World War II began as a war between the bourgeois-democratic and fascist-militarist blocs.
First stage of the war (September 1, 1939 - June 21, 1941) Until September 17, the German army occupied part of Poland, reaching the line (the cities of Lvov, Vladimir-Volynsky, Brest-Litovsk), marked by one of the mentioned secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
Until May 10, 1940, England and France did not practically conduct military operations with the enemy, therefore this period was called the “strange war”. Germany took advantage of the passivity of the allies, expanding its aggression, occupying Denmark and Norway in April 1940 and going on the offensive from the shores of the North Sea to the Maginot Line on May 10 of the same year. During May, the governments of Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland capitulated. And already on June 22, 1940, France was forced to sign an armistice with Germany in Compiègne. As a result of the actual capitulation of France, a collaborationist state was created in its south, headed by Marshal Pétain (1856-1951) and the administrative center in Vichy (the so-called "Vichy regime"). The resisting France was led by General Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970).
On May 10, there were changes in the leadership of Great Britain, Winston Churchill (1874-1965), whose anti-German, anti-fascist and anti-Soviet sentiments were well known, was appointed head of the country's War Cabinet. The period of the "strange war" is over. From August 1940 to May 1941, the German command organized systematic air raids on the cities of England, trying to force its leadership to withdraw from the war. As a result, during this time about 190 thousand high-explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped on England, and by June 1941 a third of its tonnage was sunk at sea. merchant fleet. Germany also increased its pressure on the countries of South-Eastern Europe. Joining
The Berlin Pact (agreement of Germany, Italy and Japan of September 27, 1940) of the Bulgarian pro-fascist government ensured the success of the aggression against Greece and Yugoslavia in April 1941. Italy in 1940 developed military operations in Africa, advancing on the colonial possessions of England and France ( East Africa, Sudan, Somalia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia). However, in December 1940, the British forced the Italian troops to surrender. Germany rushed to the aid of an ally.
Second phase of the war (June 22, 1941 - November 1942) was characterized by the entry into the war of the USSR, the retreat of the Red Army and its first victory (the battle for Moscow), as well as the beginning of an intensive formation anti-Hitler coalition. So, on June 22, 1941, England declared its full support for the USSR, and the United States almost simultaneously (June 23) expressed its readiness to provide it with economic assistance. As a result, on July 12, a Soviet-British agreement was signed in Moscow on joint action against Germany, and on August 16 - on trade between the two countries. In the same month, as a result of a meeting between F. Roosevelt (1882-1945) and W. Churchill, the Atlantic Charter was signed, to which the USSR joined in September. However, the United States entered the war on December 7, 1941 after the tragedy at the Pacific naval base Pearl Harbor, attacked by the Japanese. On January 1, 1942, in Washington, 27 states that were at war with the countries of the so-called "fascist axis" signed a declaration of the United Nations, which completed the difficult process of creating an anti-Hitler coalition.
Third stage of the war (mid-November 1942 - late 1943) was marked by a radical turning point in its course, which meant the loss of the strategic initiative by the countries of the fascist coalition on the fronts, the superiority of the anti-Hitler coalition in the economic, political and moral aspect. On the Eastern Front Soviet Army major victories were won at Stalingrad and Kursk. Anglo-American troops successfully advanced in Africa. In Europe, the Allies forced Italy to capitulate. In 1943, the allied relations of the countries of the anti-fascist bloc were strengthened: at the Moscow Conference (October 1943), England, the USSR and the USA adopted declarations on Italy, Austria and general security (signed also by China), on the responsibility of the Nazis for the crimes committed.
At the Tehran Conference (November 28 - December 1, 1943), where F. Roosevelt, J. Stalin and W. Churchill met for the first time, it was decided to open a Second Front in Europe in May 1944 and adopted a Declaration on joint actions in war against Germany and post-war cooperation.
At the fourth stage of the war (from the end of 1943 to May 9, 1945) there was a process of liberation by the Red Army of the western regions of the USSR, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, etc. In Western Europe, with some delay (June 6, 1944), the Second Front was opened, the countries were liberated Western Europe. In 1945, 18 million people, about 260,000 guns and mortars, up to 40,000 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, and over 38,000 aircraft took part on the battlefields in Europe at the same time.
On the Yalta Conference(February 1945) the leaders of England, the USSR and the USA decided the fate of Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia, discussed the creation of the United Nations (established on April 25, 1945), concluded an agreement on the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan. The result of joint efforts was complete and unconditional surrender Germany May 8, 1945, signed on the outskirts of Berlin Karlhorst.
