Second World War is rightfully the largest human tragedy that happened in the 20th century. In terms of human casualties, it confidently occupies a leading position in the history of all armed conflicts that have ever occurred on our planet. The memory of those terrible events will live forever and be passed on from one generation to another, since such things must not be forgotten, so as not to repeat the mistakes of past years again and never experience something like this again.
Periods of World War II
Officially, World War II began with the German invasion of Poland. This fateful event occurred on September 1, 1939. It was then that France and Great Britain declared war on the Germans.
Also, during the first period of the world armed confrontation, fascist troops landed on the territory of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In mid-1940, without much resistance, all these states fell to the might of the German war machine. France tried to defend its freedom, but it also turned out to be powerless in the fight against well-trained and organized German military units.
June 10, 1940 Italy openly supports Hitler. And through the joint efforts of these two countries, in April of the following year the territory of Yugoslavia and Greece was captured. The fascist coalition also launched a military operation in North Africa.
The second period of the Second World War (the date of its beginning became one of the most terrible and bloody in the history of our country) dates back to the moment the USSR entered the war. On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the territory of the Soviet Union without declaring war, and the effect of surprise was felt for a long time. For a long period, the Red Army was forced to retreat and surrender new territories to the Nazis.
On July 12, 1941, the USSR concluded an agreement with England on joint actions against Germany, and already on September 2, military-economic cooperation began with the United States. On September 24, the Soviet Union successfully acceded to the Atlantic Charter, the purpose of which was to organize arms supplies.
The third period of World War II (1939-1945) begins from the moment when the Nazi offensive in the USSR foundered and they lost the global strategic initiative. This happened after the grandiose Battle of Stalingrad, when a large German group numbering 330 thousand soldiers and officers found themselves in a dense ring of Soviet troops. The years 1942 and 1943 were turning points in World War II.
And at the final fourth stage of the bloodthirsty Second World War, military operations took place outside the territory of the Soviet Union. It was then that the German troops gradually retreated to the west, leaving large cities and fortified points, since they were no longer able to hold them. This period ended with the final defeat of Nazi Germany and the signing of its final surrender.
How did the war affect the distribution of forces on the world stage?
During the years of World War II, many events occurred in the world that led to fundamental changes in the political sphere of most states. For example, the bloody actions of Germany became a kind of punishment for it. IN post-war years The country was divided into two separate republics - the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.
Poverty flourished in the country, and therefore unrest was a kind of norm for it. The events of World War II were a direct consequence of such a sad fate of Germany, which lost all its powerful industrial potential. Therefore, it took many years to stabilize the German economy and ensure its steady annual growth.
Berlin itself was divided into spheres of influence between the countries included in the anti-Hitler coalition. The eastern part was occupied by the Soviet military, and the western part was dominated by the security forces of France, Great Britain and the USA.
The USSR played a key role in World War II. Much has already been said about the unprecedented feats that Soviet soldiers performed in an effort to protect their land from the Nazis. Perhaps it was precisely thanks to these desperate actions that it was possible to stop the Germans, whose first serious defeat was the battle of Moscow.
A great merit of the Soviet Union should be considered the fact that Hitler suffered a collapse on its territory precisely at a time when the military power of his troops was at its maximum level! Before this, no one could match the strength of the German army, so everyone resignedly yielded under its pressure.
The myth of Germany's invincibility was finally dispelled only after the Battle of Kursk, which became famous throughout the world. Soviet soldiers, waging desperate tank battles on the outskirts of Kursk, proved that in terms of technical equipment they were absolutely not inferior to the enemy. Having suffered colossal losses, both in tanks and in manpower, the Germans for the first time felt how dangerous and destructive the actions of the opposing side could be for them.
There may be quite a few reasons that tipped the scales in this bloody confrontation to the side of the Soviet Union. However, military historians identify the following main ones:
- The cohesion of society to achieve victory, thanks to the fact that every Soviet citizen (in some cases even children) made the maximum effort at the front or in the rear that was required of him. This ultimately brought the sweet moment of triumph over fascism closer.
- Build a country. Taking into account the fact that the people radiated complete confidence in the authorities and did not oppose it, all forces, without exception, were devoted to the fight against the occupier.
- The role of the communist party. Those people who were communists were always ready to take on the most dangerous tasks and jobs, without sparing their health and without worrying about the safety of their own lives.
- Military art. Thanks to the coordinated work of the senior command staff and military units, the Soviet side managed to constantly disrupt all the strategic goals of the Wehrmacht. Each operation organized by the command of the USSR army was distinguished by creativity and ingenuity. It is also difficult to do without inspiration in this matter, so commanders before any offensive operations tried to raise the morale of the soldiers.
Interesting facts about World War II
Historians are now arguing among themselves who can really be called the side that achieved the greatest success in the famous bloody confrontation. Many Western analysts are trying to downplay the role of the Soviet Union in the global victory over Nazism. They support their arguments with the following facts:
- numerous losses Soviet people;
- superiority in the military strength of the USSR over the military potential of Germany;
- severe frosts that led to the mass death of German soldiers.
Of course, facts are stubborn things, and it is useless to argue with them. But here you need to connect logic. The mass death of Soviet citizens during World War II occurred because people were exhausted by starvation and abuse in concentration camps. In many cases, the Nazis deliberately killed large numbers of civilians, fearing they would organize riots and uprisings.
There was superiority in military strength, but only local. The fact is that in the first years of the confrontation, the Soviet Union was significantly inferior to Germany in the technical equipment of weapons.
During World War II, the Germans constantly improved their military equipment and deliberately developed a strategy for the upcoming war with the Soviet Union, which they considered their highest priority. The leadership of the Communist Party, on the contrary, considered a possible confrontation with Germany as something unlikely. This erroneous opinion was largely facilitated by the non-aggression pact signed by Ribbentrop and Molotov.
As for the frosts during the Second World War, there is a mixed opinion here too. To a certain extent, low air temperatures contributed to a decrease in the general functional state of the German army, but Soviet soldiers were also in similar conditions. Therefore, the chances in this aspect were completely equalized, and this factor could not play a dominant role in the USSR’s victory over Germany.
The most influential commanders of that era
The history of World War II is very unusual and multifaceted, so it should be considered in many contexts at once. One of them is the importance of the individual in the success of the entire military operation.
The charisma of this or that high military leader greatly contributed to maintaining high morale within military units. It was also very important to draw up the correct offensive strategy or conduct any defensive actions that would hold back the enemy at a certain point.
In this regard, it is extremely important to highlight the commanders of the Second World War who actively contributed to the proper organization of their units:
- Georgy Zhukov - Marshal of the Soviet Union. He led the most important military battles, showing enviable tactical flexibility in the formation of his military units. Even at the most critical moments, he always maintained restraint and purposefully implemented global strategic plans. He led the operation to capture Berlin and accepted the final surrender of Germany.
- Konstantin Rokossovsky is also Marshal of the Soviet Union. He commanded the Don Front, which completed the final defeat of the Stalingrad group of fascists. Also, Konstantin Konstantinovich made a significant contribution to the success of the Kursk battle. The fact is that Rokossovsky somehow incredibly managed to convince Stalin that the best strategy before the battle was to provoke the Germans into active action.
- Alexander Vasilevsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union, was the Chief of the General Staff, a position he held since 1942. He led the assault on Koeningsberg after General Chernyakhovsky was killed.
- Montgomery Bernard Lowe - British Field Marshal. After the crushing defeat of France, Montgomery facilitated the evacuation of Allied forces. Since 1942, he became the commander of British troops operating in North Africa, which ultimately led to a radical change in this sector of the front.
- Eisenhower - US Army General. Under his leadership, Operation Torch was carried out, which involved the landing of armed forces of a military coalition in North Africa.
Main types of weapons
The weapons of World War II at the present time already seem obsolete and unsuitable for practical use. Now it is an excellent exhibit for a military museum. However, during the Second World War, these weapons were in great demand to eliminate enemy forces.
Most often, tanks, combat aircraft, and guns were used during combat battles. Among the infantrymen, small arms such as machine guns, pistols, and shotguns were used.
Types of military aircraft and their role
Among the aircraft that the Nazis widely used to carry out their combat missions, the following types are distinguished:
- Bombers: Junkers-87, Dornier-217, Henkel-111.
- Fighters: Messerschmitt-110 and Henschel-126.
But the Soviet Union, as a counterbalance to the German air force, supplied Mig-1, I-16, Yak-9, La-5, Pe-3 and many others fighters. The bombers used were U-2, DB-A, Yak-4, Su-4, Er-2, Pe-8.
The most famous Soviet attack aircraft are the Il-2 and Su-6.
The role of aircraft in World War II cannot be underestimated, since they were an excellent means for eliminating large enemy groups, as well as for destroying any strategically important objects through direct bombing.
The best tanks in the war
World War II tanks were the main ground weapon for offensive battles. It was with their assistance that large cities were conquered, and enemy troops were pressed in all directions. Repelling a well-organized attack was quite a difficult task, requiring considerable skill and courage.
