The beginning of the Second World War. USSR during the Second World War War 2 in the USSR briefly

World War II 1939-1945

a war prepared by the forces of international imperialist reaction and unleashed by the main aggressive states - fascist Germany, fascist Italy and militaristic Japan. World capitalism, like the first, arose due to the law of uneven development of capitalist countries under imperialism and was the result of a sharp aggravation of inter-imperialist contradictions, the struggle for markets, sources of raw materials, spheres of influence and investment of capital. The war began in conditions when capitalism was no longer a comprehensive system, when the world's first socialist state, the USSR, existed and grew stronger. The split of the world into two systems led to the emergence of the main contradiction of the era - between socialism and capitalism. Inter-imperialist contradictions have ceased to be the only factor in world politics. They developed in parallel and in interaction with the contradictions between the two systems. Warring capitalist groups, fighting each other, simultaneously sought to destroy the USSR. However, V. m.v. began as a clash between two coalitions of major capitalist powers. It was imperialist in origin, its culprits were the imperialists of all countries, the system of modern capitalism. Hitler's Germany, which led the bloc of fascist aggressors, bears special responsibility for its emergence. On the part of the states of the fascist bloc, the war bore an imperialist character throughout its entire duration. On the part of the states that fought against the fascist aggressors and their allies, the nature of the war gradually changed. Under the influence of the national liberation struggle of peoples, the process of transforming the war into a just, anti-fascist war was underway. The entry of the Soviet Union into the war against the states of the fascist bloc that treacherously attacked it completed this process.

Preparation and outbreak of war. The forces that unleashed military warfare prepared strategic and political positions favorable to the aggressors long before it began. In the 30s Two main centers of military danger have emerged in the world: Germany in Europe, Japan in the Far East. The strengthening of German imperialism, under the pretext of eliminating the injustices of the Versailles system, began to demand the redivision of the world in its favor. The establishment of a terrorist fascist dictatorship in Germany in 1933, which fulfilled the demands of the most reactionary and chauvinistic circles of monopoly capital, turned this country into a striking force of imperialism, directed primarily against the USSR. However, the plans of German fascism were not limited to the enslavement of the peoples of the Soviet Union. The fascist program for gaining world domination provided for the transformation of Germany into the center of a gigantic colonial empire, the power and influence of which would extend to all of Europe and the richest regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the mass destruction of the population in the conquered countries, especially in the countries of Eastern Europe. The fascist elite planned to begin the implementation of this program from the countries of Central Europe, then spreading it to the entire continent. The defeat and capture of the Soviet Union with the aim, first of all, of destroying the center of the international communist and labor movement, as well as expanding the “living space” of German imperialism, was the most important political task of fascism and at the same time the main prerequisite for the further successful deployment of aggression on a global scale. The imperialists of Italy and Japan also sought to redistribute the world and establish a “new order”. Thus, the plans of the Nazis and their allies posed a serious threat not only to the USSR, but also to Great Britain, France, and the USA. However, the ruling circles of the Western powers, driven by a feeling of class hatred towards the Soviet state, under the guise of “non-interference” and “neutrality”, essentially pursued a policy of complicity with the fascist aggressors, hoping to avert the threat of fascist invasion from their countries, to weaken their imperialist rivals with the forces of the Soviet Union, and then with their help, destroy the USSR. They relied on the mutual exhaustion of the USSR and Nazi Germany in a protracted and destructive war.

The French ruling elite, pushing Hitler's aggression to the East in the pre-war years and fighting against the communist movement within the country, at the same time feared a new German invasion, sought a close military alliance with Great Britain, strengthened the eastern borders by building the “Maginot Line” and deploying armed forces against Germany. The British government sought to strengthen the British colonial empire and sent troops and naval forces to its key areas (Middle East, Singapore, India). Pursuing a policy of aiding the aggressors in Europe, the government of N. Chamberlain, right up to the start of the war and in its first months, hoped for an agreement with Hitler at the expense of the USSR. In the event of aggression against France, it hoped that the French armed forces, repelling the aggression together with the British expeditionary forces and British aviation units, would ensure the security of the British Isles. Before the war, the US ruling circles supported Germany economically and thereby contributed to the reconstruction of German military potential. With the outbreak of the war, they were forced to slightly change their political course and, as fascist aggression expanded, switch to supporting Great Britain and France.

The Soviet Union, in an environment of increasing military danger, pursued a policy aimed at curbing the aggressor and creating a reliable system for ensuring peace. On May 2, 1935, a Franco-Soviet treaty on mutual assistance was signed in Paris. On May 16, 1935, the Soviet Union concluded a mutual assistance agreement with Czechoslovakia. The Soviet government fought to create a collective security system that could be an effective means of preventing war and ensuring peace. At the same time, the Soviet state carried out a set of measures aimed at strengthening the country’s defense and developing its military-economic potential.

In the 30s Hitler's government launched diplomatic, strategic and economic preparations for world war. In October 1933, Germany left the Geneva Disarmament Conference of 1932-35 (See Geneva Disarmament Conference of 1932-35) and announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations. On March 16, 1935, Hitler violated the military articles of the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 (See Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919) and introduced universal conscription in the country. In March 1936, German troops occupied the demilitarized Rhineland. In November 1936, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, which Italy joined in 1937. The activation of the aggressive forces of imperialism led to a number of international political crises and local wars. As a result of the aggressive wars of Japan against China (began in 1931), Italy against Ethiopia (1935-36), and the German-Italian intervention in Spain (1936-39), fascist states strengthened their positions in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Using the policy of “non-intervention” pursued by Great Britain and France, Nazi Germany captured Austria in March 1938 and began preparing an attack on Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia had a well-trained army, based on a powerful system of border fortifications; Treaties with France (1924) and the USSR (1935) provided for military assistance from these powers to Czechoslovakia. The Soviet Union has repeatedly stated its readiness to fulfill its obligations and provide military assistance to Czechoslovakia, even if France does not. However, the government of E. Benes did not accept help from the USSR. As a result of the Munich Agreement of 1938 (See Munich Agreement of 1938), the ruling circles of Great Britain and France, supported by the United States, betrayed Czechoslovakia and agreed to the seizure of the Sudetenland by Germany, hoping in this way to open the “path to the East” for Nazi Germany. The fascist leadership had a free hand for aggression.

At the end of 1938, the ruling circles of Nazi Germany began a diplomatic offensive against Poland, creating the so-called Danzig crisis, the meaning of which was to carry out aggression against Poland under the guise of demands for the elimination of the “injustices of Versailles” against the free city of Danzig. In March 1939, Germany completely occupied Czechoslovakia, created a fascist puppet “state” - Slovakia, seized the Memel region from Lithuania and imposed an enslaving “economic” agreement on Romania. Italy occupied Albania in April 1939. In response to the expansion of fascist aggression, the governments of Great Britain and France, in order to protect their economic and political interests in Europe, provided “guarantees of independence” to Poland, Romania, Greece and Turkey. France also pledged military assistance to Poland in the event of an attack by Germany. In April - May 1939, Germany denounced the Anglo-German naval agreement of 1935, broke the non-aggression agreement concluded in 1934 with Poland and concluded the so-called Pact of Steel with Italy, according to which the Italian government pledged to help Germany if it went to war with the Western powers.

In such a situation, the British and French governments, under the influence of public opinion, out of fear of the further strengthening of Germany and in order to put pressure on it, entered into negotiations with the USSR, which took place in Moscow in the summer of 1939 (see Moscow negotiations 1939). However, the Western powers did not agree to conclude the agreement proposed by the USSR on a joint struggle against the aggressor. By inviting the Soviet Union to make unilateral commitments to help any European neighbor in the event of an attack on it, the Western powers wanted to drag the USSR into a one-on-one war against Germany. The negotiations, which lasted until mid-August 1939, did not produce results due to sabotage by Paris and London of Soviet constructive proposals. Leading the Moscow negotiations to a breakdown, the British government at the same time entered into secret contacts with the Nazis through their ambassador in London G. Dirksen, trying to achieve an agreement on the redistribution of the world at the expense of the USSR. The position of the Western powers predetermined the breakdown of the Moscow negotiations and presented the Soviet Union with an alternative: to find itself isolated in the face of a direct threat of attack by Nazi Germany or, having exhausted the possibilities of concluding an alliance with Great Britain and France, to sign the non-aggression pact proposed by Germany and thereby push back the threat of war. The situation made the second choice inevitable. The Soviet-German treaty concluded on August 23, 1939 contributed to the fact that, contrary to the calculations of Western politicians, the world war began with a clash within the capitalist world.

On the eve of V. m.v. German fascism, through the accelerated development of the military economy, created a powerful military potential. In 1933-39, expenditures on armaments increased more than 12 times and reached 37 billion marks. Germany smelted 22.5 million in 1939. T steel, 17.5 million T pig iron, mined 251.6 million. T coal, produced 66.0 billion. kW · h electricity. However, for a number of types of strategic raw materials, Germany depended on imports (iron ore, rubber, manganese ore, copper, oil and petroleum products, chrome ore). The number of armed forces of Nazi Germany by September 1, 1939 reached 4.6 million people. There were 26 thousand guns and mortars, 3.2 thousand tanks, 4.4 thousand combat aircraft, 115 warships (including 57 submarines) in service.

The strategy of the German High Command was based on the doctrine of “total war.” Its main content was the concept of “blitzkrieg”, according to which victory should be achieved in the shortest possible time, before the enemy fully deploys his armed forces and military-economic potential. The strategic plan of the fascist German command was to, using limited forces in the west as cover, attack Poland and quickly defeat its armed forces. 61 divisions and 2 brigades were deployed against Poland (including 7 tank and about 9 motorized), of which 7 infantry and 1 tank divisions arrived after the start of the war, a total of 1.8 million people, over 11 thousand guns and mortars, 2.8 thousand tanks, about 2 thousand aircraft; against France - 35 infantry divisions (after September 3, 9 more divisions arrived), 1.5 thousand aircraft.

The Polish command, counting on military assistance guaranteed by Great Britain and France, intended to conduct defense in the border zone and go on the offensive after the French army and British aviation actively distracted German forces from the Polish front. By September 1, Poland had managed to mobilize and concentrate troops only 70%: 24 infantry divisions, 3 mountain brigades, 1 armored brigade, 8 cavalry brigades and 56 national defense battalions were deployed. The Polish armed forces had over 4 thousand guns and mortars, 785 light tanks and tankettes and about 400 aircraft.

The French plan for waging war against Germany, in accordance with the political course pursued by France and the military doctrine of the French command, provided for defense on the Maginot Line and the entry of troops into Belgium and the Netherlands to continue the defensive front to the north in order to protect the ports and industrial areas of France and Belgium. After mobilization, the armed forces of France numbered 110 divisions (15 of them in the colonies), a total of 2.67 million people, about 2.7 thousand tanks (in the metropolis - 2.4 thousand), over 26 thousand guns and mortars, 2330 aircraft (in the metropolis - 1735), 176 warships (including 77 submarines).

Great Britain had a strong Navy and Air Force - 320 warships of the main classes (including 69 submarines), about 2 thousand aircraft. Its ground forces consisted of 9 personnel and 17 territorial divisions; they had 5.6 thousand guns and mortars, 547 tanks. The strength of the British army was 1.27 million people. In the event of war with Germany, the British command planned to concentrate its main efforts at sea and send 10 divisions to France. The British and French commands did not intend to provide serious assistance to Poland.

1st period of the war (September 1, 1939 - June 21, 1941)- the period of military successes of Nazi Germany. On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland (see Polish campaign of 1939). On September 3, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Having an overwhelming superiority of forces over the Polish army and concentrating a mass of tanks and aircraft on the main sectors of the front, the Nazi command was able to achieve major operational results from the beginning of the war. The incomplete deployment of forces, the lack of assistance from the allies, the weakness of the centralized leadership and its subsequent collapse put the Polish army before a disaster.

The courageous resistance of Polish troops near Mokra, Mlawa, on Bzura, the defense of Modlin, Westerplatte and the heroic 20-day defense of Warsaw (September 8-28) wrote bright pages in the history of the German-Polish war, but could not prevent the defeat of Poland. Hitler's troops surrounded a number of Polish army groups west of the Vistula, transferred military operations to the eastern regions of the country and completed its occupation in early October.

On September 17, by order of the Soviet government, Red Army troops crossed the border of the collapsed Polish state and began a liberation campaign into Western Belarus and Western Ukraine in order to protect the lives and property of the Ukrainian and Belarusian population, who were seeking reunification with the Soviet republics. The campaign to the West was also necessary to stop the spread of Hitler's aggression to the east. The Soviet government, confident in the inevitability of German aggression against the USSR in the near future, sought to delay the starting point of the future deployment of troops of a potential enemy, which was in the interests of not only the Soviet Union, but also all peoples threatened by fascist aggression. After the Red Army liberated the Western Belarusian and Western Ukrainian lands, Western Ukraine (November 1, 1939) and Western Belarus (November 2, 1939) were reunited with the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR, respectively.

At the end of September - beginning of October 1939, Soviet-Estonian, Soviet-Latvian and Soviet-Lithuanian mutual assistance agreements were signed, which prevented the seizure of the Baltic countries by Nazi Germany and their transformation into a military springboard against the USSR. In August 1940, after the overthrow of the bourgeois governments of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, these countries, in accordance with the wishes of their peoples, were accepted into the USSR.

As a result of the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-40 (See Soviet-Finnish War of 1939), according to the agreement of March 12, 1940, the USSR border on the Karelian Isthmus, in the area of ​​Leningrad and the Murmansk Railway, was somewhat pushed to the north-west. On June 26, 1940, the Soviet government proposed that Romania return Bessarabia, captured by Romania in 1918, to the USSR and transfer the northern part of Bukovina, inhabited by Ukrainians, to the USSR. On June 28, the Romanian government agreed to the return of Bessarabia and the transfer of Northern Bukovina.

