The last strategic operation carried out by the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War was the Prague offensive operation (May 5-12, 1945), during which the capital of Czechoslovakia, the ancient city of Prague, was liberated and the last major Wehrmacht grouping, Army Group Center, was defeated. .
After the defeat of the enemy in the Berlin direction and the surrender of the Berlin garrison on May 2, the only Wehrmacht force that could still resist the Red Army was Army Group Center (commander Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner) in Czechoslovakia and part of Army Group Austria (commander Lothar Rendulic). Schörner, after the encirclement of Berlin, received orders from Hitler to withdraw troops to the area of the capital of Czechoslovakia and turn Prague into a “second Berlin”. Rendulic also refused to capitulate and withdrew his troops to the west. Schörner had up to a million people, about 10 thousand guns, about 1900 tanks and 1000 aircraft.
Units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front (Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky), 4th Ukrainian Front (Army General A.I. Eremenko) fought against this group; they, having completed the liberation of Slovakia, liberated the territory of the Czech Republic. From the north were units of the 1st Ukrainian Front, most of its troops were in the Berlin area at the beginning of May, the remaining units occupied defense on a front 400 km in the foothills of the Ore Mountains and the Sudetenland. The 3rd American Army (General D. Patton) was moving from the west to the border of the Czech Republic; it had the task of occupying the line Ceske Budejovice, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, previously agreed upon with the Soviet command.
Rendulic, Lothar.
Schörner, Ferdinand.
Start of operation in Czechoslovakia
As Germany was defeated in Czechoslovakia, local resistance, previously quite invisible, intensified. In April, approximately 120 partisan detachments were already operating, although their total number was small - 7.5 thousand people. There was no single leadership center, no constant communication with the Soviet command, the activities were of a defensive nature. At the end of April, they were able to create the Czech National Council (CNC), it consisted of representatives of different political forces, and was headed by a professor at the University of Prague A. Prazhak. The ChNS was not going to immediately start an uprising, since there were no serious forces for this.
But on May 5, a popular uprising began in Prague; it was prepared by former soldiers of the Czechoslovak army, led by General K. Kutyavashr (Bartos organization). At the beginning of May, they came into contact with the Russian Liberation Army (ROA), with the commander of the 1st division, General S.K. Bunyachenko. The ROA went west, hoping to surrender to the Americans. Bunyachenko and his commanders hoped for political asylum in Czechoslovakia and on the 4th agreed to support the uprising. Vlasov did not believe in success, but did not interfere. But already on the night of the 8th, most of the Vlasovites began to leave Prague, without receiving guarantees regarding their allied status. Schörner was forced to withdraw troops to Prague to suppress the uprising.
Bunyachenko Sergey Kuzmich.
Soviet forces, operation plan
On May 1, I. S. Konev received an order to transfer the line along the Elbe River to the 1st Belorussian Front by May 4, and transfer the released forces to the Prague direction. The regrouping of forces and preparations for the strike began. The front was supported from the air by the 2nd Air Army, the 6th Army (Lieutenant General V.A. Gluzdovsky) surrounded the Breslau garrison. He was supported by the 4th Ukrainian and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts.
By the beginning of the operation, the 3 Ukrainian fronts had: 20 combined arms armies (including two Romanian and one Polish army), 3 tank armies and 3 air armies, one cavalry-mechanized group, 5 tank, 1st mechanized and one cavalry separate corps . Their total number was more than 2 million people with approximately 30.5 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 3 thousand aircraft. Our forces outnumbered the enemy almost twice in manpower, in aviation and artillery by three, and in armored vehicles the forces were almost equal.
They planned to carry out several attacks on the enemy’s flanks, the main attacks were carried out by the 1st Ukrainian, it struck from the area northwest of Dresden, and the 2nd Ukrainian, it struck from the area south of Brno. The Wehrmacht forces wanted to dismember, encircle and defeat.
Ivan Stepanovich Konev.
Eremenko, Andrey Ivanovich.
Progress of the operation
The strike was planned for the 7th, but events in Prague forced the strike earlier, without completing the regrouping of forces. The rebels were able to capture most of the city, capturing rocks with weapons, disarming several small enemy units. The Field Marshal ordered the suppression of the uprising, since the rebels were blocking the escape route to the west. On the 6th, the Wehrmacht captured most of the city, using artillery, aviation and tanks; on the same day, Bunyachenko’s division came out on the side of the Czechs. Russian ROA soldiers drove the Wehrmacht out of the western part of the city. On the 7th, ROA units crossed the Vltava River and cut the Wehrmacht positions into two parts. But the ChNS, after some hesitation, thanked the Vlasovites and refused help. Bunyachenko was ready to stay if the Czechs at least broadcast a message on the radio about the reasons for joining the Wehrmacht units, about their actions at the present time, about their readiness to continue to fight the Nazis, but the Czechs refused. In the evening of the 7th, parts of the ROA began to retreat to the west, only some of the fighters remained with the Czechs. After the departure of the ROA division, the Wehrmacht again became the master of the situation in the city.
Therefore, Marshal Konev gave the order to march on the morning of the 6th. The 13th and 3rd Guards Armies, together with the 25th and 4th Guards Tank Corps, as well as units of the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies, advanced through the Ore Mountains. By evening, the 5th Guards Army also joined them. This was a feature of the Prague offensive operation - the simultaneous introduction of combined arms and tank armies into the offensive zone. On the same day, the German group in Breslau capitulated. On May 7, the most successfully attacking 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies reached the northern slopes of the mountains, units of the 3rd Guards Tank and 5th Guards Combined Arms Armies began fighting for Dresden.
On May 7, the 4th Ukrainian Front also struck, the 7th Guards Army immediately broke through the enemy’s defenses, and on the 8th the 6th Guards Tank Army, which was advancing on Prague, entered the breakthrough.
The situation of the rebels in Prague worsened, the Wehrmacht mercilessly suppressed resistance, advanced to the city center, and some of the rebels panicked and abandoned their defensive structures. The rebels also experienced a shortage of ammunition. On the afternoon of May 7, Schörner received Keitel’s order to surrender, but did not bring it to the troops; on the contrary, he ordered the resistance to be tightened. On the same day, American officers arrived at the rebel headquarters. They reported Germany's surrender and advised stopping the battle in Prague. Negotiations began with the head of the German garrison, R. Toussaint, who agreed to surrender heavy weapons upon leaving the city if the Germans were not prevented from withdrawing their troops.
