June 22, 1941 to November 18, 1942. Liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea

Period from June 1941 to November 1942 is the first stage of the Great Patriotic War. This time was the most difficult in the entire war, our country had to completely rebuild the economy on a war footing and, straining all reserves, restrain fascist aggression.

The war began on June 22, 1941, at four o'clock in the morning. The USSR was unprepared for war because of the hopes of I.

Stalin on the fulfillment by Hitler of the conditions of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Soviet intelligence officer R. Sorge repeatedly warned the government about Hitler's plans, but Stalin was adamant and did not expect a German attack until 1942. The surprise of the attack, the concentration of huge forces by Germany and the thoughtfulness of military operations played a big role in the rapid advance of the Nazis on the territory of the USSR. Our country, as a result of the sudden start of the war, had to endure long defeats, lose land and people. In the first month of the war, the Red Army left almost the entire Baltic, Belarus, Moldavia and most Ukraine. She lost about 1 million fighters, of which 724 thousand were captured.

Near Minsk, almost all the armies of the Western Front were defeated, against which Germany dealt the main blow.

But the worst was waiting for our country ahead. According to the German plan "Barbarossa", the blow was to be delivered in three directions: Army Group "North" moved to Leningrad, "South" - to Kyiv, "Center" - to Moscow. It was Moscow that became Hitler's main goal at the beginning of the military campaign, due to its peripheral position, the capture of Moscow meant a loss of control over the railways, which means an actual defeat in the war. From September 30, 1941 to January 1942. battles were fought near Moscow, in which the Red Army suffered heavy losses. In October, Zhukov was appointed commander of the troops of the Western Front, who defended Moscow. But Zhukov managed to start the counteroffensive only on December 5-6, he managed to correctly coordinate the actions of the army and push the enemy away from Moscow, ensuring its safety. It was of great importance: the defeat near Moscow was the first major defeat of the German army in the entire Second World War. As a result of the Battle of Moscow, the German plan of "blitzkrieg" - lightning war was finally thwarted.

However, the Battle of Moscow did not decide the entire course of hostilities, highest value played the Battle of Stalingrad, during which a period of radical change began. From July 17 to November 18, the Stalingrad Front held the line. Due to desertion and losses, after the start of the fighting near Stalingrad, decree No. 227 "Not a step back" was issued. It had an effect on the fighters, and in November, in accordance with the plan "Uranus" (the encirclement of the Stalingrad enemy grouping led by Paulus), Generals Vatutin, Rokossovsky and Eremenko launched a successful offensive.

The first stage of the war ended, at that time our country managed to transfer the economy to a military footing and contain the main blow of the enemy, at the cost of huge losses, the Red Army began to conduct offensive operations and take the first steps towards the Great Victory.

Updated: 2018-03-10

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Fierce battles of the formations of the 64th Army, under the command of Shumilov, were fought in the area of ​​Kuporosnoye, Zelyonaya Polyana from October 25 to November 1. The 29th Rifle Division under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.I. Losev and the 7th Rifle Corps, commanded by Major General S.G. Goryachev, took part in the offensive. The advancing Soviet units advanced 3-4 km and captured the southern part of Kuporosnoye. The stubborn resistance of the enemy did not allow further advancement, but this counterattack pinned down significant enemy forces.

In the second half of October 31 and on November 1 (Sunday), the enemy threw up significant forces of infantry and tanks in the direction of Latoshynka, the Krasny Oktyabr plant, and partially to the sector of the 64th Army. On the morning of November 1, he launched a series of fierce attacks, turning in places into a bayonet battle.

At 0630 hours, after air and artillery preparation, the enemy went over to the offensive. It involved five infantry (389th, 305th, 79th, 100th and 295th) and two tank (24th and 14th) divisions, reinforced by engineer battalions of the 294th infantry division, deployed on planes from Rossosh, and the 161st Infantry Division, also delivered on planes from Millerovo. The front of the offensive, about five kilometers wide, went from Volkhovstroevskaya Street to the Banny ravine. The enemy strikes the main blow at the junction between the rifle divisions of Lyudnikov and Gorishny.

The 138th Rifle Division, with the attached 118th Guards Regiment of the 37th Guards Rifle Division, repelled infantry and tank attacks with air support from 06:30 in the morning. As a result of fierce battles in the 118th Guards Rifle Regiment, only 6 people remained from 200 bayonets; the commander of the regiment was badly wounded. The enemy tried to encircle the division from the north and south, to enter its rear from the banks of the Volga.

The troops of the Northern Group of Forces, by order of the commander, from 10 o'clock in the morning, with the support of the Volga flotilla, went on the offensive from the railway bridge at the mouth of the Mechetka to the Tractor Plant. Despite the strong resistance of the enemy, they slowly moved forward. In the air there were continuous battles between our aircraft and the enemy.

The 95th Rifle Division repels enemy attacks with up to two infantry divisions with tanks. At 11:30 a.m., the Nazis brought reserves into battle, their infantry and tanks crushed battle formations on the right flank of the 241st rifle regiment Gorishny's divisions advanced 300-400 meters and reached the Volga at a front of 500-600 meters. The army was cut for the third time, and Lyudnikov's rifle division was cut off from the main forces. The remaining parts of the division in their former positions are engaged in a stubborn battle, repelling the fierce attacks of the enemy.

The 45th and 39th Guards Rifle Divisions repelled two enemy attacks on the Krasny Oktyabr plant. During the third attack, the enemy managed to partially push the 117th Guards Rifle Regiment. The fierce battle continues.

