November 1, 1942. 498th day of the war
At 0630 hours, after air and artillery preparation, the enemy went over to the offensive. It involved five infantry (389th, 305th, 79th, 100th and 295th) and two tank (24th and 14th) divisions, reinforced by engineer battalions of the 294th infantry division, deployed on planes from Rossosh, and the 161st Infantry Division, also delivered on planes from Millerovo. The front of the offensive, about five kilometers wide, went from Volkhovstroevskaya Street to the Banny ravine. The enemy strikes the main blow at the junction between the rifle divisions of Lyudnikov and Gorishny.
The 138th Rifle Division, with the attached 118th Guards Regiment of the 37th Guards Rifle Division, from 06:30 in the morning repelled attacks by infantry and tanks with air support. As a result of fierce battles in the 118th Guards Rifle Regiment, only 6 people remained from 200 bayonets; the commander of the regiment was badly wounded. The enemy tried to encircle the division from the north and south, to enter its rear from the banks of the Volga.
The troops of the Northern Group of Forces, by order of the commander, from 10 o'clock in the morning, with the support of the Volga flotilla, went on the offensive from the railway bridge at the mouth of the Mechetka to the Tractor Plant. Despite the strong resistance of the enemy, they slowly moved forward. In the air there were continuous battles between our aircraft and the enemy.
The 95th Rifle Division repels enemy attacks with up to two infantry divisions with tanks. At 11:30 a.m., the Nazis brought reserves into battle, their infantry and tanks crushed the battle formations on the right flank of the 241st Infantry Regiment of the Gorishny division, advanced 300-400 meters and reached the Volga at a front of 500-600 meters. The army was cut for the third time, and Lyudnikov's rifle division was cut off from the main forces. The remaining parts of the division in their former positions are engaged in a stubborn battle, repelling the fierce attacks of the enemy.
The 45th and 39th Guards Rifle Divisions repelled two enemy attacks on the Krasny Oktyabr plant. During the third attack, the enemy managed to partially push the 117th Guards Rifle Regiment. The fierce battle continues.
On Mamaev Kurgan, Batyuk's division fought oncoming battles with the advancing enemy. The 284th Infantry Division repelled enemy attacks on Mamaev Kurgan. On the sector of the 1045th Infantry Regiment, the enemy managed to penetrate into the battle formations of the regiment, but the situation is being restored by counterattacking reserves. The fight continues.
At the front of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, attacks by small enemy groups were repulsed. By the end of the day, the enemy managed, despite the resistance of our troops, to occupy the southern part of the Barrikady plant and here also reach the Volga. The position of the 62nd Army was aggravated by the freezing up that began on the Volga. (p.264)
95th Rifle Division repelled enemy attacks in the Petrol Tanks area, with forces over a battalion. 90th Rifle Regiment holds the Petrol Tanks area, where it consolidates itself. 241 joint ventures and 685 joint ventures are fixed at the turn of the ravine, which is 150 m northeast of Mezenskaya. The 45th Rifle Division and the 39th Guards Rifle Division are fighting in their former positions with small groups of infantry to improve their positions.
Operation of the crossing: in one voyage, the Pugachev steamer and BC No. 11, 12, 61 and 63 transferred 167 reinforcements, food and ammunition for the units. 400 wounded people were evacuated. According to incomplete data, during 11/18/42 the enemy lost over 900 soldiers and officers killed and wounded. (p.279)
Breakthrough of the enemy defenses was carried out simultaneously in several sectors. The weather was foggy. When the defense was breached, the use of aviation had to be abandoned. At 7 o'clock. 30 min. with a volley of rocket launchers - "Katyushas" - artillery preparation began. Firing at previously reconnoitered targets, artillery inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. 3500 guns and mortars smashed the enemy defenses. The crushing fire inflicted heavy damage on the enemy and had a frightening effect on him. However, due to poor visibility, not all targets were destroyed, especially on the flanks of the strike force of the Southwestern Front, where the enemy offered the greatest resistance to the advancing troops. At 8 o'clock. 50 min. the rifle divisions of the 5th Panzer and 21st Armies, together with tanks of direct infantry support, went on the attack.
The 14th and 47th Guards, 119th and 124th Rifle Divisions were in the first echelon of the 5th Tank Army. Despite the disorganization of the defense of the Romanian troops by powerful artillery fire, their resistance was not immediately broken. Therefore, the advance of the 47th Guards, 119th and 124th Rifle Divisions of the 5th Tank Army was initially insignificant. By 12 o'clock, having overcome the first position of the enemy's main line of defense, they advanced 2-3 km. Other formations also moved slowly. The 14th Guards Rifle Division, operating on the right flank of the army, met stubborn opposition from the enemy's unsuppressed firing points. Under these conditions, the army commander decided to bring into battle the success development echelon - the 1st and 26th tank corps. The tank corps moved forward, overtook the infantry and with a powerful blow finally broke through the enemy defenses in the center between pp. Zutskan, Queen.
The 1st Tank Corps, under the command of Major General of Tank Troops V.V. defended up to two artillery regiments and up to an infantry battalion, but when advanced units approached Peschanoe, they met organized enemy resistance. During the first day of the offensive, the 1st Panzer Corps advanced 18 km.
The 26th Panzer Corps, moving in four columns to the left of the 1st Panzer Corps, had two tank brigades at its head. When the 157th tank brigade approached the state farm no. 2, and the 19th tank brigade - to the northern slopes of height 223.0, the corps met with stubborn resistance from units of the 14th Romanian infantry division. It was especially strong in the sector of the 19th Tank Brigade, which operated on the left flank of the 124th Infantry Division. Having passed the front line and overtaken its infantry in the area of the enemy artillery positions, the right group met with serious fire resistance. The tankers of Colonel Comrade Ivanov attacked the firing positions of the Nazi artillery in the forehead, but this did not give a positive result. Only after bypassing the flank and entering the rear of the enemy did the artillerymen, having abandoned their guns, fled. A sudden and daring attack of tanks from the front and rear gave success. On the move, the rear line was overcome - also by bypassing and covering the nodes of resistance.
The mobile group of the 5th Panzer Army - the 1st and 26th Tank Corps - by the middle of the first day of the offensive, had completed the breakthrough of the enemy's tactical defense and was deploying further actions in the operational depth, paving the way for the infantry. The 8th cavalry corps was introduced into the neck of the breakthrough (16 km along the front and in depth) in the afternoon.
Active offensive operations were launched by the infantry, the 47th Guards Rifle Division, in cooperation with the 8th Guards Tank Brigade and the 551st Separate Flamethrower Tank Battalion, overcoming stubborn enemy resistance on its way, by 14:00. 00 min. took possession of the Bolshoi settlement and a height of 166.2. Continuing to tirelessly pursue the retreating enemy, the 8th Guards Tank Brigade with a landing force of 200 riflemen of the 47th Guards Rifle Division by 1600 hours. 00 min. went up to Blinovsky, who by 20 o'clock. 00 min. was completely liberated, the 124th Rifle Division, interacting with the 216th Tank Brigade, overcoming enemy resistance and repulsing his counterattacks on its left flank, approached Nizhne-Fomikhinsky by the end of the day and started a battle here.
During the first day of the offensive, the 5th Panzer Army inflicted significant losses on the enemy. However, the pace of the offensive of the army formations did not fully correspond to the task, with the exception of the 47th Guards Rifle Division, which was close to its completion. The enemy, by maneuvering operational reserves from the depths, threw the 7th cavalry, 1st motorized and 15th infantry divisions into the area of \u200b\u200bPronin, Ust-Medvedetsky, Nizhne-Fomikhinsky, which temporarily delayed the advance of Soviet units here. The stubborn resistance of the enemy in front of the front of the 14th Guards Rifle Division created a threat to the right flank of the 5th Tank Army and delayed the advance of the left flank of the 1st Guards Army.
The 21st army, advancing from the Kletskaya area, dealt the main blow on the front 14 km from Kletskaya to height 163.3 east of Raspopinskaya. In the first echelon of the army, the 96th, 63rd, 293rd and 76th rifle divisions advanced. The enemy tried to hold their positions here too, the 96th and 63rd rifle divisions advanced slowly. The 293rd and 76th rifle divisions were more successful in the direction of the main attack.
To speed up the advance of the infantry and ensure the advance of the advancing troops into the operational depth, the commander of the 21st Army, Major General I. M. Chistyakov, also used his mobile formations to complete the breakthrough of the enemy defenses. The mobile group consisting of the 4th Tank and 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps, located on the left flank of the army, at 12 o'clock. 00 min. entered the gap, the 4th Tank Corps under the command of Major General of the Tank Forces A. G. Kravchenko moved in two echelons, along two routes. The right column of the 4th tank corps, consisting of the 69th and 45th tank brigades, on the night of November 20 (by 01:00) went to the area of farm No. 1, the Pervomaisky state farm, Manoilin, having fought 30 35 km. The left column of the corps, consisting of the 102nd tank and 4th motorized rifle brigades, by the end of November 19, having advanced to a depth of 10-12 km, went to the Zakharov, Vlasov area, where they met stubborn enemy resistance.
The 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps under the command of Major General I. A. Pliev, fighting with the retreating enemy, advanced in the direction of Selivanovo, Verkhne-Buzinovka, Evlampievsky, Bolshenabatovsky. On the line of the villages of Nizhnyaya and Verkhnyaya Buzinovka, the enemy, trying to hold back the advance of our units, opened heavy artillery and mortar fire. General I. A. Pliev decided to bypass Nizhne-Buzinovka from the south with units of the 6th Guards Cavalry Division and attack the enemy from the rear. Parts of the 5th and 32nd cavalry divisions, together with T-34 tanks, advanced from the front to the enemy's trench line. The battle lasted two hours. After the strike of the 6th Guards Cavalry Division from the rear, the enemy's defense was broken through to the full depth.
