Day of the end of the Second World War - Day of military glory. The World History

The Second World War was prepared and unleashed by the states of the aggressive bloc led by Nazi Germany. Its origin was rooted in the Versailles system of international relations, based on the dictates of the countries that won the First World War and put Germany in a humiliating position.

This created the conditions for the development of the idea of ​​revenge.

German imperialism, on a new material and technical basis, created a powerful military and economic base, and the Western countries rendered assistance to it. Terrorist dictatorships dominated Germany and Italy and Japan allied to it, racism and chauvinism were planted.

The aggressive program of the Nazi Reich was aimed at the destruction of the Versailles order, the seizure of vast territories and the establishment of dominance in Europe. For this, the liquidation of Poland, the defeat of France, the displacement of England from the continent, the seizure of the resources of Europe, and then the “campaign to the East”, the destruction of the Soviet Union and the establishment of a “new living space” on its territory were envisaged. After that, she planned to subjugate Africa, the Middle East and prepare for war with the United States. The ultimate goal was to establish the world domination of the "Third Reich". On the part of Hitlerite Germany and its allies, the war was imperialist, predatory, and unjust.

England and France were not interested in the war. They entered the war, based on the desire to weaken competitors, to maintain their own positions in the world. They staked on the clash of Germany and Japan with the Soviet Union and their mutual exhaustion. The actions of the Western powers on the eve and at the beginning of the war led to the defeat of France, the occupation of almost all of Europe, and the creation of a threat to the independence of Great Britain.

The expansion of aggression threatened the independence of many states. For the peoples of the countries that fell victim to the invaders, the struggle against the invaders from the very beginning acquired a liberating, anti-fascist character.

There are five periods in the history of the Second World War: I period (September 1, 1939 - June 21, 1941) - the beginning of the war and the invasion of the Nazi troops into the countries of Western Europe. II period (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942) - the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, the expansion of the war, the collapse of Hitler's plan for a lightning war. III period (November 19, 1942 - December 1943) - a radical turning point in the course of the war, the collapse of the offensive strategy of the fascist bloc. Period IV (January 1944 - May 9, 1945) - the defeat of the fascist bloc, the expulsion of enemy troops from the USSR, the opening of a second front, the liberation from the occupation of European countries, the complete collapse of fascist Germany and its unconditional surrender. End of the Great Patriotic War. V period (May 9 - September 2, 1945) - the defeat of imperialist Japan, the liberation of the peoples of Asia from the Japanese invaders, the end of World War II.

Confident that Britain and France would not provide real help to Poland, Germany attacked it on September 1, 1939. Poland became the first state in Europe whose people rose up to defend their national existence. Having an overwhelming superiority of forces over the Polish army and concentrating a mass of tanks and aircraft on the main sectors of the front, the Hitlerite command was able to achieve important operational results from the beginning of the war. The incomplete deployment of forces, the lack of assistance from the allies, the weakness of the centralized leadership put the Polish army in front of a catastrophe. The courageous resistance of the Polish troops near Mlawa, on the Bzura, the defense of Modlin, Westerplatt and the heroic 20-day defense of Warsaw (September 8-28) wrote bright pages in the history of the Second World War, but could not prevent the defeat of Poland. On September 28, Warsaw capitulated. The Polish government and military command moved to the territory of Romania. In the tragic days for Poland, the troops of the allies - England and France - were inactive. On September 3, England and France declared war on Germany, but did not take any active steps. The United States declared its neutrality, hoping that the military orders of the warring states would bring huge profits to industrialists and bankers.

The Soviet government, using the opportunities provided by the "secret additional protocol", sent its troops into Western Ukraine and Western Ukraine on September 17.

Belarus. The Soviet government did not declare war on Poland. It motivated its decision by the fact that the Polish state ceased to exist, its territory turned into a field for all sorts of surprises and provocations, and in this situation it is necessary to take the population of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine under protection. According to the Treaty of Friendship and Border, signed by the USSR and Germany on September 28, 1939, the border was established along the Narew, San and Western Bug rivers. Polish lands remained under the occupation of Germany, Ukraine and Belarus went to the USSR.

The superiority of Germany in forces and the lack of help from the West led to the fact that in late September-early October 1939 the last centers of resistance of the Polish troops were suppressed, but the Polish government did not sign the act of surrender.

The war between Finland and the USSR, which began at the end of November 1939, occupied a significant place in the plans of Britain and France. The Western powers sought to turn a local armed conflict into the beginning of a united military campaign against the USSR. The unexpected rapprochement between the USSR and Germany left Finland face to face with a powerful enemy. The "winter war", which lasted until March 12, 1940, demonstrated the low combat capability of the Soviet Army and a particularly low level of training of command personnel, weakened by Stalin's repressions. Only due to the heavy loss of life and a clear superiority in strength, the resistance of the Finnish army was broken. Under the terms of the peace treaty, the territory of the USSR included the entire Karelian Isthmus, the northwestern coast of Lake Ladoga, and a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland. The war significantly worsened relations between the USSR and Western countries - Great Britain and France, which planned to intervene in the conflict on the side of Finland.

At the time when the Polish campaign and the Soviet-Finnish war were taking place, amazing calm reigned on the Western Front. French journalists called this period a "strange war." The obvious unwillingness of Western government and military circles to aggravate the conflict with Germany was explained by a number of reasons. The command of the British and French armies continued to focus on the strategy of positional warfare and hoped for the effectiveness of the Maginot defensive line covering the eastern borders of France.

The memory of the colossal losses of the First World War also forced one to exercise extreme caution. Finally, many politicians in these countries counted on the localization of the outbreak of war in Eastern Europe, on Germany's readiness to be satisfied with the first victories. The illusory nature of such a position was shown in the very near future.

