From what to what lasted the second world. Events of World War II

The instability in Europe caused by World War I (1914-1918) eventually escalated into another international conflict, World War II, which broke out two decades later and became even more devastating.

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

He reformed the armed forces and signed strategic agreements with Italy and Japan in his quest for world domination. The German invasion of Poland in September 1939 led to the fact that Britain and France declared war on Germany, which marked the beginning of the Second World War.

In the next six years, the war will claim more lives and bring destruction to such a vast territory around the globe than any other war in history.

Among the approximately 45-60 million dead people There were 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis in concentration camps as part of Hitler's diabolical "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" policy, also known as .

On the way to World War II

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

In many ways, the unresolved issues of the first global conflict spawned World War II.

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

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

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

Obsessed with the idea of ​​the superiority of the "pure" German race, which was called the "Aryan", Hitler believed that war was the only way to get the "Lebensraum" (living space for the German race to settle).

In the mid-1930s, he secretly began the rearmament of Germany, bypassing the Versailles Peace Treaty. After signing alliance treaties with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union, Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria in 1938 and annex Czechoslovakia the following year.

Hitler's open aggression went unnoticed, as the US and the Soviet Union were focused on domestic politics, and neither France nor Britain (the two countries with the most destruction in the First World War) were not eager to enter into a confrontation.

Beginning of World War II 1939

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

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

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

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

Then the Soviet troops occupied the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and crushed the Finnish resistance in the Russian-Finnish war. For the next six months after the capture of Poland, neither Germany nor the Allies took active action on the western front, and the media began to refer to the war as "background".

At sea, however, the British and German navies engaged in a bitter battle. Deadly German submarines hit British trade routes, sinking more than 100 ships in the first four months of World War II.

World War II on the Western Front 1940-1941

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

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

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

Mankind is constantly experiencing armed conflicts of varying degrees of complexity. The 20th century was no exception. In our article we will talk about the "darkest" stage in the history of this century: World War II 1939 1945.

Prerequisites

The prerequisites for the named military conflict began to take shape long before the main events: since 1919, when the Versailles Peace Treaty was concluded, which consolidated the results of the First World War.

We list the key reasons that led to a new war:

• Germany's inability to fulfill some of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles in full (payments to affected countries) and unwillingness to put up with military restrictions;
• Change of power in Germany: the nationalists, led by Adolf Hitler, skillfully exploited the discontent of the German population and the fears of world leaders of communist Russia. Them domestic politics was aimed at establishing a dictatorship and promoting the superiority of the Aryan race;
• External aggression of Germany, Italy, Japan, against which the major powers did not take active steps, fearing open confrontation.

Rice. 1. Adolf Hitler.

Initial period

Slovakia provided military support to the Germans.

Hitler did not accept the proposal to resolve the conflict peacefully. 03.09 Great Britain and France announced the beginning of the war with Germany.

TOP 5 articleswho read along with this

The USSR, which at that time was an ally of Germany, announced on September 16 that it had taken control of the western territories of Belarus and Ukraine, which were part of Poland.

On October 6, the Polish army finally surrendered, and Hitler offered the British and French peace negotiations, which did not take place due to Germany's refusal to withdraw troops from Polish territory.

Rice. 2. Invasion of Poland 1939.

The first period of the war (09.1939-06.1941) includes:

• Naval battles of the British and Germans in Atlantic Ocean in favor of the latter (there were no active clashes between them on land);
• War of the USSR with Finland (11.1939-03.1940): victory of the Russian army, a peace treaty was concluded;
• The capture by Germany of Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium (04-05.1940);
• Occupation of the south of France by Italy, capture by the Germans of the rest of the territory: a German-French truce is concluded, most of France remains occupied;
• The inclusion of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina into the USSR without conducting hostilities (08.1940);
• England's refusal to conclude peace with Germany: as a result of air battles (07-10.1940), the British managed to defend the country;
• The battles of the Italians with the British and representatives of the French liberation movement for African lands (06.1940-04.1941): the advantage is on the side of the latter;
• Greek victory over the Italian invaders (11.1940, second attempt in March 1941);
• German capture of Yugoslavia, joint German-Spanish invasion of Greece (04.1941);
• German occupation of Crete (05.1941);
• Capture of southeast China by Japan (1939-1941).

During the war years, the composition of the participants in the two opposing alliances changed, but the main ones were:

• Anti-Hitler Coalition: UK, France, USSR, USA, Netherlands, China, Greece, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico;
• Axis countries (Nazi bloc): Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania.

France and England entered the war because of allied agreements with Poland. In 1941, Germany attacked the USSR, Japan attacked the USA, thereby changing the balance of power between the warring parties.

Main events

Starting from the second period (06.1941-11.1942), the course of hostilities is reflected in the chronological table:

Rice. 3. Surrender of Japan in 1945.

results

Let's sum up the main results of the Second World War:

• The war affected 62 countries to varying degrees. About 70 million people died. Tens of thousands of settlements were destroyed, of which only in Russia - 1700;
• Germany and its allies were defeated: the occupation of countries and the spread of the Nazi regime ceased;
• Changed world leaders; they were the USSR and the USA. England and France have lost their former greatness;
• The borders of states have changed, new independent countries have appeared;
• War criminals have been convicted in Germany and Japan;
• The United Nations Organization was created (10/24/1945);
• The military power of the main victorious countries has increased.

Historians consider the serious armed resistance of the USSR against Germany (the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945), the American supply of military equipment (lend-lease), the acquisition of air superiority by the Western allies (England, France) as an important contribution to the victory over fascism.

What have we learned?

From the article we learned briefly about the Second World War. This information will help you easily answer questions about when the Second World War began (1939), who was the main participant in the hostilities, in what year it ended (1945) and with what result.

Topic quiz

Report Evaluation

Average rating: 4.5. Total ratings received: 1295.

September 2 at Russian Federation commemorated as "The Day the Second World War Ended (1945)". This memorable date was established in accordance with the Federal Law "On Amendments to Article 1 (1) of the Federal Law "On the Days of Military Glory and Commemorative Dates of Russia", signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on July 23, 2010. The Day of Military Glory was established in memory of compatriots who showed selflessness, heroism, devotion to their homeland and allied duty to the countries - members of the anti-Hitler coalition in the implementation of the decision of the Crimean (Yalta) conference in 1945 on Japan. September 2 is a kind of second Victory Day for Russia, victory in the East.

This holiday cannot be called new - September 3, 1945, the day after the surrender of the Japanese Empire, by the Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council The USSR established Victory Day over Japan. However, for a long time, this holiday was practically ignored in the official calendar of significant dates.

