Vov early. Dates and events of the Great Patriotic War

At 4 am on June 22, 1941, the troops of Nazi Germany (5.5 million people) crossed the borders of the Soviet Union, German aircraft (5 thousand) began to bomb Soviet cities, military units and airfields. By this time, World War II had been going on in Europe for almost two years. At the first stage of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1942), the Red Army suffered one defeat after another, moving further and further into the interior of the country. About two million Soviet soldiers were captured or died. The reasons for the defeats were the unpreparedness of the army for war, serious miscalculations by the top leadership, the crimes of the Stalinist regime, and the suddenness of the attack. But even in these difficult months, Soviet soldiers fought heroically against the enemy. The defenders of the Brest Fortress held out for a whole month after the front line moved far to the east. At the end of 1941, the enemy stood a few dozen kilometers from Moscow, and Leningrad was completely surrounded. But the German plan to end the war in the fall was thwarted. As a result of the counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow in December 1941, the Germans were driven back. Leningrad, which was under blockade, courageously held out - despite the fact that the most terrible blockade winter of 1941-42. Hundreds of thousands of Leningrad civilians perished from hunger and cold. In the summer of 1942, the German offensive against Stalingrad began. For several months, selected units of the Wehrmacht stormed the city. Stalingrad was reduced to ruins, but the Soviet soldiers who fought for every house survived and went on the offensive. In the winter of 1942-1943, 22 German divisions were surrounded. There was a turning point in the war. In the summer of 1943, the largest tank battle of the Second World War took place near Kursk, in which the Nazis lost about 350 tanks and 3.5 thousand killed. Under the blows of the Red Army, the German units began to retreat to the borders of the Soviet Union. And in the German rear, a guerrilla war broke out. Enemy echelons flew downhill, detachments of punishers and traitor policemen were destroyed. The Nazis responded to the actions of the partisans with terror against the civilian population, but the outcome of the war was already a foregone conclusion. By the summer of 1944, the Red Army liberated the territory of the Soviet Union and began to liberate the European states captured by the Nazis. Simultaneously with the Soviet Union, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition - England, the USA and France - waged a war against the Germans. In the summer of 1944, the long-awaited second front was opened, which eased the position of the Red Army. In the spring of 1945, Soviet and allied troops entered German territory. The final Berlin operation began, in which Marshal G.K. Zhukov commanded the Soviet troops. On May 9, 1945, Zhukov, together with the Allied commanders, accepted the surrender of Germany. The country paid a huge price for its victory: about 27 million people died, millions were left crippled and disabled, a third of the national heritage was destroyed. The victory in the Great Patriotic War is one of the brightest pages in the history of our country.

The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) - the war of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics against Nazi Germany and its European allies (Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia)

The history of the Great Patriotic War is divided into three stages:

1) June 22, 1941 - November 19, 1942, i.e. from the German attack on the USSR to the start of the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad - the disruption of the blitzkrieg, creating conditions for a radical change in the war;

2) November 17, 1942 - December 1943 - a radical turning point in the course of the Second World War and the Second World War, the transition of the strategic initiative to the Soviet Army ended with the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kyiv;

3) 1944 - May 9, 1945, the complete expulsion of the invaders from the territory of the USSR, the liberation of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe by the Soviet Army, the final defeat and surrender of Nazi Germany.

The perfidious attack of Germany on the USSR

Preparation for war - from the end of the 20s.

BUT by 1941 the USSR was not ready for war.

The Nazis have the military potential of all of Europe;

Repression of command personnel in the USSR

The element of surprise is also connected with Stalin's gullibility to Hitler's promises after 08/23/1939

Germany occupied: France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Greece, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland.

Pro-German regimes: Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania.

Allies of Germany: Italy, Japan. Turkey.

Plan "Barbarossa"

Lightning war and the defeat of the USSR army in the summer campaign of 1941

Directions: "North" - to Leningrad (commanded by General von Leeba), "Center" - to Moscow (von Brauchitsch) and "South" - to Odessa and Kiev, in addition - the Norway Group was supposed to control the situation in the North Sea . The main direction - "Center" - to Moscow

By the summer of 1941, on the border of the USSR from the Barents to the Black Seas - 5.5 million soldiers (Germany + allies + satellites).

