The liberation of Eastern Europe from fascism briefly. The final defeat of Germany. Liberation of Europe
The victories of the Red Army in 1943 meant a radical change not only on the Soviet-German front, but also in the Second World War as a whole. They intensified the contradictions in the camp of Germany's allies. On July 25, 1943, the fascist government of B. Mussolini fell in Italy, and the new leadership, headed by General P. Badoglio, declared war on Germany on October 13, 1943. The resistance movement intensified in the occupied countries. In 1943, 300 thousand partisans of France, 300 thousand of Yugoslavia, over 70 thousand of Greece, 100 thousand of Italy, 50 thousand of Norway, as well as partisan detachments of other countries, fought the enemy. In total, 2.2 million people participated in the resistance movement.
Country coordination anti-Hitler coalition contributed to the meeting of the leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain. The first of the "big three" conferences was held November 28 - December 1, 1943 in Tehran. The main questions were military - about the second front in Europe. It was decided that no later than May 1, 1944, Anglo-American troops would land in France. A declaration was adopted on joint actions in the war against Germany and on post-war cooperation, and the question of Poland's post-war borders was considered. The USSR undertook an obligation after the end of the war with Germany to enter the war against Japan.
From January 1944, the third, final stage of the Great Patriotic War. By this time, the Nazi troops continued to occupy Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Karelia, a significant part of Belarus, Ukraine, the Leningrad and Kalinin regions, Moldova and the Crimea. The Hitlerite command kept in the East the main, most combat-ready troops numbering about 5 million people. Germany still had significant resources to wage war, although its economy had entered a period of serious difficulties.
However, the general military-political situation, in comparison with the first years of the war, changed radically in favor of the USSR and its Armed Forces. By the beginning of 1944, there were more than 6.3 million people in the active army of the USSR. The production of steel, cast iron, coal and oil production increased rapidly, and the development of the country's eastern regions took place. The defense industry in 1944 produced five times more tanks and aircraft than in 1941.
The Soviet Army was faced with the task of completing the liberation of its territory, assisting the peoples of Europe in overthrowing the fascist yoke, and ending the war with the complete defeat of the enemy on his territory. The peculiarity of offensive operations in 1944 was that the enemy was dealt pre-planned powerful strikes in various directions of the Soviet-German front, forcing him to disperse his forces and hindering the organization of an effective defense.
In 1944, the Red Army inflicted a series of crushing blows on the German troops, which led to full release Soviet land from fascist invaders. Among the largest operations are the following:
January-February - near Leningrad and Novgorod. The 900-day blockade of Leningrad, which had lasted since September 8, 1941, was lifted (over 640 thousand inhabitants died of starvation during the blockade in the city; the food ration in 1941 was 250 g of bread a day for workers and 125 g for the rest);
february-mart - liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine;
aprilmay - liberation of the Crimea;
June August - Belarusian operation;
July-August - liberation of Western Ukraine;
beginning of August - Yasso-Kishinev operation;
October - the liberation of the Arctic.
By December 1944, the entire Soviet territory was liberated. On November 7, 1944, the Pravda newspaper published an order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief No. 220: “The Soviet state border,” it said, “is restored along its entire length from the Black Sea to the Barents Sea” (for the first time during the war, Soviet troops reached the state border USSR March 26, 1944 on the border with Romania). All the allies of Germany left the war - Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary. The Hitler coalition completely disintegrated. And the number of countries that were at war with Germany was constantly increasing. On June 22, 1941 there were 14 of them, and in May 1945 - 53.
The successes of the Red Army did not mean that the enemy had ceased to pose a serious military threat. An army of almost five million opposed the USSR in early 1944. But the Red Army outnumbered the Wehrmacht both in numbers and in firepower. By the beginning of 1944, it numbered more than 6 million soldiers and officers, had 90,000 guns and mortars (the Germans had about 55,000), an approximately equal number of tanks and self-propelled guns, and an advantage of 5,000 aircraft.