The international legal basis for establishing the Day of Military Glory is the Act of Surrender of the Empire of Japan, which was signed on September 2, 1945 at 9:02 am Tokyo time on board the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On behalf of Japan, the document was signed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Chief of the General Staff Yoshijiro Umezu. Representatives of the Allied Powers were Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur, American Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the British Pacific Fleet Bruce Fraser, Soviet General Kuzma Nikolaevich Derevyanko, Kuzma Nikolaevich Derevianko, General Su Yong-chan, French General J. Leclerc, Australian General T. Blamey, Dutch Admiral K. Halfrich, New Zealand Air Vice-Marshal L. Isit and Canadian Colonel N. Moore-Cosgrave. This document put an end to World War II, which, according to Western and Soviet historiography, began on September 1, 1939 with the attack of the Third Reich on Poland (Chinese researchers believe that World War II began with the attack of the Japanese army on China on July 7, 1937).

Do not use prisoners of war for forced labor;

To provide units that were located in remote areas with additional time to stop hostilities.

On the night of August 15, the "young tigers" (a group of fanatical commanders from the department of the military ministry and the capital's military institutions, headed by Major K. Hatanaka) decided to disrupt the adoption of the declaration and continue the war. They planned to eliminate the "peace advocates", remove the text of Hirohito's speech accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and ending the war by the Empire of Japan before it was broadcast on the radio, and then persuade the armed forces to continue the fight. The commander of the 1st Guards Division, which was guarding the imperial palace, refused to take part in the rebellion and was killed. Giving orders on his behalf, the “young tigers” entered the palace, attacked the residences of the head of the government of Suzuki, the lord custodian of the seal K. Kido, the chairman of the Privy Council K. Hiranuma and the Tokyo radio station. However, they could not find the tapes with the recording and find the leaders of the "peace party". The troops of the capital's garrison did not support their actions, and even many members of the "young tigers" organization, not wanting to go against the emperor's decision and not believing in the success of the case, did not join the putschists. As a result, the rebellion failed in the first hours. The instigators of the conspiracy were not tried, they were allowed to commit ritual suicide by ripping open the abdomen.

On August 15, the address of the Japanese emperor was broadcast on the radio. Given the high level of self-discipline among Japanese statesmen and military leaders, there was a wave of suicides in the empire. On August 11, the former Prime Minister and Minister of the Army, a staunch supporter of an alliance with Germany and Italy, Hideki Tojo, tried to commit suicide with a shot from a revolver (he was executed on December 23, 1948 as a war criminal). On the morning of August 15, the minister of the army, Koretika Anami, committed hara-kiri "the most magnificent example of the samurai ideal", in a suicide note he asked the emperor for forgiveness for his mistakes. The 1st Deputy Chief of the Naval General Staff (formerly the commander of the 1st Air Fleet), the "father of the kamikaze" Takijiro Onishi, Field Marshal of the Imperial Japanese Army Hajime Sugiyama, as well as other ministers, generals and officers committed suicide.

Kantaro Suzuki's cabinet has resigned. Many military and political leaders began to lean towards the idea of ​​a unilateral occupation of Japan by US troops in order to save the country from the communist menace and preserve the imperial system. August 15 were terminated fighting between the Japanese armed forces and the Anglo-American forces. However, Japanese troops continued to offer fierce resistance to the Soviet army. The units of the Kwantung Army were not given the ceasefire order, and therefore the Soviet troops were also not instructed to stop the offensive. Only on August 19 did the meeting of the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops take place at Far East Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky with the Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, Hyposaburo Hata, where an agreement was reached on the procedure for the surrender of Japanese troops. The Japanese units began to hand over their weapons, this process dragged on until the end of the month. The South Sakhalin and Kuril landing operations continued until August 25 and September 1, respectively.

On August 14, 1945, the Americans drafted "General Order No. 1 (for the army and navy)" to accept the surrender of Japanese troops. This project was approved by American President Harry Truman and on August 15 it was reported to the allied countries. The project indicated the zones in which each of the allied powers had to accept the surrender of the Japanese units. On August 16, Moscow announced that it generally agreed with the project, but proposed an amendment - to include in the Soviet zone all Kurile Islands and the northern half of Hokkaido. Washington has not raised any objections to the Kuriles. But with regard to Hokkaido, the American president noted that the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur, was surrendering Japanese armed forces on all the islands of the Japanese archipelago. It was specified that MacArthur would use symbolic armed forces, including Soviet units.

From the very beginning, the American government did not intend to let the USSR into Japan and rejected allied control in post-war Japan, which was provided for by the Potsdam Declaration. On August 18, the United States put forward a demand to allocate one of the Kuril Islands for an American air force base. Moscow rejected this impudent harassment, saying that the Kuriles, according to the Crimean agreement, are the possession of the USSR. The Soviet government announced that it was ready to allocate an airfield for the landing of American commercial aircraft, subject to the allocation of a similar airfield for Soviet aircraft in the Aleutian Islands.

On August 19, a Japanese delegation headed by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General T. Kawabe, arrived in Manila (Philippines). The Americans notified the Japanese that their forces were to liberate the Atsugi airfield on August 24, the areas of Tokyo Bay and Sagami Bay by August 25, and the Kanon base and the southern part of Kyushu by the middle of the day on August 30. Representatives of the Imperial armed forces Japan was asked to delay the landing of the occupying forces by 10 days in order to increase precautions and avoid unnecessary incidents. The request of the Japanese side was granted, but for a shorter period. The landing of advanced occupation units was scheduled for August 26, and the main forces for August 28.

On August 20, the Japanese in Manila were handed the Act of Surrender. The document provided for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces, regardless of their location. The Japanese troops were to immediately cease hostilities, release prisoners of war and interned civilians, ensure their maintenance, protection and delivery to the indicated places. On September 2, the Japanese delegation signed the Instrument of Surrender. The ceremony itself was structured to show the United States' primary role in defeating Japan. The procedure for the surrender of Japanese troops in various parts of the Asia-Pacific region dragged on for several months.

1. The first period wars (1 September 1939 - 21 June 1941 G.) Start wars "invasion German troops in countries Western Europe.

The Second World War began on September 1, 1939 with an attack on Poland. On September 3, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany, but they did not provide practical assistance to Poland. The German armies in the period from September 1 to October 5 defeated the Polish troops and occupied Poland, whose government fled to Romania. The Soviet government sent its troops into the territory of Western Ukraine in order to take the Belarusian and Ukrainian population under protection in connection with the collapse of the Polish state and prevent the further spread of Nazi aggression.

In September 1939 and until the spring of 1940, the so-called “strange war” was waged in Western Europe. The French army and the English expeditionary force that landed in France, on the one hand, and the German army, on the other, sluggishly fired each other did not take active action. The lull was false, because the Germans simply feared a war "on two fronts."