Final, fifth stage World War II took place on Far East and in Southeast Asia (May 9 to September 2, 1945). After the defeat of the USSR of the Kwantung Army (August 1945), Japan signed an act of surrender (September 2, 1945)
Second World War was conducted on the territory of 40 countries, 72 states took part in it. In 1941 Germany had the strongest army in the world, but several crucial battles led the Third Reich to defeat.
Battle for Moscow (blitzkrieg disruption)
The battle for Moscow showed that the German blitzkrieg failed. In total, more than 7 million people participated in this battle. This is more than in the Berlin operation, included in the Guinness Book of World War II as the largest battle, and more than the enemy forces on the western front after the Normandy landings.
The battle for Moscow was the only major battle of the Second World War, which was lost by the Wehrmacht with its overall numerical superiority over the enemy.
Moscow was defended "by the whole world." So, the feat of Ivan Petrovich Ivanov, the senior groom of the village of Lishnyaga, Serebryano-Prudsky district, who on December 11, 1941 repeated the feat of Ivan Susanin, having led a German convoy of 40 cars into the deep ravine Belgorod Pines, remained in history.
The victory over the enemy was also helped by a simple teacher from Krasnaya Polyana Elena Gorokhova, who informed the command of the Red Army about the redeployment German units with long-range artillery batteries.
As a result of the counter-offensive near Moscow and the general offensive, the German units were driven back 100-250 km. The Tula, Ryazan and Moscow regions, many districts of the Kalinin, Smolensk and Oryol regions were completely liberated.
General Günther Blumentritt wrote: “Now it was important for the political leaders of Germany to understand that the days of blitzkrieg had sunk into the past. We were confronted by an army far superior in fighting qualities to any other armies we had ever encountered on the battlefield. But it should be said that the German army also demonstrated high moral stamina in overcoming all the disasters and dangers that befell it.
Battle of Stalingrad (radical turning point)
The Battle of Stalingrad was the main turning point of World War II. The Soviet military command made it clear: there is no land beyond the Volga. The assessments of this battle and the losses suffered by Stalingrad by foreign historians are interesting.
The book “Operation Survive”, published in 1949 and written by the famous American publicist Hessler, who can hardly be suspected of being pro-Russian, stated: “According to the highly realistic scientist Dr. Philip Morrison, it would take at least 1000 atomic bombs to cause Russia the damage inflicted during only one Stalingrad campaign ... This is much more than the number of bombs that we have accumulated after four years of tireless efforts.
The battle of Stalingrad was a struggle for survival.
The beginning was laid on August 23, 1942, when German aircraft carried out a massive bombardment of the city. 40,000 people died. This surpasses the official figures for the Allied air raid on Dresden in February 1945 (25,000 casualties).
In Stalingrad, the Red Army applied revolutionary innovations psychological pressure on the enemy. From the loudspeakers installed at the front line, favorite hits of German music rushed, which were interrupted by reports of the victories of the Red Army in the sectors of the Stalingrad Front. by the most effective tool psychological pressure was the monotonous beat of the metronome, which was interrupted after 7 beats by a commentary on German: "Every 7 seconds, one German soldier dies at the front." At the end of a series of 10-20 “timer reports”, tango rushed from the loudspeakers.
During the Stalingrad operation, the Red Army managed to create the so-called "Stalingrad cauldron". On November 23, 1942, the troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts closed the encirclement ring, in which almost 300,000 enemy groups found themselves.
In Stalingrad, one of Hitler's "favorites" Marshal Paulus was captured, who during the days of the Battle of Stalingrad became a field marshal. By early 1943, Paulus' 6th Army was a pitiful sight. On January 8, the Soviet military command turned to the German commander with an ultimatum: if he does not surrender by 10 o'clock the next day, all Germans in the "cauldron" will be destroyed. Paulus did not react to the ultimatum in any way. On January 31 he was taken prisoner. Subsequently, he became one of the USSR's allies in the propaganda war of the Cold War.
In early February 1943, units and formations of the 4th Luftwaffe air fleet received the password "Orlog". It meant that the 6th Army no longer existed, and the Battle of Stalingrad ended in the defeat of Germany.
Battle of Kursk Bulge (transition of the initiative to the Red Army)
The victory in the battles on the Kursk Bulge was of cardinal importance due to a number of factors. After Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht had another chance to change the situation on the Eastern Front in its favor, Hitler had high hopes for Operation Citadel and stated that "The victory at Kursk should serve as a torch for the whole world."
The Soviet command also understood the importance of these battles. It was important for the Red Army to prove that it could win not only during winter campaigns, but also in summer, so not only the military, but also the civilian population was invested in the victory on the Kursk Bulge. In record time, in 32 days, was built Railway, connecting Rzhava and Stary Oskol, called the "road of courage." Thousands of people worked day and night on its construction.
The turning point of the Battle of Kursk was the Battle of Prokhorovka. The largest tank battle in history, over 1500 tanks.
The memories of that battle are still amazing. It was real hell.
The commander of the tank brigade Grigory Penezhko, who received the Hero Soviet Union for this battle, he recalls: “We lost the sense of time, we did not feel thirst, or heat, or even blows in the cramped cockpit of the tank. One thought, one desire - while alive, beat the enemy. Our tankers, who got out of their wrecked vehicles, searched the field for enemy crews, also left without equipment, and beat them with pistols, grabbed hand-to-hand ... ".
After "Prokhorovka" our troops went on a decisive offensive. Operations "Kutuzov" and "Rumyantsev" made it possible to liberate Belgorod and Orel, and Kharkov was liberated on August 23.
Oil is called the "blood of war". From the very beginning of the war, one of the general routes of the German offensive was directed towards the Baku oil fields. Control over them was a priority for the Third Reich.
The battle for the Caucasus was marked by air battles in the sky over the Kuban, which became one of the largest air battles of the Second World War. For the first time in Soviet pilots imposed their will on the Luftwaffe and actively interfered and opposed the Germans in their combat missions. From May 26 to June 7, the Red Army Air Force carried out 845 sorties at the airfields of the Nazis in Anapa, Kerch, Saki, Sarabuz and Taman. In total, during the battles in the sky of the Kuban, Soviet aviation made about 35 thousand sorties.
It was for the battles over the Kuban that the first Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Alexander Pokryshkin, the future three times Hero of the Soviet Union and Air Marshal.
September 9, 1943 began the last operation of the battle for the Caucasus - Novorossiysk-Taman. Within a month, German troops on the Taman Peninsula were defeated. As a result of the offensive, the cities of Novorossiysk and Anapa were liberated, and prerequisites were created for a landing operation in the Crimea. In honor of the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, on October 9, 1943, a salute was fired in Moscow with 20 volleys from 224 guns.
Ardennes operation (disruption of the "last blitzkrieg" of the Wehrmacht)
The Battle of the Bulge is called "the last blitzkrieg of the Wehrmacht." This was the last attempt by the Third Reich to turn the tide on the Western Front. The operation was commanded by Field Marshal V. Model, who ordered it to begin on the morning of December 16, 1944, by December 25, the Germans had advanced 90 km deep into the enemy’s defenses.
However, the Germans did not know that the Allied defenses were deliberately weakened so that when the Germans break through to the West for 100 kilometers, surround them and strike from the flanks. The Wehrmacht did not foresee this maneuver.
The Allies knew about the Ardennes operation in advance, as they could read the German ciphers of the Ultra system. In addition, aerial reconnaissance reported on the movements of German troops.
Despite the fact that the Allies initially had the initiative, the Germans were well prepared for the Ardennes. The start time of the offensive was chosen taking into account the fact that the Allied aircraft could not provide air support. The Germans also went to the trick: everyone who knows English language, dressed in American uniforms and, under the leadership of Otto Skorzeny, created assault detachments from them so that they would sow panic in the American rear.
Part of the "Panthers" was disguised as American tanks, bulwarks were hung on them, muzzle brakes were removed from the guns, the towers were covered with sheet iron and large white stars were painted on the armor.
With the start of the offensive, the "false panthers" rushed to the rear of the American troops, but the cunning of the Germans was "bitten" because of stupidity. One of the Germans asked for a gas station and said “petroleum” instead of “gas”. Americans didn't say that. The saboteurs were discovered, and their cars were burned with bazookas.
In American historiography, the Battle of the Bulge is called the Battle of the Bulge - the Battle of the Bulge. By January 29, the Allies completed the operation and began the invasion of Germany.
The Wehrmacht lost more than a third of its armored vehicles in battles and almost all the aircraft (including jets) participating in the operation used up fuel and ammunition. The only "profit" for Germany from the Ardennes operation was that it delayed the Allied offensive on the Rhine for six weeks: it had to be postponed to January 29, 1945.
The largest in human history, the Second World War was a logical continuation of the First World War. In 1918, Kaiser's Germany lost to the Entente countries. The result of the First World War was the Treaty of Versailles, according to which the Germans lost part of their territory. Germany was forbidden to have a large army, navy and colonies. An unprecedented economic crisis began in the country. It worsened even more after the Great Depression of 1929.