The main blow was delivered by the formations of the 65th Army, commanded by Lieutenant General P.I. Batov. At 7 o'clock. 30 min. regiments of heavy guards mortars fired the first salvo. Artillery preparation was carried out on pre-shot targets. At 8 o'clock. 50 minutes - 80 minutes after the start of artillery preparation - rifle divisions went on the attack.
The first two lines of trenches on the coastal high ground were taken at once. The battle for the nearest heights unfolded. The enemy's defense was built according to the type of separate strongholds connected by trenches of a full profile. Each height is a heavily fortified point. The ravines and hollows are mined, the approaches to the heights are covered with wire, Bruno's spirals. Parts of the 27th Guards Rifle Division, interacting on the right with the 76th Rifle Division of the 21st Army, advanced well. In the center of the 65th Army, where the 304th Rifle Division of Colonel S.P. Merkulov was advancing, the enemy forced the attackers to lay low with strong fire. The troops of this division and the 91st tank brigade, having a breakthrough front width of 2.5 km, advanced on the Kletskaya, Melo-Kletsky sector.
The Soviet divisions had to overcome the stubborn resistance of the enemy on terrain that was inaccessible to the advancing. By 4 p.m., the diabolical triangle of heights in the direction of the main attack (135.0, 186.7 and Melo-Kletsky) was finally broken. But the pace of advancement of the shock group is still low. Units and subunits of the 304th, 321st and 27th Guards Rifle Divisions continued to fight fierce battles with the stubbornly resisting enemy. By the end of the day, the troops of the 65th Army, with their right flank, advanced into the depth of the enemy’s location up to 4-5 km, without overcoming the main line of his defense, the 304th Rifle Division of this army, after a stubborn battle, occupied Melo-Kletsky. The enemy retreated in the direction of Tsimlovsky.
In the 57th Army, commanded by Major General F. I. Tolbukhin, artillery preparation was supposed to begin at 8 o'clock. But in the morning fog intensified, and visibility deteriorated sharply. The snowfall has begun. The front commander, Colonel-General A. I. Eremenko, postponed the start of artillery preparation for one hour, then for another hour. But now the fog began to gradually dissipate. The signal was given to begin artillery preparation at 10 o'clock. After a salvo of heavy "eres" - M-30 rocket launchers, a general cannonade of guns and mortars began, which lasted up to 75 minutes. The 57th Army, with the forces of the 422nd and 169th Rifle Divisions, broke through the enemy defenses on the front between the lakes Sarpa and Tsatsa, striking to the south and southwest. The enemy was forced to retreat to the line of Tonenkaya gully, Shosha gully, 55th km siding, Morozov gully. Having completed the immediate task, the troops of the 57th Army turned in the direction of the collective farm. March 8 and further to the northwest, covering the Stalingrad enemy grouping from the southwest.
At 08:30, after artillery preparation, the 51st Army under the command of Major General N. I. Trufanov went on the offensive. The 51st Army was advancing with its main forces from the interlake Tsatsa, Barmantsak in the general direction of Plodovitoe, Verkhne-Tsaritsynsky, Sovetsky. Ensuring the operations of the main forces from the north, the 15th Guards Rifle Division of the 51st Army attacked the enemy from the inter-lake Sarpa, Tsats in the direction of the Privolzhsky state farm.
Formations of the 64th Army under the command of Lieutenant General M.S. Shumilov went on the offensive at 14:20. The 64th Army went on the offensive with formations of its left flank - the 36th Guards, 204th and 38th Rifle Divisions. Having broken through the enemy defenses on the front south of Elkha, the troops of this army advanced 4-5 km by the end of the day, clearing the village of. Andreevka.
In the afternoon of November 20, when the strike groups of the Stalingrad Front broke through the enemy defenses in all three sectors of the offensive, mobile formations were introduced into the gaps formed - the 13th tank and 4th mechanized corps under the command of Colonel T. I. Tanaschishin and General major tank troops V. T. Volsky and the 4th cavalry corps under the command of Lieutenant General T. T. Shapkin. The mobile troops of the front rushed deep into the enemy defenses in the northwestern and southwestern directions.
The 13th tank corps of the 57th army was introduced into the gap at 16 o'clock in two echelons and moved in two columns in the general direction of Nariman. By the end of the day, he covered a distance of 10-15 km. The 4th mechanized corps of the 51st army was introduced into the gap at 13 o’clock in one echelon in the offensive zones of the 15th guards and 126th rifle divisions, the 4th cavalry corps entered the gap at 22:00, following the 4th mechanized corps, developing the offensive in a westerly direction. Under the blows of the advancing Soviet troops, the 6th army corps of the Romanians operating here retreated to the Aksay region with heavy losses.
In the morning, units of the 39th Army crossed the Young Tud River, but in the central sector the infantry was stopped by powerful enemy fire, and the attackers had to retreat back across the river. On the flanks of the army, Soviet troops managed to advance up to 5 km. During the day, the army put unrelenting pressure on the German fortifications and pinned down the German reserves to make it easier for the large force attacking in the south.
After an hour of artillery preparation, units of the 39th Army of the Kalinin Front launched an offensive across the Young Tud River at 10 o'clock. The snowfall stopped, visibility improved significantly and aircraft were able to participate in the preparations for the attack. The gunners managed to suppress the German strongholds, which yesterday caused serious damage to the infantry and tanks. Parts of the army crossed the river and quickly entrenched themselves in the forests on far shore rivers. By nightfall, the attacking Soviet troops pushed the Germans back two kilometers from the front line and, after heavy fighting, captured the village of Palatkino. The German infantry, supported by tanks, repeatedly launched counterattacks, but they were all repulsed.
At dawn on November 26, after artillery preparation, units of the 22nd Army of the Kalinin Front, with the support of two tank brigades of Katukov, resumed the offensive. On the banks of the Luchesa, the 280th Infantry Regiment of the 185th Infantry Division of Colonel Andryushchenko crossed the frozen river and entrenched itself on its northern bank. Unable to withstand the assertive Soviet attack, the Germans abandoned their forward positions north of the river and retreated to the fortified settlement of Griva. The new positions were located along the front slopes of the ridge between the Luchesa and the tributary that flows into the Luchesa from the north. When two regiments of Andryushchenko approached the Mane, the Germans met them with deadly fire. The escort tanks of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade fell behind the infantry at the river crossing, and without their support, the Soviet attack froze at noon. In the Pushers sector, Colonel Karpov several times sent his 238th Rifle Division to attack German fortifications and captured the enemy stronghold before dark. His losses were also extremely heavy, and by the end of the day Karpov abandoned further attacks.
On the night of November 25-26, in the offensive zone of the 41st Army of the Kalinin Front, the infantry of General Povetkin's 6th Rifle Corps, with the support of Solomatin's advanced armored detachments, made their way through the forest east of the Vishenka River. There was little resistance. Armored vehicles slowly moved along the forest paths through the positions of Vinogradov's infantry, to the village of Spas on the Vienna River, located three kilometers away. On November 26, at 10:00, Solomatin's tanks and Povetkin's infantry resumed their joint offensive to the east, towards the Nacha River. Solomatin left the weakened 150th Infantry Division and the 219th Tank Brigade on the left flank to destroy the surviving German strongholds south of Bely. In the center of the breakthrough, Vinogradov's 75th Rifle Brigade resumed its offensive, led by Major Afanasyev's 4th Tank Regiment and escorted by the remaining units of Lieutenant Colonel V. I. Kuzmenko's 35th Mechanized Brigade. Enemy resistance was crushed, Afanasiev's armored vehicles crossed the forest and broke out into an open field west of Vienna. While the main part of Solomatin's corps was successfully expanding the breakthrough zone, the 219th Tank Brigade of Colonel Ya. A. Davydov and the 150th Rifle Division of Colonel Gruz tried to destroy the enemy south of Bely. German troops continued to hold Budino.
At the end of the day, the forces of the 41st Army resumed their attacks. Supported by the assembled 219th Tank Brigade of Colonel Ya. A. Davydov, the 150th Infantry Division Gruz broke the German resistance at Dubrovka, advanced and faced even stronger resistance in an attempt to capture Vlaznevo and positions opposite Maryino in the Vena River valley. The offensive of the 219th tank brigade was again stopped by fierce resistance and enemy fire from Maryino. Meanwhile, a fierce battle continued south of Baturin, in which the 19th mechanized brigade entered. During the grueling battle in conditions of heavy snowfall, the villages changed hands until the onset of darkness forced the opponents to temporarily stop hostilities. Despite a fierce struggle and huge losses on both sides, Baturina remained in the hands of the Germans. Tarasov's troops, attacking the German fortifications south of the city, suffered huge losses in two days of fierce battles.
Battle of Stalingrad. During November 28-30, a fierce struggle continued on all three fronts. During these battles, the troops of the 21st, 65th and 24th armies managed to capture the heavily fortified enemy resistance nodes - Peskovatka and Vertyachim. In other sectors, the enemy continued to hold the occupied lines. From November 24 to November 30, stubborn battles unfolded on the outer front of the encirclement. The troops of 10 rifle divisions, one tank and three cavalry corps operating here suffered significant losses in previous battles. Overcoming stubborn opposition from the enemy, the troops of the 1st Guards and 5th Tank Armies of the Southwestern Front entrenched themselves along the lines of the Krivaya and Chir rivers. At the same time, formations of the 51st Army and the 4th Cavalry Corps of the Stalingrad Front were fighting on the southwestern sector of the outer front of the encirclement. The troops of the front reduced the area occupied by the enemy by more than half - to 1500 km² (from west to east - 40 km and from north to south - from 30 to 40 km). F. Paulus was awarded the rank of Colonel General.