On the 8th, units of the 4th Ukrainian Front captured the city of Olomouc and began an attack on Prague; The 1st Ukrainian entered the territory of Czechoslovakia, units of the 4th Guards Tank Army destroyed Schörner's headquarters, depriving Army Group Center of coordination. By the end of May 8, the 5th Guards Army captured Dresden, and several more cities were liberated on the same day.
The Czechs greeted Soviet soldiers with joy, many decorated houses and squares with red banners, invited them into their homes, gave flowers, and expressed their joy in every possible way.
On the evening of the 8th, the Soviet command offered the Wehrmacht to capitulate, but there was no answer. The Germans wanted to surrender to the Americans and accelerated their retreat. On the night of the 9th, Soviet tank units (4th and 3rd Guards Tank Armies) made a 90-km throw, and in the morning the first tanks entered Prague. They were followed by other units that entered the city - the 302nd Infantry Division (Colonel A. Ya. Klimenko) in vehicles, the 1st Czechoslovak Tank Brigade from the 60th Army and the advance detachment of the mobile group of the 38th Army under Colonel General K. S. Moskalenko. At lunchtime, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entered the city from the south: the 6th Guards Tank Army and the infantry of the 24th Rifle Corps, mounted on vehicles, and later the 7th Mechanized Corps. With the support of Prague residents, Soviet units “cleared” the city of the Nazis. Army Group Center's retreat routes to the west and south were cut off, only a few divisions were outside the encirclement, and most of the German forces found themselves in a "cauldron" east of Prague. On the 10th our units met with the Americans, on May 10-11 the Germans capitulated, thus ending the war as the last strong group of the Wehrmacht. The shooting continued in the vicinity of Prague until the 12th.
Results
Approximately 860 thousand people were captured, about 40 thousand died in battle and were wounded. A large amount of equipment and weapons were captured: 9.5 thousand guns and mortars, 1.8 thousand tanks and assault guns, and so on. Our losses: approximately 12 thousand killed and missing, about 40 thousand wounded and sick. During the liberation of the city itself, about a thousand Red Army soldiers died.
In total, for the liberation of all of Czechoslovakia, the Red Army paid a “price” of 140 thousand soldiers killed.
The Prague offensive operation once again demonstrated to the whole world the high skill of the Red Army and its commanders; in the shortest possible time the defense was broken, significant enemy forces were surrounded and captured. A victory point was reached in the Great Patriotic War. The medal “For the Liberation of Prague” was awarded to 390 thousand people.
The Americans did not allow the Vlasovites into their zone; some of them, upon learning about this, shot themselves. Most surrendered to Soviet units. Vlasov and other leaders of the ROA were awaiting trial in Moscow.
Sources:
For the liberation of Czechoslovakia, M., 1965.
Konev I. S. Notes of the front commander. 1943-1945. M., 1982.
Konev I. S. Forty-fifth. M., 1970.
Pliev I. A. On the roads of war. M., 1985.
Military operations in 1944
Offensive operations of the Red Army
At the beginning of 1944, the strategic initiative was in the hands of the anti-Hitler coalition. The Red Army gained experience in offensive operations. This made it possible to deliver decisive blows to the enemy and liberate the territory of the USSR from the occupiers. During 10 winter and spring offensive operations, the Red Army completely lifted the 900-day blockade of Leningrad, encircled and captured the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky enemy group, liberated Crimea and most of Ukraine. Army Group South was defeated. During the summer campaign, Operation Bagration was carried out to liberate Belarus. On the eve of the operation, June 20, Belarusian partisans paralyzed railway communications behind enemy lines. It was possible to misinform the enemy about the upcoming course of the operation. For the first time, Soviet troops secured air supremacy. Soviet troops broke through the enemy's defenses, liberated Vitebsk, Mogilev, and then Minsk. By mid-July, battles for Vilnius broke out, and the liberation of the Baltic states began. As a result of the offensives of the Karelian and Baltic fronts, the Nazis suffered a crushing defeat in the Baltic states. Army Group Center was defeated. By the end of 1944, almost the entire territory of the USSR was liberated from the occupiers (within the borders of June 22, 1941), more than 2.6 million enemy soldiers and officers and a significant amount of their military equipment were destroyed. Under the blows of the Red Army, the fascist bloc collapsed. Finland left the war. In Romania, the Antonescu regime was overthrown and the new government declared war on Germany.
Liberation of the territory of the USSR, transfer of military operations to Eastern Europe
In the fall of 1944, the occupiers were expelled from the territory of the USSR. The liberation of European countries - Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia - from the Nazis began. The Soviet government officially stated that the entry of the Red Army into the territory of other countries was caused by the need to completely defeat the armed forces of Germany and was not intended to change the political system of these states or violate their territorial integrity. Together with Soviet troops, the Czechoslovak corps, the Bulgarian army, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, the First and Second Armies of the Polish Army, and several Romanian units and formations took part in the liberation of their countries. (The imposition of the Soviet model of socialism on the countries of Eastern Europe began no earlier than 1948-1949, already under the conditions of the Cold War.) The largest transactions in Europe were: Vistula-Oder, East Prussian, Belgrade, Iasi-Kishinev. The contribution of the Red Army to the liberation of Eastern European countries can hardly be overestimated. More than 3.5 million Soviet soldiers died in battles on Polish soil alone. The Red Army played a significant role in saving the museum city of Krakow. In order to preserve the monuments of Budapest, the Commander of the First Ukrainian Front, I. S. Konev, decided not to bomb the city. During the autumn offensive of 1944, the Red Army advanced to the Vistula, capturing three bridgeheads on the left bank. In December, there was a lull on the Soviet-German front, and the Soviet command began to regroup forces.
Opening of a second front in Europe
The timing and location of the opening of the second front were determined at the Tehran Conference in 1943. The leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin - agreed to launch a large-scale landing operation in the north and south of France. It was also decided that at the same time Soviet troops would launch an offensive in Belarus in order to prevent the transfer of German forces from the Eastern Front to the Western Front. American General D. Eisenhower became the commander of the combined allied forces. The Allies began to concentrate troops, weapons, and military equipment on British territory.