German society survived its defeat with difficulty. There were massive revanchist sentiments. Populist politicians began to play on the desire to “restore historical justice”. The National Socialist German Workers' Party, headed by Adolf Hitler, began to enjoy great popularity.
The reasons
Radicals came to power in Berlin in 1933. The German state quickly became totalitarian and began to prepare for the coming war for supremacy in Europe. Simultaneously with the Third Reich, its "classic" fascism arose in Italy.
The Second World War (1939-1945) is an event not only in the Old World, but also in Asia. Japan has been a source of concern in this region. In the country rising sun, just like in Germany, imperialist sentiments were extremely popular. The object of Japanese aggression was the weakened internal conflicts China. The war between the two Asian powers began in 1937, and with the outbreak of conflict in Europe, it became part of the general Second World War. Japan became an ally of Germany.
In the Third Reich, he left the League of Nations (the predecessor of the UN), stopped his own disarmament. In 1938, the Anschluss (accession) of Austria took place. It was bloodless, but the causes of the Second World War, in short, were that European politicians turned a blind eye to aggressive behavior Hitler and did not stop his policy of absorbing more and more new territories.
Soon Germany annexed the Sudetenland, inhabited by Germans, but belonging to Czechoslovakia. Poland and Hungary also took part in the division of this state. In Budapest, the alliance with the Third Reich was observed until 1945. The example of Hungary shows that the causes of the Second World War, in short, were, among other things, the consolidation of anti-communist forces around Hitler.
Start
On September 1, 1939 they invaded Poland. A few days later, France, Great Britain and their numerous colonies declared war on Germany. Two key powers had allied agreements with Poland and acted in its defense. Thus began the Second World War (1939-1945).
A week before the Wehrmacht attacked Poland, German diplomats signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. Thus, the USSR was aloof from the conflict between the Third Reich, France and Great Britain. By signing an agreement with Hitler, Stalin was solving his own problems. In the period before the start of World War II, the Red Army entered Eastern Poland, the Baltic states and Bessarabia. In November 1939, the Soviet-Finnish war began. As a result, the USSR annexed several western regions.
While German-Soviet neutrality was maintained, the German army was engaged in the occupation of most of the Old World. 1939 was met with restraint by overseas countries. In particular, the United States declared its neutrality and maintained it until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Blitzkrieg in Europe
Polish resistance was broken after only a month. All this time, Germany acted only on one front, since the actions of France and Great Britain were of little initiative. The period from September 1939 to May 1940 received the characteristic name of the "Strange War". During these few months, Germany, in the absence of active action by the British and French, occupied Poland, Denmark and Norway.
The first stages of World War II were short-lived. In April 1940, Germany invaded Scandinavia. Air and naval assault forces entered key Danish cities without hindrance. A few days later, the monarch Christian X signed the capitulation. In Norway, the British and French landed troops, but he was powerless before the onslaught of the Wehrmacht. The early periods of World War II were characterized by the overwhelming advantage of the Germans over their enemy. The long preparation for the future bloodshed had an effect. The whole country worked for the war, and Hitler did not hesitate to throw all new resources into her cauldron.
In May 1940, the invasion of the Benelux began. The whole world was shocked by the unprecedented destructive bombing of Rotterdam. Thanks to their swift throw, the Germans managed to take key positions before the allies appeared there. By the end of May, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg capitulated and were occupied.
In the summer, the battles of World War II moved to French territory. In June 1940, Italy joined the campaign. Her troops attacked the south of France, and the Wehrmacht attacked the north. An armistice was soon signed. Most of France was occupied. In a small free zone in the south of the country, the Pétain regime was established, which went to cooperate with the Germans.
Africa and the Balkans
In the summer of 1940, after Italy entered the war, the main theater of operations moved to the Mediterranean. The Italians invaded North Africa and attacked British bases in Malta. On the "Black Continent" then there was a significant number of English and French colonies. The Italians at first concentrated on the eastern direction - Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan.
Some French colonies in Africa refused to recognize the new government of France headed by Pétain. Charles de Gaulle became the symbol of the national struggle against the Nazis. In London he created freedom movement dubbed "Fighting France". British troops, together with de Gaulle's detachments, began to recapture the African colonies from Germany. Equatorial Africa and Gabon were liberated.
In September, the Italians invaded Greece. The attack took place against the background of the battles for North Africa. Many fronts and stages of World War II began to intertwine with each other due to the ever-increasing expansion of the conflict. The Greeks managed to successfully resist the Italian onslaught until April 1941, when Germany intervened in the conflict, occupying Hellas in just a few weeks.