Having defeated Poland, Germany released significant forces in the east and delivered a decisive blow in Western Europe. On April 8, 1940, the Germans occupied Denmark almost without loss and landed airborne assault forces in Norway to capture its capital and major cities and ports. The small Norwegian army and the English troops who came to the rescue resisted fiercely. the battle for the northern Norwegian port of Narvik lasted three months, the city passed from hand to hand. But in June 1940 Allies left Norway.

In May, German troops launched an offensive, capturing Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg and through northern France reached the English Channel. Here, near the port city of Dunkirk, one of the most dramatic battles of the initial period of the war unfolded. The British sought to save the remaining troops on the continent. After bloody battles, 215,000 British and 123,000 French and Belgians who retreated with them crossed to the English coast.

Now the Germans, deploying divisions, were rapidly moving towards Paris. On June 14, the German army entered the city, which had left most of its inhabitants. France officially capitulated. Under the terms of the agreement of June 22, 1940, the country was divided into two parts: in the north and in the center, the Germans ruled, occupation laws were in effect; the south was ruled from the town (VISHI) by the Petain government, which was entirely dependent on Hitler. At the same time, the formation of the Fighting France troops began under the command of General De Gaulle, who was in London, who decided to fight for the liberation of their homeland.

Now in Western Europe, Hitler had one serious opponent - England. Waging war against her was greatly complicated by her insular position, the presence of her strongest navy and powerful aviation, as well as numerous sources of raw materials and food in overseas possessions. Back in 1940, the German command seriously thought about conducting a landing operation in England, but preparations for war with Soviet Union demanded a concentration of forces in the East. Therefore, Germany relies on waging air and sea wars against England. The first major raid on the British capital - - London - was carried out by German bombers on August 23, 1940. Subsequently, the bombing became fiercer, and from 1943 the Germans began to bombard British cities with military and industrial targets with flying shells from the occupied coast of continental Europe.

In the summer and autumn of 1940, fascist Italy became noticeably more active. At the height of the German offensive in France, Mussolini's government declared war on England and France. On September 1 of the same year, a document was signed in Berlin on the creation between Germany, Italy and Japan of the Triple military-political alliance between them. A month later, Italian troops, supported by the Germans, invaded Greece, and in April 1941 - Yugoslavia, Bulgaria was forced to join the tripartite alliance. As a result, by the summer of 1941, at the time of the attack on the Soviet Union, most of Western Europe was under the control of Germany and Italy; among major countries Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, and Portugal remained neutral. In 1940, a large-scale war began on the African continent. Hitler's plans included the creation of a colonial empire there on the basis of the former possessions of Germany. The Union of South Africa was supposed to be turned into a pro-fascist dependent state, and the island of Madagascar into a reservoir for Jews expelled from Europe.

Italy also expected to expand its possessions in Africa at the expense of a significant part of Egypt, the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, French and British Somalia. Together with the previously captured Libya and Ethiopia, they were to become part of the "great Roman Empire", the creation of which the Italian fascists dreamed of. On September 1, 1940, January 1941, the Italian offensive, undertaken to capture the port of Alexandria in Egypt and the Suez Canal, broke down. Going on a counter-offensive, the English army "Nile" inflicted a crushing defeat on the Italians in Libya. January - March 1941. the British regular army and colonial troops defeated the Italians from Somalia. The Italians were completely defeated. This forced the Germans in early 1941. to transfer to North Africa, to Tripoli, the expeditionary force of Rommel, one of the most capable military commanders of Germany. Rommel, later nicknamed the “Desert Fox” for his skillful actions in Africa, went on the offensive and reached the Egyptian border in 2 weeks. The British lost many strongholds, retaining only the fortress of Tobruk, which protected the path inland to the Nile. In January 1942, Rommel went on the offensive and the fortress fell. This was the last success of the Germans. Having coordinated reinforcements and cut off enemy supply routes from the Mediterranean, the British liberated the territory of Egypt.

• 2. The second period of the war (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942) Nazi Germany's attack on the USSR, the expansion of the war, the collapse of the Hitlerite Blitzkrieg doctrine.
• On June 22, 1941, Germany treacherously attacked the USSR. Together with Germany, Hungary, Romania, Finland, and Italy came out against the USSR. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union began, which became the most important part of the Second World War. The entry of the USSR into the war led to the consolidation of all progressive forces in the world in the fight against fascism and influenced the policies of the leading world powers. On June 22-24, 1941, the government, Great Britain and the USA declared their support for the USSR; in the future, agreements were concluded on joint actions and military-economic cooperation between the USSR, England and the USA. In August 1941, the USSR and England sent their troops into Iran to prevent the possibility of creating fascist strongholds in the Middle East. These joint military-political actions laid the foundation for the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. The Soviet - German front became the main front of the Second World War.

70% of the personnel of the army of the fascist bloc, 86% of tank units, 100% of motorized formations, and up to 75% of artillery acted against the USSR. Despite brief initial successes, Germany failed to achieve the strategic objectives of the war. In heavy fighting, the Soviet troops exhausted the enemy forces, halted his offensive in all the most important directions, and prepared the conditions for a counteroffensive. The decisive military-political event of the first year of the Great Patriotic War and the first defeat of the Wehrmacht in World War II was the defeat of the Nazi troops in the Battle of Moscow in 1941-1942, during which the Nazi blitzkrieg was finally thwarted and the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht dispelled. In the autumn of 1941, the Nazis were preparing an attack on Moscow as the final operation of the entire Russian company. They gave it the name "Typhoon", apparently, it was assumed that no force could withstand the all-destroying fascist hurricane. By this time, the main forces of the Nazi army were concentrated at the front. In total, the Nazis managed to assemble about 15 armies, numbering 1 million 800 thousand officer soldiers, over 14 thousand guns and mortars, 1700 such, 1390 aircraft. The fascist troops were commanded by experienced commanders of the German army - Kluge, Goth, Guderian. Our army had the following forces: 1,250,000 men, 990 taks, 677 aircraft, 7,600 guns and mortars. They were united in three fronts: Western - under the command of General I.P. Konev, Bryansky - under the command of General A.I. Eremenko, reserve - under the command of Marshal S.M. Budyonny. Soviet troops entered the battle near Moscow in a difficult situation. The enemy deeply invaded the country, he captured the Baltic states, Belarus, Moldova, a significant part of the territory of Ukraine, blockaded Leningrad, reached the distant approaches to Moscow.

The Soviet command took all measures to repel the upcoming enemy offensive in the western direction. Much attention was paid to the construction of defensive structures and lines, which began in July. In the tenth of October, an extremely difficult situation developed near Moscow. A significant part of the formations fought in the environment. There was no solid line of defense.

The Soviet command faced extremely complex and responsible tasks aimed at stopping the enemy on the outskirts of Moscow.