USSR: 4 military districts. 2.9 million people

Far East, South - 1.5 million people. (an invasion by Turkey and Japan is expected).

First days of the war

On the eve of the war, Stalin repeatedly received intelligence about the impending attack, but refused to believe it. It was only at midnight on June 21 that a number of orders were issued to put the troops on alert - and this is not enough to deploy a defense in many layers.

June 22, 1941. - powerful strikes of the air and mechanized armies of Germany. “June 22, exactly at 4 o’clock, Kyiv was bombed, they announced to us that the war had begun…”

66 airfields were bombed. 1200 aircraft destroyed -> German air supremacy until summer 1943

June 23, 1941. - Headquarters of the High Command (Stavka of the Supreme High Command). Head - Stalin.

June 30, 1941. - State Defense Committee (GKO). Chairman - Stalin. All the fullness of state, party, military power.

Retreats of the Red Army in the first month of the war

In the first month of the war left: the Baltic States, Belarus, Moldova, most of Ukraine. Losses - 1,000,000 fighters, 724 thousand prisoners.

3 main failures of the first months of the war:

1) Smolensk defeat

The Nazis: to take possession of the "gates of Moscow" - Smolensk.

-> destroyed almost all the armies of the Western Front.

USSR command: accused a large group of generals of treason, the head - the commander of the Western Front, Colonel General D.G. Pavlov. Judgment, execution.

Plan "Barbarossa" gave a crack: the capital is not captured in mid-July.

2) Southwest Russia and Kyiv

500,000 dead, along with the commander of the Southwestern Front, Lieutenant General M.D. Cypros.

Kyiv is taken -\u003e strengthening the positions of the Nazis -\u003e breaking through the defense in the Moscow direction.

August 1941- the beginning of the blockade of Leningrad.

August 16, 1941. – order number 270. All those who are in captivity are traitors and traitors. The families of captured commanders and political workers are repressed, the families of soldiers are deprived of benefits.

3) in the Moscow direction to October-November 1941. 5 armies were surrounded and thus opened the way for the Nazis to Moscow

BATTLE FOR MOSCOW

The plan for the capture of Moscow from Hitler - "Typhoon". On September 30, he spoke on the radio (“Not a single Moscow resident, be it a woman, an old man or a child, should leave the city ...”)

According to the plan:

Army Group Center sweeps away the Soviet defenses and captures the capital before the onset of winter. In the convoy there is pink granite for the monument to the victorious German soldier on the site of the destroyed Moscow (later it was used on Gorky Street - now Tverskaya - for facing buildings, including the Post Office).

Start October I am the approach of the Nazis to Moscow. Stalin urgently summoned Zhukov from Leningrad

October 16- a day of general panic in Moscow, they take out valuables, including the State Tretyakov Gallery (paintings)

November 6- Meeting of the Moscow City Council at the Mayakovskaya metro station. Stalin spoke. "Victory will be ours!" It was decided - the parade on November 7 - to be!

November 7- a parade, from Red Square, soldiers and militia (25 divisions) - went straight to the front along the street. Gorky and to Voykovskaya, there is a front line

By the end of November 1941. - Germans at a distance of 25-30 km. from Moscow.

The Dubosekovo junction - 28 Panfilov heroes (Panfilov commanded), political instructor Klochkov: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat, Moscow is behind!”

3 fronts:

United Western - the direct defense of Moscow (G.M. Zhukov);

Kalininsky (I.S. Konev);

Southwestern (S.K. Timoshenko).

5 armies of the Western and Reserve fronts - in the "boiler".

600.000 people – surrounded (every 2nd).

Moscow, Tula, a significant part of the Kalinin region were liberated.

Losses during the counteroffensive:

USSR - 600.000 people.

Germany: 100.000-150.000 people

Near Moscow - the first major defeat since 1939.

The Blitzkrieg plan failed.

With the victory in the Battle of Moscow - a radical turn (but not yet a turning point!) In the course of the war in favor of the USSR.

The enemy - to the strategy of a protracted war.

By the winter of 1941: losses - 5,000,000 people.

2 million - killed, 3 million - in captivity.

Counteroffensive - until April 1942

Successes are fragile, soon - major losses.

Unsuccessful attempt to break the blockade of Leningrad (established in August 1941)

The 2nd shock army of the Volkhov Front was defeated, the command and head - A.A. Vlasov - were captured.