Transcaucasian Front. The troops of the Northern Group of the Transcaucasian Front launched an offensive on the northern bank of the river. Terek. On November 30, the 4th Guards Kuban Corps struck at the rear of the enemy's Mozdok grouping.
Sovinformburo. THE OFFENSIVE OF OUR TROOPS CONTINUES
I. UNDER STALINGRAD. During November 30, our troops near Stalingrad, overcoming enemy resistance, advanced 6-10 kilometers and occupied a number of fortified points. During the battles from November 26 to 30, the enemy left up to 20,000 corpses of soldiers and officers on the battlefield.
II. ON THE CENTRAL FRONT. During November 30, our troops on the Central Front, overcoming enemy resistance and repelling counterattacks by his infantry and tanks, successfully continued the offensive and occupied several settlements.
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The Great Patriotic War- the war of the USSR with Germany and its allies in - years and with Japan in 1945; an integral part of World War II.
From the point of view of the leadership of Nazi Germany, the war with the USSR was inevitable. The communist regime was regarded by him as alien, and at the same time capable of striking at any moment. Only the rapid defeat of the USSR gave the Germans the opportunity to ensure dominance on the European continent. In addition, he gave them access to the rich industrial and agricultural regions of Eastern Europe.
At the same time, according to some historians, Stalin himself, at the end of 1939, decided on a preemptive attack on Germany in the summer of 1941. On June 15, Soviet troops began strategic deployment and advance to the western border. According to one version, this was done in order to strike at Romania and German-occupied Poland, according to another, to frighten Hitler and force him to abandon plans to attack the USSR.
The first period of the war (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942)
The first stage of the German offensive (June 22 - July 10, 1941)
On June 22, the mobilization of those liable for military service born in 1905-1918 was carried out in the USSR, and from the first days of the war, a mass registration of volunteers began. On June 23, in the USSR, an emergency body of the highest military administration, the Headquarters of the High Command, was created to direct military operations, and there was also a maximum centralization of the military and political power in the hands of Stalin.
On June 22, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a radio statement supporting the USSR in its struggle against Hitlerism. On June 23, the US State Department welcomed the efforts Soviet people to repel the German invasion, and on June 24, US President F. Roosevelt promised to provide the USSR with all kinds of assistance.
On July 18, the Soviet leadership decided to organize a partisan movement in the occupied and frontline regions, which gained momentum in the second half of the year.
In the summer-autumn of 1941, about 10 million people were evacuated to the east. and more than 1350 large enterprises. The militarization of the economy began to be carried out with harsh and energetic measures; all the material resources of the country were mobilized for military needs.
The main reason for the defeats of the Red Army, despite its quantitative and often qualitative (T-34 and KV tanks) technical superiority, was the poor training of privates and officers, the low level of operation of military equipment and the lack of experience among the troops in conducting major military operations in modern warfare. . The repressions against the high command in 1937-1940 also played a significant role.
The second stage of the German offensive (July 10 - September 30, 1941)
On July 10, Finnish troops launched an offensive and on September 1, the 23rd Soviet Army on the Karelian Isthmus withdrew to the line of the old state border, occupied before the Finnish war of 1939–1940. By October 10, the front had stabilized along the line Kestenga - Ukhta - Rugozero - Medvezhyegorsk - Lake Onega. - river Svir. The enemy was unable to cut the communication lines of European Russia with the northern ports.
On July 10, the Army Group "North" launched an offensive in the Leningrad and Tallinn directions. August 15 fell Novgorod, August 21 - Gatchina. On August 30, the Germans reached the Neva, cutting off the railway communication with the city, and on September 8 they took Shlisselburg and closed the blockade ring around Leningrad. Only the tough measures of the new commander of the Leningrad Front, G.K. Zhukov, made it possible to stop the enemy by September 26.
On July 16, the Romanian 4th Army took Kishinev; the defense of Odessa lasted about two months. Soviet troops left the city only in the first half of October. In early September, Guderian crossed the Desna and on September 7 captured Konotop ("Konotop breakthrough"). Five Soviet armies were surrounded; the number of prisoners was 665 thousand. Left-bank Ukraine was in the hands of the Germans; the way to the Donbass was open; Soviet troops in the Crimea were cut off from the main forces.
The defeats on the fronts prompted the Headquarters to issue order No. 270 on August 16, qualifying all soldiers and officers who surrendered as traitors and deserters; their families were deprived of state support and were subject to exile.
The third stage of the German offensive (September 30 - December 5, 1941)
On September 30, Army Group Center launched an operation to capture Moscow (Typhoon). On October 3, Guderian's tanks broke into Orel and took to the road to Moscow. On October 6-8, all three armies of the Bryansk Front were surrounded south of Bryansk, and the main forces of the Reserve (19th, 20th, 24th and 32nd armies) - west of Vyazma; the Germans captured 664,000 prisoners and more than 1,200 tanks. But the advance of the 2nd tank group of the Wehrmacht to Tula was thwarted by the stubborn resistance of the brigade of M.E. Katukov near Mtsensk; The 4th Panzer Group occupied Yukhnov and rushed towards Maloyaroslavets, but was held up near Medyn by Podolsk cadets (October 6–10); the autumn thaw also slowed down the pace of the German offensive.
On October 10, the Germans attacked the right wing of the Reserve Front (renamed the Western Front); On October 12, the 9th Army captured Staritsa, and on October 14 - Rzhev. On October 19, a state of siege was declared in Moscow. On October 29, Guderian tried to take Tula, but was repulsed with heavy losses for himself. In early November, the new commander of the Western Front, Zhukov, with an incredible effort of all forces and constant counterattacks, managed, despite huge losses in manpower and equipment, to stop the Germans in other directions.
On September 27, the Germans broke through the defense line of the Southern Front. Most of the Donbass was in the hands of the Germans. During the successful counter-offensive of the troops of the Southern Front, Rostov was liberated on November 29, and the Germans were driven back to the Mius River.
In the second half of October, the 11th German Army broke into the Crimea and by mid-November captured almost the entire peninsula. Soviet troops managed to hold only Sevastopol.
Counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow (December 5, 1941 - January 7, 1942)
On December 5-6, the Kalinin, Western and Southwestern fronts switched to offensive operations in the northwestern and southwestern directions. The successful advance of the Soviet troops forced Hitler on December 8 to issue a directive on the transition to defense along the entire front line. On December 18, the troops of the Western Front launched an offensive in the central direction. As a result, by the beginning of the year, the Germans were pushed back 100–250 km to the west. There was a threat of coverage of the army group "Center" from the north and south. The strategic initiative passed to the Red Army.
The success of the operation near Moscow prompted the Headquarters to decide on the transition to a general offensive along the entire front from Lake Ladoga to the Crimea. The offensive operations of the Soviet troops in December 1941 - April 1942 led to a significant change in the military-strategic situation on the Soviet-German front: the Germans were driven back from Moscow, Moscow, part of the Kalinin, Oryol and Smolensk regions were liberated. There was also a psychological turning point among the soldiers and the civilian population: faith in victory was strengthened, the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht was destroyed. The collapse of the lightning war plan gave rise to doubts about the successful outcome of the war, both among the German military-political leadership and among ordinary Germans.
Luban operation (January 13 - June 25)
The Lyuban operation was aimed at breaking through the blockade of Leningrad. On January 13, the forces of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts launched an offensive in several directions, planning to link up at Lyuban and encircle the enemy's Chudov grouping. On March 19, the Germans launched a counterattack, cutting off the 2nd shock army from the rest of the forces of the Volkhov Front. Soviet troops repeatedly tried to release it and resume the offensive. On May 21, the Headquarters decided to withdraw it, but on June 6 the Germans completely closed the encirclement. On June 20, soldiers and officers were ordered to leave the encirclement on their own, but only a few managed to do this (according to various estimates, from 6 to 16 thousand people); commander A.A. Vlasov surrendered.
Military operations in May-November 1942
Having defeated the Crimean Front (almost 200 thousand people were taken prisoner), the Germans occupied Kerch on May 16, and Sevastopol in early July. On May 12, the troops of the Southwestern Front and the Southern Front launched an offensive against Kharkov. For several days it developed successfully, but on May 19 the Germans defeated the 9th Army, throwing it behind the Seversky Donets, went to the rear of the advancing Soviet troops and on May 23 took them into pincers; the number of prisoners reached 240 thousand. On June 28-30, the German offensive began against the left wing of the Bryansk and the right wing of the Southwestern Front. On July 8, the Germans captured Voronezh and reached the Middle Don. By July 22, the 1st and 4th tank armies had reached the Southern Don. On July 24, Rostov-on-Don was taken.
In the conditions of a military catastrophe in the south, on July 28, Stalin issued order No. 227 “Not a step back”, which provided for severe punishments for retreating without instructions from above, detachments to deal with unauthorized leaving positions, penal units for operations on the most dangerous sectors of the front. On the basis of this order, during the war years, about 1 million military personnel were convicted, of which 160 thousand were shot, and 400 thousand were sent to penal companies.
On July 25, the Germans crossed the Don and rushed south. In mid-August, the Germans established control over almost all the passes in the central part of the Main Caucasian Range. In the Grozny direction, the Germans occupied Nalchik on October 29, they failed to take Ordzhonikidze and Grozny, and in mid-November their further advance was stopped.
On August 16, German troops launched an offensive against Stalingrad. On September 13, fighting began in Stalingrad itself. In the second half of October - the first half of November, the Germans captured a significant part of the city, but could not break the resistance of the defenders.