The governments of Great Britain and France after the outbreak of the war until May 1940 continued, only in a slightly modified form, the pre-war foreign policy course, which was based on calculations for reconciliation with fascist Germany on the basis of anti-communism and the direction of its aggression against the USSR. Despite the declaration of war, the French armed forces and the British Expeditionary Forces (which began arriving in France in mid-September) remained inactive for 9 months. During this period, called the “Phantom War,” Hitler’s army prepared for an offensive against the countries of Western Europe. Since the end of September 1939, active military operations were carried out only on sea communications. To blockade Great Britain, the Nazi command used naval forces, especially submarines and large ships (raiders). From September to December 1939, Great Britain lost 114 ships from attacks by German submarines, and in 1940 - 471 ships, while the Germans lost only 9 submarines in 1939. Attacks on Great Britain's sea communications led to the loss of 1/3 of the tonnage of the British merchant fleet by the summer of 1941 and created a serious threat to the country's economy.

In April–May 1940, German armed forces captured Norway and Denmark (see Norwegian Operation of 1940) with the aim of strengthening German positions in the Atlantic and Northern Europe, seizing iron ore wealth, bringing the bases of the German fleet closer to Great Britain, and providing a springboard in the north for an attack on the USSR. . On April 9, 1940, amphibious assault forces landed simultaneously and captured the key ports of Norway along its entire 1800-long coastline. km, and airborne assaults occupied the main airfields. The courageous resistance of the Norwegian army (which was late in deployment) and the patriots delayed the onslaught of the Nazis. Attempts by the Anglo-French troops to dislodge the Germans from the points they occupied led to a series of battles in the areas of Narvik, Namsus, Molle (Molde), and others. British troops recaptured Narvik from the Germans. But they failed to wrest the strategic initiative from the Nazis. At the beginning of June they were evacuated from Narvik. The occupation of Norway was made easier for the Nazis by the actions of the Norwegian “fifth column” led by V. Quisling. The country turned into Hitler's base in northern Europe. But significant losses of the Nazi fleet during the Norwegian operation weakened its capabilities in the further struggle for the Atlantic.

At dawn on May 10, 1940, after careful preparation, Nazi troops (135 divisions, including 10 tank and 6 motorized, and 1 brigade, 2,580 tanks, 3,834 aircraft) invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and then through their territories and into France (see French campaign 1940). The Germans delivered the main blow with a mass of mobile formations and aircraft through the Ardennes Mountains, bypassing the Maginot Line from the north, through northern France to the English Channel coast. The French command, adhering to a defensive doctrine, stationed large forces on the Maginot Line and did not create a strategic reserve in the depths. After the start of the German offensive, it brought the main group of troops, including the British Expeditionary Army, into Belgium, exposing these forces to attack from the rear. These serious mistakes of the French command, aggravated by poor interaction between the Allied armies, allowed Hitler's troops after crossing the river. Meuse and battles in central Belgium to carry out a breakthrough through northern France, cut the front of the Anglo-French troops, go to the rear of the Anglo-French group operating in Belgium, and break through to the English Channel. On May 14, the Netherlands capitulated. The Belgian, British and part of the French armies were surrounded in Flanders. Belgium capitulated on May 28. The British and part of the French troops, surrounded in the Dunkirk area, managed, having lost all their military equipment, to evacuate to Great Britain (see Dunkirk operation 1940).

At the 2nd stage of the summer campaign of 1940, Hitler’s army, with much superior forces, broke through the front hastily created by the French along the river. Somme and En. The danger looming over France required the unity of the people's forces. French communists called for nationwide resistance and organization of the defense of Paris. The capitulators and traitors (P. Reynaud, C. Pétain, P. Laval and others) who determined the policy of France, the high command led by M. Weygand rejected this only way to save the country, as they feared revolutionary actions of the proletariat and the strengthening of the Communist Party. They decided to surrender Paris without a fight and capitulate to Hitler. Having not exhausted the possibilities of resistance, the French armed forces laid down their arms. The Compiègne Armistice of 1940 (signed on June 22) became a milestone in the policy of national treason pursued by the Pétain government, which expressed the interests of part of the French bourgeoisie, oriented toward Nazi Germany. This truce was aimed at strangling the national liberation struggle of the French people. Under its terms, an occupation regime was established in the northern and central parts of France. France's industrial, raw materials and food resources came under German control. In the unoccupied southern part of the country, the anti-national pro-fascist Vichy government led by Pétain came to power, becoming Hitler's puppet. But at the end of June 1940, the Committee of Free (from July 1942 - Fighting) France was formed in London, headed by General Charles de Gaulle to lead the struggle for the liberation of France from the Nazi invaders and their henchmen.

On June 10, 1940, Italy entered the war against Great Britain and France, striving to establish dominance in the Mediterranean basin. Italian troops captured British Somalia, part of Kenya and Sudan in August, and in mid-September invaded Egypt from Libya to make their way to Suez (see North African campaigns 1940-43). However, they were soon stopped, and in December 1940 they were driven back by the British. An attempt by the Italians to develop an offensive from Albania to Greece, launched in October 1940, was decisively repulsed by the Greek army, which inflicted a number of strong retaliatory blows on the Italian troops (see Italo-Greek War 1940-41 (See Italo-Greek War 1940-1941)). In January - May 1941, British troops expelled the Italians from British Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Italian Somalia, and Eritrea. Mussolini was forced in January 1941 to ask Hitler for help. In the spring, German troops were sent to North Africa, forming the so-called Afrika Korps, led by General E. Rommel. Having gone on the offensive on March 31, Italian-German troops reached the Libyan-Egyptian border in the 2nd half of April.

After the defeat of France, the threat looming over Great Britain contributed to the isolation of the Munich elements and the rallying of the forces of the English people. The government of W. Churchill, which replaced the government of N. Chamberlain on May 10, 1940, began organizing an effective defense. The British government attached particular importance to US support. In July 1940, secret negotiations began between the air and naval headquarters of the United States and Great Britain, which ended with the signing on September 2 of an agreement on the transfer of 50 obsolete American destroyers to the latter in exchange for British military bases in the Western Hemisphere (they were provided to the United States for a period of 99 years). Destroyers were needed to fight the Atlantic communications.

On July 16, 1940, Hitler issued a directive for the invasion of Great Britain (Operation Sea Lion). From August 1940, the Nazis began massive bombing of Great Britain in order to undermine its military and economic potential, demoralize the population, prepare for an invasion and ultimately force it to surrender (see Battle of Britain 1940-41). German aviation caused significant damage to many British cities, enterprises, and ports, but did not break the resistance of the British Air Force, was unable to establish air supremacy over the English Channel, and suffered heavy losses. As a result of the air raids, which continued until May 1941, Hitler's leadership was unable to force Great Britain to capitulate, destroy its industry, and undermine the morale of the population. The German command was unable to provide the required number of landing equipment in a timely manner. The naval forces were insufficient.

However, the main reason for Hitler’s refusal to invade Great Britain was the decision he made back in the summer of 1940 to commit aggression against the Soviet Union. Having begun direct preparations for an attack on the USSR, the Nazi leadership was forced to transfer forces from the West to the East, directing enormous resources to the development of ground forces, and not the fleet necessary to fight against Great Britain. In the autumn, the ongoing preparations for war against the USSR removed the direct threat of a German invasion of Great Britain. Closely connected with plans to prepare an attack on the USSR was the strengthening of the aggressive alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan, which found expression in the signing of the Berlin Pact of 1940 on September 27 (See Berlin Pact of 1940).

Preparing an attack on the USSR, fascist Germany carried out aggression in the Balkans in the spring of 1941 (see Balkan campaign of 1941). On March 2, Nazi troops entered Bulgaria, which joined the Berlin Pact; On April 6, Italo-German and then Hungarian troops invaded Yugoslavia and Greece and occupied Yugoslavia by April 18, and the Greek mainland by April 29. On the territory of Yugoslavia, puppet fascist “states” were created - Croatia and Serbia. From May 20 to June 2, the fascist German command carried out the Cretan airborne operation of 1941 (See Cretan airborne operation of 1941), during which Crete and other Greek islands in the Aegean Sea were captured.

The military successes of Nazi Germany in the first period of the war were largely due to the fact that its opponents, who had an overall higher industrial and economic potential, were unable to pool their resources, create a unified system of military leadership, and develop unified effective plans for waging war. Their military machine lagged behind the new demands of armed struggle and had difficulty resisting more modern methods of conducting it. In terms of training, combat training and technical equipment, the Nazi Wehrmacht was generally superior to the armed forces of Western states. The insufficient military preparedness of the latter was mainly associated with the reactionary pre-war foreign policy course of their ruling circles, which was based on the desire to come to an agreement with the aggressor at the expense of the USSR.

By the end of the 1st period of the war, the bloc of fascist states had sharply strengthened economically and militarily. Most of continental Europe, with its resources and economy, came under German control. In Poland, Germany captured the main metallurgical and engineering plants, the coal mines of Upper Silesia, the chemical and mining industries - a total of 294 large, 35 thousand medium and small industrial enterprises; in France - the metallurgical and steel industry of Lorraine, the entire automotive and aviation industry, reserves of iron ore, copper, aluminum, magnesium, as well as automobiles, precision mechanics products, machine tools, rolling stock; in Norway - mining, metallurgical, shipbuilding industries, enterprises for the production of ferroalloys; in Yugoslavia - copper and bauxite deposits; in the Netherlands, in addition to industrial enterprises, gold reserves amount to 71.3 million florins. The total amount of material assets looted by Nazi Germany in the occupied countries amounted to 9 billion pounds sterling by 1941. By the spring of 1941, more than 3 million foreign workers and prisoners of war worked at German enterprises. In addition, all the weapons of their armies were captured in the occupied countries; for example, in France alone there are about 5 thousand tanks and 3 thousand aircraft. In 1941, the Nazis equipped 38 infantry, 3 motorized, and 1 tank divisions with French vehicles. More than 4 thousand steam locomotives and 40 thousand carriages from occupied countries appeared on the German railway. The economic resources of most European states were put at the service of the war, primarily the war being prepared against the USSR.

In the occupied territories, as well as in Germany itself, the Nazis established a terrorist regime, exterminating all those dissatisfied or suspected of discontent. A system of concentration camps was created in which millions of people were exterminated in an organized manner. The activity of death camps especially developed after the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR. More than 4 million people were killed in the Auschwitz camp (Poland) alone. The fascist command widely practiced punitive expeditions and mass executions of civilians (see Lidice, Oradour-sur-Glane, etc.).

Military successes allowed Hitler's diplomacy to push the boundaries of the fascist bloc, consolidate the accession of Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Finland (which were headed by reactionary governments closely associated with fascist Germany and dependent on it), plant its agents and strengthen its positions in the Middle East, in some areas of Africa and Latin America. At the same time, political self-exposure of the Nazi regime took place, hatred of it grew not only among broad sections of the population, but also among the ruling classes of capitalist countries, and the Resistance Movement began. In the face of the fascist threat, the ruling circles of the Western powers, primarily Great Britain, were forced to reconsider their previous political course aimed at condoning fascist aggression, and gradually replace it with a course towards the fight against fascism.

The US government gradually began to reconsider its foreign policy course. It increasingly actively supported Great Britain, becoming its “non-belligerent ally.” In May 1940, Congress approved an amount of 3 billion dollars for the needs of the army and navy, and in the summer - 6.5 billion, including 4 billion for the construction of a “fleet of two oceans.” The supply of weapons and equipment for Great Britain increased. According to the law adopted by the US Congress on March 11, 1941 on the transfer of military materials to warring countries on loan or lease (see Lend-Lease), Great Britain was allocated 7 billion dollars. In April 1941, the Lend-Lease law was extended to Yugoslavia and Greece. US troops occupied Greenland and Iceland and established bases there. The North Atlantic was declared a "patrol zone" for the US navy, which was also used to escort merchant ships heading to the UK.

2nd period of the war (22 June 1941 - 18 November 1942) is characterized by a further expansion of its scope and the beginning, in connection with the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45, which became the main and decisive component of military warfare. (for details on actions on the Soviet-German front, see article). On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany treacherously and suddenly attacked the Soviet Union. This attack completed the long course of anti-Soviet policy of German fascism, which sought to destroy the world's first socialist state and seize its richest resources. Nazi Germany sent 77% of its armed forces personnel, the bulk of its tanks and aircraft, i.e., the main most combat-ready forces of the Nazi Wehrmacht, against the Soviet Union. Together with Germany, Hungary, Romania, Finland and Italy entered the war against the USSR. The Soviet-German front became the main front of the military war. From now on, the struggle of the Soviet Union against fascism decided the outcome of the World War, the fate of mankind.

From the very beginning, the struggle of the Red Army had a decisive influence on the entire course of military warfare, on the entire policy and military strategy of the warring coalitions and states. Under the influence of events on the Soviet-German front, the Nazi military command was forced to determine methods of strategic management of the war, the formation and use of strategic reserves, and a system of regroupings between theaters of military operations. During the war, the Red Army forced the Nazi command to completely abandon the doctrine of “blitzkrieg.” Under the blows of the Soviet troops, other methods of warfare and military leadership used by the German strategy consistently failed.

As a result of a surprise attack, the superior forces of the Nazi troops managed to penetrate deeply into Soviet territory in the first weeks of the war. By the end of the first ten days of July, the enemy captured Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, a significant part of Ukraine, and part of Moldova. However, moving deeper into the territory of the USSR, the Nazi troops encountered growing resistance from the Red Army and suffered increasingly heavy losses. Soviet troops fought steadfastly and stubbornly. Under the leadership of the Communist Party and its Central Committee, the restructuring of the entire life of the country on a military basis began, the mobilization of internal forces to defeat the enemy. The peoples of the USSR rallied into a single battle camp. The formation of large strategic reserves was carried out, and the country's leadership system was reorganized. The Communist Party began work on organizing the partisan movement.