The opening of a second front also contributed to the successful course of hostilities. On June 6, 1944, Anglo-American troops landed in France. However, the Soviet-German front remained the main one. In June 1944, Germany had 259 divisions on its Eastern Front, and 81 on the Western Front. Paying tribute to all the peoples of the planet who fought against fascism, it should be noted that it was precisely Soviet Union was the main force that blocked A. Hitler's path to world domination. The Soviet-German front was the main front where the fate of mankind was decided. Its length ranged from 3000 to 6000 km, it existed for 1418 days. Until the summer of 1944 -
Liberation of the territory of the USSR by the Red Army
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the time of the opening of the second front in Europe - 9295% acted here ground forces Germany and its allies, and then from 74 to 65%.
Having liberated the USSR, the Red Army, pursuing the retreating enemy, entered the territory in 1944 foreign countries. She fought in 13 European and Asian states. More than a million Soviet soldiers gave their lives for their liberation from fascism.
In 1945 offensive operations The Red Army took on an even larger scale. The troops launched a final offensive along the entire front from the Baltic to the Carpathians, which was planned for the end of January. But due to the fact that the Anglo-American army in the Ardennes (Belgium) was on the verge of disaster, the Soviet leadership decided to start fighting ahead of time.
The main blows were inflicted on the Warsaw-Berlin direction. Overcoming desperate resistance, the Soviet troops completely liberated Poland, defeated the main forces of the Nazis in East Prussia and Pomerania. At the same time, strikes were inflicted on the territory of Slovakia, Hungary and Austria.
In connection with the approach of the final defeat of Germany, the questions of joint actions of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition at the final stage of the war and in peacetime arose sharply. In February 1945, the second conference of the heads of governments of the USSR, the USA and England took place in Yalta. The conditions for the unconditional surrender of Germany were worked out, as well as measures to eradicate Nazism and turn Germany into a democratic state. These principles are known as "4 D" - democratization, demilitarization, denazification and decartelization. The allies agreed to general principles solution of the reparation issue, that is, the amount and procedure for compensating for the damage caused by Germany to other countries ( total amount reparations were set at 20 billion US dollars, of which the USSR was to receive half). An agreement was reached on the entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan 23 months after the surrender of Germany and on the return of Kuril Islands and southern part of Sakhalin Island. In order to maintain peace and security, it was decided to create an international organization - the UN. Its founding conference was held on April 25, 1945 in San Francisco.
One of the largest and most significant at the final stage of the war was the Berlin operation. The offensive began on 16 April. On April 25, all roads leading from the city to the west were cut. On the same day, units of the 1st Ukrainian Front met with American troops near the city of Torgau on the Elbe. April 30 began the assault on the Reichstag. On May 2, the Berlin garrison capitulated. May 8 - The surrender was signed.
In the last days of the war, the Red Army had to fight stubborn battles in Czechoslovakia. On May 5, an armed uprising against the invaders began in Prague. On May 9, Soviet troops liberated Prague.
Presentation on the theme "Liberation of the countries of Western Europe from fascism". An EOR is presented, which tells about the role of the USSR in the liberation of the peoples of Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Austria, Germany from the Nazi invaders in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, about the operations carried out to storm the capitals of European states and about the final victory Soviet people over fascist Germany.
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"Liberation of the countries of Western Europe from fascism"
Soviet soldiers-liberators
The presentation was made by a 6th grade student of the MAOU SOSH s. Novopolevodino Gette Elina
Liberation of Europe
- For the liberation of the peoples of Europe, the Soviet armed forces in 1944-45. conducted several large strategic offensive operations, in which troops of eleven fronts, one air defense front, 4 fleets, 50 combined arms, 6 tank, 13 air armies, 3 air defense armies and 2 river military fleets took part.
- The total number of troops and fleets was about 7 million people. At the same time, the anti-fascist movement was gaining strength in the occupied countries and in Germany itself, and the anti-Hitler coalition was strengthened.
In the spring of 1944 years of Soviet troops reached the state border of the USSR for more than 400 km, approached the borders of Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania. The USSR began to liberate the countries of Europe. June 6, 1944 American and British troops landed in Normandy, in the north coast France.
Liberation of Bulgaria
September 8, 1944 years - Soviet troops entered Bulgarian territory. The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, numbering about 260 thousand people, took part in the liberation of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian army did not conduct military operations against the troops of the Red Army.