By mid-November, the Germans established control over the Right Bank of the Don and most of the North Caucasus, but did not achieve their strategic goals - to break into the Volga region and Transcaucasia. This was prevented by the counterattacks of the Red Army in other directions (the Rzhev meat grinder, the tank battle between Zubtsov and Karmanovo, etc.), which, although unsuccessful, nevertheless did not allow the Wehrmacht command to transfer reserves to the south.
The second period of the war (November 19, 1942 - December 31, 1943): a radical change
Victory at Stalingrad (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943)
On November 19, units of the Southwestern Front broke through the defenses of the 3rd Romanian Army and on November 21 took five Romanian divisions in pincers (Operation Saturn). On November 23, units of the two fronts joined at the Soviet and surrounded the Stalingrad enemy grouping.
On December 16, the troops of the Voronezh and South-Western Fronts launched Operation Little Saturn on the Middle Don, defeated the 8th Italian Army, and on January 26, the 6th Army was cut into two parts. On January 31, the southern grouping led by F. Paulus capitulated, on February 2 - the northern one; 91 thousand people were captured. The Battle of Stalingrad, despite the heavy losses of the Soviet troops, was the beginning of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. The Wehrmacht suffered a major defeat and lost the strategic initiative. Japan and Turkey abandoned their intention to enter the war on the side of Germany.
Economic recovery and transition to the offensive in the central direction
By this time, a turning point had also occurred in the sphere of the Soviet military economy. Already in the winter of 1941/1942 it was possible to stop the decline in engineering. In March, ferrous metallurgy began to rise, and in the second half of 1942, energy and the fuel industry began to rise. By the beginning there was a clear economic superiority of the USSR over Germany.
In November 1942 - January 1943, the Red Army launched an offensive in the central direction.
Operation "Mars" (Rzhev-Sychevskaya) was carried out in order to eliminate the Rzhev-Vyazma bridgehead. The formations of the Western Front made their way through railway Rzhev - Sychevka and raided the enemy's rear, however, significant losses and a lack of tanks, guns and ammunition forced them to stop, but this operation did not allow the Germans to transfer part of their forces from the central direction to Stalingrad.
Liberation of the North Caucasus (January 1 - February 12, 1943)
On January 1–3, an operation began to liberate the North Caucasus and the Don bend. On January 3, Mozdok was liberated, on January 10-11 - Kislovodsk, Mineralnye Vody, Essentuki and Pyatigorsk, on January 21 - Stavropol. On January 24, the Germans surrendered Armavir, on January 30 - Tikhoretsk. On February 4, the Black Sea Fleet landed troops in the Myskhako area south of Novorossiysk. On February 12, Krasnodar was taken. However, the lack of forces prevented the Soviet troops from encircling the enemy's North Caucasian grouping.
Breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad (January 12–30, 1943)
Fearing the encirclement of the main forces of Army Group Center on the Rzhev-Vyazma bridgehead, the German command began on March 1 their systematic withdrawal. On March 2, units of the Kalinin and Western fronts began pursuing the enemy. On March 3, Rzhev was liberated, on March 6 - Gzhatsk, on March 12 - Vyazma.
The January-March 1943 campaign, despite a series of setbacks, led to the liberation of a huge territory (the North Caucasus, the lower reaches of the Don, the Voroshilovgrad, Voronezh, Kursk regions, and part of the Belgorod, Smolensk, and Kalinin regions). The blockade of Leningrad was broken, the Demyansky and Rzhev-Vyazemsky ledges were liquidated. Control over the Volga and Don was restored. The Wehrmacht suffered huge losses (about 1.2 million people). The depletion of human resources forced the Nazi leadership to conduct a total mobilization of older (over 46 years old) and younger ages (16-17 years old).
Since the winter of 1942/1943, the partisan movement in the German rear has become an important military factor. The partisans caused serious damage to the German army, destroying manpower, blowing up warehouses and trains, disrupting the communications system. The largest operations were the raids of the detachment of M.I. Naumov in Kursk, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovograd, Odessa, Vinnitsa, Kyiv and Zhytomyr (February-March 1943) and S.A. Kovpak in Rivne, Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions (February-May 1943).
Defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge (July 5–23, 1943)
The Wehrmacht command developed Operation Citadel to encircle a strong group of the Red Army on the Kursk ledge through counter tank strikes from the north and south; if successful, it was planned to carry out Operation Panther to defeat the Southwestern Front. However, Soviet intelligence unraveled the plans of the Germans, and in April-June a powerful defensive system of eight lines was created on the Kursk ledge.
On July 5, the German 9th Army launched an attack on Kursk from the north, and the 4th Panzer Army from the south. On the northern flank, already on July 10, the Germans went on the defensive. On the southern wing, Wehrmacht tank columns reached Prokhorovka on July 12, but were stopped, and by July 23, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts pushed them back to their original lines. Operation Citadel failed.
The general offensive of the Red Army in the second half of 1943 (July 12 - December 24, 1943). Liberation of Left-bank Ukraine
On July 12, units of the Western and Bryansk fronts broke through the German defenses at Zhilkovo and Novosil, by August 18, Soviet troops cleared the Orlovsky ledge from the enemy.
By September 22, units of the Southwestern Front pushed the Germans back beyond the Dnieper and reached the approaches to Dnepropetrovsk (now the Dnieper) and Zaporozhye; formations of the Southern Front occupied Taganrog, on September 8, Stalino (now Donetsk), on September 10 - Mariupol; the result of the operation was the liberation of Donbass.
On August 3, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts broke through the defenses of Army Group South in several places and captured Belgorod on August 5. On August 23 Kharkov was taken.
On September 25, by means of flank attacks from the south and north, the troops of the Western Front captured Smolensk and by the beginning of October entered the territory of Belarus.
On August 26, the Central, Voronezh and Steppe Fronts launched the Chernigov-Poltava operation. The troops of the Central Front broke through the enemy defenses south of Sevsk and occupied the city on August 27; On September 13, they reached the Dnieper at the Loev–Kyiv section. Parts of the Voronezh Front reached the Dnieper in the Kyiv-Cherkassy section. The formations of the Steppe Front approached the Dnieper in the Cherkasy-Verkhnedneprovsk section. As a result, the Germans lost almost all of Left-Bank Ukraine. At the end of September, Soviet troops crossed the Dnieper in several places and captured 23 bridgeheads on its right bank.
On September 1, the troops of the Bryansk Front overcame the Wehrmacht's defense line "Hagen" and occupied Bryansk, by October 3, the Red Army reached the line of the Sozh River in Eastern Belarus.
On September 9, the North Caucasian Front, in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla, launched an offensive on the Taman Peninsula. Having broken through the Blue Line, Soviet troops took Novorossiysk on September 16, and by October 9 they completely cleared the peninsula of the Germans.
On October 10, the Southwestern Front launched an operation to eliminate the Zaporozhye bridgehead and on October 14 captured Zaporozhye.
On October 11, the Voronezh (since October 20 - 1st Ukrainian) Front began the Kyiv operation. After two unsuccessful attempts to take the capital of Ukraine with an attack from the south (from the Bukrinsky bridgehead), it was decided to launch the main attack from the north (from the Lyutezhsky bridgehead). On November 1, in order to distract the attention of the enemy, the 27th and 40th armies moved to Kiev from the Bukrinsky bridgehead, and on November 3rd, the shock group of the 1st Ukrainian Front suddenly attacked him from the Lyutezhsky bridgehead and broke through the German defenses. On November 6, Kyiv was liberated.
On November 13, the Germans, having pulled up their reserves, launched a counteroffensive against the 1st Ukrainian Front in the Zhytomyr direction in order to recapture Kyiv and restore the defense along the Dnieper. But the Red Army held the vast strategic Kiev bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper.
During the period of hostilities from June 1 to December 31, the Wehrmacht suffered huge losses (1 million 413 thousand people), which it was no longer able to fully compensate for. A significant part of the territory of the USSR occupied in 1941–1942 was liberated. The plans of the German command to gain a foothold on the Dnieper lines failed. Conditions were created for the expulsion of the Germans from the Right-Bank Ukraine.
Third period of the war (December 24, 1943 - May 11, 1945): defeat of Germany
After a series of failures throughout 1943, the German command abandoned attempts to seize the strategic initiative and switched to a tough defense. The main task of the Wehrmacht in the north was to prevent the breakthrough of the Red Army into the Baltic states and East Prussia, in the center to the border with Poland, and in the south to the Dniester and the Carpathians. The Soviet military leadership set the goal of the winter-spring campaign to defeat the German troops on the extreme flanks - in the Right-Bank Ukraine and near Leningrad.
Liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea
On December 24, 1943, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an offensive in the western and southwestern directions (Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation). Only at the cost of great effort and significant losses did the Germans manage to stop the Soviet troops on the Sarny-Polonnaya-Kazatin-Zhashkov line. On January 5–6, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front struck in the Kirovograd direction and captured Kirovograd on January 8, but on January 10 they were forced to stop the offensive. The Germans did not allow the connection of the troops of both fronts and were able to keep the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky ledge, which posed a threat to Kyiv from the south.
On January 24, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts launched a joint operation to defeat the enemy's Korsun-Shevchensk grouping. On January 28, the 6th and 5th Guards Tank Armies joined at Zvenigorodka and closed the encirclement. Kanev was taken on January 30, Korsun-Shevchenkovsky on February 14. On February 17, the liquidation of the "cauldron" was completed; more than 18 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers were taken prisoner.
On January 27, units of the 1st Ukrainian Front struck from the Sarn region in the Lutsk-Rivne direction. On January 30, the offensive of the troops of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts began on the Nikopol bridgehead. Having overcome the fierce resistance of the enemy, on February 8 they captured Nikopol, on February 22 - Krivoy Rog, and by February 29 they reached the river. Ingulets.
