The initial period of the Great Patriotic War.

Invasion. Summer disaster of 1941

On June 22, 1941, troops of Germany and its allies (Hungary, Italy, Romania, Finland) invaded the territory of the Soviet Union and went on the offensive on a front stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. Having gained air supremacy, the enemy pinned down Soviet ground forces, primarily tanks, which were destroyed from the air. The troops did not have time to carry out the order given from Moscow too late to bring the border districts to combat readiness, and communication with them was broken. Only the Navy, thanks to the actions of its commander in chief, Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov suffered minimal losses.

The main blow to the Red Army troops in the Western Front, commanded by Army General D.G. Pavlov, struck by Army Group Center. The forces of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht were approximately equal, but the Germans gained significant advantages due to the surprise of the attack, the massive use of aviation and armored forces, i.e. tactics called blitzkrieg.

Air strikes and tank breakthroughs disrupted the control of Soviet troops. On June 28, 1941, Wehrmacht tank groups united in the Minsk area, encircling 26 divisions of the Red Army (over 300 thousand people). By July 10, 1941, German troops advanced 450-600 km and reached the Polotsk-Vitebsk-Orsha-Zhlobin line. For the Red Army it was a real disaster. The events in the Baltics unfolded just as tragically. Soviet troops abandoned Liepaja, one of the main naval bases of the Baltic Fleet, as well as Riga and Tallinn.

The largest Soviet forces were concentrated on the Southwestern Front. Having concentrated a large number of tanks, front commander M.P. Kirponos tried to stop the advance of the German Army Group South. On June 26-29, 1941, the largest tank battle unfolded near Berestechko, Lutsk and Dubno. About 2 thousand tanks collided on a 70 km stretch, and hundreds of planes collided in the air. Having delayed the enemy's offensive for some time, the Soviet troops, fearing encirclement and suffering heavy losses, were forced to retreat.

Mobilization of the country

The German attack came as a surprise to the Soviet leadership. However, just a few hours after the start of the war, a directive was sent to the troops: “Attack enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border. Do not cross the border until further notice.”

On June 22, 1941, V.M. spoke on All-Union Radio. Molotov and announced a German attack on the Soviet Union. As soon as it became obvious that this was not a provocation, but the beginning of a war, the troops received an order to launch a counteroffensive.

On June 23, 1941, Stalin signed the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the establishment of the High Command Headquarters, it was headed by S.K. Tymoshenko. However, after a week of hostilities, it became obvious that it would not be possible to achieve a quick victory with “little loss of blood” and on “foreign soil,” as pre-war propaganda kept repeating.

The Kremlin's reaction to belated information about the disaster in Belarus and the Baltic states was typical of the policy of the Soviet leadership at that time. On the one hand, the search began for those responsible for the failures. D.G. was arrested and then executed. Pavlov and other leaders of the Western Front. S.K. stood at the head of the front. Tymoshenko, relieved of his duties as People's Commissar of Defense.

On the other hand, all the forces of the country were mobilized to repel fascist aggression. On June 30, 1941, the State Defense Committee (GKO) was created - an emergency authority whose decisions and orders had the force of law.

The State Defense Committee was headed by I.V. Stalin. July 3, 1941 He made an appeal on the radio in which the outbreak of the war was called a nationwide, Patriotic War. The State Defense Committee took measures to organize the country's defense with the involvement of all its socio-economic and military resources. Mobilization was announced, putting an additional 5.3 million people under arms. We began to evacuate people and industrial equipment from areas threatened by enemy invasion. Martial law was introduced in combat areas and the front line. The People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) under the leadership of L.P. acquired particular importance. Beria. To help the NKVD, fighter battalions were created to protect the country's strategic facilities and to fight saboteurs. In July 1941, the institution of military commissars in the troops was restored. On July 10, 1941, the Headquarters of the Main Command was transformed into the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (SHC), headed by I.V. Stalin, who simultaneously served as People's Commissar of Defense and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Armed Forces.

The country was gripped by patriotic enthusiasm. Heroic resistance to the advancing enemy became widespread. The annals of history contain hundreds of names of Soviet soldiers who, in the most difficult conditions of the first months of the war, showed unprecedented fortitude and courage. June 26, 1941 crew of captain N.F. Gastello directed his bomber, engulfed in flames, at a column of enemy vehicles, destroying it. The garrison of Liepaja stubbornly defended itself. For almost four months, besieged Odessa repelled the enemy’s onslaught. The Baltic sailors fought off enemy attacks for four months, defending the Moonsund archipelago. Until the beginning of December 1941, the Soviet naval base in Finland at Cape Hanko held its defense. For more than a month, the defenders of the Brest Fortress, who found themselves deep in the rear of the German army, resisted the main forces of the Wehrmacht. The words of Soviet soldiers preserved on the wall of the Brest Fortress: “I’m dying, but I’m not giving up!” Farewell, Motherland! we now perceive it as a symbol of our people’s resistance to the Nazi invaders.

People hurried to the military registration and enlistment offices, volunteering to go to the front. On July 4, 1941, the State Defense Committee adopted a resolution on the formation of a people's militia, in which about 1 million people, due to age or health conditions, were not subject to conscription into the army. About 40 divisions of the people's militia took part in the fighting. The spiritual mood of the peoples of the Soviet country was reflected in the song that sounded in the very first days of the war: “Get up, huge country! Rise to the death! With the dark fascist force, with the damned horde.”