Liberation of Poland
- The 1st Belorussian Front, with the support of the Polish army, began the Warsaw operation only on January 14, 1945. On January 16, 1945, the 47th Army was able to push the enemy back across the Vistula River. On the night of January 17, 1945, together with the 64th and 47th armies of the Belorussian Front, they began fighting directly for the liberation of Warsaw, and by the evening they completely liberated the city from the Nazi invaders.
Residents of Warsaw meet Soviet tankers
The Medal For the Liberation of Warsaw was created to reward soldiers and officers who took part in the assault and liberation on January 14-17, 1945 of the capital of Poland - Warsaw.
August 31, 1945 approved order awarding. In total, approximately 701,700 soldiers of the liberators were awarded the medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw" for participation in the operation, the assault and liberation of the capital of Poland.
Liberation of Yugoslavia
- From September 28 to October 20, 1944, the Red Army carried out the Belgrade strategic offensive operation. On October 20, Soviet soldiers liberated the capital of Yugoslavia, the city of Belgrade.
Residents of Belgrade meet Soviet soldiers-liberators
Liberation of Hungary
In October 1944, the command of the Red Army launched a military operation to liberate Hungary. Soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts of the Soviet army operated in Hungary. On February 13, 1945, the operation to liberate Budapest and Hungary was completed. By April 4, the Soviet Army had completely expelled the fascist troops from the territory of Hungary. During the liberation of Hungary, 140 thousand Soviet soldiers died.
Liberation of Budapest
The Medal for the Liberation of Budapest was created to reward soldiers and officers who took part in the assault and liberation on February 11-13, 1945 of the capital of Hungary - Budapest. Presidium Supreme Council Union of the SSR By decree of June 9, 1945, he established the medal "For the Capture of Budapest", which was awarded to more than 350 thousand participants in the battles. Many units of the Red Army and formations received the honorary title of Budapest.
Monument in honor of the liberation of the capital of Hungary, the city of Budapest
The assault on the capital of Austria was the final part of the Vienna offensive operation, (03/16-04/15, 1945, by the forces of the 2nd (commander R. Malinovsky) and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts (commander Marshal F. Tolbukhin) On April 5, 1945, Soviet troops began an operation to capture Vienna from the southeast and south. The Vienna offensive was completed on April 13, 1945 with the liberation of the Austrian capital from the Wehrmacht.
Berlin operation
- The assault began on April 16, 1945. At 3 am Berlin time, under the light of 140 searchlights, Soviet tanks and infantry attacked the positions of the Germans. After four days of fighting, the fronts commanded by G.K. Zhukov and I.S. Konev closed the ring around Berlin. 93 enemy divisions were defeated, 490 thousand people were taken prisoner, a huge amount of trophy military equipment and weapons. On April 25, a meeting of Soviet and American troops on the Elbe took place .
- On May 1, at 3 o'clock, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, General Krebs, was delivered to the command post of the 8th Guards Army. He stated that Hitler had committed suicide on 30 April and offered to start negotiations for an armistice.
- Headquarters the next day Berlin defense ordered an end to resistance. Berlin has fallen. During its capture, Soviet troops lost 300 thousand killed and wounded.
Liberation of Czechoslovakia
- The final operation of the Red Army in Europe was the Prague Strategic Offensive Operation, which was carried out from May 6 to May 11, 1945 by the troops of the 1st, 4th and 2nd Ukrainian fronts, numbering 151 divisions in the amount of 1 million 770 thousand people.
- The largest strategic offensive operations that were decisive for the liberation of Europe: Iasi-Kishinev (August 1944), Belgrade (October 1944), Budapest (October 1944-February 1945), Vistula-Oder (February-January 1945), East Prussian (April January), Vienna (April March), Berlin (May April), Prague (May).
Our fellow villagers in the liberation of the countries of Western Europe
- Novopolevodintsy took part in the liberation of the countries of Western Europe: Podshivalov P.I., Yambulatov M.I., Glazkov A.M., Kravchenko V.S., Milov A.L., Starkov E.I. and many others. And the full holder of the Order of Glory, Mikhail Semenovich Volkov, not only took part in operations to liberate Europe from fascism, but was also an honorary citizen of the city of Trnava, the Republic of Czechoslovakia.