Fascists: defeat in the Battle of Moscow -> you can not launch an offensive along the entire Eastern Front -> strikes in the south.

Stalin: waiting for a second attack on Moscow, despite intelligence reports. Near Moscow - the main forces.

Decree to inflict a number of distracting blows in the south (Crimea, Kharkov). Against - the head of the General Staff BM Shaposhnikov -> a complete failure.

Dispersion of forces -> failure.

May 1942. - in the Kharkov direction, the Germans surrounded 3 armies of the Southwestern Front. 240 thousand prisoners.

May 1942. - the defeat of the Kerch operation. »150 thousand prisoners in the Crimea. After 250 days of siege, Sevastopol was surrendered.

June 1942- Nazi advance to Stalingrad

July 28, 1942 – "Order No. 227"- Stalin - "Not a step back, Under no circumstances should the city be surrendered"

Retreat without an order from the command is a betrayal of the Motherland.

Penal battalions (for commanders and political workers)

Penalties (for sergeants and privates).

Barrage detachments behind the belligerents. They have the right to shoot those retreating on the spot.

end of August- occupied Abgonerovo (the last settlement near Stalingrad)

In the early morning of June 22, 1941, German units crossed the state border of the USSR, and German aviation launched the first massive strikes on important points in the countries. The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 began. The Soviet leadership did not immediately believe in the reality of what was happening, and only by noon Molotov turned to the citizens with a statement, he said that the war had begun. A general mobilization was announced in the country.

From the summer of 1941 to the autumn of 1941, the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 was extremely unsuccessful for the Soviet side. German troops completely occupied the Baltic states, and partially Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. On September 8, 1941, the blockade of Leningrad began. On September 30, a massive attack on Moscow began. The German units were only 100 kilometers from the capital of the USSR. The turning point came on December 5th. On this day, the Soviet counter-offensive began. It lasted 2 days, ending on December 6th. As a result, in some sectors of the front, the Germans were thrown back up to 250 kilometers back.

In May 1942, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive near Kharkov. The Germans inflicted a severe defeat on the Soviet troops in this battle. 2 Soviet armies were destroyed. The total losses amounted to 230 thousand people killed.

At the end of June, the German army, which after the victory at Kharkov again gained an advantage, rushed to Stalingrad. On July 28, Rostov was captured. In September, in Stalingrad, which was practically destroyed, there were hand-to-hand battles between the parties. By November, the Germans no longer had the strength to attack. In the Battle of Stalingrad, the Germans lost about 800 thousand people killed. On November 18, the offensive of the Soviet troops began. On this, the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 completed its first stage, ahead was the second, offensive for the USSR.

On January 18, 1943, the blockade of Leningrad was partially lifted. In February, operations began to liberate Donbass.

On July 5, 1943, the Germans planned to launch an offensive, but the Soviet command was aware of this action, and a few minutes before the start of hostilities launched a powerful preemptive artillery strike that disrupted the German offensive. On July 12, the largest tank battle took place, near Prokhorovka. In general, on this day, the Germans suffered a major defeat on the Kursk Bulge. On August 5, the offensive of the Soviet troops began. The battle on the Kursk Bulge cost the Germans the lives of 500 thousand people. After that, the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 passed to its decisive stage.

In January 1944, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted, the Germans were thrown back to Narva. In February, the entire territory of the right-bank Ukraine was liberated. In April, the Red Army drove the Germans out of the Crimea. On June 23, a strong offensive of the Soviet army began on the Belorussian front, during which all of Belarus and part of the Baltic states were liberated. In July, an offensive began on the Ukrainian front, culminating in the liberation of Lvov. In August, the attack on Chisinau began. 252 enemy divisions were destroyed here. As a result, by August 31, Soviet troops captured Bucharest. In September and October, the Baltic states were completely liberated.

By April 1945, the Red Army had liberated all of Europe and was near Berlin. On April 30, the Soviet flag was raised over the Reichstag. On May 8, a pact was signed on the unconditional surrender of Germany. This was announced the next day, May 9th. This ended the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

From 1939 to 1945, the world was swept by fierce military battles, called the Second World War. Within its framework, a particularly serious confrontation between Germany and the USSR is singled out, which received a separate name. Our article tells briefly about the Great Patriotic War.