The German command expected the invasion, but could not determine the beginning and location of the operation. Therefore, German troops were stretched along the entire coast of France. The Germans also hoped for their defense system - the “Atlantic Wall”, stretching from Denmark to Spain. At the beginning of June 1944, Hitler had 59 divisions in France and the Netherlands.
For two months the Allies carried out diversionary maneuvers and on June 6, 1944, unexpectedly for the Germans, they landed 3 air divisions in Normandy. At the same time, a fleet with Allied troops moved across the English Channel. Operation Overlord has begun. The landing of Allied troops in France became the largest amphibious operation in the history of war. 2.9 million Allied soldiers took part in the operation, supported by about 7 thousand aircraft and 1,200 warships. The main task was to create a bridgehead on which the main troops could deploy. Such a bridgehead has been created. Soviet troops, according to the agreement, launched Operation Bagration in the Belarusian direction. Thus, a second front was opened. It became one of the most important theaters of the Second World War and brought its end closer.
Successes of Anglo-American troops in the Pacific and Europe
1944 The Allies intensified their actions in the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, they managed to achieve a huge advantage of their forces and weapons over the Japanese: in total numbers - 1.5 times, in the number of aviation - 3 times, in the number of ships of different classes - 1.53 times. In early February 1944, the Americans captured the Marshall Islands. Japanese defenses in the center of the Pacific were broken through. Then US troops managed to establish control over the Mariana Islands and the Philippines. The main sea communications connecting Japan with the countries of Southeast Asia were cut. Having lost its raw materials, Japan began to quickly lose its military-industrial potential.
In general, events in Europe also developed successfully for the Allies. At the end of July 1944, a general offensive of Anglo-American troops began in northern France. The Atlantic Wall was breached in a matter of days. On August 15, the landing of American and French troops in the south of France began (Operation Envil). The Allied offensive was successful. On August 24 they entered Paris, and on September 3 - Brussels. The German command began to withdraw its troops to the “Siegfried Line” - a system of fortifications on the western borders of Germany. Attempts by Allied troops to overcome it were immediately unsuccessful. At the beginning of December 1944, the troops of the Western powers were forced to suspend active operations.
The internal situation and life of the population in the countries at war
Beginning in September 1939, President F. D. Roosevelt stated on the radio that the United States would remain neutral. But as fascist aggression expanded in Europe, the United States increasingly abandoned neutrality. In May 1940, F. D. Roosevelt set the goal of producing 50 thousand aircraft per year, and in June he gave the order to begin work on the creation of an atomic bomb. In September, for the first time in US history, the law on universal military conscription in peacetime came into force; the number of conscripts was determined at 900 thousand people per year. The American government provided increasing support to Britain as it fought.
Roosevelt's policies provoked inflammatory attacks from isolationists. Their governing body was the America First Committee. Isolationists argued that England was on the eve of defeat, so the United States should not think about extensive assistance to it, but only about its own security. The internal political struggle intensified in the summer of 1940 during the next presidential election. Roosevelt won this election. For the first time in American history, the same candidate was elected president for a third time.
On March 11, 1941, Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act (on the loan or lease of military equipment to countries fighting against Nazism). At first, Lend-Lease assistance was provided only to Great Britain and China, but already on November 30, 1941, the law was extended to the USSR. In total, 42 countries received assistance under Lend-Lease. By the end of 1945, US expenses under Lend-Lease amounted to more than $50 billion.
The US government did not introduce universal conscription, but prohibited the transfer of workers from one enterprise to another without the consent of the employer. The working week was increased from 40 to 48 hours, but in fact in most military factories it was 60-70 hours. 6 million women came to production, but they received half the wages of men. The strike movement declined as workers understood the need to mobilize all forces to defeat fascism. Labor conflicts were often resolved through negotiations between trade unions and entrepreneurs. Mobilization into the army and increased employment contributed to the almost complete disappearance of unemployment in the country. The USA significantly increased its gold resources, which amounted to 3/4 of the world's gold reserves (excluding the USSR).
During the war, there was a consolidation of all political forces in the country. In November 1944, F. D. Roosevelt was elected president for a fourth term, but he died on April 12, 1945. G. Truman assumed the post of head of state.
The war marked the end of “isolationism” as an influential trend in US foreign policy.
Great Britain
The German offensive in Western Europe, which began in the spring of 1940, meant the complete collapse of the “appeasement” policy. On May 8, 1940, N. Chamberlain's government was forced to resign. The new coalition government was headed by W. Churchill, a supporter of an uncompromising struggle against Germany. His government implemented a number of emergency measures to transfer the economy to a military footing and strengthen the armed forces, especially the ground army. The formation of civil self-defense units began. Churchill's military policy was based on simple principles: Hitler's Germany is the enemy, to defeat it an alliance with the United States is necessary, as well as any other help, even from the communists.
After the disaster of France, the threat of a German invasion loomed over Great Britain. On July 16, 1940, Hitler signed the Sea Lion plan, which provided for a landing in England. The Battle of Britain 1940-1941 became a heroic page in the history of the English people. German planes bombed London and other cities to sow fear among the population and break their will to resist. However, the British did not give up and inflicted serious losses on the enemy. Great Britain received significant assistance from its dominions, especially Canada, which had great industrial potential. By the end of 1940, the British government had almost completely exhausted its gold reserves and was on the verge of a financial crisis. He was forced to take out a loan of 15 billion dollars in the United States.
In 1941-1942, the efforts of the British government, with the full support of the people, were aimed at mobilizing forces and means to repel the enemy. By 1943, the restructuring of the economy on a war footing was completely completed. Dozens of large aircraft, tank, cannon and other military factories were put into operation. By the summer of 1943, 3,500 factories producing household goods were transferred to military industries.
In 1943, the state controlled 75% of all products produced in England and 90% of the country's financial resources. The government has set a national minimum wage. Social insurance and medical care at enterprises were improved, dismissals of workers were prohibited, etc.
From the second half of 1944, a decline in production began in England. The standard of living of the population has decreased. Social tension in society has increased. By the end of the war, England found itself in great financial, economic and political dependence on the United States.