As a result of the winter campaign of 1943/1944, the Germans were finally driven back from the Dnieper. In an effort to make a strategic breakthrough to the borders of Romania and prevent the Wehrmacht from gaining a foothold on the Southern Bug, Dniester and Prut rivers, the Headquarters developed a plan to encircle and defeat Army Group South in Right-Bank Ukraine through a coordinated strike of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts .
The final chord of the spring operation in the south was the expulsion of the Germans from the Crimea. On May 7–9, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet, stormed Sevastopol, and by May 12 they defeated the remnants of the 17th Army that had fled to Chersonese.
Leningrad-Novgorod operation of the Red Army (January 14 - March 1, 1944)
On January 14, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts launched an offensive south of Leningrad and near Novgorod. Having inflicted a defeat on the German 18th Army and pushed it back to Luga, they liberated Novgorod on January 20. In early February, units of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts reached the approaches to Narva, Gdov and Luga; On February 4 they took Gdov, on February 12 - Luga. The threat of encirclement forced the 18th Army to hastily retreat to the southwest. On February 17, the 2nd Baltic Front carried out a series of attacks against the 16th German Army on the Lovat River. In early March, the Red Army reached the defensive line "Panther" (Narva - Lake Peipsi - Pskov - Ostrov); most of the Leningrad and Kalinin regions were liberated.
Military operations in the central direction in December 1943 - April 1944
As the tasks of the winter offensive of the 1st Baltic, Western and Belorussian fronts, the Headquarters set the troops to reach the Polotsk-Lepel-Mogilev-Ptich line and liberate Eastern Belarus.
In December 1943 - February 1944, the 1st PribF made three attempts to capture Vitebsk, which did not lead to the capture of the city, but exhausted the enemy's forces to the limit. The offensive actions of the Polar Front in the Orsha direction on February 22-25 and March 5-9, 1944 were not successful either.
On the Mozyr direction, the Belorussian Front (BelF) on January 8 dealt a strong blow to the flanks of the 2nd German Army, but thanks to a hasty retreat, it managed to avoid encirclement. The lack of forces prevented the Soviet troops from encircling and destroying the Bobruisk enemy grouping, and on February 26 the offensive was stopped. Formed on February 17 at the junction of the 1st Ukrainian and Belorussian (since February 24, 1st Belorussian) fronts, the 2nd Belorussian Front began the Polessky operation on March 15 with the aim of capturing Kovel and breaking through to Brest. Soviet troops surrounded Kovel, but on March 23 the Germans launched a counterattack and on April 4 released the Kovel group.
Thus, in the central direction during the winter-spring campaign of 1944, the Red Army was unable to achieve its goals; On April 15, she went on the defensive.
Offensive in Karelia (June 10 - August 9, 1944). Finland's exit from the war
After the loss of most of the occupied territory of the USSR, the main task of the Wehrmacht was to prevent the Red Army from entering Europe and not to lose its allies. That is why the Soviet military-political leadership, having failed in their attempts to reach a peace agreement with Finland in February-April 1944, decided to start summer campaign years blow in the north.
June 10, 1944 LenF troops supported by Baltic Fleet launched an offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, as a result, control was restored over the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the strategically important Kirov Railway connecting Murmansk with European Russia. By early August, Soviet troops had liberated all of the occupied territory east of Ladoga; in the Kuolisma area, they reached the Finnish border. Having suffered a defeat, Finland on August 25 entered into negotiations with the USSR. On September 4, she broke off relations with Berlin and ceased hostilities, on September 15 she declared war on Germany, and on September 19 she concluded a truce with the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. The length of the Soviet-German front was reduced by a third. This allowed the Red Army to free up significant forces for operations in other directions.
Liberation of Belarus (June 23 - early August 1944)
Successes in Karelia prompted the Headquarters to conduct a large-scale operation to defeat the enemy in the central direction with the forces of three Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts (Operation Bagration), which became the main event of the summer-autumn campaign of 1944.
The general offensive of the Soviet troops began on June 23–24. The coordinated strike of the 1st PribF and the right wing of the 3rd BF ended on June 26–27 with the liberation of Vitebsk and the encirclement of five German divisions. On June 26, units of the 1st BF took Zhlobin, on June 27–29 they surrounded and destroyed the Bobruisk grouping of the enemy, and on June 29 they liberated Bobruisk. As a result of the rapid offensive of the three Belorussian fronts, an attempt by the German command to organize a line of defense along the Berezina was thwarted; On July 3, the troops of the 1st and 3rd BF broke into Minsk and took the 4th German army in pincers south of Borisov (liquidated by July 11).
The German front began to crumble. Formations of the 1st PribF on July 4 occupied Polotsk and, moving downstream of the Western Dvina, entered the territory of Latvia and Lithuania, reached the coast of the Gulf of Riga, cutting off Army Group North stationed in the Baltic states from the rest of the Wehrmacht forces. Parts of the right wing of the 3rd BF, having taken Lepel on June 28, broke through into the valley of the river in early July. Viliya (Nyaris), reached the border on August 17 East Prussia.
The troops of the left wing of the 3rd BF, having made a swift throw from Minsk, took Lida on July 3, on July 16, together with the 2nd BF - Grodno, and at the end of July approached the northeastern ledge of the Polish border. The 2nd BF, advancing to the southwest, captured Bialystok on July 27 and drove the Germans across the Narew River. Parts of the right wing of the 1st BF, having liberated Baranovichi on July 8, and Pinsk on July 14, at the end of July they reached the Western Bug and reached the central section of the Soviet-Polish border; On July 28 Brest was taken.
As a result of Operation Bagration, Belarus, most of Lithuania and part of Latvia were liberated. The possibility of an offensive in East Prussia and Poland opened up.
Liberation of Western Ukraine and offensive in Eastern Poland (July 13 - August 29, 1944)
Trying to stop the advance of Soviet troops in Belarus, the Wehrmacht command was forced to transfer formations there from the rest of the sectors of the Soviet-German front. This facilitated the operations of the Red Army in other directions. On July 13–14, the offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front began in Western Ukraine. Already on July 17, they crossed the state border of the USSR and entered South-Eastern Poland.
On July 18, the left wing of the 1st BF launched an offensive near Kovel. At the end of July, they approached Prague (the right-bank suburb of Warsaw), which they managed to take only on September 14th. In early August, the resistance of the Germans intensified sharply, and the advance of the Red Army was stopped. Because of this, the Soviet command was unable to provide the necessary assistance to the uprising that broke out on August 1 in the Polish capital under the leadership of the Home Army, and by the beginning of October it was brutally suppressed by the Wehrmacht.
Offensive in the Eastern Carpathians (September 8 - October 28, 1944)
After the occupation of Estonia in the summer of 1941, the Tallinn Metropolitan. Alexander (Paulus) announced the separation of the Estonian parishes from the Russian Orthodox Church (the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church was established on the initiative of Alexander (Paulus) in 1923, in 1941 the bishop repented of the sin of schism). In October 1941, at the insistence of the German General Commissar of Belarus, the Belarusian Church was established. However, Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky), who headed it in the rank of Metropolitan of Minsk and Belarus, retained canonical communion with the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Met. Sergius (Stragorodsky). After Metropolitan Panteleimon was forcibly retired in June 1942, Archbishop Filofei (Narko), who also refused to arbitrarily proclaim a national autocephalous Church, became his successor.
Given the patriotic position of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Met. Sergius (Stragorodsky), the German authorities initially hindered the activities of those priests and parishes who claimed to belong to the Moscow Patriarchate. Over time, the German authorities became more tolerant of the communities of the Moscow Patriarchate. According to the invaders, these communities only verbally declared their loyalty to the Moscow center, but in reality they were ready to assist the German army in the destruction of the atheistic Soviet state.
In the occupied territory, thousands of churches, churches, prayer houses of various Protestant denominations (primarily Lutherans and Pentecostals) have resumed their activities. This process was especially active on the territory of the Baltic States, in the Vitebsk, Gomel, Mogilev regions of Belarus, in the Dnepropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporozhye, Kiev, Voroshilovgrad, Poltava regions of Ukraine, in the Rostov, Smolensk regions of the RSFSR.
The religious factor was taken into account when planning domestic policy in areas where Islam was traditionally spread, primarily in the Crimea and the Caucasus. German propaganda declared respect for the values of Islam, presented the occupation as the liberation of peoples from the "Bolshevik godless yoke", guaranteed the creation of conditions for the revival of Islam. The invaders willingly went to the opening of mosques in almost every settlement of the "Muslim regions", provided the Muslim clergy with the opportunity to contact the believers through the radio and the press. Throughout the occupied territory where Muslims lived, the positions of mullahs and senior mullahs were restored, whose rights and privileges were equated with the heads of administrations of cities and settlements.
When forming special units from among the prisoners of war of the Red Army, much attention was paid to confessional affiliation: if representatives of peoples who traditionally professed Christianity were mainly sent to the "army of General Vlasov", then to such formations as the "Turkestan Legion", "Idel-Ural", they sent representatives of the "Islamic" peoples.
The "liberalism" of the German authorities did not extend to all religions. Many communities were on the verge of destruction, for example, in Dvinsk alone, almost all of the 35 synagogues that operated before the war were destroyed, up to 14 thousand Jews were shot. Most of the Evangelical Christian Baptist communities that found themselves in the occupied territory were also destroyed or dispersed by the authorities.
Forced to leave the occupied territories under the onslaught of Soviet troops, the Nazi invaders took out liturgical objects, icons, paintings, books, items made of precious metals from prayer buildings.