The attack of the Nazi troops on Denmark and Norway in April-May 1940

It led to the occupation of these countries. This strengthened the German positions in the Atlantic and Northern Europe, and brought the bases of the German fleet closer to Great Britain. Denmark capitulated almost without a fight, and the armed forces of Norway put up stubborn resistance to the aggressor. On May 10, the German invasion began in Holland, Belgium, and then through their territory - and into France. German troops, bypassing the fortified Maginot Line and overcoming the Ardennes, broke through the Allied front on the Meuse River and reached the English Channel coast. The English and French troops were pressed to the sea at Dunkirk. But unexpectedly, the German offensive was suspended, which allowed the British troops to be evacuated to the British Isles. The Nazis launched a further attack on Paris. On June 10, 1940, Italy declared war on the Anglo-French coalition, striving to establish dominance in the Mediterranean basin. The French government betrayed the interests of the country. Paris, declared an open city, was given to the Nazis without a fight. The new government was formed by a supporter of surrender - Marshal Petain, associated with the Nazis. On June 22, 1940, an armistice agreement was signed in the Compiègne forest, which meant the surrender of France. France was divided into occupied (northern and central parts) and unoccupied, where the regime of the puppet government of Petain was established. In France, the resistance movement began to develop. In exile, the patriotic organization "Free France" began to operate, headed by General Charles de Gaulle.

Hitler hoped that the defeat of France would force England to withdraw from the war, and peace was offered to her. But German successes only strengthened the desire of the British to continue the fight. On May 10, 1940, a coalition government was formed headed by the adversary of Germany, W. Churchill. The new government cabinet took emergency measures to strengthen the defense system. England was supposed to turn into a "hornet's nest" - a continuous expanse of fortified areas,

anti-tank and anti-amphibious lines, deployment of air defense units. The German command was really preparing at that time an operation to land on the British Isles ("Zeelowe" - "Sea Lion"). But in view of the clear superiority of the English fleet, the task of crushing the military power of Great Britain was entrusted to the air force - the Luftwaffe under the command of G. Goering. From August to October 1940, the "battle for England" broke out - one of the largest battles in the air during the Second World War. The fighting went on with varying success, but by mid-autumn it became obvious that the plans of the German command were not feasible. The transfer of attacks on civilian targets, massive bombardments of intimidation of English cities also did not give any effect.

In an effort to strengthen cooperation with its main allies, Germany signed in September 1940 a tripartite pact on political and military-economic union with Italy and Japan, directed against the USSR, Great Britain, and the USA.

As the activity of military operations in Western Europe decreased, the attention of the German leadership again focused on the eastern direction. The second half of 1940 and the beginning of 1941 became a decisive time for determining the balance of power on the continent. Germany could firmly rely on the occupied territories of France, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, the Czech Republic, as well as the dependent regimes of Quisling in Norway, Tiso in Slovakia, the Vichy in France and the “exemplary protectorate” of Denmark. The fascist regimes in Spain and Portugal preferred to remain neutral, but for the time being this was of little concern to Hitler, who fully counted on the loyalty of the dictators Franco and Salazar. Italy independently carried out the capture of Albania and began aggression in Greece. However, with the help of English formations, the Greek army repelled the offensive and even entered the territory of Albania. In this situation, much depended on the position of the government circles of the countries of South-Eastern Europe.

Back in the second half of the 1930s, military-authoritarian nationalist regimes either came to power or further strengthened their positions in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia. Nazi Germany considered this region as a sphere of its direct influence. However, since

At the beginning of the war, the states of South-Eastern Europe were by no means in a hurry to assume any obligations in relation to the belligerents. Forcing events, the German leadership decided in August 1940 to prepare an open aggression against the least loyal Romania. However, in November, a coup d'état took place in Bucharest and the pro-German Antonescu regime came to power. At the same time, fearing the growing influence of Romania, Hungary also announced its readiness to join the German bloc. Bulgaria became another satellite of the Reich in the spring of 1941.

Events unfolded differently in Yugoslavia. In March 1941, the Yugoslav government signed an alliance pact with Germany. However, the patriotic command of the Yugoslav army carried out a coup d'état and terminated the treaty. Germany's response was to start hostilities in the Balkans in April. The huge superiority in forces allowed the Wehrmacht to defeat the Yugoslav army within a week and a half, and then crush the pockets of resistance in Greece. The territory of the Balkan Peninsula was divided among the countries of the German bloc. However, the struggle of the Yugoslav people continued, the resistance movement was expanding in the country - one of the most powerful in Europe.

With the end of the Balkan campaign, only three truly neutral, independent states remained in Europe - Sweden, Switzerland and Ireland. The Soviet Union was chosen as the next target of aggression. Formally, the Soviet-German treaty of 1939 was still in effect, but its true potential had already been exhausted. The division of Eastern Europe into spheres of influence allowed the USSR to freely include Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, the Baltic republics - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, which were occupied by Romania in 1918, and in June 1940 were occupied by Romania. at the request of the USSR were returned to him; through military measures to achieve territorial concessions to Finland. Germany, using the treaty with the USSR, conducted the first and most important campaigns in Europe, avoiding the dispersion of forces on two fronts. Now nothing separated the two huge powers, and the choice could only be made between further military-political rapprochement or an open clash. The decisive moment was the Soviet-German negotiations in November 1940 in Berlin. At them, the Soviet Union was invited to join the Steel Pact.

The refusal of the USSR from the obviously unequal union predetermined the inevitability of war. On December 18, the secret plan "Barbarossa" was approved, which provided for a blitzkrieg against the USSR.

World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries - including all the great powers - have formed two opposing military alliances.
The Second World War was the reason for the desire of the world powers to revise the spheres of influence and redistribute the markets for raw materials and sales of products (1939-1945). Germany and Italy sought revenge, the USSR wanted to establish itself in Eastern Europe, in the Black Sea Straits, in Western and South Asia, to increase influence in the Far East, England, France and the USA tried to maintain their positions in the world.