France
Defeat in the war with Germany led the French people to a national catastrophe. The French army and navy were disarmed and demobilized, two-thirds of France, including Paris, occupied by Germany. The southern part of the country (the so-called “free zone”) and the colonies were not occupied and were controlled by the government established in the resort town of Vichy, headed by 84-year-old Marshal Pétain. Formally, his government was considered the government of all of France, but the fascist German occupiers actually ruled in the occupied zone. They brought the French administration under their control, dissolved all political parties, and banned meetings, demonstrations and strikes. Soon, raids began on Jews who were being sent to German extermination camps. The occupiers maintained their power through brutal terror. If during the military operations in 1939-1940 France lost 115 thousand people killed, then during the years of occupation, when it was officially considered a country that did not take part in hostilities, over 500 thousand people died. The ultimate goal of Hitler's occupation was the dismemberment and complete enslavement of France. In July-November 1940, the Germans expelled 200 thousand French from Alsace and Lorraine, and then incorporated these areas into Germany.
Pétain abolished the posts of president and prime minister. Elected institutions (from parliament to municipalities) were stopped. All executive and legislative power was concentrated in the hands of Pétain, who was declared the “head of state.” The very word “republic” was gradually withdrawn from circulation and replaced by the term “French state”. Following the example of the occupiers, the Vichy government persecuted Jews. In September 1942, the Pétain government, at the request of the occupiers, introduced compulsory labor service in order to supply labor for German industry. All Frenchmen between the ages of 19 and 50 could be sent to work in Germany.
On November 11, 1942, after the Allied landings in Africa, Germany and Italy occupied the southern zone of France.
The actions of the occupiers and their accomplices aroused outrage among many French people. Already in the first months of the occupation, the Resistance movement was born in France and beyond. 1940 in London, General Charles de Gaulle (in France he was sentenced to death in absentia for “desertion”) creates the organization “France that Fights,” whose motto is the words: “Honor and Motherland.” De Gaulle is doing a lot of work to develop the Resistance movement. In November 1942, the French Communist Party, which had great influence in the Resistance movement, signed an agreement on joint action with the forces of “France, Fights”. In 1943, unified bodies of the Resistance emerged in France and significantly strengthened its forces. All participants in the anti-fascist struggle recognized the general leadership of the French Committee of National Liberation (FCNL), which was headed by Charles de Gaulle.
The opening of the second front caused a patriotic upsurge in the country. A national anti-fascist uprising began, covering 40 of the 90 French departments. 28 departments were liberated solely by Resistance forces without the participation of Allied troops. On August 18, the uprising began in Paris. During stubborn fighting, by August 24, the main part of the French capital was liberated. On the evening of the same day, the advanced units of General de Gaulle entered Paris. The Parisian armed uprising ended in complete victory. In November - December 1944, the entire French territory was liberated.
The war cut short the peaceful life of the Soviet people. A period of difficult trials has begun. On June 22, the mobilization of men aged 23 to 36 was announced. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers besieged military registration and enlistment offices. This made it possible to double the size of the army and send 291 divisions of 94 brigades (over 6 million people) to the front by December 1. At the same time, it was necessary to quickly rebuild the economy, social and political relations and subordinate them to a single goal - Victory over the enemy. On June 30, 1941, the State Defense Committee was created (headed by I. Stalin), which exercised full power in the country and led the restructuring of the economy on a war footing. On June 29, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks formulated the slogan: “Everything for the front, everything for victory.” The main directions for restructuring the economy on a war footing were outlined:
Evacuation of industrial enterprises, material assets and people from front-line areas to the east;
Transfer of factories in the civilian sector to the production of military equipment;
Accelerated construction of new industrial facilities in the east of the country.
However, the advance of the German armies often disrupted evacuation plans and led to a chaotic and disorderly withdrawal of troops and population. The railways were also unable to cope with their tasks. Agriculture found itself in a difficult situation. The USSR lost territories that produced 38% of grain and 84% of sugar. In the fall of 1941, a card system for providing the population with food was introduced (covering up to 70 million people). Despite the difficulties, by the end of 1941 it was possible to move the equipment of 2,500 industrial enterprises and more than 10 million people to the east. In addition, about 2.4 million heads of cattle, 5.1 million sheep and goats, 200 thousand pigs, 800 thousand horses were exported. But the loss of the most important economic regions led to a significant decline in production and a decrease in supplies to the army.
To organize production, emergency measures were taken - from June 26, 1941, mandatory overtime was introduced for workers and employees, the working day for adults increased to 11 hours, and vacations were canceled. In December, all employees of military enterprises were declared mobilized and assigned to work at this enterprise. The main burden of work fell on the shoulders of women and teenagers. Workers often worked day and night, and rested right in the workshops near the machines. The militarization of labor made it possible to stop and gradually increase the growth of the production of weapons and military equipment. In the east of the country and in Siberia, one after another, evacuated enterprises were put into operation. For example, the Leningrad Kirov Plant and the Kharkov Diesel Plant merged with the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant to produce tanks (“Tankograd”). The same enterprises were formed in the Volga region and Gorky region. Many peaceful factories and factories switched to producing military products.
In the fall of 1942, more weapons were produced than in pre-war 1941. The USSR was significantly ahead of Germany in the production of military equipment, not only in quantity (2,100 aircraft, 2,000 tanks monthly), but also in terms of quality. In June 1941, serial production of Katyusha-type mortar launchers and the modernized T-34 tank began. By 1943, aviation received new Il-10 and Yak-7 aircraft. Methods for automatic welding of armor were developed (E. O. Paton), and automatic machines for producing cartridges were designed. The rear provided the front with a sufficient amount of weapons, military equipment and equipment, which allowed the Red Army at Stalingrad to launch a counteroffensive and defeat the enemy. By the end of the war, until May 9, 1945, the Soviet Army had 32.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns (self-propelled artillery), 47.3 thousand combat aircraft, 321.5 thousand guns and mortars, several times higher than the pre-war level.
The war required certain changes in the political system itself. Summary information from party committees and NKVD bodies indicated that the patriotism of the broad masses was combined with a growing distrust of leaders and a desire for independent thinking. In the official ideology, national slogans (“Death to the German occupiers!”) replace class slogans (“Workers of all countries, unite!”). A relaxation was made in relation to the church: a patriarch was elected, a number of churches were opened, and some of the clergy were released. In 1941, about 200 thousand people were released from the camps and sent to the army, including more than 20 thousand pilot commanders, tank crews and artillerymen.