The following types of tanks were recognized as the best at that time:
- Kv-1. Its weight is 45 tons. The car is sheathed around with steel, the thickness of which is 75 millimeters. It was difficult for anti-tank guns to penetrate such a “monster” even with close range. However, among its main disadvantages is the tendency to breakage.
- T-34. It includes wide tracks and armor 76 millimeters thick. It was considered the best tank of that era, with characteristics that no other similar vehicle could compare with.
- H1 "Tiger". The main “pride” of this unit is the 88-mm cannon, which was created on the basis of the “anti-aircraft gun”.
- V "Panther". It weighed 44 tons and reached a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour. This tank was equipped with a 75 mm cannon, thanks to which the projectile fired from this gun could cope with virtually any armor.
- Is-2. This heavy tank was equipped with 122 howitzers. A projectile fired from it could turn any building into complete ruins. The DShK machine gun also functioned here to destroy enemy infantry.
Losses
To understand the full scale of the tragedy that befell humanity in the 20th century from the devastating effects of World War II, it is enough to look only at the statistics of those killed in this bloodbath. In total, during the war years, irretrievable losses among the population of the USSR amounted to 42 million people, and total losses - more than 53 million.
Unfortunately, it is physically impossible to calculate the exact number of those who lost their lives due to the destructive actions during the Second World War. Scientists are trying to recreate the integrity of those events based on the facts, to compile lists of the dead and missing as accurately as possible, but this is a very painstaking task, and the implementation of this idea is almost unrealistic.
Features of this world conflict
The essence of World War II was to establish dominance over the entire planet. In any case, the German side adhered to precisely this principle, unleashing active military operations on the territories of other countries.
It was this fundamentally absurd ideology, which Hitler so propagated in his speeches to the public, that became the main reason that in the post-war years Germany lagged far behind in its development and was economically extremely weak.
No world conflict has ever been the key to improving the lives of mankind. Therefore, the Second World War (1945 was the year it ended), apart from death and grief, did not give anything good to people on a global scale.
It would seem that the answer to this question is absolutely clear. Any more or less educated European will name the date - September 1, 1939 - the day of Hitler's Germany's attack on Poland. And those who are more prepared will explain: more precisely, the world war began two days later - on September 3, when Great Britain and France, as well as Australia, New Zealand and India declared war on Germany.
True, they did not immediately participate in hostilities, waging a so-called strange wait-and-see war. For Western Europe, the real war began only in the spring of 1940, when German troops invaded Denmark and Norway on April 9, and from May 10 the Wehrmacht launched an offensive in France, Belgium and Holland.
Let us recall that at this time the largest powers in the world - the USA and the USSR - remained outside the war. For this reason alone, doubts arise about the complete validity of the start date of the planetary massacre established by Western European historiography.
Therefore, I think, by and large, we can assume that it would be more correct to consider the starting point of the Second World War as the date of the involvement of the Soviet Union in hostilities - June 22, 1941. Well, we heard from the Americans that the war acquired a truly global character only after the treacherous Japanese attack on the Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor and Washington’s declaration of war on militaristic Japan, Nazi Germany and fascist Italy in December 1941.
However, the most persistent and, let's say, from their point of view, convincing defense of the illegality of the countdown of the world war adopted in Europe from September 1, 1939, is by Chinese scientists and political figures. I have encountered this many times at international conferences and symposiums, where Chinese participants invariably defend their country’s official position that the beginning of World War II should be considered the date that militaristic Japan unleashed a full-scale war in China - July 7, 1937. There are also historians in the Celestial Empire who believe that this date should be September 18, 1931 - the beginning of the Japanese invasion of the North-Eastern provinces of China, then called Manchuria.
One way or another, it turns out that this year the PRC will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the start of not only Japanese aggression against China, but also the Second World War.
Among the first in our country to seriously pay attention to such a periodization of the history of the Second World War were the authors of the collective monograph prepared by the Historical Perspective Foundation, “Score of the Second World War. Thunderstorm in the East" (Auth.-compiled by A.A. Koshkin. M., Veche, 2010).
In the preface, the head of the Foundation, Doctor of Historical Sciences N.A. Narochnitskaya notes:
"According to the established historical science and in the public consciousness, the Second World War began in Europe with the attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, after which Great Britain was the first of the future victorious powers to declare war on the Nazi Reich. However, this event was preceded by large-scale military clashes in other parts of the world, which are unreasonably considered by Eurocentric historiography as peripheral and therefore secondary.
By September 1, 1939, a truly world war was already in full swing in Asia. China, fighting Japanese aggression since the mid-1930s, has already lost twenty million lives. In Asia and Europe, the Axis countries - Germany, Italy and Japan - had been issuing ultimatums, sending in troops and redrawing borders for several years. Hitler, with the connivance of Western democracies, captured Austria and Czechoslovakia, Italy occupied Albania and fought a war in North Africa, where 200 thousand Abyssinians died.
Since the end of World War II is considered the surrender of Japan, the war in Asia is recognized as part of World War II, but the question of its beginning requires a more reasonable definition. The traditional periodization of the Second World War needs to be rethought. In terms of the scale of the redivision of the world and military operations, in terms of the scale of victims of aggression, the Second World War began precisely in Asia long before Germany’s attack on Poland, long before the Western powers entered the world war.”
Chinese scientists were also given the floor in the collective monograph. Historians Luan Jinghe and Xu Zhimin note:
“According to one generally accepted point of view, the Second World War, which lasted six years, began on September 1, 1939, with the German attack on Poland. Meanwhile, there is another view on the starting point of this war, in which more than 60 states and regions participated at different times and which disrupted the lives of over 2 billion people around the world. The total number of mobilized people on both sides was more than 100 million people, the death toll was more than 50 million. The direct costs of the war amounted to US$1.352 trillion, with financial losses reaching US$4 trillion. We present these figures to once again indicate the scale of the enormous disasters that the Second World War brought to humanity in the twentieth century.
There is no doubt that the formation of the Western Front not only meant an expansion in the scale of hostilities, it also played a decisive role in the course of the war.
However, an equally important contribution to the victory in World War II was made on the Eastern Front, where the eight-year war of the Chinese people against the Japanese invaders took place. This resistance became an important part of the world war.
An in-depth study of the history of the Chinese people's war against the Japanese invaders and understanding of its significance will help create a more complete picture of World War II.
This is precisely what the proposed article is devoted to, which argues that the true date of the start of World War II should be considered not September 1, 1939, but July 7, 1937 - the day when Japan launched a full-scale war against China.
If we accept this point of view and do not strive to artificially separate the Western and Eastern fronts, there is all the more reason to call the anti-fascist war... the Great World War.”
The author of the article in the collective monograph, a prominent Russian sinologist and full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.S., also agrees with the opinion of his Chinese colleagues. Myasnikov, who does a lot to restore historical justice, to properly assess the contribution of the Chinese people to the victory over the so-called “Axis countries” - Germany, Japan and Italy - who were striving for the enslavement of peoples and world domination. An authoritative scientist writes:
“As for the beginning of the Second World War, there are two main versions: European and Chinese... Chinese historiography has long been arguing that it is time to move away from Eurocentrism (which is essentially similar to Negritude) in assessing this event and admit that the beginning of this war is falling on July 7, 1937 and is associated with Japan's open aggression against China. Let me remind you that the territory of China is 9.6 million square meters. km, that is, approximately equal to the territory of Europe. By the time the war began in Europe, most of China, where his Largest cities and economic centers - Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, was occupied by the Japanese. Almost the entire railway network of the country fell into the hands of the invaders, and its sea coast was blocked. Chongqing became the capital of China during the war.
It should be taken into account that China lost 35 million people in the war of resistance against Japan. The European public is not sufficiently aware of the heinous crimes of the Japanese military.
So, on December 13, 1937, Japanese troops captured the then capital of China, Nanjing, and committed mass extermination of civilians and plunder of the city. The victims of this crime were 300 thousand people. These and other crimes were condemned by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East at the Tokyo Trial (1946 - 1948).
But, finally, objective approaches to this problem began to appear in our historiography... The collective work provides a detailed picture of military and diplomatic moves, which fully confirms the need and validity of revising the outdated Eurocentric point of view.”
For our part, I would like to note that the proposed revision will cause resistance from pro-government historians of Japan, who not only do not recognize the aggressive nature of their country’s actions in China and the number of victims in the war, but also do not consider the eight-year destruction of the Chinese population and the comprehensive plunder of China to be a war. They persistently call the Sino-Japanese War an “incident” that allegedly arose through the fault of China, despite the absurdity of such a name for military and punitive actions, during which tens of millions of people were killed. They do not recognize Japan’s aggression in China as part of the Second World War, claiming that they participated in the world conflict, opposing only the United States and Great Britain.
In conclusion, it should be recognized that our country has always objectively and comprehensively assessed the contribution of the Chinese people to the victory of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II.
High assessments of the heroism and self-sacrifice of Chinese soldiers in this war are given in modern Russia, both by historians and leaders Russian Federation. Such assessments are duly contained in the document issued by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the 70th anniversary Great Victory A 12-volume work of prominent Russian historians, “The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” Therefore, there is reason to expect that our scientists and politicians, during the events planned for the upcoming 80th anniversary of the start of the Sino-Japanese War, will treat with understanding and solidarity the position of the Chinese comrades, who consider the events that occurred in July 1937 to be the starting point of what then fell on almost the entire a world of unprecedented planetary tragedy.