The Battle of Smolensk and the disaster in Ukraine

Army Group Center faced a month and a half of organized resistance from the Red Army in the Battle of Smolensk. The Soviet command was particularly concerned about the “Yelninsky ledge” - a possible springboard for the German offensive on Moscow in the area of ​​​​the city of Yelnya. The troops led by G.K. Zhukov, at the beginning of September 1941, ousted the German group from it, which suffered heavy losses. This success had enormous moral and psychological significance. Near Yelnya, the Red Army defeated the Wehrmacht for the first time in the Great Patriotic War. In August 1941, the Nazis suspended their attack on Moscow. The tank armies of Army Group Center moved into Ukraine and Leningrad. The German command, faced with serious resistance from the Red Army, decided to capture the industrial areas of Leningrad, Ukraine, Donbass, and Crimea before the onset of winter. This allowed the Soviet leadership to strengthen strategic defense in the Moscow direction. The preconditions for the failure of the Barbarossa plan were taking shape.

An attempt to stop the German advance into Ukraine ended in heavy defeat. I.V. Stalin rejected the General Staff's proposals to withdraw troops. As a result, by mid-September 1941, in the Kyiv area and on the left bank of the Dnieper, 4 Soviet armies were surrounded, a total of about 453 thousand people.

Battle of Moscow

Having defeated the main forces of the Southwestern Front near Kiev, cut off the Crimea and established a blockade of Leningrad from September 1941, the German army again transferred its main efforts to the Moscow direction. Having launched an operation to capture the capital of the USSR, called “Typhoon,” the Germans broke through the Soviet defenses, encircled and destroyed the troops of the Western and Bryansk fronts in the area of ​​Vyazma and Bryansk. Hundreds of thousands of people were captured by fascists. A 500-kilometer gap in the front opened the way to Moscow.

In mid-October 1941, the evacuation of government offices, plants and factories from Moscow began urgently. Moscow was subjected to enemy air raids. However, the government remained in the capital. On November 7, 1941, a traditional military parade took place on Red Square, and the troops participating in it immediately went to the front.

Enemy formations were rapidly advancing towards Moscow. The urgently created Kalinin Front led by I.S. Konev tried to fetter the Wehrmacht's advance. The Germans captured Kaluga and Maloyaroslavets, approached Serpukhov, but in the battles for Maloyaroslavets, near the village of Borodino and near Mozhaisk at the end of October 1941 they were stopped by the 16th Army of K.K. Rokossovsky. At the cost of their lives, 28 Panfilov soldiers (from the 316th Infantry Division of I.V. Panfilov), led by junior political instructor V.G., repelled a tank attack on the Leningradskoe highway at the Dubosekovo crossing. Klochkov. Tank brigade M.E. Katukova, transformed into the 1st Guards, blocked the path of the enemy’s advance in the Tula direction. The fascist troops failed to bypass Moscow from the east. The Typhoon plan was foiled.

Fierce fighting also took place on other sectors of the Soviet-German front. Soviet troops did not allow the Wehrmacht forces to join the Finnish army east of Leningrad. The enemy failed to cut the only route through which food and ammunition reached the besieged city - the road laid across Lake Ladoga.

In the southwestern direction, by December 1941, Wehrmacht forces captured the industrial region of Kharkov and part of Donbass, captured almost all of Crimea and blocked the heroically defending Sevastopol.

By early December 1941, troops from Siberia and the Far East were transferred to the Western Front. This decision was made after Soviet intelligence became aware of Japan's intention to begin military operations in the Pacific Ocean, while refraining for now from attacking the USSR.

On December 5-6, 1941, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive near Moscow. Kalinin Front under the command of I.S. Konev liberated the city of Kalinin and rushed to Rzhev. Western Front under the command of G.K. Zhukov defeated the Germans and moved towards Ruza and Volokolamsk. The enemy was also driven back from Tula. The Bryansk Front launched an attack on Kaluga. By mid-December 1941, the counter-offensive of Soviet troops on three fronts, with heavy losses, pushed the enemy back 60 km north and 120 km south of Moscow.

The heroism of Soviet soldiers played a special role. There were often cases when they sacrificed themselves, covering enemy firing points with their bodies. This is what the Red Navy soldiers A.I. did. Vaganov and S. Sanin, Sergeant V.V. Vasilkovsky, privates

Ya.N. Paderin and A.S. Sheshkov, junior lieutenants A.E. Khalin and N.S. Shevlyakov.

By December 20, 1941, the offensive of Soviet troops in the main directions stopped. The Germans, having reduced the front, strengthened its defense.

Subsequently, German generals, explaining the defeat near Moscow, referred to the severity of the Russian winter, destructive for equipment and fatal for soldiers. However, the main reasons that the Wehrmacht was forced to fight in the winter conditions for which it was preparing were the stubborn resistance of the Red Army and the tough measures taken by the leadership of the USSR to organize the fight against the enemy.

The failure of the German offensive on Moscow dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the German army. He contributed to the growth of the liberation, anti-fascist movement of peoples in the territories occupied by Germany and its allies. The Barbarossa plan was a complete failure.

The birth of the anti-Hitler coalition

Immediately after the invasion of German troops into the territory of the USSR, the leaders of Great Britain and the USA declared their support for the Soviet Union in the fight against the invaders. Agreements were concluded with the emigrant governments of Czechoslovakia and Poland on the formation of Polish and Czechoslovak military units in the Soviet Union. The USSR and Great Britain sent troops to Iran, preventing it from acting on the side of Germany.

In September 1941, a conference of representatives of the USSR, Great Britain and the USA took place in Moscow. According to its decisions, the Lend-Lease system was extended to the Soviet Union. This was a program of gratuitous assistance from the United States of America to countries fighting Nazism. It was provided that only equipment and resources that would not be used during the war were subject to payment. The first 20 tanks and 193 aircraft arrived in the USSR in October 1941.

Combat operations in the spring - summer of 1942

I.V. Stalin believed that it would be possible to put an end to the Red Army invaders already in 1942. The command intended to launch a broad offensive along the entire Soviet-German front, although Soviet troops did not have superiority in any of its sectors. It was also not taken into account that Germany remained a formidable adversary, making serious preparations for the next offensive. The Soviet command made a mistake in assessing the strategic plans of the Wehrmacht, assuming that its main forces would concentrate on the Moscow direction. Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht planned to strike in the south-eastern direction, then to the Caucasus, to the oil-bearing regions of Baku.