In late October - early November, at the cost of incredible efforts, the Soviet troops managed to stop the Nazis in all directions. Hitler's troops were forced to go on the defensive just 80-120 km away. from Moscow. There was a pause. The Soviet command won time to further strengthen the approaches to the capital. On December 1, the Nazis made their last attempt to break through to Moscow in the center of the Western Front, but the enemy was defeated and driven back to their original lines. The defensive battle for Moscow was won.

The words "Great Russia, and there is nowhere to retreat - behind Moscow" - flew around the whole country.

The defeat of the German troops near Moscow is the decisive military-political event of the first year of the Great Patriotic War, the beginning of its radical turn and the first major defeat of the Nazis in World War II. Near Moscow, the fascist plan for the rapid defeat of our country was finally thwarted. The defeat of the Wehrmacht on the outskirts of the Soviet capital shook the Hitlerite war machine to its foundations and undermined Germany's military prestige in the eyes of world public opinion. Contradictions within the fascist bloc escalated, and the calculations of the Hitlerite clique to enter the war against our country, Japan and Turkey, failed. As a result of the victory of the Red Army near Moscow, the prestige of the USSR in the international arena increased. This outstanding military success had a huge impact on the merging of anti-fascist forces and the intensification of the liberation movement in the territories not occupied by the fascists. The battle near Moscow marked the beginning of a radical turn in the course of the war. It was of great importance not only in military and political terms, and not only for the Red Army and our people, but also for all the peoples who fought against Nazi Germany. Strong morale, patriotism, hatred of the enemy helped the Soviet wars to overcome all difficulties and achieve historic success near Moscow. This outstanding feat of theirs was highly appreciated by the grateful Motherland, the valor of 36 thousand soldiers and commanders was awarded military orders and medals, and 110 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Over 1 million defenders of the capital were awarded the medal "For the Defense of Moscow".

The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR changed the military-political balance in the world. The United States made its choice, rapidly reaching the forefront in many sectors of the economy, and especially in military-industrial production.

The Franklin Roosevelt government announced its intention to support the USSR and other countries of the anti-Hitler coalition with all the means at its disposal. On August 14, 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill signed the famous "Atlantic Charter" - a program of goals and concrete actions in the fight against German fascism, as the war spread around the world, the struggle for sources of raw materials and food, for control over maritime transportation became more and more acute. in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. From the first days of the war, the allies, primarily England, managed to control the countries of the Near and Middle East, which supplied them with food, raw materials for the military industry, and replenishment in manpower. Iran, which included British and Soviet troops, Iraq and Saudi Arabia supplied the allies with oil, this "bread of war". To protect them, the British deployed numerous troops from India, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. In Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, the situation was less stable. Declaring its neutrality, Turkey supplied Germany with strategic raw materials, outbidding them in the British colonies. Turkey was also the center of German intelligence in the Middle East. Syria and Lebanon, after the capitulation of France, increasingly fell into the sphere of fascist influence.

A threatening situation for the allies has developed since 1941 in the Far East and vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean. Here, Japan became louder and louder about itself as the sovereign master. Back in the 30s, Japan made territorial claims, acting under the slogan "Asia for Asians."

England, France and the USA had strategic and economic interests in this vast area, but were preoccupied with the growing threat from Hitler and initially did not have sufficient forces for a war on two fronts. There was no opinion among Japanese politicians and the military - where to strike next: not the north, against the USSR, or to the South and Southwest, to capture Indochina, Malaysia, India. But one object of Japanese aggression has been identified since the beginning of the 30s - China. The fate of the war in China, the most populous country in the world, was decided not only on the battlefields, because here the interests of several great powers clashed at once, incl. USA and USSR. By the end of 1941, the Japanese made their choice. They considered the destruction of Pearl Harbor, the main American naval base in the Pacific, the key to success in the struggle for control of the Pacific.

Four days after Pearl Harbor, Germany and Italy declared war on America.

On January 1, 1942, Roosevelt, Churchill, Soviet Ambassador to America Litvinov, and China's representative signed in Washington the Declaration of the United Nations, which was based on the Atlantic Charter. Later, 22 more states joined it. This most important historical document finally determined the composition and goals of the forces of the anti-Hitler coalition. At the same meeting, the joint command of the Western Allies was created - the "joint Anglo - American headquarters."

Japan continued to achieve success after success. Singapore, Indonesia, many islands of the southern seas were captured. There was a real danger for India and Australia.

Nevertheless, the Japanese command, blinded by the first successes, clearly overestimated its capabilities, scattering the forces of the fleet of aviation and the army over a vast expanse of oceans, on numerous islands, in the territories of the occupied countries.

After recovering from the first setbacks, the allies slowly but steadily switched to active defense and then to the offensive. But a less bitter war was going on in the Atlantic. At the beginning of the war, England and France had overwhelming superiority over Germany at sea. The Germans did not have aircraft carriers, battleships were only being built. After the occupation of Norway and France, Germany received well-equipped submarine bases on the Atlantic coast of Europe. A difficult situation for the Allies was developing in the North Atlantic, where sea convoys from America and Canada to Europe passed. The way to the northern Soviet ports along the coast of Norway was difficult. In early 1942, on the orders of Hitler, who attached more importance to the northern theater of operations, the Germans transferred the German fleet there, led by the new super-powerful battleship Tirpitz (named after the founder of the German fleet). It was clear that the outcome of the Battle of the Atlantic could influence the further course of the war. A reliable defense of the coast of America and Canada and sea caravans was organized. By the spring of 1943, the Allies had achieved a turning point in the battle at sea.

Taking advantage of the absence of a second front, in the summer of 1942 fascist Germany launched a new strategic offensive on the Soviet-German front. Hitler's plan, designed for a simultaneous attack on the Caucasus and in the Stalingrad region, was initially doomed to failure. In the summer of 1942, priority was given to economic considerations in strategic planning. The capture of the Caucasian region, rich in raw materials, primarily oil, was supposed to strengthen the international position of the Reich in the war that threatened to drag on. The primary goal, therefore, was the conquest of the Caucasus up to the Caspian Sea and then the Volga region and Stalingrad. In addition, the conquest of the Caucasus was supposed to induce Turkey to enter the war against the USSR.

The main event of the armed struggle on the Soviet - German front in the second half of 1942 - early 1943. was the Battle of Stalingrad, it began on July 17 in unfavorable conditions for the Soviet troops. The enemy outnumbered them in the Stalingrad direction in personnel: 1.7 times, in artillery and tanks - 1.3 times in aircraft - 2 times. Many formations of the Stalingrad Front, created on July 12, were recently formed by the Soviet troops, it was necessary to hastily create defenses on unprepared lines.

The enemy made several attempts to break through the defenses of the Stalingrad Front, encircle his troops on the right bank of the Don, reach the Volga and take Stalingrad on the move. Soviet troops heroically repulsed the onslaught of the enemy, who had overwhelming superiority in forces in some areas, and delayed his movement.

