Original taken from Soviet childhood on June 22, 1941
Here - German troops cross the border of the USSR. Reptiles. They will bring us a myriad of grief and misfortune. But they themselves do not yet know what they will receive in full. It will not be France for them ... Today I will remember my grandfather
These photographs have one thing in common: they were taken in the first hours and days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Source: http://www.lionblog.net/obszee/1146058318-22-iyunya-1941-goda.html
Here it is - the beginning of the war.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
Soviet border guards on patrol. The photograph is interesting because it was taken for a newspaper at one of the outposts on the western border of the USSR on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the war.
Shooting time: 06/20/1941
The first day of the war in Przemysl (today - the Polish city of Przemysl) and the first dead invaders on Soviet soil (soldiers of the 101st light infantry division). The city was occupied by German troops on June 22, but the next morning it was liberated by the Red Army and border guards and held until June 27.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
June 22, 1941 near the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav. At that time, the San River was the border between German-occupied Poland and the USSR.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
The first Soviet prisoners of war, under the supervision of German soldiers, head west across the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
After the failure of the sudden capture of the Brest Fortress, the Germans had to dig in. The photo was taken on the North or South Island.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
Battle of the German strike units in the Brest area.
Shooting time: June 1941
A column of Soviet prisoners crossed the San River along the sapper bridge. Among the prisoners, there are noticeable not only the military, but also people in civilian clothes: the Germans detained and captured all men of military age so that they could not be recruited into the enemy army. District of the city of Yaroslav, June 1941.
Shooting time: June 1941
Sapper bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav, on which German troops are transported.
Shooting time: June 1941
German soldiers are photographed on a Soviet T-34-76 tank, model 1940, abandoned in Lvov.
Location: Lviv, Ukraine, USSR
Shooting time: 30.06. 1941
German soldiers inspect a T-34-76 tank, model 1940, stuck in a field and abandoned.
Shooting time: June 1941
Captured Soviet female soldiers in Nevel (now the Nevelsky district of the Pskov region).
Shooting time: 07/26/1941
German infantry passes by broken Soviet vehicles.
Shooting time: June 1941
The Germans are inspecting Soviet T-34-76 tanks stuck in a water meadow. Floodplain of the Drut River, near Tolochin, Vitebsk region.
Shooting time: July 1941
Start of the German Junkers Yu-87 dive bombers from a field airfield in the USSR.
Shooting time: summer 1941
Red Army soldiers surrender to the soldiers of the SS troops.
Shooting time: June 1941
Destroyed by Soviet artillery, the German light tank Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. C.
German soldiers next to a burning Soviet village.
Shooting time: June 1941
German soldier during the battle in the Brest Fortress.
Shooting time: June-July 1941
A rally at the Leningrad plant named after Kirov about the beginning of the war.
Shooting time: June 1941
Location: Leningrad
Residents of Leningrad at the window of LenTASS Last news» (Socialisticheskaya street, house 14 — Pravda printing house).
Shooting time: July 1941
Location: Leningrad
Aerial photograph of the Smolensk-1 airfield taken by German air reconnaissance. An airfield with hangars and runways is marked in the upper left of the image. Other strategic objects are also marked in the picture: barracks (bottom left, marked with "B"), large bridges, anti-aircraft artillery batteries (vertical line with a circle).
Shooting time: 06/23/1941
Location: Smolensk
Red Army soldiers examine a wrecked German tank Pz 35 (t) (LT vz.35) of Czech production from the 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht. Neighborhood of the city of Raseiniai (Lithuanian SSR).
Shooting time: June 1941
Soviet refugees walk past an abandoned BT-7A tank.
Shooting time: June 1941
German soldiers examine a burning Soviet tank T-34-76 of the 1940 model.
Shooting time: June-August 1941
The Germans on the march at the beginning of the invasion of the USSR.
Shooting time: June 1941
Soviet field airfield, captured by the Germans. One can see an I-16 fighter shot down or dismantled on the ground, a Po-2 biplane and another I-16 in the background. A picture from a passing German car. Smolensk region, summer 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
Artillerymen of the 29th motorized division of the Wehrmacht from an ambush shot Soviet tanks into the side from a 50-mm PaK 38 cannon. The closest, on the left, is the T-34 tank. Belarus, 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
German soldiers ride along the street along the destroyed houses on the outskirts of Smolensk.
Shooting time: July 1941
Location: Smolensk
At the captured airfield of Minsk, German soldiers are examining an SB bomber (or its training version of the CSS, since the nose of the aircraft is visible, which differs from the glazed nose of the SB). Early July 1941.
I-15 and I-153 Chaika fighters are visible behind.
Shooting time: July 1941
Soviet 203-mm howitzer B-4 (model 1931), captured by the Germans. The barrel of the gun, which was transported separately, is missing. 1941, presumably Belarus. German photo.
Shooting time: 1941
The city of Demidov, Smolensk region in the early days of the occupation. July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
Destroyed Soviet tank T-26. On the tower, under the hatch cover, a burnt tanker is visible.
Shooting time: summer 1941
Surrenders soviet soldiers go to the rear of the Germans. Summer 1941. The picture was apparently taken from the back of a truck in a German convoy on the road.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A lot of broken Soviet aircraft: I-153 Chaika fighters (to the left). In the background is a U-2 and a twin-engine SB bomber. The airfield of Minsk, captured by German troops (in the foreground - a German soldier). Early July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
A lot of broken Soviet Chaika I-153 fighters. Minsk airport. Early July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
German collection point for Soviet captured equipment and weapons. On the left are Soviet 45 mm anti-tank guns, then a large number of Maxim machine guns and DP-27 light machine guns, on the right - 82 mm mortars. Summer 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
Dead Soviet soldiers at the captured trenches. This is probably the very beginning of the war, the summer of 1941: the soldier in the foreground wears a pre-war SSH-36 helmet, later such helmets were extremely rare in the Red Army and mainly on Far East. It can also be seen that a belt has been removed from him - apparently, the work of the German soldiers who captured these positions.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A German soldier is knocking at the house of local residents. City of Yartsevo, Smolensk region, early July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
The Germans inspect the wrecked Soviet light tanks. In the foreground - BT-7, the far left - BT-5 (characteristic cabin of the tank driver), in the center of the road - T-26. Smolensk region, summer 1941
Shooting time: summer 1941
Soviet artillery wagon with a gun. A shell or air bomb exploded right in front of the horses. Neighborhood of the city of Yartsevo, Smolensk region. August 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
Grave of a Soviet soldier. The inscription on the tablet in German reads: "Here rests an unknown Russian soldier." Perhaps the fallen soldier was buried by his own, so at the bottom of the tablet you can make out the word "Here ..." in Russian. For some reason, the Germans made the inscription in their own language. The photo is German, the shooting location is presumably the Smolensk region, August 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
German armored personnel carrier, German soldiers on it and local residents in Belarus.
Shooting time: June 1941
Ukrainians welcome the Germans in Western Ukraine.
Shooting time: summer 1941
The advancing units of the Wehrmacht in Belarus. The picture was taken from a car window. June 1941
Shooting time: June 1941
German soldiers in captured Soviet positions. A Soviet 45mm cannon is visible in the foreground, and a Soviet T-34 tank of the 1940 model is visible in the background.
Shooting time: 1941
German soldiers are approaching the freshly knocked out Soviet BT-2 tanks.
Shooting time: June-July 1941
Smoke break crews tractor tractors "Stalinets". The photo is dated in the summer of 41
Shooting time: summer 1941
Soviet female volunteers are sent to the front. Summer 1941.
Shooting time: 1941
Soviet girl-rank-and-file among prisoners of war.
Shooting time: summer 1941
The machine-gun crew of the German rangers fires from the MG-34 machine gun. Summer 1941, Army Group North. In the background, the calculation covers the StuG III self-propelled guns.
Shooting time: summer 1941
The German column passes the village in the Smolensk region.
Shooting time: July 1941
Wehrmacht soldiers are watching the burning village. The territory of the USSR, the date of the picture is approximately the summer of 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A Red Army soldier near a captured Czech-made German light tank LT vz.38 (designated Pz.Kpfw.38(t) in the Wehrmacht). About 600 of these tanks took part in military operations against the USSR, which were used in battles until mid-1942.
Shooting time: summer 1941
SS soldiers at the destroyed bunker on the "Stalin Line". The defensive structures located on the “old” (as of 1939) border of the USSR were mothballed, however, after the invasion of German troops, some fortified areas were used by the Red Army for defense.
Shooting time: 1941
Soviet railway station after the German bombardment, on the tracks there is an echelon with BT tanks.
German columns pass by a cart with a Red Army soldier, who had previously come under fire.
The dead Soviet tankers and tank landing soldiers at the gates of the border outpost. Tank - T-26.