According to the far from complete data of the Extraordinary State Commission for Establishing and Investigating the Atrocities of the Nazi Invaders, 1670 Orthodox churches, 69 chapels, 237 churches, 532 synagogues, 4 mosques and 254 other prayer buildings were completely destroyed, looted or desecrated in the occupied territory. Among those destroyed or desecrated by the Nazis were priceless monuments of history, culture and architecture, incl. relating to the XI-XVII centuries, in Novgorod, Chernigov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Kyiv, Pskov. Many prayer buildings were converted by the invaders into prisons, barracks, stables, and garages.
The position and patriotic activities of the Russian Orthodox Church during the war
On June 22, 1941, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Met. Sergius (Stragorodsky) compiled a “Message to the shepherds and flock of Christ Orthodox Church”, in which he revealed the anti-Christian essence of fascism and called on believers to defend. In their letters to the Patriarchate, believers reported that voluntary collections of donations for the needs of the front and the defense of the country had begun everywhere.
After the death of Patriarch Sergius, according to his will, Met. Alexy (Simansky), unanimously elected at the last meeting of the Local Council on January 31-February 2, 1945, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The Council was attended by Patriarchs Christopher II of Alexandria, Alexander III of Antioch and Kallistratus (Tsintsadze) of Georgia, representatives of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Serbia and Romania.
In 1945, the so-called Estonian schism was overcome, and Orthodox parishes and the clergy of Estonia were accepted into communion with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Patriotic activities of communities of other confessions and religions
Immediately after the start of the war, the leaders of almost all religious associations of the USSR supported the liberation struggle of the peoples of the country against the Nazi aggressor. Addressing the faithful with patriotic messages, they called for worthy fulfillment of their religious and civic duty to defend the Fatherland, to provide all possible material assistance to the needs of the front and rear. The leaders of most religious associations in the USSR condemned those representatives of the clergy who consciously went over to the side of the enemy and helped to impose a "new order" on the occupied territory.
The head of the Russian Old Believers of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy, Archbishop. Irinarkh (Parfyonov), in his Christmas message of 1942, called on the Old Believers, a considerable number of whom fought on the fronts, to serve valiantly in the Red Army and to resist the enemy in the occupied territory in the ranks of the partisans. In May 1942, the leaders of the Unions of Baptists and Evangelical Christians addressed the believers with a letter of appeal; the appeal spoke of the danger of fascism "for the cause of the Gospel" and called for "brothers and sisters in Christ" to fulfill "their duty to God and to the Motherland", being "the best soldiers at the front and the best workers in the rear." Baptist communities were engaged in tailoring, collecting clothes and other things for the soldiers and families of the dead, helped in the care of the wounded and sick in hospitals, and took care of orphans in orphanages. Funds raised in the Baptist congregations were used to build a Merciful Samaritan ambulance to transport seriously wounded soldiers to the rear. The leader of Renovationism, A. I. Vvedensky, repeatedly made patriotic appeals.
With regard to a number of other religious associations, the policy of the state during the war years remained invariably tough. First of all, this concerned “anti-state, anti-Soviet and savage sects”, which included the Dukhobors.
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On November 19, 1942, the counter-offensive of the Red Army near Stalingrad began (Operation Uranus). The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the greatest battles in the Great Patriotic War and World War II. The military chronicle of Russia has a huge number of examples of courage and heroism, the valor of soldiers on the battlefield and the strategic skill of Russian commanders. But even in their example, the Battle of Stalingrad stands out.
For two hundred days and nights on the banks of the great rivers Don and Volga, and then at the walls of the city on the Volga and directly in Stalingrad itself, this fierce battle continued. The battle unfolded over a vast territory of about 100 thousand square meters. km with a front length of 400 - 850 km. More than 2.1 million soldiers took part in this titanic battle from both sides at different stages of hostilities. In terms of significance, scale and fierceness of hostilities, the Battle of Stalingrad surpassed all the world battles that preceded it.
This battle includes two stages. The first stage was the Stalingrad strategic defensive operation, which lasted from July 17, 1942 to November 18, 1942. At this stage, in turn, one can distinguish: defensive operations on the distant approaches to Stalingrad from July 17 to September 12, 1942 and the defense of the city itself from September 13 to November 18, 1942. There were no long pauses or truces in the battles for the city, the battles and skirmishes went on without interruption. Stalingrad for the German army became a kind of "graveyard" of their hopes and aspirations. The city ground thousands of enemy soldiers and officers. The Germans themselves called the city "hell on earth", "Red Verdun", noted that the Russians fought with unprecedented ferocity, fighting to the last man. On the eve of the Soviet counter-offensive, the German troops launched the 4th assault on Stalingrad, or rather its ruins. On November 11, against the 62nd Soviet Army (by this time it numbered 47 thousand soldiers, about 800 guns and mortars and 19 tanks), 2 tank and 5 infantry divisions were thrown into battle. By this time, the Soviet army was already divided into three parts. A fiery hail fell on the Russian positions, they were ironed by enemy aircraft, it seemed that there was nothing alive there anymore. However, when the German chains went on the attack, Russian arrows began to mow them down.
By mid-November, the German offensive had fizzled out in all major directions. The enemy was forced to make a decision to go on the defensive. On this, the defensive part of the Battle of Stalingrad was completed. The troops of the Red Army solved the main problem by stopping the powerful offensive of the Nazis in the Stalingrad direction, creating the prerequisites for a retaliatory strike by the Red Army. During the defense of Stalingrad, the enemy suffered heavy losses. The German armed forces lost about 700 thousand people killed and wounded, about 1 thousand tanks and assault guns, 2 thousand guns and mortars, more than 1.4 thousand combat and transport aircraft. Instead of mobile warfare and rapid advance, the main enemy forces were drawn into bloody and furious urban battles. The plan of the German command for the summer of 1942 was thwarted. On October 14, 1942, the German command decides to transfer the army to strategic defense along the entire length of the Eastern Front. The troops received the task of holding the front line, offensive operations were planned to continue only in 1943.
It must be said that at that time the Soviet troops also suffered huge losses in personnel and equipment: 644 thousand people (irretrievable - 324 thousand people, sanitary - 320 thousand people, over 12 thousand guns and mortars, about 1400 tanks, more than 2 thousand aircraft.
The second period of the battle on the Volga is the Stalingrad strategic offensive operation (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943). The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and the General Staff in September-November 1942 developed a plan for the strategic counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad. The development of the plan was led by G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky. On November 13, the plan, codenamed "Uranus", was approved by the Stavka under the chairmanship of Joseph Stalin. The Southwestern Front under the command of Nikolai Vatutin was given the task of inflicting deep blows on enemy forces from bridgeheads on the right bank of the Don from the areas of Serafimovich and Kletskaya. The grouping of the Stalingrad Front under the command of Andrei Eremenko was advancing from the Sarpinsky Lakes region. The offensive groupings of both fronts were to meet in the Kalach area and take the main enemy forces near Stalingrad into an encirclement ring. At the same time, the troops of these fronts created an external encirclement ring in order to prevent the Wehrmacht from deblocking the Stalingrad grouping with strikes from outside. The Don Front under the leadership of Konstantin Rokossovsky delivered two auxiliary blows: the first - from the Kletskaya region to the southeast, the second - from the Kachalinsky region along the left bank of the Don to the south. In the areas of the main attacks, due to the weakening of secondary areas, a 2-2.5-fold superiority in people and a 4-5-fold superiority in artillery and tanks were created. Due to the strictest secrecy in the development of the plan and the secrecy of the concentration of troops, the strategic surprise of the counteroffensive was ensured. During defensive battles, the Headquarters was able to create a significant reserve that could be thrown into the offensive. The number of troops in the Stalingrad direction was increased to 1.1 million people, about 15.5 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 1.3 thousand aircraft. True, the weakness of this powerful grouping of Soviet troops was that about 60% of the personnel of the troops were young recruits who had no combat experience.
The Red Army was opposed by the German 6th field (Friedrich Paulus) and 4th tank armies (Hermann Goth), the Romanian 3rd and 4th armies of Army Group B (commander Maximilian von Weichs), which numbered more than 1 million people. soldiers, about 10.3 thousand guns and mortars, 675 tanks and assault guns, more than 1.2 thousand combat aircraft. The most combat-ready German units were concentrated directly in the Stalingrad area, participating in the assault on the city. The flanks of the group were covered by the weaker Romanian and Italian divisions in terms of morale and technical equipment. As a result of the concentration of the main forces and means of the army group directly in the Stalingrad region, the line of defense on the flanks did not have sufficient depth and reserves. The Soviet counteroffensive in the Stalingrad area would come as a complete surprise to the Germans, the German command was sure that all the main forces of the Red Army were tied up in heavy battles, bled dry and did not have the strength and material means for such a large-scale strike.
On November 19, 1942, after a powerful 80-minute artillery preparation, the troops of the Southwestern and Don fronts went on the attack. By the end of the day, the formations of the South-Western Front advanced 25–35 km, they broke the defenses of the 3rd Romanian army in two sectors: southwest of Serafimovich and in the Kletskaya area. In fact, the 3rd Romanian was defeated, and its remnants were engulfed from the flanks. On the Don Front, the situation was more difficult: the advancing Batov's 65th Army met fierce resistance from the enemy, advanced only 3-5 km by the end of the day and could not even break through the enemy's first line of defense.