Glory to the victorious soldier!
Soldier-liberator, glory!
And let the Motherland be proud of you,
That glory came to us from Yaroslav
And handed down to us by fate!
You saved Europe from the fascist plague
We should all honor and remember you.
You gave peace to the peoples of all Europe,
I want everyone to remember this, to know.
And let the war sink, all the terrible troubles
Low bow to you, fathers and grandfathers!
For May Great Victory!
Used resources
- http://glorymuseum.ucoz.ru/index/chast_3_quotdesjat_staliniskkh_udarov/0-56
- http ://vesti.kz/europe/64746/
- http://nechto.fryazino.net/html/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15
- http://www.kinopoisk.ru/level/4/people/97022/
- http://victory.rusarchives.ru/index.php?p=41&author_id=147
- www.rusmundir.ru
- www.glory.rin.ru
- www.persons-info.com
- www.blog.kp.ru
- www.gazeta.ru
- all-photo.ru
- www.1-film-online.com
- http://www.redarmy41-45.narod.ru/sxem.htm
- medveputa.net
- www.russkiymir.ru
- www.russalon.se
- www.playcast.ru
A fifth of Europeans simply do not know anything about the events of 70 years ago, and only one in eight believes that the Soviet army played a key role in the liberation of Europe from fascism. For decades, Europeans have been corrected in their consciousness regarding the role of the USSR and Russia in the history of the twentieth century. Thus, the goal is achieved to belittle the importance of our country, even at the cost of falsifying the results of the Second World War and the Victory of the Soviet people, and send Russia to the back of history. Nothing personal just business.
Europeans prefer the American army
From March 20 to April 9, 2015 in the UK, France and Germany, ICM Research conducted a survey for Sputnik. Three thousand people (1000 in each country) answered the question: who, in your opinion, played a key role in the liberation of Europe in World War II? Most of the respondents named the American and British armies as the main liberators. In general, the responses looked like this:
Soviet army - 13 percent;
American army - 43 percent;
British Army - 20 percent;
Other armed forces, 2 percent;
I don't know - 22 percent.
At the same time, in France and Germany, 61 and 52 percent, respectively, consider the American army to be the main liberator (only in Great Britain they preferred their own, and not american army- 46 percent). Judging by the results of the survey, the most misinformed are the inhabitants of France, where only 8 percent of respondents are aware of the true role of the Soviet army.
One fifth of Europeans have a significant gap in their knowledge of the events of 70 years ago. This unconsciousness is all the more striking against the background of well-known and indisputable historical facts. Investments in oblivion, false historical landmarks can cost Europeans dearly.
Figures and facts: troops, front line, equipment
It was the Soviet Union that stopped the victorious march in 1941 Nazi Germany in Europe. At the same time, the power of the Nazi military machine was the greatest, and the military capabilities of the United States and Great Britain remained modest.
The victory near Moscow dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the German army, contributed to the rise of the resistance movement and strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition. After the defeat at Stalingrad, Germany, followed by Japan, switched from an offensive war to a defensive one. IN Battle of Kursk Soviet troops finally undermined the morale of the Nazi army, and the forcing of the Dnieper opened the way to the liberation of Europe.
The Soviet army fought against the bulk of the troops of Nazi Germany. In 1941-1942, more than 75 percent of all German troops fought against the USSR; in subsequent years, about 70 percent of Wehrmacht formations were on the Soviet-German front. At the same time, in 1943, it was the USSR that achieved a radical change during the Second World War in favor of the anti-Hitler coalition.
By the beginning of 1944, Germany had suffered significant losses, and yet remained strong adversary- held 5 million people on the Eastern Front. Almost 75 percent of German tanks and self-propelled artillery installations (5.4 thousand), guns and mortars (54.6 thousand), aircraft (more than 3 thousand) were concentrated here.
And after the opening of the second front for Germany, the Eastern Front remained the main one. In 1944, over 180 German divisions operated against the Soviet army. Anglo-American troops were opposed by 81 German divisions.
On the Soviet-German front, military operations were carried out with the greatest intensity and spatial scope. Out of 1418 days, active battles went on for 1320 days. On the North African front, respectively, out of 1068 days, 309 were active, on the Italian of 663 days - 49.