Shooting time: June 1941
Refugees in the Pskov region.
Shooting time: July 1941
German soldiers finish off a wounded Soviet sniper.
Shooting time: summer 1941
The dead Soviet soldiers, as well as civilians - women and children. The bodies are dumped in a roadside ditch, like household garbage; dense columns of German troops are calmly moving past along the road.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A cart with the bodies of dead Red Army soldiers.
Soviet symbols in the captured city of Kobrin (Brest region, Belarus) - the T-26 tank and the monument to V.I. Lenin.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A column of German troops. Ukraine, July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
Red Army soldiers inspect a German fighter Bf.109F2 (from Squadron 3/JG3) hit by anti-aircraft fire and made an emergency landing. West of Kyiv, July 1941
Shooting time: July 1941
The banner of the 132nd NKVD escort battalion captured by the Germans. Photo from the personal album of one of the Wehrmacht soldiers.
"Brest Fortress. The defense was held for two months by border guards and the 132nd separate battalion of escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR. The city of Brest was hastily abandoned by the Red Army at 8:00 am on 06/22/1941 after a battle with enemy infantry that had crossed the Bug River in boats. AT Soviet time everyone remembered the inscription of one of the defenders of the Brest Fortress: “I’m dying, but I don’t give up! Farewell Motherland! 20.VII.41”, but few people knew that it was made on the wall of the barracks of the 132nd separate battalion of escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR.”
A slow river flows at dawn.
Sleep creeps, trying to close the eyelids.
Fog washed away nearby haystacks ...
Stop this moment forever!
Seconds fly like bullets into eternity,
While the light of the rocket is bleeding on the coast.
Another moment will pass - and the projectile
Will overwhelm a sixth of the planet with war.
The outpost was raised by an explosion at the gate.
The crushing of heels on the washed steps.
Dew trail. Coastal break.
Alien oars foam our water.
An obedient hand will send a cartridge,
Fury will hit the trilinear on the shoulder.
... He took the fight, and for him the river
So forever the border remained.
In the victorious May, the path lay from here,
Crowned with unfading fireworks,
And he was the first to make a breakthrough into this distance
A soldier who fought for three minutes.
22nd of June. Ordinary Sunday. More than 200 million citizens are planning how to spend their day off: go on a visit, take their children to the zoo, someone is in a hurry to play football, someone is on a date. Soon they will become heroes and victims of the war, killed and wounded, soldiers and refugees, blockade runners and prisoners of concentration camps, partisans, prisoners of war, orphans, and invalids. Winners and veterans of the Great Patriotic War. But none of them know about it yet.
In 1941 Soviet Union quite firmly on his feet - industrialization and collectivization bore fruit, the industry developed - out of ten tractors produced in the world, four were Soviet-made. Dneproges and Magnitogorsk have been built, the army is being re-equipped - the famous T-34 tank, Yak-1, MIG-3 fighters, Il-2 attack aircraft, Pe-2 bomber have already entered service with the Red Army. The situation in the world is turbulent, but the Soviet people are sure that "the armor is strong and our tanks are fast." In addition, two years ago, after three-hour talks in Moscow, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov and German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop signed a 10-year non-aggression pact.
After the abnormally cold winter of 1940-1941. A rather warm summer has come to Moscow. Amusements operate in the Gorky Park, football matches are held at the Dynamo stadium. The Mosfilm film studio is preparing the main premiere of the summer of 1941 - the editing of the lyrical comedy Hearts of Four, which will be released only in 1945, has just been completed here. Starring the favorite of Joseph Stalin and all Soviet moviegoers, actress Valentina Serova.
June, 1941 Astrakhan. Near the village of Liney
1941 Astrakhan. On the Caspian Sea
July 1, 1940 A scene from the film "My Love" directed by Vladimir Korsh-Sablin. In the center, actress Lidia Smirnova as Shurochka
April, 1941 Peasant greets the first Soviet tractor
July 12, 1940 Residents of Uzbekistan work on the construction of a section of the Great Fergana Canal
August 9, 1940 Byelorussian SSR. Collective farmers of the village of Tonezh, Turovsky district, Polesye region, for a walk after a hard day's work
May 05, 1941 Kliment Voroshilov, Mikhail Kalinin, Anastas Mikoyan, Andrey Andreev, Alexander Shcherbakov, Georgy Malenkov, Semyon Timoshenko, Georgy Zhukov, Andrey Eremenko, Semyon Budyonny, Nikolai Bulganin, Lazar Kaganovich and others in the presidium of the ceremonial meeting dedicated to graduation commanders who graduated from military academies. Joseph Stalin speaking
June 1, 1940. Classes in civil defense in the village of Dikanka. Ukraine, Poltava region
In the spring and summer of 1941, exercises of the Soviet military began to be carried out more and more often on the western borders of the USSR. War is already in full swing in Europe. Rumors reach the Soviet leadership that Germany could attack at any moment. But such messages are often ignored, since a non-aggression pact was signed just recently.
August 20, 1940 Villagers talking to tankmen during military exercises
"Higher, higher and higher
We strive for the flight of our birds,
And breathes in every propeller
The tranquility of our borders."
Soviet song, better known as "March of the Aviators"
June 1, 1941. An I-16 fighter is suspended under the wing of a TB-3 aircraft, under the wing of which a high-explosive bomb weighing 250 kg
September 28, 1939 People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop shake hands after the signing of the joint Soviet-German treaty "On Friendship and Borders"
Field Marshal V. Keitel, Colonel General V. von Brauchitsch, A. Hitler, Colonel General F. Halder (left to right in the foreground) near the table with a map during a meeting of the General Staff. In 1940, Adolf Hitler signed General Directive No. 21 under code name"Barbarossa"
On June 17, 1941, V. N. Merkulov sent to I. V. Stalin and V. M. Molotov an intelligence message received by the USSR NKGB from Berlin:
“A source working at the headquarters of the German aviation reports:
1. All German military measures to prepare for an armed uprising against the USSR have been completely completed, and a strike can be expected at any time.
2. In the circles of the aviation headquarters, the TASS message of June 6 was perceived very ironically. They emphasize that this statement cannot have any meaning ... "
There is a resolution (regarding 2 points): “To Comrade Merkulov. You can send your "source" from the headquarters of the German aviation to the fucking mother. This is not a "source", but a disinformer. I. Stalin»
July 1, 1940. Marshal Semyon Timoshenko (right), General of the Army Georgy Zhukov (left) and General of the Army Kirill Meretskov (2nd from left) during an exercise in the 99th Rifle Division of the Kyiv Special Military District
June 21, 21:00
At the site of the Sokal commandant's office, a German soldier, Corporal Alfred Liskof, was detained after swimming across the Bug River.
From the testimony of the head of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky:“In view of the fact that the interpreters in the detachment are weak, I called a teacher from the city German language... and Liskof repeated the same thing again, that is, that the Germans were preparing to attack the USSR at dawn on June 22, 1941 ... Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, he heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant's office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken.
21:30
In Moscow, a conversation took place between People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov and German Ambassador Schulenburg. Molotov protested in connection with the numerous violations of the borders of the USSR by German aircraft. Schulenburg evaded answering.
From the memoirs of Corporal Hans Teuchler:“At 22 o’clock we were lined up and the order of the Fuhrer was read out. Finally, they told us directly why we are here. Not at all for a rush to Persia to punish the British with the permission of the Russians. And not in order to lull the vigilance of the British, and then quickly transfer troops to the English Channel and land in England. No. We - soldiers of the Great Reich - are waiting for a war with the Soviet Union itself. But there is no such force that could hold back the movement of our armies. For the Russians it will be a real war, for us it will be just a victory. We will pray for her."
June 22, 00:30
Directive No. 1 was sent to the districts, containing an order to covertly occupy firing points on the border, not to succumb to provocations and put the troops on alert.
From the memoirs of the German General Heinz Guderian:“On the fateful day of June 22 at 2:10 in the morning, I went to the command post of the group ...
At 03:15 our artillery preparation began.
At 0340 hours - the first raid of our dive bombers.
At 4:15 a.m., the crossing over the Bug began.
03:07
The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Oktyabrsky, called the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Georgy Zhukov, and said that a large number of unknown aircraft were approaching from the sea; The fleet is in full combat readiness. The admiral offered to meet them with fleet air defense fire. He was instructed: "Act and report to your people's commissar."
03:30
Chief of Staff of the Western District, Major General Vladimir Klimovskikh, reported on a German air raid on the cities of Belarus. Three minutes later, the chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reported on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine. At 03:40, the commander of the Baltic District, General Kuznetsov, reported a raid on Kaunas and other cities.