On November 20, after artillery preparation, parts of the Stalingrad Front went on the attack. They broke through the defenses of the 4th Romanian army and by the end of the day they walked 20-30 km. The German command received news of the offensive of the Soviet troops and the breakthrough of the front line on both flanks, but there were actually no large reserves in Army Group B. By November 21, the Romanian armies were finally defeated, and the tank corps of the Southwestern Front were irresistibly rushing towards Kalach. On November 22, tankers occupied Kalach. Parts of the Stalingrad Front were moving towards the mobile formations of the South-Western Front. On November 23, formations of the 26th tank corps of the South-Western Front quickly reached the Sovetsky farm and connected with units of the 4th mechanized corps of the Northern Fleet. The 6th field and main forces of the 4th tank armies were surrounded by encirclement: 22 divisions and 160 separate units with a total number of about 300 thousand soldiers and officers. The Germans did not know such a defeat during the Second World War. On the same day, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Raspopinskaya, an enemy group capitulated - more than 27 thousand Romanian soldiers and officers surrendered. It was a real military disaster. The Germans were stunned, confused, they did not even think that such a catastrophe was possible.
On November 30, the operation of the Soviet troops to encircle and block the German group in Stalingrad as a whole was completed. The Red Army created two encirclement rings - external and internal. The total length of the outer ring of encirclement was about 450 km. However, the Soviet troops were unable to immediately cut through the enemy grouping in order to complete its elimination. One of the main reasons for this was the underestimation of the size of the encircled Stalingrad group of the Wehrmacht - it was assumed that it had 80-90 thousand people. In addition, the German command, by reducing the front line, were able to condense their battle formations, using the already existing positions of the Red Army for defense (their Soviet troops occupied the summer of 1942).
After the failure of the attempt to unblock the Stalingrad grouping by the Don Army Group under the command of Manstein on December 12-23, 1942, the encircled German troops were doomed. An organized "air bridge" could not solve the problem of supplying the encircled troops with food, fuel, ammunition, medicines and other means. Hunger, cold and disease mowed down the soldiers of Paulus. January 10 - February 2, 1943, the Don Front carried out the offensive operation "Ring", during which the Stalingrad grouping of the Wehrmacht was liquidated. The Germans lost 140 thousand soldiers killed, about 90 thousand more surrendered. This ended the Battle of Stalingrad.
Attack on Soviet Union happened without a declaration of war in the morning hours of June 22, 1941. Despite lengthy training before the war, the attack turned out to be completely unexpected for the USSR, since the German leadership did not even have a pretext for an attack.
The military events of the first weeks inspired full hope for the success of the next "blitzkrieg". Armored formations advanced quickly and occupied vast expanses of the country. In major battles and in encirclement, the Soviet Army suffered millions of casualties in killed and captured. A large number of military equipment was destroyed or captured as trophies. Again, it seemed that the doubts and feelings of fear that had spread in Germany, despite careful ideological preparation, were disproved by the successes of the Wehrmacht. The Church Board of Trustees of the German Evangelical Church expressed the feelings that gripped many, assuring Hitler by telegraph that "he is supported by all the evangelical Christianity of the Reich in the decisive battles with the mortal enemy of order and Western Christian culture."
The successes of the Wehrmacht evoked various reactions from the Soviet side. There were manifestations of panic and confusion, the soldiers left their military units. And even Stalin first addressed the population only on July 3. In areas captured or annexed by the Soviet Union in 1939/40. part of the population welcomed the Germans as liberators. Nevertheless, from the first day of the war, Soviet troops offered unexpectedly strong resistance even in the most hopeless situations. And the civilian population actively participated in the evacuation and movement of militarily important industrial facilities beyond the Urals.
Persistent Soviet resistance and the heavy losses of the German Wehrmacht (until December 1, 1941, about 200,000 killed and missing, almost 500,000 wounded) soon disproved the German hopes for an easy and quick victory. Autumn mud, snow and a terrible cold in winter interfered with the military operations of the Wehrmacht. The German army was not prepared for the war in winter conditions, it was believed that by this time victory would have been achieved. An attempt to capture Moscow as the political center of the Soviet Union failed, although German troops approached the city at a distance of 30 kilometers. In early December, the Soviet Army unexpectedly launched a counteroffensive, which was successful not only near Moscow, but also in other sectors of the front. Thus, the concept of blitzkrieg was finally wrecked.
In the summer of 1942, new forces were accumulated to advance in a southerly direction. Although the German troops managed to capture large territories and advance as far as the Caucasus, they could not fortify anywhere. The oil fields were in Soviet hands, and Stalingrad became a foothold on the western bank of the Volga. In November 1942, the line of the German fronts in the territory of the Soviet Union reached its greatest extent, but there could be no question of a decisive success.
Chronicle of the war from June 1941 to November 1942
22.6.41. The beginning of the German attack, the advancement of three army groups. Romania, Italy, Slovakia, Finland and Hungary entered the war on the side of Germany.29/30.6.41 The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (b) declares war a "patriotic" war of all the people; formation of the State Defense Committee.
July August. The German offensive along the entire front, the destruction of large Soviet formations in the environment (Bialystok and Minsk: 328,000 prisoners, Smolensk: 310,000 prisoners).
September. Leningrad is cut off from the rest of the country. East of Kyiv, over 600,000 Soviet soldiers were captured and surrounded. The general offensive of the German troops, which are suffering heavy losses, is slowed down due to the constant resistance of the Soviet Army.
2.10.41. The beginning of the offensive on Moscow, some sections of the front line at the end of November were 30 km from Moscow.
5.12.41. The beginning of the Soviet counter-offensive with fresh forces near Moscow, the German retreat. After the intervention of Hitler, the stabilization of the defensive positions of Army Group Center in January 1942 at the cost of heavy losses. Soviet success in the south.
12/11/41. Germany declares war on the USA.
In 1941, the Soviet Army lost 1.5 - 2.5 million soldiers killed and about 3 million prisoners. The number of civilian deaths is not precisely established, but it is estimated in the millions. Losses of the German army - about 200,000 people killed and missing.
January - March 1942 A wide winter offensive of the Soviet Army, partly successful, but not reaching its goals due to heavy losses. The losses of the German army in manpower and equipment were also so great that the continuation of the offensive on a broad front turned out to be impossible at the moment.
May. The failure of the Soviet offensive near Kharkov; during the counteroffensive, 250,000 Soviet soldiers were surrounded and taken prisoner.
June July. The capture of the fortress of Sevastopol and thus the entire Crimea. The beginning of the German summer offensive, with the aim of reaching the Volga and capturing oil fields in the Caucasus. The Soviet side, in view of the new victories of Germany, is in a state of crisis.
August. German troops reach the Caucasus Mountains, but fail to inflict a decisive defeat on the Soviet troops.
September. The beginning of the battles for Stalingrad, which in October was almost completely captured by the Germans. Nevertheless, the Soviet bridgehead on the western bank of the Volga under the command of General Chuikov could not be destroyed.
9.11.42. Beginning of the Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad.
50 The Soviet population listens in the street to the government message about the beginning of the war, 22.6.1941.
Text 33
From a speech on the radio by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov on 22 June 1941
Citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union! The Soviet government and its head, Comrade Stalin, have instructed me to make the following statement: Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without declaring any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed our cities - Zhytomyr, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, moreover, more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Enemy aircraft raids and artillery shelling were also carried out from the Romanian and Finnish territories. This unheard-of attack on our country is treachery unparalleled in the history of civilized peoples. The attack on our country was carried out despite the fact that a non-aggression pact was concluded between the USSR and Germany, and the Soviet government fulfilled all the conditions of this pact in all good faith. The attack on our country was carried out despite the fact that during the entire period of the validity of this treaty the German government could never make a single claim against the USSR regarding the fulfillment of the treaty. All responsibility for this robbery attack on the Soviet Union will fall entirely on the German fascist rulers. [...]
This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intelligentsia, whose sufferings we understand very well, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French, Czechs, Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples . [...]
This is not the first time our people have had to deal with an attacking, conceited enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon's campaign in Russia with a Patriotic War, and Napoleon was defeated and came to his own collapse. The same will happen to the arrogant Hitler, who has announced a new campaign against our country. The Red Army and all our people will once again wage a victorious patriotic war for the Motherland, for honor, for freedom.
Text 34
An excerpt from the diary of Elena Scriabina dated 22.6.1941 about the news of the German attack.
Molotov's speech sounded haltingly, hurriedly, as if he were out of breath. His encouragement sounded completely out of place. Immediately there was a feeling that a monster was approaching menacingly, slowly and terrified everyone. After the news, I ran out into the street. The city was in a panic. People hurriedly exchanged a few words, rushed to the shops and bought everything that came to hand. As if beside themselves, they rushed about the streets, many went to the savings banks to collect their savings. This wave swept over me too, and I tried to get rubles from my passbook. But I came too late, the cashier was empty, the payment was suspended, everyone around was noisy, complaining. And the June day was blazing, the heat was unbearable, someone felt ill, someone cursed in despair. All day the mood was restless and tense. Only in the evening it became strangely quiet. It seemed that everyone was somewhere huddled with horror. Text 35
Excerpts from the diary of NKVD major Shabalin from 6 to 19 October 1941
Major Shabalin died on 20.10. when trying to get out of the environment. The diary was transferred to the German army for military analysis. Back translation from German; the original is lost.
Diary
Major NKVD Shabalin,
head of the special department of the NKVD
at 50 army
for the accuracy of transmission
Chief of Staff of the 2nd Tank Army
Signed Frh.f. Liebenstein
[...]
The army is not what we used to think and imagine at home. Huge lack of everything. The attacks of our armies are disappointing.
We are interrogating a red-haired German prisoner, a shabby guy, covered in shrouds, extremely stupid. [...]
The situation with the personnel is very difficult, almost the entire army consists of people whose native places have been captured by the Germans. They want to go home. Inactivity at the front, sitting in the trenches demoralize the Red Army. There are cases of drunkenness of command and political personnel. People sometimes do not return from reconnaissance. [...]