Another reason for the Second World War was the attempt of bourgeois-democratic states to oppose each other totalitarian regimes - fascists and communists.
World War II was chronologically divided into three major phases:

1. From September 1, 1939 to June 1942 - the period in which Germany had the advantage.
2. From June 1942 to January 1944. During this period, the anti-Hitler coalition took over the advantage.
3. From January 1944 to September 2, 1945, the period when the troops of the aggressor countries were defeated and the ruling regimes in these countries fell.

World War II began on September 1, 1939 with the German attack on Poland. On September 8-14, in the battles near the Bruz River, the Polish troops were defeated. Warsaw fell on 28 September. In September, Soviet troops also invaded Poland. Poland became the first victim of the World War. The Germans destroyed the Jewish and Polish intelligentsia, introduced labor service.

"Strange War"
In response to the aggression of Germany, England and France on September 3 declared war on her. But active hostilities did not follow. Therefore, the beginning of the war on the Western Front is called the "Strange War".
On September 17, 1939, Soviet troops captured Western Ukraine and Western Belarus - lands lost under the Riga Treaty of 1921 as a result of an unsuccessful Polish-Soviet war. The Soviet-German treaty "On Friendship and Borders" concluded on September 28, 1939, confirmed the fact of the capture and partition of Poland. The treaty defined the Soviet-German borders, the border was set aside a little to the west. Lithuania was included in the sphere of interests of the USSR.
In November 1939, Stalin offered Finland to lease the port of Petsamo and the Hanko peninsula for the construction of a military base, as well as to push back the border on the Karelian Isthmus in exchange for more territory in Soviet Karelia. Finland rejected this proposal. On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union declared war on Finland. This war went down in history under the name "Winter War". Stalin organized a puppet Finnish "workers' government" in advance. But the Soviet troops met fierce resistance from the Finns on the "Mannerheim Line" and only in March 1940 did they overcome it. Finland was forced to accept the conditions of the USSR. On March 12, 1940, a peace treaty was signed in Moscow. The Karelian-Finnish SSR was created.
During September-October 1939, the Soviet Union sent troops into the Baltic countries, forcing Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to conclude agreements. On June 21, 1940, Soviet power was established in all three republics. Two weeks later, these republics became part of the USSR. In June 1940, the USSR took Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina from Romania.
In Bessarabia, the Moldavian SSR was created, which also became part of the USSR. And Northern Bukovina became part of the Ukrainian SSR. These aggressive actions of the USSR were condemned by England and France. On December 14, 1939, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations.

Military operations in the West, Africa and the Balkans
For successful operations in the North Atlantic, Germany needed bases. Therefore, she attacked Denmark and Norway, although they declared themselves neutral. On April 9, 1940, Denmark surrendered, and on June 10, Norway. In Norway, the fascist V. Quisling seized power. The king of Norway turned to England for help. In May 1940, the main forces of the German army (Wehrmacht) concentrated on the Western Front. On May 10, the Germans suddenly occupied Holland and Belgium and pressed the Anglo-French-Belgian troops to the sea in the Dunkirk area. The Germans occupied Calais. But on the orders of Hitler, the offensive was suspended, and the enemy was given the opportunity to get out of the encirclement. This event became known as the "Miracle of Dunkirk". With this gesture, Hitler wanted to propitiate England, conclude an agreement with her and withdraw her from the war for a while.

On May 26, Germany launched an offensive against France, achieved victory near the Aime River and, breaking through the Maginot Line, on June 14 the Germans entered Paris. On June 22, 1940, in the Forest of Compiègne, at the very spot where Germany surrendered 22 years ago, Marshal Foch, in the same staff car, signed the act of surrender of France. France was divided into 2 parts: the northern part, which was under German occupation, and the southern part, centered in the city of Vichy.
This part of France was dependent on Germany; a puppet "Vichy government" was organized here, headed by Marshal Pétain. The Vichy government had a small army. The fleet was confiscated. The French constitution was also abolished, and Pétain was given unlimited powers. The Vichy collaborationist regime lasted until August 1944.
The anti-fascist forces of France grouped around the Free French organization, created by Charles de Gaulle in England.
In the summer of 1940, an ardent opponent of Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill, was elected Prime Minister of England. Since the German navy was inferior to the English fleet, Hitler abandoned the idea of ​​​​landing troops in England, and was content with only air bombardments. England actively defended itself and won the "air war". This was the first victory in the war with Germany.
On June 10, 1940, Italy also joined the war against England and France. The Italian army from Ethiopia captured Kenya, strongholds in Sudan, and part of British Somalia. And in October, Italy attacked Libya and Egypt in order to seize the Suez Canal. But, having seized the initiative, the British troops forced the Italian army in Ethiopia to surrender. In December 1940, the Italians were defeated in Egypt, and in 1941 - in Libya. The help sent by Hitler was not effective. In general, during the winter of 1940-1941, British troops, with the help of the local population, drove the Italians out of British and Italian Somalia, from Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
September 22, 1940 Germany, Italy and Japan signed a pact in Berlin ("Pact of Steel"). A little later, Germany's allies - Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia - joined him. In essence, it was an agreement on the redistribution of the world. Germany invited the USSR to join this pact and participate in the occupation of British India and other southern lands. But Stalin was interested in the Balkans and the Black Sea straits. And this was contrary to Hitler's plans.
In October 1940, Italy attacked Greece. German troops helped Italy. In April 1941, Yugoslavia and Greece capitulated.
Thus, the most severe blow to the positions of the British was dealt in the Balkans. The British Corps was returned to Egypt. In May 1941 the Germans took the island of Crete and the British lost control of the Aegean. Yugoslavia ceased to exist as a state. An independent Croatia emerged. The remaining Yugoslav lands were divided among themselves by Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary. Under pressure from Hitler, Romania gave Transylvania to Hungary.

German attack on the USSR
Back in June 1940, Hitler instructed the leadership of the Wehrmacht to prepare for an attack on the USSR. A plan for a "lightning war" was prepared and approved on December 18, 1940, codenamed "Barbarossa". A native of Baku, intelligence officer Richard Sorge in May 1941 announced the impending German attack on the USSR, but Stalin did not believe it. On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union without declaring war. The Germans intended to reach the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line before the onset of winter. During the first week of the war, the Germans took Smolensk, approached Kyiv and Leningrad. In September, Kyiv was taken, and Leningrad was under blockade.
In November 1941, the Germans launched an offensive against Moscow. On December 5-6, 1941, they were defeated in the battle near Moscow. In this battle and in the winter operations of 1942, the myth of the "invincibility" of the German army collapsed, and the plan for a "blitzkrieg" was thwarted. The victory of the Soviet troops inspired the resistance movement in the countries occupied by the Germans, strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition.
Creation of the anti-Hitler coalition

The territory of Eurasia to the east of the 70th meridian Japan considered the sphere of its influence. After the capitulation of France, Japan appropriated its colonies - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and stationed its troops there. Sensing the danger to their possessions in the Philippines, the United States demanded that Japan withdraw its troops and established a ban on trade with Japan.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese squadron launched an unexpected attack on the US naval base in the Hawaiian Islands - Pearl Harbor. On the same day, Japanese troops invaded Thailand and the British colonies of Malaysia and Burma. In response, the United States and Great Britain declared war on Japan.
At the same time, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. In the spring of 1942, the Japanese took the British fortress of Singapore, which was considered impregnable, and approached India. Then they conquered Indonesia and the Philippines, landed on New Guinea.
Back in March 1941, the US Congress passed a law on Lend-Lease - an "assistance system" with weapons, strategic raw materials and food. After Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States became in solidarity with the USSR. W. Churchill said that against Hitler he was ready to enter into an alliance even with the devil himself.
On July 12, 1941, an agreement on cooperation between the USSR and Great Britain was signed. On October 10, a trilateral agreement was signed between the USA, the USSR and Great Britain on military and food aid to the USSR. In November 1941, the United States extended the Lend-Lease Act to the Soviet Union. An anti-Hitler coalition emerged, consisting of the USA, Great Britain and the USSR.
In order to prevent a rapprochement between Germany and Iran, on August 25, 1941, the Soviet army entered Iran from the north, and the British from the south. In the history of World War II, this was the first joint operation between the USSR and England.
On August 14, 1941, the United States and England signed a document called the Atlantic Charter, in which they declared their refusal to seize foreign territories, recognized the right of all peoples to self-government, renounced the use of force in international affairs, and showed interest in building a just and secure post-war world . The USSR announced the recognition of the governments of Czechoslovakia and Poland, who were in exile, and on September 24 also joined the "Atlantic Charter". On January 1, 1942, 26 states signed the "Declaration of the United Nations". The strengthening of the anti-Hitler coalition contributed to the onset of a radical turning point in the course of World War II.

The beginning of a radical fracture
The second period of the war is characterized as a period of radical change. The first step here was the Battle of Midway Atoll in June 1942, in which the US Navy sank a Japanese squadron. Having suffered heavy losses, Japan lost the ability to fight in the Pacific.
In October 1942, British troops under the command of General B. Montgomery surrounded and defeated the Italo-German troops at El Apamein. In November, US troops under the command of General Dwight Eisenhower in Morocco pressed the Italo-German troops against Tunisia and forced them to surrender. But the allies did not keep their promises and in 1942 they did not open a second front in Europe. This allowed the Germans to group large forces on the eastern front, break through the defenses of the Soviet troops on the Kerch Peninsula in May, capturing Sevastopol and Kharkov in July, and move towards Stalingrad and the Caucasus. But the German offensive was repulsed near Stalingrad, and in a counterattack on November 23 near the city of Kalach, Soviet troops surrounded 22 enemy divisions. The Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted until February 2, 1943, ended with the victory of the USSR, which seized the strategic initiative. A radical turning point took place in the Soviet-German war. The counteroffensive of the Soviet troops in the Caucasus began.
One of the important conditions for a radical turning point in the war was the ability of the USSR, the USA and Britain to mobilize their resources. So, on June 30, 1941, the State Defense Committee was created in the USSR under the chairmanship of I. Stalin and the main Logistics Directorate. A card system was introduced.
In 1942, a law was passed in England giving the government emergency powers in the field of management. In the United States, the Office of War Production was created.

Resistance movement
Another factor that contributed to the radical change was the resistance movement of the peoples who fell under the German, Italian and Japanese yoke. The Nazis created death camps - Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Maidanek, Treblinka, Dachau, Mauthausen, etc. In France - Oradour, in Czechoslovakia - Lidice, in Belarus - Khatyn and many more such villages around the world, the population of which was completely destroyed. A systematic policy of extermination of Jews and Slavs was pursued. On January 20, 1942, a plan was approved for the extermination of all Jews in Europe.
The Japanese acted under the slogan "Asia for Asians", but ran into desperate resistance in Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, and the Philippines. The unification of anti-fascist forces contributed to the strengthening of resistance. Under pressure from the allies, the Comintern was dissolved in 1943, so the communists in some countries took an active part in joint anti-fascist actions.
In 1943, an anti-fascist uprising broke out in the Warsaw Jewish ghetto. In the territories of the USSR conquered by the Germans, the partisan movement was especially widespread.

Completion of a radical fracture
A radical turning point on the Soviet-German front ended with the grand Battle of Kursk (July-August 1943), in which the Nazis were defeated. In naval battles in the Atlantic, the Germans lost many submarines. Allied ships began to cross the Atlantic Ocean as part of special sentinel convoys.
A radical change in the course of the war caused a crisis in the countries of the fascist bloc. In July 1943, the allied forces captured the island of Sicily, and this caused a deep crisis of the fascist regime of Mussolini. He was overthrown and arrested. The new government was headed by Marshal Badoglio. The Fascist Party was outlawed, and political prisoners were granted amnesty.
Secret negotiations began. September 3 Allied troops landed in the Apennines. An armistice was signed with Italy.
At this time, Germany occupied northern Italy. Badoglio declared war on Germany. A front line arose north of Naples, and the regime of Mussolini, who had fled from captivity, was restored in the territory occupied by the Germans. He relied on the German troops.
After the completion of the radical change, the heads of the allied states - F. Roosevelt, J. Stalin and W. Churchill met in Tehran from November 28 to December 1, 1943. The central place in the work of the conference was occupied by the question of opening a second front. Churchill insisted on opening a second front in the Balkans to prevent the penetration of communism into Europe, and Stalin believed that a second front should be opened closer to the German borders - in Northern France. So there were differences in views on the second front. Roosevelt sided with Stalin. It was decided to open a second front in May 1944 in France. Thus, the foundations of the general military concept of the anti-Hitler coalition were worked out for the first time. Stalin agreed to participate in the war with Japan, on the condition that Kaliningrad (Königsberg) be transferred to the USSR, and the new western borders of the USSR would be recognized. Tehran also adopted a declaration on Iran. The heads of the three states expressed their intention to maintain the integrity of the territory of this country.
In December 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill signed the Egyptian Declaration in Egypt with Chinese President Chiang Kai-shek. An agreement was reached that the war would continue until the complete defeat of Japan. All the territories taken from it by Japan will be returned to China, Korea will become free and independent.

Deportation of Turks and Caucasian peoples
The German offensive in the Caucasus, which began in the summer of 1942, in accordance with the Edelweiss plan, failed.
In the territories inhabited by the Turkic peoples (North and South Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Bashkiria, Tatarstan, Crimea, the North Caucasus, Western China and Afghanistan), Germany planned to create the state of "Great Turkestan".
In 1944-1945, the Soviet leadership declared some Turkic and Caucasian peoples in cooperation with the German occupiers and deported them. As a result of this deportation, accompanied by genocide, in February 1944, 650,000 Chechens, Ingush and Karachays, in May - about 2 million Crimean Turks, in November - about a million Turks - Meskhetians from the regions of Georgia bordering Turkey were resettled in the eastern regions of the USSR. In parallel with the deportation, the forms of state administration of these peoples were liquidated (in 1944 the Chechen-Ingush ASSR, in 1945 the Crimean ASSR). In October 1944, the independent Republic of Tuva, located in Siberia, was incorporated into the RSFSR.

Military operations 1944-1945
At the beginning of 1944, the Soviet army launched a counteroffensive near Leningrad and in right-bank Ukraine. On September 2, 1944, an armistice was signed between the USSR and Finland. The lands seized in 1940, the Pechenga region, were transferred to the USSR. Finland's access to the Barents Sea has been closed. In October, with the permission of the Norwegian authorities, Soviet troops entered the territory of Norway.
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces under the command of American General D. Eisenhower landed in northern France and opened a second front. At the same time, Soviet troops launched "Operation Bagration", as a result of which the territory of the USSR was completely cleared of the enemy.
The Soviet army entered East Prussia and Poland. In August 1944, an anti-fascist uprising began in Paris. Before the end of this year, the Allies completely liberated France and Belgium.
At the beginning of 1944, the United States occupied the Marshall Islands, the Mariana Islands and the Philippines, and blocked Japan's sea lanes. In turn, the Japanese captured Central China. But due to difficulties in providing the Japanese, the “campaign to Delhi” failed.
In July 1944, Soviet troops entered Romania. The fascist regime of Antonescu was overthrown, and the Romanian King Mihai declared war on Germany. September 2 - Bulgaria, and September 12 - Romania signed a truce with the allies. In mid-September, Soviet troops entered Yugoslavia, most of which by this time had been liberated by the partisan army of I.B. Tito. At this time, Churchill resigned himself to the entry of all the Balkan countries into the sphere of influence of the USSR. And the troops subordinate to the Polish government in exile in London fought both against the Germans and against the Russians. In August 1944, an unprepared uprising began in Warsaw, suppressed by the Nazis. The Allies did not agree on the legitimacy of each of the two Polish governments.

Crimean Conference
On February 4-11, 1945, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met in the Crimea (Yalta). Here, a decision was made on the unconditional surrender of Germany and the division of its territory into 4 occupation zones (USSR, USA, England, France), the collection of reparations from Germany, the recognition of the new western borders of the USSR, and the inclusion of new members in the London Polish government. The USSR confirmed its consent to enter the war against Japan 2-3 months after the end of the war with Germany. In return, Stalin expected to receive South Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, the railway in Manchuria and Port Arthur.
At the conference, a declaration "On a liberated Europe" was adopted. It guaranteed the right to create democratic structures of their own choosing.
Here, the order of work of the future United Nations was determined. The Crimean Conference was the last meeting of the "Big Three" with the participation of Roosevelt. In 1945 he died. He was replaced by G. Truman.

Surrender of Germany
The defeat at the fronts caused a severe crisis in the bloc of fascist regimes. Realizing the disastrous for Germany to continue the war and the need to conclude peace, a group of officers organized an assassination attempt on Hitler, but unsuccessfully.
In 1944, the German military industry reached a high level, but there was no longer any strength to resist. Despite this, Hitler announced a general mobilization and began to use a new type of weapon - V-rockets. In December 1944, in the Ardennes, the Germans went on the last counterattack. The position of the allies worsened. At their request, the USSR launched the Vistula-Oder operation ahead of schedule in January 1945 and approached Berlin at a distance of 60 kilometers. In February, the Allies launched a general offensive. On April 16, under the leadership of Marshal G. Zhukov, the Berlin operation began. On April 30, the Banner of Victory was hung over the Reichstag. Mussolini was executed by partisans in Milan. Upon learning of this, Hitler shot himself. On the night of May 8-9, on behalf of the German government, Field Marshal W. Keitel signed an act of unconditional surrender. On May 9, Prague was liberated and the war in Europe ended.

Potsdam conference
From July 17 to August 2, 1945, a new conference of the "Big Three" was held in Potsdam. Now the United States was represented by Truman, and Britain, instead of Churchill, by the newly elected Prime Minister, Labor leader C. Attlee.
The main purpose of the conference was to determine the principles of the Allied policy towards Germany. The territory of Germany was divided into 4 zones of occupation (USSR, USA, France, England). An agreement was reached on the dissolution of fascist organizations, the restoration of previously banned parties and civil liberties, the destruction of the military industry and cartels. The main fascist war criminals were tried by the International Tribunal. The conference decided that Germany should remain a single state. In the meantime, it will be controlled by the occupying authorities. The country's capital Berlin was also divided into 4 zones. There were elections after which peace would be signed with the new democratic government.
The conference also determined the state borders of Germany, which lost a quarter of its territory. Germany has lost everything it has gained since 1938. The lands of East Prussia were divided between the USSR and Poland. The borders of Poland were determined along the line of the Oder-Neisse rivers. Soviet citizens who fled to the west or remained there were to be returned to their homeland.
The amount of reparations from Germany was set at 20 billion dollars. 50% of this amount was due to the Soviet Union.

End of World War II
In April 1945, US troops entered the island of Okinawa during the anti-Japanese operation. Before the summer, the Philippines, Indonesia and part of Indo-China were liberated. On July 26, 1945, the United States, the USSR and China demanded the surrender of Japan, but were refused. To demonstrate its strength, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6. On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan. On August 9, the United States dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki.
On August 14, at the request of Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese government announced its surrender. The official act of surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship Missouri.
Thus, the Second World War, in which 61 states participated and in which 67 million people died, ended.
If the First World War was mainly of a positional nature, then the Second World War was of an offensive nature.

Most of the population of our country believes that the war ended on May 9, 1945, but in reality on this day we celebrate the surrender of Germany. The war continued for another 4 months.

On September 3, 1945, the day after the surrender of the Japanese Empire, the Day of Victory over Japan was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. However, for a long time, this holiday was practically ignored in the official calendar of significant dates.
The act of surrender of the Empire of Japan was signed on September 2, 1945 at 09:02 Tokyo time on board the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On behalf of Japan, the document was signed by the Foreign Minister and the Chief of the General Staff. 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 Nikolayevich Derevyanko, 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.

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The most significant war in the history of mankind lasted six years and covered the territories of 40 countries of Eurasia and Africa, as well as all four oceanic theaters of military operations (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans). 61 states were drawn into the world conflict, and the total number of human resources plunged into the war was over 1.7 billion people.

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Chinese version of the beginning of the second world war

The plot of the Great Wall of China is interesting already because it, in fact, protected China only by the very fact of its presence. The real Great Wall of China never fought. All the times when the Wall was captured by the nomads, they broke through it without a fight.

Sometimes neglect of the protection of the Wall and "world fatigue", and sometimes - and direct betrayal of military leaders and "a donkey loaded with gold", opened the way inland from its northern borders.

The last (and, perhaps, the only) time the Wall was fought ... from January to May 1933. It was then that the Japanese militarists and the troops of the Manchurian state of Manchukuo, dependent on Japan, broke through the Wall from Manchuria to China.

The Wall itself lasted exactly two months in that distant 1933 - from the end of March to May 20, 1933. Well, the very date of January 1, 1933, when a small Japanese garrison at the easternmost outpost of the Great Wall of China, in Shanhaiguan, staged a small "incident" with gunfire and grenade explosions, may well claim to be the date of the start of World War II. After all, then the logic of the historical process will be quite clear: the Second World War began exactly where it ended - in the Far East.

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Lieutenant General, one of the few generals awarded all three orders named after the outstanding commanders Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky. Cavalier of the Order of Lenin and the Red Banner of War. He was also awarded the American Order of Merit.

In 1936-38. Captain Derevyanko carried out a secret operation to supply weapons to the Chinese troops who fought with the Japanese, for which he received the Order of Lenin, handed to him in the Kremlin personally by the All-Union headman M. I. Kalinin.

During the Soviet-Finnish war (1939-1940), volunteer Major K. Derevyanko was the head of the headquarters of the Separate Special Ski Brigade. It was a reconnaissance and sabotage unit, formed mainly from students of the Leningrad Institute of Physical Education. Lesgaft. Derevyanko himself was engaged not only in planning. When the ski detachment of the master of sports V. Myagkov (posthumously Hero of the Soviet Union) was ambushed by the White Finns and was defeated, Derevianko, at the head of another detachment, carried out the wounded and the dead. For the Finnish war, Derevianko was awarded the Order of the Red Star and became a colonel out of line.

In January-March 1941, he carried out a special assignment in East Prussia, and from June 27, 1941, he headed the intelligence department of the headquarters of the North-Western Front. In this capacity, in August 1941, he carried out a raid in the rear of the German troops, during which about two thousand captured Red Army soldiers were released from the concentration camp near Staraya Russa, many of them replenished the troops of the front.

During the war, Derevianko was the chief of staff of several armies (53rd, 57th, 4th Guards). Participated in the Battle of Kursk, in the battle for the Dnieper. He made a significant contribution to the successful completion of the Korsun-Shevchenko operation. His headquarters organized the defeat of the enemy in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. Participated in the liberation of Budapest and Vienna.

On May 4, 1942, Derevyanko was appointed chief of staff of the 53rd Army of the North-Western Front and was awarded the Order of the Red Star. At the same time, he was given the rank of general (on the proposal of the front commander N.F. Vatutin and deputy chief of the general staff A.M. Vasilevsky). On April 19, 1945, he was already a lieutenant general.

General Derevianko ended the war in the West as chief of staff of the 4th Guards Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. For some time he represented the USSR in the Allied Council for Austria. In connection with the upcoming war with Japan, he was transferred to the Far East to a similar post in the 35th Army. But in August (in Chita) he received a command to leave the train and come to the headquarters of the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Vasilevsky. There he was handed a telegram from Stalin and Antonov, chief of the general staff, about his appointment as representative of the High Command of the Soviet Forces in the Far East at MacArthur's headquarters.

On August 25, Derevianko flew from Vladivostok to the Philippines, where the headquarters of the American armed forces in the Pacific was stationed in Manila. Already in Manila, on August 27, Derevianko received by telegram an instruction to resubordinate to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and the authority to sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan on behalf of the Soviet Supreme High Command. On August 30, together with MacArthur and representatives of the Allied countries, Derevianko arrived in Japan, and on September 2, 1945, he took part in the ceremony of signing the act of surrender.

After that, on behalf of the country's leadership, with great danger to health, the general visits the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few times, subjected to the American atomic bombing. Having compiled a detailed report on what he saw, he, together with an album of photographs, presented it to the General Staff, and then personally to Stalin when reporting on September 30, 1945 ..

Subsequently, Derevianko was appointed the representative of the USSR in the Allied Council for Japan, established in December 1945, with headquarters in Tokyo (whose chairman was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Allied occupation forces, General MacArthur).

The Allied Council ended native presence with the conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951. K.N. Derevyanko was transferred to Moscow, where he worked at the military academy as head of the department of the armed forces of foreign states, and then head of the information department of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff.

Due to nuclear exposure received during a visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, K. Derevianko's health deteriorated thoroughly, and then on December 30, 1954, he died of cancer after a long and serious illness.

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About the signing procedure

Lieutenant General Derevianko arrived in Manila on August 27, 1945. Representatives of the USA, Great Britain, China, Canada, Australia, France, Holland and New Zealand have already gathered here. Acquainted with Douglas MacArthur, Derevianko learned that all these people in uniforms and civilian clothes had come here to participate in the signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Japan. The Soviet representative did not have such powers. I had to urgently contact Moscow. On the same day, Derevyanko received a cipher message stating that he was entrusted with signing the said act on behalf of the USSR, and in addition, it was reported that from now on he would be directly subordinate to the Supreme Headquarters and should contact Moscow, bypassing Vasilevsky's headquarters.

Communicating with fellow allies, Kuzma Nikolayevich found out that many of them consider the new US President Harry Truman a "slippery" politician. It was rumored that in Potsdam he broadcast one thing, and his generals focused on something else: to end the war in the Pacific without Russia. Derevianko learned that Truman had sent a directive to Admiral Nimitz on August 13th ordering him to occupy the port of Dairen (Far) before the Russians entered. However, the Soviet landings from the air and from the sea turned out to be so powerful that the Americans had to work out the "reverse move".

Perhaps their ardor was cooled by the words of General Parker, whom the Soviet paratroopers freed from captivity by capturing the camp in Mukden: "Russian soldiers were messengers from heaven for us. If not for these guys, we would still be in a Japanese dungeon."

Japanese emissaries soon arrived in Manila to receive instructions from MacArthur concerning the details of the surrender. Soviet representatives immediately arrived at the headquarters of the American general. Derevianko demanded that MacArthur openly share information. And on the same day, Kuzma Nikolaevich had a staff report, which stated that the 11th US Airborne Division had already been delivered by transport aircraft to the Tokyo area. This was the beginning of the occupation of Japan by the Americans.

On August 30, Douglas MacArthur invited General Derevyanko and other representatives of the Allied countries to his plane to fly to Japan. At the Grand Hotel in Yokohama, rooms were ready for representatives of all delegations. On September 2, 1945, the signing of the historic act on the end of the Second World War was scheduled.

At 8.50 am, a boat with Japanese emissaries approached the starboard side of the American battleship Missouri.

here, with a stern expression on his face, MacArthur delivers his opening remarks;

The whole ceremony took 20 minutes. MacArthur addressed the allies: "Let us pray that peace will now be restored and that God will preserve it forever. This completes the procedure." And MacArthur went to the salon of the battleship commander, inviting all the delegates to go there. Kuzma Nikolayevich proclaimed a toast for the Soviet people, who had done so much to win the Second World War. Everyone drank standing up.

World War II (September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) is a military conflict between two world military-political coalitions.

It has become the largest armed conflict in mankind. 62 states took part in this war. About 80% of the entire population of the Earth participated in hostilities on one side or another.

We bring to your attention a brief history of World War II. From this article you will learn the main events associated with this terrible tragedy on a global scale.

First period of World War 2

September 1, 1939 The armed forces entered the territory of Poland. In this regard, after 2 days, France and Germany declared war.

The Wehrmacht troops did not meet decent resistance from the Poles, as a result of which they managed to occupy Poland in just 2 weeks.

At the end of April 1940, the Germans occupied Norway and Denmark. After that, the army annexed. It is worth noting that none of the listed states could adequately resist the enemy.

Soon the Germans attacked France, which was also forced to capitulate in less than 2 months. This was a real triumph for the Nazis, since at that time the French had good infantry, aviation and navy.

After the conquest of France, the Germans turned out to be head and shoulders stronger than all their opponents. In the process of conducting the French campaign, Italy became an ally of Germany, headed by.

After that, Yugoslavia was also captured by the Germans. Thus, Hitler's lightning offensive allowed him to occupy all the countries of Western and Central Europe. Thus began the history of World War II.

Then the Nazis began to seize African states. The Fuhrer planned to conquer countries on this continent within a few months, and then launch an offensive in the Middle East and India.

At the end of this, according to Hitler's plans, the reunification of the German and Japanese troops was to take place.

Second period of World War 2

This came as a complete surprise to Soviet citizens and the country's leadership. As a result, the USSR united against Germany.

Soon, the United States joined this alliance, agreeing to provide military, food and economic assistance. As a result, countries have been able to rationally use their own resources and support each other.

At the end of the summer of 1941, British and Soviet troops entered Iran, as a result of which Hitler had certain difficulties. Because of this, he was unable to place military bases there, necessary for the full conduct of the war.

Anti-Hitler coalition

On January 1, 1942 in Washington, representatives of the Big Four (USSR, USA, Great Britain and China) signed the Declaration of the United Nations, thus laying the foundation for the Anti-Hitler coalition. Later, 22 more countries joined it.

The first serious defeats of Germany in World War II began with the Battle of Moscow (1941-1942). Interestingly, Hitler's troops approached the capital of the USSR so close that they could already see it through binoculars.

Both the German leadership and the entire army were confident that they would soon defeat the Russians. Napoleon once dreamed of the same thing, entering during the year in.

The Germans were so overconfident that they didn't even bother with appropriate winter gear for their soldiers, because they thought the war was almost over. However, everything turned out quite the opposite.

The Soviet army accomplished a heroic feat by launching an active offensive against the Wehrmacht. He commanded the main military operations. It was thanks to the Russian troops that the blitzkrieg was thwarted.

Fifth period of World War 2

So, in 1945, at the Potsdam Conference, the Soviet Union announced its intention to go to war with Japan, which did not surprise anyone, because the Japanese army fought on the side of Hitler.

The USSR was able to defeat the Japanese army without much difficulty, freeing Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and some territories.

The military operation, which lasted less than 1 month, ended with the surrender of Japan, which was signed on September 2. The biggest war in human history is over.

Results of World War II

As mentioned earlier, World War II is the largest military conflict in history. It lasted for 6 years. During this time, more than 50 million people died in total, although some historians give even higher numbers.

The USSR suffered the most damage from the Second World War. The country lost about 27 million citizens, and also suffered severe economic losses.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the Second World War is a terrible lesson for all mankind. Until now, a lot of documentary photo and video material has been preserved, helping to see the horrors of that war.

What is worth - the angel of death of the Nazi camps. But she was not alone!

People should do everything possible so that such tragedies of a universal scale never happen again. Never again!

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Briefly about World War II

Vtoraya mirovaya voyna 1939-1945

Beginning of World War II

Stages of World War II

Causes of World War II

Results of the Second World War

Foreword

• In addition, this is the first war, during which nuclear weapons were first used. In total, 61 countries on all continents took part in this war, which made it possible to call this world war, and the dates of its beginning and end are considered the most significant for the history of all mankind.

• It is worth adding that World War I, despite the defeat of Germany, did not allow to finally defuse the situation and settle territorial disputes.

• Thus, within the framework of this policy, Austria was given up without firing a shot, thanks to which Germany gained enough strength to challenge the rest of the world.
  The states that united against the aggression of Germany and its allies included the Soviet Union, the United States, France, Great Britain and China.

• This was followed by the third stage, which became crushing for Nazi Germany - within a year, the advance deep into the territory of the Union republics was stopped, and the German troops lost the initiative in the war. This stage is considered to be a turning point. During the fourth stage, which ended on May 9, 1945, Nazi Germany was completely defeated, and Berlin was taken by the troops of the Soviet Union. It is also customary to distinguish the fifth, final stage, which lasted until September 2, 1945, in which the last centers of resistance of the allies of Nazi Germany were broken, and nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan.

Briefly about the main

• At the same time, knowing the full extent of the threat, the Soviet authorities, instead of focusing on the defense of their western borders, ordered an attack on Finland. During the bloody take Mannerheim lines several tens of thousands of Finnish defenders died, and more than a hundred thousand Soviet soldiers, while only a small territory north of St. Petersburg was captured.

• However repressive policy Stalin in the 30s significantly weakened the army. After the Holodomor of 1933-1934, carried out in most of modern Ukraine, the suppression of national identity among the peoples of the republics and the destruction of most of the officer corps, there was no normal infrastructure on the western borders of the country, and the local population was so intimidated that at first entire detachments appeared, fighting on the side of the Germans. However, when the Nazis treated the people even worse, the national liberation movements found themselves between two fires, and were quickly destroyed.

• There is an opinion that Nazi Germany's initial success in taking over the Soviet Union was planned. For Stalin, this was a great opportunity to destroy the peoples hostile to him by proxy. Slowing down the advance of the Nazis, throwing crowds of unarmed recruits to the slaughter, full-fledged defensive lines were created near distant cities, on which the German offensive was bogged down.

• The greatest role during the Great Patriotic War was played by several major battles in which Soviet troops inflicted crushing defeats on the Germans. So, in just three months from the beginning of the war, the Nazi troops managed to get to Moscow, where full-fledged defensive lines had already been prepared. A number of battles that took place near the modern capital of Russia are commonly called Battle for Moscow. It lasted from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942, and it was here that the Germans suffered their first serious defeat.

• Another, even more important event was the siege of Stalingrad and the Battle of Stalingrad that followed. The siege began on July 17, 1942, and during the turning point of the battle was lifted on February 2, 1943. It was this battle that turned the tide of the war, and took away the strategic initiative from the Germans. Further, from July 5 to August 23, 1943, the Battle of Kursk took place, to this day there has not been a single battle in which such a large number of tanks participated.

• However, we must pay tribute to the allies of the Soviet Union. So, after the bloody Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Navy struck at the Japanese fleet, and eventually broke the enemy on their own. However, many still believe that the United States acted extremely cruelly by dropping nuclear bombs on cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After such an impressive show of force, the Japanese capitulated. In addition, the combined forces of the United States and Great Britain, which Hitler, despite the defeat in the Soviet Union, feared more than the Soviet troops, landed in Normandy and recaptured all the countries captured by the Nazis, thus diverting the forces of the Germans, which helped the Red Army to enter Berlin.

• To prevent the terrible events of these six years from being repeated, the participating countries created United Nations, which to this day strives to maintain security throughout the world. The use of nuclear weapons also showed the world how destructive this type of weapon is, so all countries signed an agreement to ban their production and use. And to this day, it is the memory of these events that keeps civilized countries from new conflicts that can turn into a destructive and disastrous war.