The period from November 19, 1942 to 1943 inclusive is a radical turning point in the course of the Second World War. It is characterized by the transition of Soviet troops to the offensive along the entire front and the massive expulsion of the enemy from the occupied territory, the intensification of the actions of Anglo-American troops in North Africa and the Mediterranean, the beginning of the crisis of the fascist bloc, the intensification of the partisan and national liberation movement, a sharp increase in military production in countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, etc.
It must be emphasized that in heavy battles on the Soviet-German front, Nazi Germany gradually lost its advantages. In the first year of the war alone, Hitler’s army lost 40% of the troops that attacked the USSR. Soviet partisans, whose numbers were constantly growing, inflicted significant losses on the invaders. At the end of 1942, there were more than 125 thousand people in the partisan detachments, against whom the German command sent about 10% of the ground forces of the Soviet-German front. The partisans controlled a territory equal in area to such states as Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark combined.
Since the spring of 1942, gradual growth began industrial production in USSR. A radical change has occurred in the work of the rear. During 1942, Soviet industry produced military equipment and more equipment than Germany along with its European allies and occupied countries. Soviet T-34 tanks, Il-2 attack aircraft designed by Ilyushin, fighters designed by Yakovlev and Lavochkin, and Katyusha rocket launchers were the best in the world.
The central event of 1942-1943. there is the Battle of Stalingrad.
The heroic defense of Stalingrad and the Caucasus, the success of the military economy, and the creation of large reserves prepared the conditions for the counteroffensive of the Red Army. On November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive near Stalingrad. The forces of the Southwestern, Stalingrad, and Don Fronts surrounded a 330,000-strong group of German troops; on February 2, 1943, the remnants of the encircled group capitulated. His entire command was captured - 24 generals led by Field Marshal Paulus. Three days of mourning were declared in Germany.
What is the military political significance defeat of fascist troops at Stalingrad?
Firstly, it was a great success of Soviet military art and the beginning of a radical change in the course of the war.
Secondly, this victory forced Japan and Turkey to maintain “neutrality” towards the Soviet Union.
thirdly, the victory at Stalingrad accelerated the collapse of the fascist bloc and sharply undermined the morale of the fascist armies.
fourthly, a favorable environment was created for the further activation of the Resistance movement against the fascist occupiers. Only the number of military formations of European states that were created on the territory of the Soviet Union exceeded 550 thousand persons by the end of the war.
After the Battle of Stalingrad, the influence of the Soviet Union grew significantly. To commemorate the victory over the invaders, King George VI of Great Britain gave the citizens of Stalingrad an honorary sword, and US President Roosevelt sent a certificate of honor to Stalingrad, which praised the courage and fortitude of Soviet soldiers. “Their glorious victory,” Roosevelt pointed out, “stopped the tide of invasion and became the turning point in the war of the Allied Nations against the forces of aggression.”
The fundamental turning point in the war, founded by the victory at Stalingrad, was consolidated by the battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943.
Having carried out total mobilization, significantly increasing the production of military equipment, especially aircraft and new Tiger and Panther tanks, Germany, in accordance with the Citadel plan, decided to take revenge with a new offensive on the Kursk Bulge. The Soviet command guessed the enemy's plan, and the offensive of the German troops, which began on July 5, 1943, failed. The tank battle of Prokhorovka was especially brutal - the largest in World War II. The Battle of Kursk ended on August 23 with the liberation of Kharkov.
The battle lasted 50 days and surpassed the Moscow and Stalingrad battles in scale. So, if 1.5 million people took part in the battle near Moscow on both sides, at Stalingrad - 2 million, then in the battle on the Kursk Bulge - 4 million people. This battle confronted Nazi Germany with disaster. From now on until the end of the war, she was forced only to defend herself.
A new victorious offensive of the Soviet troops began, during which the Red Army liberated the Donbass and Left Bank Ukraine, and the Nazis’ plans to organize a defensive line on the Dnieper failed. The military skill acquired by the Red Army during the war made it possible to immediately cross the Dnieper, liberate the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, on November 6, 1943, and advance far to the Right Bank.
On the central section of the Soviet-German front, Soviet troops liberated Bryansk, Gomel, Smolensk, and the eastern part of Belarus. The partisans provided great assistance to the regular army. In 1943, they organized 5 times more sabotage and destroyed 4 times more fascists than in 1942.
Analyzing the period of radical change during the Second World War and paying tribute to the role of the Soviet-German front, we must not forget that victory was achieved by all participants in the anti-Hitler coalition. Thus, the United States, having entered the war, increased military orders sixfold in just the first six months of the war and spent a huge amount - $100 billion. The government focused its main efforts on the production of ships, aircraft and tanks. In order to completely eliminate Japan's advantage in aircraft carriers, the United States immediately laid down 28 new aircraft carriers of various classes, while Japan was building only 6. Particular attention was paid to the offensive type of weapon - bomber aircraft, which received the world's largest 4-engine bombers, the Flying Fortress. During 1942 alone, the US industry produced 32 thousand tanks and 49 thousand combat aircraft, taking first place in the world. Airplanes and ships were equipped with the latest radars and other instruments. At a meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt in the summer of 1942, it was decided to concentrate all work on the production of the atomic bomb in America. The head of the so-called Manhattan Project was General Groves, the scientific director was the outstanding physicist G. Oppenheimer. In December 1942, the outstanding Italian physicist E. Fermi, who emigrated to the USA, for the first time carried out a chain reaction in a nuclear reactor he built. After this, the path to creating an atomic bomb was open.
The war economy of Great Britain has also achieved certain successes. In general, by the fall of 1942, the USSR, USA and Great Britain were producing 5 times more guns and mortars, 3 times more aircraft and almost 10 times more tanks than Germany, Italy and Japan combined. The number of armed forces of the USSR, USA and Great Britain was more than one and a half times greater than the armed forces of the fascist bloc.
Such an advantage over the forces of the aggressor states could not but be reflected in the various theaters of the Second World War, and to a certain extent contributed to the coordination of the actions of the allies. It was at the height of the Battle of Stalingrad on October 22, 1942 that the 8th British Army under the command of General B. Montgomery went on the offensive in the El Alamein area. Having a multiple superiority of forces over Rommel's corps, the British army defeated the enemy. Italian- German troops began to retreat from Egypt to the territory of Libya. It was at this moment that at the other end of North Africa, in the ports of Morocco and Algeria (the colonial possessions of the Vichy government), the allied fleet landed an Anglo-American landing under the command of the American General D. Eisenhower.
Now both Allied groups from East and West were moving into Tunisia, where Hitler had transferred German troops. Only on May 13, 1943 did the Italian-German troops capitulate. 240 thousand prisoners fell into the hands of the Allies. The total losses of the Italo-German troops exceeded 300 thousand soldiers and officers.
Although the capture of North Africa was a great success for the Allies, it did not yet mean the opening of a second front, as British and American historians often say. Only in May 1943, at a meeting in Washington, Roosevelt and Churchill decided to open a second front in France no later than May 1, 1944. The Conference also adopted a plan for landing in Sicily to bring Italy out of the war, plans for aerial bombing of Germany and plans for operations in Pacific Ocean.
Having secured their communications, on July 10, 1943, during the Battle of Kursk, Anglo-American troops landed on Sicily and, without encountering serious resistance, captured the island.
A crisis ensued in the Italian ruling circles, which were convinced of the inevitability of defeat. Mussolini was arrested by the royal guard, removed from the post of prime minister and replaced by the former chief of the general staff, Marshal Badoglio. On September 8, 1943, London radio announced the signing of an armistice with Italy. Anglo-American troops, by agreement with Badoglio, landed in southern Italy. In response, German troops that were in Italy disarmed the Italian army and occupied Northern and Central Italy. The occupiers formed the Italian fascist government led by Mussolini, who had previously been liberated by German paratroopers. Badoglio's government declared war on Germany.
The collapse of the fascist regime in Italy and its transition to the side of the Allies was of great political significance: the Italian army withdrew from the fight, fascism fell in Southern Italy, and in Northern and Central Italy it was held on only by German bayonets. The main countries of the fascist bloc - Germany and Japan - after the capitulation of Italy published a joint declaration of allegiance to the Tripartite Pact, but each of the partners already set only their own goals. Lacking the opportunity for a new offensive, Japan went on the defensive in the fall of 1942. The ruling circles of Germany's satellite countries also thought about how to get out of the war. So, the turning point in the course of hostilities caused a deep crisis in the fascist bloc and was a harbinger of the final defeat of the aggressors.
Conversely, the radical change in World War II contributed to the expansion of the anti-Hitler coalition. In 1942-1943. a number of previously neutral countries, including Mexico, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Bolivia, Colombia, decided to declare war on the countries of the fascist bloc, join the anti-Hitler coalition and sign the Declaration of the United Nations. By the end of 1943, 32 states had signed the Declaration. Throughout the progressive world, hatred of fascism grew and calls for the opening of a second front became more and more insistent. In this regard, it is worth noting the decisions of international conferences held in 1943 in Moscow, Tehran and Cairo, at which military action plans and Allied policies to defeat fascist Germany and militaristic Japan were agreed upon.