From the memoirs of I. I. Geibo, deputy regiment commander of the 46th IAP, ZapVO:“... My chest went cold. In front of me are four twin-engine bombers with black crosses on their wings. I even bit my lip. Why, these are Junkers! German Ju-88 bombers! What to do? .. Another thought arose: "Today is Sunday, and on Sundays the Germans do not have training flights." So it's a war? Yes, war!
03:40
People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko asks Zhukov to report to Stalin about the start of hostilities. Stalin responded by ordering all members of the Politburo to gather in the Kremlin. At that moment, Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovich, Bobruisk, Volkovysk, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sevastopol, Riga, Vindava, Libava, Siauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius and many other cities were bombed.
From the memoirs of Alevtina Kotik, born in 1925 (Lithuania):“I woke up from the fact that I hit my head on the bed - the ground shook from falling bombs. I ran to my parents. Dad said: “The war has begun. We have to get out of here!” We did not know with whom the war started, we did not think about it, it was just very scary. Dad was a military man, and therefore he was able to call a car for us, which took us to the railway station. They took only clothes with them. All furniture and household utensils remained. At first we rode on a freight train. I remember how my mother covered me and my brother with her body, then they transferred to a passenger train. The fact that the war with Germany, they learned somewhere around 12 noon from people they met. Near the city of Siauliai, we saw a large number of wounded, stretchers, doctors.
At the same time, the Belostok-Minsk battle began, as a result of which the main forces of the Soviet Western Front were surrounded and defeated. German troops captured a significant part of Belarus and advanced to a depth of over 300 km. On the part of the Soviet Union in the Bialystok and Minsk “boilers”, 11 rifle, 2 cavalry, 6 tank and 4 motorized divisions were destroyed, 3 commanders and 2 commanders were killed, 2 commanders and 6 division commanders were captured, another 1 corps commander and 2 commanders divisions were missing.
04:10
The Western and Baltic special districts reported on the start of hostilities of the German troops in the land sectors.
04:12
German bombers appeared over Sevastopol. The enemy raid was repulsed, and an attempt to strike at the ships was thwarted, but residential buildings and warehouses were damaged in the city.
From the memoirs of Sevastopol Anatoly Marsanov:“I was then only five years old ... The only thing that remains in my memory: on the night of June 22, parachutes appeared in the sky. It became light, I remember, the whole city was illuminated, everyone was running, so joyful ... They shouted: “Paratroopers! Paratroopers!”… They don't know that these are mines. And they both gasped - one in the bay, the other - down the street below us, they killed so many people!
04:15
The defense of the Brest Fortress began. By the first attack, by 04:55, the Germans occupied almost half of the fortress.
From the memoirs of the defender of the Brest Fortress Pyotr Kotelnikov, born in 1929:“In the morning we were awakened by a strong blow. Broke the roof. I was stunned. I saw the wounded and the dead, I realized: this is no longer an exercise, but a war. Most of the soldiers of our barracks died in the first seconds. Following the adults, I rushed to the weapon, but they did not give me rifles. Then I, with one of the Red Army soldiers, rushed to extinguish the clothing warehouse. Then he moved with the soldiers to the cellars of the barracks of the neighboring 333rd Infantry Regiment ... We helped the wounded, brought them ammunition, food, water. Through the western wing at night they made their way to the river to draw water, and returned back.
05:00
Moscow time, Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs Joachim von Ribbentrop summoned Soviet diplomats to his office. When they arrived, he informed them of the start of the war. The last thing he said to the ambassadors was: "Tell Moscow that I was against the attack." After that, telephones did not work in the embassy, and the building itself was surrounded by SS detachments.
5:30
Schulenburg officially informed Molotov about the beginning of the war between Germany and the USSR, reading out a note: “Bolshevik Moscow is ready to stab in the back of National Socialist Germany, which is fighting for existence. The German government cannot be indifferent to the serious threat on the eastern border. Therefore, the Fuhrer gave the order to the German armed forces to ward off this threat with all their might and means ... "
From the memoirs of Molotov:"The adviser to the German ambassador Hilger, when he handed the note, shed a tear."
From Hilger's memoirs:“He gave vent to his indignation by declaring that Germany had attacked a country with which it had a non-aggression pact. This has no precedent in history. The reason given by the German side is an empty pretext ... Molotov concluded his angry speech with the words: “We did not give any grounds for this.”
07:15
Directive No. 2 was issued, ordering the USSR troops to destroy enemy forces in areas of violation of the border, destroy enemy aircraft, and also “bomb Koenigsberg and Memel” (modern Kaliningrad and Klaipeda). The USSR Air Force was allowed to go "to the depth of German territory up to 100-150 km." At the same time, the first counterattack takes place. Soviet troops near the Lithuanian town of Alytus.
09:00
At 7:00 Berlin time, Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels read out on the radio Adolf Hitler's appeal to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against the Soviet Union: “... Today I decided again to put the fate and future of the German Reich and our people into the hands of our soldier. May the Lord help us in this struggle!
09:30
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin signed a number of decrees, including the decree on the introduction of martial law, on the formation of the Headquarters of the High Command, on military tribunals and on general mobilization, to which all those liable for military service from 1905 to 1918 were born.
10:00
German bombers raided Kyiv and its suburbs. The railway station, the Bolshevik plant, an aircraft plant, power plants, military airfields, and residential buildings were bombed. According to official data, 25 people died as a result of the bombing, according to unofficial data, there were many more victims. However, peaceful life continued in the capital of Ukraine for several more days. Only the opening of the stadium, scheduled for June 22, was canceled; on this day, the football match Dynamo (Kyiv) - CSKA was supposed to take place here.
12:15
Molotov made a speech on the radio about the beginning of the war, where he first called it patriotic. Also in this speech, for the first time, the phrase that became the main slogan of the war is heard: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".
From Molotov's appeal:“This unprecedented attack on our country is an unparalleled perfidy in the history of civilized peoples... This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intelligentsia, whose suffering we understand well, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French, Czechs , Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples ... This is not the first time our people have to deal with an attacking arrogant enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon's campaign in Russia with a Patriotic War, and Napoleon was defeated and came to his own collapse. The same will happen to the arrogant Hitler, who has announced a new campaign against our country. The Red Army and all our people will again wage a victorious patriotic war for the Motherland, for honor, for freedom.
Workers of Leningrad listen to the message about the attack Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union
From the memoirs of Dmitry Savelyev, Novokuznetsk: “We gathered at the poles with loudspeakers. We listened carefully to Molotov's speech. For many, there was a feeling of some kind of wariness. After that, the streets began to empty, after a while food disappeared from the stores. They weren’t bought up – just the supply was reduced… People weren’t scared, but rather focused, doing everything the government told them to do.”
After some time, the text of Molotov's speech was repeated by the famous announcer Yuri Levitan. Thanks to his soulful voice and the fact that Levitan read the front-line reports of the Soviet Information Bureau throughout the war, it is believed that he was the first to read the message about the beginning of the war on the radio. Even marshals Zhukov and Rokossovsky thought so, as they wrote about in their memoirs.
Moscow. Announcer Yuri Levitan during filming in the studio
From the memoirs of announcer Yuri Levitan:“When we, the announcers, were called to the radio early in the morning, the calls had already begun to ring out. They call from Minsk: “Enemy planes over the city”, they call from Kaunas: “The city is on fire, why are you not transmitting anything on the radio?”, “Enemy planes are over Kyiv.” Women's crying, excitement - "is it really a war"? .. And now I remember - I turned on the microphone. In all cases, I remember myself that I only worried internally, only experienced internally. But here, when I uttered the word “Moscow is speaking”, I feel that I can’t continue to speak - a lump stuck in my throat. They are already knocking from the control room - “Why are you silent? Go on! He clenched his fists and continued: "Citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union ..."
Stalin delivered a speech to the Soviet people only on July 3, 12 days after the start of the war. Historians are still arguing why he was silent for so long. Here is how Vyacheslav Molotov explained this fact:“Why me and not Stalin? He didn't want to go first. It is necessary that there be a clearer picture, what tone and what approach ... He said that he would wait a few days and speak when the situation on the fronts cleared up.
And here is what Marshal Zhukov wrote about this:"AND. V. Stalin was a strong-willed man and, as they say, "not from a cowardly dozen." Confused, I saw him only once. It was at dawn on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked our country. During the first day, he could not really pull himself together and firmly direct events. The shock produced on I. V. Stalin by the attack of the enemy was so strong that his voice even dropped, and his orders for organizing armed struggle did not always correspond to the situation.
From a speech by Stalin on the radio on July 3, 1941:“The war with fascist Germany cannot be considered an ordinary war... Our war for the freedom of our Fatherland will merge with the struggle of the peoples of Europe and America for their independence, for democratic freedoms.”