Prerequisites of the beginning

At the beginning of the Second World War, the USSR adhered to neutral positions, using the actions of Germany in its own interests: the weakening of England, France and Germany itself. In addition, on August 23, 1939, the Soviet Union agreed to sign a non-aggression pact with the Germans. Germany accepted all the conditions of the Russians, supplementing the agreement with a secret protocol on the redistribution of Eastern Europe.

The leaders of the countries understood that this agreement does not guarantee, but reduces the risk of hostilities between them. Hitler hoped in this way to keep the USSR from concluding an alliance with Great Britain, France and prematurely entering the war. Although he planned in advance to capture the Union after the victory in Europe.

Stalin, on the other hand, was dissatisfied with the removal of the USSR from resolving issues of world politics and the delay by the British in concluding an alliance, and the treaty with Germany made it possible to annex the Baltic states and Bessarabia to Russia almost without hindrance.

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04/02/2009 The European Parliament by a majority of votes approved August 23 as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, equating all acts of aggression of both regimes to war crimes.

In October 1940, Germany, having learned that England was counting on Russia's help in the war, offered the USSR to join the Axis countries. Stalin put forward a condition to Hitler, according to which Finland, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria would have to go to the USSR. Germany was categorically against this and stopped negotiations with the Union.

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In November, Hitler approved the previously developed attack plan for the USSR and found other allies (Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania).

Although the USSR as a whole was preparing for war, but Germany, violating the treaty, attacked suddenly, without an official announcement (it took place after the start). It is the day of the attack on 06/22/1941 that is considered the date of the start of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Rice. 1. Germany's invasion of the USSR.

War periods

Having developed the Barbarossa plan (attack operation), Germany expected to capture Russia during 1941, but, despite the poor readiness of the Soviet troops and their defeat in the initial period of the Second World War, Hitler received not a speedy victory, but a protracted war. On the side of Germany were Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Hungary.

The entire course of hostilities is conditionally divided into the following stages:

• First (June 1941-November 1942): the beginning of armed clashes along the Soviet border; German breakthroughs that brought defeat to the Soviet troops in three defensive operations; the resumption of the war with Finland, which recaptured its lands. The defeat of German troops in the Moscow direction. Leningrad blockade;
• Second (radical change, November 1942-December 1943): the victory of Soviet troops in the southern direction (Stalingrad offensive operation); the liberation of the North Caucasus, the breakthrough of the Leningrad blockade. The defeat of the Germans in large-scale battles near Kursk and on the banks of the Dnieper;
• Third (January 1944-May 1945): liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine; lifting of the Leningrad blockade; the reconquest of the Crimea, the rest of Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, the Arctic, the northern part of Norway. The Soviet army is pushing the Germans beyond its borders. The attack on Berlin, during which the Soviet troops on 04/25/1945 met on the Elbe with the Americans. On May 2, 1945, Berlin was taken.

Rice. 2. Battle of Kursk.

Results

The main results of the armed confrontation between the USSR and Germany:

• End of the war in favor of the USSR: 05/09/1945 Germany announced its surrender;
• Liberation of captured European countries, overthrow of the Nazi regime;
• The USSR expanded its territories, strengthened the army, political and economic influence, becoming one of the world leaders;
• Negative outcome: huge loss of life, serious destruction.

Rice. 3. Soviet army in Berlin 1945.

What have we learned?

From the article, we learned a brief history of the Great Patriotic War, which lasted from 1941 to 1945. We found out how many stages it is divided into, what were the results of the confrontation between the USSR and Germany.

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The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) is a war between the USSR and Germany within the framework of World War II, which ended with the victory of the Soviet Union over the Nazis and the capture of Berlin. The Great Patriotic War became one of the final stages of World War II.

Causes of the Great Patriotic War

After the defeat in the First World War, Germany remained in an extremely difficult economic and political situation, however, after Hitler came to power and carried out reforms, the country was able to build up its military power and stabilize the economy. Hitler did not accept the results of the First World War and wanted to take revenge, thereby leading Germany to world domination. As a result of his military campaigns, in 1939 Germany invaded Poland and then Czechoslovakia. A new war has begun.