Thus, in October 1943, a conference of the foreign ministers of the USSR, USA and Great Britain was held in Moscow, which actually prepared the first meeting of the leaders of the three great powers - Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt - in November - December 1943 in Tehran.
The Tehran Conference made an agreed decision to carry out the landing of Anglo-American troops in Northern France in May 1944 and support it with an operation in Southern France. The Soviet Union, in turn, promised to organize a major offensive against Eastern Front and confirmed his decision after the war in Europe to enter the war against Japan.
The implementation of the decisions of this conference and other agreements became the main direction of the Allies' actions at the final stage of the Second World War. The Red Army, in the course of major operations that developed into a strategic offensive, began to crush the enemy along the entire Soviet-German front. Thus, in January 1944, the blockade of Leningrad was completely eliminated. The successful actions of the Soviet troops are convincingly demonstrated by the results of the Korsun-Shevchenko operation (January - February 1944), which is called the second Stalingrad.
By mid-April 1944, Right Bank Ukraine was completely liberated, and in April - May - Crimea. In the summer of 1944, the Belarusian operation was successfully carried out, during which 30 enemy divisions were surrounded and eliminated. 57 thousand captured Germans were escorted to the streets of Moscow. This demonstrated the political and military fall of Nazi Germany. In July - August 1944, Western Ukraine, the southeastern regions of Poland and the Moldavian SSR were liberated. Romania fell out of the fascist bloc, Bulgaria was liberated from the Germans.
In September - October, Army Group North was defeated. Estonia and almost all of Latvia and Lithuania were liberated. At the end of 1944, Hungary was liberated and declared war on Germany. Assistance was provided in the liberation of Yugoslavia. In October 1944, Soviet troops operating in the Arctic reached the border with Norway and, with the consent of the Norwegian government, transferred hostilities to its territory.
The offensive of Soviet troops along the entire Eastern Front in 1944 became the main prerequisite for the final decision of the United States and England to open a second front, which took place in June 1944.
The Allies launched Operation Overlord - the landing of their troops in Northern France. This was the largest landing operation of the Second World War: 6 thousand military, landing and merchant ships delivered 3 Allied armies to the shores of Normandy, which included 10 tank divisions, an air armada - 11 thousand aircraft - covered them from the air; Together with the British and American troops, Canadian troops took part in the landing, as well as French military units formed by the French Committee of National Liberation, which, on the eve of the landing, proclaimed itself the Provisional Government of France - the landing was commanded by B. Montgomery, who was promoted to field marshal after the victory in North Africa. General leadership of the invasion forces was carried out by General D. Eisenhower. In terms of personnel, the Allied forces outnumbered the German forces that opposed them during this period by 3 times. The Allies had 2 times more guns, 3 times more tanks and 60 times more aircraft. In addition, according to Eisenhower, the French partisans provided assistance equivalent to the actions of 15 regular divisions. On July 25, 1944, the Allies liberated Northern France. The main forces of the Nazis miraculously managed to avoid encirclement and retreated to the east.
On August 15, 1944, the Allies launched Operation Envil. They landed two armies in the south of France, which soon linked up with troops in the north. As a result, by September almost all of France was cleared of occupiers. Anglo-American troops entered the territory of Belgium and the Netherlands. Only at the western borders of Germany did the front temporarily stabilize. The Allies' successful operations in France facilitated their operations in Italy.
So, the Allied landing in France and subsequent military operations in Western Europe led to the opening of a second front. On the Soviet-German front, until the end of the war, from 60 to 70% of the troops of Nazi Germany fought, and the actions of the Anglo-American troops in Western Europe drew up to 1/3 of the German ground forces.
The rulers of Nazi Germany, realizing the complete hopelessness of purely defensive tactics, decided to organize a counteroffensive on the Western Front and force Great Britain and the United States to conclude a separate peace. In December 1944, German troops dealt a crushing blow to the Allied forces near the Ardennes and advanced 100 km. Then the Nazi offensive began in Alsace. In this regard, on January 12, 1945, at the request of the allies, Soviet troops launched an offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German front and pulled over 16 divisions from the Western Front. The successes of the Red Army made it possible for the Allies to restore the front and prepare for a new offensive.
During the first six days of the offensive, Soviet troops broke through the defenses on a 500-kilometer segment of the front and began to decisively approach the borders of the Reich, and in early February 1945 they reached the Oder, 60-70 km from Berlin. In the southern section, Soviet troops, together with Yugoslav, Bulgarian and Romanian units, completed the liberation of Hungary.
The Nazis now pinned their last hopes on a split in the anti-Hitler coalition and a separate peace with Great Britain and the USA. But they were dispelled by the Crimean (Yalta) conference of the heads of government of three states (Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill), held in February 1945. The conference participants agreed on plans for the defeat of Germany and agreed on a joint policy towards defeated Germany and liberated Europe. In particular, the Allies decided to disarm and disband all German armed forces, destroy the German general staff, liquidate or take control of the German military industry, punish war criminals, etc. To achieve this goal, the Allies decided to long time occupy Germany, dividing it into appropriate zones. The Crimean Conference decided to convene the Founding Conference of the UN on April 25, 1945 in San Francisco. All states that declared war on Germany and Japan by March 1, 1945 could become its participants. An agreement was reached that the Ukrainian and Belarusian SSRs would become members of the UN along with the Soviet Union. A secret agreement between the leaders of the three states determined the conditions under which the USSR was to enter the war with Japan.
After the Crimean Conference, the Nazis' attempts to enter into official negotiations with the Western powers reached a dead end. On February 8, 1946, Anglo-American troops under the command of Eisenhower and Montgomery went on the offensive on the Western Front and encircled a large group in early April Nazi troops in the Ruhr region. Allied operations in Italy were successful. So, the German defenses on the Western Front were broken through, and the Allied troops, without encountering serious resistance, began to quickly advance deeper into Germany. And although Great Britain, the USA and the USSR agreed on the border of the advance of troops, the ruling circles of Western countries were pondering the question of how to get ahead of the Soviet troops and capture Berlin. Anti-Soviet sentiment especially intensified after Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945. Former US Vice President Harry Truman became president. Taking advantage of the situation, the Nazis again explored the possibility of a “partial surrender” to Great Britain and the USA, without the participation of the USSR. However, these hopes were in vain.
On April 13, 1945, Soviet troops entered Vienna, on April 24 they surrounded Berlin and began fighting in the German capital.
On April 25, the advanced units of the American troops reached the city of Elbe in the area of the city of Torgau and joined forces with Soviet troops. On April 29, German troops surrendered in Italy. Local partisans captured and executed Mussolini, and on April 30 Hitler committed suicide.
On May 2, the Berlin garrison capitulated, and on May 8 in Berlin, under the chairmanship of Marshal G.K. Zhukov, the solemn signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany took place. On May 9, Soviet troops liberated the rebel Prague. The hostilities in Europe are over. May 9 became a national holiday in the USSR - Victory Day.
To solve the urgent problems of the post-war system, on July 17, 1945, a new conference of the heads of government of the USA, USSR and Great Britain was held in the suburb of Berlin - Potsdam. The central place in the work of the conference was once again occupied by the question of policy towards Germany. In addition, the conference agreed on the issue of reparations, a new Polish-German border along the Audry-Nysse (Neisse), and the transfer of the Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad) region to the USSR. The Soviet Union confidentially confirmed that it would enter the war with Japan on the terms agreed upon during the Yalta Conference.
As we see, with the cessation of hostilities in Europe, the Second World War didn't end. Japanese militarism was at war. Since the beginning of 1944, the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain launched an offensive in the Pacific Ocean and Asia. On October 23, 1944, the largest naval battle in the history of World War II began off the island of Leyte (Philippines). On both sides, 330 large warships took part, including 39 aircraft carriers and 21 battleships. It was in this four-day battle that the Japanese first used “kamikaze” aircraft, that is, aircraft with suicide pilots. Numerical and technical superiority brought victory to the American fleet.
On the Asian continent, major military operations took place in China and Burma. In the spring of 1945, the American command landed troops in Indonesia and began preparing for the invasion of Japan. Particularly fierce battles were fought for the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Having received bases on these islands, American aircraft began systematically bombing Japanese cities.
While waging war against Japan, the US and British governments attached special meaning participation in it of the Soviet Union, which on April 5, 1945 denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact. The fact is that even after the surrender of Germany, Japan had at its disposal significant ground forces (about 4 million people) and retained most of the occupied territories under its control. In addition, the Japanese government rejected the Potsdam Declaration (July 1945, USA, UK and China) on Japan's unconditional surrender.