Simultaneously with the Greek campaign, the Germans launched the Yugoslav campaign. The forces of the Balkan state were split into several parts. The operation began on April 6, and on April 17 Yugoslavia capitulated. Germany in World War II looked more and more like an undisputed hegemon. Pro-fascist puppet states were created on the territory of occupied Yugoslavia.
Invasion of the USSR
All previous stages of the Second World War faded in scale compared to the operation that Germany was preparing to carry out in the USSR. The war with the Soviet Union was only a matter of time. The invasion began exactly after the Third Reich occupied most of Europe and was able to concentrate all its forces on the Eastern Front.
Parts of the Wehrmacht crossed the Soviet border on June 22, 1941. For our country, this date was the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Until the last moment, the Kremlin did not believe in the German attack. Stalin refused to take the intelligence data seriously, considering it disinformation. As a result, the Red Army was completely unprepared for Operation Barbarossa. In the early days, airfields and other strategic infrastructure in the west of the Soviet Union were bombed without hindrance.
The USSR in World War II was faced with another German blitzkrieg plan. In Berlin, they were going to capture the main Soviet cities of the European part of the country by winter. For the first few months everything went according to Hitler's expectations. Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States were completely occupied. Leningrad was under blockade. The course of World War II brought the conflict to a key turning point. If Germany defeated the Soviet Union, she would have no opponents left, except for overseas Great Britain.
The winter of 1941 was approaching. The Germans were in the vicinity of Moscow. They stopped on the outskirts of the capital. On November 7, a festive parade was held dedicated to the next anniversary October revolution. Soldiers went directly from Red Square to the front. The Wehrmacht was stuck a few dozen kilometers from Moscow. German soldiers were demoralized by the most severe winter and the most difficult conditions of warfare. On December 5, the Soviet counteroffensive began. By the end of the year, the Germans were driven back from Moscow. The previous stages of the Second World War were characterized by the total advantage of the Wehrmacht. Now the army of the Third Reich has stopped its world expansion for the first time. The battle for Moscow was the turning point of the war.
Japanese attack on the USA
Until the end of 1941, Japan remained neutral in the European conflict, while at the same time fighting with China. At a certain moment, the country's leadership faced a strategic choice: to attack the USSR or the USA. The choice was made in favor of the American version. On December 7, Japanese aircraft attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. As a result of the raid, almost all American battleships and, in general, a significant part of the American Pacific Fleet were destroyed.
Until that moment, the United States did not openly participate in World War II. When the situation in Europe changed in favor of Germany, the American authorities began to support Great Britain with resources, but they did not interfere in the conflict itself. Now the situation has changed 180 degrees, since Japan was an ally of Germany. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Washington declared war on Tokyo. Great Britain and its dominions did the same. A few days later, Germany, Italy and their European satellites declared war on the United States. Thus, the contours of the unions that clashed in a face-to-face confrontation in the second half of the Second World War finally took shape. The USSR had been at war for several months and also joined the anti-Hitler coalition.
In the new 1942, the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, where they began to seize island after island without much difficulty. At the same time, the offensive in Burma developed. By the summer of 1942, Japanese forces controlled the entire South East Asia and much of Oceania. The United States in World War II changed the situation in the Pacific theater of operations somewhat later.
Soviet counteroffensive
In 1942, the Second World War, the table of events of which, as a rule, includes basic information, found itself at its key stage. The forces of the opposing alliances were approximately equal. The turning point came towards the end of 1942. In the summer, the Germans launched another offensive in the USSR. This time their key target was the south of the country. Berlin wanted to cut off Moscow from oil and other resources. For this it was necessary to cross the Volga.
In November 1942, the whole world anxiously awaited news from Stalingrad. The Soviet counter-offensive on the banks of the Volga led to the fact that since then the strategic initiative has finally been with the USSR. In World War II, there was no more bloody and large-scale battle than the Battle of Stalingrad. The total losses of both sides exceeded two million people. At the cost of incredible efforts, the Red Army stopped the Axis offensive on the Eastern Front.
The next strategically important success of the Soviet troops was the Battle of Kursk in June - July 1943. That summer, the Germans made their last attempt to seize the initiative and launch an offensive against the Soviet positions. The plan of the Wehrmacht failed. The Germans not only did not succeed, but also left many cities in central Russia (Orel, Belgorod, Kursk), while following the "scorched earth tactics". All tank battles of the Second World War were marked by bloodshed, but the battle of Prokhorovka became the largest. It was a key episode of the entire Battle of Kursk. By the end of 1943 - the beginning of 1944 Soviet troops liberated the south of the USSR and reached the borders of Romania.
Allied landings in Italy and Normandy
In May 1943, the Allies cleared North Africa of the Italians. The British fleet began to control the entire Mediterranean Sea. The earlier periods of World War II were characterized by Axis successes. Now the situation has become just the opposite.