Hitler's army was rapidly conquering new territories, but until a certain point between Germany and the USSR there was a non-aggression peace treaty signed by Hitler and Stalin. However, two years after the start of World War II, Hitler violated the non-aggression agreement - his command developed the Barbarossa plan, which involves a swift German attack on the USSR and the seizure of territories within two months. In case of victory, Hitler got the opportunity to start a war with the United States, and he also had access to new territories and trade routes.

Contrary to expectations, the unexpected attack on Russia did not produce results - the Russian army turned out to be much better equipped than Hitler expected and offered significant resistance. The company, designed for several months, turned into a protracted war, which later became known as the Great Patriotic War.

The main periods of the Great Patriotic War

• The initial period of the war (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942). On June 22, Germany invaded the territory of the USSR and by the end of the year was able to conquer Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus - the troops moved inland to capture Moscow. Russian troops suffered huge losses, the inhabitants of the country in the occupied territories were captured by the Germans and were driven into slavery in Germany. However, despite the fact that the Soviet army was losing, she still managed to stop the Germans on the way to Leningrad (the city was taken under blockade), Moscow and Novgorod. The Barbarossa plan did not give the desired results, the battles for these cities continued until 1942.
• The period of a radical change (1942-1943) On November 19, 1942, the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops began, which yielded significant results - one German and four allied armies were destroyed. The Soviet army continued to advance in all directions, they managed to defeat several armies, start pursuing the Germans and push the front line back towards the west. Thanks to the build-up of military resources (the military industry worked in a special mode), the Soviet army was significantly superior to the German one and could now not only resist, but also dictate its terms in the war. From the defending army of the USSR turned into an attacker.
• The third period of the war (1943-1945). Despite the fact that Germany managed to significantly increase the power of its army, it was still inferior to the Soviet one, and the USSR continued to play a leading offensive role in hostilities. The Soviet army continued to advance towards Berlin, recapturing the occupied territories. Leningrad was recaptured, and by 1944, Soviet troops moved towards Poland, and then Germany. On May 8, Berlin was taken, and the German troops declared unconditional surrender.

Major battles of the Great Patriotic War

• Defense of the Arctic (June 29, 1941 - November 1, 1944);
• Battle for Moscow (September 30, 1941 - April 20, 1942);
• Blockade of Leningrad (September 8, 1941 - January 27, 1944);
• Battle of Rzhev (January 8, 1942 - March 31, 1943);
• Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943);
• Battle for the Caucasus (July 25, 1942 - October 9, 1943);
• Battle of Kursk (July 5 - August 23, 1943);
• Battle for the Right-Bank Ukraine (December 24, 1943 - April 17, 1944);
• Belarusian operation (June 23 - August 29, 1944);
• Baltic operation (September 14 - November 24, 1944);
• Budapest operation (October 29, 1944 - February 13, 1945);
• Vistula-Oder operation (January 12 - February 3, 1945);
• East Prussian operation (January 13 - April 25, 1945);
• Battle for Berlin (April 16 - May 8, 1945).

The results and significance of the Great Patriotic War

The main significance of the Great Patriotic War was that it finally broke the German army, preventing Hitler from continuing his struggle for world domination. The war became a turning point in the course of the Second World War and, in fact, its completion.

However, the victory was given to the USSR hard. The country's economy was in a special regime during the war, the factories worked mainly for the military industry, so after the war they had to face a severe crisis. Many factories were destroyed, most of the male population died, people were starving and could not work. The country was in the most difficult condition, and it took many years for it to recover.

But, despite the fact that the USSR was in a deep crisis, the country turned into a superpower, its political influence on the world stage increased sharply, the Union became one of the largest and most influential states, along with the United States and Great Britain.

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa: a war against the Stalinist Soviet Union. The attack on the USSR decided the outcome of World War II, was the end of the Third Reich and Hitler's dream of a "thousand-year empire." Years after this unthinkable nightmare, it is worth remembering that the unilateral and fanatical use of military force led to the deaths of 26-27 million Soviet people.

Arbejderen (Denmark): The Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945: Operation Barbarossa - German attack on the Soviet Union

Seventy-five years ago, on June 22, Hitler ordered his troops to launch Operation Barbarossa: a war against Stalin's Soviet Union. It was the largest military operation ever carried out, and it remains so to this day. It marked the end of the Third Reich and Hitler's dream of a "thousand-year empire."

For the Führer, this was an all-or-nothing venture that predictably ended in nothing.