The spatial scope of the Eastern Front was: along the front 4 - 6 thousand km, which was four times greater than the North African, Italian and Western European fronts combined.
The Red Army defeated 507 Nazi divisions and 100 divisions of its allies - 3.5 times more than the allies on all fronts of World War II. On the Soviet-German front, the German armed forces suffered more than 73 percent of losses. Here the main part of the Wehrmacht military equipment was destroyed: about 75 percent of aircraft (70 thousand), tanks and assault guns (about 50 thousand), artillery pieces (167 thousand).
The continuous strategic offensive of the Soviet army in 1943-1945 shortened the duration of the war, saved millions of British and American lives, and created favorable conditions for our allies in Europe.
In addition to its territory, the USSR liberated 47 percent of the territory of Europe (the Allies liberated 27 percent, 26 percent of European territory was liberated by the joint efforts of the USSR and the Allies).
The Soviet Union eliminated fascist domination over most of the enslaved peoples, preserving their statehood and historically fair borders. If counted by current state Europe (separate Bosnia, Ukraine, etc.), the USSR liberated 16 countries, the allies - 9 countries (jointly - 6 countries).
The total population of the countries liberated by the USSR is 123 million, the allies liberated 110 million, and almost 90 million people were liberated through joint efforts.
Thus, it was the Soviet army that ensured the victorious course and outcome of the war, defended the peoples of Europe and the world from Nazi enslavement.
Severity of loss
The Soviet Union made the greatest contribution to the armed struggle, defeated the main forces of the Nazi bloc, and ensured the complete and unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan. And the number of our losses in World War II is several times greater than the losses of other countries (even combined) - 27 million Soviet citizens against 427 thousand people in the United States, 412 thousand people in Great Britain, 5 million people in Germany.
During the liberation of Hungary, our losses amounted to 140,004 people (112,625 people died), and almost the same in Czechoslovakia. In Romania - about 69 thousand people, in Yugoslavia - 8 thousand people, in Austria - 26 thousand people, in Norway - more than 1 thousand people, in Finland - about 2 thousand people. During the fighting in Germany (including East Prussia) The Soviet army lost 101,961 people (92,316 dead).
In addition to the 27 million dead, tens of millions of our citizens were injured and maimed. On June 22, 1941, there were 4,826,907 servicemen in the Red Army and Navy according to the list. During the four years of the war, another 29,574,900 people were mobilized, and in total, together with the personnel, 34 million 476 thousand 752 people were involved in the army, navy and military formations of other departments. For comparison: in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1939, there were 24.6 million German men aged 15 to 65.
Huge damage has been done to the health of several generations, the standard of living of the population and the birth rate have fallen sharply. During the war years, millions of people experienced physical and moral suffering.
Huge damage dealt national economy. Our country has lost a third of the national wealth. 1,710 cities and towns, more than 70 thousand villages, 6 million buildings, 32 thousand enterprises, 65 thousand km were destroyed railways. The war devastated the treasury, prevented the creation of new values, and led to negative consequences in the economy, psychology, and morality.
Western propagandists deliberately hush up or distort all these facts, attributing the decisive contribution to the victory to the USA and Great Britain, in order to belittle the role of our country in the international arena. Nothing personal just business.
Each country contributed to the victory over German fascism. This historical mission determines the authority of the state in the post-war world, its political weight in resolving international issues. Therefore, no one is allowed to forget or distort the exceptional role of our country in the Second World War and the victory over German fascism.
They were determined by the ever-increasing power of the military-economic potential of the anti-Hitler coalition, the decisive victorious actions of the Soviet Armed Forces and the intensification of the struggle of the Anglo-American allied forces in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, which ended in the complete defeat of Nazism.
By the beginning of 1944, Germany's situation had deteriorated sharply, its material and human reserves were depleted. However, the enemy was still strong. The armed forces of Germany and its allies on the Soviet-German front amounted to about 5 million people (236 divisions and 18 brigades), 5.4 thousand tanks and assault guns, up to 55 thousand guns and mortars, more than 3 thousand aircraft. The command of the Wehrmacht switched to a rigid positional defense. In the active army USSR by 1944 there were over 6.3 million people, there were over 5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, over 95 thousand guns and mortars, 10 thousand aircraft. Production of military equipment in USSR in 1944 reached its apogee. Soviet military factories produced tanks 7-8 times, guns 6 times, mortars almost 8 times, aircraft 4 times more than before the war.
The Supreme High Command set the task for the Red Army to clear the Soviet land of the enemy, to begin the liberation European countries from the invaders and end the war with the complete defeat of the aggressor on its territory. The main content of the winter-spring campaign of 1944 was the implementation of successive strategic operations Soviet troops, during which the main forces of the groups of the fascist German armies were defeated and an exit to the state border was opened. In the spring of 1944 Crimea was cleared of the enemy. As a result of a four-month campaign, the Soviet Armed Forces liberated 329 thousand square meters. km of Soviet territory, defeated over 170 enemy divisions numbering up to 1 million people.
Under these favorable conditions, the Western Allies, after two years of preparation, opened a second front in Europe in northern France. With the support of the armed formations of the French Resistance, on July 25, 1944, the Anglo-American troops launched an offensive against Paris, where an armed uprising against the invaders began on August 19. By the time the troops of the Western Allies approached, the capital of France was already in the hands of the patriots. At the same time (from August 15 to August 19, 1944), Anglo-American troops, consisting of 7 divisions, landed in the area of Cannes in southern France, where, without encountering serious resistance, they quickly moved inland countries. However, the command of the Wehrmacht in the fall of 1944 managed to avoid the encirclement of their troops and withdraw part of the forces to the western border of Germany. Moreover, on December 16, 1944, having launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes, the German troops inflicted a serious defeat on the 1st American Army, putting the entire Anglo-American grouping of forces in Western Europe in a difficult position.
Continuing to develop the strategic initiative, in the summer of 1944 Soviet troops launched a powerful offensive in Karelia, Belarus, Western Ukraine and Moldova. As a result of the advance of Soviet troops in the north, on September 19, Finland, having signed a truce with USSR, withdrew from the war, and March 4, 1945 declared war on Germany.
The victories of the Soviet troops in the southern direction in the autumn of 1944 helped the Bulgarian, Hungarian, Yugoslav and Czechoslovak peoples in their liberation from fascism. On September 9, 1944, a government came to power in Bulgaria Fatherland Front who declared war on Germany. In September-October, Soviet troops liberated part of Czechoslovakia and supported the Slovak National Uprising. Subsequently, the Soviet Army, together with the troops of Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, continued the offensive in order to liberate Hungary and Yugoslavia.
"Liberation Campaign" of the Red Army in countries Eastern Europe, which unfolded in 1944, could not but cause an aggravation of geopolitical contradictions between USSR and his Western allies. And if the American administration was sympathetic to the aspirations USSR"to establish a positive sphere of influence over their Western neighbors", then British Prime Minister W. Churchill was extremely concerned about the strengthening of Soviet influence in this region.
The British Prime Minister made a trip to Moscow (October 9-18, 1944), where he held talks with Stalin. During his visit, Churchill proposed to conclude an Anglo-Soviet agreement on the mutual division of spheres of influence in countries South Eastern Europe which found support from Stalin. However, despite the compromise reached, it was not possible to sign this document, since the American ambassador to Moscow, A. Harriman, opposed the conclusion of such an agreement. At the same time, the "gentleman's" secret deal between Stalin and Churchill on the division of spheres of influence in the Balkans played an important role, as evidenced by the further course of events in this region.
During the winter campaign of 1945 received development further coordination of military operations of the armed forces of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition.
In early April, the troops of the Western Allies successfully surrounded and then captured about 19 enemy divisions in the Ruhr area. After this operation, the Nazi resistance on the western front was practically broken.
On May 2, 1945, the troops of the German Army Group "C" surrendered in Italy, through day(May 4) an act was signed on the surrender of German armed forces in Holland, North-West Germany and Denmark.
In January - early April 1945, as a result of a powerful strategic offensive on the entire Soviet-German front, the Soviet army inflicted a decisive defeat on the main enemy forces with the forces of ten fronts. During the East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, West Carpathian and the completion of the Budapest operations, Soviet troops created the conditions for further strikes in Pomerania and Silesia, and then for an attack on Berlin. Almost all of Poland and Czechoslovakia, the entire territory of Hungary were liberated.
The attempts of the new German government, which on May 1, 1945, after the suicide of A. Hitler, was headed by Grand Admiral K. Doenitz, to achieve a separate peace with the USA and Great Britain (the signing of the preliminary surrender protocol took place in Reims on May 7, 1945) failed. The decisive victories of the Red Army in Europe had a decisive influence on the success of the Crimean (Yalta) Conference of Leaders USSR, United States and Great Britain (from February 4 to 11, 1945), at which the problems of completing the defeat of Germany and its post-war settlement were agreed. USSR confirmed his commitment to enter the war with Japan 2-3 months after the end of the war in Europe.
During the Berlin operation (April 16 - May 8, 1945), the troops captured about 480 thousand people, a huge amount of captured military equipment and weapons. On May 8, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany was signed in the Berlin suburb of Karl Horst. The victorious outcome of the Berlin operation created favorable conditions for defeating the last large enemy grouping on the territory of Czechoslovakia and providing assistance to the rebellious population of Prague. Day of liberation of the city - May 9 - became the Day of the Victory of the Soviet people over fascism.
1. The offensive of the Soviet army on Europe in 1944 - 1945. followed three main directions:
- southern (Romania and Bulgaria);
- southwestern (Hungary and Czechoslovakia);
- Western (Poland).
2. The easiest for the Soviet army was south direction: in late August - early September 1944, with almost no resistance, two allies of Germany fell - Romania and Bulgaria. On September 9, 1944, just a few days after the start of the operation, the Soviet army solemnly entered Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, where it was greeted with flowers. The liberation of Bulgaria and Southern Romania was almost bloodless.
3. On the contrary, Hungary put up fierce resistance to the USSR - both the German units located in this country and the national Hungarian army. The peak of the war in Hungary was the bloody assault on Budapest in November 1944. The population of Hungary met the USSR army with extreme hostility and wariness.
4. The heaviest battles unfolded for Poland, which was considered by the Germans as the last bastion in front of Germany. Fierce fighting in Poland lasted six months - from September 1944 to February 1945. For the liberation of Poland from the Nazi invaders, the Soviet Union paid the highest price - 600 thousand dead Soviet soldiers. The casualties during the liberation of Poland could have been smaller if the USSR had joined forces with the Polish national liberation movement. Shortly before the Soviet troops entered Poland in 1944, a national uprising against the Germans broke out in Poland. The purpose of the uprising was to liberate from the Germans and create an independent Polish state even before the arrival of Soviet troops. However, the Stalinist leadership did not want Poland to be liberated by the Poles themselves, and was also afraid that as a result of the uprising a strong bourgeois Polish state would be created, which owed nothing to the USSR. Therefore, after the uprising began, the Soviet army stopped and gave the Germans the opportunity to brutally suppress the uprising, completely destroying Warsaw and other cities. Only after that the USSR resumed its attack on the German army.
5. Almost simultaneously with the offensive of the Soviet army on Europe, a second front opened:
- June 6, 1944 Anglo-American troops landed in Northern France (Operation Overlord);
- in June - August 1944, France was liberated from the Germans, the collaborationist pro-German government of Vichy was overthrown, and France, headed by General Charles de Gaulle, returned to the anti-Hitler coalition;
— german army at the end of 1944 it was defeated in the Ardennes, the Anglo-American-French offensive began in West Germany;
- at the same time, Allied aircraft carried out intensive bombardments of German cities, during which Germany was turned into ruins (there were cases of more than 1000 Allied bombers simultaneously attacking one city);
- a year earlier, in 1943, the allies landed in Italy, during which the regime of B. Mussolini was overthrown and Germany lost its main ally.
The successful offensive of the Soviet army in the east, the opening of a second front in the west, the disintegration of the Nazi camp, the "carpet" bombing of Germany destabilized the situation in Germany itself.
On July 20, 1944, an attempted coup d'etat took place in Germany, which was undertaken by progressive-minded generals who wanted to save Germany from complete collapse. During the coup, some Nazi leaders were arrested and an attempt was made to blow up Hitler during the meeting. It was only by chance that A. Hitler was not killed (a few seconds before the explosion, he moved away from the briefcase with explosives to military map). The coup was crushed.