On Mamaev Kurgan, Batyuk's division fought oncoming battles with the advancing enemy. The 284th Infantry Division repelled enemy attacks on Mamaev Kurgan. On the sector of the 1045th Infantry Regiment, the enemy managed to penetrate into the battle formations of the regiment, but the situation is being restored by counterattacking reserves. The fight continues.

At the front of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, attacks by small enemy groups were repulsed. By the end of the day, the enemy managed, despite the resistance of our troops, to take southern part plant "Barricades" and here also go to the Volga. The position of the 62nd Army was aggravated by the freezing up that began on the Volga. (p.264)

95th Rifle Division repelled enemy attacks in the Petrol Tanks area, with forces over a battalion. 90th Rifle Regiment holds the Petrol Tanks area, where it consolidates itself. 241 joint ventures and 685 joint ventures are fixed at the turn of the ravine, which is 150 m northeast of Mezenskaya. The 45th Rifle Division and the 39th Guards Rifle Division are fighting in their former positions with small groups of infantry to improve their positions.

Operation of the crossing: in one voyage, the Pugachev steamer and BC No. 11, 12, 61 and 63 transferred 167 reinforcements, food and ammunition for the units. 400 wounded people were evacuated. According to incomplete data, during 11/18/42 the enemy lost over 900 soldiers and officers killed and wounded. (p.279)

Breakthrough of the enemy defenses was carried out simultaneously in several sectors. The weather was foggy. When the defense was breached, the use of aviation had to be abandoned. At 7 o'clock. 30 minutes. in one gulp rocket launchers- "Katyusha" - artillery preparation began. Firing at previously reconnoitered targets, artillery inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. 3500 guns and mortars smashed the enemy defenses. The crushing fire inflicted heavy damage on the enemy and had a frightening effect on him. However, due to poor visibility, not all targets were destroyed, especially on the flanks of the shock group of the Southwestern Front, where the enemy offered the greatest resistance to the advancing troops. At 8 o'clock. 50 min. the rifle divisions of the 5th Panzer and 21st Armies, together with tanks of direct infantry support, went on the attack.

In the first echelon 5th tank army there were the 14th and 47th guards, 119th and 124th rifle divisions. Despite the disorganization of the defense Romanian troops powerful artillery fire, their resistance was not immediately broken. Therefore, the advancement of the 47th Guards, 119th and 124th rifle divisions 5th Panzer Army was initially insignificant. By 12 o'clock, having overcome the first position of the enemy's main line of defense, they advanced 2-3 km. Other formations also moved slowly. The 14th Guards Rifle Division, operating on the right flank of the army, met stubborn opposition from the enemy's unsuppressed firing points. Under these conditions, the army commander decided to bring into battle the success development echelon - the 1st and 26th tank corps. The tank corps moved forward, overtook the infantry and with a powerful blow finally broke through the enemy defenses in the center between pp. Zutskan, Queen.

The 1st Tank Corps under the command of Major General of the Tank Troops V.V. defended up to two artillery regiments and up to an infantry battalion, but when advanced units approached Peschanoe, they met organized enemy resistance. During the first day of the offensive, the 1st Panzer Corps advanced 18 km.

The 26th Panzer Corps, moving in four columns to the left of the 1st Panzer Corps, had two tank brigades at its head. When the 157th tank brigade approached the state farm no. 2, and the 19th tank brigade - to the northern slopes of height 223.0, the corps met with stubborn resistance from units of the 14th Romanian infantry division. It was especially strong in the sector of the 19th Tank Brigade, which operated on the left flank of the 124th Infantry Division. Having passed the front line and overtaken its infantry in the area of ​​​​the enemy artillery positions, the right group met with serious fire resistance. The tankers of Colonel Comrade Ivanov attacked the firing positions of the Nazi artillery in the forehead, but this did not positive result. Only after bypassing the flank and entering the rear of the enemy did the artillerymen, having abandoned their guns, fled. A sudden and daring attack of tanks from the front and rear gave success. On the move, the rear line was overcome - also by bypassing and covering the nodes of resistance.

The mobile group of the 5th Panzer Army - the 1st and 26th Tank Corps - by the middle of the first day of the offensive, had completed the breakthrough of the enemy's tactical defense and was deploying further operations in the operational depth, paving the way for the infantry. The 8th cavalry corps was introduced into the neck of the breakthrough (16 km along the front and in depth) in the afternoon.

Active offensive operations were launched by the infantry, the 47th Guards Rifle Division, in cooperation with the 8th Guards Tank Brigade and the 551st Separate Flamethrower Tank Battalion, overcoming the stubborn resistance of the enemy on its way, by 14:00. 00 min. took possession of the Bolshoi settlement and a height of 166.2. Continuing to tirelessly pursue the retreating enemy, the 8th Guards Tank Brigade with a landing force of 200 riflemen of the 47th Guards Rifle Division by 1600 hours. 00 min. went up to Blinovsky, who by 20 o'clock. 00 min. was completely liberated, the 124th Rifle Division, interacting with the 216th Tank Brigade, overcoming enemy resistance and repulsing his counterattacks on its left flank, approached Nizhne-Fomikhinsky by the end of the day and started a battle here.