The fate of World War II was decided on the Eastern Front. Two thirds of Germany's resources were involved here. During the Cold War, Western propaganda only casually mentioned the contribution of the Soviet Union to the victory over Germany, respectively, the main attention in the West was paid to the Allied air war, their actions in the Atlantic, North Africa, Sicily and the landing of allied troops in Normandy, followed by an attack on German territory. . All these were important events, but the outcome of the war was decided on the Eastern Front.

Hitler began planning Operation Barbarossa shortly after the end of the Western Offensive in the summer of 1940. Any major military operation depends on clearly defined goals, a thorough and reliable analysis of the capabilities of the enemy, and an equally thorough analysis of one's own resources and capabilities. None of these conditions were met. Therefore, it is completely incomprehensible why not one of the German generals dared to go to Hitler and explain the situation to him.

In the German General Staff, several outline plans were developed with various main and secondary goals, directions of the main attacks and operational principles. And even according to the final plan "The Case of Barbarossa" there was no unity on strategic goals. Only the final decision was made. As a result, the operation was stopped, and discussions of strategic goals began, which lasted three weeks from August to September 1941. Unheard of, it was a recipe for operational suicide.

Tank units were withdrawn from the Moscow direction and sent to the south, where they managed to capture Kyiv and capture 665,000 Soviet soldiers. The bill was paid three months later by a disastrous defeat near Moscow. It is well known that the German command did not take care of the winter equipment of its units, which led to the death of hundreds of thousands of German soldiers. Careless planning - Germany did not even develop a "Plan B" - led to the fact that the original goal - the destruction of the striking force of the Red Army - was not achieved. Therefore, the next three years were aimless blind fencing, as the main strategic direction was absent. Hitler wanted to decide everything himself with his crazy ideas that had absolutely nothing to do with the real world. The Fuhrer was convinced that Providence had chosen him to save Germany as Grösster Feldherr aller Zeiten ("The Greatest General of All Time").

Lack of supply

How did the German military command plan to supply more than three million German soldiers? There was only enough planning for the first three weeks of the campaign. The invading troops were then to "live off the occupied country". After grain and livestock are taken from the local population, millions of people will be doomed to a long and painful starvation death. It was part of the planning. It was estimated that 10-15 million people would die of starvation.

From the very beginning, Operation Barbarossa was the catalyst for "die Endlösung" ("Final Solution"), the extermination of Jews and other peoples.

Context

SZ: Hitler's War of Annihilation

Süddeutsche: the myth of the "Plan Barbarossa"

How Hitler made Russia a superpower

Franz Halder - author of "Plan Barbarossa"

Multimedia

Great Patriotic War: photo chronicle

For Hitler, Barbarossa was the realization of his confused social Darwinist ideas about the right of the strong to destroy the weak. There was no way here to unite with groups opposed to the regime, to win over the enemy population, giving it a chance to survive, not to mention negotiated peace. According to the Führer's perverted thinking, everything had to be decided by the brutal use of force.

The principle of destruction was to be carried out by the "Einsatzgruppen" ("Einsatzgruppen", " deployment groups”), following the advancing military units. The task of these SS and police units was to exterminate Jews and political commissars. The victims were shot in open mass graves. The Einsatz groups could only operate with the transport and logistical support of regular troops in this area. This practice was introduced already during the Polish campaign. At that time, the German commander of occupied Poland, Colonel General Johannes Blaskowitz, protested in writing against these crimes and refused to support the SS assassin gangs. Blaskowitz was, of course, removed from his post, but earned his respect for being decent enough to make such an attempt. I don't know anyone else who would try to follow his example after that.

Prisoners of war

Hitler's directive on the conduct of hostilities on the Eastern Front was characteristic. This war must be different from all previous wars. Here you need to ignore all the laws of war. According to the order on commissars, representatives of the Communist Party in the Red Army, taken prisoner by German units, were to be shot immediately. This order was carried out in various ways depending on the local command, but no one was found to forbid it, although the execution of this order was a clear war crime. In addition, the directive emphasized that German soldiers could not be prosecuted for alleged war crimes, which in itself constituted a call to commit war crimes.