The enemy has encircled us. Continuous cannonade. Duel of artillerymen, mortarmen and submachine gunners. Danger and fear almost the whole day. I'm not talking anymore about the forest, the swamp and the lodging for the night. Since the 12th I have not slept any more, since October 8th I have not read a single newspaper.
Creepy! I wander, around the corpses, the horrors of war, continuous shelling! Again hungry and without sleep. He took a bottle of alcohol. Went to the forest to explore. Our complete annihilation is evident. The army is defeated, the convoy is destroyed. I am writing in the woods by the fire. In the morning I lost all the Chekists, I was left alone among strangers. The army collapsed.
I spent the night in the forest. I haven't eaten bread for three days. There are a lot of Red Army soldiers in the forest; there are no commanders. Throughout the night and in the morning the Germans shelled the forest with weapons of all kinds. At about 7 o'clock in the morning we got up and went north. Shooting continues. At the halt, I washed up. [...]
All night we walked in the rain through the swampy terrain. Endless darkness. I was soaked to the skin, my right leg was swollen; terribly hard to walk.
Text 36
Field mail letter from non-commissioned officer Robert Rupp to his wife dated July 1, 1941 about the attitude towards Soviet prisoners of war.
They say that the Fuhrer's order was issued that prisoners and those who surrender are no longer subject to execution. It makes me happy. Finally! Many of the executed, whom I saw on the ground, were lying with their hands raised up, without weapons and even without a belt. I have seen at least a hundred of them. They say that even a truce envoy walking with a white flag was shot dead! After dinner, they said that the Russians were surrendering in whole companies. The method was bad. Even the wounded were shot. Text 37
Diary entry of the former ambassador Ulrich von Hassell dated 18.8.1941 regarding the war crimes of the Wehrmacht.
Ulrich von Hassell took an active part in the anti-Hitler Resistance of conservative circles and was executed after the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944.
18. 8. 41 [...]
The whole war in the east is terrible, the general savagery. One young officer received an order to destroy 350 civilians driven into a large barn, among whom were women and children, at first refused to do this, but he was told that this was a failure to comply with the order, after which he asked for 10 minutes to think and finally did it , sending, together with some others, machine-gun bursts into the open door of the shed into a crowd of people, and then, finishing off the still alive from machine guns. He was so shocked by this that later, having received a slight wound, he firmly decided not to return to the front.
Text 38
Excerpts from the order of the commander of the 17th Army, Colonel General Hoth, dated 11/17/1941, regarding the basic principles of warfare.
Command 17th Army A.Gef.St.,
1a No. 0973/41 secret. dated 17.11.41
[...]
2. The campaign to the East must end differently than, for example, the war against the French. This summer it becomes more and more clear to us that here, in the East, two internally irresistible views are fighting against each other: the German sense of honor and race, the centuries-old German army against the Asiatic type of thinking and primitive instincts, fueled by a small number of mainly Jewish intellectuals: fear of whip, disregard for moral values, equalization of the lower, neglect of one's life of no value.
51 German Junkere Ju-87 (Shtukas) dive bombers take off from a field airfield in the Soviet Union, 1941.
52 German infantry on the march, 1941
53 Soviet prisoners dig their own grave, 1941.
54 Soviet prisoners before execution, 1941. Both photographs (53 and 54) were in the wallet of a German soldier who died near Moscow. The place and circumstances of the execution are unknown.
More strongly than ever, we believe in a historical turning point, when the German people, by virtue of the superiority of their race and their successes, will assume control of Europe. We are more clearly aware of our calling to save European culture from Asiatic barbarism. Now we know that we have to fight an embittered and stubborn enemy. This struggle can only end in the annihilation of one side or the other; there can be no agreement. [...]
6. I demand that every soldier of the army should be imbued with pride in our successes, with a sense of unconditional superiority. We are the masters of this country which we have conquered. Our feeling of domination is expressed not in satiety, not in contemptuous behavior, and not even in the selfish abuse of power by individuals, but in a conscious opposition to Bolshevism, in strict discipline, inflexible determination and tireless vigilance.
8. There should be absolutely no place for sympathy and gentleness towards the population. The Red soldiers brutally killed our wounded; they dealt cruelly with the prisoners and killed them. We must remember this if the population, which once endured the Bolshevik yoke, now wants to receive us with joy and worship. The Volksdeutsche should be treated with a sense of self-awareness and with calm restraint. The fight against impending food difficulties should be left to the self-government of the enemy population. Any trace of active or passive resistance, or any machinations of Bolshevik-Jewish instigators, must be eradicated immediately. The need for harsh measures against elements hostile to the people and our policy must be understood by the soldiers. [...]
Behind everyday life, we should not lose sight of the worldwide significance of our struggle against Soviet Russia. The Russian masses have been paralyzing Europe for two centuries now. The need to take Russia into account and the fear of her possible attack constantly dominated political relations in Europe and hampered peaceful development. Russia is not a European, but an Asian state. Each step into the depths of this dull, enslaved country allows you to see this difference. From this pressure and from the destructive forces of Bolshevism, Europe and especially Germany must be liberated forever.
For this we fight and work.
Commander Hoth (signed)
Send to the following units: regiments and separate battalions, including construction and service units, to the commander of the patrol service; distributor 1a; reserve = 10 copies.
Text 39
Report of the commander of the rear of the 2nd Panzer Army, General von Schenckendorff dated 24. 3. 1942 regarding looting.
Commander of the 2nd Panzer Army 24.3.42 Rel.: unauthorized requisition;
Application
1) The commander of the rear of the 2nd Panzer Army in a daily report dated 23.2.42: “Unauthorized requisition by German soldiers near Navlya is increasing. From Gremyachey (28 km southwest of Karachev), soldiers from the area of Karachevo took away 76 cows without a certificate, from Plastovoye (32 km southwest of Karachev) - 69 cows. Not a single head of cattle remained in either place. In addition, the Russian law enforcement service was disarmed in Plastovoi; the next day the settlement was occupied by partisans. In the Sinezerko area (25 km south of Bryansk), the soldiers of the platoon commander Sebastian (code 2) wildly requisitioned cattle, and in the neighboring village they shot at the village headman and his assistants. [...]
Increasingly, these cases are being reported. In this regard, I especially point out the issued orders on the conduct of troops and their supply in the country in accordance with the order. They are once again reflected in the application.
On the 516th day of the war, from a massive artillery shelling in the early morning, our troops began to surround and destroy the enemy.
By the beginning of the counteroffensive in the Stalingrad direction, the troops of the South-Western (1st Guards and 21st A, 5th TA, 17th and from December - 2nd VA), Donskoy (65th, 24th and 66th A, 16th VA) and Stalingrad (62, 64, 57, 51 and 28th A, 8th VA) fronts.
The Soviet troops were opposed by the 8th Italian, 3rd and 4th Romanian, German 6th field and 4th tank armies of Army Group "B".
Breakthrough of the enemy defenses was carried out simultaneously in several sectors. In the morning, a heavy fog hung over the Stalingrad region, so we had to abandon the use of aviation.
Artillery cleared the way for Soviet soldiers. At 07:30, the enemy heard volleys of Katyushas.
The fire was fired at previously reconnoitred targets, so it inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. 3500 guns and mortars smashed the enemy defenses. The crushing fire inflicted heavy damage on the enemy and had a frightening effect on him. However, due to poor visibility, not all targets were destroyed, especially on the flanks of the strike force of the Southwestern Front, where the enemy offered the greatest resistance to the advancing troops. At 8 o'clock. 50 min. the rifle divisions of the 5th Panzer and 21st Armies, together with tanks of direct infantry support, went on the attack.
The advance was slow, the enemy connected reserves, in some areas not losing ground to the last. Even the tank army was not able to ensure such a pace of advancement of the Soviet troops, which was originally planned.
At the same time, the troops of the Don Front went on the offensive. The main blow was delivered by the formations of the 65th Army, commanded by Lieutenant General P.I. Batov. At 8 o'clock. 50 minutes - 80 minutes after the start of artillery preparation - rifle divisions went on the attack.
The first two lines of trenches on the coastal high ground were taken at once. The battle for the nearest heights unfolded. The enemy's defense was built according to the type of separate strongholds connected by trenches of a full profile. Each height is a heavily fortified point.
Only by 2 p.m. the enemy’s stubborn resistance was broken, the first, most heavily fortified positions were hacked, the enemy’s defenses were broken through in two sectors: southwest of Serafimovich and in the Kletskaya area, the 21st and 5th tank armies launched an offensive. By the end of the day, the tankers fought 20-35 km.
At first, the 6th Army of Paulus did not feel the imminent danger. At 18.00 on November 19, 1942, the army command announced that on November 20 it planned to continue the operations of reconnaissance units in Stalingrad.
However, the order of the commander of army group "B", given at 22.00, left no doubt about the imminent danger. General M. Weichs demanded that F. Paulus immediately stop all offensive operations in Stalingrad and allocate 4 formations to strike in a northwestern direction against the advancing troops of the Red Army.
Throughout the day of November 19, 1942, the soldiers of the Southwestern and Don fronts in offensive battles near Stalingrad show high fighting qualities, an unshakable will to win. Describing the main reasons for the successful actions of the fronts in offensive operation, the head of the political department, divisional commissar M.V. Rudakov, in a report to the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army, wrote: “Our offensive was sudden for the enemy, which to a large extent ensured the success of units and formations of the front. But not only the suddenness of the strike decided the outcome of the battles. Victory over enemy - the result, above all, of the high offensive impulse of our troops ... ".
Thus begins a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and the entire Second World War as a whole.
Interview with Georgy Zhukov about Operation Uranus. Archive video:
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