During the first day of the offensive, the 5th Panzer Army inflicted significant losses on the enemy. However, the pace of the offensive of the army formations did not fully correspond to the task, with the exception of the 47th Guards Rifle Division, which was close to its completion. The enemy, by maneuvering operational reserves from the depths, threw the 7th cavalry, 1st motorized and 15th infantry division than temporarily delayed the advance of the Soviet units here. Stubborn enemy resistance in front of the front of the 14th Guards Rifle Division created a threat to the right flank of the 5th Tank Army and delayed the advance of the left flank of the 1st Guards Army.

The 21st army, advancing from the Kletskaya area, dealt the main blow on the front 14 km from Kletskaya to height 163.3 east of Raspopinskaya. In the first echelon of the army, the 96th, 63rd, 293rd and 76th rifle divisions advanced. The enemy tried to hold their positions here too, the 96th and 63rd rifle divisions advanced slowly. The 293rd and 76th rifle divisions were more successful in the direction of the main attack.

To speed up the advance of the infantry and ensure the advance of the advancing troops into the operational depth, the commander of the 21st Army, Major General I. M. Chistyakov, also used his mobile formations to complete the breakthrough of the enemy defenses. The mobile group consisting of the 4th Tank and 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps, located on the left flank of the army, at 12 o'clock. 00 min. entered the gap, the 4th Tank Corps under the command of Major General of the Tank Forces A. G. Kravchenko moved in two echelons, along two routes. The right column of the 4th tank corps, consisting of the 69th and 45th tank brigades, on the night of November 20 (by 01:00) went to the area of ​​farm No. 1, the Pervomaisky state farm, Manoilin, having fought 30 35 km. The left column of the corps, consisting of the 102nd tank and 4th motorized rifle brigades, by the end of November 19, having advanced to a depth of 10-12 km, went to the Zakharov, Vlasov area, where they met stubborn enemy resistance.

The 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps under the command of Major General I. A. Pliev, fighting with the retreating enemy, advanced in the direction of Selivanovo, Verkhne-Buzinovka, Evlampievsky, Bolshenabatovsky. On the line of the villages of Nizhnyaya and Verkhnyaya Buzinovka, the enemy, trying to hold back the advance of our units, opened heavy artillery and mortar fire. General I. A. Pliev decided to bypass Nizhne-Buzinovka from the south with units of the 6th Guards Cavalry Division and attack the enemy from the rear. Parts of the 5th and 32nd cavalry divisions, together with T-34 tanks, advanced from the front to the enemy's trench line. The battle lasted two hours. After the strike of the 6th Guards Cavalry Division from the rear, the enemy's defense was broken through to the full depth.

The main blow was delivered by the formations of the 65th Army, commanded by Lieutenant General P.I. Batov. At 7 o'clock. 30 minutes. regiments of heavy guards mortars fired the first salvo. Artillery preparation was carried out on pre-shot targets. At 8 o'clock. 50 minutes - 80 minutes after the start of artillery preparation - rifle divisions went on the attack.

The first two lines of trenches on the coastal high ground were taken at once. The battle for the nearest heights unfolded. The enemy's defense was built according to the type of separate strongholds connected by trenches of a full profile. Each height is a heavily fortified point. The ravines and hollows are mined, the approaches to the heights are covered with wire, Bruno's spirals. Parts of the 27th Guards Rifle Division, interacting on the right with the 76th Rifle Division of the 21st Army, advanced well. In the center of the 65th Army, where the 304th Rifle Division of Colonel S.P. Merkulov was advancing, the enemy forced the attackers to lay low with strong fire. The troops of this division and the 91st tank brigade, having a breakthrough front width of 2.5 km, advanced on the Kletskaya, Melo-Kletsky sector.

The Soviet divisions had to overcome the stubborn resistance of the enemy on terrain that was inaccessible to the advancing. By 4 p.m., the diabolical triangle of heights in the direction of the main attack (135.0, 186.7 and Melo-Kletsky) was finally broken. But the pace of advancement of the shock group is still low. Units and subunits of the 304th, 321st and 27th Guards Rifle Divisions continued to fight fierce battles with the stubbornly resisting enemy. By the end of the day, the troops of the 65th Army, with their right flank, advanced into the depth of the enemy’s position up to 4-5 km, without overcoming the main line of his defense, the 304th Rifle Division of this army, after a stubborn battle, occupied Melo-Kletsky. The enemy retreated in the direction of Tsimlovsky.

In the 57th Army, commanded by Major General F. I. Tolbukhin, artillery preparation was supposed to begin at 8 o'clock. But in the morning fog intensified, and visibility deteriorated sharply. The snowfall has begun. The front commander, Colonel-General A. I. Eremenko, postponed the start of artillery preparation for one hour, then for another hour. But now the fog began to gradually dissipate. The signal was given to begin artillery preparation at 10 o'clock. After a salvo of heavy "eres" - M-30 rocket launchers, a general cannonade of guns and mortars began, which lasted up to 75 minutes. The 57th Army, with the forces of the 422nd and 169th Rifle Divisions, broke through the enemy defenses on the front between the lakes Sarpa and Tsatsa, striking to the south and southwest. The enemy was forced to retreat to the line of Tonenkaya gully, Shosha gully, 55th km siding, Morozov gully. Having completed the immediate task, the troops of the 57th Army turned in the direction of the collective farm. March 8 and further to the northwest, covering the Stalingrad enemy grouping from the southwest.

At 08:30, after artillery preparation, the 51st Army under the command of Major General N. I. Trufanov went on the offensive. The 51st Army was advancing with its main forces from the interlake Tsatsa, Barmantsak in the general direction of Plodovitoe, Verkhne-Tsaritsynsky, Sovetsky. Ensuring the operations of the main forces from the north, the 15th Guards Rifle Division of the 51st Army attacked the enemy from the inter-lake Sarpa, Tsatsa in the direction of the Privolzhsky state farm.