12:30
At the same time, German troops entered Grodno. A few minutes later, the bombardment of Minsk, Kyiv, Sevastopol and other cities began again.
From the memoirs of Ninel Karpova, born in 1931 (Kharovsk Vologda region): “We listened to the message about the beginning of the war from the loudspeaker at the House of Defense. There were a lot of people there. I was not upset, on the contrary, I became proud: my father will defend the Motherland ... In general, people were not afraid. Yes, women, of course, were upset, crying. But there was no panic. Everyone was sure that we would quickly defeat the Germans. The men said: "Yes, the Germans will drape from us!"
Recruiting stations were opened in the military registration and enlistment offices. Queues lined up in Moscow, Leningrad and other cities.
From the memoirs of Dina Belykh, born in 1936 (Kushva, Sverdlovsk region):“All men immediately began to call, including my dad. Dad hugged mom, they both cried, kissed ... I remember how I grabbed him by the tarpaulin boots and shouted: “Daddy, don’t go! They'll kill you there, they'll kill you!" When he got on the train, my mother took me in her arms, we both sobbed, she whispered through her tears: “Wave to dad ...” What is there, I sobbed so much, I could not move my hand. We never saw him again, our breadwinner."
Calculations and experience of the mobilization carried out showed that in order to transfer the army and navy to wartime, 4.9 million people were required to be called up. However, when mobilization was announced, 14 ages of conscripts were called up, the total number of which was about 10 million people, that is, almost 5.1 million people more than what was required.
The first day of mobilization in the Red Army. Volunteers in the Oktyabrsky military registration and enlistment office
The conscription of such a mass of people was not caused by military necessity and introduced disorganization into the national economy and anxiety among the masses. Without realizing this, Marshal of the Soviet Union G. I. Kulik suggested that the government additionally call on older ages (1895-1904), the total number of which was 6.8 million people.
13:15
To capture the Brest Fortress, the Germans brought into action new forces of the 133rd Infantry Regiment on the Southern and Western Islands, but this "did not bring changes in the situation." The Brest Fortress continued to hold the line. Fritz Schlieper's 45th Infantry Division was thrown into this sector of the front. It was decided that only infantry would take the Brest Fortress - without tanks. No more than eight hours were allotted for the capture of the fortress.
From a report to the headquarters of the 45th Infantry Division Fritz Schlieper:“The Russians are fiercely resisting, especially behind our attacking companies. In the Citadel, the enemy organized defense by infantry units supported by 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles. The fire of Russian snipers led to heavy losses among officers and non-commissioned officers.
14:30
Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano told the Soviet ambassador in Rome, Gorelkin, that Italy had declared war on the USSR "from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory."
From Ciano's diaries:“He perceives my message with rather great indifference, but this is in his nature. The message is very short, without unnecessary words. The conversation lasted two minutes.
15:00
The pilots of the German bombers reported that they had nothing more to bomb, all airfields, barracks and concentrations of armored vehicles were destroyed.
From the memoirs of Air Marshal, Hero of the Soviet Union G.V. Zimina:“On June 22, 1941, large groups of fascist bombers attacked 66 of our airfields, on which the main aviation forces of the western border districts were based. First of all, airfields were subjected to air strikes, on which aviation regiments were based, armed with aircraft of new designs ... As a result of attacks on airfields and in fierce air battles, the enemy managed to destroy up to 1,200 aircraft, including 800 at airfields.
16:30
Stalin left the Kremlin for the Near Dacha. Until the end of the day, even members of the Politburo are not allowed to see the leader.
From the memoirs of Politburo member Nikita Khrushchev:
“Beria told the following: when the war began, members of the Politburo gathered at Stalin's. I don’t know, all or only a certain group, which most often met with Stalin. Stalin was morally completely depressed and made the following statement: “The war has begun, it is developing catastrophically. Lenin left us the proletarian Soviet state, and we pissed it off.” Literally said so.
“I,” he says, “refuse leadership,” and left. He left, got into the car and drove to a nearby dacha.
Some historians, referring to the memories of other participants in the events, argue that this conversation took place a day later. But the fact that in the first days of the war Stalin was confused and did not know how to act is confirmed by many witnesses.
18:30
The commander of the 4th Army, Ludwig Kubler, gives the order to "pull his own forces" at the Brest Fortress. This is one of the first orders for the retreat of German troops.
19:00
The commander of Army Group Center, General Fedor von Bock, gives the order to stop the execution of Soviet prisoners of war. After that, they were kept in hastily fenced fields with barbed wire. This is how the first camps for prisoners of war appeared.
From the notes of SS Brigadeführer G. Keppler, commander of the "Der Fuhrer" regiment from the SS division "Das Reich":“In the hands of our regiment were rich trophies and big number prisoners, among whom were many civilians, even women and girls, the Russians forced them to defend themselves with weapons in their hands, and they bravely fought together with the Red Army."
23:00
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a radio address in which he stated that England "will give Russia and the Russian people all the help it can."
Winston Churchill's speech on the air of the BBC radio station:“Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than me. I won't take back a single word I said about him. But all this pales before the spectacle now unfolding. The past with its crimes, follies and tragedies is disappearing... I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial... I see how the vile Nazi war machine is approaching all this.
23:50
The Main Military Council of the Red Army sent out Directive No. 3, ordering June 23 to launch counterattacks against enemy groups.
Text: Information Center of the Kommersant Publishing House, Tatiana Mishanina, Artem Galustyan
Video: Dmitry Shelkovnikov, Alexey Koshel
A photo: TASS, RIA Novosti, Ogonyok, Dmitry Kuchev
Design, programming and layout: Anton Zhukov, Alexey Shabrov
Kim Voronin
Commissioning Editor: Artem Galustyan
June 21, 1941, 13:00. German troops receive the code signal "Dortmund", confirming that the invasion will begin the next day.
Commander of the 2nd Panzer Group, Army Group Center Heinz Guderian writes in his diary: “Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they did not suspect anything about our intentions. In the courtyard of the fortress of Brest, which was visible from our observation posts, to the sounds of an orchestra, they were holding guards. Coastal fortifications along the Western Bug were not occupied by Russian troops.
21:00. Soldiers of the 90th border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained a German soldier who had crossed the border river Bug by swimming. The defector was sent to the headquarters of the detachment in the city of Vladimir-Volynsky.
23:00. German minelayers, who were in Finnish ports, began to mine the way out of the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, Finnish submarines began laying mines off the coast of Estonia.
June 22, 1941, 0:30. The defector was taken to Vladimir-Volynsky. During interrogation, the soldier named himself Alfred Liskov, servicemen of the 221st regiment of the 15th infantry division of the Wehrmacht. He reported that at dawn on June 22, the German army would go on the offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German border. The information has been passed on to the higher command.
At the same time, the transfer of directive No. 1 of the People's Commissariat of Defense for parts of the western military districts begins from Moscow. “During June 22-23, 1941, a sudden attack by the Germans on the fronts of the LVO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO is possible. The attack may begin with provocative actions,” the directive said. “The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications.”
The units were ordered to be placed on combat readiness, covertly occupy the firing points of fortified areas on the state border, and aviation was dispersed over field airfields.
bring the directive to military units before the start of hostilities fails, as a result of which the measures indicated in it are not carried out.
Mobilization. Columns of fighters are moving to the front. Photo: RIA Novosti
“I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory”
1:00. The commandants of the sections of the 90th border detachment report to the head of the detachment, Major Bychkovsky: "nothing suspicious was noticed on the adjacent side, everything is calm."
3:05 . A group of 14 German Ju-88 bombers drops 28 magnetic mines near the Kronstadt raid.
3:07. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to the Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov: “The VNOS [air surveillance, warning and communications] system of the fleet reports on the approach from the sea of a large number of unknown aircraft; The fleet is on full alert.
3:10. The UNKGB in the Lvov region transmits by telephone to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR the information obtained during the interrogation of the defector Alfred Liskov.
From the memoirs of the head of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “Not having finished interrogating the soldier, I heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant's office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken ... "3:30. Chief of Staff of the Western District General Klimovsky reports on enemy air raids on the cities of Belarus: Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi and others.
3:33. The chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reports on air raids on the cities of Ukraine, including Kyiv.
3:40. Commander of the Baltic Military District General Kuznetsov reports on enemy air raids on Riga, Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas and other cities.
"Enemy raid repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships has been thwarted."
3:42. Chief of the General Staff Zhukov calls Stalin and announces the start of hostilities by Germany. Stalin orders Tymoshenko and Zhukov to arrive at the Kremlin, where an emergency meeting of the Politburo is being convened.
3:45. The 1st frontier post of the 86th Augustow border detachment was attacked by an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group. Outpost personnel under command Alexandra Sivacheva, having joined the battle, destroys the attackers.