At the same time, the totalitarian system made only those concessions that it needed to save itself. After the decisive victories of 1943 in domestic politics, political terror intensified again. In the 40s, terror was directed against individual nations. In 1941, the Volga Germans became victims of terror, in 1942 - Finns and Finno-Ugric peoples of Leningrad and the Leningrad region, in 1943 - Kalmyks and Karachais, in 1944 - Chechens, Ingush, Crimean Tatars, Greeks, Bulgarians, Turks -Meskhetians, Kurds. There were ideological “punishments” of the leadership of Tatarstan and Bashkiria for allegedly incorrect interpretation of history.
Germany
In Germany, everything was subordinated to meeting military needs. Millions of concentration camp prisoners and all of Europe conquered by the Nazis worked for military needs.
Hitler promised the Germans that enemies would never set foot on their country. And yet the war came to Germany. Air raids began in 1940-1941, and from 1943, when the Allies achieved complete air superiority, massive bombing of German cities became regular. Bombs fell not only on military and industrial facilities, but also on residential areas. Dozens of cities turned into ruins.
The defeat of the Nazi troops on the Volga was a shock for the German people; their intoxication from victories began to quickly pass. In January 1943, “total mobilization” was announced throughout Germany. Compulsory labor service was introduced for all men living in the Third Reich aged 16 to 65 years and women from 17 to 45 years. In mid-1943, the standards for issuing meat and potatoes were reduced (250 grams of meat and 2.5 kg of potatoes per week). At the same time, the working day was extended, reaching 12 or more hours in some enterprises. Taxes have increased significantly. The huge apparatus of the Nazi Party, supported by an even larger army of “activists,” closely monitored every step and every word of the citizens of the Reich. The slightest manifestations of dissatisfaction immediately became known to the Gestapo. Despite some growth in anti-fascist sentiment among representatives of various segments of the German population, dissatisfaction with the regime did not become widespread.
In order to suppress possible anti-fascist protests at the front and in the rear, the Nazis expanded and strengthened the armed forces of the Nazi Party - the SS. The SS troops, which numbered 2 battalions before the start of the war, increased in 1943 to 5 corps. In August 1943, SS leader Himmler was appointed Minister of the Interior.
Germany's military defeats in 1944 deepened the crisis of the Nazi regime. With the active participation of senior Wehrmacht officers, a conspiracy was organized against Hitler. On July 20, 1944, the conspirators attempted to assassinate the Fuhrer - a bomb exploded in his bunker. However, Hitler suffered from shell shock and burns. The main participants in the conspiracy were quickly arrested, 5 thousand people were executed, among them 56 generals and one field marshal, 49 generals and 4 field marshals (including Rommel) committed suicide without expecting arrest. The conspiracy gave impetus to increased repression. The destruction of all opponents of the regime began and they were kept in prisons. But fascism was living out its last months.
In October 1941, the extremely reactionary government of General Tojo came to power, becoming the de facto leader of Japanese policy throughout almost the entire Pacific War. In the summer of 1942, following the first defeats in the Pacific War, the internal political situation in Japan began to worsen. The militaristic government, trying to bring members of parliament and all leading politicians under its control, created the “Political Association for Assistance to the Throne” at the end of May 1942. Its task was to unite the nation for the successful prosecution of the war. Parliament has become a completely obedient mechanism in the hands of the government.
The government took measures to strengthen Japanese dominance in the occupied territories. In November 1942, the Ministry of Greater East Asian Affairs was created, which dealt with all issues of governance in the occupied countries and the mobilization of their resources for the needs of Japan.
New Japanese military failures in 1943 led to a rapid decline in production in the main sectors of the Japanese economy. In the interests of growing military production, state regulation of the economy was expanded and the exploitation of broad sections of the working people was intensified. In January 1944, the “Program of Emergency Measures for the Labor Mobilization of the Population” was adopted, according to which workers of military-industrial companies were assigned to the enterprises where they worked. There was a widespread mobilization of women and apprentices to work in the war industry. However, it was not possible to improve the economic situation.
In June 1944, General Tojo resigned as prime minister. However, the policy did not soften. The course of war “until complete victory” continued. In August 1944, the Japanese government decided to arm the entire nation. Throughout the country, the Japanese had to practice defense and attack techniques in workplaces, schools and higher educational institutions with bamboo spears in their hands.
Aerial bombing became a real national disaster for the Japanese. In April 1942, the Japanese capital felt the horrors of war: 16 American bombers, rising from the deck of an aircraft carrier and flying 1000 km, bombed Tokyo for the first time. After that, the Japanese capital was subjected to air strikes more than 200 times. Beginning in November 1944, the American air force carried out regular air raids on the cities and industrial centers of Japan, causing numerous civilian casualties. As a result of the air raid on March 9, 1945, 75 thousand people died in Tokyo, and in total about a million Tokyo residents were injured. At that time, Japan was already on the verge of defeat.
Operations at the final stage of the war, when the strategic initiative completely passed into the hands of the Soviet command. As a result, the territory of the USSR and a number of European countries was liberated and Nazi Germany was defeated.
The end of the siege of Leningrad.
At the very beginning of 1944, Soviet troops seized the initiative and never let it go. The winter campaign of 1944 was marked by major victories of the Red Army. Of the 10 strikes (referred to as “Stalinist” in Soviet historiography), the first was struck against the enemy near Leningrad and Novgorod in January. As a result of the Leningrad-Novgorod operation, Soviet troops, having broken through the enemy’s defenses at a front of up to 60 km, threw him back 220-280 km from Leningrad, and to the south of Lake. Ilmen - 180 km, the 900-day blockade of the hero city was completely lifted. The troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic fronts (commanders L. Govorov, K. Meretskov, M. Popov), in cooperation with the Baltic Front, cleared the western part of the Leningrad region from the enemy, liberated Kalininskaya, entered Estonia, marking the beginning of liberation from the occupiers Baltic republics. The defeat of Army Group North (26 divisions were defeated, 3 divisions were completely destroyed) undermined the position of Nazi Germany in Finland and the Scandinavian Peninsula.
Liberation of Right Bank Ukraine.
The second blow represented a series of major offensive operations carried out in February-March in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky area and on the Southern Bug, brilliantly carried out by troops of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts. During this operation, the entire Right Bank of Ukraine was liberated. The results far exceeded its initial goals, capturing up to half of all enemy tank and more than two-thirds of the enemy air forces operating in Right Bank Ukraine. The troops of two Ukrainian fronts not only destroyed a large enemy grouping “South” under the command of Field Marshal E. Manstein (55 thousand killed, over 18 thousand prisoners), but also defeated another 15 divisions, incl. 8 tanks operating against the outer front of the encirclement. Soviet troops reached the state border of the USSR with Romania and took up positions favorable for subsequent deep penetration into the southeastern regions of Europe - into the Balkans against Romania and against Hungary. On the night of March 28, troops crossed the border Prut River.
Liberation of Odessa, Sevastopol and Crimea.
As a result of the third strike in April-May, Odessa, Sevastopol and the entire Crimea were liberated. An attempt by Nazi troops to evacuate from Odessa by sea was thwarted by Soviet aviation, torpedo boats and submarines. On the evening of April 9, units of the 5th Shock Army broke into the northern outskirts of Odessa, and the next day the city was completely liberated. A further offensive was already developing in the Crimean direction. Particularly fierce fighting took place in the Sapun-Gora, Karavan area. On May 9, Soviet troops broke into Sevastopol and liberated it from the invaders. The remnants of the defeated Nazi 17th Army retreated to Cape Chersonesos, where 21 thousand soldiers and officers, a large amount of equipment and weapons were captured. In connection with the liquidation of the Crimean enemy group, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front (commander F.I. Tolbukhin) were released, which made it possible to strengthen the strategic reserves of the Headquarters, improving conditions for the offensive of Soviet troops in the Balkans and the liberation of the peoples of South-Eastern Europe.
Liberation of Karelia.
The fourth blow (June 1944) was delivered by the forces of the Leningrad (commander L.A. Govorov) and Karelian fronts (commander K.A. Meretskov) against enemy bridgeheads on the Karelian Isthmus and in the area of Ladoga and Onega lakes, which led to the liberation of more parts of Karelia and predetermined Finland’s exit from the war on the side of Germany. On September 19, Finnish President K. Mannerheim signed an armistice agreement with the USSR. On March 3, 1945, Finland entered the war with Germany on the side of the Allies. The official end of the war was the Paris Peace Treaty, signed in 1947. In this regard, an extremely unfavorable situation developed for German troops in the Arctic.
Liberation of Belarus.
The fifth strike is the Belarusian offensive operation (“Bagration”), carried out from June 23 to August 29 against Army Group Center, one of the largest in this war. The armies of four fronts took part in it: the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian (commanders K. Rokossovsky, G. Zakharov, I. Chernyakhovsky), the 1st Baltic (commander I. Bagramyan), the forces of the Dnieper military flotilla, the 1st Army Polish troops. The width of the combat front reached 1,100 km, the depth of troop advance was 550-600 km, the average daily rate of attack was 14-20 km. Due to the successes of the Ukrainian fronts in the winter of 1943/44, the German high command expected that in the summer of 1944 Soviet troops would deliver the main blow in the southwestern sector between Pripyat and the Black Sea, but would not be able to attack simultaneously along the entire front. Even when the Army Command Center became aware of the concentration of significant Soviet forces in Belarus, the German General Staff still believed that the Russians would strike primarily at Army Group Northern Ukraine. Shackled by defenses in other sectors of the Soviet-German front, the Germans no longer counted on transferring divisions from unattacked sections of the front to help. Soviet troops and partisans coped with all tasks brilliantly. 168 divisions, 12 corps and 20 brigades took part in Operation Bagration. The number of troops at the beginning of the operation was 2.3 million. As a result, one of the most powerful enemy groups, “Center,” was destroyed.
The final liberation of the territory of the USSR. The beginning of fighting in Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
In the second half of 1944, five more offensive operations were carried out - five powerful strikes against the enemy. During the sixth strike (July-August), the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front (commander I. Konev) defeated Army Group “Northern Ukraine” (commander Colonel General J. Harpe) in the Brody - Rava - Ruska - Lvov area and formed behind the Vistula , west of Sandomierz, a large bridgehead. The enemy pulled 16 divisions (including 3 tank divisions), 6 brigades of assault guns, and separate battalions of heavy tanks (T-VIB “Royal Tiger”) into this area and launched a series of strong counterattacks in order to eliminate the bridgehead. Fierce fighting broke out near Sandomierz. As a result of the fighting, Army Group “Northern Ukraine” was defeated (out of 56 divisions, 32 were defeated and 8 were destroyed). The Red Army liberated the western regions of Ukraine, the southeastern regions of Poland, seized a bridgehead on the western bank of the Vistula, creating favorable conditions for the subsequent offensive and expulsion of the Germans from Czechoslovakia and Romania and for the decisive campaign against Berlin. Soviet and Polish partisans provided significant assistance to the front troops.
As a result of the seventh strike (August), troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts (commanders R.Ya. Malinovsky and F.I. Tolbukhin) defeated German-Romanian troops in the Chisinau-Iasi region, eliminated 22 enemy divisions and entered the central regions of Romania . They captured 208.6 thousand prisoners, over 2 thousand guns, 340 tanks and assault guns, about 18 thousand vehicles. Moldova was liberated, Romania and Bulgaria capitulated. By the end of October, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, together with the Romanian units that opposed Germany, completely liberated Romania. On September 8, the Red Army entered the territory of Bulgaria. The loss of the Ploestina oil region was, from an economic point of view, a heavy defeat for Germany. The next blow in this direction was the Belgrade operation, during which Soviet and Bulgarian troops, together with units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (led by I.B. Tito), cut the main communication line between Thessaloniki and Belgrade, along which the fascist German command was withdrawing its troops from the south of the Balkan Peninsula.
Liberation of the Baltic states.
The eighth blow was struck against the enemy in September - October in the Baltic states by the forces of the Leningrad Front (commander K.A. Meretskov) together with the Baltic Fleet (commander Admiral V.F. Tributs). Having liberated Estonia and most of Latvia, our troops inflicted a major defeat on the German Army Group North: 26 divisions were defeated, 3 of them were completely destroyed, the rest were completely blocked along the coast in Courland, in the Memel (Klaipeda) region. The path to advance into East Prussia was open. The resistance of German troops on this section of the front was particularly fierce. By regrouping forces and counterattacks, they managed to close the gap near the Angerapp River and even recapture Goldap. No longer relying on the morale of German soldiers, the High Command of the German Armed Forces strengthened measures “to combat defectors” in December 1944. From now on, those who went over to the enemy were sentenced to death, and their families were responsible for the criminal with “property, freedom or life.”
Battle of Budapest.
In October - December, offensive operations of the 2nd Ukrainian Front (commander R.Ya. Malinovsky), associated with the ninth strike, unfolded between the Tissa and the Danube. As a result, Germany actually lost its last ally - Hungary. The battles for Budapest continued until February 13, 1945. It was not possible to take the capital of Hungary on the move, so a special Budapest group of troops was created from the formations of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and Hungarian volunteers. The battles ended with the liquidation of 188 thousand enemy groups and the liberation of Budapest. The human losses of the Red Army in this operation (October - February 1945) amounted to about half of the participating troops. The troops lost 1,766 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 4,127 guns and mortars, and 293 combat aircraft.
Petsamo-Kirkenes operation of the Soviet troops.
The tenth blow was made by the troops of the Karelian Front (commander K. Meretskov) and the Northern Fleet (commander Vice Admiral A.G. Golovko) against the troops of the 20th German Army in the Petsamo (Pecheneg) area. From the 2nd half of September 1941 to June 1944, the troops of the Karelian Front were on the defensive at the turn of the river. Zap. Litsa (60 km west of Murmansk), along a system of rivers and lakes (90 km west of Kanadalaksha). In three years, the Nazis created a powerful three-lane defense, full of long-term structures, up to 150 km deep. In this area, the 19th Mountain Rifle Corps (53 thousand people, over 750 guns and mortars) of the 20th Nazi Mountain Army (led by Colonel General L. Rendulic) defended. It was supported by aviation (160 aircraft) and significant naval forces based in the ports of Northern Norway. During the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, Soviet troops liberated the Petsamo area and the northern regions of Norway. The enemy lost about 30 thousand people killed. The Northern Fleet sank 156 enemy ships. Aviation destroyed 125 enemy aircraft. Our successes limited the actions of the German fleet, and supplies of nickel ore were interrupted. War came to German soil. On April 13, the center of East Prussia, Koeningsberg, was taken.
As a result of military operations in 1944, the state border of the USSR, treacherously violated by Germany in June 1941, was restored all the way from the Barents to the Black Sea. The losses of the Red Army during this period of the war amounted to about 1.6 million people. The Nazis were expelled from Romania and Bulgaria, from most areas of Poland and Hungary. The Red Army entered the territory of Czechoslovakia and liberated the territory of Yugoslavia.
In his May Day speech, Stalin defined a common goal: to cleanse Soviet soil of the enemy. Day after day, week after week, the goal becomes clearer and clearer - Belarus. Moscow is increasingly inclined to the need to strike on the Central Front. This time the German Army Group Center must receive a blow from which it will not recover. The task will be carried out by the Western Front, which, in order to optimize leadership, is divided into two fronts - the 2nd and 3rd Belarusian. The first was appointed to command General Petrov, who fought a lot in the south, the second was General I.D. Chernyakhovsky, who was proposed by A.M. Vasilevsky.
The General Staff's plan is striking in its scale - the largest operation in world history was depicted on the maps. It was about joint actions of six fronts, from Narva in the north to Chernivtsi in the south. The main part of the operation is the offensive in Belarus with the goal of destroying Army Group Center. The final revision of offensive plans was completed in mid-May 1944. And on May 20, Stalin convened a meeting of senior military leaders in the Kremlin. Even minor details were discussed. At the end of a long day, Stalin was asked what the code name for the upcoming operation would be and he suggested calling it after the Georgian, the great patriot of Russia: “Bagration”.
The difference in the time of action of the four fronts was small, but it existed. The 1st Baltic Front was the first to act, followed by the 3rd Belorussian Front and then the 2nd and 1st Belorussian Fronts. At 4 o'clock in the morning on June 22, 1944, Marshal Vasilevsky reported to Stalin that the 1st Baltic Front I.Kh. Bagramyan and the 3rd Belorussian Front I.D. Chernyakhovsky are ready for battle. Zhukov sent long-range bomber aircraft to these fronts.
The 9th German Army took on an unbearable burden - it was physically unable to withstand the blow intended for the entire Army Group Center. In Minsk, the commander of the Army Group, Field Marshal von Busch, demanded freedom of maneuver and a guarantee of reinforcements from the Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces, Zeitzler. But the German military leadership failed to determine the degree of urgency of the situation in Belarus and the connection of this offensive with the fate of the Reich as a whole. The 2nd Belorussian Front (G.F. Zakharov) rushed east of Mogilev, the seat of the Tsarist Headquarters in the First World War. Here the German 3rd Panzer Army was waiting for the Soviet attacking columns. After three days of ferocious battle, the Soviet 49th Army crossed the upper Dnieper and established a bridgehead north of Mogilev. The 92nd Bridge Battalion trucked the bridge, and on the afternoon of June 27, despite heavy German fire, two bridges were created across the river, allowing Soviet tanks to quickly expand the bridgehead on the west bank. This forced the commander of the German 4th Army, General Tippelskirch, to ignore Hitler’s order to “stand to the last” and begin evacuating his army beyond the Dnieper. The capture of Mogilev was a very bloody operation even by the standards of this most brutal of wars.
I.D. Chernyakhovsky (3rd Belorussian Front) followed in the footsteps of Napoleon to the Berezina. He had a fantastic assistant - the tank army P.A. Rotmistrova, unstoppable and legendary. The road to Minsk was and is one of the few good roads in Greater Rus', and tankers, like all Russians, loved fast driving. Three days after the start of the offensive, they were already deep in the rear of Army Group Center. This initiated the process of disintegration of the three German armies. The 3rd Tank, 4th Army and 9th Army began to lose their relationship, and given the existing balance of forces, it was like death.
Several bridges across the Berezina were captured intact, so fast and unexpected was the pace of the offensive. The 20th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht, which tried to prevent this capture, was smashed to smithereens. Rokossovsky ordered his three armies (3rd, 48th, 65th) to block the withdrawal of 40 thousand Germans from Bobruisk. In the city, many German troops were engaged in fortification work, they built barricades and installed anti-aircraft guns. Several times the Germans tried to break through and General Gorbatov (3rd Army) had to cool his hot heads. 400 bombers of Rudenko's air army turned the relatively small Bobruisk into a version of Stalingrad. During the assault on Bobruisk on June 27, the most successful actions were not those of the straightforward supporters of the tank attack, but those who crossed the Berezina and struck from an unexpected direction. Batov and Romanenko entered the burning city, the Germans were surrendering in the neighboring forests, but everyone was more interested in the news about the capture of Osipovichi, a railway station on the way to Minsk. So, Vitebsk, Orsha, Mogilev, Bobruisk ended up in the hands of Soviet troops. The German defense line was swept away, German losses during a week of fighting amounted to 130 thousand killed, 60 thousand captured. 900 tanks and thousands of other equipment were lost. Of course, Soviet losses were also great.
Model took command and became convinced that the Russian fronts were driven by a very broad plan, that even the capture of Minsk was not their ultimate goal. Now they are trying to drive the 4th German Army into a trap. Their vanguard is already 80 kilometers from Minsk, and the 4th Army, fighting off the advancing enemy, is located about 120 kilometers from the capital of Belarus. On the day of Model's appointment, the Soviet Headquarters adopted updated directives to all four fronts. Bagramyan (1st Baltic) moves to Polotsk. Chernyakhovsky (3rd Belorussian) - to the Berezina and, together with Zakharov (2nd Belorussian), takes Minsk on July 7-8. Rokossovsky approaches Minsk from the south, but his main task is to cut off the Germans’ escape route to the southwest. Zakharov presses the 4th German Army frontally, while its neighbors cut off its flanks. Bagramyan insures Chernyakhovsky from a blow from the north.
On the morning of July 2, Marshal Rotmistrov, greatly weakened by battles and roads, drove along the Minsk highway straight to the capital of Belarus. Having traveled more than forty kilometers, his tankers found themselves in the northeastern suburbs of the city at night. Panov's 1st Guards Corps is approaching from the southwest. On July 3rd, troops enter the ghost town of Minsk. Ruins are everywhere. And around Minsk the 4th German Army is convulsing - 105 thousand soldiers and officers, divided into two parts. History is rarely so accurate - it was precisely in those forests east of Minsk, where in the terrible late June days of 1941, in severe shock, the soldiers of the Western Military District felt themselves surrounded, from where yesterday Stalin’s favorite, General Pavlov, was summoned to be shot, were now awaiting a terrible ships huge masses of aggressor soldiers. Exactly three years later in the same place. Some of them tried to break through to their own people - and more than 40 thousand died in senseless forest battles. German aircraft tried to airdrop supplies, only prolonging the agony. The commander of the German 12th Corps could not stand it; he announced general surrender. The capture of the remnants of four German corps continued until July 11, 1944. From Army Group Center, which in cheerful daring passed these lands without looking back three years ago in full confidence about a two-month war, now only eight badly battered divisions remained, unable to cover the four hundred-kilometer width of the breakthrough of the Soviet armies. Belarus, the most faithful and sacrificial sister, was liberated. Bagramyan liberated Polotsk, and Rokossovsky went to Brest.
Never before had the Wehrmacht suffered such a crushing defeat. 28 divisions and 350 thousand soldiers were lost in open battle. On July 17, something unusual happened. A huge column of 57 thousand German prisoners of war, mostly captured during Operation Bagration, passed through the harsh streets of the Soviet capital. At the head of the column were 19 generals, each with an “iron cross”. At the head of the column with the “knight’s cross” was General Gollvitser, the corps commander, who was captured in Vitebsk. They reached Moscow. The silent crowd looked at those who wanted to become the masters of Russia. It was a great moment. The outcome of the war was already irreversible. To quote German newspapers, the end was a battle of “apocalyptic” proportions. The fate of Germany was finally decided in unconquered Belarus. Brest, a symbol of defeat in the previous war with the Germans, was taken on July 28, 1944. In July 1944, Soviet troops reached the Soviet-Polish border over a wide area.
| Material index |
|---|
| Course: World War II |
| DIDACTIC PLAN |
| INTRODUCTION |
| End of the Treaty of Versailles |
| German rearmament |
| Industrial growth and armament of the USSR |
| Absorption (Anchlock) of Austria by the German state |
| Aggressive plans and actions against Czechoslovakia |
| The fundamental difference between the positions of Great Britain and the USSR |
| "Munich Agreement" |
| The fate of Poland in the tangle of global contradictions |
| Soviet-German Treaty |
| Collapse of Poland |
| German advance in Scandinavia |
| Hitler's new victories in the West |
| Battle of Britain |
| The action of the plan "Barbarossa" |
| Fighting in July '41 |
| Battles of August-September 1941 |
| Attack on Moscow |
| Counter-offensive of the Red Army near Moscow and the formation of the Anti-Hitler Coalition |
| Changing Soviet capabilities at the front and in the rear |
| Germany to the Wehrmacht in early 1942 |
| Escalation of World War II in the Far East |
| A chain of Allied failures in early 1942 |
| Strategic plans of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht for the spring-summer of 1942 |
| The offensive of the Red Army in Kerch and near Kharkov |
| Fall of Sevastopol and weakening of Allied aid |
| The disaster of the Red Army in the south in the summer of 1942 |
| Defense of Stalingrad |
| Development of the Uranus strategic plan |
| Allied landings in North Africa |
| Operation Uranus begins |
| Strengthening the external defense of the “ring” |
| Manstein's counteroffensive |
| "Little Saturn" |
| The final defeat of the encircled Stalingrad group |
| Offensive Operation Saturn |
| Offensive in the northern, central sectors of the Soviet-German front and in the Caucasus |
| End of the Soviet offensive |
| Kharkov defensive operation |
| Operation Citadel |