In July 1943, American, British and French troops landed in Sicily, and in September - on the Apennine Peninsula. The Italian government renounced Mussolini and a few days later signed a truce with advancing opponents. The dictator, however, managed to escape. Thanks to the help of the Germans, he created the puppet republic of Salo in the industrial north of Italy. The British, French, Americans and local partisans gradually recaptured more and more new cities. On June 4, 1944, they entered Rome.
Exactly two days later, on the 6th, the Allies landed in Normandy. Thus was opened the second or Western Front, as a result of which the Second World War was ended (the table shows this event). In August, a similar landing began in the south of France. On August 25, the Germans finally left Paris. By the end of 1944, the front had stabilized. The main battles took place in the Belgian Ardennes, where each of the parties made, for the time being, unsuccessful attempts to develop their own offensive.
On February 9, as a result of the Colmar operation, the German army stationed in Alsace was surrounded. The Allies managed to break through the defensive Siegfried Line and reach the German border. In March, after the Meuse-Rhine operation, the Third Reich lost territories beyond the western bank of the Rhine. In April, the Allies took control of the Ruhr industrial region. At the same time, the offensive in northern Italy continued. April 28, 1945 fell into the hands of the Italian partisans and was executed.
Capture of Berlin
Opening a second front, the Western allies coordinated their actions with the Soviet Union. In the summer of 1944, the Red Army began to attack. Already in the fall, the Germans lost control of the remnants of their possessions in the USSR (with the exception of a small enclave in western Latvia).
In August, Romania withdrew from the war, which had previously acted as a satellite of the Third Reich. Soon the authorities of Bulgaria and Finland did the same. The Germans began to hastily evacuate from the territory of Greece and Yugoslavia. In February 1945, the Red Army carried out the Budapest operation and liberated Hungary.
The path of the Soviet troops to Berlin ran through Poland. Together with her, the Germans left and East Prussia. The Berlin operation began at the end of April. Hitler, realizing his own defeat, committed suicide. On May 7, an act of German surrender was signed, which entered into force on the night of the 8th to the 9th.
Defeat of the Japanese
Although the war ended in Europe, the bloodshed continued in Asia and pacific ocean. The last force to resist the allies was Japan. In June, the empire lost control of Indonesia. In July, Britain, the United States and China presented her with an ultimatum, which, however, was rejected.
On August 6 and 9, 1945, the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These cases were the only ones in human history when nuclear weapon used for combat purposes. On August 8, the Soviet offensive began in Manchuria. The Japanese Surrender Act was signed on September 2, 1945. This ended World War II.
Losses
Studies are still underway on how many people were injured and how many died in World War II. On average, the number of lives lost is estimated at 55 million (of which 26 million are Soviet citizens). The financial damage amounted to 4 trillion dollars, although it is hardly possible to calculate the exact figures.
Europe has been hardest hit. Its industry and agriculture were restored for many more years. How many died in World War II and how many were destroyed became clear only after some time, when the world community was able to clarify the facts about Nazi crimes against humanity.
The largest bloodshed in the history of mankind was carried out by completely new methods. Entire cities perished under the bombing, centuries-old infrastructure was destroyed in a few minutes. The genocide of the Second World War organized by the Third Reich, directed against Jews, Gypsies and the Slavic population, terrifies with its details to this day. German concentration camps became real "death factories", and German (and Japanese) doctors conducted cruel medical and biological experiments on people.
Results
The results of the Second World War were summed up at the Potsdam Conference, held in July - August 1945. Europe was divided between the USSR and the Western allies. AT Eastern countries communist pro-Soviet regimes were established. Germany lost a significant part of its territory. was annexed to the USSR, several more provinces passed to Poland. Germany was first divided into four zones. Then, on their basis, the capitalist FRG and the socialist GDR emerged. In the east, the USSR received the Kuril Islands, which belonged to Japan, and the southern part of Sakhalin. The communists came to power in China.
Western European countries after World War II lost a significant part of their political influence. The former dominant position of Great Britain and France was occupied by the United States, which suffered less than others from German aggression. The process of disintegration of colonial empires started. In 1945, the United Nations was established to maintain world peace. Ideological and other contradictions between the USSR and the Western allies led to the start of the Cold War.
Battle for Stalingrad Six months of continuous bloody slaughter on the territory of a huge city. The whole of Stalingrad is turned into ruins. The USSR fielded seven ground and one air armies against the Nazi invaders ....