4:00. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to Zhukov: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships has been thwarted. But there is destruction in Sevastopol.”
4:05. The outposts of the 86th August Frontier Detachment, including the 1st Frontier Post of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev, are subjected to heavy artillery fire, after which the German offensive begins. The border guards, deprived of communication with the command, engage in battle with superior enemy forces.
4:10. The Western and Baltic Special Military Districts report the start of hostilities by German troops on land.
4:15. The Nazis open massive artillery fire on the Brest Fortress. As a result, warehouses were destroyed, communications were disrupted, and there were a large number of dead and wounded.
4:25. The 45th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht begins an attack on the Brest Fortress.
The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Residents of the capital on June 22, 1941 during the announcement on the radio of a government message about the perfidious attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti
"Defending not individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe"
4:30. A meeting of members of the Politburo begins in the Kremlin. Stalin expresses doubt that what happened is the beginning of the war and does not exclude the version of a German provocation. People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko and Zhukov insist: this is war.
4:55. In the Brest Fortress, the Nazis manage to capture almost half of the territory. Further progress was stopped by a sudden counterattack by the Red Army.
5:00. German Ambassador to the USSR Count von Schulenburg presents the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov“Note from the German Foreign Ministry to the Soviet Government”, which states: “The German government cannot be indifferent to the serious threat on the eastern border, therefore the Führer ordered the German armed forces to ward off this threat by all means.” An hour after the actual start of hostilities, Germany de jure declares war on the Soviet Union.
5:30. On German radio, the Reich Minister of Propaganda Goebbels read out an appeal Adolf Hitler to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against the Soviet Union: “Now the hour has come when it is necessary to oppose this conspiracy of Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow ... In this moment the greatest in terms of its length and volume of the performance of troops, which the world has ever seen ... The task of this front is no longer the defense of individual countries, but the security of Europe and thereby the salvation of all.7:00. Reich Minister for Foreign Ribbentrop begins a press conference at which he announces the start of hostilities against the USSR: "The German army invaded the territory of Bolshevik Russia!"
“The city is on fire, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?”
7:15. Stalin approves the directive to repel the attack Nazi Germany: "The troops should use all their strength and means to attack the enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border." The transfer of "Directive No. 2" due to the violation by saboteurs of the communication lines in the western districts. Moscow does not have a clear picture of what is happening in the war zone.
9:30. It was decided that at noon Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, would address the Soviet people in connection with the outbreak of war.
10:00. From the memories of the announcer Yuri Levitan: “They call from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city”, they call from Kaunas: “The city is on fire, why are you not transmitting anything on the radio?”, “Enemy planes are over Kyiv.” Women's crying, excitement: “Is it really a war? ..” However, no official messages are transmitted until 12:00 Moscow time on June 22.
10:30. From the report of the headquarters of the 45th German division on the battles on the territory of the Brest Fortress: “The Russians are fiercely resisting, especially behind our attacking companies. In the citadel, the enemy organized defense by infantry units supported by 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles. The fire of enemy snipers led to heavy losses among officers and non-commissioned officers.
11:00. The Baltic, Western and Kyiv special military districts were transformed into the Northwestern, Western and Southwestern fronts.
“The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours"
12:00. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov read out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union: "Today at 4 o'clock in the morning, without presenting any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed from our cities - Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others - more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Enemy aircraft raids and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory ... Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repel the piratical attack and drive the German troops from the territory of our homeland ... The government calls on you, citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally their ranks still more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader Comrade Stalin.
Our cause is right. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours" .
12:30. Advanced German units break into the Belarusian city of Grodno.
13:00.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issues a decree "On the mobilization of those liable for military service ..."
“On the basis of Article 49 of paragraph “o” of the Constitution of the USSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces mobilization on the territory of the military districts - Leningrad, Special Baltic, Western Special, Kyiv Special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North - Caucasian and Transcaucasian.
13:30. The Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov, flies to Kyiv as a representative of the newly created Headquarters of the High Command on the Southwestern Front.
Photo: RIA Novosti
14:00. The Brest Fortress is completely surrounded by German troops. Soviet units blockaded in the citadel continue to offer fierce resistance.
14:05. Foreign Minister of Italy Galeazzo Ciano declares: “In view of the current situation, due to the fact that Germany has declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and as a member of the Tripartite Pact, also declares war on the Soviet Union from the moment the German troops enter Soviet territory.”
14:10. The 1st frontier post of Alexander Sivachev has been fighting for more than 10 hours. The border guards, who had only small arms and grenades, destroyed up to 60 Nazis and burned three tanks. The wounded head of the outpost continued to command the battle.
15:00. From the notes of Field Marshal Commander of Army Group Center bokeh background: “The question of whether the Russians are carrying out a planned withdrawal is still open. There is now ample evidence both for and against this.
It is surprising that nowhere is any significant work of their artillery visible. Strong artillery fire is conducted only in the north-west of Grodno, where the VIII Army Corps is advancing. Apparently, our air force has an overwhelming superiority over Russian aviation.
Of the 485 frontier posts attacked, none retreated without an order.
16:00. After a 12-hour battle, the Nazis occupy the positions of the 1st frontier post. This became possible only after all the border guards who defended it died. The head of the outpost, Alexander Sivachev, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class.
The feat of the outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev became one of the hundreds accomplished by the border guards in the first hours and days of the war. The state border of the USSR from the Barents to the Black Sea on June 22, 1941 was guarded by 666 border outposts, 485 of them were attacked on the very first day of the war. None of the 485 outposts attacked on June 22 withdrew without orders.
The Nazi command took 20 minutes to break the resistance of the border guards. 257 Soviet frontier posts held the defense from several hours to one day. More than one day - 20, more than two days - 16, more than three days - 20, more than four and five days - 43, from seven to nine days - 4, more than eleven days - 51, more than twelve days - 55, more than 15 days - 51 outposts. Up to two months, 45 outposts fought.
The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The working people of Leningrad listen to the message about the attack of fascist Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti
Of the 19,600 border guards who met the Nazis on June 22 in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, more than 16,000 died in the first days of the war.
17:00. Hitler's units manage to occupy the southwestern part of the Brest Fortress, the northeast remained under the control of Soviet troops. Stubborn battles for the fortress will continue for another week.
"The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland"
18:00. The Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow and Kolomna, addresses the faithful with a message: “Fascist robbers have attacked our homeland. Trampling all sorts of treaties and promises, they suddenly fell upon us, and now the blood of peaceful citizens is already irrigating our native land ... Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. Together with him, she carried trials, and consoled herself with his successes. She will not leave her people even now ... The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox for protection sacred borders our homeland."
19:00. From the notes of the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces, Colonel General Franz Halder: “All the armies, except for the 11th Army of the Army Group South in Romania, went on the offensive according to the plan. The offensive of our troops, apparently, was a complete tactical surprise for the enemy on the entire front. The border bridges across the Bug and other rivers have been everywhere captured by our troops without a fight and in complete safety. The complete surprise of our offensive for the enemy is evidenced by the fact that the units were taken by surprise in the barracks, the planes stood at the airfields, covered with tarpaulins, and the advanced units, suddenly attacked by our troops, asked the command what to do ... The Air Force command reported, that today 850 enemy aircraft have been destroyed, including entire squadrons of bombers, which, having taken to the air without fighter cover, were attacked by our fighters and destroyed.
20:00. Directive No. 3 of the People's Commissariat of Defense was approved, ordering the Soviet troops to go on the counteroffensive with the task of defeating the Nazi troops on the territory of the USSR with further advance into the territory of the enemy. The directive prescribed by the end of June 24 to capture the Polish city of Lublin.
Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. June 22, 1941 Nurses assist the first wounded after the Nazi air raid near Chisinau. Photo: RIA Novosti
"We must give Russia and the Russian people all the help we can"
21:00. Summary of the High Command of the Red Army for June 22: “At dawn on June 22, 1941, the regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, the German troops met with the advanced units of the field troops of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Krystynopol directions did the enemy manage to achieve minor tactical successes and occupy the towns of Kalvaria, Stoyanuv and Tsekhanovets (the first two at 15 km and the last at 10 km from the border).
Enemy aviation attacked a number of our airfields and settlements, but everywhere they met with a decisive rebuff from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy planes."
23:00. Message from the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the British people in connection with the German attack on the USSR: “At 4 o’clock this morning, Hitler attacked Russia. All his usual formalities of treachery were observed with scrupulous precision ... suddenly, without a declaration of war, even without an ultimatum, German bombs fell from the sky on Russian cities, German troops violated Russian borders, and an hour later the German ambassador, who just the day before generously lavished his assurances to the Russians in friendship and almost an alliance, paid a visit to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and declared that Russia and Germany were in a state of war ...