When the advance to the Caucasus slowed down, Hitler decided to attack simultaneously in both main directions, although the Wehrmacht's human resources had been significantly reduced by this time. With defensive battles and successful counterattacks in the first half of August, Soviet troops thwarted the enemy's plan to capture Stalingrad on the move. The German - fascist troops were forced to get involved in protracted bloody battles, and the German command was concentrating more and more new forces to the city.

Soviet troops, operating northwest and southeast of Stalingrad, pinned down significant enemy forces, helping the troops fighting directly at the walls of Stalingrad, and then in the city itself. The most difficult trials in the Battle of Stalingrad fell on the lot of the 62nd and 64th armies, commanded by Generals V.I. Chuikov and M.S. Shumilov. The pilots of the 8th and 16th air armies interacted with the ground forces. Great assistance to the defenders of Stalingrad was provided by the sailors of the Volga military flotilla. In fierce four-month battles on the outskirts of the city and in itself, the enemy grouping suffered heavy losses. Its offensive capabilities were exhausted, and the aggressor's troops were stopped. Having exhausted and bled the enemy, the armed forces of our country created the conditions for a counteroffensive and crushing the enemy near Stalingrad, finally seizing the strategic initiative and making a radical change in the course of the war.

The failure of the fascist German offensive on the Soviet-German front in 1942 and the failures of the Japanese armed forces in the Pacific Ocean forced Japan to abandon the planned attack on the USSR and switch to defense in the Pacific Ocean at the end of 1942.

3.Third period wars (19 november 1942 - 31 December 1943) root fracture in progress war. crash offensive strategies fascist block.

The period began with a counteroffensive of the Soviet troops, culminating in the encirclement and defeat of the 330,000-strong German fascist group during the Battle of Stalingrad, which made a huge contribution to achieving a radical change in the Great Patriotic War and had a decisive influence on the further course of the entire war.

The victory of the Soviet armed forces at Stalingrad is one of the most important glorious heroic annals of the Great Patriotic War, the largest military and political events of the Second World War, the most important of all on the way Soviet people, the entire anti-Hitler coalition to the final defeat of the Third Reich.

The defeat of large enemy forces in the Battle of Stalingrad demonstrated the power of our state and its army, the maturity of Soviet military art in both defense and offensive, the highest level mastery of the courage and steadfastness of Soviet soldiers. The defeat of the fascist troops at Stalingrad shook the building of the fascist bloc and aggravated the internal political situation of Germany itself and its allies. Friction between the members of the bloc intensified, Japan and Turkey were forced to abandon their intention to enter into a war against our country at a favorable moment.

Near Stalingrad, the Far Eastern rifle divisions fought steadfastly and courageously with the enemy, 4 of them received the honorary title of guards. During the battle, the Far East resident M. Passar accomplished his feat. The sniper squad of Sergeant Maxim Passar provided great assistance to the 117th Infantry Regiment in carrying out combat missions. On the personal account the Nanai hunter, there were 234 destroyed Nazis, in one battle two blocking machine guns of the enemy fired a strong barrage at our units M. Passar, approaching a distance of 100 meters, suppressed these two firing points and thereby ensured the advance of the Soviet troops. In the same battle, M. Passar died a heroic death.

The people sacredly honor the memory of the defenders of the city on the Volga. Recognition of their special merits is the construction on Mamayev Kurgan - the sacred place of the city of the hero - a majestic monument - an ensemble, mass graves with eternal fire on the square of fallen soldiers, a museum - a panorama of the Battle of Stalingrad, a house of soldiers' glory and many other memorials, monuments and historical places . The victory of Soviet weapons on the banks of the Volga contributed to the consolidation of the anti-Hitler coalition, which included the Soviet Union as the leading power. It largely predetermined the success of the operation of the Anglo-American troops in North Africa and allowed the Allies to deliver a decisive blow to Italy. Hitler tried at all costs to keep Italy out of the war. He tried to restore Mussolini's regime. Meanwhile, an anti-Hitler patriotic war was unfolding in Italy. But before the liberation of Italy from the Nazis was still far away.

In Germany, by 1943, everything was subordinated to the provision of military needs. Back in peacetime, Hitler introduced compulsory labor service for all. Millions of prisoners of concentration camps and inhabitants of conquered countries deported to Germany worked for the war. All of Europe conquered by the Nazis worked for the war.

Hitler promised the Germans that Germany's enemies would never set foot on German soil. And yet the war came to Germany. The raids began as early as 1940-41, and since 1943, when the Allies achieved air superiority, massive bombardments became regular.

The German leadership considered a new offensive on the Soviet-German front to be the only way to restore the shaken martial law and international prestige. A powerful offensive in 1943 was supposed to change the situation at the front in favor of Germany, raise the morale of the Wehrmacht and the population, and keep the fascist bloc from collapsing.

In addition, fascist politicians counted on the inactivity of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USA and England, which continued to violate their obligations to open a second front in Europe, which allowed Germany to transfer fresh divisions from the west to the Soviet - German front. The Red Army had to fight again with the main forces of the fascist bloc, the area of ​​Kursk was chosen as the site of the offensive. To carry out the operation, the most combat-ready Nazi formations were involved - 50 selected divisions, including 16 tank and motorized divisions, concentrated in the Army Groups "Center" and "South" north and south of the Kursk salient. Great hopes were placed on the new Tiger and Panther tanks, the Ferdinand assault guns, the new Focke-Wulf-190 A fighters and the Hentel-129 attack aircraft, which arrived at the start of the offensive.

The Soviet high command prepared the Red Army for decisive action during the summer-autumn campaign of 1943. A decision was made on a deliberate defense in order to thwart the enemy's offensive, bleed him dry and thus create the prerequisites for his complete defeat through a subsequent counteroffensive. Such a bold decision is evidence of the high maturity of the strategic thinking of the Soviet command, the correct assessment of the forces and means, both of their own and the enemy, of the military and economic capabilities of the country.

The grandiose Battle of Kursk, which is a complex of defensive and offensive operations of the Soviet troops to disrupt a major enemy offensive and defeat his strategic grouping, began at dawn on July 5 (map)

The Nazis did not doubt their success, but Soviet wars didn't flinch. They shot fascist tanks with artillery fire and destroyed guns, disabled them with grenades and set fire to bottles with a combustible mixture, rifle units also cut off enemy infantry with fighters. On July 12, the largest oncoming tank battle of the Second World War took place in the Prokhorovka area. A total of 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns met in a small space. In a fierce battle, the Soviet wars showed an unprecedented feat and won. Having exhausted and bled the shock German - fascist groupings in defensive battles and battles, the Soviet troops created favorable opportunities for going over to the counteroffensive. The Battle of Kursk lasted 50 days and nights, an outstanding event of the Second World War. During it, the Soviet armed forces inflicted such a defeat on Nazi Germany from which she could not recover until the end of the war.

As a result of the destruction German fascist troops near Kursk sharply worsened the external economic situation of Germany. Its isolation in the international arena increased. The fascist bloc, formed on the basis of the predatory aspirations of its members, was on the verge of collapse. The crushing defeat near Kursk forced the fascist command to transfer large land and air forces from the west to the Soviet-German front. This circumstance made it easier for the Anglo-American troops to conduct a landing operation in Italy and predetermined the withdrawal of this German ally from the war. The victory of the Red Army in the Battle of Kursk had a profound impact on the entire subsequent course of the Second World War. After it, it became obvious that the USSR alone, without the help of its allies, was able to win the war, completely clear its territory of invaders and unite the peoples of Europe, languishing in Nazi captivity. The boundless courage, steadfastness and mass patriotism of the Soviet wars were the most important factors in the victory over strong enemy in the battles on the Kursk Bulge.

The defeat of the Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front by the end of 1943 completed a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War, which began with the counter-offensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad, deepened the crisis of the fascist bloc, gave scope to the anti-fascist movement in the occupied countries and Germany itself, and contributed to the strengthening of the anti-Hitler coalition . At the Tehran Conference in 1943, the final decision was made to open a second front in France in May 1944. war German fascist front

4. Fourth period wars (1 January 1944 - May 9, 1945) rout fascist block, exile enemy troops per limits USSR, creation second front, release from occupation countries Europe, full collapse fascist Germany and her unconditional surrender.

In the summer of 1944, an event occurred that decided the outcome of the war in the west: Anglo-American troops landed in France. The so-called Second Front began to operate. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agreed on this back in November-December 1943 at a meeting in Tehran. They also decided that at the same time the Soviet troops would launch a powerful offensive in Belarus. The German command expected the invasion, but could not determine the beginning and place of the operation. For two months, the allies carried out diversionary maneuvers, and on the night of June 5-6, 1944, unexpectedly for the Germans, in cloudy weather, they dropped three airborne divisions on the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. At the same time, a fleet with Allied troops moved across the English Channel.

In 1944, the Soviet armed forces fought dozens of battles that went down in history as examples of the outstanding military art of Soviet commanders, the courage and heroism of the soldiers of the Red Army and Navy. Having carried out a series of successive operations, in the first half of 1944, our troops defeated the fascist army groups "a" and "South", defeated the army groups "North" and liberated part of the Leningrad and Kalinin regions, right-bank Ukraine and Crimea. The blockade of Leningrad was finally lifted, and in Ukraine the Red Army reached the state border, in the foothills of the Carpathians and on the territory of Romania.

Carried out in the summer of 1944, the Belarusian and Lvov-Sandomierz operations of the Soviet troops covered a vast territory. Soviet troops liberated Belarus, the western regions of Ukraine and part of Poland. Our troops reached the Vistula River and together captured important operational footholds.

The defeat of the enemy in Belarus and the successes of our troops in the southern Crimea of ​​the Soviet-German front created favorable conditions for delivering strikes in the northern and southern directions. Areas of Norway were liberated. In the south, our troops began to liberate the peoples of Europe from fascism. In September - October 1944, the Red Army liberated part of Czechoslovakia, assisted the Slovak National Uprising, Bulgaria and the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia in the liberation of the territories of these states, and continued a powerful offensive to liberate Hungary. Carried out in September November 1944, the Baltic operation ended with the liberation of almost all of the Baltic states. 1944 became the year of the end of the directly people's, Patriotic War; the battle for survival is over, the people have defended their land, their state independence. Soviet troops, entering the territory of Europe, were guided by the duty and responsibility to the people of their country, the peoples of enslaved Europe, which consisted in the need for the complete destruction of the Nazi military machine and the conditions that would allow it to revive. The liberation mission of the Soviet Army corresponded to the norms and international agreements developed by the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition during the entire war.

Soviet troops unleashed crushing blows on the enemy, as a result of which the German invaders were expelled from the Soviet land. They carried out a liberation mission in relation to the countries of Europe, played a decisive role in the liberation of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, as well as Albania and other states. They contributed to the liberation from the fascist yoke of the peoples of Italy, France and other countries.

In February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta to discuss the future of the world after the war was drawing to a close. It was decided to create an organization of the United Nations, to divide the defeated Germany into zones of occupation. By agreement, two to three months after the end of hostilities in Europe, the USSR was to enter the war with Japan.

At that time, in the Pacific theater of operations, the Allied forces carried out operations to defeat the Japanese fleet, liberated a number of islands occupied by Japan, approached Japan directly and cut off its communications with the countries of the South Seas and East Asia. In April - May 1945, the Soviet armed forces defeated the last groups of Nazi troops in the Berlin and Prague operations and met with the Allied forces.

In the spring of 1945, relations between Britain and the United States, on the one hand, and the USSR, on the other, became more complicated. According to Churchill, the British and Americans feared that after defeating Germany it would be difficult to stop "Russian imperialism on the road to world domination", and therefore decided that in the last stage of the war, the allied army should advance as far as possible to the East.

On April 12, 1945, US President Franklin Roosevelt died suddenly. His successor was Harry Truman, who took a tougher stance towards the Soviet Union. Roosevelt's death gave Hitler and his entourage hope for the collapse of the Allied coalition. But the common goal of England, the USA and the USSR - the destruction of Nazism - prevailed over the intensified mutual distrust and disagreements.

The war was over. In April, the Soviet and American armies approached the Elbe River. The physical existence of the fascist leaders also ended. On April 28, Italian partisans executed Mussolini, and on April 30, when street fighting was already going on in the center of Berlin, Hitler committed suicide. On May 8, an act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed on the outskirts of Berlin. The war in Europe is over. May 9 became Victory Day, a great holiday for our people and all mankind.

5. Fifth period war. (9 May) 1945 - 2 September 1945) rout imperialist Japan. Liberation peoples Asia from Japan. The ending Second World war.

The interests of restoring peace throughout the world also demanded the quickest elimination of the Far Eastern seat of war.

At the Potsdam Conference July 17 - August 2, 1945. The USSR confirmed its consent to enter the war with Japan.

On July 26, 1945, the USA, Britain and China presented Japan with an ultimatum demanding immediate unconditional surrender. He was rejected. On August 6 at Hiroshima, on August 9, atomic bombs were detonated over Nagasaki. As a result, two cities, completely populated, were actually swept off the face of the earth. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan and moved its divisions into Manchuria, a province of China captured by the Japanese. During the Manchuzhur operation of 1945, the Soviet troops, having defeated one of the strongest groupings of the Japanese ground forces - the Kwantung Army, liquidated the center of aggression in the Far East, liberated Northeast China, North Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, thereby hastening the end of the Second World War . On August 14, Japan surrendered. The official act of surrender was signed on board the American battleship Missouri on September 2, 1945 by representatives of the United States, England, the USSR and Japan. The Second World War is over.

The defeat of the fascist-militarist bloc was the logical outcome of a long and bloody war, in which the fate of world civilization was decided, the question of the existence of hundreds of millions of people. In terms of its results, the impact on the life of peoples and their self-consciousness, in terms of the impact on international processes, the victory over fascism became the event of the greatest historical significance. The countries participating in the Second World War passed a difficult path in their state development. The main lesson that they learned from the post-war reality is to prevent the unleashing of a new aggression by any state.

The decisive factor in the victory over Nazi Germany and its satellites were the struggle of the Soviet Union, which united the efforts of all peoples and states in the battle against fascism.

The victory in World War II is the common merit and the joint capital of all states and peoples who fought against the forces of war and obscurantism.

The anti-Hitler coalition initially included 26, and by the end of the war - more than 50 states. The second front in Europe was opened by the Allies only in 1944, and it must be admitted that the main burden of the war fell on the shoulders of our country.

The Soviet-German front from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945 remained the decisive front of the Second World War in terms of the number of troops involved, the duration and intensity of the struggle, its scope and its final results.

Most of the operations carried out by the Red Army during the war years were included in the golden fund of military art, they were distinguished by decisiveness, maneuverability and high activity, original plans and their creative implementation.

In the course of the war, a galaxy of commanders, naval commanders and military commanders grew up in the Armed Forces, who successfully carried out command and control of troops and fleet forces in operations. Among them G.K. Zhukov, A.M. Vasilevsky, A.N. Antonov, L.A. Govorov, I.S. Konev, K.K. Rokossovsky, S.K. Timoshenko and others.

Great Patriotic War confirmed the fact that the aggressor can be defeated only by combining the political, economic and military efforts of all states.

In this regard, the fact of the creation and activity of the anti-Hitler coalition - a union of states and peoples that have united their efforts against a common enemy - is valuable and instructive. AT modern conditions war with nuclear weapons threatens civilization itself, so the people of our planet today must recognize themselves as a single human society, overcome differences, prevent the emergence of dictatorial regimes in any of the countries, and fight for peace on Earth by common efforts.

The Second World War is considered the largest in the history of mankind. It began and ended on September 2, 1945. During this time, sixty-two countries took part in it, which accounted for eighty percent of the world's population. Three continents and four oceans have experienced warfare, and atomic weapons have also been used. It was the most terrible war. It started quickly and took a lot of people from this world. We will talk about this and much more today.

Background of the war

Many historians consider the outcome of the first armed conflict in the world to be the main prerequisite for the outbreak of World War II. The peace treaty that ended the First world war, put the countries that were defeated in it in a powerless position. Germany lost a lot of its lands, it had to stop developing its weapons system and military industry, to abandon the armed forces. In addition, she had to pay compensation to the affected countries. All this oppressed the German government, there was a thirst for revenge. Discontent in the country with a low standard of living made it possible for A. Hitler to come to power.

Conciliation policy

What happened September 1, 1939 we already know. But shortly before this, the USSR, which appeared during the First World War, worried many politicians in Europe, since they in every possible way did not allow the spread of socialism in the world. Therefore, the second reason for the start of the war was the opposition to the popularization of communism. This gave impetus to the development of fascism in many countries. England and France, which initially limited Germany, subsequently removed all restrictions and did not pay attention to the many violations by the German state of the Treaty of Versailles. There was no reaction to the fact that Germany annexed Austria, building up military power. The Munich Treaty also approved the annexation of part of Czechoslovakia to Germany. All this was done in order to direct the country's aggression against the USSR. European politicians began to worry when Germany extended its annexation without asking anyone. But it was too late, because the plan for a new military conflict was drawn up and began to be implemented.

Role of Italy

Together with Germany aggressive foreign policy Italy began to lead. In 1935, she invaded Ethiopia, to which the world community responded negatively. However, fascist Italy a year later annexed all the Ethiopian territories and proclaimed itself an empire. The deterioration of relations with Western countries contributed to its rapprochement with Germany. Mussolini allows Hitler to take over Austria. In 1936, the Third Reich and Japan conclude an agreement on the fight against communism by joint forces. Italy joined a year later.

The collapse of the Versailles-Washington system

The centers of the Second World War were formed gradually, so the outbreak of hostilities could have been prevented. Consider the main stages of the collapse of the Versailles-Washington system:

1. In 1931, Japan occupied Northeast China.
2. In 1935, Hitler began to deploy the Wehrmacht in Germany, violating the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
3. In 1937, Japan took over all of China.
4. 1938 - Germany captured Austria and part of Czechoslovakia.
5. 1939 - Hitler captured the whole of Czechoslovakia. In August, Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact and the division of spheres of influence in the world.
6. September 1, 1939 - German attack on Poland.

Armed intervention in Poland

Germany set itself the task of expanding space to the East. At the same time, Poland should be captured as soon as possible. In August, the USSR and Germany signed a non-aggression pact against each other. In the same month, the Germans, dressed in Polish uniforms, attacked the radio station in Gleiwitz. German and Slovak troops advance on Poland. England, France and other countries that were in alliance with Poland declare war on the Nazis. At half past five in the morning, the German dive bombers made their first flight to the control posts of the city of Tcheva. The first Polish aircraft was shot down. at four forty-five minutes in the morning, a German battleship opened fire on the fortifications of the Poles that were located on Westerplatte. Mussolini put forward a proposal for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, but Hitler refused, citing the Gleiwitz incident.

Years in the USSR military mobilization is introduced. In a short period of time, the composition of the army reached five million people.

Fascist strategy

Poland and Germany have long had claims to each other regarding territories. The main clashes began near the city of Danzig, which the Nazis had long claimed. But Poland did not go towards the Germans. This did not upset the latter, since they had long ago prepared the Weiss plan to seize Poland. September 1, 1939 Poland was to become part of Germany. A plan was developed for the rapid capture of its territory, the destruction of all infrastructure. To achieve the goal, Hitler planned to use aviation, infantry and tank troops. The Weiss plan was worked out to the smallest detail. Hitler counted on the fact that England and France would not start hostilities, but considered the possibility of opening a second front, sending troops to the borders with the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

Readiness for military conflict

Invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 year was obvious, as was the very outcome of the fascist operation. The German army was much larger than the Polish one, as was the technical equipment. In addition, the Nazis organized a rapid mobilization, which Poland knew nothing about. The Polish government concentrated all forces along the entire border, which contributed to the weakening of the troops before a powerful blow from the Nazis. The Nazi offensive went according to plan. The Polish troops turned out to be weak in front of the enemy, especially in front of his tank formations. In addition, the President of Poland left the capital. The government followed him four days later. The Anglo-French troops did nothing to help the Poles. Only two days later they, together with New Zealand and Australia, declared war on Hitler. A few days later they were joined by Nepal, Canada, the Union of South Africa and Newfoundland. On September 3, at sea, a Nazi submarine attacked an English liner without warning. When the war, Hitler hoped to the last that the allies of Poland would not enter into an armed conflict, everything would happen the same way as with Munich. Adolf Hitler was shocked when Britain gave him an ultimatum, demanding the withdrawal of troops from Poland.

Germany

Nazi Germany made several diplomatic steps to expand the circle of states that were involved in the division of Polish territory. Ribbentrop offered Hungary to annex part of Polish Ukraine, but Budapest shied away from these questions. Germany offered Lithuania to conquer the Vilnius region, but the latter declared neutrality for a year. From the first days of the war, the leader of the OUN was in Berlin, to whom the German side promised the formation of the so-called independent Ukraine in southeastern Poland. A little later, he was informed about the possibility of forming a Western Ukrainian state on the border with Soviet Russia.

In the summer of 1939, when the OUN was preparing for military operations on the territory of Poland, a division of Galicians called VVN was formed in Slovakia. It was part of the German-Slovak unit, which struck from the territory of Slovakia. Hitler wanted to create states on the border with the USSR that would be subordinate to the Third Reich: Ukraine, the so-called Polish pseudo-state and Lithuania. Ribbentrop pointed out that it was necessary to destroy the Poles and Jews with the help of VVN. At the end of September, Ukrainian nationalists raised uprisings during which military and civilians were killed. At this time, actions were taken in Germany against the USSR. Ribbentrop invites Hitler to discuss the issue of the entry of Russian troops into the lands of Poland to occupy that part that is in the circle of interests of the USSR, in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Moscow refused such an offer, pointing out that the time had not yet come. Molotov pointed out that the intervention of the Soviet Union could be a reaction to the advance of the Nazis, to protect Ukrainians and Belarusians from the Nazis.

Officially, the Union was notified that Europe began war, September 1, 1939. Border Troops an order was given to strengthen the protection of the Soviet-Polish border, military mobilization was introduced, the number of vehicles, horses, tractors, etc., increased in the army. Ribbentrop calls on the Union to finally crush Poland within two or three weeks. Molotov argued that the USSR did not want to take part in the war, ensuring its own security. Stalin said that there was a war going on in the world between two camps (rich and poor) for the redivision of the world. But the Union will watch from the sidelines as they well weaken each other. He claimed that the communists were against the war. But in the meantime, the SIK directive said that the Union could not defend fascist Poland. A little later, in the Soviet press, it was indicated that the German-Polish war was taking on a threatening character, so a call-up of spares was being carried out. Was created a large number of army groups. On September 17, the Red Army advanced to Poland. Polish troops offered no resistance. The partition of Poland between the Union and Germany ended on 28 September. Western Belarus and Western Ukraine went to the USSR, which later joined the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR.

The mood for war with Germany, which existed in the Union since 1935, lost its meaning, but mobilization continued. About two hundred thousand conscripts continued to serve under the new conscription law that was created September 1, 1939 (event what happened that day is familiar to us).

Poland's reaction

Having learned about the crossing of the Polish border by the Soviet army, the command of Poland sent an ambassador with the question of who the Soviet army crossed their border in. He was confronted with a fact, although the Polish government believed that the Red Army was brought in to limit the zone of occupation by the Nazis. It was ordered to retreat to Romania and Hungary, not to conduct hostilities.

German reaction

For the control of the armed forces of Germany, the appearance of the Soviet army in Poland came as a surprise. An emergency meeting was convened, where options for further actions of the Nazis were considered. At the same time, armed clashes with the Red Army were considered inappropriate.

France and England

When September 1, 1939 World War II began with the invasion of Poland, England and France remained on the sidelines. After the appearance of the USSR in Poland, these two states did not focus on Soviet intervention in the Polish-German war. They tried to find out what position the Union takes in this conflict. There were rumors in these countries that the Red Army in Poland opposed the German troops. In mid-September, the British government decided that England would defend Poland only from Germany, so the USSR did not send a protest, thereby recognizing the Soviet action in Poland.

Withdrawal of German troops

On September 20, Hitler ordered the withdrawal of troops to the west. He demanded an immediate end to the fighting. But this order did not take into account the fact that there were a large number of wounded, prisoners and equipment on the territory of Poland. It was planned to leave the wounded on the ground, providing them with medical staff. All the trophies that could not be evacuated were left to the Russian soldiers. Military property was left by the Germans on the ground for further export. Damaged tanks made using new technologies were ordered to be destroyed so that it would not be possible to identify them.

On September 27-28, it was planned to hold negotiations between Germany and the USSR. A proposal was received from Stalin to transfer Lithuania to the Union in exchange for part of the Warsaw and Lublin provinces. Stalin was afraid of the division of the Polish population, so he left the entire ethnic territory of the country to Germany, as well as part of the Augustow forests. Hitler approved this version of the division of Poland. On September 29, the Treaty of Friendship and Border between the Soviet Union and Germany was signed. Thus, the basis of peace in Europe was created on long time. The liquidation of the impending war between Germany, England and France ensured the interests of many peoples.

Anglo-French reaction

England was satisfied with this course of events. She told the Union that she wanted Poland to be smaller, so there could be no question of returning the territories occupied by the USSR to her. France and England informed the President of Poland not to declare war on the Soviet Union. Churchill spoke of the need for Russian troops to enter Poland in order to provide security against the Nazi threat.

Operation results

Poland ceased to exist as a state. As a result of its division, the USSR received territories with an area of ​​about two hundred thousand square kilometers, which is half the area of ​​the country, and a population of thirteen million people. Lithuania passed the territory of the Vilnius region. Germany received the entire ethnic territory of Poland. Some lands were ceded to Slovakia. The lands that did not join Germany became part of the general government, which was ruled by the Nazis. Krakow became its capital. The Third Reich lost about twenty thousand people, thirty thousand people were injured. The Polish army lost sixty-six thousand people, two hundred thousand people were injured, seven hundred thousand were taken prisoner. The Slovak army lost eighteen people, forty-six people were wounded.

Year 1939 ... September 1 - the beginning of World War II. Poland was the first to take the hit, as a result of which it was divided between the Soviet Union and Germany. In the territories that became part of the USSR, Soviet power was established, industry was nationalized. There were repressions and deportations of representatives of the bourgeoisie, rich peasants, intellectuals, and so on. In the territories that became part of Germany, the so-called racial policy was carried out, the population was divided by rights, depending on their nationality. At the same time, Gypsies and Jews were destroyed. In the general government, there was more aggression against the Polish and Jewish population. No one suspected then that this was only the beginning of the war, that it would take six long years and end with the defeat of Nazi Germany. Most of the world's population took part in the military conflict.