Formations of the 64th Army under the command of Lieutenant General M.S. Shumilov went on the offensive at 14:20. The 64th Army went on the offensive with formations of its left flank - the 36th Guards, 204th and 38th Rifle Divisions. Having broken through the enemy defenses on the front south of Elkha, the troops of this army advanced 4-5 km by the end of the day, clearing the village of. Andreevka.

In the afternoon of November 20, when the strike groups of the Stalingrad Front broke through the enemy’s defenses in all three sectors of the offensive, mobile formations were introduced into the gaps formed - the 13th tank and 4th mechanized corps under the command of Colonel T. I. Tanaschishin and General major tank troops V. T. Volsky and the 4th cavalry corps under the command of Lieutenant General T. T. Shapkin. The mobile troops of the front rushed deep into the enemy defenses in the northwestern and southwestern directions.

The 13th tank corps of the 57th army was introduced into the gap at 16 o'clock in two echelons and moved in two columns in the general direction of Nariman. By the end of the day, he covered a distance of 10-15 km. The 4th mechanized corps of the 51st army entered the gap at 13 o’clock in one echelon in the offensive zones of the 15th guards and 126th rifle divisions, the 4th cavalry corps entered the gap at 22 o'clock after the 4th mechanized corps, developing an offensive in westbound. Under attack from the attackers Soviet troops operating here 6th army corps Romanians retreated to the Aksai area with heavy losses.

In the morning, units of the 39th Army crossed the Young Tud River, but in the central sector the infantry was stopped by powerful enemy fire, and the attackers had to retreat back across the river. On the flanks of the army, Soviet troops managed to advance up to 5 km. During the day, the army put unrelenting pressure on the German fortifications and pinned down the German reserves to make it easier for the large force attacking in the south.

After an hour of artillery preparation, units of the 39th Army of the Kalinin Front launched an offensive across the Young Tud River at 10 o'clock. The snowfall stopped, visibility improved significantly and aircraft were able to participate in the preparations for the attack. The gunners managed to suppress the German strongholds, which yesterday caused serious damage to the infantry and tanks. Parts of the army crossed the river and quickly entrenched themselves in the forests on the far bank of the river. By nightfall, the attacking Soviet troops pushed the Germans back two kilometers from the front line and after heavy fighting captured the village of Palatkino. The German infantry, supported by tanks, repeatedly launched counterattacks, but they were all repulsed.

At dawn on November 26, after artillery preparation, units of the 22nd Army of the Kalinin Front, with the support of two tank brigades of Katukov, resumed the offensive. On the banks of the Luchesa, the 280th Infantry Regiment of the 185th Infantry Division of Colonel Andryushchenko crossed the frozen river and entrenched itself on its northern bank. Unable to withstand the assertive Soviet attack, the Germans abandoned their forward positions north of the river and retreated to a fortified locality Mane. The new positions were located along the front slopes of the ridge between the Luchesa and the tributary that flows into the Luchesa from the north. When two regiments of Andryushchenko approached the Mane, the Germans met them with deadly fire. The escort tanks of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade fell behind the infantry at the river crossing, and without their support, the Soviet attack froze at noon. In the Pushers sector, Colonel Karpov several times threw his 238th Infantry Division into an attack on German fortifications and, before dark, captured the enemy stronghold. His losses were also extremely heavy, and by the end of the day Karpov abandoned further attacks.

On the night of November 25-26, in the offensive zone of the 41st Army of the Kalinin Front, the infantry of General Povetkin's 6th Rifle Corps, with the support of Solomatin's advanced armored detachments, made their way through the forest east of the Vishenka River. There was little resistance. Armored vehicles slowly moved along the forest paths through the positions of Vinogradov's infantry, to the village of Spas on the Vienna River, located three kilometers away. On November 26, at 10:00, Solomatin's tanks and Povetkin's infantry resumed their joint offensive to the east, towards the Nacha River. Solomatin left the weakened 150th Infantry Division and the 219th Tank Brigade on the left flank to destroy the surviving German strongholds south of Bely. In the center of the breakthrough, Vinogradov's 75th Rifle Brigade resumed the offensive, led by Major Afanasyev's 4th Tank Regiment and escorted by the remaining units of Lieutenant Colonel V. I. Kuzmenko's 35th Mechanized Brigade. Enemy resistance was crushed, Afanasiev's armored vehicles crossed the forest and broke out into an open field west of Vienna. While the main body of Solomatin's corps was successfully expanding the breakthrough zone, Colonel Ya. German troops continued to hold Budino.

At the end of the day, the forces of the 41st Army resumed their attacks. Supported by the assembled 219th Tank Brigade of Colonel Ya. A. Davydov, the 150th Infantry Division of Gruz broke the German resistance at Dubrovka, advanced and faced even stronger resistance in an attempt to capture Vlaznevo and positions opposite Maryino in the Vena River valley. The offensive of the 219th tank brigade was again stopped by fierce resistance and enemy fire from Maryino. Meanwhile, a fierce battle continued south of Baturin, in which the 19th mechanized brigade entered. During the grueling battle in conditions of heavy snow, villages changed hands until the onset of darkness forced the opponents to temporarily stop fighting. Despite a fierce struggle and huge losses on both sides, Baturina remained in the hands of the Germans. Tarasov's troops, attacking the German fortifications south of the city, suffered huge losses in two days of fierce battles.