No one has been a more staunch opponent of communism over the past 25 years than I have been. I will not take back a single word said about him. But all this pales before the spectacle unfolding now.The past, with its crimes, follies and tragedies, recedes. I see Russian soldiers standing on the border of their native land and guarding the fields that their fathers have plowed since time immemorial. I see how they guard their homes; their mothers and wives pray—oh, yes, because at such a time everyone prays for the preservation of their loved ones, for the return of the breadwinner, patron, their protectors ...
We must give Russia and the Russian people all the help we can. We must call on all our friends and allies in all parts of the world to follow a similar course and pursue it as steadfastly and steadily as we will, to the very end.
June 22 has come to an end. Ahead were another 1417 days of the most terrible war in the history of mankind.
Position as of June 22, 1941
By June 22, 1941, three army groups were concentrated and deployed near the borders of the USSR (a total of 181 divisions, including 19 tank and 14 motorized, and 18 brigades), supported by three air fleets. In the strip from the Black Sea to the Pripyat marshes - Army Group "South" (44 German, 13 Romanian divisions, 9 Romanian and 4 Hungarian brigades); in the strip from the Pripyat swamps to Goldap - Army Group Center (50 German divisions and 2 German brigades); in the strip from Goldap to Memel - Army Group North (29 German divisions). They were given the task of advancing in the general direction, respectively, to Kyiv, Moscow and Leningrad. 2 Finnish armies were concentrated on the territory of Finland, on the territory of Northern Norway - a separate German army "Norway" (a total of 5 German and 16 Finnish divisions, 3 Finnish brigades) with the task of reaching Leningrad and Murmansk. In total, more than 5.5 million people, 3,712 tanks, 47,260 field guns and mortars, and 4,950 combat aircraft were concentrated to attack the USSR.
On June 22, 1941, units of the Red Army (without border troops) deployed against Germany and its allies consisted of 186 divisions, 19 brigades; in addition, in the western districts there were 7 divisions, 2 brigades and 11 separate regiments of the NKVD (without the 21st, 22nd and 23rd motorized rifle divisions NKVD, the formation of which began before the war). These forces numbered 3,289,851 people, 59,787 guns and mortars, 15,687 tanks (including 11-13 thousand serviceable ones), 10,743 combat aircraft; the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets consisted of 182 S. 477 ships.
M. Meltyukhov in his 600-page monograph “Stalin's Missed Chance. The Soviet Union and the Struggle for Europe: 1939-1941" in the table gives the following balance of forces on the eastern front on the morning of June 22, 1941:
Red Army | Enemy | Ratio |
|
Personnel | |||
Guns and mortars | |||
Tanks and assault guns | |||
Aircraft |
On June 1, 1941, the Red Army had 1,392 tanks of new types - T-34 and KV. Another 305 tanks were produced in June 1941. Thus, the number of heavy and medium tanks, which had no analogues in the Wehrmacht in terms of strike power, on June 22, 1941 in the Red Army was at least 1,392 units.
Samara historian Mark Solonin gives somewhat different data on the number of tanks in both armies, but the ratio of 3.8:1 in favor of the Red Army remains:
Solonin also cites the number of new types of tanks (KV and T-34) on June 22, 1941, which was 1,528 units. This figure corresponds to the data that Meltyukhov cited in his study. On the fronts, the number of tanks in the Red Army was as follows:
Northwestern Front | Western Front | Southwestern and Southern fronts | Total |
|
Tanks and assault guns |
As of June 22, 1941, out of 5807 long-term defensive structures being built by the USSR along the western borders as part of 13 fortified areas of the Molotov Line, only 880 were completed. The Stalin Line, covering the line of the old border, had in its composition 3817 long-term defensive structures, of which 538 were unfinished, was mothballed and partially disarmed. The fortifications on the new border are comparable both in quality and in the number of long-term defensive structures to the best defensive zones of the Second World War. They did not play a significant role, since the construction was not completed and the Soviet lines were not provided with field filling.
Given that the attack took place on a Sunday, government organizations it was a day off, military depots with weapons, ammunition and equipment were closed and sealed, and employees and many officers were on leave or on summer vacation. Due to confusion with orders and the loss of communications and control, entire armies were surrounded and, without any support from the central command, died or surrendered. A significant number of Soviet tanks, often superior in power to German ones, and other weapons fell into the hands of the Germans and were subsequently used by them against the Soviet troops.
According to the historian A. Isaev, the main problem was the lag in the pace of mobilization and deployment of the USSR troops. The Red Army was divided into three echelons, which could not help each other in any way, and in front of each of which the Wehrmacht had a numerical advantage. This is how Isaev explains the catastrophe of the summer of 1941.
Other historians note that in the autumn of 1941 and in 1942 the actions of the Soviet troops were no less unsuccessful than in the summer of 1941, despite the fact that the problem of echelons was no longer a problem. In this regard, the opinion is put forward that the matter is not so much in the echelons, but in the different tactical and operational levels of the Soviet and German armies.
Nazi policy plans after the victory over the USSR
The chief of staff of the operational leadership of the OKW, after the corresponding correction, returned the draft document “Instructions on the special problems of Directive No. may be reported to the Führer after revision in accordance with the following provision:
“The upcoming war will be not only an armed struggle, but at the same time a struggle between two worldviews. In order to win this war in conditions where the enemy has a huge territory, it is not enough to defeat his armed forces, this territory should be divided into several states, headed by their own governments, with which we could conclude peace treaties.
The creation of such governments requires great political skill and the development of well thought out general principles.
Every revolution on a large scale brings to life phenomena that cannot simply be brushed aside. Socialist ideas in today's Russia can no longer be eradicated. These ideas can serve as an internal political basis for the creation of new states and governments. The Jewish-Bolshevik intelligentsia, which is the oppressor of the people, must be removed from the scene. The former bourgeois-aristocratic intelligentsia, if it still exists, primarily among emigrants, should also not be allowed to power. It will not be accepted by the Russian people and, moreover, it is hostile to the German nation. This is especially noticeable in the former Baltic States. In addition, we must by no means allow the replacement of the Bolshevik state by a nationalist Russia, which in the end (as history testifies) will once again oppose Germany.
Our task is precisely to create these socialist states dependent on us as quickly as possible and with the least expenditure of military effort.
This task is so difficult that one army is not able to solve it.
An entry dated March 3, 1941 in the diary of the Headquarters of the Operational Command of the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW).
30.3.1941 ... 11.00. Big meeting with the Fuhrer. Almost 2.5 hour speech...
The struggle of two ideologies... The great danger of communism for the future. We must proceed from the principle of soldier's camaraderie. The communist has never been and never will be our comrade. It's about fighting for destruction. If we do not look like this, then, although we will defeat the enemy, in 30 years the communist danger will arise again. We are not waging war in order to conserve our adversary.
Future political map Russia: Northern Russia belongs to Finland, protectorates in the Baltic states, Ukraine, Belarus.
The struggle against Russia: the destruction of the Bolshevik commissars and the communist intelligentsia. The new states must be socialist, but without their own intelligentsia. We must not allow a new intelligentsia to form. Here only the primitive socialist intelligentsia will suffice. We must fight against the poison of demoralization. This is far from a military-judicial issue. Unit and subunit commanders are required to know the aims of the war. They must lead in the struggle ..., firmly hold the troops in their hands. The commander must give his orders, taking into account the mood of the troops.
The war will be very different from the war in the West. In the East, cruelty is a boon for the future. Commanders must make sacrifices and overcome their hesitation...
Diary of the Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces F. Halder
Baltic region
Based on the instructions of the Reichsführer SS, the development policy of the territories east of Germany included, first of all, the development and Germanization of the following regions:
1) Ingermanlandia (Leningrad region),
2) Memel-Narva region (Bialystok region and Western Lithuania).
These areas were supposed to be purposefully populated by returning the original Germans ("Volksdeutsche"). It was planned to create special legal conditions in these three areas as border areas of settlements, since they performed a special task as an outpost of the German people in the east.
In order to more closely connect these border areas of the settlements with the Reich and provide transport links between them, it was proposed to build 36 settlement strongholds along the main railway lines and highways (of which 14 were in the general government). These points adjoined the existing favorable central points and were covered by strong points of the SS and police. The distance between the strongholds was about 100 km. The management of the strongholds of Ingermanland is envisaged taking into account the special significance of the Baltic space for German persons along two lines.
Black Sea region
The German colonization of the Black Sea region planned by Hitler “restored” the state of the Goths in the Crimea, for which it was supposed to rename Simferopol to Gothenburg (“City of the Ready”), and Sevastopol to Teoderikshafen (“Theodoric Port”). Theodoric was the king of the Goths, but others - in the Balkans and in Italy. He has never been to Crimea. But the Nazi leadership was not embarrassed by this, since the name Gotenhafen ("Port Ready") was already occupied by the Polish Gdynia.