By early 1945, the fighting had moved directly to Germany. Germany was in the ring of fronts. The Soviet army entered the territory of Prussia and already in February 1945 was in the immediate vicinity of Berlin. The Western Allies invaded the Ruhr region and Bavaria.
6. In February 1945, the second meeting of the Big Three took place in Yalta - the Crimean (Yalta) Conference. At this meeting.
- the plan of military operations against Germany was finally approved;
- a decision was made to divide Germany into four occupation zones, and the city of Berlin, which was in the Soviet zone, also into four sectors;
- it was decided 3 months after the end of the war with Germany to start general war against Japan.
7. Despite the outwardly hopeless situation, the German army, like the whole people, including teenagers, offered fierce resistance to the advancing troops.
This circumstance was explained by the fact that:
- Hitler's leadership last day hoped to turn the war in a completely different direction - abandoning world domination, unite with the countries of the West and start a general war against the USSR,
- a number of Nazi leaders (Goering, Himmler, etc.) sought contacts with the Anglo-American intelligence services and conducted secret negotiations on the transition of Germany to the side of the USA and Great Britain and the creation of a single Western European anti-communist bloc;
- along with this, a fundamentally new high-tech weapon was created at underground factories in Germany and the Czech Republic - the FAU-1 (an unmanned radio-controlled bomb aircraft, which was supposed to be directed and "crash" into the most important targets - ships, factories, blowing them up ("kamikaze" without a pilot), V-2 (intermediate-range ballistic missile) and V-3 (large intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching New York);
- this weapon was not only developed, but already actively used - at the end of the war, Germany began launching flying radio-controlled bombs (V-1) and ballistic missiles (V-2) in the UK, London was powerless against this type of weapon;
- in Bavaria, the development of the German atomic bomb was at the final stage.
Considering the danger of a separate unification of Germany with the allies of the USSR, the Soviet leadership decided to urgently and independently storm Berlin, no matter what the cost. The Western Allies suggested that they take their time with the storming of Berlin and refused to participate in the storming, because they believed that Germany would surrender voluntarily, but later. As a result, the Soviet army, which approached Berlin in February, constantly postponed the assault.
On April 16, 1945, the last major battle of the Great Patriotic War began - the battle for Berlin ( Berlin operation):
- The Soviet army launched two powerful offensives - north and south of Berlin;
- in addition, the army of General Wenck, who was called upon to defend Berlin, was cut off from Berlin; without Wenck's army, Berlin remained almost defenseless - the city was defended by the remnants of the army, the police, the Hitler Youth and the Volksturm ("armed people");
- On April 25, south of Berlin, in the city of Torgau on the Elbe, a meeting took place between the advanced units of the Soviet army and the armies of the allies '
- according to the plan of Marshal Zhukov, Berlin should not be spared - the city was supposed to be destroyed to the ground with all types of weapons, regardless of the victims of the civilian population;
- due to this plan, on April 25, 1945, the shelling of Berlin began from all sides from more than 40 thousand guns and rocket launchers - not a single building remained in Berlin, the defenders of Berlin were in shock;
- after the shelling, more than 6 thousand people entered the city. Soviet tanks who crushed everything in their path;
- contrary to the hopes of the Nazi leaders, Berlin did not become the German Stalingrad and was taken Soviet army in just 5 days;
- On April 30, the Reichstag was taken by storm, and a red banner, the flag of the USSR, was hoisted over the Reichstag by sergeants M. Egorov and M. Kantaria;
- on the same day A. Hitler committed suicide;
- May 2, 1945 German troops, the inhabitants of Berlin stopped all resistance and took to the streets - the Nazi regime fell, and the war actually ended.
On May 8, 1945, in Karlhorst, a suburb of Berlin, Germany signed an act of complete and unconditional surrender. The day of May 9, 1945 was declared Victory Day in the USSR and began to be celebrated annually (in most countries, Victory Day is celebrated on May 8).
On June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place in Moscow, during which the military banners of the defeated Nazi Germany were burned near the Kremlin wall.