Battle of Stalingrad. During November 28-30, a fierce struggle continued on all three fronts. During these battles, the troops of the 21st, 65th and 24th armies managed to capture the heavily fortified enemy resistance nodes - Peskovatka and Vertyachim. In other sectors, the enemy continued to hold the occupied lines. From November 24 to November 30, stubborn battles unfolded on the outer front of the encirclement. The troops of 10 rifle divisions, one tank and three cavalry corps operating here suffered significant losses in previous battles. Overcoming stubborn opposition from the enemy, the troops of the 1st Guards and 5th Tank Armies of the Southwestern Front entrenched themselves along the lines of the Krivaya and Chir rivers. At the same time, formations of the 51st Army and the 4th Cavalry Corps of the Stalingrad Front were fighting on the southwestern sector of the outer front of the encirclement. The troops of the front reduced the area occupied by the enemy by more than half - to 1500 km² (from west to east - 40 km and from north to south - from 30 to 40 km). F. Paulus was awarded the rank of Colonel General.

Transcaucasian Front. The troops of the Northern Group of the Transcaucasian Front launched an offensive on the northern bank of the river. Terek. On November 30, the 4th Guards Kuban Corps struck at the rear of the enemy's Mozdok grouping.

Sovinformburo. THE OFFENSIVE OF OUR TROOPS CONTINUES

I. UNDER STALINGRAD. During November 30, our troops near Stalingrad, overcoming enemy resistance, advanced 6-10 kilometers and occupied a number of fortified points. During the battles from November 26 to 30, the enemy left up to 20,000 corpses of soldiers and officers on the battlefield.

II. ON THE CENTRAL FRONT. During November 30, our troops on the Central Front, overcoming enemy resistance and repulsing counterattacks by his infantry and tanks, successfully continued the offensive and occupied several settlements.

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REPORT

Subject: "History"

Topic: "Stages of the Great Patriotic War"

Completed by a student of the 1st year of the 2nd semester

Psychology faculty"

Direction of training "Psychology"

Group PSI-B-0-V-2016-1

Dymma Lyudmila Viktorovna

Moscow - 2017

INTRODUCTION 3

CHAPTER 1. CAUSES AND BACKGROUND OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR 4

CHAPTER 2. THREE STAGES OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR.. 5

The results of the first stage of the war.. 7

The results of the second stage of the war.. 9

Liberation of the USSR. 9

Liberation of Europe.. 10

CONCLUSION. 12

List of sources. 13

INTRODUCTION

The Great Patriotic War (WWII), one of the most terrible and difficult pages in our history. It is an integral and decisive part World War II (September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) 62 countries out of 73 in the world at that time participated, Switzerland did not participate).

WWII began June 22, 1941 and ended May 9, 1945 It was a war of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) against Nazi Germany and its European allies (Hungary, Italy, Romania, Finland, etc.) that invaded Soviet territory. She remained in the memory of the people and entered into national history as the most cruel and bloody. And only thanks to the incredible stamina and heroism of the Soviet soldiers, it ended with the great victory of the Red Army and the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces.

It was customary for Soviet historians to divide the period of hostilities into three main stages:

Retreat and defense time

Time of onset and

The time of liberation of the lands from the invaders and the victory over Germany.

CHAPTER 1. CAUSES AND PREREQUISITES OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

After the defeat in World War I (July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918), Germany remained in a difficult situation - the political situation was unstable, the economy was in a deep crisis. In 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power. Standing at the head of the country, thanks to his reforms in the economy, he was able to quickly bring Germany out of the crisis and thereby win the trust of the people. Hitler's policy was based on the idea of ​​the superiority of the Germans over other races and peoples. In addition, he did not accept the results of the First World War and wanted to take revenge. The result of his claims was that 1939 Germany attacked Czechoslovakia(before the Czech Republic and Slovakia formed one state) and Poland(ally of Great Britain and France). Then, already within the framework of the outbreak of World War II, the Nazi army began to rapidly conquer new territories.

Hitler set as his goal to establish German domination in Europe, which would have been impossible without the defeat of the USSR. Germany was also attracted natural resources USSR, which were important as a strategic raw material. According to the Nazi military command, the defeat Soviet Union would create conditions (economically and in terms of raw materials) for the invasion of the British Isles, the capture of British colonies (the Near and Middle East, India) and, in general, would lead to the establishment of world domination.

Until 1941, there was a non-aggression peace treaty between Germany and the USSR(August 23, 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact), however Nazi Germany violated it by attacking the USSR on June 22.

Strategic plan for the war against the USSR, codenamed Barbarossa was approved by Hitler on December 18, 1940."Barabarossa" based on the tactics of "blitzkrieg" or "blitzkrieg", consisted of the following:

Destroy the Soviet troops concentrated in the western regions of the country;

Rapidly move deep into the Soviet Union, in 1 - 2 months to occupy the most important political and economic centers. Moscow must be destroyed after its capture.

The attack was swift, but did not bring the desired results - the Soviet army put up stronger and more heroic resistance than the Germans expected, and the war dragged on for many years.

CHAPTER 2. THREE STAGES OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

Each of the three main stages of the Great Patriotic War had its own characteristics, its pros and cons, its own mistakes and important victories.

The first stage is the time of defense, the time of heavy defeats, which, however, gave the opportunity to consider weak sides Red Army and eliminate them.

The war began early in the morning on June 22, 1941, the border guards of the city of Brest were the first to take the blow. The heroic defense of the Brest Fortress went down in history forever. For almost a month, its defenders (~ 9 thousand people) diverted the entire fascist division (up to 20 thousand people) to themselves.

From the first days of the war, the leadership of the USSR took measures to organize the defense of the country:

1) June 23, 1941 - the Headquarters of the High Command was created for the strategic leadership of the armed forces, headed by People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko. Subsequently (July 10) transformed into Stavka Supreme High Command, which was headed by I. V. Stalin.

2) June 29, 1941 - martial law was introduced on the territory of the USSR. The slogan "Everything for the front, everything for victory!"

3) A directive on the conduct of war has been developed: the mobilization of forces for defense Soviet territory, creating an underground and partisan movement, leaving nothing to the enemy, strengthening the rear, fighting alarmists and spies.

5) 12 million people and 1,530 large enterprises were evacuated from the occupied regions to the interior of the country, the economy was rebuilt on a military basis, a rationed distribution of products was introduced according to the rationing system, and a single information center was created - the Sovinformburo.

To tighten discipline in the army, on August 16, 1941, the Soviet leadership issued order No. 270, declaring all those who were captured as traitors and traitors.

Yu) On southbound from July to October 1941 importance had started fights for:

- Kyiv(defense July 10 - September 19). Five Soviet armies were surrounded near Kyiv.

- Odessa(defense August 5 - October 16). Fierce defensive battles for Odessa went on until October 16).

-Sevastopol(defense October 30, 1941 - July 04, 1942). The longest was the defense of Sevastopol - 250 days.

Second World War was the result of a global confrontation in the mid-twentieth century. Already on the eve of the war, two blocs (coalitions) of states had formed: the Nazi (Germany, Italy, Finland, Hungary, Romania, etc.) and the anti-Hitler (England, France, USA). Decisive importance in the plans of fascist Germany was attached to the defeat of the USSR. In 1940, the "Plan Barbarossa" was developed - the preparation and conduct of a blitzkrieg ("lightning war") against the Soviet Union. On the eastbound 153 German divisions and 37 divisions of its allies were concentrated. The military-technical and economic preparation of the USSR for a possible armed conflict was carried out in two directions: economic and military. 33% of the state budget went to military needs, new military-industrial regions were created in the Urals, Siberia, and new types of weapons and military equipment were developed. The country was militarized public life(the working day has increased, discipline in production has become tougher, etc.). By the beginning of the war, the USSR had superiority in tanks, aviation, was not inferior in artillery and the size of the army (5 million 374 thousand people against 5.5 million people of the German troops). However, the technique was mostly outdated. New developed samples (T-34 tank, IL-2 aircraft) were just beginning to be mastered, the rearmament of the army was going on slowly. Stalin's personal mistakes in determining the timing of the start of the war and assessing Germany's plans led to the disorganization of the army, the military command, the entire Soviet people. main reason was the viciousness of the very system of the Stalinist dictatorship, in which the miscalculations of the dictator led to tragic consequences for the whole country. The beginning of the war was extremely unfavorable for the Red Army. Offensive German troops It was carried out simultaneously in three directions - the army groups "North", "Center", "South" advanced in the direction of Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv, respectively. In the first three weeks, the Soviet side suffered colossal losses in manpower - 850 thousand people, and in general, as a result of the summer-autumn campaign of 1941, more than 5 million people were killed, wounded and captured. German troops advanced 300-600 km deep into Soviet territory. On June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the High Command was created for the strategic leadership of the armed forces, headed by I.V. Stalin. On June 29, 1941 martial law was introduced in the country. For the operational management of hostilities on June 30, 1941, the State Defense Committee (GKO) was created, which was also headed by Stalin. On September 30, the general offensive of the German troops of the "Center" group began with strikes by Guderian's tank army in the direction of Orel - Tula - Moscow (Operation "Typhoon"). On December 5-6, 1941, the Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive under the command of G.K. Zhukov. 38 German divisions were defeated, the enemy was driven back 100-250 km. The defeat of the Germans near Moscow and the subsequent offensive of the Red Army in December 1941 - March 1942 showed the failure of the blitzkrieg strategy, the myth of the invincibility of the German army was dispelled. After the failure of a series of offensive operations in the first half of 1942, German troops occupied the Donbass, reached North Caucasus and Volga. The defense of Stalingrad began. In the summer of 1942, the level of disorganization of the retreating Soviet troops forced the Stavka to introduce, by order 227, barrage detachments, which shot "alarmists and cowards" on the spot. In the conditions of the defeats of the Soviet troops in the country, repressions did not stop. On August 16, 1941, order No. 270 was issued, declaring all those who were captured as traitors and traitors. The repressions affected entire peoples accused of complicity with the Nazi invaders.

2. A radical change in the war

The second period on the Soviet-German front covered two campaigns: the winter 1942/43 and the summer-autumn 1943. November 19, 1942 The Battle of Stalingrad began, during which it was supposed to defeat the German troops in the southern direction and improve the situation near Moscow and Leningrad. The troops of the Southwestern (commander N.F. Vatutin), Don (commander K.K. Rokossovsky) and Stalingrad (commander A.I. Eremenko) fronts participated in the offensive. In the battles for Stalingrad, the German army lost 700 thousand killed and wounded, more than 1 thousand tanks and 1.4 thousand aircraft. 91 thousand people were taken prisoner, including 24 generals led by Field Marshal F. Paulus. As a result Battle of Stalingrad the strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Soviet Armed Forces, which marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of World War II. During Battle of Kursk(July 5 - August 23), which put an end to strategic initiative German troops, Orel, Belgorod, Kharkov were liberated. In October, fierce battles took place on the river. Dnieper, which ended on November 6 with the liberation of Kyiv. In the occupied Soviet territory, activities were launched partisan detachments(3500) and underground resistance groups. The work of the rear was devoted to the goals of ensuring victory over the Nazi troops. In 1942 labor mobilization of the entire urban and rural population, who has reached the age of 14, tightened measures to strengthen labor discipline, the working day has been increased to 11 hours. Since 1943 a general rise in production began. The main food base during the war years were the regions of the Volga region, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia. July 12, 1941 in Moscow, a Soviet-British agreement was concluded on joint actions in the war against Germany and its allies, which laid the foundation for the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. In July 1942 it was supplemented by an agreement with the United States on lend-lease assistance (that is, on providing the USSR with a loan of weapons, equipment, and food). At the same time, the allies of the Soviet Union were delaying the opening of a second front in Europe. In November 1943 the Tehran Conference of the leaders of the three great powers - Great Britain (W. Churchill), the USA (F. Roosevelt), the USSR (JV Stalin), at which the dates for the opening of a second front in Europe were set, questions of the post-war order of the world were discussed.

During this period, the Soviet Army was faced with the task of finally defeating the enemy on Soviet territory and moving on to liberation. European countries from the invaders. The fulfillment of this task was also facilitated by the fact that on June 6, 1944. a second front was opened in Europe - Allied troops under the command of General D. Eisenhower landed in Normandy (Operation Overlord). At the beginning of 1944 The blockade of Leningrad was finally lifted. In January 1944 The Korsun-Shevchenko operation was carried out, during which the troops of the Southwestern Front liberated the Right-Bank Ukraine, in early May - the Crimea. During the Belarusian operation (codenamed "Bagration", June 23 - August 29, 1944), the Army Group "Center" was defeated and Belarus, Latvia, part of Lithuania, East End Poland. During the Lvov-Sandomierz operation (July 13 - August 29, 1944), the western regions of Ukraine and the southeastern regions of Poland were liberated. During Iasi-Kishinev operation(August 22 - 29, 1944) Moldova was liberated and Romania was withdrawn from the war on the side of Germany. The victory of the Soviet troops in the Balkans created favorable conditions for the liberation by the end of 1944. Yugoslavia, Greece, Albania. During Vistula-Oder operation(January 12 - February 3, 1945) an enemy group defending on the territory of Poland was defeated (600 thousand people died during the operation). Soviet soldiers and officers). At the end of March - the first half of April, Hungary and the eastern part of Austria were liberated. April 16 - May 8, 1945 took place Berlin operation, which was led by marshals G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky and I.S. Konev. May 8, 1945 Germany's unconditional surrender was signed. On May 9, Soviet troops liberated Prague. With the cessation of hostilities, the Great Patriotic War ended. In accordance with the allied obligations on April 5, 1945. The USSR denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality treaty and on August 8, 1945. declared war on Japan. 6 and 9 August without military necessity, largely in order to intimidate the Soviet side on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an American atomic bomb was dropped, which claimed the lives of many thousands of people. During military operations in Far East(which were led by the commanders of three fronts - Trans-Baikal - Marshal R.Ya. Malinovsky, 1st Far East - Marshal K.A. Meretskov, 2nd Far East - General of the Army M.A. Purkaev) Soviet troops liberated Manchuria, the cities of Dalniy and Port Arthur, North Korea, seized South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. On August 14, the Japanese government decided to surrender. On August 19, the mass surrender of Japanese soldiers and officers began. September 2, 1945 in Tokyo Bay, on board the American battleship Missouri, representatives of Japan signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender presented by the Allies. The participation of the USSR in the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army ends the period of World War II.

4. Results of the war. World War II ended with the complete defeat of German fascism and Japanese militarism. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people was its most important integral part. On the Soviet-German front, 607 enemy divisions were defeated. Germany lost 10 million people in the war with the USSR (80% of its military losses). The losses of the Soviet Union were much higher - 27 million people and one third of the national wealth. The result of the post-war Yalta-Potsdam system international relations became a new geopolitical situation based on the construction of a two-bloc confrontation - the United States and Western Europe against the USSR and of Eastern Europe(where the USSR sought to export the Stalinist model of socialism).

Usually there are three periods of the Patriotic War:

1. June 1941 - November 1942 - initial period,
2. November 1942-1943 - radical fracture;
3. 1944-1945 - completion.

Defeats of the Red Army at the beginning of the war and their causes

In the early morning of June 22, 1941, the invasion of fascist Germany and its allies - Romania, Hungary and Finland - began. It was carried out by three army groups: "North", "Center" and "South", which corresponded to the three main directions of attacks - on Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv.

Soviet troops in the very first weeks of fighting were cut into pieces by German tank wedges, deprived of supply bases and lost contact with each other. Aviation was destroyed at the airfields. The attackers secured absolute air superiority.

Already in the first days, Soviet fighters offered heroic resistance, the most striking example of which was Brest Fortress. The exploits of Nikolai Gastello and Viktor Talalikhin are known.

However, the Wehrmacht continued to move rapidly to the East. For the second day of the war, the Germans captured Kaunas and Vilnius. At the beginning of July, Riga fell - the path to Leningrad was cleared. At the end of July, Minsk was captured. Many units were surrounded, in the first months of the war, about 4 million Soviet troops were taken prisoner.

Only near Smolensk did the Germans first encounter organized resistance. Here, in July 1941, a battle unfolded in which the Red Army was defeated, but which demonstrated that the seemingly invincible Wehrmacht machine could slip. Near Smolensk, for the first time in the Second World War, the Wehrmacht received an order to go on the defensive.

Historians are still arguing about the reasons for these defeats, especially terrible given the fact that the entire interwar twenty years was subordinated to the strengthening of defense, in the name of this, industrialization was carried out with huge sacrifices. There are a number of points of view:

1. Stalin: "Sudden attack"
2. Under Brezhnev: they did everything they could, but did not have time
3. Under Khrushchev and now: Stalin is to blame - his mistakes and crimes. The main ones are:

• repression
• slow deployment of mass production of the latest technology
• destruction of the "Stalin Line".
• maniacal trust in Hitler, ignoring information about the date of the attack, decisive measures only at the last moment

1. Now. V. Suvorov claims that they were well prepared, but for an offensive war, Hitler was ahead of Stalin.

Defense Organization

July 3, 1941, when the situation at the front was not only critical, but catastrophic. Stalin finally spoke on the radio with an appeal to the people. Calling Soviet people"brothers and sisters," he declared the Patriotic War and outlined a program to mobilize the forces of the people to fight the aggressor.

To manage the defense, the State Defense Committee (GKO) was created, in which all the fullness of state power was concentrated. Soon the GKO was headed by Stalin himself. He also became Supreme Commander and People's Commissar of Defense.

An important operation was the evacuation of the population and industrial enterprises from the frontline areas. To the rear of the country the most difficult conditions 2.6 thousand industrial enterprises, several million workers and employees were relocated. AT short time they managed to put the evacuated enterprises into operation.

Meanwhile, throughout July-August, the situation at the front worsened every day. In the north, units of the Wehrmacht approached Leningrad (Zhukov was sent to save it), in the south, the Germans captured the entire left-bank Ukraine with Kyiv, laid siege to Odessa, occupied the Crimea, besieged Sevastopol, advanced to Rostov-on-Don. From here they opened the road to the Caucasus.

The exception was the battles near Yelnya in late July - early August: here, under the command of G.K. Zhukov, the first successful counteroffensive during the war was undertaken, in which Katyushas were used for the first time. At the same time, guards units were established. However, this success has not yet been able to change the overall situation.

Moscow battle

On September 30, the first German attack on Moscow began. The Red Army suffered a number of defeats, in particular its big forces hit the "cauldrons" near Vyazma and Bryansk. Faced with the danger of losing the capital, Stalin summoned Zhukov from Leningrad to organize the defense. It was decided to evacuate from Moscow, which got out of control and turned into a stampede. On October 19, a state of siege was introduced in the capital.

At the end of October 1941, the German offensive began to fizzle out. The Wehrmacht was exhausted by continuous bloody battles on the outskirts of Moscow. The Nazis had to take a break in offensive operations. Stalin took advantage of this to organize propaganda events, of which the most famous was the parade of Soviet troops on November 7, 1941.

In mid-November, the Germans resumed their offensive, trying to pincer Moscow from the north and south. On the critical days of the beginning of the offensive, on November 17, an unforgettable feat was accomplished by 28 fighters of the division of General Panfilov, who stood to death at the Dubosekovo junction. The words of their political instructor Vasily Klochkov spread throughout the country: "Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind us." At the end of November, the young partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya accomplished her feat.

Stalin, based on R. Sorge's information that Japan would not stab in the back, decided to send troops stationed in the Far East into battle. The appearance of fresh Siberian divisions near Moscow, by all accounts, greatly strengthened the defense. At the end of November 1941, the German offensive finally ran out of steam. On December 5, the Soviet counter-offensive began, during which the Nazi troops were driven back to the west by 100-300 km. In January 1942 the Moscow battle ended. Its significance is that the blitzkrieg strategy was finally overturned. Now some historians even express the opinion that the Battle of Moscow was the main battle of the Second World War, the beginning of a radical turning point (usually it is associated with the Battle of Stalingrad).

Failures of 1942

After the Battle of Moscow, Germany's forces were very large. But the General Staff of the Red Army, when planning military operations, proceeded from the erroneous indication of Stalin: "the best divisions of the enemy have already been defeated." According to Stalin, 1942 was to be the year of the final defeat of fascist Germany.

Attempts by the Soviet troops to go on the offensive failed. Parts of the Red Army suffered huge losses. Unsuccessful were attempts to unblock Leningrad, during which the 2nd Shock Army was killed, and its commander, General Vlasov, surrendered. The situation of the Leningraders, who, due to the mistakes of the Soviet command, found themselves in the ring of the Nazi troops, was catastrophic, about a million people in besieged Leningrad died of hunger and cold. An attempt by Soviet troops in May 1942 to liberate the Crimea led to the death of 176 thousand soldiers and officers in the Kerch region, and as a result of an unsuccessful attack on Kharkov (June-July 1942), 240 thousand military personnel were captured.

Stalin's second mistake was the wrong definition of the main direction of the German attack in 1942: they thought that the Germans would try to attack Moscow again. Our main forces were concentrated in this direction. The Germans launched an offensive on July 28 in the direction of the Volga and the Caucasus. Our front was broken through, a new heavy retreat of the Red Army began.