Already the initial period of the war showed that the Nazis’ military adventure was doomed to failure. The Nazi armies were stopped near Leningrad and on the river. Volkhov. The heroic defense of Kyiv, Odessa and Sevastopol pinned down large forces of fascist German troops in the south for a long time. In the fierce Battle of Smolensk 1941 (See Battle of Smolensk 1941) (July 10 - September 10) The Red Army stopped the German strike group - Army Group Center, which was advancing on Moscow, inflicting heavy losses on it. In October 1941, the enemy, having brought up reserves, resumed the attack on Moscow. Despite initial successes, he was unable to break the stubborn resistance of Soviet troops, who were inferior to the enemy in numbers and military equipment, and break through to Moscow. In intense battles, the Red Army defended the capital in extremely difficult conditions, bled the enemy’s strike forces dry, and in early December 1941 launched a counteroffensive. The defeat of the Nazis in the Battle of Moscow 1941-42 (See Battle of Moscow 1941-42) (September 30, 1941 - April 20, 1942) buried the fascist plan for a “lightning war”, becoming an event of world-historical significance. The Battle of Moscow dispelled the myth of the invincibility of Hitler's Wehrmacht, confronted Nazi Germany with the need to wage a protracted war, contributed to the further unity of the anti-Hitler coalition, and inspired all freedom-loving peoples to fight the aggressors. The victory of the Red Army near Moscow meant a decisive turn of military events in favor of the USSR and had a great influence on the entire further course of military warfare.

Having carried out extensive preparations, the Nazi leadership resumed offensive operations on the Soviet-German front at the end of June 1942. After fierce battles near Voronezh and in the Donbass, fascist German troops managed to break through to the big bend of the Don. However, the Soviet command managed to remove the main forces of the South-Western and Southern Fronts from the attack, take them beyond the Don and thereby thwart the enemy’s plans to encircle them. In mid-July 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943 began (See Battle of Stalingrad 1942-43) - the greatest battle of military history. During the heroic defense near Stalingrad in July - November 1942, Soviet troops pinned down the enemy strike group, inflicted heavy losses on it and prepared the conditions for launching a counteroffensive. Hitler's troops were unable to achieve decisive success in the Caucasus (see article Caucasus).

By November 1942, despite enormous difficulties, the Red Army had achieved major successes. The Nazi army was stopped. A well-coordinated military economy was created in the USSR; the output of military products exceeded the output of military products of Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union created the conditions for a radical change in the course of the World War.

The liberation struggle of the peoples against the aggressors created objective prerequisites for the formation and consolidation of the anti-Hitler coalition (See Anti-Hitler coalition). The Soviet government sought to mobilize all forces in the international arena to fight against fascism. On July 12, 1941, the USSR signed an agreement with Great Britain on joint actions in the war against Germany; On July 18, a similar agreement was signed with the government of Czechoslovakia, and on July 30 - with the Polish émigré government. On August 9-12, 1941, negotiations were held on warships near Argentilla (Newfoundland) between British Prime Minister W. Churchill and US President F. D. Roosevelt. Taking a wait-and-see attitude, the United States intended to limit itself to material support (Lend-Lease) to countries fighting against Germany. Great Britain, urging the United States to enter the war, proposed a strategy of protracted action using naval and air forces. The goals of the war and the principles of the post-war world order were formulated in the Atlantic Charter signed by Roosevelt and Churchill (See Atlantic Charter) (dated August 14, 1941). On September 24, the Soviet Union joined the Atlantic Charter, expressing its dissenting opinion on certain issues. At the end of September - beginning of October 1941, a meeting of representatives of the USSR, USA and Great Britain was held in Moscow, which ended with the signing of a protocol on mutual supplies.

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a war against the United States with a surprise attack on the American military base in the Pacific Ocean, Pearl Harbor. On December 8, 1941, the USA, Great Britain and a number of other states declared war on Japan. The war in the Pacific and Asia was generated by long-standing and deep Japanese-American imperialist contradictions, which intensified during the struggle for dominance in China and Southeast Asia. The entry of the United States into the war strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition. The military alliance of states fighting against fascism was formalized in Washington on January 1 with the Declaration of 26 States of 1942 (See Declaration of 26 States of 1942). The declaration was based on the recognition of the need to achieve complete victory over the enemy, for which the countries waging war were obliged to mobilize all military and economic resources, cooperate with each other, and not conclude a separate peace with the enemy. The creation of an anti-Hitler coalition meant the failure of the Nazi plans to isolate the USSR and the consolidation of all world anti-fascist forces.

To develop a joint plan of action, Churchill and Roosevelt held a conference in Washington on December 22, 1941 - January 14, 1942 (codenamed “Arcadia”), during which a coordinated course of Anglo-American strategy was determined, based on the recognition of Germany as the main enemy in the war, and the Atlantic and European areas - the decisive theater of military operations. However, assistance to the Red Army, which bore the main brunt of the struggle, was planned only in the form of intensifying air raids on Germany, its blockade and the organization of subversive activities in the occupied countries. It was supposed to prepare an invasion of the continent, but not earlier than 1943, either from the Mediterranean Sea or by landing in Western Europe.

At the Washington Conference, a system of general management of the military efforts of the Western allies was determined, a joint Anglo-American headquarters was created to coordinate the strategy developed at the conferences of heads of government; a single allied Anglo-American-Dutch-Australian command was formed for the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, headed by the English Field Marshal A.P. Wavell.

Immediately after the Washington Conference, the Allies began to violate their own established principle of the decisive importance of the European theater of operations. Without developing specific plans for waging war in Europe, they (primarily the United States) began to transfer more and more naval forces, aviation, and landing craft to the Pacific Ocean, where the situation was unfavorable for the United States.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Nazi Germany sought to strengthen the fascist bloc. In November 1941, the Anti-Comintern Pact of the fascist powers was extended for 5 years. On December 11, 1941, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed an agreement on waging war against the United States and Great Britain “to the bitter end” and refusing to sign an armistice with them without mutual agreement.

Having disabled the main forces of the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, the Japanese armed forces then occupied Thailand, Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Burma, Malaya with the fortress of Singapore, the Philippines, the most important islands of Indonesia, seizing vast reserves of strategic raw materials in the southern seas. They defeated the US Asiatic Fleet, part of the British fleet, the air force and ground forces of the allies and, having ensured supremacy at sea, in 5 months of war they deprived the US and Great Britain of all naval and air bases in the Western Pacific. With a strike from the Caroline Islands, the Japanese fleet captured part of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, including most of the Solomon Islands, and created the threat of invasion of Australia (see Pacific campaigns of 1941-45). The ruling circles of Japan hoped that Germany would tie up the forces of the United States and Great Britain on other fronts and that both powers, after seizing their possessions in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, would abandon the fight at a great distance from the mother country.

Under these conditions, the United States began to take emergency measures to deploy the military economy and mobilize resources. Having transferred part of the fleet from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, the United States launched the first retaliatory strikes in the first half of 1942. The two-day Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7-8 brought success to the American fleet and forced the Japanese to abandon further advances in the southwest Pacific. In June 1942, near Fr. Midway, the American fleet defeated large forces of the Japanese fleet, which, having suffered heavy losses, was forced to limit its actions and in the 2nd half of 1942 go on the defensive in the Pacific Ocean. Patriots of the countries captured by the Japanese - Indonesia, Indochina, Korea, Burma, Malaya, the Philippines - launched a national liberation struggle against the invaders. In China, in the summer of 1941, a major offensive by Japanese troops on the liberated areas was stopped (mainly by the forces of the People's Liberation Army of China).

The actions of the Red Army on the Eastern Front had an increasing influence on the military situation in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and North Africa. After the attack on the USSR, Germany and Italy were unable to simultaneously conduct offensive operations in other areas. Having transferred the main aviation forces against the Soviet Union, the German command lost the opportunity to actively act against Great Britain and deliver effective attacks on British sea lanes, fleet bases, and shipyards. This allowed Great Britain to strengthen the construction of its fleet, remove large naval forces from the waters of the mother country and transfer them to ensure communications in the Atlantic.

However, the German fleet soon seized the initiative for a short time. After the United States entered the war, a significant part of German submarines began to operate in the coastal waters of the Atlantic coast of America. In the first half of 1942, losses of Anglo-American ships in the Atlantic increased again. But the improvement of anti-submarine defense methods allowed the Anglo-American command, from the summer of 1942, to improve the situation on the Atlantic sea lanes, deliver a series of retaliatory strikes to the German submarine fleet and push it back to the central regions of the Atlantic. Since the beginning of V.m.v. Until the fall of 1942, the tonnage of merchant ships from Great Britain, the United States, their allies and neutral countries sunk mainly in the Atlantic exceeded 14 million. T.

The transfer of the bulk of the Nazi troops to the Soviet-German front contributed to a radical improvement in the position of the British armed forces in the Mediterranean and North Africa. In the summer of 1941, the British fleet and air force firmly seized supremacy at sea and in the air in the Mediterranean theater. Using o. Malta as a base, they sank 33% in August 1941, and in November - over 70% of cargo sent from Italy to North Africa. The British command re-formed the 8th Army in Egypt, which on November 18 went on the offensive against Rommel's German-Italian troops. A fierce tank battle unfolded near Sidi Rezeh, with varying degrees of success. Exhaustion forced Rommel to begin a retreat along the coast to positions at El Agheila on December 7.

At the end of November - December 1941, the German command strengthened its air force in the Mediterranean basin and transferred some submarines and torpedo boats from the Atlantic. Having inflicted a series of strong blows on the British fleet and its base in Malta, sinking 3 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier and other ships, the German-Italian fleet and aviation again seized dominance in the Mediterranean Sea, which improved their position in North Africa. On January 21, 1942, German-Italian troops suddenly went on the offensive for the British and advanced 450 km to El Ghazala. On May 27, they resumed their offensive with the goal of reaching Suez. With a deep maneuver they managed to cover the main forces of the 8th Army and capture Tobruk. At the end of June 1942, Rommel's troops crossed the Libyan-Egyptian border and reached El Alamein, where they were stopped without reaching the goal due to exhaustion and lack of reinforcements.

3rd period of the war (November 19, 1942 - December 1943) was a period of radical change, when the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition wrested the strategic initiative from the Axis powers, fully deployed their military potential and went on a strategic offensive everywhere. As before, decisive events took place on the Soviet-German front. By November 1942, of the 267 divisions and 5 brigades that Germany had, 192 divisions and 3 brigades (or 71%) were operating against the Red Army. In addition, there were 66 divisions and 13 brigades of German satellites on the Soviet-German front. On November 19, the Soviet counteroffensive began near Stalingrad. The troops of the Southwestern, Don and Stalingrad fronts broke through the enemy’s defenses and, introducing mobile formations, by November 23 encircled 330 thousand people between the Volga and Don rivers. a group from the 6th and 4th German tank armies. Soviet troops stubbornly defended themselves in the area of ​​the river. Myshkov thwarted the attempt of the fascist German command to release the encircled. The offensive on the middle Don by the troops of the Southwestern and left wing of the Voronezh fronts (began on December 16) ended with the defeat of the 8th Italian Army. The threat of a strike by Soviet tank formations on the flank of the German relief group forced it to begin a hasty retreat. By February 2, 1943, the group surrounded at Stalingrad was liquidated. This ended the Battle of Stalingrad, in which from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943, 32 divisions and 3 brigades of the Nazi army and German satellites were completely defeated and 16 divisions were bled dry. The total losses of the enemy during this time amounted to over 800 thousand people, 2 thousand tanks and assault guns, over 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 3 thousand aircraft, etc. The victory of the Red Army shocked Nazi Germany and caused irreparable harm to its armed forces damage, undermined Germany's military and political prestige in the eyes of its allies, and increased dissatisfaction with the war among them. The Battle of Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the entire World War.

The victories of the Red Army contributed to the expansion of the partisan movement in the USSR and became a powerful stimulus for the further development of the Resistance Movement in Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Greece, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and other European countries. Polish patriots gradually moved from spontaneous, isolated actions during the beginning of the war to mass struggle. Polish communists at the beginning of 1942 called for the formation of a “second front in the rear of Hitler’s army.” The fighting force of the Polish Workers' Party - the Ludowa Guard - became the first military organization in Poland to wage a systematic struggle against the occupiers. The creation at the end of 1943 of the democratic national front and the formation on the night of January 1, 1944 of its central body - the Home Rada of the People (See Home Rada of the People) contributed to the further development of the national liberation struggle.

In Yugoslavia in November 1942, under the leadership of the communists, the formation of the People's Liberation Army began, which by the end of 1942 liberated 1/5 of the country's territory. And although in 1943 the occupiers carried out 3 major attacks on Yugoslav patriots, the ranks of active anti-fascist fighters steadily multiplied and grew stronger. Under the attacks of the partisans, Hitler's troops suffered increasing losses; By the end of 1943, the transport network in the Balkans was paralyzed.

In Czechoslovakia, on the initiative of the Communist Party, the National Revolutionary Committee was created, which became the central political body of the anti-fascist struggle. The number of partisan detachments grew, and centers of the partisan movement formed in a number of regions of Czechoslovakia. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the anti-fascist resistance movement gradually developed into a national uprising.

The French Resistance Movement intensified sharply in the summer and autumn of 1943, after new defeats of the Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front. Organizations of the Resistance Movement joined the unified anti-fascist army created on French territory - the French Internal Forces, the number of which soon reached 500 thousand people.

The liberation movement, which unfolded in the territories occupied by the countries of the fascist bloc, fettered Hitler's troops, their main forces were bled dry by the Red Army. Already in the first half of 1942, conditions arose for the opening of a second front in Western Europe. The leaders of the USA and Great Britain pledged to open it in 1942, as stated in the Anglo-Soviet and Soviet-American communiqués published on June 12, 1942. However, the leaders of the Western powers delayed the opening of the second front, trying to weaken both Nazi Germany and the USSR at the same time, so that establish their dominance in Europe and throughout the world. On June 11, 1942, the British cabinet rejected the plan for a direct invasion of France across the English Channel under the pretext of difficulties in supplying troops, transferring reinforcements, and a lack of special landing craft. At a meeting in Washington of the heads of government and representatives of the joint headquarters of the United States and Great Britain in the 2nd half of June 1942, it was decided to abandon the landing in France in 1942 and 1943, and instead carry out an operation to land expeditionary forces in French North-West Africa (Operation "Torch") and only in the future begin to concentrate large masses of American troops in Great Britain (Operation Bolero). This decision, which had no compelling reasons, caused a protest from the Soviet government.