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Detailed solution paragraph § 14–15 on history for 9th grade students, authors L.N. Aleksashkina 2011
Questions and tasks:
1. *At the end of the 1930s, Germany committed several acts of aggression against European countries. Explain why her attack on Poland marked the beginning of World War II.
Perhaps the reason was that France and Great Britain could no longer resolve the issue diplomatically without declaring war. Firstly, according to the mutual assistance agreement, they had to come to the aid of Poland. Secondly, until the last moment, the French and British governments hoped that Hitler would strike the first blow against the USSR, but after the conclusion of the Soviet-German Pact it became clear that he would not do so, but would direct his aggression towards Western countries. Not entering the war after the attack on Poland meant encouraging Germany's further aggressive policy.
2. Name the chronological framework of the “Phantom War” in Western Europe. What explained this nature of the war?
After the declaration of war on Germany on September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France were in no hurry to get involved in an active struggle. According to Hitler's instructions, German troops were to adhere to defensive tactics on the Western Front during this period in order to “sparing their forces as much as possible, to create the preconditions for the successful completion of the operation against Poland.” The Western powers did not launch an offensive either. 110 French and 5 British divisions stood against 23 German ones, without taking serious military action. It is no coincidence that this confrontation was called a “strange war.” The period of the “Phantom War” ended on May 10, 1940, when German troops crossed the borders of Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg and began an attack on France.
3. Describe the attitude of the French towards the German invasion in 1940. What was the basis of this or that position?
The attitude of the French towards the German invasion was ambivalent. On the one hand, the French government, led by Marshal A.F. Petain, declared Paris an “open city” and accepted defeat. On June 14, it was surrendered to the Germans without a fight.
On the other hand, not all French people supported the position of the official French government. On June 18, 1940, in a broadcast from the London BBC radio station, General Charles de Gaulle stated that France had not been completely defeated and the outcome of the war was not being decided by the battle for France.
After the signing of the Franco-German truce in the Compiegne Forest on June 22, 1940, a government was created on the remaining unoccupied territory of France, headed by A.F. Petain, which expressed its readiness to cooperate with the German authorities (it was located in the small town of Vichy). On the same day, Charles de Gaulle announced the creation of the Free France Committee, the purpose of which is to organize the fight against the occupiers.
4. What were the main results of the fighting in Europe in 1939 – 1940?
As a result of hostilities in Europe in 1939 - 1940. Germany captured Poland and shared a border with the Soviet Union. In the spring of 1940, German troops invaded and captured Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, and France. After the surrender of France, Germany began a naval blockade of Great Britain. Thus, Germany secured peace on the Western Front and began preparing for an offensive in the East.
In preparation for this task, Germany was interested in expanding and strengthening the anti-Soviet coalition. In September 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan concluded a military-political alliance for a period of 10 years - the Tripartite Pact. It was soon joined by Hungary, Romania and the self-proclaimed Slovak state, and a few months later by Bulgaria. A German-Finnish agreement on military cooperation was also concluded. Where it was not possible to establish an alliance on a contractual basis, they acted by force. In October 1940, Italy attacked Greece. In April 1941, German troops occupied Yugoslavia and Greece. Croatia became a separate state - a satellite of Germany. By the summer of 1941, almost all of Central and Western Europe was under the rule of Germany and its allies
5. Explain the significance of the failure of the German plan for a lightning war on the Eastern Front.
The disruption of the German plan for a lightning war on the Eastern Front was of key importance for the course of the Second World War. The protracted struggle with the USSR led to the fact that Germany was forced to wage a war on two fronts, which significantly weakened the forces of the Wehrmacht. In addition, German troops suffered huge losses in the war with the USSR, which also weakened their position.
6. *Compare the scale of military operations on the Soviet-German front and other fronts of the Second World War. Which front played the decisive role? Why do you think so? (When working on the assignment, use materials from a textbook on Russian history.)
The decisive role in World War II belonged to the Soviet-German front, the scale of hostilities on which significantly exceeded the scale of actions on other fronts of World War II.
Germany's attack on the USSR radically changed the alignment and balance of forces, and the overall military-political situation in the world. The center of gravity of the armed struggle moved to the Soviet-German front, which literally from the first days of military operations there became the decisive front of the Second World War. Major events took place here that radically changed not only the course of this war, but also the entire history of the world.
For a long time, the Armed Forces of the USSR waged virtual combat with the gigantic military machine of Nazi Germany and its European allies. Having seized the initiative and taking advantage of the fact that the Western allies of the USSR did not conduct active military operations on other fronts for a long time, the fascist German command constantly sent new reinforcements to the east.
Until the summer of 1944, there were on average 12-20 times more enemy troops on the Soviet-German front than on other fronts where the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain operated. The length of the Soviet-German front was 4 times greater than the total size of the North African, Italian and Western fronts. True, since June 1944, the number of Wehrmacht formations operating against American, British and French troops on the Western European Front increased significantly, but even then there were 1.8-2.8 times fewer of them than on the Soviet-German front .
Throughout the war, the Soviet-German front pinned down the bulk of the troops, as well as military equipment Wehrmacht At its various stages, there were from 8 million to 12.8 million people on both sides, from 84 thousand to 163 thousand guns and mortars, from 5.7 thousand to 20 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns (assault guns) ), from 6.5 thousand to 18.8 thousand aircraft.. World history has never known such a concentration of military masses and military equipment. Active defensive and offensive actions of troops on the Soviet-German front accounted for 93% of the time of its existence. On none of the other fronts was there such an intense, prolonged and fierce struggle. This means that the events on the Soviet-German front were decisive for the course of the entire Second World War. Here, the most important military-political goals were achieved, which had a decisive influence on its final outcome, namely the disruption of the plan for a lightning war and a radical revolution during the Second World War.
1944 was the year of decisive victories for the Soviet Armed Forces. The most important military-political result of the campaigns they conducted this year was the collapse of the defensive strategy of Nazi Germany.
The successful offensive of the Red Army not only brought closer the complete defeat of the Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front, but also thwarted the plans of the German command in the west. It greatly facilitated the invasion of the USSR-allied troops on the continent and contributed to their subsequent advance on the Western European Front. Thus, the crushing blows of the Soviet Armed Forces in the summer of 1944 allowed the allies, in relatively favorable conditions, to carry out the Normandy landing operation from June 6 to July 24 and finally open a second front in Europe, and in August to carry out the South French landing operation. By the end of autumn 1944, the allied armies reached the front from the mouth of the river. Meuse to the Franco-Swiss border. The attempt of the German command to launch an offensive on the Western Front in order to defeat the Anglo-American troops with a blow through the Ardennes to Antwerp (December 16, 1944 - January 29, 1945) did not produce the expected results. At the request of British Prime Minister W. Churchill, the Soviet Supreme High Command launched a powerful offensive on the Soviet-German front in the zone from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathians earlier than planned, which forced the Wehrmacht command to urgently transfer a number of attack formations from west to east, and the crisis situation in the Ardennes was liquidated quite quickly.
The opening of a second front was, of course, important event during the armed struggle against the fascist bloc. However, it should be noted that the Allied military operations in the Western European theater unfolded when the forces of Nazi Germany were already exhausted. There were from 56 to 75 Wehrmacht divisions there, that is, several times less than on the Soviet-German front.
By the beginning of the 1945 campaign in Europe, Nazi Germany, despite all the defeats, still represented an impressive force. In accordance with the adopted course of concentrating the main efforts against the Red Army, the distribution of Wehrmacht troops by the beginning of 1945 was as follows: on the Soviet-German front, as part of five army groups and one operational group, 185 divisions and 21 brigades operated (including 16 divisions and Hungarian brigade), while on the western and Italian fronts there are 105 divisions and 4 brigades, of which 4 divisions and a brigade are Italian. In total, by the beginning of the campaign, the German Eastern Front numbered 3.7 million people (in the west the enemy had only 1.9 million people), 56.2 thousand guns and mortars, 8.1 thousand tanks and assault guns and 4.1 thousand combat aircraft.
It should be noted that with the beginning of the final campaign of World War II in Europe, the strategic interaction of the Armed Forces of the USSR with the troops of the Western allies acquired a closer character. The latter's offensive in Western Germany and Italy developed simultaneously with the attacks of the Red Army on the Vistula, in East Prussia and in the Budapest region. Under these conditions, to coordinate actions against a common enemy and solve the problems of the post-war system in Europe, a conference of the heads of three powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain - was held on February 4-11, 1945 in Yalta. At meetings on military matters, representatives of the Allied countries assured Soviet participants that offensive operations on the Western Front would resume in early February.
During the second half of February and March, Anglo-American troops, launching a general offensive along the entire Western Front, cleared the enemy of the territory west of the Rhine River and crossed it on March 24. In early April, they encircled up to 20 German divisions in the Ruhr industrial region and by April 18 liquidated this group. Subsequently, the Allied armies began to quickly advance into the interior of Germany, encountering almost no resistance, since the Wehrmacht troops practically stopped conducting military operations against them. In the second half of April, the Allies reached the Elbe River in the central sector, where on April 25, in the Torgau region, they met with the advanced units of the Red Army. Germany, thus, found itself cut into two parts - northern and southern.
The offensive of the Anglo-American troops in Italy began in the first half of April 1945, and already on April 29, they, together with the Italian liberation forces, forced the German Army Group C to capitulate.
In general, the armed forces of the Western Allies in the final campaign of World War II in Europe made a significant contribution to the common cause of victory over Nazi Germany. However, it should be borne in mind that military operations on the western and Italian fronts were carried out in conditions when the German High Command sent most of the forces and means at its disposal, as well as almost all the reinforcements that could still be found, to the east in order to to block the Red Army's path to Berlin. In addition, a significant part of the German troops operating against the allies preferred to surrender rather than conduct a stubborn defense.
The results of the armed confrontation on the Soviet-German front, which was distinguished by great scope, exceptional activity, determination and tension, indicate that it was here that the most significant strategic results were achieved. The struggle on the main front of the war ended with the complete defeat of the Wehrmacht and the unconditional surrender of Germany. The Wehrmacht suffered more than 74% of its total losses (10 million out of 13.4 million) in battles and engagements with the Soviet Armed Forces. Assessing the actions of the latter and the impact of these actions on the course of World War II, US President. Red Army troops in 1941-1945. defeated and captured 607 enemy divisions, while the Anglo-American - about 176 divisions. The damage of the fascist German troops on the Soviet-German front in terms of personnel alone was 4 times greater than in the aggregate in the Western European and Mediterranean theaters of military operations, and in terms of the number of killed and wounded - 6 times. On this, the main and decisive front of the Second World War, the bulk of the aggressor’s military equipment was destroyed - about 50 thousand tanks and assault guns (up to 75% of their total losses), over 70 thousand aircraft (about 70%), 167 thousand artillery pieces (74%)9.
The main strategic result of the struggle on the Soviet-German front was the crushing of the military power of the fascist bloc, which led to the collapse of the entire political and military system of Hitler's Germany and its European allies, the complete failure of their strategic plans and plans.
Thus, the results of the armed struggle are convincing evidence that the actions of the Soviet Armed Forces against the armies of Nazi Germany, militaristic Japan and their allies constituted the main content of the military confrontation of coalitions during the Second World War and had a decisive influence on its course and outcome.
7. What goals did the Nazis pursue in the occupied countries? Show with specific facts.
The main goal of the Nazis in the occupied territory was to expand living space for the German population and use all resources (human and material) for the benefit of Germany. For this purpose, Hitler developed special plans.
Thus, the Soviet Union was supposed to disappear, within 30 years its territory was supposed to become part of the “Great German Reich”; after the “final victory of Germany” there will be reconciliation with England, a treaty of friendship will be concluded with it; the Reich will include the countries of Scandinavia, the Iberian Peninsula and other European states; The United States of America will be “permanently excluded from world politics”, it will undergo “complete re-education of the racially inferior population”, and the population “with German blood” will be given military training and “re-education in the national spirit”, after which America will “become a German state” .
Already in 1940, directives and instructions “on the Eastern Question” began to be developed, and an extensive program for the conquest of the peoples of Eastern Europe was outlined in the “Ost” master plan (December 1941). The general guidelines were as follows: part of the population of the occupied territories was to be exterminated on the spot, a significant part was to be resettled in Siberia (the SS organs planned to exterminate 5–6 million Jews in the “eastern regions”, evict 46–51 million people, and the remaining 14 million people reduced to the level of a semi-literate workforce, education limited to a four-year school).
In the conquered countries of Europe, the Nazis began to methodically implement their plans. In the occupied territories, a “cleansing” of the population was carried out - Jews and communists were exterminated. Prisoners of war and some of the young men and women forcibly taken from their homes flocked to the Reich. By the end of 1942, German industry and agriculture employed the labor of about 7 million “Eastern workers” and prisoners of war. In 1943, another 2 million people were added to them.
Any insubordination, and especially resistance to the occupation authorities, was mercilessly punished. One of the terrible examples of the Nazis’ reprisal against civilians was the destruction of the Czech village of Lidice in the summer of 1942. It was carried out as an “act of retaliation” for the murder of a major Nazi official, “Protector of Bohemia and Moravia” Heydrich, committed the day before by members of a sabotage group.
8. Describe the main currents in the Resistance movement. What united its participants? How did their positions differ?
Since the establishment of the Nazi regime in Germany, and then the occupation regimes in European countries, the Resistance movement to the “new order” began. It was attended by people of different beliefs and political affiliations: communists, social democrats, supporters of bourgeois parties and non-party people. German anti-fascists were among the first to join the fight in the pre-war years.
In a number of European countries, immediately after their occupation, an armed struggle began against the invaders. In Yugoslavia, the communists became the initiators of nationwide resistance to the enemy. Already in the summer of 1941 they created Main Headquarters people's liberation partisan detachments (led by I. Broz Tito) and decided on an armed uprising. By the fall of 1941, partisan detachments numbering up to 70 thousand people were operating in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1942, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (PLJA) was created, and by the end of the year it practically controlled a fifth of the country's territory. In the same year, representatives of organizations participating in the Resistance formed the Anti-Fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ). In November 1943, the veche proclaimed itself the temporary supreme body of legislative and executive power. By this time, half of the country’s territory was already under his control. A declaration was also adopted that defined the foundations of the new Yugoslav state. National committees were created in the liberated territory, and the confiscation of enterprises and lands of fascists and collaborators (people who collaborated with the occupiers) began.
The Resistance movement in Poland consisted of many groups with different political orientations. In February 1942, part of the underground armed forces united into the Home Army (AK), led by representatives of the Polish émigré government, which was located in London. “Peasant battalions” were created in the villages. Detachments of the Army of the People (AL) organized by the communists began to operate.
After the turning point in the fighting on the fronts in the occupied countries, the number of underground groups and armed detachments fighting against the invaders and their accomplices increased significantly. In France, the Maquis became more active - partisans who carried out sabotage on railways, attacking German posts, warehouses, etc.
By mid-1944, leading bodies of the Resistance movement had formed in many countries, uniting different movements and groups - from communists to Catholics. In France it was the National Council of the Resistance, which included representatives of 16 organizations. The most determined and active participants in the Resistance were the communists. For the sacrifices made in the fight against the occupiers, they were called the “party of those executed.” In Italy in the work of committees national liberation Communists, socialists, Christian Democrats, liberals, members of the Action Party and the Labor Democracy Party participated.
All participants in the Resistance sought first of all to liberate their countries from occupation and fascism. But on the question of what kind of power should be established after this, the views of representatives of individual movements differed. Some advocated the restoration of pre-war regimes. Others, primarily the communists, sought to establish a new, “people's democratic power.”
9. Explain when, due to what events, a turning point occurred during the Second World War.
The turning point in the Second World War occurred on the eastern front during the following events:
1. The battles for Stalingrad lasted more than 3 months. The city was defended by the 62nd and 64th armies under the command of V.I. Chuikov and M.S. Shumilov. On November 19, 1942, the counter-offensive of Soviet troops began (front commanders N.F. Vatutin, K.K. Rokossovsky, A.I. Eremenko) ended with the encirclement of German armies (numbering over 300 thousand people), their subsequent defeat and capture, including commander Field Marshal F. Paulus.
During the Soviet offensive, the losses of the armies of Germany and its allies amounted to 800 thousand people. In total in Battle of Stalingrad they lost up to 1.5 million soldiers and officers - approximately a quarter of the forces then operating on the Soviet-German front.
2. Battle of Kursk. In the summer of 1943, the German attempt to attack Kursk from
districts of Orel and Belgorod. On the German side, over 50 divisions (including 16 tank and motorized) took part in the operation. A special role was given to powerful artillery and tank strikes. On July 12, the largest tank battle of World War II took place on a field near the village of Prokhorovka, in which about 1,200 tanks and self-propelled artillery units collided. At the beginning of August, Soviet troops liberated Oryol and Belgorod. 30 enemy divisions were defeated. The losses of the German army in this battle amounted to 500 thousand soldiers and officers, 1.5 thousand tanks. After the Battle of Kursk, the offensive of Soviet troops unfolded along the entire front. In the summer and autumn of 1943, Smolensk, Gomel, Left Bank Ukraine and Kyiv were liberated. The strategic initiative on the Soviet-German front passed to the Red Army.
10. Name the main meetings of the leaders of the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition. What significance did they have?
1. Tehran Conference. On November 28 – December 1, 1943, a meeting of the leaders of the three countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition took place in Tehran: the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill discussed mainly the question of the second front, as well as some questions of the structure of the post-war world. US and British leaders promised to open a second front in Europe in May 1944, launching the landing of Allied troops in France.
2. Yalta (Crimean) conference. On February 4–11, 1945, a conference of the heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain took place in Yalta. I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill agreed on plans for military operations against Germany and post-war policy towards it: zones and conditions of occupation, actions to destroy the fascist regime, the procedure for collecting reparations, etc. An accession agreement was also signed at the conference The USSR entered the war against Japan 2 - 3 months after the surrender of Germany.
3. Post-Dame Conference. On July 17 – August 2, 1945, a conference of the heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain took place in Potsdam (near Berlin). Those who took part in it were I. Stalin, G. Truman (US President after F. Roosevelt, who died in April 1945), and C. Attlee (who replaced W. Churchill as British Prime Minister) discussed “the principles of the coordinated policy of the allies towards the defeated Germany." A program of democratization, denazification, and demilitarization of Germany was adopted. The total amount of reparations it had to pay was confirmed as $20 billion. The Soviet Union was to receive half (it was later calculated that the damage inflicted by the Nazis on the Soviet country amounted to about $128 billion). Germany was divided into four occupation zones - Soviet, American, British and French. Liberated by Soviet troops, Berlin and the capital of Austria, Vienna, were placed under the control of the four Allied powers. Provision was made for the establishment of an International Military Tribunal to try Nazi war criminals. The border between Germany and Poland was established along the Oder and Neisse rivers. East Prussia went to Poland and partially (the region of Königsberg, now Kaliningrad) to the USSR.
11. Make up historical information about the second front in Europe (tasks, expected and actual opening dates, role in the course of hostilities).
The goal of the second front in Europe was to launch a large-scale offensive against Germany and thus provide assistance to the USSR and further defeat Germany as a result of an offensive from two fronts.
The USSR wanted the opening of a Second Front in the summer of 1943 in the south of Italy in Sicily.
But in fact, the second front in Western Europe was opened on June 6, 1944 as a result of the landing of American and British troops in Normandy, on the northern coast of France.
After the landings, the Allied forces liberated France and Belgium and launched an attack on Berlin simultaneously with the frontal attack of the Red Army. Thus, Germany was forced to hold back the offensive from two fronts.
Option. Make a map “Liberation of European countries” (show on it the main actions of armies, Resistance forces, places of liberation uprisings).
The liberation of European countries from occupation and fascism took place through the joint efforts of the anti-Hitler coalition, but the USSR played a decisive role in this event.
The beginning of 1944 was marked by major offensive operations by Soviet troops on the southern and northern sectors of the Soviet-German front. Ukraine and Crimea were liberated, and the 900-day blockade of Leningrad was broken. In the spring of this year, Soviet troops reached the state border of the USSR for more than 400 km, approaching the borders of Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Continuing the defeat of the enemy, they began to liberate the countries of Eastern Europe. Next to the Soviet soldiers, units of the 1st Czechoslovak Brigade under the command of L. Svoboda and the 1st Polish Division, formed during the war on the territory of the USSR, fought for the freedom of their peoples. T. Kosciuszko under the command of Z. Berling.
At this time, the Allies finally opened a second front in Western Europe. On June 6, 1944, American and British troops landed in Normandy, on the northern coast of France.
The bridgehead between the cities of Cherbourg and Caen was occupied by 40 divisions with a total number of up to 1.5 million people. The Allied forces were commanded by American General D. Eisenhower. Two and a half months after the landing, the Allies began advancing deeper into French territory. They were opposed by about 60 understrength German divisions. At the same time, resistance units launched an open struggle against the German army in the occupied territory. On August 19, an uprising began in Paris against the troops of the German garrison. General de Gaulle, who arrived in France with the Allied troops (by that time he had been proclaimed head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic), fearing the “anarchy” of the mass liberation struggle, insisted that Leclerc’s French tank division be sent to Paris. On August 25, 1944, this division entered Paris, which by that time had been practically liberated by the rebels.
Having liberated France and Belgium, where in a number of provinces the Resistance forces also launched armed actions against the occupiers, the Allied troops reached the German border by September 11, 1944.
At that time, a frontal offensive by the Red Army was taking place on the Soviet-German front, as a result of which the countries of Eastern and Central Europe were liberated.
Fighting in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe in 1944 – 1945.
July 17 - Soviet troops crossed the border with Poland; Chelm, Lublin liberated; In the liberated territory, the power of the new government, the Polish Committee of National Liberation, began to assert itself.
August 1 - the beginning of the uprising against the occupiers in Warsaw; this action, prepared and led by the émigré government located in London, was defeated by the beginning of October, despite the heroism of its participants; By order of the German command, the population was expelled from Warsaw, and the city itself was destroyed.
August 23 – the overthrow of the Antonescu regime in Romania; a week later, Soviet troops entered Bucharest.
September 9 - anti-fascist uprising in Bulgaria, the government of the Fatherland Front came to power.
October 6 - Soviet troops and units of the Czechoslovak Corps entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.
armies liberated Belgrade.
The liberation of European countries was paid for with the lives of many thousands of Soviet soldiers. In Romania, 69 thousand soldiers and officers died, in Poland - about 600 thousand, in Czechoslovakia - more than 140 thousand and about the same in Hungary. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died in other, including opposing, armies. They fought on opposite sides of the front, but were similar in one thing: no one wanted to die, especially in recent months and days of war.
13. What factors and forces played a decisive role in the defeat of Nazi Germany? Give reasons for your point of view.
1. military power of the USSR (more than 2/3 of Germany’s armed forces were constantly on the Eastern Front, Germany suffered its main losses and defeats in the east of the USSR);
2. patriotism of peoples opposing the seizure of their territory;
3. collaboration Anti-Hitler coalition, opening of a second front
14. *How do you determine the reasons for Japan's defeat in World War II?
Reasons for Japan's defeat in World War II:
1. The naval blockade caused an economic collapse, causing production to fall below pre-war levels.
2. Strategic bombing caused heavy casualties and destruction, demoralizing the population and weakening their support for the course of total war.
3. The Soviet invasion destroyed hopes for USSR mediation in the matter of peace, and the threat of war on two fronts sharply reduced the time for decision-making.
4. The atomic bombings, coupled with uncertainty about the quantity of these weapons in the United States, created circumstances in which unconditional surrender became the only possible action.
15. Name the most outstanding, from your point of view, commanders of the Second World War. What serves as your assessment criterion (basis) in this case? (When answering, use material from a textbook on Russian history.)
The criterion for evaluation was the effectiveness of the victories of the commanders and their contribution to the victory over Germany.
On the Soviet-German front:
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (1896-1974) - Marshal of the Soviet Union, Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Armed Forces, member of the Supreme Command Headquarters. He commanded the troops of the Reserve, Leningrad, Western, and 1st Belorussian fronts, coordinated the actions of a number of fronts, and made a great contribution to achieving victory in the battle of Moscow, in the Battles of Stalingrad, Kursk, in the Belarusian, Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895-1977) - Marshal of the Soviet Union. Chief of the General Staff in 1942-1945. , member of the Supreme Command Headquarters. He coordinated the actions of a number of fronts in strategic operations, in 1945 - commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front and commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (1896-1968) - Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshal of Poland. Commanded the Bryansk, Don, Central, Belorussian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts.
Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897-1973) - Marshal of the Soviet Union. Commanded the troops of the Western, Kalinin, North-Western, Steppe, 2nd and 1st Ukrainian Fronts.
Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich (1898-1967) - Marshal of the Soviet Union. From October 1942 - Deputy Commander of the Voronezh Front, Commander of the 2nd Guards Army, Southern, Southwestern, 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian, Transbaikal Fronts.
Govorov Leonid Aleksandrovich (1897-1955) - Marshal of the Soviet Union. From June 1942 he commanded the troops of the Leningrad Front, and in February-March 1945 he simultaneously coordinated the actions of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic Fronts.
Antonov Alexey Innokentievich (1896-1962) - army general. Since 1942 - first deputy chief, chief (since February 1945) of the General Staff, member of the Supreme Command Headquarters.
Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich (1895-1970) - Marshal of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War - People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, member of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Commander-in-Chief of the Western and South-Western directions, from July 1942 he commanded the Stalingrad and North-Western Fronts. Since 1943 - representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters at the fronts.
Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich (1894-1949) - Marshal of the Soviet Union. At the beginning of the war - chief of staff of the district (front). Since 1942 - Deputy Commander of the Stalingrad Military District, Commander of the 57th and 68th Armies, Southern, 4th and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts.
On other fronts of World War II:
D. Eisenhower - US statesman and military leader, army general (1944). During World War II 1939 - 45 commander (from June 1942) of American troops in Europe, commands. (from November 1942) by allied forces in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Since 1943, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Western Europe; led the landing of Anglo-American troops on the coast of Northwestern France, which meant the opening of a second front in Europe. He was awarded orders from many countries, including the Soviet Order of Victory (1945). After the defeat of Nazi Germany, Eisenhower became commander of the US occupation forces in Germany.
Douglas MacArthur is an American military leader, holder of the highest rank - General of the Army (December 18, 1944), Field Marshal of the Philippine Army (August 24, 1936), holder of many orders and medals.
Bernard Law Montgomery, British field marshal (1944), major military leader of the Second World War. In October–November 1942, at the Battle of El Alamein, Montgomery's army defeated the outnumbered German-Italian forces, finally turning the tide of hostilities in North Africa in favor of the Allies. Montgomery was knighted and given the rank of full general.
16. *What do you think determined the actions and behavior of people during the war? Express your opinion about what heroism in war is. What was it? Give examples.
Heroism presupposes courage, determination, bravery, nobility, and the ability to sacrifice oneself in the name of another person or a significant idea. Soldiers as well as civilians during World War II showed great courage, fighting either at the front or on the home front. The motive for all their actions was the desire to expel the enemy and ensure a bright, peaceful future for themselves and their children.
An example of heroism during World War II was the defense Brest Fortress. Half an hour planned for the capture of Brest Hitler's command. But about a month passed before German troops were able to do this. The fortress on the western border of the Soviet Union became a symbol of feat and heroism, courage and perseverance. Even our enemies were forced to admit this. In March 1942, in the Orel area, our troops defeated the Nazis' 45th Infantry Division. At the same time, the archive of her headquarters was captured, in which, among other documents, a “Combat report on the capture of Brest-Litovsk” was discovered. His final lines say: “An attack on a fortress in which a brave enemy sits costs a lot of blood. The Russians in Brest-Litovsk fought exceptionally persistently and tenaciously. They showed excellent infantry training and proved a remarkable will to fight.”
17. Compare the indicators related to the two world wars (see table on page 145). Identify the most significant differences. What conclusions can be drawn from the comparison?
Indicators related to the two world wars differ in all respects. But what is especially different is the territory covered by the fighting, the number of states involved in the war, and most importantly the total number of deaths on the fronts. From this we can conclude that the Second World War, in terms of its scale and human casualties, was much more severe and inhumane than the First World War.
18. *Describe the main results of the Second World War. What do you think its lessons are? (Also use material from a textbook on Russian history.)
The Second World War is over. 72 states with a total population of over 1.7 billion people took part in it. The fighting took place on the territory of 40 countries. IN armed forces 110 million people were mobilized. According to updated estimates, up to 62 million people died in the war, including about 27 million Soviet citizens. Thousands of cities and villages were destroyed, innumerable material and cultural values were destroyed. Humanity paid a huge price for the victory over the invaders who sought world domination.
The war, in which atomic weapons were used for the first time, showed that armed conflicts in modern world not only everything is threatened with destruction more people, but also humanity as a whole, all living things on earth. The hardships and losses of the war years, as well as examples of human self-sacrifice and heroism, left a memory of themselves in several generations of people. The international and socio-political consequences of the war turned out to be significant.
Commanders
Strengths of the parties
The Second World War(September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) - the war of two world military-political coalitions, which became the largest war in human history. 61 states out of 73 existing at that time participated in it (80% of the population globe). The fighting took place on the territory of three continents and in the waters of four oceans.
Naval warfare in World War II
Participants
The number of countries involved varied throughout the war. Some of them were actively involved in military operations, others helped their allies with food supplies, and many participated in the war only in name.
The anti-Hitler coalition included: the USSR, the British Empire, the USA, Poland, France and other countries.
On the other hand, the Axis countries and their allies participated in the war: Germany, Italy, Japan, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries.
Prerequisites for the war
The preconditions for the war stem from the so-called Versailles-Washington system - the balance of power that emerged after the First World War. The main winners (France, Great Britain, USA) were unable to make the new world order sustainable. Moreover, Britain and France were counting on a new war to strengthen their positions as colonial powers and weaken their competitors (Germany and Japan). Germany was limited in participation in international affairs, the creation of a full-fledged army and is subject to indemnity. With the decline in the standard of living in Germany, political forces with revanchist ideas, led by A. Hitler, came to power.
The German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fires at Polish positions
1939 campaign
Capture of Poland
World War II began on September 1, 1939 with a surprise German attack on Poland. The Polish naval forces did not have large surface ships, were not ready for war with Germany and were quickly defeated. Three Polish destroyers left for England before the start of the war, German aircraft sank a destroyer and a minelayer Gryf .
The beginning of the struggle at sea
Actions on communications in the Atlantic Ocean
In the initial period of the war, the German command hoped to solve the problem of fighting on sea communications, using surface raiders as the main striking force. Submarines and aircraft were assigned a supporting role. They had to force the British to carry out transportation in convoys, which would facilitate the actions of surface raiders. The British intended to use the convoy method as the main method of protecting shipping from submarines, and to use the long-range blockade as the main method of combating surface raiders, based on the experience of the First World War. To this end, at the beginning of the war, the British established sea patrols in the English Channel and in the Shetland Islands - Norway region. But these actions were ineffective - surface raiders, and even more so German submarines, actively operated on communications - the allies and neutral countries lost 221 merchant ships with a total tonnage of 755 thousand tons by the end of the year.
German merchant ships had instructions about the start of the war and tried to reach the ports of Germany or friendly countries; about 40 ships were sunk by their crews, and only 19 ships fell into enemy hands at the beginning of the war.
Actions in the North Sea
With the beginning of the war, large-scale laying of minefields in the North Sea began, which constrained active operations in it until the end of the war. Both sides mined the approaches to their coasts with wide protective belts of dozens of minefields. German destroyers also laid minefields off the coast of England.
German submarine raid U-47 at Scapa Flow, during which she sank an English battleship HMS Royal Oak showed the weakness of the entire anti-submarine defense of the English fleet.
Capture of Norway and Denmark
1940 campaign
Occupation of Denmark and Norway
In April - May 1940, German troops carried out Operation Weserubung, during which they captured Denmark and Norway. With the support and cover of large aviation forces, 1 battleship, 6 cruisers, 14 destroyers and other ships, a total of up to 10 thousand people were landed in Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik. The operation was unexpected for the British, who got involved belatedly. The British fleet destroyed German destroyers in Battles 10 and 13 in Narvik. On May 24, the Allied command ordered the evacuation of Northern Norway, which was carried out from June 4 to 8. During the evacuation on June 9, German battleships sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and 2 destroyers. In total, during the operation the Germans lost a heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 10 destroyers, 8 submarines and other ships, the Allies lost an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, 7 destroyers, 6 submarines.
Actions in the Mediterranean. 1940-1941
Actions in the Mediterranean
Military operations in the Mediterranean theater began after Italy declared war on England and France on June 10, 1940. The combat operations of the Italian fleet began with the laying of minefields in the Strait of Tunisia and on the approaches to their bases, with the deployment of submarines, as well as with air raids on Malta.
The first major naval battle between the Italian Navy and the British Navy was the Battle of Punta Stilo (also known in English sources as the Battle of Calabria. The collision took place on July 9, 1940, off the southeastern tip of the Apennine Peninsula. As a result of the battle, neither side suffered casualties did not suffer. But Italy had 1 battleship, 1 heavy cruiser and 1 destroyer damaged, and the British had 1 light cruiser and 2 destroyers.
French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir
Surrender of France
On June 22, France capitulated. Despite the terms of surrender, the Vichy government did not intend to give up the fleet to Germany. Distrusting the French, the British government launched Operation Catapult to capture French ships located in different bases. In Porsmouth and Plymouth, 2 battleships, 2 destroyers, 5 submarines were captured; ships in Alexandria and Martinique were disarmed. In Mers el-Kebir and Dakar, where the French resisted, the British sank the battleship Bretagne and damaged three more battleships. From the captured ships, the Free French fleet was organized; in the meantime, the Vichy government broke off relations with Great Britain.
Actions in the Atlantic in 1940-1941.
After the surrender of the Netherlands on May 14, German ground forces pinned the Allied forces to the sea. From May 26 to June 4, 1940, during Operation Dynamo, 338 thousand Allied troops were evacuated from the French coast in the Dunkirk area to Britain. At the same time, the Allied fleet suffered heavy losses from German aviation - about 300 ships and vessels were killed.
In 1940, German boats ceased to operate under the rules of prize law and switched to unrestricted submarine warfare. After the capture of Norway and the western regions of France, the system of basing German boats expanded. After Italy entered the war, 27 Italian boats began to be based in Bordeaux. The Germans gradually moved from the actions of single boats to the actions of groups of boats with curtains that blocked the ocean area.
German auxiliary cruisers successfully operated on ocean communications - by the end of 1940, 6 cruisers captured and destroyed 54 ships with a displacement of 366,644 tons.
1941 campaign
Actions in the Mediterranean in 1941
Actions in the Mediterranean
In May 1941, German troops captured the island. Crete. The British Navy, which was waiting for enemy ships near the island, lost 3 cruisers, 6 destroyers, and more than 20 other ships and transports from German air attacks; 3 battleships, an aircraft carrier, 6 cruisers, and 7 destroyers were damaged.
Active actions on Japanese communications put the Japanese economy in a difficult situation, the implementation of the shipbuilding program was disrupted, and the transportation of strategic raw materials and troops was complicated. In addition to submarines, surface forces of the US Navy, and primarily TF-58 (TF-38), also actively participated in the battle on communications. In terms of the number of Japanese transports sunk, aircraft carrier forces ranked second after submarines. Only in the period 10 - 16 October, aircraft carrier groups of the 38th formation, having attacked naval bases, ports and airfields in the Taiwan region, Philippines, destroyed about 600 aircraft on the ground and in the air, sank 34 transports and several auxiliary ships.
Landing in France
Landing in France
On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord (Normandy landing operation) began. Under the cover of massive air strikes and naval artillery fire, an amphibious landing of 156 thousand people was carried out. The operation was supported by a fleet of 6 thousand military and landing ships and transport vessels.
The German navy offered almost no resistance to the landing. The Allies suffered the main losses from mines - 43 ships were blown up by them. During the second half of 1944, in the landing area off the coast of England and in the English Channel, 60 Allied transports were lost as a result of the actions of German submarines, torpedo boats, and mines.
German submarine sinks transport
Actions in the Atlantic Ocean
German troops began to retreat under pressure from the landing Allied troops. As a result, the German Navy lost its bases on the Atlantic coast by the end of the year. On September 18, Allied units entered Brest, and on September 25, troops occupied Boulogne. Also in September, the Belgian ports of Ostend and Antwerp were liberated. By the end of the year, fighting in the ocean had ceased.
In 1944, the Allies were able to ensure almost complete security of communications. To protect communications, they at that time had 118 escort aircraft carriers, 1,400 destroyers, frigates and sloops, and about 3,000 other patrol ships. Coastal PLO aviation consisted of 1,700 aircraft and 520 flying boats. Total losses in the allied and neutral tonnage in the Atlantic as a result of the actions of submarines in the second half of 1944, there were only 58 ships with a total tonnage of 270 thousand gross tons. The Germans lost 98 boats at sea alone during this period.
Submarines
Signing of the Japanese surrender
Actions in the Pacific
Possessing an overwhelming superiority in forces, the American armed forces, in intense battles in 1945, broke the stubborn resistance of Japanese troops and captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. For landing operations, the United States attracted huge forces, so the fleet off the coast of Okinawa consisted of 1,600 ships. During all the days of fighting off Okinawa, 368 Allied ships were damaged, and another 36 (including 15 landing ships and 12 destroyers) were sunk. The Japanese had 16 ships sunk, including the battleship Yamato.
In 1945, American air raids on Japanese bases and coastal installations became systematic, with attacks carried out by both shore-based naval aviation and strategic aviation and carrier strike formations. In March - July 1945, American aircraft, as a result of massive attacks, sank or damaged all large Japanese surface ships.
On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan. From August 12 to August 20, 1945, the Pacific Fleet carried out a series of landings that captured the ports of Korea. On August 18, the Kuril landing operation was launched, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands.
September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship USS Missouri The act of surrender of Japan was signed, ending World War II.
Results of the war
The Second World War had a huge impact on the destinies of mankind. 72 states (80% of the world's population) took part in it; military operations were carried out on the territory of 40 states. The total human losses reached 60-65 million people, of which 27 million people were killed at the fronts.
The war ended with the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition. As a result of the war, the role of Western Europe in global politics weakened. The USSR and the USA became the main powers in the world. Great Britain and France, despite the victory, were significantly weakened. The war showed the inability of them and other Western European countries to maintain huge colonial empires. Europe was divided into two camps: Western capitalist and Eastern socialist. Relations between the two blocs deteriorated sharply. A couple of years after the end of the war, the Cold War began.
History of world wars. - M: Tsentrpoligraf, 2011. - 384 p. -
On September 1, 1939, Germany began its planned war against Poland. On September 3, 1939, England and France began a retaliatory war against Germany, since they were bound by a defensive treaty with Poland.
Already at the beginning of September, Hitler pushed Stalin to introduce Red Army units into the areas of Poland designated by the USSR. Such actions threatened the USSR with war not only with Poland, but also with England and France. The leadership of the USSR did not agree to this, and only on September 17, when the defeat of Poland became completely obvious, the Red Army entered Poland under the pretext of providing “assistance to Ukrainian and Belarusian blood brothers” who were in danger as a result of the “collapse of the Polish state.” At the same time, the USSR and Poland did not declare war on each other. Therefore, despite the actual entry of troops into Polish territory, the USSR did not enter the war with Poland’s allies. Stalin won this diplomatic battle against Hitler.
After the actual defeat of Poland, in September an agreement was reached on the passage of the Soviet-German border along the river. Bug, which violated the provisions of the secret protocol of August 23. As compensation, Germany transferred Lithuania to the Soviet sphere of influence. At this stage, the agreement with Germany allowed the USSR to annex a huge territory of 200 thousand square meters. km with a population of 12 million people (7 million Ukrainians, 3 million Belarusians and 2 million Poles).
Next, the USSR, in accordance with the provisions of the secret protocol, began to strengthen its positions in the Baltic states. In September-October 1939, the Soviet leadership diplomatically imposed “mutual assistance agreements” on Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, under the terms of which they provided the USSR with their military bases.
On October 31, the Soviet government presented territorial claims to Finland, which erected a system of powerful fortifications known as the “Mannerheim Line” along the border running along the Karelian Isthmus, 35 km from Leningrad. The USSR demanded to demilitarize the border zone and move the border 70 km from Leningrad, to liquidate the naval bases on Hanko and the Åland Islands in exchange for very significant territorial concessions in the north. Finland rejected these proposals, but agreed to negotiate.
On November 29, 1939, taking advantage of a minor border incident, the USSR terminated the non-aggression pact with Finland. The next day military operations began. The Soviet press announced the creation of the “People's Government of Finland,” which consisted of several Finnish communists, mostly employees of the Comintern, who had long lived in Moscow. We have to admit that although the USSR really needed to obtain lands vital for the security of Leningrad, which also originally belonged to Russia, its actions clearly qualify as aggression. Moreover, the attempt to illegally proclaim the Democratic Republic of Finland was no different from Hitler’s methods of eliminating the enemy’s sovereignty.
The Finnish army, inferior in numbers by 3.2 times, artillery by 5.6 times, tanks by 35 times, managed to delay the advance of the Red Army for several weeks, but at the end of February 1940, Soviet troops managed to break through the Finnish defenses. The Finnish government asked for peace and, under an agreement on March 12, 1940, ceded the entire Karelian Isthmus with Vyborg to the Soviet Union, and also provided it with its naval base on the Hanko Peninsula for 30 years. The Soviet-Finnish war cost the USSR 50 thousand killed, more than 150 thousand wounded and missing. The consequences of this war were truly tragic for the USSR: the low combat effectiveness of the Soviet troops, which emerged during the war, had a significant impact on Hitler’s overestimation of the military power of the USSR and on his intention to attack the Soviet Union; the aggression hit the international prestige of the USSR, led to its exclusion from the League of Nations, and the threat of war with England and France.
From September 1939 until the spring of 1940, the so-called “strange war” was fought in Western Europe. 110 Anglo-French divisions, standing against 23 German ones, did nothing to alleviate the plight of Poland. The “Strange War”, the defeat of Poland with the actual connivance of its Western allies clearly showed the possible course of events in the event of the signing of the Anglo-Franco-Soviet agreement. The calm was false, since the Germans were simply afraid of a war “on two fronts.” Having defeated Poland, Germany released significant forces in the East and dealt a decisive blow in Western Europe. In April 1940, the Germans occupied Denmark almost without losses and landed airborne troops in Norway.
In May 1940, German troops, having captured Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg, bypassed the Maginot Line from the north and reached the English Channel through northern France. Here, near the port city of Dunkirk, one of the most dramatic battles of the early period of the war took place. The British sought to save the remaining troops on the continent. After bloody battles, the remnants of the English, French and Belgian troops crossed to the English coast.
After this, the German divisions quickly moved towards Paris. On June 14, the German army entered the city, which had been abandoned by most of its inhabitants. On June 22, 1940, official France capitulated. Under the terms of the agreement, the country was divided into two parts: the Germans ruled in the north and center, occupation laws were in force; the south was ruled from the town of Vichy by the Petain government, which was entirely dependent on Hitler. At the same time, the formation of the “Fighting France” troops began under the command of General de Gaulle, who was in London, who decided to fight for the liberation of their homeland.
Now in Western Europe, Hitler had one serious opponent left - England. Waging war against her was significantly complicated by her island position, the presence of her strongest navy and powerful aviation, as well as numerous sources of raw materials and food in her overseas possessions.
In June 1940, on the eve of the victorious offensive of German troops in France, the USSR, accusing the Baltic countries of violating “mutual assistance” treaties, demanded the creation of coalition governments controlled by Soviet political commissars. After the creation of these “people's governments,” elections were held to the Seimas of Lithuania and Latvia and to the Estonian State Council, in which only candidates nominated by local communist parties participated. The parliaments thus elected requested the admission of these countries to the USSR. At the beginning of August 1940, by decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, this request was granted and they entered the USSR as three new Soviet socialist republics.
A few days after the Red Army entered the Baltic states, the Soviet government sent an ultimatum to Romania, demanding the immediate return of Bessarabia, formerly part of the Russian Empire and also mentioned in the secret protocol, to the USSR. In addition, it also demanded that Northern Bukovina, which was never part of Tsarist Russia and the question of which was not raised in the protocol of August 23, 1939, be transferred to the USSR. In early July 1940, left by Germany without support, Romania was forced to yield to the demands of the USSR .
Thus, within one year, the territory of the USSR increased by 500 thousand square meters. km, and the population is 23 million people. IN last years, due to the reassessment of many historical events, these steps of the Stalinist leadership to strengthen the geopolitical position of the USSR were subjected to moral condemnation. However, contemporaries assessed them as acceptable for the current situation. Thus, Churchill, who cannot be suspected of sympathizing with the USSR, wrote that the Bolsheviks “it was vitally necessary to push the starting positions of the German armies as far west as possible... If their policy was coldly calculating, then it was also at that moment in high realistic degree."
At the same time, the real dependence of the USSR on Germany grew, since during the war the opportunity for political maneuvers sharply narrowed. The Soviet government was taken by surprise by the unexpectedly rapid German military successes. First, the example of Poland showed the real attitude of England and France towards fulfilling their treaty obligations, and therefore the leadership of the USSR became more confident in the correctness of the reorientation towards Germany. Later, the new balance of power on the world stage became increasingly important. Plans associated with plans for a protracted war were collapsing, and the power of the Nazi military machine, which in a short time defeated the leading armies of Europe, was terrifying. Stalin's fears, having discovered the USSR's unpreparedness to face a powerful enemy, were obviously so great that they forced him to make strategic concessions. After the conclusion of the Treaty of Friendship and Border with Germany on September 28, 1939, the Stalinist leadership not only banned anti-fascist propaganda within the USSR, but also in the international arena declared the inapplicability of the concept of “aggressor” to Germany and the criminal nature of the war “for the destruction of Hitlerism.” under the “false flag of the struggle for democracy.”
The Soviet Union carefully fulfilled all the conditions of the Soviet-German economic agreement signed on February 11, 1940. Until the German attack, the USSR regularly supplied Germany with strategic raw materials and food. Economic assistance and mediation of the USSR were of paramount importance for Germany under the conditions of the economic blockade declared by Great Britain.
However, after the defeat of France, Germany was less and less interested in peace with the USSR. Already in August - September 1940, the first deterioration in Soviet-German relations occurred, caused by Germany providing foreign policy guarantees to Romania after the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. She sent a very significant military mission to prepare the Romanian army for war against the USSR. Hungary then joined the fascist coalition. In September, Germany sent troops to Finland.
On Hitler's instructions, from the end of July 1940, a plan for a lightning war against the Soviet Union was being developed, and at the end of August the transfer of the first military formations to the east began. The failure of the complete strategic subordination of the USSR by diplomatic means led Hitler to the adoption on December 5, 1940 of the final decision regarding the USSR, confirmed on December 18 by “Directive 21”, which set the start of the implementation of the “Barbarossa” war plan with the USSR on May 15, 1941. The invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece forced Hitler on April 30, 1941 to change this date to June 22, 1941.
3. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War, its national liberation character
Early on Sunday morning, June 22, 1941, Germany, following the planned plan, attacked the USSR. A war began, in which it was not about preserving the social system or even statehood, but about the physical existence of the peoples inhabiting the USSR. Hitler emphasized that “the upcoming campaign is not just an armed struggle, it is a conflict of two worldviews... 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 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.
The Barbarossa plan provided for a simultaneous attack by three army groups on Moscow, Leningrad and Kyiv, the defeat of Soviet troops in the border areas, the destruction of industry in the Urals with the help of aviation and access to the Volga - Arkhangelsk line. The lightning war (“blitzkrieg”) was supposed to take no more than 10 weeks.
The Nazis carefully prepared for war. The German economy was completely transferred to a war footing. By 1941, Germany's industrial potential exceeded the Soviet one in the most important indicators by 2.5 times. To this must be added the potential of the occupied countries. Germany had at its disposal captured weapons from 180 defeated divisions. Nazi Germany sent 80% of its troops against the Soviet Union. They were joined by the armies of Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland, Slovakia, Croatia, and the “volunteer” formations of Spain and France. In the summer of 1941, a group of 190 divisions numbering 5.5 million people, 47 thousand guns and mortars, 4.5 thousand tanks, 5 thousand aircraft was created near the Soviet borders. Never before in history has such a powerful military fist been created.
In its turn, Soviet Union tried to use the “respite” achieved as a result of the Non-Aggression Treaty. Military spending increased from 25.6% of the state budget in 1939 to 43.4% in 1941. The level of military production was sharply increased, strategic reserves were doubled, and the production of new equipment was accelerated. The army, transferred to universal conscription in September 1939, increased from 1.9 million to 5.4 million people.
Nevertheless, German troops won the first battles. By the end of 1941, the depth of the aggressor’s advance ranged from 850 to 1200 km. Leningrad was blocked, the Germans reached the approaches to Moscow. The Red Army suffered losses unprecedented in the history of wars: by December 1, 1941 - 7 million people killed, wounded and captured; about 22 thousand tanks, up to 25 thousand aircraft. The position of the USSR was critical: the military catastrophe of the first five months of the war led to the enemy’s occupation of vital regions, in which in peacetime 40% of the country’s population lived, 68% of cast iron, 58% of steel and aluminum, 40% of railway equipment were produced. 65% - coal, 84% - sugar and 38% - grain. The pre-war army virtually ceased to exist. The country was on the brink of disaster.
The main reason for the military catastrophe of the USSR in 1941 was the gigantic destructive potential of the military machine created by the fascists, which the armies of such powers as England and France could no longer resist. At the same time, today we see that it was possible to use the military-economic potential of the USSR much better to resist the enemy even then. In this sense, responsibility for the military defeats of the USSR in 1941 lies with the country's leadership, and above all with Stalin. The following aspects can be highlighted in this responsibility: the complete inconsistency of the military doctrine with the situation, the global error in assessing the Nazi threat in June 1941, the flawed arms policy, the deep disorganization of the command staff as a result of the purges of 1937-1938.
Stalin's military doctrine was based on three ideas: the USSR would not have to conduct military operations on its territory, it should prepare for an offensive war, any aggression against the USSR would be immediately stopped by a general uprising of the Western proletariat. Therefore, all Soviet military tactics and troop dispositions were based on the objectives of an offensive war.
At the same time, although the Nazis achieved enormous success in 1941, it was not yet a victory. Unexpectedly, the enemy in the USSR encountered a people who had risen to fight a common misfortune. The whole country was quickly rebuilt on a war footing. At the same time, the Communist Party played a key role in mobilizing all forces to repel the enemy. In the most difficult conditions, the CPSU(b) managed to ensure the targeted unity of ideological, political, economic, and military governance of the country. The faith of thousands of ordinary communists in socialist ideals, in their superiority as bearers of the most advanced social ideal, gave a powerful impetus to the general patriotic upsurge.
Measures to combat the enemy were outlined in the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated June 23, 1941 and the directive “To Party and Soviet organizations in front-line regions” (June 29, 1941). The slogan “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” became the law of life of the country. Management bodies at all levels were reorganized, personnel and material resources were redistributed. On June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was formed, and on June 30, the State Defense Committee was formed, in whose hands all power was concentrated. The centralization of management increased even more. Mobilization was promptly carried out, which was complemented by the patriotic upsurge of the people with the massive creation of volunteer militia formations and partisan detachments.
The fascist military machine began to show serious failures on the battlefields soon after the start of the war. Nazi strategists, who predicted with German pedantry the order and timing of operations, were faced with a completely unaccounted for factor - the mass heroism of Soviet soldiers, which destroyed armchair calculations. Poorly armed, often without command, and mercilessly beaten by the entire might of the German army, the Soviet soldier continued to resist in situations in which all previous opponents of the Wehrmacht had surrendered. Soviet soldiers heroically defended Brest, Mogilev, Smolensk, Odessa, Kyiv, Sevastopol, and other large and small cities and villages. A partisan movement developed behind enemy lines, and the German command was forced to use up to 10% of its ground forces during the war to combat it.
The Wehrmacht suffered a strategic defeat near Moscow. The capital of the USSR was never taken, and as a result of the counter-offensive of Soviet troops in December 1941, the enemy was driven back 120 - 400 km with heavy losses. This victory of the Red Army had enormous military and political significance. The myth of the invincibility of Hitler's army was dispelled. The plan for a lightning war was finally thwarted, which gave the country the opportunity to come to its senses after the terrible first military strike.
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, an unprecedented transfer of industrial and other facilities to the East of the country took place. In a short period of time, 10 million people, 1,523 large industrial enterprises, and enormous material and cultural values were transported to the interior regions. 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.
In the most difficult defensive battles of 1941 - 1942. the best military personnel of the Wehrmacht were ground up and the necessary prerequisites were prepared for the final turning point in the war, carried out during the colossal battles of Stalingrad (summer 1942 - winter 1943) and Kursk (July - August 1943). If 1.5 million people took part in the battle near Moscow on both sides, then at Stalingrad - 2 million, and in the largest battle in the history of the planet, the Battle of Kursk, 4 million people. The Soviet-German front became the decisive front of the Second World War. It was 4 times longer than all the others combined; up to 85% of all fascist divisions fought on it. Germany and its satellites lost 607 divisions here and 176 on all other fronts.