Caucasus
The Caucasus is a proposed autonomous region (Reich Commissariat) within the Third Reich. The capital is Tbilisi. The territory would cover the entire Soviet Caucasus from Turkey and Iran to the Don and Volga rivers. As part of the Reichskommissariat, it was planned to create national entities. The basis of the economy of this region would be oil production and agriculture.
Forces that fought on the side of Germany
Blue color - Germany, allies, protectorates. Red - England. Green - USSR
The Wehrmacht and the SS troops replenished over 1.8 million from among the citizens of other states and nationalities. Of these, during the war years, 59 divisions, 23 brigades, several separate regiments, legions and battalions were formed. Many of them bore names according to state and nationality: "Walonia", "Galicia", "Bohemia and Moravia", "Viking", "Denemark", "Gembez", "Langemark", "Nordland", "Netherlands", " Flanders", "Charlemagne" and others.
Also, the armed forces and SS troops included the armies of Germany's allies - Austria, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Slovakia, Croatia. The Bulgarian army was involved in the occupation of Greece and Yugoslavia, but the Bulgarian ground units did not fight on the Eastern Front.
They acted on the side of Nazi Germany, although they were not part of the Wehrmacht:
Russian Liberation Army of General Vlasov (ROA),
15th Cossack Corps of General von Panwitz,
The Nazis declared the Cossacks to be descendants of the Ostrogoths. Nevertheless, a significant number of Cossacks took part in the war on the side of the Red Army, in which Cossack formations were created on the orders of Stalin.
Russian Corps of General Shteifon,
Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Bandera)
a number of separate units formed from citizens of the USSR.
Territories of military operations of the USSR
Ukrainian SSR, BSSR, MSSR, Estonian SSR, Kazakh SSR (air raid on Guryev), Karelo-Finnish SSR, Latvian SSR, Lithuanian SSR, Leningrad, Murmansk, Pskov, Novgorod, Vologda, Kalinin, Yaroslavl (air raids), Moscow, Tula , Kaluga, Smolensk, Orel, Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Rostov, Stalingrad regions, Krasnodar, Stavropol Territories, Kabardino-Balkaria, Crimean, Ossetian, Chechen-Ingush Republics, Astrakhan (air raids), Arkhangelsk (air raids), Saratov (air raids) region, Krasnoyarsk region (fighting at sea), Penza region (air raids). On June 18, 1941, some formations of the border military districts of the USSR were put on alert.
According to G.K. Zhukov, with the receipt of direct data from various sources about the upcoming attack on the USSR, People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko and Chief of the General Staff G.K. in full combat readiness. The answer followed: "Prematurely", and before the start of the war there were no more than 5 hours. However, other sources do not confirm this information.
The military-political leadership of the state only at 23.30 on June 21 made a decision aimed at partially bringing the five border military districts to combat readiness. The directive prescribed the implementation of only part of the measures to bring to full combat readiness, which were determined by operational and mobilization plans. The directive, in fact, did not give permission for the full implementation of the cover plan, since it ordered "not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications." These restrictions caused bewilderment, requests to Moscow followed, while only a few minutes remained before the start of the war.
The miscalculation in time exacerbated the existing shortcomings in the combat readiness of the army and thereby sharply increased the objectively existing advantages of the aggressor. The time that the troops had to bring them to full combat readiness turned out to be clearly not enough. Instead of 25-30 minutes, it took an average of 2 hours and 30 minutes to alert the troops to bring them to combat readiness. The fact is that instead of the signal "Proceed to implement the cover plan for 1941" joins and joins received an encrypted directive with restrictions on the input of the cover plan.
Under these conditions, even formations and units of the first echelon of the covering armies, which had constant combat readiness within 6-9 hours (2-3 hours - to raise the alarm and collect, 4-6 hours - to advance and organize defense), did not receive this time. Instead of the specified period, they had no more than 30 minutes, and some connections were not notified at all. The delay, and in a number of cases, the failure of the transmission of the command was also due to the fact that the enemy managed to significantly disrupt wire communications with troops in the border areas. As a result, the headquarters of the districts and armies did not have the opportunity to quickly transmit their orders.
The same Zhukov claims that the commands of the western (Western Special, Special Kyiv, Special Baltic and Odessa) border military districts at that time were moving forward to field command posts, which were supposed to arrive just on June 22.
Summer-autumn campaign 1941
Operation Barbarossa.
Map of the plan ";Barbarossa";
In the early morning of June 22, 1941, after artillery and aviation training, German troops crossed the border of the USSR. After that, at 5:30 in the morning, German Ambassador to the USSR Schulenburg appeared before the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov and made a statement, the content of which was that the Soviet government pursued a subversive policy in Germany and in the countries occupied by it, pursued a foreign policy, directed against Germany, and "concentrated on the German border all its troops in full combat readiness." The statement ended with the following words: "The Führer therefore ordered the German armed forces to confront this threat with all the means at their disposal."
On the same day, Italy declared war on the USSR (Italian troops began hostilities on July 20, 1941) and Romania. June 23 - Slovakia, and June 27 - Hungary.
The implementation of the Barbarossa plan began in the northern Baltic on the evening of June 21, when German minelayers based in Finnish ports set up two large minefields in the Gulf of Finland. These minefields were ultimately able to trap the Soviet Baltic Fleet in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. Later that evening, German bombers, flying along the Gulf of Finland, mined the harbor of Leningrad and the Neva. On the way back, the planes refueled at one of the Finnish airfields.
On the morning of June 22, the Finnish army entered the Aland Islands. The staff of the Soviet consulate in Aland (31 people) was arrested, which was a gross violation of the status of the diplomatic mission. Soviet bomber attack on Finnish ships turned out to be unsuccessful.
On the morning of June 22, German troops stationed in Norway began advancing to the Soviet-Finnish border in the Petsamo region. Finland did not allow the Germans to strike directly from their territory, and the German units in Petsamo and Salla were forced to refrain from crossing the border. There were episodic skirmishes between Soviet and Finnish border guards, but in general, a calm situation remained on the Soviet-Finnish border.
However, starting on 22 June, German Luftwaffe bombers began using Finnish airfields as a refueling base before returning to Germany. On the same day, 16 Finnish saboteurs dressed in German uniforms were landed from two seaplanes near the locks of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. The saboteurs were supposed to blow up the locks, but because of the increased security, they failed to do this.
On the same day, three Finnish submarines laid mines off the Estonian coast, and their commanders had orders to attack Soviet ships in the event of a meeting.
On June 23, Molotov summoned the Finnish ambassador to him. Molotov demanded from Finland a clear definition of its position - is it on the side of Germany or is it neutral? Does Finland want to have among her enemies the Soviet Union with a population of two hundred million, and possibly also England? Molotov accused Finland of bombing Hanko and flying over Leningrad. The Finnish ambassador was unwilling to explain Finland's actions.
On June 24, the commander-in-chief of the German Ground Forces sent an instruction to the representative of the German command at the headquarters of the Finnish army, which stated that Finland should prepare for the start of the operation east of Lake Ladoga.
In the early morning of June 25, the Soviet command decided to launch a massive air strike on 18 Finnish airfields using about 460 aircraft. A session of the Finnish parliament was scheduled for June 25, at which, according to Mannerheim's memoirs, Prime Minister Rangel was supposed to make a statement about Finland's neutrality in the Soviet-German conflict, but Soviet bombing forced him to declare that Finland was again at war with the USSR.
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70 years ago the Great Patriotic War began. Before dawn, when sleep is at its strongest, Nazi Germany began bombing and crossed the border into Western Ukraine. Stalin was warned repeatedly, but the mustachioed ogre refused to believe. Even after Hitler attacked, he was in a trance for several days, not believing that this had happened. The incapacity of the Soviet army before the start of the war, the re-equipment started at the wrong time and the miscalculations of the high command cost 26 million human lives. These photographs, taken on the first day of the war, show how easily and practically without resistance the soldiers of the Wehrmacht began to implement their plan "Barbarossa". And the blitzkrieg was almost a success... it was possible to stop it at the cost of huge human losses only near Moscow itself.
These photographs have one thing in common: they were taken in the first hours and days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
German soldiers cross the state border of the USSR.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
Soviet border guards on patrol. The photograph is interesting because it was taken for a newspaper at one of the outposts on the western border of the USSR on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the war.