The same attitude was to the Soviet prisoners of war. In 1941 alone, the Germans captured three million Soviet soldiers. Four out of five people did not survive, which in itself is a war crime. In general, no one imagined what had to be done with such a large number of prisoners. In conditions where insufficient attention was paid to the supply of their own units, prisoners of war were not given much thought at all, and they died of hunger, thirst, or epidemics that broke out due to terrible conditions of detention. In winter, many died from the cold while being transported by rail.

Hitler was obsessed with the idea of ​​"Lebensraum" ("living space"), the conquest of territories that could be used for colonization and plunder. At first, the front was 1,500 kilometers (excluding Finland), but soon it stretched 2,200 kilometers from north to south and 1,000 kilometers in depth from west to east. It was more than what could be mastered by the German army of three million with half a million allied troops. The problem worsened as losses mounted.

After the defeat near Moscow in 1941-1942, the Germans could carry out major offensive operations only in certain sectors of the front. In 1942, this area became the southern sector of the front, where Hitler's target was the oil fields of the Caspian Sea around Baku. When Stalingrad became another target, the units stretched out in too thin a chain along the front. As a result, Hitler received neither oil nor Stalingrad. The result of this reassessment of their own forces was the Stalingrad disaster of 1942-1943. Hitler's strict order not to break out of the encirclement led to the death of the 6th Army. It was an example that was then repeated more and more often until the fall of Berlin. Hitler showed that the fate of his soldiers were completely indifferent to him.

Major German losses

After the failed "Operation Citadel" on the Kursk Bulge in July 1943, the German offensive force was depleted, and the German troops went on the defensive from that moment on. With great difficulty, it was only possible to evacuate the German units advancing from the Caucasus to the west along the path that was blocked by the advancing units of the Red Army. Hitler forbade any retreat in all sectors of the front, which led to gigantic losses in manpower and equipment. Similarly, the troops did not withdraw in time from the Crimean peninsula, and in the central sector of the front, the entire Heeresgruppe Mitte (Army Group Center) was completely destroyed in June-July 1944, because Hitler forbade the retreat. The price was the loss of 25 divisions, approximately 300 thousand soldiers.

Only in the period from June to September 1944, the losses of the Germans amounted to from 1 to 1.5 million people, as well as a huge amount of military equipment. The Red Army now had the initiative and had complete freedom of maneuver in conjunction with air supremacy. Hitler further worsened the situation with his absurd orders, which made it impossible to conduct reasonable defensive battles. The generals now had to pay the price for their obsequiousness. Nevertheless, there was strong opposition to Hitler in the military environment. In Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the opposition found a leader ready to take action.

On July 20, 1944, Stauffnberg was given the opportunity to lay a mine under a table in Hitler's office in Rastenburg, East Prussia. Unfortunately, the bastard didn't die. Thus, the time of the war stretched out for another nine terrible months. Hitler brutally took revenge on the conspirators and their families. The failed assassination attempt was a determined attempt to stop the war, which at that moment was becoming completely pointless. At the same time, she showed that decent people were among the German officers.

Unprovoked aggression

The attack of 22 June 1941 was unprovoked aggression and a flagrant violation of the non-aggression pact known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This pact was Hitler's last attempt to use political and military means in order to provide himself with a reliable rear for an attack on Poland. At the same time, it gave effective advantages, since, according to this pact, raw materials were supplied to Germany from the Soviet Union. They continued until the day of the attack.

The Blitzkrieg that Hitler planned turned into a four-year deadly struggle. 26-27 million Soviet people died.

Hitler did not need politics, diplomacy and trade agreements. He wanted war, and above all war with the Soviet Union, the Jewish-Bolshevik mortal enemy. He wanted to show that he could win with military force alone.

75 years after the start of this unthinkable nightmare, it is worth remembering that Hitler's unilateral and fanatical use of military force led directly to the complete defeat of Germany. This happened despite the fact that Hitler at the initial stage had at his disposal the most professional and efficient military apparatus for that time.

Another important lesson is that ignoring the laws of war, military conventions and ordinary morality, even in war, leads to fatal consequences. The execution of individual prisoners of war becomes a road leading to the murder of millions. Crimes were committed not only by special SS units, but also by soldiers of regular army units.

Operation Barbarossa became possible only because Hitler arrogated to himself the right to unlimited control over all means of power. Today we must ensure that war becomes possible only as a result of a transparent and democratic process.

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