In January 1942, Soviet troops went on the offensive with the goal of destroying the enemy’s Rzhev-Vyazma grouping. Having advanced 80-250 km, suffering heavy losses, the Red Army formations failed to reach their goal. In May 1942, they suffered a serious defeat near Kharkov and Kerch, which predetermined the fall of Sevastopol. German troops broke through the front north of Kursk and reached Voronezh.

The Red Army's attempt to lift the siege of Leningrad also turned out to be a failure.

The Red Army used up reserves intended for the summer offensive. The Wehrmacht again seized the initiative and began to implement the plan to capture the Caucasus.

Defense of Stalingrad

Soviet troops retreated to Stalingrad. However, the Germans missed the opportunity to capture the city on the move. They began the assault, while simultaneously trying to break into Transcaucasia. As a result, the front of the German troops was stretched, and the stubborn defense of Stalingrad forced them to send all reserves to the front line.

In August 1942, the German 6th Army broke through to the Volga north of the city, then into its very center, but it failed to do the same south of Stalingrad. Wehrmacht forces unsuccessfully tried to encircle and destroy the 62nd Army under the command of General V.I. Chuikov, storming the Mamaev Kurgan dominating the city, and the 64th Army of General M.S. Shumilova. Over 15 thousand Red Army soldiers met a heroic death in the defense of Mamayev Kurgan. The feat of the reconnaissance group of Sergeant Ya.F. will forever remain in the history of the Battle of Stalingrad. Pavlova, who was forced to find herself in the ruins of one of the Stalingrad houses and for many months fought off the fierce attacks of the Nazis. The name of the Stalingrad sniper V.G. is covered in legends. Zaitsev, who destroyed over 200 fascists. After the last unsuccessful assault on Mamayev Kurgan, undertaken on November 11, 1942, the enemy’s forces dried up.

The transfer of German troops to Stalingrad limited the possibilities of developing their offensive in the Caucasian direction. In July 1942, having broken through the Soviet front and captured Rostov, the Germans moved to the Caucasus, pushing Red Army formations to its western foothills. Wehrmacht units reached Elbrus, occupied most of Novorossiysk and

Taman Peninsula. However, by the end of September 1942, their offensive stopped, and all further attempts to enter Transcaucasia ended in failure.

Occupation regime on Soviet territory

By the autumn of 1942, the German army occupied a significant part of the territory of the USSR, where about 80 million people lived before the war. In the occupied lands, the German authorities established their own rules. Agricultural products were confiscated from the population, which often became the cause of mass starvation. Movement between populated areas was allowed only with special passes; people of working age were forcibly sent to Germany. Of the 5.3 million people driven into Hitler's empire, over 2 million went missing. About 7 million civilians died from punitive actions in the occupied territories, bombings and artillery shelling.

The fate of Soviet prisoners of war testified to another tragedy of the war. Almost 5.7 million people ended up in concentration camps, of which 3.3 million died.

Difficult conditions of detention forced some of the prisoners to join anti-Soviet formations, in particular the so-called Russian Liberation Army (ROA), organized by the former Soviet general A.A. Vlasov. To some extent, this was facilitated by Order No. 270 of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the USSR adopted in August 1941, according to which all persons captured were considered traitors to the Motherland, subject to destruction, and members of their families - deprivation of civil rights.

There were also military formations of former white generals P.N. Krasnova, A.G. Shkuro and others, as well as the so-called national military units made up of prisoners of war - representatives of the peoples of the USSR. Some Soviet citizens collaborated with the occupiers as translators and performed administrative and police functions.

Guerrilla movement

Already during the battle of Moscow, about 2 thousand partisan and underground groups were operating in the occupied territory of our country. Throughout the territory occupied by the Nazis, partisans disrupted enemy communications, prepared sabotage, attacked rear targets of the German army and military administration, dealt with traitors, and disrupted the sending of Soviet people to Germany. Created in May 1942, the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement coordinated its actions with the command of the Red Army. In 1942, the partisan movement covered the entire land occupied by the Nazis, especially the forested areas of the Bryansk region (the Partisan Region, not subject to the occupiers, arose there), the Smolensk region, the Oryol region, Belarus, Ukrainian Polesie, and the Crimea.

Over 400 partisan detachments numbering up to 50 thousand people operated in Belarus. A brigade fought near Orsha, whose commander was K.S. Zaslonov. The Komsomol underground organization "Young Guard" arose in Krasnodon. Famous was the raid of cavalry partisan formations (3 thousand people) under the command of the SL. Kovpak and A.N. Saburov, undertaken in the fall of 1942 in the Bryansk region.

The actions of the partisans under the command of D.N. became widely known. Medvedev in the Oryol, Smolensk, Mogilev, Rivne and Lvov regions, P.M. Masherov - in Belarus, etc. The occupiers brutally punished the armed resistance of Soviet citizens. Tens of thousands of partisans and those whom the Nazis suspected of having connections with them died. The Germans mercilessly burned entire villages for connections with the partisans.

Second period of the war (June 1941-November 1942)

Invasion of the USSR

Early on Sunday morning, June 22, 1941, Germany, with the support of its allies - Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland and Slovakia - suddenly and without warning attacked the USSR. The Soviet-German war began, in Soviet and Russian historiography called the Great Patriotic War.

German troops launch a powerful surprise attack along the entire western Soviet border with three army groups: North, Center and South. On the very first day, a significant part of Soviet ammunition, fuel and military equipment was destroyed or captured; About 1,200 aircraft were destroyed. On June 23-25, the Soviet fronts tried to launch counterattacks, but failed.

By the end of the first ten days of July, German troops captured Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, a significant part of Ukraine, Moldova and Estonia. The main forces of the Soviet Western Front were defeated in the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk.

The Soviet Northwestern Front was defeated in a border battle and driven back. However, the Soviet counterattack near Soltsy on July 14-18 led to the suspension of the German offensive on Leningrad for almost 3 weeks.

• On June 22, at 6.05 am, Soviet planes bombed Finnish battleships at the Sottunga naval base, at 6.15 - the fortifications of Alsher Island in the archipelago in front of the city of Turku, and at 6.45 - transport ships in the port of Korpo. At 7.55, Soviet artillery batteries from Cape Hanko began to operate. In Petsamo, one of the ships was fired upon across the border.
• On June 25, Soviet planes bomb Finnish airfields. On June 26, Finland declares war on the USSR, Finnish troops launch a counter-offensive and soon regain the Karelian Isthmus, previously captured by the Soviet Union, without crossing the old historical Russian-Finnish border on the Karelian Isthmus (north of Lake Ladoga, the old border was crossed to great depth). On June 29, German-Finnish troops launched an offensive in the Arctic, but their advance deeper into Soviet territory was stopped.

In Ukraine, the Soviet Southwestern Front is also defeated and driven back from the border, but the counterattack of the Soviet mechanized corps does not allow German troops to make a deep breakthrough and capture Kyiv.

In a new offensive on the central sector of the Soviet-German front, launched on July 10, Army Group Center captured Smolensk on July 16 and encircled the main forces of the recreated Soviet Western Front. In the wake of this success, and also taking into account the need to support the offensive on Leningrad and Kyiv, on July 19, Hitler, despite the objections of the army command, gave the order to shift the direction of the main attack from the Moscow direction to the south (Kyiv, Donbass) and north (Leningrad). In accordance with this decision, the tank groups advancing on Moscow were withdrawn from the Center group and sent to the south (2nd tank group) and north (3rd tank group). The attack on Moscow was to be continued by the infantry divisions of Army Group Center, but the battle in the Smolensk region continued, and on July 30 Army Group Center received orders to go on the defensive. Thus, the attack on Moscow was postponed.

• On August 8-9, Army Group North resumed its offensive on Leningrad. The front of the Soviet troops is dissected, they are forced to retreat in diverging directions towards Tallinn and Leningrad. The defense of Tallinn pinned down part of the German forces, but on August 28, Soviet troops were forced to begin evacuation. On September 8, with the capture of Shlisselburg, German troops encircled Leningrad.
• On September 4, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Armed Forces, General Jodl, received from Marshal Mannerheim a categorical refusal to attack Leningrad.
• On September 6, Hitler, by his order, stops the advance of the North group of forces on Leningrad, and gives the order to Field Marshal Leeb to give up all the tanks and a significant number of troops in order to “as quickly as possible” begin the attack on Moscow. Having abandoned the assault on Leningrad, Army Group North launched an offensive in the Tikhvin direction on October 16, intending to link up with Finnish troops east of Leningrad. However, a counterattack by Soviet troops near Tikhvin liberates the city and stops the enemy.

In Ukraine, in early August, troops of Army Group South cut off the Dnieper and encircle two Soviet armies near Uman. However, they failed to capture Kyiv again. Only after the troops of the southern flank of Army Group Center (2nd Army and 2nd Tank Group) turned south did the position of the Soviet Southwestern Front sharply deteriorate. The German 2nd Tank Group, having repelled a counterattack from the Bryansk Front, crossed the Desna River and on September 15 united with the 1st Tank Group, advancing from the Kremenchug bridgehead. As a result of the battle for Kyiv, the Soviet Southwestern Front was completely destroyed.

The disaster near Kiev opened the way for the Germans to the south. On October 5, the 1st Tank Group reached the Sea of ​​Azov near Melitopol, cutting off the troops of the Southern Front. In October 1941, German troops captured almost the entire Crimea, except for Sevastopol.

The defeat in the south opened the way for the Germans to Donbass and Rostov. On October 24, Kharkov fell, and by the end of October the main cities of Donbass were occupied. On October 17, Taganrog fell. On November 21, the 1st Tank Army entered Rostov-on-Don, achieving the goals of Plan Barbarossa in the south. However, on November 29, Soviet troops knocked out the Germans from Rostov, and until the summer of 1942, the front line in the south was established at the turn of the river. Mius.

On September 30, 1941, German troops begin an attack on Moscow. As a result of deep breakthroughs by German tank formations, the main forces of the Soviet Western, Reserve and Bryansk Fronts found themselves surrounded in the area of ​​Vyazma and Bryansk. In total, more than 660 thousand people were captured.

On October 10, the remnants of the Western and Reserve Fronts united into a single Western Front under the command of Army General G.K. Zhukov.

• On November 15-18, German troops, with the end of the thaw, resumed their attack on Moscow, but by December they were stopped in all directions.
• On December 1, the commander of the Center Group, General Field Marshal von Bock, reports that the troops are exhausted and are not able to continue the offensive.
• On December 5, 1941, the Kalinin, Western and Southwestern fronts launched a counteroffensive. The successful advance of Soviet troops forces the enemy to go on the defensive along the entire front line. In December, as a result of the offensive, troops of the Western Front liberated Yakhroma, Klin, Volokolamsk, Kaluga; Kalinin Front liberates Kalinin; Southwestern Front - Efremov and Yelets. As a result, by the beginning of 1942, the Germans were thrown back 100-250 km to the west. The defeat near Moscow was the first major defeat of the Wehrmacht in this war.

The success of Soviet troops near Moscow prompts the Soviet command to launch a large-scale offensive. On January 8, 1942, the forces of the Kalinin, Western and Northwestern Fronts went on the offensive against the German Army Group Center. They fail to complete the task, and after several attempts, by mid-April, they have to stop the offensive, suffering heavy losses. The Germans retain the Rzhev-Vyazemsky bridgehead, which poses a danger to Moscow. Attempts by the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts to release Leningrad.

November 1, 1942. 498th day of the war

At 6:30 a.m., after air and artillery preparation, the enemy went on the offensive. It involved five infantry (389th, 305th, 79th, 100th and 295th) and two tank (24th and 14th) divisions, reinforced by engineer battalions of the 294th Infantry Division deployed by plane from Rossosh, and the 161st Infantry Division, also delivered by plane from Millerovo. The offensive front, about five kilometers wide, went from Volkhovstroevskaya Street to the Banny ravine. The enemy delivers the main blow at the junction between the rifle divisions of Lyudnikov and Gorishny.

The 138th Rifle Division, with the attached 118th Guards Regiment of the 37th Guards Rifle Division, repelled attacks by infantry and tanks with aviation support from six hours and 30 minutes in the morning. As a result of fierce battles, only 6 people remained out of 200 bayonets in the 118th Guards Rifle Regiment; the regiment commander was seriously wounded. The enemy tried to encircle the division from the north and south, and to enter its rear from the bank of the Volga.

The troops of the Northern Group of Forces, by order of the army commander, from 10 a.m. with the support of the Volga Flotilla went on the offensive from the railway bridge at the mouth of Mechetka to the Tractor Plant. Despite strong enemy resistance, we slowly moved forward. There were continuous battles between our aviation and the enemy in the air.

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

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

On Mamayev Kurgan, Batyuk’s division fought oncoming battles with the advancing enemy. The 284th Rifle Division repelled enemy attacks on Mamayev Kurgan. In the sector of the 1045th Infantry Regiment, the enemy managed to break into the regiment's battle formations, but a counterattack by reserves restored the situation. The fight continues.

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

The 95th Infantry Division repelled enemy attacks in the Benzobaki area with forces exceeding a battalion. 90 SP holds the Gas Tank area, where it is consolidated. 241 joint ventures and 685 joint ventures are fixed at the edge of the ravine, which is 150 m northeast of Mezenskaya. The 45th Infantry Division and the 39th Guards Infantry Division in their previous positions are fighting with small groups of infantry to improve their positions.

Operation of the crossing: in one trip the steamship "Pugachev" and BC No. 11, 12, 61 and 63 transported reinforcements of 167 people, food and ammunition for units. 400 wounded people were evacuated. According to incomplete data, during November 18, 1942, the enemy lost over 900 soldiers and officers killed and wounded. (p.279)

The enemy's defense was broken through simultaneously in several areas. The weather was foggy. When breaking through the defense, we had to abandon the use of aviation. At 7 o'clock. 30 min. With a salvo of Katyusha rocket launchers, artillery preparation began. Firing at previously scouted targets, the artillery inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. 3,500 guns and mortars destroyed the enemy’s defenses. The crushing fire inflicted heavy damage on the enemy and had a terrifying effect on him. However, due to poor visibility, not all targets were destroyed, especially on the flanks of the attack group of the Southwestern Front, where the enemy offered the greatest resistance to the advancing troops. At 8 o'clock. 50 min. The rifle divisions of the 5th Panzer and 21st armies, together with tanks for direct infantry support, went on the attack.

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

The 1st Tank Corps under the command of Major General Tank Forces V.V. Butkov, interacting with the 47th Guards and 119th Rifle Divisions and the 157th Tank Brigade of the 26th Tank Corps, immediately captured the Klinov farmstead, in which Up to two artillery regiments and up to an infantry battalion defended, but when the advanced units approached Peschany, they encountered organized enemy resistance. During the first day of the offensive, the 1st Tank Corps advanced 18 km.

The 26th Tank Corps, moving in four columns to the left of the 1st Tank Corps, had two tank brigades at its head. When the 157th Tank Brigade approached state farm no. 2, and the 19th Tank Brigade - to the northern slopes of height 223.0, the corps met with stubborn resistance from units of the 14th Romanian Infantry Division. It was especially strong in the sector of the 19th Tank Brigade, which operated on the left flank of the 124th Infantry Division. Having passed the front line and overtaken its infantry in the area of ​​enemy artillery positions, the right group encountered serious fire resistance. The tankmen of Colonel Comrade Ivanov attacked the firing positions of Hitler’s artillery head-on, but this did not give a positive result. Only after going around the flank and going behind enemy lines did the artillerymen abandon their guns and run away. A sudden and daring attack by tanks from the front and rear was successful. The rear line was overcome on the move, also by bypassing and enveloping the resistance nodes.

The mobile group of the 5th Tank Army - the 1st and 26th Tank Corps - by the middle of the first day of the offensive, completed the breakthrough of the enemy's tactical defense and deployed further actions in the operational depth, paving the way for the infantry. The 8th Cavalry Corps was introduced into the resulting breakthrough neck (16 km along the front and in depth) in the second half of the day.

Active offensive operations were launched by the infantry, the 47th Guards Rifle Division in cooperation with the 8th Guards Tank Brigade and the 551st Separate Flamethrower Tank Battalion, overcoming stubborn enemy resistance along the way, by 14:00. 00 min. captured the settlement of Bolshoy and a height of 166.2. Continuing to tirelessly pursue the retreating enemy, the 8th Guards Tank Brigade with a landing force of 200 riflemen of the 47th Guards Rifle Division by 16:00. 00 min. approached Blinovsky, who at 20 o'clock. 00 min. was completely liberated, the 124th Rifle Division, interacting with the 216th Tank Brigade, overcoming enemy resistance and repelling his counterattacks on its left flank, approached Nizhne-Fomikhinsky by the end of the day and started a battle here.

During the first day of the offensive, the 5th Tank Army inflicted significant losses on the enemy. However, the pace of advance of the army formations did not quite correspond to the assigned task, with the exception of the 47th Guards Rifle Division, which was close to completing it. The enemy, by maneuvering operational reserves from the depths, threw the 7th Cavalry, 1st Motorized and 15th Infantry Divisions into the area of ​​Pronin, Ust-Medvedetsky, Nizhne-Fomikhinsky, which temporarily delayed the advance of Soviet units here. Stubborn enemy resistance in front of the front of the 14th Guards Rifle Division created a threat to the right flank of the 5th Tank Army and delayed the advance of the left flank of the 1st Guards Army.

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

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

The 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps under the command of Major General I. A. Pliev, fighting with the retreating enemy, advanced in the direction of Selivanov, Verkhne-Buzinovka, Evlampievsky, Bolshenabatovsky. On the line of the villages of Nizhnyaya and Verkhnyaya Buzinovka, the enemy, trying to hold back the advance of our units, opened strong artillery and mortar fire. General I. A. Pliev decided to bypass Nizhne-Buzinovka from the south with units of the 6th Guards Cavalry Division and attack the enemy from the rear. Units of the 5th and 32nd Cavalry Divisions, together with T-34 tanks, advanced from the front to the enemy trench line. The battle lasted two hours. After the 6th Guards Cavalry Division struck from the rear, the enemy’s defenses were penetrated to the full depth.

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

The first two lines of trenches on the coastal hills were taken immediately. A battle broke out for the nearest heights. The enemy's defense was built according to the type of individual strong points connected by full-profile trenches. Each height is a strongly fortified point. The ravines and hollows are mined, the approaches to the heights are covered with wire and Bruno spirals. Units of the 27th Guards Rifle Division, cooperating on the right with the 76th Rifle Division of the 21st Army, were advancing well. In the center of the 65th Army, where the 304th Infantry Division of Colonel S.P. Merkulov was advancing, the enemy forced the attackers to lie down with heavy fire. The troops of this division and the 91st Tank Brigade, with a breakthrough front width of 2.5 km, advanced in the Kletskaya, Melo-Kletsky sector.

Soviet divisions had to overcome stubborn enemy resistance in terrain inaccessible to the attackers. By 16:00 the diabolical triangle of altitudes in the direction of the main attack (135.0, 186.7 and Melo-Kletsky) was finally cracked. But the pace of advance of the strike group is still low. Units and subunits of the 304th, 321st and 27th Guards Rifle Divisions continued to engage in fierce battles with the stubbornly resisting enemy. By the end of the day, the troops of the 65th Army with their right flank advanced into the depth of the enemy’s position up to 4-5 km, without breaking through the main line of his defense; the 304th Infantry Division of this army occupied Melo-Kletsky after a stubborn battle. The enemy retreated in the direction of Tsimlovsky.

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

At 8:30 a.m., after artillery preparation, the 51st Army went on the offensive under the command of Major General N.I. Trufanov. The 51st Army with its main forces advanced from the inter-lake region of Tsatsa and Barmantsak in the general direction of Plodovitoe, Verkhne-Tsaritsynsky, and Sovetsky. Supporting the actions of the main forces from the north, the 15th Guards Rifle Division of the 51st Army struck the enemy from the Sarpa, Tsatsa interlake area in the direction of the Privolzhsky state farm.

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

In the afternoon of November 20, when the shock groups of the Stalingrad Front broke through the enemy’s defenses in all three sectors of the offensive, mobile formations were introduced into the gaps formed - the 13th Tank and 4th Mechanized Corps under the command of Colonel T.I. Tanaschishin and General Major of Tank Troops V.T. Volsky and the 4th Cavalry Corps under the command of Lieutenant General T.T. Shapkin. Mobile front troops rushed deep into enemy defenses in the northwestern and southwestern directions.

The 13th Tank Corps of the 57th Army was introduced into the breakthrough at 16:00 in two echelons and moved in two columns in the general direction of Nariman. By the end of the day, he had covered a distance of 10-15 km. The 4th Mechanized Corps of the 51st Army was introduced into the breakthrough at 13 o'clock in one echelon in the offensive zones of the 15th Guards and 126th Rifle Divisions, the 4th Cavalry Corps entered the breakthrough at 22 o'clock following the 4th mechanized corps, developing an offensive in a westerly direction. Under the blows of the advancing Soviet troops, the 6th Romanian Army Corps operating here withdrew to the Aksai area with heavy losses.

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

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

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

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

At the end of the day, the forces of the 41st Army resumed their attacks. Supported by Colonel Ya. A. Davydov's assembled 219th Tank Brigade, Gruz's 150th Rifle Division broke German resistance at Dubrovka, advanced and encountered even stronger resistance when attempting to capture Vlaznevo and positions opposite Maryino in the Vena River valley. The advance of the 219th Tank Brigade was again stopped by fierce resistance and enemy fire from Maryino. Meanwhile, a fierce battle continued south of Baturyn, in which the 19th Mechanized Brigade entered. During a grueling battle in heavy snow, villages changed hands until darkness forced the enemy to temporarily stop fighting. Despite the fierce fighting and huge losses on both sides, Baturine remained in German hands. Tarasov's troops, attacking German fortifications south of the city, suffered enormous losses in two days of fierce battles.

Battle of Stalingrad. During November 28-30, the fierce struggle of all three fronts continued. During these battles, the troops of the 21st, 65th and 24th armies managed to capture heavily fortified enemy resistance centers - Peskovatka and Vertyachim. In other sectors, the enemy continued to hold occupied positions. From November 24 to November 30, stubborn battles also took place on the outer front of the encirclement. The troops of 10 rifle divisions, one tank and three cavalry corps operating here suffered significant losses in previous battles. Overcoming stubborn enemy resistance, the troops of the 1st Guards and 5th Tank Armies of the Southwestern Front entrenched themselves along the lines of the Krivaya and Chir rivers. At the same time, formations of the 51st Army and the 4th Cavalry Corps of the Stalingrad Front fought in the southwestern sector of the outer front of the encirclement. Front troops reduced the area occupied by the enemy by more than half - to 1,500 km² (from west to east - 40 km and from north to south - from 30 to 40 km). F. Paulus was awarded the rank of Colonel General.

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

Sovinformburo. THE ADVANCE OF OUR TROOPS CONTINUES

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

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

List of cards

1. - Chronicle of the Great Patriotic War 1941: June · July · August · September · October · November · December 1942 ... Wikipedia

Chronicle of the Great Patriotic War 1941: June · July · August · September · October · November · December 1942: January ... Wikipedia

Chronicle of the Great Patriotic War 1941: June · July · August · September · October · November · ... Wikipedia

On June 22, 1941, troops of Germany and its allies invaded the territory of the USSR and went on the offensive on a front stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. The enemy pinned down the ground forces; the border districts were not put on alert. Only the Navy, thanks to the actions of its commander in chief, Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov suffered minimal losses. Invasion Admiral of the USSR Fleet N.G. Kuznetsov

The Germans delivered the main blow in the Western Front, commander General D.G. Pavlov. The surprise of the attack, tank breakthroughs, and massive air strikes allowed German troops to advance a kilometer by July 10, 1941 and reach the Polotsk-Vitebsk-Orsha-Zhlobin line. Invasion Soviet planes after an air raid

Having concentrated a large number of tanks, the commander of the Southwestern Front M.P. Kirponos tried to stop the advance of the German Army Group South. On June 26–29, 1941, the largest tank battle unfolded near Berestechko, Lutsk and Dubno. Invasion of M.P. Kirponos

On June 22, 1941, V.M. spoke on the radio. Molotov announced the German attack. On June 23, 1941, Stalin signed the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the establishment of the Headquarters of the Main Command headed by S.K. Tymoshenko. It soon became clear that it would not be possible to win with “little bloodshed” and on “foreign soil.” Mobilization of the country Soviet planes after an air raid

The Kremlin’s reaction to the attack was typical of the Soviet leadership - they began to look for “switchmen.” Commander of the Western Front D.G. Pavlov was shot. At the same time, the mobilization of all the forces of the country took place. On June 30, 1941, the State Defense Committee (GKO) was created - an emergency authority whose orders had the force of law. Mobilization of the country D.G. Pavlov

July 3, 1941 I.V. Stalin made an appeal on the radio in which the outbreak of the war was called a nationwide, Patriotic War. The State Defense Committee took measures to organize the country's defense, mobilization was announced, the evacuation of people and enterprises began, and martial law was introduced. Mobilization of the country I.V. Stalin

NKVD led by L.P. Beria created destruction battalions, and in July 1941 the institution of military commissars was restored. On July 10, 1941, the Headquarters of the High Command was transformed into the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, headed by Stalin. Mobilization of the country L.P. Beria

The country was gripped by an unprecedented patriotic upsurge. Hundreds of Soviet soldiers showed unprecedented fortitude and courage in the first days of the war - Captain N.F. Gastello, Baltic sailors - defenders of the Moonsund archipelago, heroic defenders of the Brest Fortress. On July 4, 1941, the State Defense Committee adopted a resolution on the formation of a people's militia. The spiritual mood of the peoples of the USSR was reflected in the song that was heard in the first days of the war: “Get up, huge country!” Mobilization of the country N.F. Gastello

Army Group Center faced organized resistance from the Red Army for a month and a half. At the beginning of September 1941, troops under the command of G.K. Zhukov was ousted by the German group near Yelnya - this was the first defeat of the Wehrmacht. But in August 1941, the Nazis moved to Ukraine and Leningrad to capture Crimea and Donbass. An attempt to stop the German offensive ended in a heavy defeat for the Red Army. Disaster in Ukraine Fragment of the German headquarters map on September 2, 1941

Having cut off Crimea and established a blockade of Leningrad, the German army again transferred the main blow to the Moscow direction. The plan to capture Moscow was called “Typhoon”. In mid-October 1941, the evacuation from the capital began urgently. On November 7, 1941, a military parade took place on Red Square, the participants of which immediately went to the front. Battle of Moscow Parade on Red Square

Troops of the Kalinin Front led by I.S. Konev tried to fetter the Wehrmacht's advance. 16th Army K.K. Rokossovsky stopped the Germans at Mozhaisk. Tank brigade M.E. Katukova blocked the enemy’s advance in the Tula direction. The Typhoon plan was foiled. Battle of Moscow I.S. Konev K.K. Rokossovsky M.E. Katukov

By December 20, 1941, the Red Army's offensive had stopped. The failure of the German offensive on Moscow dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the German army. He contributed to the growth of the liberation, anti-fascist movement of peoples in the territories occupied by Germany and its allies. The Barbarossa plan was a complete failure. Battle of Moscow

The defeat of the Wehrmacht near Moscow also contributed to the formation of the anti-Hitler coalition. The American Lend-Lease system was extended to the USSR. In 1942, the Soviet command developed a plan to conduct a broad offensive along the entire Soviet-German front. However, in January 1942, Red Army units failed to destroy the Rzhev-Vyazma group of Germans, and in May 1942, Soviet troops suffered a major defeat near Kharkov and Kerch. The attempt to eliminate the blockade of Leningrad also turned out to be a failure. Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht began an offensive in the Caucasus. Combat operations in the spring - summer of 1942. I. Toidze. Poster 1941

The heroic defense of Stalingrad was led by generals V.I. Chuikov and M.S. Shumilov. The German 6th Army broke through to the Volga north of the city, then into its very center, but it failed to do the same south of Stalingrad. Defense of Stalingrad V.I. Chuikov M.S. Shumilov

Partisans operated in German-occupied territory. In May 1942, the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement was created to coordinate the actions of the partisans with the actions of the Red Army. The famous commanders of partisan formations were S.A. Kovpak, D.N. Medvedev, P.M. Masherov and others. Partisan movement S.A. Kovpak D.N. Medvedev P.M. Masherov
The war radically changed people's lives. At first there was hope that the fighting would move to enemy territory, but it soon became clear that the fate of the country itself was being decided during the war. The atrocities of the fascists led the Soviet people to the need for a merciless fight against the aggressor. Stalin, in his speech on July 3, unexpectedly said: “Brothers and sisters!” People understood the need for unity and dedication in the struggle and this became a prerequisite for the partisan movement. Soviet rear during the war Refugees

The threat of occupation of the front-line areas forced the removal of all the most valuable items from there - equipment, raw materials, people, etc. This activity was led by the Evacuation Council. In a short period of time, a huge amount of cargo was transferred to the East. Over the course of 5 months, 1,500 large enterprises and 10 million people were evacuated. New production facilities were built for them in a new location, or they were combined with existing enterprises. Soviet rear during the war. Evacuated plant in a new location.

Many production facilities were repurposed for the production of military products. In December 1941, the decline in production stopped and its growth began. In mid-1942, the restructuring of the country's life into a military one was successfully completed, although Western experts believed that we would need at least 5 years for this. The Soviet economy eventually won the competition against the economy of Nazi Germany and this was one of the reasons for our victory in the war. Soviet rear during the war Poster 1943

The war dealt a heavy blow to the education system. Thousands of schools were destroyed, and there were not enough textbooks and notebooks. But the work of schools continued even in besieged Sevastopol, Leningrad, Stalingrad and other cities. In the occupied areas, children's education stopped. During the war, scientific centers moved to the East. Research institutes of the USSR Academy of Sciences were evacuated here. Soviet rear during the war Military school

During the war, Soviet scientists worked for the needs of the army. Academician E. Paton developed a new method of steel welding, which made it possible to obtain heavy-duty tank hulls. A. Ioffe created the world's first radars. Doctors developed a blood transfusion technique and began using penicillin for the first time. In 1943, the development of Soviet nuclear weapons began. Designers worked on creating new types of weapons. Soviet rear during the war Designer P. Degtyarev

REPORT

Subject: "History"

Topic: “Stages of the Great Patriotic War”

Completed by a 1st year student, 2nd semester

Psychology faculty"

Field of study “psychology”

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

Dymma Lyudmila Viktorovna

Moscow - 2017

INTRODUCTION. 3

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

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

Results of the first stage of the war... 7

Results of the second stage of the war... 9

Liberation of the USSR. 9

Liberation of Europe.. 10

CONCLUSION. 12

List of sources. 13

INTRODUCTION

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

The Second World War began on June 22, 1941 and ended May 9, 1945 It was a war of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) against Nazi Germany and its European allies (Hungary, Italy, Romania, Finland, etc.) who invaded Soviet territory. It remained in the memory of the people and went down in Russian history as the most cruel and bloody. And only thanks to the incredible resilience and heroism of the Soviet soldiers, it ended with the great victory of the Red Army and the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces.

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

Stages of the war	Period	Events	Characteristic
First stage	June 22, 1941 November 18, 1942	The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR - the defense of the Red Army (Leningrad; Brest, Smolensk, Moscow; Kyiv, Odessa, Sevastopol, Stalingrad).	Strategic defense of the Red Army. The initial stage of military operations, characterized as a time of defense and retreat, a time of heavy defeats. “Everything for the front, everything for victory” - this slogan proclaimed by Stalin became the main program of action for the coming years.
Second phase	November 19, 1942 December 31, 1943	The beginning of the counteroffensive at Stalingrad. Battle of Stalingrad, Kursk Bulge, r. Dnieper, liberation of Kyiv.	A turning point in the war; transition from defense to offense. A turning point in the war, characterized by the transfer of initiative from the hands of the aggressor Germany to the USSR. Advances of the Soviet army on all fronts, many successful military operations. Significant increase in production aimed at military needs. Help from allies.
Third stage	January 1944 May 9, 1945	Liberation of the USSR and Europe from Nazism. Opening of a second front. Victory Day over Nazi Germany.	The final period of the war, characterized by the expulsion of the invaders and the liberation of Soviet lands and Europe, the defeat and surrender of Germany. Opening of the Second Front. The end of the Patriotic War - Victory Day.

Time for retreat and defense,

Onset time and

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

CHAPTER 1. CAUSES AND PREREQUISITES OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

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

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

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

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

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

Rapidly advance deeper into the Soviet Union, occupying the most important political and economic centers in 1–2 months. Moscow must be destroyed after its capture.

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

CHAPTER 2. THREE STAGES OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

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

The first stage is the time of defense, a time of heavy defeats, which, however, provided an opportunity to examine the weaknesses of the Red Army and eliminate them.

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

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

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

2) June 29, 1941 – martial law was introduced on the territory of the USSR. The slogan “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” was put forward.

3) A Directive on the conduct of war was developed: mobilizing forces to defend Soviet territory, creating an underground and partisan movement, leaving nothing to the enemy, strengthening the rear, fighting alarmists and spies.

5) The evacuation of 12 million people and 1,530 large enterprises from the occupied areas into the interior of the country was carried out, the economy was rebuilt on a military basis, a standardized distribution of products was introduced according to the card system, and a single information center was created - the Sovinformburo.

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

Yu) In the southern direction from July to October 1941, the battles that began were important for:

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

- Odessa(defense August 5 – October 16). Fierce defensive battles for Odessa continued until October 16).

-Sevastopol(defense October 30, 1941 – July 4, 1942). The longest defense of Sevastopol was - 250 days.