In North Africa, British troops, taking advantage of the weakening of the Italian-German group, launched offensive operations. British aviation, which again seized air supremacy in the fall of 1942, sank in October 1942 up to 40% of Italian and German ships heading to North Africa, disrupting the regular replenishment and supply of Rommel’s troops. On October 23, 1942, the 8th British Army under General B. L. Montgomery launched a decisive offensive. Having won an important victory in the battle of El Alamein, over the next three months she pursued Rommel's Afrika Korps along the coast, occupied the territory of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, liberated Tobruk, Benghazi and reached positions at El Agheila.

On November 8, 1942, the landing of the American-British expeditionary forces in French North Africa began (under the overall command of General D. Eisenhower); 12 divisions (over 150 thousand people in total) unloaded in the ports of Algiers, Oran, and Casablanca. Airborne troops captured two large airfields in Morocco. After minor resistance, the commander-in-chief of the French armed forces of the Vichy regime in North Africa, Admiral J. Darlan, ordered not to interfere with the American-British troops.

The fascist German command, intending to hold North Africa, urgently transferred the 5th Tank Army to Tunisia by air and sea, which managed to stop the Anglo-American troops and drive them back from Tunisia. In November 1942, Nazi troops occupied the entire territory of France and tried to capture the French Navy (about 60 warships) in Toulon, which, however, was sunk by French sailors.

At the Casablanca Conference of 1943 (See Casablanca Conference of 1943), the leaders of the United States and Great Britain, declaring the unconditional surrender of the Axis countries as their ultimate goal, determined further plans for waging war, which were based on the course of delaying the opening of a second front. Roosevelt and Churchill reviewed and approved the strategic plan prepared by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 1943, which included the capture of Sicily in order to put pressure on Italy and create conditions for attracting Turkey as an active ally, as well as an intensified air offensive against Germany and the concentration of the largest possible forces to enter the continent “as soon as German resistance weakens to the required level.”

The implementation of this plan could not seriously undermine the forces of the fascist bloc in Europe, much less replace the second front, since active actions by American-British troops were planned in a theater of military operations that was secondary to Germany. In the main issues of strategy V. m.v. this conference turned out to be fruitless.

The struggle in North Africa continued with varying success until the spring of 1943. In March, the 18th Anglo-American Army Group under the command of the English Field Marshal H. Alexander struck with superior forces and, after lengthy battles, occupied the city of Tunisia, and by May 13 forced the Italian-German troops surrender on the Bon Peninsula. The entire territory of North Africa passed into Allied hands.

After the defeat in Africa, Hitler's command expected the Allied invasion of France, not being ready to resist it. However, the allied command was preparing a landing in Italy. On May 12, Roosevelt and Churchill met at a new conference in Washington. The intention was confirmed not to open a second front in Western Europe during 1943 and the tentative date for its opening was set as May 1, 1944.

At this time, Germany was preparing a decisive summer offensive on the Soviet-German front. Hitler's leadership sought to defeat the main forces of the Red Army, regain the strategic initiative, and achieve a change in the course of the war. It increased its armed forces by 2 million people. through “total mobilization”, forced the release of military products, and transferred large contingents of troops from various regions of Europe to the Eastern Front. According to the Citadel plan, it was supposed to encircle and destroy Soviet troops in the Kursk ledge, and then expand the offensive front and capture the entire Donbass.

The Soviet command, having information about the impending enemy offensive, decided to exhaust the fascist German troops in a defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge, then defeat them in the central and southern sections of the Soviet-German front, liberate Left Bank Ukraine, Donbass, the eastern regions of Belarus and reach the Dnieper. To solve this problem, significant forces and resources were concentrated and skillfully located. The Battle of Kursk 1943, which began on July 5, is one of the greatest battles of military history. - immediately turned out in favor of the Red Army. Hitler's command failed to break the skillful and persistent defense of the Soviet troops with a powerful avalanche of tanks. In the defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge, the troops of the Central and Voronezh Fronts bled the enemy dry. On July 12, the Soviet command launched a counteroffensive on the Bryansk and Western Fronts against the German Oryol bridgehead. On July 16, the enemy began to retreat. The troops of the five fronts of the Red Army, developing a counteroffensive, defeated the enemy’s strike forces and opened their way to the Left Bank Ukraine and the Dnieper. In the Battle of Kursk, Soviet troops defeated 30 Nazi divisions, including 7 tank divisions. After this major defeat, the Wehrmacht leadership finally lost its strategic initiative and was forced to completely abandon the offensive strategy and go on the defensive until the end of the war. The Red Army, using its major success, liberated the Donbass and Left Bank Ukraine, crossed the Dnieper on the move (see the Dnieper article), and began the liberation of Belarus. In total, in the summer and autumn of 1943, Soviet troops defeated 218 fascist German divisions, completing a radical turning point in the military war. A catastrophe loomed over Nazi Germany. The total losses of German ground forces alone from the beginning of the war to November 1943 amounted to about 5.2 million people.

After the end of the struggle in North Africa, the Allies carried out the Sicilian Operation of 1943 (See Sicilian Operation of 1943), which began on July 10. Having absolute superiority of forces at sea and in the air, they captured Sicily by mid-August, and in early September crossed to the Apennine Peninsula (see Italian campaign 1943-1945 (See Italian campaign 1943-1945)). In Italy, the movement for the elimination of the fascist regime and exit from the war grew. As a result of attacks by Anglo-American troops and the growth of the anti-fascist movement, the Mussolini regime fell at the end of July. He was replaced by the government of P. Badoglio, which signed an armistice with the United States and Great Britain on September 3. In response, the Nazis sent additional troops to Italy, disarmed the Italian army and occupied the country. By November 1943, after the landing of Anglo-American troops in Salerno, the fascist German command withdrew its troops to the north, to the area of ​​Rome, and consolidated on the river line. Sangro and Carigliano, where the front has stabilized.

In the Atlantic Ocean, by the beginning of 1943, the positions of the German fleet were weakened. The Allies ensured their superiority in surface forces and naval aviation. Large ships of the German fleet could now only operate in the Arctic Ocean against convoys. Given the weakening of its surface fleet, the Nazi naval command, led by Admiral K. Dönitz, who replaced the former fleet commander E. Raeder, shifted the center of gravity to the actions of the submarine fleet. Having commissioned more than 200 submarines, the Germans inflicted a number of heavy blows on the Allies in the Atlantic. But after the greatest success achieved in March 1943, the effectiveness of German submarine attacks began to rapidly decline. The growth in the size of the Allied fleet, the use of new technology for detecting submarines, and the increase in the range of naval aviation predetermined the increase in losses of the German submarine fleet, which were not replenished. Shipbuilding in the USA and Great Britain now ensured that the number of newly built ships exceeded those sunk, the number of which had decreased.

In the Pacific Ocean in the first half of 1943, the warring parties, after the losses suffered in 1942, accumulated forces and did not carry out extensive actions. Japan increased the production of aircraft more than 3 times compared to 1941; 60 new ships were laid down at its shipyards, including 40 submarines. The total number of Japanese armed forces increased by 2.3 times. The Japanese command decided to stop further advance in the Pacific Ocean and consolidate what had been captured by going over to the defense along the Aleutian, Marshall, Gilbert Islands, New Guinea, Indonesia, Burma lines.

The United States also intensively developed military production. 28 new aircraft carriers were laid down, several new operational formations were formed (2 field and 2 air armies), and many special units; Military bases were built in the South Pacific. The forces of the United States and its allies in the Pacific Ocean were consolidated into two operational groups: the central part of the Pacific Ocean (Admiral C.W. Nimitz) and the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean (General D. MacArthur). The groups included several fleets, field armies, marines, carrier and base aviation, mobile naval bases, etc., in total - 500 thousand people, 253 large warships (including 69 submarines) , over 2 thousand combat aircraft. The US naval and air forces outnumbered the Japanese. In May 1943, formations of the Nimitz group occupied the Aleutian Islands, securing American positions in the north.

In the wake of the Red Army's major summer successes and the landings in Italy, Roosevelt and Churchill held a conference in Quebec (August 11–24, 1943) to again refine military plans. The main intention of the leaders of both powers was to “achieve, in the shortest possible time, the unconditional surrender of the European Axis countries,” and to achieve, through an air offensive, “undermining and disorganizing the ever-increasing scale of Germany’s military-economic power.” On May 1, 1944, it was planned to launch Operation Overlord to invade France. In the Far East, it was decided to expand the offensive in order to seize bridgeheads, from which it would then be possible, after the defeat of the European Axis countries and the transfer of forces from Europe, to strike Japan and defeat it “within 12 months after the end of the war with Germany.” The action plan chosen by the Allies did not meet the goals of ending the war in Europe as quickly as possible, since active operations in Western Europe were planned only in the summer of 1944.

Carrying out plans for offensive operations in the Pacific Ocean, the Americans continued the battles for the Solomon Islands that had begun in June 1943. Having mastered Fr. New George and a bridgehead on the island. Bougainville, they brought their bases in the South Pacific closer to the Japanese ones, including the main Japanese base - Rabaul. At the end of November 1943, the Americans occupied the Gilbert Islands, which were then turned into a base for preparing an attack on the Marshall Islands. MacArthur's group, in stubborn battles, captured most of the islands in the Coral Sea, the eastern part of New Guinea and established a base here for an attack on the Bismarck Archipelago. Having removed the threat of a Japanese invasion of Australia, she secured US sea communications in the area. As a result of these actions, the strategic initiative in the Pacific passed into the hands of the Allies, who eliminated the consequences of the defeat of 1941-42 and created the conditions for an attack on Japan.

The national liberation struggle of the peoples of China, Korea, Indochina, Burma, Indonesia, and the Philippines expanded more and more. The communist parties of these countries rallied the partisan forces in the ranks of the National Front. The People's Liberation Army and guerrilla groups of China, having resumed active operations, liberated a territory with a population of about 80 million people.

The rapid development of events in 1943 on all fronts, especially on the Soviet-German front, required the allies to clarify and coordinate war plans for the next year. This was done at the November 1943 conference in Cairo (see Cairo Conference 1943) and the Tehran Conference 1943 (See Tehran Conference 1943).

At the Cairo Conference (November 22-26), the delegations of the USA (head of delegation F.D. Roosevelt), Great Britain (head of delegation W. Churchill), China (head of delegation Chiang Kai-shek) considered plans for waging war in Southeast Asia, which provided limited goals: the creation of bases for a subsequent attack on Burma and Indochina and the improvement of air supply to Chiang Kai-shek's army. Issues of military operations in Europe were viewed as secondary; The British leadership proposed postponing Operation Overlord.

At the Tehran Conference (November 28 -December 1, 1943), the heads of government of the USSR (head of delegation I.V. Stalin), USA (head of delegation F.D. Roosevelt) and Great Britain (head of delegation W. Churchill) focused on military issues. The British delegation proposed a plan to invade South-Eastern Europe through the Balkans, with the participation of Turkey. The Soviet delegation proved that this plan does not meet the requirements for the rapid defeat of Germany, because operations in the Mediterranean Sea are “operations of secondary importance”; With its firm and consistent position, the Soviet delegation forced the Allies to once again recognize the paramount importance of the invasion of Western Europe, and Overlord as the main Allied operation, which should be accompanied by an auxiliary landing in southern France and diversionary actions in Italy. For its part, the USSR pledged to enter the war with Japan after the defeat of Germany.

The report of the conference of the heads of government of the three powers said: “We have come to complete agreement as to the scale and timing of the operations to be undertaken from the east, west and south. The mutual understanding we have achieved here guarantees our victory.”

At the Cairo Conference held on December 3-7, 1943, the US and British delegations, after a series of discussions, recognized the need to use landing craft intended for Southeast Asia in Europe and approved a program according to which the most important operations in 1944 should be Overlord and Anvil ( landing in the south of France); The conference participants agreed that "no action should be taken in any other area of ​​the world that could interfere with the success of these two operations." This was an important victory for Soviet foreign policy, its struggle for unity of action among the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and the military strategy based on this policy.

4th war period (1 January 1944 - 8 May 1945) was a period when the Red Army, in the course of a powerful strategic offensive, expelled fascist German troops from the territory of the USSR, liberated the peoples of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and, together with the armed forces of the Allies, completed the defeat of Nazi Germany. At the same time, the offensive of the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain in the Pacific Ocean continued, and the people's liberation war in China intensified.

As in previous periods, the Soviet Union bore the brunt of the struggle on its shoulders, against which the fascist bloc continued to hold its main forces. By the beginning of 1944, the German command, out of 315 divisions and 10 brigades it had, had 198 divisions and 6 brigades on the Soviet-German front. In addition, there were 38 divisions and 18 brigades of satellite states on the Soviet-German front. In 1944, the Soviet command planned an offensive on the front from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea with the main attack in the southwestern direction. In January - February, the Red Army, after a 900-day heroic defense, liberated Leningrad from the siege (see Battle of Leningrad 1941-44). By spring, having carried out a number of major operations, Soviet troops liberated Right Bank Ukraine and Crimea, reached the Carpathians and entered the territory of Romania. In the winter campaign of 1944 alone, the enemy lost 30 divisions and 6 brigades from attacks by the Red Army; 172 divisions and 7 brigades suffered heavy losses; human losses amounted to more than 1 million people. Germany could no longer make up for the damage suffered. In June 1944, the Red Army attacked the Finnish army, after which Finland requested an armistice, an agreement on which was signed on September 19, 1944 in Moscow.

The grandiose offensive of the Red Army in Belarus from June 23 to August 29, 1944 (see Belarusian operation 1944) and in Western Ukraine from July 13 to August 29, 1944 (see Lvov-Sandomierz operation 1944) ended in the defeat of the two largest strategic groupings of the Wehrmacht in the center of the Soviet -German front, breakthrough of the German front to a depth of 600 km, the complete destruction of 26 divisions and inflicting heavy losses on 82 Nazi divisions. Soviet troops reached the border of East Prussia, entered Polish territory and approached the Vistula. Polish troops also took part in the offensive.

In Chelm, the first Polish city liberated by the Red Army, on July 21, 1944, the Polish Committee of National Liberation was formed - a temporary executive body of the people's power, subordinate to the Home Rada of the People. In August 1944, the Home Army, following the orders of the Polish exile government in London, which sought to seize power in Poland before the approach of the Red Army and restore pre-war order, began the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. After a 63-day heroic struggle, this uprising, undertaken in an unfavorable strategic situation, was defeated.

The international and military situation in the spring and summer of 1944 was such that a further delay in the opening of a second front would have led to the liberation of all of Europe by the USSR. This prospect worried the ruling circles of the USA and Great Britain, who sought to restore the pre-war capitalist order in the countries occupied by the Nazis and their allies. London and Washington began to rush to prepare an invasion of Western Europe across the English Channel in order to seize bridgeheads in Normandy and Brittany, ensure the landing of expeditionary forces, and then liberate northwestern France. In the future, it was planned to break through the Siegfried Line, which covered the German border, cross the Rhine and advance deep into Germany. By the beginning of June 1944, the Allied expeditionary forces under the command of General Eisenhower had 2.8 million people, 37 divisions, 12 separate brigades, “commando units”, about 11 thousand combat aircraft, 537 warships and a large number of transports and landing craft.

After the defeats on the Soviet-German front, the fascist German command could maintain in France, Belgium and the Netherlands as part of Army Group West (Field Marshal G. Rundstedt) only 61 weakened, poorly equipped divisions, 500 aircraft, 182 warships. The Allies thus had absolute superiority in forces and means.

On June 6, the Normandy landing operation of 1944 began. The second front in Europe was opened when the outcome of the war was already predetermined as a result of the victories won by the Soviet Union in single combat with Nazi Germany and its allies. But even after the creation of the second front, the main military forces of Germany continued to be on the Soviet-German front, and the decisive importance of the latter in winning victory over fascism did not decrease. In the summer of 1944, out of 324 divisions and 5 brigades that Nazi Germany had, there were 179 German divisions and 5 brigades on the Soviet-German front, as well as 49 divisions and 18 brigades of its allies, while in France, Belgium and the Netherlands there were 61, and in Italy there are 26.5 German divisions. Nevertheless, the opening of the second front became an important event in the history of military warfare, confirming the possibility of coordinated offensive operations by members of the anti-fascist coalition against a common enemy. By the end of June, the landing troops had occupied a bridgehead about 100 meters wide. km and up to 50 km in depth. On July 25, the Allies launched an offensive from this bridgehead, delivering the main attack with the American 1st Army from the Saint-Lo area. After a successful breakthrough, the Americans occupied Brittany and, together with the 2nd British and 1st Canadian armies, defeated the main forces of the Norman German group near Falaise, defeating 6 divisions here. At the end of August, the Allies, with the active support of units of the French Resistance Movement, reached the Seine and occupied all of northwestern France. Under the blows of the Allied forces advancing from Normandy and the American-French forces landing on the coast of southern France on August 15, Hitler’s command began to withdraw troops from France to the Siegfried Line. Pursuing the Germans, American-British troops, with the active support of French partisans, reached this line by mid-September, but attempts to break through it immediately failed.

The Red Army, continuing a powerful offensive, liberated the Baltic states from July to November 1944, defeating 29 fascist German divisions here (see Baltic operation of 1944), and in the south in the Iasi-Kishinev operation of 1944 (see Iasi-Kishinev operation of 1944 ) inflicted a complete defeat on Army Group Southern Ukraine, destroying 18 divisions and liberating Romania. As a result of the popular armed uprising that broke out on August 23 in Romania, the anti-people regime of J. Antonescu was eliminated (see People's armed uprising on August 23, 1944 (See People's armed uprising in Romania 1944)). On September 12, an armistice agreement between the USSR, USA and Great Britain and Romania was signed in Moscow. The entry of Red Army troops into Bulgaria accelerated the national uprising that was brewing in the country, which occurred on September 9 (see September People's Armed Uprising of 1944). During the uprising, the ruling monarcho-fascist clique was overthrown and the government of the Fatherland Front was formed. The peoples liberated with the help of the Red Army had the opportunity to take the path of democratic development and social transformation, and to contribute to the defeat of fascism. Romania and Bulgaria declared war on Nazi Germany. Soviet troops, together with Romanian and Bulgarian troops, launched an offensive in the Carpathian, Belgrade and Budapest directions. Moving to the rescue, Soviet troops, together with Czechoslovak units, crossed the border on September 20, 1944, marking the beginning of the liberation of Czechoslovakia. At the same time, the Red Army, together with units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and Bulgarian troops, began the liberation of Yugoslavia (see Belgrade operation 1944). In October 1944, the Red Army began the liberation of Hungary. The position of Nazi Germany deteriorated sharply. Its Eastern Front, especially its southern flank, was collapsing.

On the Western Front, the fascist German command launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes in December 1944. It intended to strike at Antwerp to cut through the Anglo-American troops and defeat them. During the Ardennes Operation 1944-45 (See Ardennes Operation 1944-45), the Nazi Army Group B managed to break through to 90 km and defeat the US 1st Army. Having transferred large forces of troops and aviation from other sectors of the front, the allied command stopped the enemy’s advance. However, the situation on the western front remained tense. The transition of the Red Army, at the request of the allies, to the offensive on January 12-14, 1945 on the front from the Baltic to the Carpathians forced the Nazi command to abandon the continuation of the offensive in the Ardennes. Under growing pressure from Anglo-American troops, German troops retreated to their original positions.

In Italy, the Anglo-American 15th Army Group only in May 1944 managed to break through the German defenses south of Rome and, joining forces that had previously landed at Anzio, occupy the Italian capital. Pursuing the retreating German Army Group C, the Anglo-American 15th Army Group in a narrow sector then overcame the defenses on the so-called Gothic Line and in the fall reached the Ravenna-Bergamo line, where it stopped the offensive until the spring of 1945. Thus, by the end of 1944 the Allies occupied France, Belgium, part of the Netherlands, central Italy and some areas of western Germany.

By the beginning of 1945, the economic and military resources of Nazi Germany were exhausted. From mid-1944, military production fell rapidly, having lost its main sources of raw materials. The increasingly intense bombing of Nazi Germany's industrial facilities, which did not produce the expected effect in 1943, began to cause noticeable damage to the German economy in 1944-45.

However, the fascist ruling elite did not lose hope for a possible split in the anti-Hitler coalition and tried in every possible way to prolong the war. But these attempts were in vain. At the Crimean Conference of 1945, held in the first half of February (See Crimean Conference of 1945), the heads of government of the USSR (J.V. Stalin), the USA (F.D. Roosevelt), and Great Britain (W. Churchill) agreed on military plans that provided for complete and the final defeat of Nazi Germany, and also determined the leading principles of policy in matters of organizing the post-war world and international security. The tasks of destroying German militarism and Nazism and creating guarantees that Germany would never be able to violate peace were proclaimed. It was supposed to disarm and disband the German armed forces, permanently destroy the German General Staff, liquidate German military equipment, punish war criminals, oblige Germany to compensate for the damage caused to the allied countries, dissolve the Nazi party and other fascist organizations and institutions. The conference determined the forms of governance of defeated Germany by the Allied powers. The Soviet government confirmed its agreement given at the Tehran Conference to take part in the war against Japan.

By January 1945, Germany had 299 divisions and 31 brigades, of which the following were active against the Red Army: 169 divisions and 20 brigades were German, 16 divisions and 1 brigade were Hungarian. The Anglo-American troops were opposed by 107 German divisions.

The goal of the Red Army was to finish off the fascist Wehrmacht, complete the liberation of the countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and, together with its allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, force Germany to unconditional surrender. In January - early February, Soviet troops during the Vistula-Oder Operation of 1945 (See Vistula-Oder Operation of 1945) defeated the Nazi army grouping between the Vistula and Oder, liberated a significant part of the territory of Poland, destroyed 35 enemy divisions, inflicted heavy losses on 25 divisions . In the East Prussian Operation of 1945 (See East Prussian Operation of 1945), Soviet troops defeated the Nazi East Prussian group, occupied East Prussia, liberated part of northern Poland and the Baltic coast, defeating 25 Nazi divisions. On the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, Soviet troops repelled a strong counter-offensive of Nazi troops in Hungary, captured Budapest (see Budapest operation 1944-45 (See Budapest operation 1944-1945)), liberated Hungary and began the liberation of Austria. The offensive operations of the Red Army in February - the first half of April 1945 (see East Pomeranian operation of 1945) thwarted the plans of the Nazi command and created favorable conditions for the final blow in the Berlin direction.

At the same time, the Allies launched an offensive on the Western Front and in Italy. Since the fascist German command threw its main forces against the Red Army, the offensive of the Anglo-American troops, which had absolute superiority of forces, especially in tanks and aircraft, was carried out with increasing speed and without significant losses. In the first half of March 1945, German troops were forced to retreat beyond the Rhine. Pursuing them, American, British and French troops reached the Rhine and created bridgeheads near Remagen and south of Mainz. The Allied command decided to launch two strikes in the general direction of Koblenz in order to encircle the Nazi Army Group B in the Ruhr. On the night of March 24, the Allies crossed the Rhine on a wide front, bypassed from the south-east. The Ruhr was surrounded by 20 German divisions and 1 brigade in early April. The German Western Front ceased to exist. The Anglo-American troops continued their rapid offensive in all directions, which soon turned into an unhindered advance of troops. In the 2nd half of April - early May, the Allies reached the Elbe, occupied Erfurt, Nuremberg, and entered Czechoslovakia and western Austria. On April 25, the advance elements of the American 1st Army met Soviet troops at Torgau. At the beginning of May, British troops reached Schwerin, Lübeck and Hamburg.

In the 1st half of April, the Allies launched an offensive in Northern Italy. After a series of battles with the support of Italian partisans, they occupied Bologna and crossed the river. By. At the end of April, under the blows of the Allied forces and the impact of the popular uprising that swept throughout Northern Italy (see April Uprising of 1945), German troops began to quickly retreat, and on May 2, the German Army Group C capitulated.

The last center of resistance to Nazi Germany was Berlin. At the beginning of April, Hitler’s command pulled the main forces to the Berlin direction, creating a large group: about 1 million people, over 10 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, 3.3 thousand combat aircraft.

In order to defeat the Berlin group in a short time, the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Armed Forces concentrated in three fronts - the 1st and 2nd Belarusian, the 1st Ukrainian - 2.5 million people, over 41 thousand guns and mortars, more 6.2 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 7.5 thousand combat aircraft. During the Berlin Operation of 1945, grandiose in scale and intensity (See Berlin Operation of 1945), which began on April 16, Soviet troops broke the desperate resistance of Hitler’s troops. On April 28, the Berlin group was cut into three parts, on April 30, the Reichstag fell, and on May 1, the mass surrender of the garrison began. On the afternoon of May 2, the fight for Berlin ended in complete victory for the Soviet troops.

The Red Army, advancing on a broad front, completed the liberation of the countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Having expelled the Nazis from Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, and the eastern regions of Czechoslovakia, the Red Army, together with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, liberated Yugoslavia from the invaders; Soviet troops liberated a significant part of Austria. Carrying out a liberation mission, the Soviet Union met with warm sympathy and active support of the European peoples, all democratic and anti-fascist forces of the occupied countries and former allies of Germany. The entry of Soviet troops into the territory of the states of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe contributed to their social and political transformation, constrained the reaction and had a beneficial effect on the strengthening of democratic forces.

The storming of Berlin and its fall meant the end of the Nazi Reich. In the West, capitulation soon became widespread. But on the Eastern Front, fascist German troops continued, where they could, fierce resistance. The goal of the Dönitz government created after Hitler’s suicide (April 30) was to, without stopping the fight against the Red Army, conclude an agreement on “partial surrender” with the USA and Great Britain. The most powerful group of fascist troops - Army Groups Center and Austria - Dönitz ordered not to stop military operations in Czechoslovakia and at the same time withdraw “everything possible” to the west. Field Marshal F. Schörner, who led this group, received an order from the main command to “continue the fight against the Soviet troops as long as possible.”

To eliminate the Schörner group and help the popular uprising in Prague, the Soviet Supreme High Command organized the offensive of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts. The defeat of Schörner's troops and the liberation of Prague (May 9) by units of the Red Army together with Czechoslovak formations with the participation of the Polish and Romanian armies and Czechoslovak partisans ended the Prague Operation of 1945 - the last operation in Europe in the Second World War.

On May 3, on behalf of Dönitz, Admiral Friedeburg established contact with the British commander, Field Marshal Montgomery, and achieved agreement to surrender German troops “individually” to the British. On May 4, the act of surrender of German troops in the Netherlands, northwestern Germany, Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark was signed. On May 5, the Nazi Army Groups “E”, “G” and the 19th Army, operating in southern and western Austria, Bavaria, and Tyrol, capitulated to the Anglo-American command. At 2:41 on the night of May 7, General A. Jodl, on behalf of the German command, signed the terms of unconditional surrender at Eisenhower’s headquarters in Reims, which came into force on May 9 at 00:01. The Soviet government expressed categorical protest against this unilateral act, so the Allies agreed to consider it a preliminary protocol of surrender. It was decided to sign the act of unconditional surrender in Berlin with the participation of the USSR, which bore the brunt of the war on its shoulders.

At midnight on May 8, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, occupied by Soviet troops, representatives of the German high command led by V. Keitel signed an act of unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany; unconditional surrender was accepted on behalf of the Soviet government by Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov together with representatives of the USA, Great Britain and France.

In the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of 1944, the allied armed forces, outnumbering the Japanese in personnel by 1.5 times, in aviation by 3 times, and in ships of various classes by 1.5-3 times, launched an offensive in the direction of the Philippines. Nimitz's group advanced through the Marshall and Mariana Islands, MacArthur's group along the northern coast of New Guinea. The Japanese command, having switched to the defensive in the Pacific Ocean, sought to strengthen its ground forces in central and southern China.

In early February 1944, the Americans, without encountering serious resistance, invaded the Marshall Islands. The Japanese attempt to strengthen the 2nd line of defense (Bonin Islands, Mariana Islands, New Guinea) failed due to heavy aviation losses, which forced the withdrawal of the 2nd Japanese Fleet - the main force of this defense - from the Truk base (Carolina Islands) to the west. ., where a base was established on the Tavitavi Islands (Sulawesi Sea) near the oil sources of Kalimantan (Borneo). The capture of the Marshall Islands meant a breakthrough of Japanese defenses in the central Pacific Ocean and allowed the Americans to create bases for the attack against the Mariana Islands, which followed in June 1944 after careful preparation. Particularly heavy fighting took place on the island. Saipan, where the Japanese resisted for a month. An attempt by the Japanese fleet to launch a counterattack from the Tavitavi base was thwarted. The Japanese fleet suffered heavy losses, especially in aircraft carriers, which completely deprived the Japanese command of the chance to improve the situation in the air. The capture of the Mariana Islands by the Americans by mid-August deprived Japan of maritime connections with the South Seas, with New Guinea and the most important strongholds in the center of the Pacific Ocean. The MacArthur group, which captured the Admiralty Islands in February - April 1944, created an air base on them and ensured control over the Japanese-occupied Bismarck Archipelago and the approaches to New Guinea. In April - May, having landed troops, the Americans captured most of New Guinea and the islands to the west of it. This led to the unification of the actions of the Nimitz and MacArthur groups and made it possible to begin preparations for the invasion of the Philippines, which the Japanese command intended to hold at any cost, since their capture posed a direct threat to the mother country.

At the beginning of the Philippine operation (October 1944), MacArthur's group, having complete superiority over the Japanese in naval forces and more than double in infantry and aviation, occupied the island. Leyte. An attempt by the main forces of the Japanese fleet to launch a counter-offensive from Singapore and the metropolitan bases led to a naval battle in the Philippine Islands area (October 24-25), which ended in the defeat of the Japanese fleet and the occupation by the Americans of all the islands of the Philippine archipelago, except for the island. Luzon. All the most important Japanese sea communications connecting Japan with its main raw material base in the South Seas zone came under US control. The supply of oil from Indonesia and Malaya has almost stopped. The Japanese military industry, based on limited reserves of strategic raw materials, could not compensate for the heavy losses of the navy and air force. The Japanese command, having lost half of its fleet and most of its aviation, began to widely use aircraft with suicide pilots (“kamikazes”) to fight the American fleet. In January - August 1945, the Americans occupied the island with heavy fighting. Luzon.

In China, the Japanese armies in the spring of 1944 went on the offensive against Chiang Kai-shek's troops in Henan Province and achieved major successes. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) approached the government of Chiang Kai-shek with a proposal to coordinate actions. Chiang Kai-shek rejected these proposals, which were in the interests of the entire nation, and demanded that the CCP give up leadership of the liberated areas and disband 4/5 of the armed forces led by the Communists. No agreement was reached between the CCP and the Kuomintang. Despite this, the People's Liberation Army of China launched a counteroffensive in Henan province and from the liberated areas in the rear of the Japanese army, pinning down large forces of Japanese troops. However, due to poor technical equipment and a lack of weapons, the People's Liberation Army of China was unable to stop the Japanese offensive in the south. As a result, the Japanese captured communications connecting the northern regions of China with the southern ones, and through Korea, with the Japanese islands. This gave the Japanese command the opportunity to use the railway to export strategic raw materials from Southeast Asia.

During 1944, the Allied forces managed to liberate the territory of India and most of northern Burma from the Japanese and cut the railway from Rangoon to the north, as well as the highway connecting Burma with southern China.

In February - March 1945, the US 5th Fleet captured the island. Iwo Jima. The air base created here made it possible to sharply increase the power of air raids on Japan. On April 1, after lengthy preparations, the Allies began their assault on the island. Okinawa. Despite the overwhelming superiority in forces and means, the Americans could not break the resistance of the 32nd Japanese Army for a long time. To disrupt the landing, the Japanese command sent suicide pilots against the American fleet, who sank 36 and damaged 368 warships, and brought the 2nd fleet (10 ships) into battle, which, however, was destroyed by American aircraft south of the island on April 7. Kyushu. In June 1945, Allied forces occupied Okinawa, which made it possible to bring American aviation even closer to Japan and launch a broad air offensive against its economic centers.

At the same time, allied forces and local partisans liberated Burma, most of Indonesia, and many areas of Indochina, which completely undermined Japanese positions in these areas and in the western Pacific.

5th period of the war (9 May - 2 September 1945)- the final period of the war in the Far East and in the Pacific Ocean, which led to the end of the World War.

At the Potsdam Conference 1945, held from June 17 to August 2 (See Potsdam Conference 1945), the heads of government of the USSR (head of delegation J.V. Stalin), USA (head of delegation G. Truman) and Great Britain (head of delegation W. Churchill, from July 28 - K. Attlee) a decision was made on the demilitarization, denazification and democratic reorganization of Germany, the destruction of German monopoly associations. The three powers confirmed their intention to completely disarm Germany and liquidate all German industry that could be used for military production. The Soviet delegation confirmed that the USSR would enter the war against Japan. On July 26, on behalf of the heads of government of Great Britain, the United States and China, the Potsdam Declaration of 1945 was published, containing a demand for the surrender of Japan. The Japanese government rejected this demand. On August 6 and 9, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing and maiming about 1/4 million civilians. It was a barbaric atrocity, not caused by the demands of war and served only the purpose of intimidating other peoples and states. The Japanese armed forces continued to resist. The entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan on August 9, 1945 decided its outcome in favor of the Allies. Soviet troops in the Far East to conduct combat operations against Japan were consolidated into 3 fronts - Transbaikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern, which had 76 divisions, 4 tank and mechanized corps and 29 brigades. Mongolian formations operated together with Soviet troops. In total, the group included over 1.5 million people. Japanese troops, concentrated in Manchuria, Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, numbered 49 divisions and 27 brigades (a total of 1.2 million people). As a result of the rapid defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army, Soviet troops liberated the northeastern part of China, North Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The successful actions of the Red Army stimulated the development of a broad national liberation movement in Southeast Asia. On August 17, 1945, the Indonesian Republic was created, and on September 2, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

On September 2, 1945, the Japanese government signed an act of unconditional surrender. Thus ended the six-year struggle of freedom-loving peoples against fascism.

Results of V. m.v. The Second World War had a huge impact on the destinies of mankind. 61 states (80% of the world's population) participated in it. Military operations took place on the territory of 40 states. 110 million people were mobilized into the armed forces. The total human losses reached 50-55 million people, of which 27 million people were killed at the fronts. Military spending and military losses totaled $4 trillion. Material costs reached 60-70% of the national income of the warring states. The industry of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and Germany alone produced 652.7 thousand aircraft (combat and transport), 286.7 thousand tanks, self-propelled guns and armored vehicles, over 1 million artillery pieces, over 4.8 million machine guns (without Germany), 53 million rifles, carbines and machine guns and a huge amount of other weapons and equipment. The war was accompanied by colossal destruction, the destruction of tens of thousands of cities and villages, and innumerable disasters for tens of millions of people.

During the war, the forces of imperialist reaction failed to achieve their main goal - to destroy the Soviet Union and suppress the communist and labor movement throughout the world. In this war, which marked a further deepening of the general crisis of capitalism, fascism, the striking force of international imperialism, was completely defeated. The war irrefutably proved the irresistible power of socialism and the Soviet Union - the world's first socialist state. The words of V.I. Lenin were confirmed: “They will never defeat the people in whom the workers and peasants for the most part recognized, felt and saw that they are defending their own, Soviet power - the power of the working people, that they are defending the cause whose victory they and theirs children will be provided with the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of culture, all the creations of human labor” (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 38, p. 315).

The victory won by the anti-Hitler coalition with the decisive participation of the Soviet Union contributed to revolutionary changes in many countries and regions of the world. There has been a radical change in the balance of forces between imperialism and socialism in favor of the latter. Exodus V.m.v. facilitated and accelerated the victory of people's democratic and socialist revolutions in a number of countries. European countries numbering more than 100 million people have taken the path of socialism. The capitalist system was undermined in Germany itself: after the war, the GDR was formed - the first socialist state on German soil. The Asian states, numbering about 1 billion people, fell away from the capitalist system. Later, Cuba was the first in America to follow the path of socialism. Socialism has become a world system - a decisive factor in the development of mankind.

The war influenced the development of the national liberation movement of peoples, which led to the collapse of the colonial system of imperialism. As a result of the new upsurge in the liberation struggle of peoples, which began after the World War II, almost 97% of the population (data for 1971) who lived by the end of the World War II was freed from colonial oppression. in the colonies. The peoples of developing countries launched a struggle against neocolonialism and for progressive development.

In capitalist countries, the process of revolutionizing the masses has accelerated, the influence of communist and workers' parties has increased; The world communist and workers' movement has risen to a new, higher level.

The Soviet Union played a decisive role in the victory over Nazi Germany. On the Soviet-German front, the main military forces of the fascist coalition were destroyed - a total of 607 divisions. Anglo-American troops defeated and captured 176 divisions. The German armed forces lost about 10 million people on the Eastern Front. (about 77% of all their losses in the war), 62 thousand aircraft (62%), about 56 thousand tanks and assault guns (about 75%), about 180 thousand guns and mortars (about 74% ). The Soviet-German front was the largest in length among the military fronts. The duration of hostilities on the Soviet-German front was 1418 days, on the North African front - 1068 days, on the Western European front - 338 days, on the Italian front - 663 days. Active operations on the Soviet-German front reached 93% of the total time of armed struggle, while on the North African - 28.8%, Western European - 86.7%, Italian - 74.2%.

From 62 to 70% of the active divisions of Nazi Germany and its allies (from 190 to 270 divisions) were on the Soviet-German front, while the Anglo-American troops in North Africa in 1941-43 were opposed by 9 to 20 divisions, in Italy in 1943-45 - from 7 to 26 divisions, in Western Europe after the opening of the second front - from 56 to 75 divisions. In the Far East, where the main forces of the Japanese Navy and Air Force acted against the allied armed forces, the bulk of the ground forces were concentrated on the borders of the USSR, in China, Korea and the Japanese Islands. Having defeated the elite Kwantung Army in Manchuria, the Soviet Union made a major contribution to the victorious conclusion of the war with Japan.

V.m.v. demonstrated the decisive advantage of the socialist economy over the capitalist one. The socialist state was able to deeply and comprehensively restructure the economy in accordance with the demands of the war, ensure rapid growth of military production, widely use material, financial, and labor resources for the needs of the war, restore the national economy in areas subject to occupation, and create conditions for the post-war development of the country. The Soviet Union successfully solved the most difficult problem of rearmament and logistics of the armed forces, relying only on its own economic resources. Having surpassed fascist Germany in all indicators of weapons production during the war, the Soviet Union won an economic victory, which predetermined the military victory over fascism throughout the entire World War.

V.m.v. was carried out by huge masses of ground forces, numerous and powerful sea and air fleets, equipped with a variety of military equipment, which embodied the highest achievements of military-technical thought of the 40s. In long and intense battles of colossal groupings of the armed forces of the two coalitions, methods of armed struggle were developed and new forms were developed. V.m.v. - the largest stage in the development of military art, construction and organization of the armed forces.

The Soviet Armed Forces acquired the greatest and most comprehensive experience, whose military art was of an advanced nature (for details, see the article The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-45). Waging a tense struggle against a strong enemy, the personnel of the Soviet Armed Forces showed high military skill and mass heroism. During the war, a galaxy of outstanding Soviet military leaders emerged, including Marshals of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky, L. A. Govorov, G. K. Zhukov, I. S. Konev; R. Ya. Malinovsky, K. K. Rokossovsky, F. I. Tolbukhin and many others.

The armed forces of the USA, Great Britain, and Japan carried out major operations in which various types of armed forces participated. Considerable experience was gained in planning and managing such operations. The landing in Normandy was the largest landing operation of the military forces, in which all types of armed forces participated. In the land theaters, the military art of the Allies was characterized by the desire to create absolute superiority in technology, mainly in aviation, and go on the offensive only after completely suppressing the enemy’s defenses. Significant experience was gained in operating in special conditions (in deserts, mountains, jungles), as well as experience in strategic offensive operations of the Air Force against the economic and political centers of Germany and Japan. In general, bourgeois military art received significant development, but it was to a certain extent one-sided in nature, since the main forces of Nazi Germany were on the Soviet-German front and the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain fought mainly against a weakened enemy.

Source And lit.: Lenin V.I., Imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism, Complete. collection cit., 5th ed., vol. 27; his, Imperialism and the split of socialism, ibid., vol. 30; his, Socialism and War, ibid., vol. 26; his, War and Revolution, ibid., vol. 32; his, War and Russian Social Democracy, ibid., vol. 26; Documents and materials on the eve of the Second World War, vol. 1-2, M., 1948; Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with US Presidents and British Prime Ministers during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, vol. 1-2, M., 1957; Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War, vol. 1-3, M., 1946-47; Soviet-French relations during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Documents and materials, M., 1959; Soviet-Czechoslovak relations during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Documents and materials, M., 1960; Tehran. Yalta. Potsdam. Sat. documents, 2nd ed., M., 1970; History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, vol. 1-6, M., 1960-65; The Second World War, 1939-1945, M., 1958; Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. A Brief History, 2nd ed., M., 1970; Against the falsification of the history of the Second World War. Sat. Art., M., 1964; The Second World War. Materials of the scientific conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, vol. 1-3, M., 1966; Israelyan V.L., Anti-Hitler Coalition, M., 1965; Proektor D.M., Aggression and disaster, M., 1968; Deborin G. A., Second World War, M., 1958; Fomin V.T., Imperialist aggression against Poland in 1939, M., 1952; Smirnov V.P., “The Strange War” and the defeat of France, M., 1963; Kulish V.M., Second Front, M., 1960; his, Revealed Secret, M., 1965; Melnikov D. E., Conspiracy of July 20, 1944 in Germany, M., 1965; Filatov G.S., Mussolini’s Eastern Campaign, M., 1968; The lessons of history are irrefutable, M., 1964: Puskás A.I., Hungary during the Second World War, M., 1966; Kuznets Yu. L., The entry of the United States into the Second World War, M., 1962; Tippelskirch K., History of the Second World War, trans. from German, M., 1956; Fuller J., The Second World War 1939-1945, trans. from English, M., 1956; Liddell-Hart B. G., The Strategy of Indirect Actions, trans. from English, M., 1957; Documents of British foreign policy, 1919-1939, L., 1949-55; Foreign Relations of the United States, Wash., 1967; Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, Bd 1-4, Fr./M., 1961-65; Churchill W. S., The Second World War, v. 1-6, L., 1948-54; Eisenhower D., Crusade in Europa, N.Y., 1948; Gaulle Ch. de, Memoires de Guerre, v. 1-3, P., 1954-59 (in Russian translation - Military memoirs, vol. 1-2, M., 1957-60); Montgomery B., El Alamein to the River Sangro, L., 1948; Morison S., History of United States naval operations in World War II, v. 2-10, Boston - Oxf., 1947-56; Müller-Hillebrand W., Das Heer 1933-1945, Bd 1-3, Fr./M., 1954-68; Osgood R., Ideals and self-interest in America’s foreign relations, Chi., 1953; Kennan G., American diplomacy 1900-1950, 12 ed., N. Y., 1963; Baldwin N., The great mistakes of the war, L., 1950; Taylor A., ​​The origins of the second world war, 2 ed., L., 1966; The eve of war 1939, L., 1958; Görlitz W., Der deutsche Generalstab, Fr./M., 1953: Beard Ch., American foreign policy in the making 1932-1940, New Haven, 1946; Tansill Ch., Back door to war, Chi., 1952; Barnick J., Die deutschen Trümpfe, Stuttg., 1958; Meinecke F., Die deutsche Katastrophe, Wiesbaden, 1947; Hiligruber A. und Hümmelchen G., Chronik des Zweiten Weltkrieges, Fr./M., 1966.

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- (September 1, 1939 September 2, 1945). The main participants in the war on the defeated side were Germany, Italy and Japan; with the victorious USSR, Great Britain and Commonwealth countries, USA, France, China. The main theaters of war are Europe, East and Southeast Asia,... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

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World War II 1939 45 the largest war in history, started by Germany, Italy and Japan. 72 states took part, over 80% of the world's population, military operations covered the territory of 40 states. Began on September 1, 1939... ... Historical Dictionary

Untied by Germany, Italy and Japan. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3. In April May 1940, Nazi troops occupied Denmark and Norway, and on May 10, 1940 invaded... ... Political science. Dictionary.

World War II From top, clockwise: Allied forces land at Normandy on D-Day; soldiers of the Red Army raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag; gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp; Stalingrad after the battle; atomic bombings ... Wikipedia

World War II 1939-45- SECOND WORLD WAR 193945, a war prepared by international forces. imperialistic reactions and unleashed ch. aggressive government you fascist. Germany, fascist Italy and militaristic Japan. 61 states were drawn into the war, St. 80%... ... The Great Patriotic War 1941-1945: encyclopedia Read more

Gafurov Said 05/09/2017 at 10:25

In the days of the Great Victory, the hubbub of revisionist historians about the intolerable implicit racism of the Anglo-Saxons, about Budyonny and Tukhachevsky, the conspiracy of the marshals had already become familiar... What and how actually happened? What are the well-known and new facts? World War II began in the summer of 1937, not the fall of 1939. The bloc of lordly Poland, Horthy Hungary and Hitlerite Germany tore apart unfortunate Czechoslovakia. It was not for nothing that Churchill called the Polish masters of life the most vile of vile hyenas, and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty a brilliant success of Soviet diplomacy.

Every year, as Victory Day approaches, various non-humans try to revise history, shouting that the Soviet Union is not the main winner, and its victory would have been impossible without the help of its allies. They usually cite the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty as their main argument.

The very fact that Western historians believe that World War II began in September 1939 is explained solely by the overt racism of the Western allies, especially the Anglo-American ones. In fact, World War II began in 1937 when Japan began its aggression against China.

Japan is the aggressor country, China is the victorious country, and the war went on from 1937 to September 1945, without a single break. But for some reason these dates are not named. After all, this happened somewhere in far Asia, and not in civilized Europe or North America. Although the end is completely obvious: the end of World War II is the surrender of Japan. It is logical that the beginning of this story should be considered the beginning of Japanese aggression against China.

This will remain on the conscience of Anglo-American historians, but we just need to know about it. In fact, the situation is not at all so simple. The question is posed the same way: in what year did the Soviet Union enter World War II? The war had been going on since 1937, and its beginning was not the liberation campaign of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army in Poland, when Western Ukraine and Western Belarus reunited with their brothers in the east. The war began earlier in Europe. It was in the fall of 1938, when the Soviet Union announced to lordly Poland that if it took part in aggression against Czechoslovakia, the non-aggression treaty between the USSR and Poland would be considered terminated. This is a very important point; because when a country breaks the non-aggression pact, it is actually a war. The Poles were very scared then, there were several joint statements. But nevertheless, Poland took part, together with the Nazi allies and Chartist Hungary, in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. The fighting was coordinated between the Polish and German general staffs.

Here it is important to remember one document that patented anti-Sovietists are very fond of: this is the prison testimony of Marshal Tukhachevsky on the strategic deployment of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. There are papers there that both anti-Sovietists and Stalin supporters call very important and interesting. True, for some reason their substantive analysis can hardly be found anywhere.

The fact is that Tukhachevsky wrote this document in prison back in 1937, and in 1939, when the war began on the Western Front, the situation changed dramatically. The entire substantive pathos of Tukhachevsky’s testimony lies in the fact that the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army was not able to win against the Polish-German coalition. And in accordance with the Hitler-Pilsudski Pact (the first brilliant success of Hitler's diplomacy), Poland and Germany must jointly attack the Soviet Union.

There is a lesser-known document - the report of Semyon Budyonny, who was present at the trial of the marshals' conspiracies. Then all the marshals, including Tukhachevsky, Yakir, Uborevich, were sentenced to death - along with a large number of army commanders. The head of the political department of the Red Army, Gamarnik, shot himself. They shot Blucher and Marshal Egorov, who participated in another conspiracy.

These three military men took part in the marshals' conspiracy. In the report, Budyonny says that the final impetus that forced Tukhachevsky to begin planning a coup was his realization that the Red Army was not able to win against the united allies - Hitler's Germany and the lord's Poland. This was precisely the main threat.

So, we see that in 1937 Tukhachevsky says: the Red Army has no chance against the Nazis. And in 1938, Poland, Germany and Hungary tear unfortunate Czechoslovakia to pieces, after which Churchill calls the Polish leaders hyenas and writes that the bravest of the brave were led by the most vile of the vile.

And only in 1939, thanks to the brilliant successes of Soviet diplomacy and the fact that the Litvinov line was replaced by the Molotov line, the USSR managed to remove this mortal threat, which consisted in the fact that in the West Germany and Poland could act against the Soviet Union, and in the South Western front - Hungary and Romania. And at the same time, Japan had the opportunity to attack in the east.

Tukhachevsky and Budyonny considered the position of the Red Army in this situation to be almost hopeless. Then, instead of soldiers, diplomats began to work, who managed to break the block between Soviet diplomacy, between Hitler, Beck and lordly Poland, between the fascists and the Polish leadership, and start a war between Germany and Poland. It should be noted that the German army at that moment was practically invincible.

The Germans did not have much combat experience, it consisted only of the Spanish War, the relatively bloodless Anschluss of Austria, as well as the bloodless capture of the Sudetenland and then the rest of Czechoslovakia, except for those pieces that, by agreement between the Nazis and Poland and Hungary, went to these countries .

Pan's Poland was defeated by the Germans in three weeks. To understand how this happened, it is enough to re-read war memoirs and analytical documents; for example, the famous book by brigade commander Isserson “New Forms of Fighting,” which is now becoming popular again. It was a completely unexpected and quick defeat for Poland. In 1940, France, then considered the most powerful army in Europe, suffered a similarly rapid, three-week and catastrophic defeat. Nobody expected this.

But, in any case, such a quick defeat of Poland meant only one thing: Soviet diplomacy worked superbly, it pushed the borders of the Soviet Union far to the West. After all, in 1941, the Nazis were very close to Moscow, and it is quite possible that these several hundred kilometers, by which the border moved to the West, made it possible to save not only Moscow, but also Leningrad. We managed to do the almost impossible.

The victory of Soviet diplomacy provided us with guarantees that not only broke the bloc, but also led to Hitler destroying the Warsaw threat to Russia. No one expected how rotten the Polish army would turn out to be. Therefore, when they tell you about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, answer: it was a brilliant response to the Munich agreement, and the Polish gentlemen received their well-deserved punishment. Churchill was right: these were the vilest of the vilest.

The Great Victory is not just a holiday that unites us. This is a very important thing in our historical experience, which makes us always remember to keep our powder dry: we are never safe.

The Second World War was the bloodiest and most brutal military conflict in the entire history of mankind and the only one in which nuclear weapons were used. 61 states took part in it. The dates of the beginning and end of this war (September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) are among the most significant for the entire civilized world.

The causes of World War II were the imbalance of power in the world and the problems provoked by the results, in particular territorial disputes.

The winners of the First World War, the USA, England and France, concluded the Treaty of Versailles on the most unfavorable and humiliating conditions for the losing countries (Turkey and Germany), which provoked an increase in tension in the world. At the same time, adopted in the late 1930s. England and France's policy of appeasing the aggressor made it possible for Germany to sharply increase its military potential, which accelerated the Nazis' transition to active military action.

Members of the anti-Hitler bloc were the USSR, USA, France, England, China (Chiang Kai-shek), Greece, Yugoslavia, Mexico, etc. On the German side, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, China (Wang Jingwei), Thailand, Iraq, etc. participated in World War II. Many states that participated in the Second World War did not conduct any action on the fronts, but helped by supplying food, medicine and other necessary resources.

Researchers identify the following stages of World War II:

• first stage: from September 1, 1939 to June 21, 1941 - the period of the European blitzkrieg of Germany and the allies;
• second stage: June 22, 1941 - approximately mid-November 1942 - attack on the USSR and the subsequent failure of the Barbarossa plan;
• third stage: second half of November 1942 - end of 1943 - a radical turning point in the war and Germany’s loss of strategic initiative. At the end of 1943, at the Tehran Conference, in which Roosevelt and Churchill took part, it was decided to open a second front;
• fourth stage: from the end of 1943 to May 9, 1945 - was marked by the capture of Berlin and the unconditional surrender of Germany;
• fifth stage: May 10, 1945 - September 2, 1945 - at this time, fighting took place only in Southeast Asia and the Far East. The United States used nuclear weapons for the first time.

The Second World War began on September 1, 1939. On this day, the Wehrmacht suddenly began aggression against Poland. Despite the reciprocal declaration of war by France, Great Britain and some other countries, no real assistance was provided to Poland. Already on September 28, Poland was captured. A peace treaty between Germany and the USSR was concluded on the same day. Having received a reliable rear, Germany began active preparations for war with France, which capitulated already in 1940, on June 22. Nazi Germany began large-scale preparations for war on the eastern front with the USSR. was approved already in 1940, on December 18. The Soviet senior leadership received reports of the impending attack, however, fearing to provoke Germany and believing that the attack would be carried out at a later date, they deliberately did not put the border units on alert.

In the chronology of World War II, the most important period is from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945, known in Russia as. On the eve of World War II, the USSR was an actively developing state. As the threat of conflict with Germany increased over time, defense and heavy industry and science developed primarily in the country. Closed design bureaus were created, whose activities were aimed at developing the latest weapons. At all enterprises and collective farms, discipline was tightened as much as possible. In the 30s More than 80% of the officers of the Red Army were repressed. To make up for the losses, a network of military schools and academies was created. However, there was not enough time for full training of personnel.

The main battles of World War II, which were of great importance for the history of the USSR:

• (September 30, 1941 - April 20, 1942), which became the first victory of the Red Army;
• (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943), which marked a radical turning point in the war;
• (July 5 - August 23, 1943), during which the largest tank battle of the Second World War took place near the village. Prokhorovka;
• which led to the surrender of Germany.

Events important for the course of World War II took place not only on the fronts of the USSR. Among the operations carried out by the Allies, it is worth especially noting:

• the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which triggered the United States' entry into World War II;
• opening of the second front and landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944;
• the use of nuclear weapons on August 6 and 9, 1945 to strike Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The end date of World War II was September 2, 1945. Japan signed the act of surrender only after the defeat of the Kwantung Army by Soviet troops. The battles of World War II, according to rough estimates, killed about 65 million people on both sides.

The Soviet Union suffered the greatest losses in World War II - 27 million citizens of the country died. It was the USSR that took the brunt of the blow. These figures, according to some researchers, are approximate. It was the stubborn resistance of the Red Army that became the main cause of the defeat of the Reich.

The results of World War II horrified everyone. Military actions have brought the very existence of civilization to the brink. During the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, fascist ideology was condemned, and many war criminals were punished. In order to prevent the possibility of a new world war in the future, at the Yalta Conference in 1945 it was decided to create the United Nations Organization (UN), which still exists today.

The results of the nuclear bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the signing of pacts on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and a ban on their production and use. It must be said that the consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still felt today.

The economic consequences of World War II were also serious. For Western European countries it turned into a real economic disaster. The influence of Western European countries has decreased significantly. At the same time, the United States managed to maintain and strengthen its position.

The significance of World War II for the Soviet Union is enormous. The defeat of the Nazis determined the future history of the country. As a result of the conclusion of the peace treaties that followed the defeat of Germany, the USSR noticeably expanded its borders.

At the same time, the totalitarian system was strengthened in the Union. Communist regimes were established in some European countries. Victory in the war did not save the USSR from what followed in the 50s. mass repressions.

The instability in Europe caused by the First World War (1914-1918) eventually resulted in another international conflict, the Second World War, which broke out two decades later and became even more destructive.

Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party (Nazi Party) came to power in economically and politically unstable Germany.

He reformed the military and signed strategic agreements with Italy and Japan in his quest for world domination. The German invasion of Poland in September 1939 led to Great Britain and France declaring war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.

Over the next six years, the war would claim more lives and cause destruction across a larger area of ​​the globe than any other war in history.

Among the estimated 45-60 million people who died were 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis in concentration camps as part of Hitler's diabolical "Final Solution" policy, also known as .

On the way to World War II

The devastation caused by the Great War, as World War I was called at the time, destabilized Europe.

In many ways, World War II was born out of unresolved issues from the first global conflict.

In particular, Germany's political and economic instability and long-term resentment over the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles provided fertile ground for the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) Party.

Back in 1923, in his memoirs and in his propaganda treatise “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle), Adolf Hitler predicted a great European war, the result of which would be “the extermination of the Jewish race on German territory.”

After receiving the position of Reich Chancellor, Hitler quickly consolidated power, appointing himself Führer (Supreme Commander) in 1934.

Obsessed with the idea of ​​​​the superiority of the “pure” German race, which was called the “Aryan”, Hitler believed that war was the only way to obtain the “Lebensraum” (living space for settlement by the German race).

In the mid-30s, he secretly began rearmament of Germany, circumventing the Versailles Peace Treaty. After signing treaties of alliance with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union, Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria in 1938 and annex Czechoslovakia the following year.

Hitler's overt aggression went unnoticed, as the United States and Soviet Union were focused on domestic politics, and neither France nor Great Britain (the two countries with the greatest destruction in the First World War) were eager to enter into confrontation.

Beginning of World War II 1939

On August 23, 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed a non-aggression pact called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which created frantic anxiety in London and Paris.

Hitler had long-term plans to invade Poland, a state that Britain and France guaranteed military support in the event of a German attack. The pact meant that Hitler would not have to fight on two fronts after invading Poland. Moreover, Germany received assistance in conquering Poland and dividing its population.

On September 1, 1939, Hitler attacked Poland from the west. Two days later, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany, and World War II began.

On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland in the east. Poland quickly capitulated under attack on two fronts, and by 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union shared control of the country, according to a secret clause in the non-aggression pact.

Soviet troops then occupied the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and suppressed Finnish resistance in the Russo-Finnish War. For the next six months after the capture of Poland, neither Germany nor the Allies took active action on the Western Front, and the media began to refer to the war as “background.”

However, at sea, the British and German navies engaged in a fierce battle. Deadly German submarines struck British trade routes, sinking more than 100 ships in the first four months of World War II.

World War II on the Western Front 1940-1941

On April 9, 1940, Germany simultaneously invaded Norway and occupied Denmark, and the war broke out with renewed vigor.

On May 10, German troops swept through Belgium and the Netherlands in a plan later called "blitzkrieg" or lightning warfare. Three days later, Hitler's troops crossed the Meuse River and attacked French troops at Sedan, located on the northern border of the Maginot Line.

The system was considered an insurmountable protective barrier, but in fact, German troops broke through, making it completely useless. The British Expeditionary Force was evacuated by sea from Dunkirk at the end of May, while French forces in the south struggled to put up any resistance. By the beginning of summer, France was on the verge of defeat.

Commanders

Strengths of the parties

The Second World War(September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) - the war of two world military-political coalitions, which became the largest war in human history. 61 states out of 73 existing at that time (80% of the world's population) participated in it. The fighting took place on the territory of three continents and in the waters of four oceans.

Naval warfare in World War II

Participants

The number of countries involved varied throughout the war. Some of them were actively involved in military operations, others helped their allies with food supplies, and many participated in the war only in name.

The anti-Hitler coalition included: the USSR, the British Empire, the USA, Poland, France and other countries.

On the other hand, the Axis countries and their allies participated in the war: Germany, Italy, Japan, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries.

Prerequisites for the war

The preconditions for the war stem from the so-called Versailles-Washington system - the balance of power that emerged after the First World War. The main winners (France, Great Britain, USA) were unable to make the new world order sustainable. Moreover, Britain and France were counting on a new war to strengthen their positions as colonial powers and weaken their competitors (Germany and Japan). Germany was limited in participation in international affairs, the creation of a full-fledged army and was subject to indemnity. With the decline in the standard of living in Germany, political forces with revanchist ideas, led by A. Hitler, came to power.

The German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fires at Polish positions

1939 campaign

Capture of Poland

World War II began on September 1, 1939 with a surprise German attack on Poland. The Polish naval forces did not have large surface ships, were not ready for war with Germany and were quickly defeated. Three Polish destroyers left for England before the start of the war, German aircraft sank a destroyer and a minelayer Gryf .

The beginning of the struggle at sea

Actions on communications in the Atlantic Ocean

In the initial period of the war, the German command hoped to solve the problem of fighting on sea communications, using surface raiders as the main striking force. Submarines and aircraft were assigned a supporting role. They had to force the British to carry out transportation in convoys, which would facilitate the actions of surface raiders. The British intended to use the convoy method as the main method of protecting shipping from submarines, and to use the long-range blockade as the main method of combating surface raiders, based on the experience of the First World War. To this end, at the beginning of the war, the British established sea patrols in the English Channel and in the Shetland Islands - Norway region. But these actions were ineffective - surface raiders, and even more so German submarines, actively operated on communications - the allies and neutral countries lost 221 merchant ships with a total tonnage of 755 thousand tons by the end of the year.

German merchant ships had instructions about the start of the war and tried to reach the ports of Germany or friendly countries; about 40 ships were sunk by their crews, and only 19 ships fell into enemy hands at the beginning of the war.

Actions in the North Sea

With the beginning of the war, large-scale laying of minefields in the North Sea began, which constrained active operations in it until the end of the war. Both sides mined the approaches to their coasts with wide protective belts of dozens of minefields. German destroyers also laid minefields off the coast of England.

German submarine raid U-47 at Scapa Flow, during which she sank an English battleship HMS Royal Oak showed the weakness of the entire anti-submarine defense of the English fleet.

Capture of Norway and Denmark

1940 campaign

Occupation of Denmark and Norway

In April - May 1940, German troops carried out Operation Weserubung, during which they captured Denmark and Norway. With the support and cover of large aviation forces, 1 battleship, 6 cruisers, 14 destroyers and other ships, a total of up to 10 thousand people were landed in Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik. The operation was unexpected for the British, who got involved belatedly. The British fleet destroyed German destroyers in Battles 10 and 13 in Narvik. On May 24, the Allied command ordered the evacuation of Northern Norway, which was carried out from June 4 to 8. During the evacuation on June 9, German battleships sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and 2 destroyers. In total, during the operation the Germans lost a heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 10 destroyers, 8 submarines and other ships, the Allies lost an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, 7 destroyers, 6 submarines.

Actions in the Mediterranean. 1940-1941

Actions in the Mediterranean

Military operations in the Mediterranean theater began after Italy declared war on England and France on June 10, 1940. The combat operations of the Italian fleet began with the laying of minefields in the Strait of Tunis and on the approaches to their bases, with the deployment of submarines, as well as with air raids on Malta.

The first major naval battle between the Italian Navy and the British Navy was the Battle of Punta Stilo (also known in English sources as the Battle of Calabria. The collision took place on July 9, 1940, off the southeastern tip of the Apennine Peninsula. As a result of the battle, neither side suffered casualties did not suffer, but Italy had 1 battleship, 1 heavy cruiser and 1 destroyer damaged, while the British had 1 light cruiser and 2 destroyers.

French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir

Surrender of France

On June 22, France capitulated. Despite the terms of surrender, the Vichy government did not intend to give up the fleet to Germany. Distrusting the French, the British government launched Operation Catapult to capture French ships located in different bases. In Porsmouth and Plymouth, 2 battleships, 2 destroyers, 5 submarines were captured; ships in Alexandria and Martinique were disarmed. In Mers el-Kebir and Dakar, where the French resisted, the British sank the battleship Bretagne and damaged three more battleships. From the captured ships, the Free French fleet was organized; in the meantime, the Vichy government broke off relations with Great Britain.

Actions in the Atlantic in 1940-1941.

After the surrender of the Netherlands on May 14, German ground forces pinned the Allied forces to the sea. From May 26 to June 4, 1940, during Operation Dynamo, 338 thousand Allied troops were evacuated from the French coast in the Dunkirk area to Britain. At the same time, the Allied fleet suffered heavy losses from German aviation - about 300 ships and vessels were killed.

In 1940, German boats ceased to operate under the rules of prize law and switched to unrestricted submarine warfare. After the capture of Norway and the western regions of France, the system of basing German boats expanded. After Italy entered the war, 27 Italian boats began to be based in Bordeaux. The Germans gradually moved from the actions of single boats to the actions of groups of boats with curtains that blocked the ocean area.

German auxiliary cruisers successfully operated on ocean communications - by the end of 1940, 6 cruisers captured and destroyed 54 ships with a displacement of 366,644 tons.

1941 campaign

Actions in the Mediterranean in 1941

Actions in the Mediterranean

In May 1941, German troops captured the island. Crete. The British Navy, which was waiting for enemy ships near the island, lost 3 cruisers, 6 destroyers, and more than 20 other ships and transports from German air attacks; 3 battleships, an aircraft carrier, 6 cruisers, and 7 destroyers were damaged.

Active actions on Japanese communications put the Japanese economy in a difficult situation, the implementation of the shipbuilding program was disrupted, and the transportation of strategic raw materials and troops was complicated. In addition to submarines, surface forces of the US Navy, and primarily TF-58 (TF-38), also actively participated in the battle on communications. In terms of the number of Japanese transports sunk, aircraft carrier forces ranked second after submarines. Only in the period 10 - 16 October, aircraft carrier groups of the 38th formation, having attacked naval bases, ports and airfields in the Taiwan region, Philippines, destroyed about 600 aircraft on the ground and in the air, sank 34 transports and several auxiliary ships.

Landing in France

Landing in France

On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord (Normandy landing operation) began. Under the cover of massive air strikes and naval artillery fire, an amphibious landing of 156 thousand people was carried out. The operation was supported by a fleet of 6 thousand military and landing ships and transport vessels.

The German navy offered almost no resistance to the landing. The Allies suffered the main losses from mines - 43 ships were blown up by them. During the second half of 1944, in the landing area off the coast of England and in the English Channel, 60 Allied transports were lost as a result of the actions of German submarines, torpedo boats, and mines.

German submarine sinks transport

Actions in the Atlantic Ocean

German troops began to retreat under pressure from the landing Allied troops. As a result, the German Navy lost its bases on the Atlantic coast by the end of the year. On September 18, Allied units entered Brest, and on September 25, troops occupied Boulogne. Also in September, the Belgian ports of Ostend and Antwerp were liberated. By the end of the year, fighting in the ocean had ceased.

In 1944, the Allies were able to ensure almost complete security of communications. To protect communications, they at that time had 118 escort aircraft carriers, 1,400 destroyers, frigates and sloops, and about 3,000 other patrol ships. Coastal PLO aviation consisted of 1,700 aircraft and 520 flying boats. The total losses in allied and neutral tonnage in the Atlantic as a result of submarine operations in the second half of 1944 amounted to only 58 ships with a total tonnage of 270 thousand gross tons. The Germans lost 98 boats at sea alone during this period.

Submarines

Signing of the Japanese surrender

Actions in the Pacific

Possessing an overwhelming superiority in forces, the American armed forces, in intense battles in 1945, broke the stubborn resistance of Japanese troops and captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. For landing operations, the United States attracted huge forces, so the fleet off the coast of Okinawa consisted of 1,600 ships. During all the days of fighting off Okinawa, 368 Allied ships were damaged, and another 36 (including 15 landing ships and 12 destroyers) were sunk. The Japanese had 16 ships sunk, including the battleship Yamato.

In 1945, American air raids on Japanese bases and coastal installations became systematic, with attacks carried out by both shore-based naval aviation and strategic aviation and carrier strike formations. In March - July 1945, American aircraft, as a result of massive attacks, sank or damaged all large Japanese surface ships.

On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan. From August 12 to August 20, 1945, the Pacific Fleet carried out a series of landings that captured the ports of Korea. On August 18, the Kuril landing operation was launched, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands.

September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship USS Missouri The act of surrender of Japan was signed, ending World War II.

Results of the war

The Second World War had a huge impact on the destinies of mankind. 72 states (80% of the world's population) took part in it; military operations were carried out on the territory of 40 states. The total human losses reached 60-65 million people, of which 27 million people were killed at the fronts.

The war ended with the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition. As a result of the war, the role of Western Europe in global politics weakened. The USSR and the USA became the main powers in the world. Great Britain and France, despite the victory, were significantly weakened. The war showed the inability of them and other Western European countries to maintain huge colonial empires. Europe was divided into two camps: Western capitalist and Eastern socialist. Relations between the two blocs deteriorated sharply. A couple of years after the end of the war, the Cold War began.

History of world wars. - M: Tsentrpoligraf, 2011. - 384 p. -