Shooting time: 06/20/1941
The first day of the war in Przemysl (today - the Polish city of Przemysl) and the first dead invaders on Soviet soil (soldiers of the 101st light infantry division). The city was occupied by German troops on June 22, but the next morning it was liberated by the Red Army and border guards and held until June 27.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
June 22, 1941 near the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav. At that time, the San River was the border between German-occupied Poland and the USSR.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
The first Soviet prisoners of war, under the supervision of German soldiers, head west across the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
After the failure of the sudden capture of the Brest Fortress, the Germans had to dig in. The photo was taken on the North or South Island.
Shooting time: 06/22/1941
Battle of the German strike units in the Brest area.
Shooting time: June 1941
A column of Soviet prisoners crossed the San River along the sapper bridge. Among the prisoners, there are noticeable not only the military, but also people in civilian clothes: the Germans detained and captured all men of military age so that they could not be recruited into the enemy army. District of the city of Yaroslav, June 1941.
Shooting time: June 1941
Sapper bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav, on which German troops are transported.
Shooting time: June 1941
German soldiers are photographed on a Soviet T-34-76 tank, model 1940, abandoned in Lvov.
Location: Lviv, Ukraine, USSR
Shooting time: 30.06. 1941
German soldiers inspect a T-34-76 tank, model 1940, stuck in a field and abandoned.
Shooting time: June 1941
Captured Soviet female soldiers in Nevel (now the Nevelsky district of the Pskov region).
Shooting time: 07/26/1941
German infantry passes by broken Soviet vehicles.
Shooting time: June 1941
The Germans are inspecting Soviet T-34-76 tanks stuck in a water meadow. Floodplain of the Drut River, near Tolochin, Vitebsk region.
Shooting time: July 1941
Start of the German Junkers Yu-87 dive bombers from a field airfield in the USSR.
Shooting time: summer 1941
Red Army soldiers surrender to the soldiers of the SS troops.
Shooting time: June 1941
Destroyed by Soviet artillery, the German light tank Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. C.
German soldiers next to a burning Soviet village.
Shooting time: June 1941
German soldier during the battle in the Brest Fortress.
Shooting time: June-July 1941
A rally at the Leningrad plant named after Kirov about the beginning of the war.
Shooting time: June 1941
Location: Leningrad
Residents of Leningrad near the window of LenTASS "Latest News" (Socialist street, house 14 - Pravda printing house).
Shooting time: July 1941
Location: Leningrad
Aerial photograph of the Smolensk-1 airfield taken by German air reconnaissance. An airfield with hangars and runways is marked in the upper left of the image. Other strategic objects are also marked in the picture: barracks (bottom left, marked with "B"), large bridges, anti-aircraft artillery batteries (vertical line with a circle).
Shooting time: 06/23/1941
Location: Smolensk
Red Army soldiers examine a wrecked German tank Pz 35 (t) (LT vz.35) of Czech production from the 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht. Neighborhood of the city of Raseiniai (Lithuanian SSR).
Shooting time: June 1941
Soviet refugees walk past an abandoned BT-7A tank.
Shooting time: June 1941
German soldiers examine a burning Soviet tank T-34-76 of the 1940 model.
Shooting time: June-August 1941
The Germans on the march at the beginning of the invasion of the USSR.
Shooting time: June 1941
Soviet field airfield, captured by the Germans. One can see an I-16 fighter shot down or dismantled on the ground, a Po-2 biplane and another I-16 in the background. A picture from a passing German car. Smolensk region, summer 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
Artillerymen of the 29th motorized division of the Wehrmacht from an ambush shot Soviet tanks into the side from a 50-mm PaK 38 cannon. The closest, on the left, is the T-34 tank. Belarus, 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
German soldiers ride along the street along the destroyed houses on the outskirts of Smolensk.
Shooting time: July 1941
Location: Smolensk
At the captured airfield of Minsk, German soldiers are examining an SB bomber (or its training version of the CSS, since the nose of the aircraft is visible, which differs from the glazed nose of the SB). Early July 1941.
I-15 and I-153 Chaika fighters are visible behind.
Shooting time: July 1941
Soviet 203-mm howitzer B-4 (model 1931), captured by the Germans. The barrel of the gun, which was transported separately, is missing. 1941, presumably Belarus. German photo.
Shooting time: 1941
The city of Demidov, Smolensk region in the early days of the occupation. July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
Destroyed Soviet tank T-26. On the tower, under the hatch cover, a burnt tanker is visible.
Shooting time: summer 1941
Surrendering Soviet soldiers go to the rear of the Germans. Summer 1941. The picture was apparently taken from the back of a truck in a German convoy on the road.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A lot of broken Soviet aircraft: I-153 Chaika fighters (to the left). In the background is a U-2 and a twin-engine SB bomber. The airfield of Minsk, captured by German troops (in the foreground - a German soldier). Early July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
A lot of broken Soviet Chaika I-153 fighters. Minsk airport. Early July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
German collection point for Soviet captured equipment and weapons. On the left are Soviet 45 mm anti-tank guns, then a large number of Maxim machine guns and DP-27 light machine guns, on the right - 82 mm mortars. Summer 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
Dead Soviet soldiers at the captured trenches. This is probably the very beginning of the war, the summer of 1941: the fighter in the foreground is wearing a pre-war SSH-36 helmet, later such helmets were extremely rare in the Red Army and mainly in the Far East. It can also be seen that a belt has been removed from him - apparently, the work of the German soldiers who captured these positions.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A German soldier is knocking at the house of local residents. City of Yartsevo, Smolensk region, early July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
The Germans inspect the wrecked Soviet light tanks. In the foreground - BT-7, the far left - BT-5 (characteristic cabin of the tank driver), in the center of the road - T-26. Smolensk region, summer 1941
Shooting time: summer 1941
Soviet artillery wagon with a gun. A shell or air bomb exploded right in front of the horses. Neighborhood of the city of Yartsevo, Smolensk region. August 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
Grave of a Soviet soldier. The inscription on the tablet in German reads: "Here rests an unknown Russian soldier." Perhaps the fallen soldier was buried by his own, so at the bottom of the tablet you can make out the word "Here ..." in Russian. For some reason, the Germans made the inscription in their own language. The photo is German, the shooting location is presumably the Smolensk region, August 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
German armored personnel carrier, German soldiers on it and local residents in Belarus.
Shooting time: June 1941
Ukrainians welcome the Germans in Western Ukraine.
Shooting time: summer 1941
The advancing units of the Wehrmacht in Belarus. The picture was taken from a car window. June 1941
Shooting time: June 1941
German soldiers in captured Soviet positions. A Soviet 45mm cannon is visible in the foreground, and a Soviet T-34 tank of the 1940 model is visible in the background.
Shooting time: 1941
German soldiers are approaching the freshly knocked out Soviet BT-2 tanks.
Shooting time: June-July 1941
Smoke break crews tractor tractors "Stalinets". The photo is dated in the summer of 41
Shooting time: summer 1941
Soviet female volunteers are sent to the front. Summer 1941.
Shooting time: 1941
Soviet girl-rank-and-file among prisoners of war.
Shooting time: summer 1941
The machine-gun crew of the German rangers fires from the MG-34 machine gun. Summer 1941, Army Group North. In the background, the calculation covers the StuG III self-propelled guns.
Shooting time: summer 1941
The German column passes the village in the Smolensk region.
Shooting time: July 1941
Wehrmacht soldiers are watching the burning village. The territory of the USSR, the date of the picture is approximately the summer of 1941.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A Red Army soldier near a captured Czech-made German light tank LT vz.38 (designated Pz.Kpfw.38(t) in the Wehrmacht). About 600 of these tanks took part in military operations against the USSR, which were used in battles until mid-1942.
Shooting time: summer 1941
SS soldiers at the destroyed bunker on the "Stalin Line". The defensive structures located on the “old” (as of 1939) border of the USSR were mothballed, however, after the invasion of German troops, some fortified areas were used by the Red Army for defense.
Shooting time: 1941
Soviet railway station after the German bombardment, on the tracks there is an echelon with BT tanks.
The dead Soviet soldiers, as well as civilians - women and children. The bodies are dumped in a roadside ditch, like household garbage; dense columns of German troops are calmly moving past along the road.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A cart with the bodies of dead Red Army soldiers.
Soviet symbols in the captured city of Kobrin (Brest region, Belarus) - the T-26 tank and the monument to V.I. Lenin.
Shooting time: summer 1941
A column of German troops. Ukraine, July 1941.
Shooting time: July 1941
Red Army soldiers inspect a German fighter Bf.109F2 (from Squadron 3/JG3) hit by anti-aircraft fire and made an emergency landing. West of Kyiv, July 1941
Shooting time: July 1941
The banner of the 132nd NKVD escort battalion captured by the Germans. Photo from the personal album of one of the Wehrmacht soldiers.
A GOOD SONG ABOUT THIS BLACK DAY IN OUR HISTORY: