.

The first one took place in Tehran November 28 - December 1, 1943. The main issue was the opening of a second front in Western Europe. It was also decided to involve Turkey in the anti-Hitler coalition. Stalin agreed to declare war on Japan after the end of hostilities in Europe.

On the eve of the war, a radical restructuring of our armed forces was carried out. They have been significantly strengthened. On June 22, 1941, Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet Union. Germany’s European allies – Italy, Hungary, Romania and Finland – also entered the war against the USSR.

To implement the plan of lightning war ("blitzkrieg") called "Barbarossa" - a plan for the destruction of Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk and the seizure of the North Caucasus, and most importantly Baku with its oil, the Nazis created exceptional military power.

But the “blitzkrieg” did not work out for the Nazis, they had to fight for almost 4 years (or rather 1418 days and nights), and as a result, they lost everything and shamefully capitulated in Berlin.

The war can be divided into three periods: the first period – June 1941 – November 1942; second period – November 1942 – end of 1943; third period – January 1944 – May 1945

1.First period

The main directions of military operations: northwestern (Leningrad), western (Moscow), southwestern (Ukraine). Main events: border battles in the summer of 1941, defense of the Brest Fortress; the capture of the Baltic states and Belarus by Nazi troops, the beginning of the siege of Leningrad; Smolensk battles 1941; Kiev defense, Odessa defense 1941 - 1942; Nazi occupation of Ukraine and Crimea; Battle of Moscow in September-December 1941

On December 5, 1941, the Red Army went on the offensive near Moscow. This was the first major defeat of German troops in the Second World War, starting in the autumn of 1939. This was the collapse of the idea of ​​“blitzkrieg” - a lightning war and the beginning of a turning point in its course. The front in the east for Germany and its allies stopped near Moscow.

However, Hitler could not agree that further military operations against Russia would not lead Germany to victory. In June 1942, Hitler changed the plan - the main thing was to capture the Volga region and the Caucasus in order to provide the troops with fuel and food. The Nazi offensive began in the southeast of our country. A bright page in the history of the Great Patriotic War was the heroic defense of Stalingrad (July 17 - November 18, 1942). The battle for the Caucasus lasted from July 1942 to October 1943.

2. Second period of the war

The second period of the war begins with the counter-offensive of our troops near Stalingrad (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943. The defeat of the 330-thousand-strong German fascist group over Stalingrad meant achieving a radical turning point in the course of the war.

Offensive operations in the North Caucasus, the Middle Don, as well as breaking the blockade of Leningrad in January 1943 - all this dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the fascist army. In the summer of 1943, Hitler was forced to carry out total mobilization in Germany and in the satellite states. He urgently needed to take revenge for the defeats at Stalingrad and in the Caucasus. And from July 12 to July 15, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive. On August 5, Oryol and Belgrade were liberated. The victory in the Battle of Kursk is regarded as an event of the war, during which the Soviet army “broke the back” of the German troops. From now on, no one in the world doubted the victory of the USSR.

From that moment on, the Soviet army took full strategic initiative, which was retained until the end of the war. In August-December 1943, all our fronts went on the offensive, German troops retreated everywhere beyond the Dnieper. On September 16, Novorossiysk was liberated, and on November 6, Kyiv.

Fearing being late and eager to share the victory over Nazi Germany, the rulers of the United States and Great Britain agreed to open a second front. To do this, they met with the Soviet delegation, headed by Stalin, at the Tehran Conference in 1943.

But even after the agreement on joint actions, the USA and Great Britain were in no hurry to open a second front, guided by their far-reaching plans to bleed the USSR, and after the war to impose their will on Russia.

3. Third period

Defeat the enemy on the territory of European countries

Military operations are transferred to the territory of Germany's allies and the countries it occupied. 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

Under the blows of the Red Army, the fascist bloc was falling apart. During the summer and autumn of 1944, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Slovakia were liberated. In October 1944, Soviet troops entered German territory. 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.

Under attacks from Soviet troops in the East and Allied forces in the West, the position of the German army at the end of August sharply deteriorated. The German command was unable to fight on two fronts, and on August 28, 1944, it began to withdraw troops in the west to the German borders.

In the first half of January 1945, Soviet troops launched a decisive offensive in Poland. Front troops entered German territory on January 29, 1945

Fall of Berlin

On April 29, Soviet troops broke through to the Reichstag, and after a stubborn battle on the evening of April 30, soldiers of the 150th Infantry Division flew over the Reichstag dome with the Red Banner of Victory. The Berlin garrison capitulated.

Before May 5, the surrender of several German armies and army groups was accepted. And on May 7, at Eisenhower’s headquarters in the city of Reims, a preliminary protocol on the surrender of the German armed forces on all fronts was signed. The USSR insisted on the preliminary nature of this act. The act of unconditional surrender took place at midnight on May 8 in the Berlin suburb of Karlshort. The historical act was signed by Field Marshal Keitel in the presence of Zhukov and representatives of the command of the USA, Great Britain and France. On the same day, Soviet troops liberated the rebel Prague. From that day on, the organized surrender of German troops began. The war in Europe is over.

During the great liberation mission in Europe, Soviet troops completely or partially liberated the territory of 13 countries with a population of over 147 million people. The Soviet people paid a huge price for this. Irreversible losses at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War amounted to more than 1 million people.

The victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War is a great feat of the Soviet people. Russia lost over 20 million people. Material damage amounted to 2,600 billion rubles, hundreds of cities, 70 thousand villages, and about 32 thousand industrial enterprises were destroyed.

48 .The main stages of relations between Russia and the West in the Second World War

Understanding the danger of fascist enslavement pushed aside traditional contradictions and prompted the leading politicians of the time to join forces in the fight against fascism. Immediately after the start of the aggression, the governments of England and the United States issued statements of support for the USSR. W. Churchill made a speech in which he guaranteed support for the USSR by the government and people of Great Britain. A US government statement on June 23, 1941 stated that fascism was the main danger to the American continent.

The formation of the anti-Hitler coalition was marked by the beginning of negotiations between the USSR, Great Britain and the USA, which ended with the signing of a Soviet-British cooperation agreement on July 12, 1941. The agreement formed two basic principles of the coalition: assistance and support of all kinds in the war against Germany, as well as the refusal to negotiate or conclude an armistice or a separate peace.

On August 16, 1941, an economic agreement on trade and credit was concluded. The allies of the USSR pledged to supply our country with weapons and food (supplies under Lend-Lease). Together, pressure was put on Turkey and Afghanistan to achieve neutrality from these countries. Iran was occupied.

One of the main steps in creating the anti-Hitler coalition was the signing on January 1, 1942 (at the initiative of the United States), of the United Nations Declaration on the Struggle against the Aggressor.

The agreement was based on the Atlantic Charter. The declaration was supported by 20 countries.

The main problem of the anti-Hitler coalition was disagreement between the allies about the timing of the opening of a second front. This issue was first discussed during Molotov's visit to London and Washington. However, the Allies limited themselves to fighting in North Africa and landing troops in Sicily. This issue was finally resolved during a meeting of the heads of the Allied powers in Tehran in November-December 1943.

In the agreement between Stalin, US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill, the deadline for opening a second front was determined, and the problems of the post-war development of Europe were also discussed.

One of the most important stages in strengthening the anti-Hitler coalition was the Crimean Conference of the Heads of Allied States, which was held in Yalta in February 1945.

Before the start of this conference, on the orders of Stalin, a powerful offensive was launched on the fronts.

Using this factor and playing on the contradictions between the allies, Stalin managed to achieve confirmation of Poland’s borders along the “Curzon Line” and a decision to transfer East Prussia and Koenigsberg to the USSR.

A decision was made to completely disarm Germany and the size of reparations was determined. The Allies decided to take control of Germany's military industry and banned the Nazi Party.

Germany was divided into four occupation zones between the USA, USSR, England and France. At the conference, a secret agreement was adopted, according to which the USSR pledged to declare war on Japan.

On July 17, 1945, a conference of heads of state of the anti-Hitler coalition took place in Potsdam. Issues of the post-war structure were being resolved. The USSR delegation was headed by Stalin, the American delegation by Truman, and the British delegation by Churchill (during the conference he was defeated in the elections and was replaced by Clement Attlee).

The USSR demanded an increase in reparations and the transfer of Poland's borders along the Oder-Neisse line, to which it received consent. The conference participants decided to bring Nazi criminals to the International Court.

Fulfilling its allied obligations, on August 8, 1945, the USSR denounced the neutrality treaty with Japan and declared war on it

49.USSR during the Great Patriotic War The initial period of the Great Patriotic War

On June 22, 1941, Germany and some of its allies (Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland) suddenly attacked the USSR. German troops surrounded Soviet units near Minsk and Bialystok and occupied Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, and part of Ukraine. The reasons for the failures were the poor training of the Soviet troops and command and the good training and experience of the Germans, the surprise of the attack, Stalin’s mistakes, etc.

The State Defense Committee (GKO) and the Supreme High Command Headquarters (SVGK) were created. A people's militia was formed. Enterprises were evacuated to the east, to Siberia and Central Asia.

On July 10, fighting began near Kiev and Smolensk. In September, the Nazis took Kyiv and surrounded 5 battle-worn and understaffed Soviet armies there, blockading Leningrad. On September 30, the battle for Moscow began (Operation Typhoon). The troops of the Western Front fell into the “cauldron” near Vyazma, but the courage of our soldiers and the lack of strength of the enemy did not allow him to take the capital. On December 5-6, 1941, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive near Moscow and pushed the enemy back 100-250 km. The Nazis were also defeated near Tikhvin, Rostov, and Kerch. But the further advance of the Red Army was not successful.

In May 1942, our troops were defeated near Kharkov and Kerch. On June 28, the enemy launched an offensive in the south towards the Caucasus and Volga. In October, the Nazis reached the central passes of the Caucasus. In September they started fighting in Stalingrad.

On July 12, 1941, an Anglo-Soviet agreement on the fight against the enemy was signed. On September 29 - October 1, 1941, the Anglo-American-Soviet conference was held in Moscow. The size of deliveries to the USSR (Lend-Lease) was determined. On January 1, 1942, the United Nations Declaration on Combating the Enemy Without a Separate Peace was signed. Anglo-Soviet agreement on May 26, 1942 and American-Soviet agreement on May 11, 1942. finally formalized the anti-Hitler coalition

A turning point during the Great Patriotic War

November 19, 1942 The Red Army went on the offensive near Stalingrad and surrounded the group of F. Paulus. An attempt to unblock it failed. On February 2, 1943, after heavy fighting, its remnants surrendered to the soldiers of K.K. Rokossovsky. Soviet troops took Rostov, Voronezh and reached Kharkov and Belgorod, but then were driven back and went on the defensive. A counteroffensive began in the Caucasus. In January 1943, the blockade of Leningrad was broken. In May 1943, Italian-German troops in North Africa surrendered to the Allies.

On July 5, 1943, the Battle of Kursk began. The troops of E. Manstein and H. Kluge, using heavy Tiger tanks, pushed back the units of N. F. Vatutin and K. K. Rokossovsky, but on July 12 the Red Army launched a counteroffensive and took Orel, Belgorod, and Kharkov. On July 10, the Allies landed in Sicily. Italy left the war.

Following Stalingrad, the North Caucasus was cleared of the enemy. The bloody battle for the Dnieper began. On November 6, Kyiv was captured. The liberation of Belarus began.

The partisan movement against the Nazi “new order” expanded (hijacking people to Germany, executions of Jews, communists suspected of connections with partisans, hostages, etc., robbery of resources). In 1943, the partisans carried out operations “Rail War” and “Concert” to disable the railways. The Nazis had to throw up to 20 divisions against them. Some Soviet citizens, for ideological or material reasons, helped the enemy.

The Tehran Conference took place on November 28 - December 1, 1943. J.V. Stalin, F.D. Roosevelt and W. Churchill agreed on the opening of a second front in France, which did not take place in 1942 and 1943. The USSR promised to enter the war against Japan after the defeat of Germany. Issues of the post-war world order were discussed.

There was a turning point in the military industry