In accordance with the decisions of the Crimean and Potsdam conferences, on August 8, 1945, the USSR declared war on Japan and acceded to the Potsdam Declaration.
Having defeated the million-strong Kwantung Army, Soviet troops liberated Northeast China and North Korea and captured South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Many historians believe that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9), which killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians, were not caused by military necessity, but rather by a demonstration of American strength. Some historians believe that this was the beginning of the Cold War against the USSR.
On September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay on board the American battleship Missouri, under the chairmanship of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, General D. MacArthur, the signing of the Act of Surrender of Japan took place. In accordance with this act, Japanese troops in Japan and the territories it occupied laid down their arms. Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were transferred to the Soviet Union. American troops occupied Japan. The Second World War is over.
So, victory over Germany, Italy, Japan, their allies and satellites was achieved through the joint efforts of the USSR, USA, Great Britain, China, Canada and other countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - a short-lived but large military alliance of peoples and states united to fight aggression.
The period from November 19, 1942 to 1943 inclusive - a radical turning point in the course. Second World War. It is characterized by the transition of Soviet troops to the offensive along the entire front and the massive expulsion of the enemy from the occupied territory, the intensification of the actions of the Anglo-American troops. Northern. Africa and Mediterranean Sea, the beginning of the crisis of the fascist bloc, the intensification of the partisan and nationalist movements, the sharp increase in military production in the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
It must be emphasized that in heavy battles on the Soviet-German front the fascist. Germany gradually lost its advantages. In the first year of the war alone, Hitler’s army lost 40% of the troops that attacked. THE USSR. The Soviet partisans inflicted significant losses on the invaders, the number of which was constantly growing. At the end of 1942, the partisan detachments numbered more than 125 thousand people, against whom the German command sent about 10% of the ground forces of the Soviet-German front. The partisans controlled a territory equal in area to such states as. Belgium,. Netherlands and. Denmark taken together.
In the spring of 1942, a gradual increase in industrial production began. THE USSR. A radical change in the work of the rear came during 1942, Soviet industry produced more military equipment and equipment than. Germany along with its European allies and occupied countries. Soviet tanks. T-34, attack aircraft. IL-2 designs. Ilyushin, fighter designs. Yakovleva and. Lavochkin, reactive. The Katyusha mine targets were the best in the world, destroying the world.
The central event of 1942-1943 is. Battle of Stalingrad
Heroic defense. Stalingrad and Caucasus, the success of the military economy, the creation of large reserves prepared the conditions for a counteroffensive. Red. Army On November 19, 1942, Soviet troops crossed into counter-attacks under. Stalingrad. By force. South-Western. Stalingradsky. The Don Front was surrounded by a 330,000-strong group of German troops; on February 2, 1943, the remnants of the encircled group capitulated. His entire command was captured - 24 generals led by a field marshal. Paulus. V. Germany was proclaimed three-day. Mourning is mourning.
What is the military-political significance of the defeat of the fascist troops under. Stalingrad?
Firstly, it was a great success of Soviet military art and the beginning of a radical change in the course of the war
Secondly, this victory forced. Japan and Turkey to maintain "neutrality" in relation. Soviet. Union
Thirdly, victory under. Stalingrad accelerated the collapse of the fascist bloc and sharply undermined the morale of the fascist armies
Fourthly, a favorable environment was created for further intensification of the movement. Resistance against fascist occupiers. Only the number of military formations of European states created on the territory. Soviet. Union, exceeded 550 thousand people by the end of the war.
After the battle under. Stalingrad's influence also grew significantly. Soviet. Union to commemorate the victory over the invaders king. Great Britain. George VI gave it to the citizens. Stalingrad sword of honor, and the president. SSH. SHA. Roosevelt sent to. Stalingrad a certificate of honor, which emphasized the courage and fortitude of the Soviet soldiers, “their glorious victory,” Roosevelt pointed out, “stopped the tide of invasion and became a turning point in the war of the Allied Nations against the forces of aggression.”
Founded by victory under. At Stalingrad, the fundamental turning point in the war was sealed by the battle of. Kursk in the summer of 1943
Having completed total mobilization, significantly increasing the production of military equipment, especially aircraft and new Tiger and Panther tanks. Germany, according to the Citadel plan, decided to take revenge with a new offensive. Kursk Bulge. The Soviet command figured out the enemy's plan, and the German offensive that began on July 5, 1943 collapsed. The tank battle was especially brutal. Prokhorovka is the largest village. World War II. Battle on. The Kursk Bulge ended on August 23 with liberation. Kharkov received 23 sickles. Kharkova.
The battle lasted 50 days and surpassed in scale. Moscow and. Battle of Stalingrad. So, if in a battle under. Moscow, 1.5 million people participated on both sides, under. Stalingrad - 2 million, then in the battle. Kursk Bulge - 4 million people. This battle put the fascist. Germany before the disaster. From now on until the end of the war, she was forced only to defend herself.
A new victorious offensive of the Soviet troops began, during which. The Red Army liberated. Donbass and. Left-bank Ukraine, the Nazis’ plans to organize a defensive line failed. Dnieper military skills acquired. The Red Army during the war allowed it to force the march. Dnieper, liberate the capital of Ukraine on November 6, 1943. Kyiv and advance far to the right bank.
On the central segment of the Soviet-German front, Soviet troops were liberated. Bryansk,. Gomel,. Smolensk, eastern part. Belarus. The partisans provided great assistance to the regular army. In 1943, they organized 5 times more sabotage and destroyed 4 times more fascists than in 19422.
Analyzing the period of radical change in the course. The Second World War and paying tribute to the role of the Soviet-German front, we must not forget that victory was forged by all participants in the anti-Hitler koalas. Like. So,. The United States, having entered the war, increased military orders by 6 times in just the first six months of the war and spent a huge amount - $100 billion. The government directed its main efforts to the production of ships, aircraft and tanks. To completely eliminate the advantage. Japan in aircraft carriers. The United States laid down 28 new aircraft carriers of various classes at once, while... Japan built only 6. Particular attention was paid to the offensive type of weapon - bomber aircraft, which received the world's largest 4-engine bombers "Flying Fortress" during the year 1942 alone. The USA produced 32 thousand tanks and 49 thousand combat aircraft, taking first place in the world. Airplanes and ships were equipped with the latest radars and other instruments. At a meeting. Churchill and. Roosevelt in the summer of 1942 it was decided to concentrate in. America is working on the production of an atomic bomb. The boss of the so-called. The Manhattan Project had a general. Groves, scientific director - an outstanding physicist. R. Oppenheimer, in December and 1942, an outstanding Italian physicist. E. Fermi, emigrated to. USA, for the first time carried out a chain reaction in a nuclear reactor he built. After this, the path to creating an atomic bomb was open and the atomic bomb was open.
The military economy has also achieved certain successes. Great Britain. In general, until the fall of 1942, the USSR. USA and Great Britain produced 5 times more guns and mortars, 3 times more aircraft and almost 10 times more tanks. Germany,. Italy and. Japan combined. Number of armed forces. THE USSR,. USA and Great Britain had more than one and a half times the armed forces of the fascist bloc.
Such an advantage over the forces of the aggressor states could not but be reflected in various theaters. The Second World War to a certain extent contributed to the coordination of the Allied actions. It was in the midst of the battle under. Stalingrad 22 Oct. Tenya 1942 8th British Army under the command of a general. B. Montgomery went on the offensive in the area. El Alamein. Having multiple superiority of forces over the body. Rommel, the British army defeated the enemy. The Italian-German troops began to retreat from. Egypt into the territory. Libya. It is at this moment on the other end. Northern. Africa in ports. Morocco and In Algeria (colonial possessions of the Vichy government), the allied fleet landed an Anglo-American landing force under the command of an American general. D. Eisenhower.
Now both allied groups c. East and. The West advanced into. Tunisia, where? Hitler transferred German troops. Only on May 13, 1943, the Italian-German troops capitulated. 240 thousand prisoners fell into the hands of the Allies. The total losses of the Italian-German troops exceeded 300 thousand soldiers and officers.
Although mastery. Northern. Africa was a great success for the Allies, but it did not yet mean the opening of a second front, as British and American historians often say. Only in May 1943 at a meeting in. Washington. Roosevelt and. Churchill decided to open a second front. France no later than May 1, 1944. The Conference also adopted a plan for landing on. Sicily with the aim of withdrawing. Italy from wars and plans for aerial bombing. Germany and plans for operations. Pacific Ocean.
Having secured their communications, on July 10, 1943, during the battle on. Kursk Bulge, Anglo-American troops landed on. Sicily and, without meeting serious resistance, took possession of the island
A crisis ensued in the Italian ruling circles, which were convinced of the inevitability of defeat. Mussolini was arrested by the royal guard, removed from the post of prime minister and replaced by the former initial nickname of the general staff, the marshal. Badoglio On September 8, 1943, London radio announced the signing of an armistice with. Italy. Anglo-American troops by agreement with. Badoglio landed in the south. Ita. Leah. In response, German troops were in. Italy, disarmed the Italian army and occupied. Northern and. Central. Italy. The occupiers formed an Italian fascist government led by. Mussolini, who was previously liberated by German paratroopers. Government. Badoglio announced. Germany is at war.
The collapse of the fascist regime c. Italy and its transition to the side of the Allies was of great political significance: the Italian army withdrew from the fight, c. South. In Italy, fascism fell, and in... Northern and. The central one was supported only by German bayonets. The main countries of the fascist bloc are... Germany and. Japan - after the surrender. Italy published a joint declaration of allegiance. The Tripartite Pact, but each of the partners already set only their own goals. Without the opportunity for a new offensive,. Japan went on the defensive in the fall of 1942. In the ruling circles of satellite countries. Germany also wondered how to get out of the war. So, pearls during military operations caused a deep crisis in the fascist bloc and was a harbinger of the final defeat of the aggressors.
And vice versa, a radical change in. The Second World War contributed to the expansion of the anti-Hitler coalition. In 1942-1943 pp a number of previously neutral countries, including. Mexico,. Brazil,. Iran,. Iraq, pain. Colombia, decided to declare war on the states of the fascist bloc, join the anti-Hitler coalition and sign. Declaration. United. Nations. By the end of 1943, 32 states had signed the Declaration. Throughout the progressive world, hatred of fascism grew and calls for the opening of a second front became more and more insistent. In this regard, it is worth noting the decisions of international conferences held in 1943. Moscow,. Tehran and Cairo, at which plans for military action and Allied policies to defeat the Nazis were agreed upon. Germany and militaristic Japan. Japan.
So, in October 1943. A conference of foreign ministers took place in Moscow. THE USSR,. USA and Great Britain actually prepared the first meeting of the leaders of the three great powers -. Stalin. Churchill and etc. Roosevelt - in November - December 1943. Tehran.
The Tehran Conference adopted an agreed decision to carry out the landing of Anglo-American troops in. Northern. France in May 1944 and support it with an operation in. South. France. Soviet. The Union, in turn, promised to organize a major offensive against. Eastern Front and confirmed his decision after the war. Europe to enter the war against Japan.
The implementation of the decisions of this conference and other agreements became the main direction of the allies’ actions in final stage. Second World War. The Red Army, in the course of major operations that developed into a strategic offensive, began to crush the enemy along the entire Soviet-German front. So, in January 1944 the blockade was completely eliminated. Leningrad. The results convincingly testify to the successful actions of the Soviet troops. Korsun-Shevchenko operation (January - February 1944 p), which is called the second. Stalingrad-radom.
By mid-April 1944 it was completely liberated. Right Bank Ukraine, in April - May -. Crimea. In the summer of 1944 it was successfully carried out. The Belarusian operation, during which 30 Voro divisions were surrounded and liquidated. Regional State Administration 57 thousand captured Germans were escorted to the streets. Moscow. This demonstrated the political and military fall of fascism. Germany. In July - August 1944 he was released. Western Ukraine, southeast or regions. Poland and. Moldovan PCP. Dropped out of the fascist bloc. Romania, liberated from the Germans. Bulgaria. Bulgaria.
In September - October, Army Group North was defeated and liberated. Estonia and almost all of it. Latvia and Lithuania was liberated at the end of 1944. Hungary, which declared war. Germany. Assistance was provided to those released. UNI. Yugoslavia. In October 1944, Soviet troops operating in. Polar region, reached the border with. Norway and with the consent of the Norwegian government transferred the fighting on its territory to its territory.
The advance of Soviet troops throughout. The Eastern Front in 1944 became the main prerequisite for the final decision. USA and England about the opening of a second front, which took place in June 1944
The Allies launched Operation Overlord - the landing of their troops in. Northern. France. This was the largest landing operation. World War II: 6 thousand military, landing and merchant ships were delivered to the second coast. Normandy 3 Allied armies, which included 10 tank divisions, an air armada - 11 thousand aircraft - covered them from the air; Along with the British and American troops, Canadian troops took part in the landing, as well as French military units formed. The French Committee of National Liberation, which declared itself on the eve of the landing. Provisional government. France -. Where. Santom commanded. B. Montgomery, who received the rank of field marshal after the victory in. Northern. Africa. The general leadership of the invasion forces was carried out by the general. D. Eisenhower. In terms of personnel, the allied lashes were 3 times superior to the Germans who opposed them during this period. The Allies had 2 times more guns, 3 times more tanks and 60 times more aircraft. Moreover, according to Eisenhower, French partisans provided assistance equivalent to the actions of 15 regular divisions on July 25, 1944, the Allies liberated him. Northern. France??The main forces of the Nazis miraculously managed to avoid encirclement and they retreated.
On August 15, 1944, the Allies launched Operation Envil. They landed in the south. France had two armies, which soon joined forces in the north. As a result, by September almost all of it. France was cleared of occupiers. Anglo-American troops entered the territory. Belgium and. Netherlands. Only at the western borders. The German front temporarily stabilized. Successful actions of the allies in. France will facilitate or their operations and in. Italianations in Italy.
So, the Allied landing in... France and subsequent military actions. Western. Europe led to the opening of a second front. From 60 to 70% of the Nazi troops fought on the Soviet-German front until the end of the war. Germany, and the actions of the Anglo-American troops in. Western. Europe took over up to 1/3 of its ground forces. Germanii.
Fascist rulers. Germany, realizing the complete hopelessness of purely defensive tactics, decided to organize a counter-offensive. Western Front and force. Great Britain and. USA to conclude a separate peace. In December 1944, German troops dealt a crushing blow to the Allied forces. Ardennes and advanced 100 km. Then the Nazis' offensive began. Alsace. In this regard, on January 12, 1945 on the island. Hanna, the allies, Soviet troops launched an offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German front and pulled over 16 divisions. Western Front. Good luck. The Red Army was given the opportunity for the allies to rise to the front and prepare for a new offensive.
During the first six days of the offensive, Soviet troops broke through the defenses on a 500-kilometer section of the front and began to decisively approach the borders of the Reich, and in early February 1945 they reached the border. Oder is 60-70 km away. Berlin. In the southern section, Soviet troops, together with Yugoslav, Bulgarian and Romanian units, completed the liberation. Vengriini.
The Nazis now pinned their last hopes on a split in the anti-Hitler coalition and a separate peace with. Great Britain and. USA. But they were dispelled. The Crimean (Yalta) conference of heads of government of the three powers laughed. Stalin. Roosevelt and. Churchill), held in February 1945. The conference participants agreed on plans for defeat. Germany and agreed on a joint policy towards the defeated. Germany and liberated. In particular, the Allies decided to disarm and disband all German armed forces, destroy the German general staff, and liquidate or take control of the military industry. Germany, while the army of war criminals, etc. To achieve this goal, the Allies decided to occupy for a long time. Germany, dividing it into appropriate zones. The Crimean Conference decided to convene on April 25, 1945. San Francisco. Founding conference. UN. Participants. All states that declared war could become it. Germany and. Japan until March 1, 1945. It was agreed that the members. UN together with Soviet. The union will be Ukrainian and. Belarusian PCP. A secret agreement between the leaders of the three powers determined the conditions under which. The USSR had to enter the war with. Japanw z. Japan.
After. At the Crimean Conference, the Nazis' attempts to enter into formal negotiations with the Western powers reached a dead end. On February 8, 1946, Anglo-American troops under the command. Eisenhower and Montgomeri went on the offensive. The Western Front and in early April surrounded a large group of Nazi troops in the area. Rura. Allied operations were successful. Italy. So, the German defense is on. The Western Front was broken through, and the Allied troops, without encountering serious resistance, began to quickly advance inland. Germany. And although. Great Britain,. USA and The USSR agreed on the boundaries of the advance of troops, and in the ruling circles of Western countries the question of how to get ahead of the Soviet troops and capture was discussed. Berlin. Anti-Soviet sentiments especially intensified after his death. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945. The former vice president became president. USA. Harry. Truman. Taking advantage of the situation, the Nazis again probed the possibility of “partial surrender” to. Great Britain and. USA, no participation. THE USSR. However, these hopes also turned out to be useless and came to light.
On April 13, 1945, Soviet troops entered. Vienna was surrounded on April 24. Berlin and began fighting in the capital. Germany
On April 25, the advanced units of the American troops reached the river. Elbe and in the city area. Torgau united with Soviet troops. On April 29, German troops surrendered. Italy. Local partisans captured him. Mussolini. And they executed him, and on April 30 he committed suicide. Hitlerler.
On May 2 the garrison capitulated. Berlin, and on May 8th. Berlin under the chairmanship of the Marshal. GK. Zhukov, the solemn signing of the act of unconditional fascist surrender took place. Germany on May 9, Soviet troops and liberated the rebels. Prague. Military operations c. Europe is over. May 9 has become a national holiday. THE USSR -. During the day. Win, help.
To solve the urgent problems of the post-war system on July 17, 1945 in the suburbs. Berlin -. A new conference of heads of government took place in Potsdam. USA,. USSR and. Great Britain. The central place in the work of the conference was again occupied by the issue of policy in relation. Germany. In addition, the conference agreed on the issue of reparations and a new Polish-German border. Audre -. Nisa (Neise), about the transfer. SRS. R. Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad) region. Soviet. The Union confidentially confirmed that it would go to war with. Japan on the terms agreed upon at the time. Yalta Conference.
As we see, with the cessation of hostilities in. Europe. The Second World War did not end. Japanese militarism was at war. Since the beginning of 1944, the armed forces. USA and Great Britain launched an offensive. Pacific Ocean and Asia October 23, 1944 near the island. Leyte (Philippines) began the largest in history. World War II naval battle. On both sides, 330 large warships took part, including 39 aircraft carriers and 21 battleships. It was in this four-day battle that the Japanese first used “kamikaze” aircraft, that is, aircraft with suicide pilots. Numerical and technical superiority brought victory to America's media space for the American fleet.
On the. On the Asian continent, major military operations unfolded. China and. Burma. In the spring of 1945, the American command landed troops in. Indonesia and began to prepare for the invasion. Japan. Particularly intense battles were fought for the islands. Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Having received bases on these islands, American aircraft began to systematically bomb Japanese towns.
Waging war against Japan, government. USA and Great Britain attached particular importance to participation in it. Soviet. Union, on April 5, 1945, denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact. The fact is that even after the surrender. Germany. Japan had significant ground forces (about 4 million people) and retained most of the captured territories under its control. In addition, the Japanese government rejected it. Potsdam Declaration (July 1945, USA, Great Britain and China) on the unconditional surrender of Japan.
in accordance with the decisions. Krymskaya and. Potsdam Conference On August 8, 1945, the USSR declared war. Japan and joined the Potsdam Declaration
Having defeated the millionth. The Kwantung Army and Soviet troops were liberated. Northeastern. China and. Northern. Korea has been captured. Southern. Sakhalin and. Kuril Islands. Many historians believe that there was no atomic bombing. Hiroshima (August 6) and. Nagasaki (August 9), in which hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians became victims, was not caused by military necessity, but rather by a show of American strength. Some historians believe that this was the beginning of the Cold War. SRS; against. SRSR.
September 2, 1945 Tokyo Bay on board the American battleship Missouri, presided over by the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, General. D. MacArthur was signed. The act of surrender. Japan According to this act, Japanese troops in. Japan and the territories it occupied were weapons. Southern. Sakhalin and. The Kuril Islands were transferred. Soviet. Union. American troops occupied Japan. The Second World War has ended and the war has ended.
So, victory over. Germany. Italy. Japan, their allies and satellites were achieved through joint efforts. THE USSR,. USA,. Great Britain,. China. Canada and other countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - a short-lived but large military alliance of peoples and states united to fight aggression.
The turning point in the war began in the summer and autumn of 1942. During the offensive in the summer of 1942, the German command attached particular importance to the capture of Stalingrad: 1) access to the Volga gave the enemy the opportunity to cut off this important transport artery; 2) the capture of Stalingrad opened the way to the Caucasus.
The advancing 6th Nazi Army had an advantage in manpower and weapons. On July 17, fighting broke out on the outskirts of the city. On September 23, the enemy managed to fight to approach the Volga north of the city. Stalingrad became a front, but the enemy's attempt to capture it with a blow from the north was thwarted. The counteroffensive of Soviet troops began on November 19, 1942. An enemy group with a total number of 330 thousand people was surrounded. On December 12, 1942, the Nazi command attempted to break the blockade with a strike from the Kotelnikovsky area, but the army of Lieutenant General R.Ya. Malinovsky managed to defeat the fascist formations. The offensive of Soviet troops unfolded in the Middle Don, which forced the Nazis to abandon the idea of liberating the encircled group. On January 10, 1943, the troops of the Don Front went on the offensive, and on February 2, Field Marshal Paulus signed an act of surrender. The Battle of Stalingrad (07/17/1942-02/2/1943) ended in victory for the Red Army.
The Battle of the Volga predetermined the outcome of the fighting in the North Caucasus. By mid-February 1943, most of it was liberated. In January 1943, the ring of the enemy blockade of Leningrad was broken. The process of a radical turning point in the war ended during the Battle of Kursk in July-August 1943. The culmination of the battle was the largest tank battle near Prokhorovka, and the operation ended with the capture of Kharkov. The reasons for the victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Kursk, its significance: 1) the Soviet command, based on intelligence data, figured out the enemy’s plan 2) the Soviet command knew the timing of the offensive, carried out powerful artillery preparation 3) the enemy was stopped along the entire front 4) the strategic initiative was finally transferred to the Soviet side ; 5) victories at the front had a decisive influence on the opening of a second front
No. 45. Military events of the Great Patriotic War of 1944. The final stage of the Second World War (1944-1945)
Major military operations 1944–1945
Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya. The troops of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts encircled ten enemy divisions and completed the defeat of the group. In April 1944, Kherson, Vinnitsa, Nikolaev and at the beginning of April - Odessa were liberated. The Belarusian operation (“Bagration”) began on June 23, 1944. Minsk was liberated. Overcoming enemy resistance, Soviet troops reached the German border on August 17. As a result Iasi-Kishinev operation On August 20–24, 1944, Moldova was liberated. In October - November 1944, the strategically important Murmansk region and the northeastern regions of Norway were liberated from the enemy.
The victories of the Red Army created the conditions for the liberation of the European countries occupied by the Nazis and assistance to their peoples: 1) on August 31, 1944, troops entered Bucharest; 2) On September 9, an uprising began in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. The Soviet army entered Sofia; 3) On October 20, 1944, troops liberated Belgrade; 4) in Hungary, Soviet troops met fierce enemy resistance. Budapest was liberated from the Nazis only on February 13, 1945. 5) On January 17, Soviet soldiers liberated Warsaw.
Berlin operation. The question of who will be the first to enter the German capital has become a hot political issue. Soviet troops were 60 km from Berlin, and parts of the Anglo-American troops by April 1945 were 100 km away. However, the Red Army overcame fierce opposition, and the Anglo-American troops faced weak resistance. The offensive in the Berlin direction involved troops of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts and the 1st Ukrainian Front led by G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky, I.S. Konev. The offensive began at 5 a.m. on April 16, 1945. Artillery and bombers dealt crushing blows to the enemy. The enemy defended himself fiercely. On April 21, shock troops of the Red Army broke into the outskirts of Berlin. Troops advancing from the north and south united west of Berlin. On the Elbe River, near the city of Torgau, they had a significant meeting with the American army. On May 8, in the suburbs of Berlin, an act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed. On the Soviet side, the signature was affixed by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. The war in Europe is over. The fighting in Europe ended on May 9 in Prague after Germany signed the act of unconditional surrender
No. 47. Restoration and development of the national economy in the first post-war decade (1945-1955)
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet people had the opportunity to begin peaceful work. The main problems of the post-war period: 1) demobilization of the army: out of 11.5 million military personnel in 1945–1946. About 8.5 million people were transferred to the reserve, and they needed to be provided with housing, which in a devastated country was an impossible task. A large number of the population lived in barracks in the post-war years; 2) an urgent conversion was needed (transfer of the economy to peaceful footing), which led to a decline in industrial production.
The main source of the country's restoration, as well as victory in the war, was the selfless enthusiasm of the Soviet people: 1) during the years of the first post-war five-year plan (1946–1950), 6,200 industrial enterprises were restored and rebuilt; 2) in 1948, the pre-war level of industrial production was achieved; 3) in 1950, the level of pre-war production was exceeded by 73%; 4) the Stakhanov movement began again. 5) the country’s economy has not lost its militaristic orientation: soviet government and at the new stage they were constantly preparing for a war for survival in a capitalist environment; 6) the leadership of the country and personally I.V. Stalin showed great attention to the development of the military industry and related scientific research. 7) the first test of a Soviet atomic bomb took place in 1949 at the test site in Semipalatinsk; 8) in 1947, the first Soviet ballistic missile was tested, which was developed under the leadership of S.P. Queen. Satisfying the material needs of people, as in the pre-war years, was relegated to the background by the country's leadership. But already in 1947 the card system for food products was abolished. The village, as in pre-war times, remained a source for pumping out funds that the state received through the practically unpaid labor of collective farmers. In 1946–1947 Due to drought, there was a poor grain harvest. The village was gripped by famine
No. 48. USSR in the 50-60s. 20th Congress of the CPSU. "Khrushchev's Thaw"
Organizing the “Great Terror” in the post-war years, Stalin set himself the goals of intimidating the people and suppressing any, even potential, opposition. But the sudden death of the country's leader in March 1953 changed the situation in the country. The country was entering a new period of its domestic and foreign policy development. There was an intensification of the struggle for power within the country's leadership. Attempt by L.P. Beria failed to take the place of leader. On June 26, 1953, he was arrested and soon executed, not for his crimes, but on trumped-up charges of espionage. N.S. turned out to be the most successful in the struggle for power. Khrushchev
One of the central places in the activities of N.S. Khrushchev was occupied with the work of overcoming the cult of personality of I.V. Stalin: 1) criticism of this phenomenon began in the press; 2) law enforcement agencies were reorganized; 3) work was carried out to rehabilitate victims of repression; 4) the XX Congress of the CPSU (February 1956) was of general importance in the socio-political life of the country, at a closed meeting of which N.S. Khrushchev made a report “On the cult of personality and its consequences.” This report was not published, although it was widely discussed in the country's party organizations. (The text of the report was first published in the USSR in 1989)
Since 1953, radical changes began in the country's economy.
The development of a new agrarian policy began, which included the development of virgin and fallow lands, the consolidation of collective farms, and the curtailment of personal subsidiary plots. But the food problem continued to remain acute. The USSR began to buy grain abroad.
The decade from 1954 to 1964 went down in the history of the country as the time of the “thaw”. The death of Stalin and the removal of Beria from power put an end to mass terror in the country. Political prisoners were returning from camps and prisons. Criticism of the “cult of Stalin’s personality” awakened Soviet society and gave rise to faith and hope for change for the better. Changes in social life gave a powerful impetus to the development of culture and art. Since the mid-50s. The management of culture became more democratic: previously prohibited poems were published. The party leadership admitted its erroneous decisions on some issues.
At the same time, the party leadership determined the boundaries of de-Stalinization, and ideological pressure continued in the spirit of traditional communist propaganda. The censorship press did not weaken and continued to exist.
The “Pasternak case” clearly showed the limitations of Khrushchev’s “thaw”. B. Pasternak was unfairly expelled from the Union of Writers of the USSR because he published his novel “Doctor Zhivago” abroad.
Events unfolded differently in Yugoslavia. In March 1941, the Yugoslav government signed an alliance pact with Germany. However, the patriotic command of the Yugoslav army carried out a coup d'etat and terminated the agreement. Germany's response was the start of military operations in the Balkans in April. The huge superiority in forces allowed the Wehrmacht to defeat the Yugoslav army within a week and a half, and then suppress pockets of resistance in Greece. The territory of the Balkan Peninsula was divided between the countries of the German bloc. However, the struggle of the Yugoslav people continued, and the Resistance movement, one of the most powerful in Europe, expanded in the country.
The last act of the Balkan campaign was the battle for the island of Crete, occupied by British troops in November 1940. The Battle of Crete went down in the history of the Second World War as the largest airborne operation. It involved 1,280 Luftwaffe aircraft and almost all Wehrmacht airborne units. Despite the overall success of the operation, huge losses among these elite units made it impossible to use them later as an independent branch of the army.
With the end of the Balkan campaign, only three truly neutral, independent states remained in Europe - Sweden, Switzerland and Ireland. The Soviet Union was chosen as the next target of aggression. Formally, the Soviet-German treaty of 1939 was still in force, but its true potential had already been exhausted. Chapter of Eastern Europe spheres of influence allowed the USSR to freely include Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, the Baltic republics - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, part of the Romanian territories (Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina), and with the help of military measures to achieve territorial concessions to Finland. Germany, using an agreement with the USSR, carried out the first and most important campaigns in Europe, avoiding the dispersion of forces on two fronts. Now nothing separated the two huge powers and the choice could only be made between further military-political rapprochement or an open clash. The decisive moment was the Soviet-German negotiations in November 1940 in Berlin. At them, the Soviet Union was invited to join the Steel Pact. The USSR's refusal to renounce an obviously unequal union predetermined the inevitability of war.
A radical turning point in the Second World War. June 22, 1941 German troops invaded the territory of the USSR. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people began. This radically changed the global political balance of power. On the same day, the head of the British government, W. Churchill, and US President F. Roosevelt announced that they were ready to provide all possible assistance to the Soviet Union in repelling German aggression. Already on July 12, an agreement on mutual assistance and support was concluded between England and the Soviet Union. This marked the beginning of the anti-Hitler coalition, which played a major role in the defeat of the armies of Nazi Germany and its allies. At the end of 1941, a conference of the USSR, USA and England was held in Moscow, at which a protocol on military supplies from the USA and England to the Soviet Union was signed. In January 1942, 26 countries signed the United Nations Declaration in Washington. They pledged to use all their resources to fight against the fascist bloc and to cooperate with each other.
The strategic defeat of the Red Army in the first months of the war did not lead to the defeat of the USSR. The German rampart was stopped on the approaches to Leningrad and Moscow. The balance of forces began to slowly equalize. The German army, focused on blitzkrieg - one breakthrough and one decisive victory, was in dire need of reinforcements, regrouping, establishing logistics services, and revising tactics. Taking advantage of this advantageous moment, the Soviet command, at the cost of incredible effort, managed to organize a successful counter-offensive near Moscow in December 1941. The very next year, having exhausted the enemy in the fierce battles for Stalingrad, the Red Army launched a decisive counteroffensive - a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War began. Patriotic War. The victory in the Battle of Kursk in 1943 completed this milestone. The strategic initiative finally passed to the Soviet Army. The turning point occurred not only due to brilliant victories, but also due to the growing advantage of the entire economic potential of the USSR over the capabilities of the Reich economy. From this moment on, any changes in the tactical situation at the front could only delay the collapse Nazi Germany. A war waged by entire nations, a war of social systems and economic models, left no room for chance or military luck.
It is highly symbolic that it was during the same period, in the second half of 1942 - the first half of 1943, that a radical change occurred in military operations on other fronts of the Second World War. And although the scale of events there was not as great as on the Soviet-German front, the role of the Allies in the geopolitical and moral defeat of the Hitler bloc was exceptionally great.
The African theater of operations had already emerged in the summer of 1940. For several months, the main opposing forces were the 50,000-strong British corps, which controlled Egypt and part of Somalia, and the more than 200,000-strong Italian army stationed in Libya, Cyrenaica, Abyssinia, and Eritrea. The clear superiority in forces allowed the Italians to develop active actions to push the enemy to the Egyptian border. However, after the fall of Greece and Crete, significant forces of the British ground forces, navy and air force were evacuated to North Africa. Already in February 1941, the British launched a successful offensive in Northeast Africa. The situation was changed by the landing in Libya of a German tank corps under the command of General Rommel, one of the most talented military leaders of the Reich. Rommel not only managed to stop the enemy, but also went on a rapid offensive. Only by May the front stabilized on the Egyptian border. In the summer of 1941, the British army concentrated its efforts on suppressing the uprising of the Iraqi army, supported by German aircraft. Then the French protectorate of Syria was captured, and Iran was invaded jointly with the USSR. Attempts to attack the positions of German-Italian troops in Africa were unsuccessful.
In the spring of 1942, Rommel managed to achieve considerable success on the African front. Using tactics of maneuver warfare in the desert, delivering surprise attacks with small tank formations, he deprived the enemy of the initiative. At the end of May, the German corps launched a decisive offensive, invading Egyptian territory. Only in July were the Germans stopped at a fortified line at El Alamein, 100 km from Alexandria. Here, in the fall of 1942, a battle took place that brought a final turning point in the course of military operations in Africa. In November, British troops under the command of General Montgomery went on the offensive. At the same time, the Anglo-American troops of General Eisenhower landed in Algeria. German and Italian formations retreated into Tunisian territory, occupying the fortified Maret line. Every month the numerical superiority of the Anglo-American troops became greater. Realizing that the enemy was accumulating forces for a decisive blow, Rommel made a final attempt in February 1943 to turn the tide of events. His tank units broke through the battle formations of the American troops and destroyed their rear for 10 days. However, the balance of forces was already too unequal. In March, the last German attacks were repulsed, and then within a month and a half their Tunisian group was completely destroyed. The Allies eliminated the African front and gained full strategic initiative in the Mediterranean region.
Crucial events also took place during these months in the Pacific theater of military operations. The war in the Pacific began only at the end of 1941. On December 7, Japanese aircraft suddenly, without an official declaration of war, fiercely bombed a large American naval base in the Hawaiian Islands at Pearl Harbor. As a result, the Americans suffered heavy losses. On December 8, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan, and on December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. Simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched an offensive against British colonial possessions and captured Hong Kong, Malaya, and Singapore. After the defeat of the combined Anglo-Dutch-American fleet in the Battle of the Java Sea in February 1942, the Japanese armed forces took control of almost the entire central zone of the Pacific Ocean, coming close to Australia's external defense line. The offensive also developed on the mainland - in Burma. In April, a blow was struck at the British base on the island of Ceylon. But the Japanese failed to develop their success further in the direction of the Red Sea. Their advance in the southern direction also stopped - in May 1942, in the battle in the Coral Sea, their fleet was unable to push back the American formations. The Battle of the Coral Sea was the first where aircraft carriers played the main role - from that time on, naval battles turned into a duel of carrier-based aircraft of opposing fleets.
From June 1942 to February 1943, decisive events took place in the Pacific Ocean that determined the outcome of the campaign. Trying not to lose the initiative, the Japanese fleet attempted to strike a military base on Midway Atoll in the direction of the Hawaiian Islands. The success of this operation could push the battle line much closer to the United States. However, the attack was much less prepared than the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was not only repulsed, but also led to significant losses of the Japanese fleet from American air strikes. Since August 1942, the Japanese fleet also made unsuccessful attempts to gain a foothold in the Solomon Islands archipelago on the approaches to Australia. The main battles, which brought colossal losses to both sides, took place near the island of Gaudalcanal. But if the power of American industry allowed by this time to steadily increase the power of the fleet, then Japan could no longer make up for the growing losses. In February 1943, the Japanese fleet left the archipelago to the north. In fact, recognizing strategic defeat, the Japanese headquarters changes the plan of military operations and switches to defense along the radius of the Kuril Islands, the South Seas region, New Guinea and Burma.
In addition to the Pacific Ocean, military operations were also actively carried out on the sea lanes of the Atlantic. The main strategic goal of the German naval forces was to blockade the British Isles. However, it was difficult to implement it after the heavy losses of the Norwegian campaign. Great hopes were placed on the largest warship of that time, the battleship Bismarck (due to the decisions of the Washington Conference of 1922, ships of this class were not built either in the USA or in the UK). The Bismarck undertook its only voyage in April-May 1941. Left without the support of other ships, it was forced to engage in single combat with almost half of the British Atlantic fleet. At the cost of heavy losses, the British managed to destroy this sea fortress. Subsequently, the actions of the German surface fleet were reduced to attacks by raiders - small cruisers that, as a rule, attacked single ships, but were powerless against well-protected convoys. From January 1942, the German command was finally reoriented towards submarine warfare. Admiral Doenitz, who made enormous efforts to develop the Reich submarine fleet as an elite branch of the military, achieved the transformation of the construction of submarines into one of the priority areas in the activities of German industry. The rapid build-up of forces in the Atlantic, the use of “wolf pack” tactics: simultaneous attacks on convoys by an entire group of submarines, great experience and excellent training of the crews of German submarines - all this ensured significant losses of the Allied fleet in 1942. But already at the beginning of 1943, technical innovations and the strengthening of military escort of merchant ships made it possible to significantly increase the effectiveness of anti-submarine defense and secure sea communications. German submarines were forced to go solo. In April 1943, Doenitz in his report admitted the failure of plans for a total submarine war: the enemy monthly commissioned more ships than its crews managed to sink. Since that time, the German submarine fleet has been largely reoriented towards the delivery of strategic raw materials from Latin America.
Thus, with the external isolation of the main theaters of military operations in almost all of them, at the end of 1942 and the beginning of 1943, a radical change occurred, the strategic initiative passed to the opponents of the German bloc. At the same time, the consolidation of the anti-Hitler coalition itself was taking place. The impetus for this was given by the signing in May-June 1942 of a Soviet-British treaty, according to which Great Britain assumed obligations to provide the USSR with “military and other assistance of all kinds,” as well as a Soviet-American agreement on supplying the USSR with military materials. In June
In 1942, a general Soviet-American agreement was concluded in Washington on the principles of mutual assistance and waging war against aggression. The agreement provided for the extension to the USSR of the law on Lend-Lease (loan or lease of weapons and military materials), adopted by the US Congress in March 1941. The signing of these agreements actually completed the formation of the main core of the anti-Hitler coalition. In August 1943, the USSR established diplomatic relations with the committee of General Charles de Gaulle, who headed the French Resistance forces.
The radical change during the war had a different impact on the situation in the Hitler bloc. In Germany itself and its satellite countries, the internal political crisis was growing, the economy was working at its limit. Government circles in Romania, Finland, Bulgaria, and Hungary began attempts to establish informal diplomatic contacts with representatives of the anti-Hitler coalition to ensure the possibility of a separate peace and exit from the war. In these countries and in the occupied territories, the Resistance movement expanded, turning into a serious military and political force.
A radical change caused a change in the strategy of the participants in the war. Germany and its allies are moving to a strategic defense, trying to exhaust and bleed the enemy in fierce battles, and also hoping to deepen internal contradictions in the anti-Hitler coalition. The USSR, USA, Great Britain, on the contrary, are striving to use their clear superiority and force the enemy to fight on several fronts until he is completely destroyed. From this point of view, the opening of a second front in Europe by the Anglo-American army acquired fundamental importance. The Soviet command insisted on resolving this issue as quickly as possible. However, the complexity of the upcoming large-scale landing operation forced the Allies to postpone its timing several times and, as a first step, choose a landing in Sicily, far from the main theater of operations. This invasion took place on the night of July 10, 1943. Despite the accrued superiority of the Italo-German troops, the island was liberated in the shortest possible time - the low morale and disorganization of the Italian units, as well as strong support, affected local residents, including the famous mafia crime syndicate, which suffered greatly from the persecution of the fascist regime of Mussolini. A deep political crisis was growing in government circles in Italy itself. Its denouement came on July 25, when Mussolini was removed from the post of prime minister by a decision of the Great Fascist Council, the highest authority of the state. His successor was Marshal Badoglio, who hoped to begin separate negotiations with the Anglo-American command. In this situation, German units began to be introduced into Northern Italy, and Anglo-American troops landed in the south of the country. Badoglio's government declared surrender and retained power in the territory occupied by the Allies. In the north, a new Mussolini government was formed in the city of Salo. The country turned out to be split. Nevertheless, Italy actually withdrew from the war and the fighting on the Apennine Peninsula was subsequently carried out mainly by German and Anglo-American troops.
The opening of a second front and the end of the war. The transition to the control of the allies in the Mediterranean region made it possible to return to the issue of opening a second front in the most important direction - in Western Europe. A political decision on this matter was made by the Tehran Conference, which took place from November 28 to December 1, 1943. This was the first personal meeting of the leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain - I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill. An agreement was reached on the landing of Anglo-American troops in France by the beginning of the summer of 1944. The Allied command developed the Overlord plan - the largest landing operation in the history of wars. The English Channel zone was chosen as the location for its implementation.
On June 6, 1944, the landing of Anglo-American troops led by American General D. Eisenhower began in Normandy (on the northern coast of France). On July 25, a general offensive began from the captured bridgeheads. His pace was low. The resistance of the German units turned out to be stronger than expected, and the Allied command was unable to ensure effective interaction of its troops at this stage. At this crucial moment, the French Resistance movement played a huge role. Almost the entire country was engulfed in outbreaks of armed uprisings. On August 18, the uprising began in Paris. On last stage he was supported by the tank troops of General Leclerc who arrived in time - part of those French formations that took part in the Allied landing. Thus, Paris was liberated by the French themselves. Realizing the futility of further holding France, the German command began to withdraw its troops to the north. Anglo-American formations pursued the enemy almost unhindered to the borders of France. However, the attempt to immediately break through the old fortifications of the Siegfried Line failed. In September the front line stabilized along the southern border of the Netherlands, at the western border of Germany to Luxembourg and further south to the borders of neutral Switzerland. In total, during this time, the Wehrmacht lost about 460 thousand people on the Western Front. killed and wounded, allies - 225 thousand people.
The strategy for further action caused disagreement among the allied command. General Eisenhower insisted on an offensive on a broad front with the main attack at the mouth of the Scheldt. The British generals put forward the idea of a concentrated attack north of the Ardennes with a breakthrough into German territory. At the Quebec Conference of US and British Leaders in September 1944, it was decided to support Eisenhower's proposal. From September 17, offensive operations were launched along the entire northern border of France and in the Saarland. However, they did not have much effect. Despite heavy losses and the enemy's numerical superiority, German units steadily held all strategic positions on the Siegfried Line. Moreover, having formed a strike group from 21 divisions, including 7 tank divisions, the German command launched a strong counterattack on December 16 in the Ardennes region. As in 1940, the tank wedge overcame the difficult mountainous terrain and rushed to the rear of the American troops. The Allies' position was becoming critical. The depth of the breakthrough by December 23 was up to 100 km. On December 31, the Germans went on the offensive in Alsace. On January 1, in a massive strike of 1,000 Luftwaffe aircraft, 260 British and American aircraft were destroyed at airfields. Only an acute shortage of reserves prevented this success from being developed. Nevertheless, by the beginning of 1945 the situation on the Western Front remained quite difficult for the Allies. The final defeat of Germany was predetermined by the success of the Red Army's strategic offensive in 1944.
By the beginning of 1945, the Soviet command was preparing a plan for a new strategic offensive with the goal of the final defeat of Germany. Despite the doom of the Hitler regime, the Wehrmacht still had enough strength to resist. The German army still had more than 9 million people, over 110 thousand guns, 7 thousand aircraft, 13 thousand tanks. Hitler hoped that stubborn fighting on German territory would accelerate the collapse of the Allied coalition and the withdrawal of Great Britain and the United States from the war. However, with all the growing political contradictions between the Soviet and Anglo-American leadership, the primary need for military defeat and complete elimination Nazism. Moreover, the difficult situation on the Western Front forced the Soviet command to even speed up the offensive. It began on January 12 in the central sector of the front. The success of the Vistula-Oder operation made it possible to liberate the territory of Poland and block the East Prussian enemy group. By mid-April it was defeated. At the same time, a large-scale offensive was developing in the direction of Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. The final liberation of Hungary, most of Czechoslovakia and Austria created the conditions for the decisive blow of the Soviet Army in the Berlin direction, as well as the activation of Anglo-American troops on the western borders of Germany. In February-March, having overcome the fortifications of the Siegfried Line, the allies reached the Rhine and completed the encirclement of the enemy Ruhr group. In the first half of April, Anglo-American formations began to reach the Elbe, meeting with Soviet units moving towards them.
The final blow to Nazi Germany came during the Berlin operation, which began on April 16. The assault on Berlin and the suppression of the last pockets of resistance on German territory were generally completed by May 2. The day before, General Krebs, on behalf of Goebbels and Bormann, who headed the regime after Hitler’s suicide on April 30, appealed to the Soviet command with a request for a truce. On May 8, Germany signed an act of unconditional surrender.
The defeat of Germany raised the question of a post-war settlement. Of particular importance in this regard were the Crimean (February 1945) and Potsdam (July-August 1945) conferences of the leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain, dedicated to “developing solid foundations for the future world.” The main issue at both conferences was the future of Germany itself. According to the decisions of the conferences, the division of this country into four occupation zones was envisaged - Soviet, American, British and French. Berlin was accordingly also divided into four sectors, in which responsibility for administration was assigned to the four Allied powers. It provided for the dissolution of all armed forces and the dismantling of the German military industry, the outlawing of German fascism and militarism, the punishment of war criminals, etc. A special International Tribunal was created, which organized the Nuremberg trial of the main war criminals, which took place on November 20, 1945 - October 1, 1946
The war in Asia and the Pacific was coming to an end. Here the United States made the main contribution to the defeat of militaristic Japan. Already in the summer of 1943, a strike group under the command of General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz began the liberation of the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. Japanese army and the fleet lost the strategic initiative, but put up fierce resistance. The Japanese leadership was preparing for the defense of the mother country and at the same time intensified measures to put together a coalition of states South-East Asia. For this purpose, independence was granted to Burma and the Philippines, a provisional government of Free India was created, and an agreement was concluded with Thailand on the return of a number of island territories to it. However, it was never possible to create a pro-Japanese coalition. The growing national liberation movement in this region was directed both against the former colonialists and against the Japanese invaders.
In January 1944, American forces began liberating the Marshall Islands and attacked the fortress on Truk Island, the key to the Caroline Islands archipelago. Fierce battles continued until August 1944. In particular, in June the largest naval battle of the Pacific campaign took place here, in which carrier-based aircraft already played the main role - more than one and a half thousand aircraft on both sides. By the end of the summer, the most important Japanese support bases in the archipelagos were eliminated. The American fleet firmly controlled the central zone of the Pacific Ocean. In the fall of 1944, the Japanese command tried for the last time to turn the tide of the war - in accordance with the Katsu plan, a counterattack was prepared in the area of the Philippine Islands with the widespread use of kamikazes (suicide pilots) and sea swimmers-saboteurs. The Americans indeed suffered serious losses in these battles, but for the Japanese fleet the struggle for the initiative ended disastrously - it ceased to exist as a maneuverable formation.
From the beginning of 1945, the Japanese army focused only on the defense of the metropolis and the closest approaches to it. Japan seemed to be on the verge of collapse. However, in reality the situation was completely different. Extended communications made it difficult for American forces to carry out effective offensive actions. The US fleet had an overwhelming advantage, but Japan had a huge land army of almost 7 million. The metropolitan aviation was twice as large as the carrier-based aviation of the American Navy. The Japanese army was distinguished by high morale.
For the first time, the American command felt a change in the nature of combat operations during the battle for the island of Okinawa on the distant approaches to Japan. Having a colossal advantage in strength, the American fleet spent almost three months capturing the island, suffering significant losses. After the end of these battles in May 1945, the activity of both sides decreased significantly. The American command tried to force Japan to surrender by using new weapons of mass destruction. On August 6, for the first time, American aircraft, having dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, used atomic weapons against a hostile side. In just a few minutes, the huge city was turned into ruins, 250 thousand people. died, and tens of thousands of people were either maimed or then died a painful death. On August 9, the second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. However, these measures had no military effect.
The defeat of Japan was accelerated only with the entry of the USSR into the war in the Pacific on August 9. The Soviet Army liberated the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin from Japanese troops, defeated the million-strong Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria, and made a significant contribution to the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese occupation. On September 2, 1945, realizing the inevitability of their defeat, the Japanese command signed an act of surrender on board the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
This marked the end of the Second World War. One of the most important results of the war was the military defeat of the most aggressive bloc - Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and militaristic Japan, which were striving for world domination. Fascism was destroyed as social system, an alternative to democracy and communism. During and as a result of the war, the weight and influence of the USSR increased immeasurably, which turned into one of the two military-political superpowers. In the capitalist world, the United States took the leading role, becoming the most powerful economic and military-political power. The war became a kind of prelude to the collapse of colonial empires and the formation of many new independent states.
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Disciplines " Neweststoryforeigncountries in world historiography” are as follows: acquaintance with the historiography of the main problems the neweststoriescountries West; consideration...
New history of foreign countries in world historiography
ProgramHUMANITIES UNIVERSITY NAMED AFTER M.A. SHOLOKHOV Newstoryforeigncountries in world historiography Program for... special education. Objectives of studying the discipline " Newstoryforeigncountries in world historiography" are as follows: 1. Consider...
On November 19, 1942, the offensive of Soviet troops began near Stalingrad, which ended with the encirclement of more than 300 thousand German soldiers and officers, their subsequent defeat and capitulation. The encirclement ring closed behind the 6th German army near Stalingrad on November 23.
During Battle of Stalingrad The Wehrmacht lost up to 1.5 million people, which amounted to about a quarter of all German forces operating at that time on the Soviet-German front. This victory of the Red Army finally buried the plans for the Blitz Krieg.
Victory over Germany, however, was still very far away. As Churchill wittily put it then: “Stalingrad is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning.”
During 1942, Italy lost three of its colonies, which it had before Mussolini came to power. This greatly undermined the authority of the Duce.
Afrika Korps
One of the signs of the impending defeat of the Axis countries was the news of the failures of Rommel’s Afrika Korps, which was already on the threshold of Egypt, ready to move further through the Middle East and Turkey to join the 17th German Army, which was breaking through the Kuban and the Caucasus.
Operation Torch
On November 8, immediately after the victory at El Alamein, Operation Torch began, the Anglo-American invasion of North Africa. The operation was led by American General Dwight Eisenhower, the future President of the United States. As a result of a successful landing, Italian troops in Tunisia and the Afrika Korps were driven out by superior allied forces onto a narrow strip of the Libyan coast: 250 thousand soldiers (including 125 thousand Germans) were pressed to the sea. Hitler forbade them to surrender, and capitulation followed only in May 1943.
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Front |
Length, km |
Available forces of the Wehrmacht and its allies in this area |
Number of soldiers per 1 km, people. |
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Eastern front |
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Finland |
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Norway |
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Western Europe |
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Southeastern Europe |
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Total |
6.745 million |
"New order"
On January 21, 1943, at a meeting in Casablanca, Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to continue the war until the unconditional surrender of Germany. In May 1943, Stalin joined this demand. He was already talking about the surrender of Germany, Italy and Japan. Material from the site
On July 12, 1943, on the Kursk Bulge, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive along a front of 2 thousand km. As a result, the strategic initiative was completely transferred to Soviet army. The victory at the Kursk Bulge testified to the growing superiority of the economic potential of the USSR. After this victory, the inequality of efforts undertaken within the framework of the struggle of the anti-Hitler coalition against Nazi Germany became especially clearly visible.
With the defeat of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in 1943, it became obvious that the efforts made by the USSR were inadequate to the efforts of the Allies. To compensate for this weakness, Roosevelt made concessions to Stalin regarding territorial issues. Stalin wanted to preserve what he received from Hitler under the secret protocol of August 23, 1939.
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