Battle of Stalingrad
Six months of continuous bloody slaughter on the territory of a huge city. The whole of Stalingrad is turned into ruins. The USSR fielded seven ground and one air armies against the Nazi invaders. The Volga flotilla beat the enemy from the expanses of water.
The Nazis and their allies were defeated. Here Hitler felt sobering. After this battle, the Nazis were no longer able to recover. Soviet troops exhausted the enemy at the cost of their own lives of many soldiers, officers and civilians.
Defending Stalingrad, 1,130,000 people died. Germany and the countries drawn into the conflict on the side of the fascists lost 1,500,000. The battle, which lasted six months, ended completely with the defeat of the fascist armies, which were trying to pass to the oil fields of the Caucasus.
Battle for Moscow
rout fascist troops near Moscow was a real victory for the whole people. The country perceived these events as the threshold of an imminent general Victory. Troops Nazi Germany were morally broken. The spirit of the offensive movement has fallen. Guderian highly appreciated the will to victory of the Soviet people.
He later said that all the sacrifices were in vain. Moscow resisted, destroying the victorious spirit of the Germans. The stubborn unwillingness to understand the situation at the front led to huge losses on all sides. The crisis in the German troops undermined faith in Hitler and his unsurpassed military genius.
Near Moscow, the USSR lost 926,200 fighters. Civilian losses were not estimated. Germany and allied countries 581,900 people. Hostilities continued for more than six months, from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942.
Battle for Kyiv
Hard lesson learned Soviet military leaders, surrendering Kyiv to the enemy to be torn to pieces. Wehrmacht felt poor training armed forces of the USSR. The troops of the Nazis began an intensive movement towards the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and the Donbass. As soon as Kyiv was surrendered, the soldiers of the Red Army, completely demoralized, began to surrender en masse.
In the battles for Kyiv, the losses of the Red Army amounted to 627,800 people. The civilian population was not taken into account. How much Germany lost remained unknown, since at the beginning of the war the Germans did not keep records of losses, hoping for a blitzkrieg. The fighting continued for two and a half months.
Battle for the Dnieper
The liberation of Kyiv was worth heavy losses. Almost four million people from both sides took part in the battles for the Dnieper. The front stretched for 1400 kilometers. The surviving participants in the forcing of the Dnieper recalled - 25,000 people enter the water, 3-5 thousand get out onto the shore.
All the rest remained in the water, only to resurface after a few days. A terrible picture of war. When crossing the Dnieper, 417,000 soldiers of the Red Army died, Germany lost from 400,000 to a million (according to various sources). Terrible numbers. The battle for the Dnieper lasted four months.
Battle of Kursk
Although the most terrible tank battles took place in the village of Prokhorovka, the battle is called Kursk. It is scary to see the battle of iron monsters even on the cinema screen. What was it like for the participants in the battle?
Incredible scale battle of tank armies of opponents. The grouping "Center" and "South" was destroyed. The battle lasted almost two months in the 43rd year. The USSR missed 254,000 people, Germany lost 500,000 of its soldiers. What for?
Operation "Bagration"
We can say that the operation "Bagration" was the bloodiest in the history of mankind. The outcome of the operation complete release Belarus from the Nazi invaders. 50,000 prisoners of war after the completion of the operation were carried out through the streets of Moscow.
In that battle, the losses of the Soviet Union amounted to 178,500 people, Germany lost 255,400 Wehrmacht soldiers. The battle lasted two months without interruption.
Vistula-Oder operation
The bloody battles for Poland went down in history as the rapid advance of the troops of the Soviet Union. Every day, the troops advanced twenty to thirty kilometers inland. The fighting lasted only twenty days.
In the battles for Poland, the losses amounted to 43,200 people. Civilian losses were not taken into account. The Nazis lost 480,000 people.
Battle for Berlin
This battle was decisive for the victory. Soviet troops approached the lair of fascism. The assault on Berlin lasted only 22 days. The Soviet Union and allied forces lost 81,000 men. Fallen Germany, defending its city, lost 400,000. The 1st Ukrainian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts fought for the Victory. Divisions of the Polish Army, and Baltic sailors.
Battle of Monte Casino
Soviet troops did not participate in the liberation of Rome. The United States and England managed to break through the "Gustav Line", and completely free the Eternal City.
The attackers lost 100,000 people in that battle, Germany only 20,000. The battle went on for four months.
Battle for Iwo Jima
The fierce battle of the US military against Japan. The small island of Iwo Jima, where the Japanese put up stubborn resistance. It was here that the American command decided to atomic bombing countries.
The battle went on for 40 days. Japan lost 22,300 men, America lost 6,800 fighters.
The theme of the Second World War 1939-1945. has always interested historians. Its study began in the years of the war itself and does not stop until now.
World War II, the largest in history, was prepared by the forces of international reaction and unleashed by the main aggressive states - Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and militaristic Japan. It began on September 1, 1939 with the German attack on Poland. The leaders of the Nazi state viewed the capture of Poland as First stage armed struggle for world domination. At the same time, the task of creating a bridgehead for an attack on the Soviet Union was being solved.
World War II lasted 6 years. It is unparalleled in history in terms of its scale and ferocity of the struggle. Humanity is faced with criminals who set themselves the goal of exterminating or enslaving entire races and peoples. Fascism intended to impose its notorious "new order" with the help of concentration camps and prisons, by enslaving and colonizing the occupied countries not only in Europe. He planned to settle in Africa, preparing to invade England, the USA, Canada, Latin America, the Near and Middle East, and share Asia with Japan. The aggressors intended to win world domination.
The war drew into its orbit 61 states with a population of 1 billion 700 million people, i.e. over 80% of the world's population. Military operations were conducted on the territory of 40 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and in the vast waters of the Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Equipped with the latest military equipment, the armies of the opposing sides numbered over 110 million people in their ranks. Its victims and suffering cannot be compared with all previous wars. This most devastating war in world history claimed about 57 million lives, of which over 27 million were our compatriots, and almost half of them were civilians. Thousands of cities and tens of thousands of villages were wiped off the face of the earth, hundreds of thousands of plants and factories were turned into ruins, huge damage was caused agriculture, historical and cultural values.
The total material costs associated with the conduct of the Second World War and the elimination of its consequences could feed the entire population of the globe for 50 years. The world is feeling the consequences of this war even today. The most ambitious on the way to victory were the events on the Soviet-German front. It was they who radically changed the course of the Second World War in favor of the anti-fascist forces.
Thousands of books, encyclopedias, stories, films, series, museums, memorials, streets, district names and that's not all are devoted to the Second World War. How many Heroes we remember and know, how many of our grandparents shed their blood, protecting our life and our future.
The purpose of this test is to review the main battles during the Second World War.
To achieve this goal, we have the following tasks:
Examine the available literature on the topic;
Analyze sources and highlight the largest battles of the Second World War;
Determine the significance of these battles for victory in World War II.
The assault began on April 16, 1945. At 3 am Berlin time, under the light of 140 searchlights, tanks and infantry attacked the positions of the Germans. After four days of fighting, the fronts commanded by Zhukov and Konev, with the support of two armies, the Polish troops closed the ring around Berlin. 93 enemy divisions were defeated, about 490 thousand people were taken prisoner, a huge amount of trophy military equipment and weapons. On this day, a meeting of Soviet and American troops on the Elbe took place.
The Hitlerite command declared: "Berlin will remain German," and everything possible was done for this. Hitler refused to surrender and threw old people and children into street fighting. He hoped for strife among the allies. The prolongation of the war led to numerous victims.
On April 21, the first assault detachments reached the outskirts of the German capital and started street fighting. German soldiers offered fierce resistance, surrendering only in hopeless situations.
On May 1, at 3 o'clock, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, General Krebs, was delivered to the command post of the 8th Guards Army. He stated that Hitler had committed suicide on 30 April and offered to start negotiations for an armistice.
The next day, the Berlin Defense Headquarters ordered the end of resistance. Berlin has fallen. During its capture, Soviet troops lost 300 thousand killed and wounded.
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Rodriguez A.M., Ponomarev M.V. Modern history of European and American countries. XX century. Part 1. 1900-1945. Textbook for high schools. - M.: Vlados, 2003. - 464 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://www.twirpx.com/file/349562/ (10/22/2015)
History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. in 6 volumes. Volume 2. Reflection by the Soviet people of the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR. Creating conditions for a radical change in the war (June 1941 - November 1942) - M .: Military Publishing House, 1961. - 682 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://militera.lib.ru/h/6/2/index.html (05/12/2015)
Rodriguez A.M., Ponomarev M.V. Modern history of European and American countries. XX century. Part 1. 1900-1945. Textbook for high schools. - M.: Vlados, 2003. - 464 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://www.twirpx.com/file/349562/ (10/22/2015)
Vernigorov V.I. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people (in the context of World War II): textbook. allowance / V.I. Vernigorov. - Minsk: New knowledge, 2005. - 160 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://www.istmira.com/vtoraya-mirovaya-vojna/ (10/22/2015) History of the Second World War 1939 - 1945 in 12 volumes. Volume 12. Results and lessons of the Second World War. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1982. - 610 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://militera.lib.ru/h/12/12/index.html (10/22/2015)
