The economy of the USSR during the Second World War. Participation of the USSR in the Second World War

The largest war in human history, the Second World War became a logical continuation of the First World War. In 1918, the Kaiser's Germany lost to the Entente countries. The result of the First World War was the Treaty of Versailles, according to which the Germans lost part of their territory. Germany was prohibited from having a large army, navy and colonies. An unprecedented economic crisis began in the country. It became even worse after the Great Depression of 1929.

German society barely survived its defeat. Massive revanchist sentiments arose. Populist politicians began to play on the desire to “restore historical justice.” The National Socialist German Workers' Party, led by Adolf Hitler, began to enjoy great popularity.

Causes

Radicals came to power in Berlin in 1933. The German state quickly became totalitarian and began to prepare for the upcoming war for dominance in Europe. Simultaneously with the Third Reich, its own “classical” fascism arose in Italy.

The Second World War (1939-1945) involved events not only in the Old World, but also in Asia. In this region, Japan was a source of concern. In the Land of the Rising Sun, just like in Germany, imperialist sentiments were extremely popular. China, weakened by internal conflicts, became the object of Japanese aggression. The war between the two Asian powers began in 1937, and with the outbreak of conflict in Europe it became part of the overall Second World War. Japan turned out to be an ally of Germany.

During the Third Reich, it left the League of Nations (predecessor of the UN) and stopped its own disarmament. In 1938, the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria took place. It was bloodless, but the causes of World War II, in short, were that European politicians turned a blind eye to Hitler’s aggressive behavior and did not stop his policy of absorbing more and more territories.

Germany soon annexed the Sudetenland, which was inhabited by Germans but belonged to Czechoslovakia. Poland and Hungary also took part in the division of this state. In Budapest, the alliance with the Third Reich was maintained until 1945. The example of Hungary shows that the causes of the Second World War, in short, included the consolidation of anti-communist forces around Hitler.

Start

On September 1, 1939, they invaded Poland. A few days later, France, Great Britain and their numerous colonies declared war on Germany. Two key powers had allied agreements with Poland and acted in its defense. Thus began the Second World War (1939-1945).

A week before the Wehrmacht attacked Poland, German diplomats concluded a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. Thus, the USSR found itself on the sidelines of the conflict between the Third Reich, France and Great Britain. By signing an agreement with Hitler, Stalin was solving his own problems. In the period before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army entered Eastern Poland, the Baltic states and Bessarabia. In November 1939, the Soviet-Finnish war began. As a result, the USSR annexed several western regions.

While German-Soviet neutrality was maintained, the German army was engaged in the occupation of most of the Old World. 1939 was met with restraint by overseas countries. In particular, the United States declared its neutrality and maintained it until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Blitzkrieg in Europe

Polish resistance was broken after just a month. All this time, Germany acted on only one front, since the actions of France and Great Britain were of a low-initiative nature. The period from September 1939 to May 1940 received the characteristic name of the “Strange War”. During these few months, Germany, in the absence of active actions by the British and French, occupied Poland, Denmark and Norway.

The first stages of World War II were characterized by transience. In April 1940, Germany invaded Scandinavia. Air and naval landings entered key Danish cities without hindrance. A few days later, monarch Christian X signed the capitulation. In Norway, the British and French landed troops, but they were powerless against the onslaught of the Wehrmacht. The early periods of World War II were characterized by the general advantage of the Germans over their enemy. The long preparation for future bloodshed took its toll. The whole country worked for the war, and Hitler did not hesitate to throw more and more resources into its cauldron.

In May 1940, the invasion of Benelux began. The whole world was shocked by the unprecedented destructive bombing of Rotterdam. Thanks to their swift attack, the Germans managed to occupy key positions before the Allies appeared there. By the end of May, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg had capitulated and were occupied.

During the summer, the battles of World War II moved into France. In June 1940, Italy joined the campaign. Its troops attacked the south of France, and the Wehrmacht attacked the north. Soon a truce was signed. Most of France was occupied. In a small free zone in the south of the country, the Peten regime was established, which cooperated with the Germans.

Africa and the Balkans

In the summer of 1940, after Italy entered the war, the main theater of military operations moved to the Mediterranean. The Italians invaded North Africa and attacked British bases in Malta. At that time, there were a significant number of English and French colonies on the “Dark Continent”. The Italians initially concentrated on the eastern direction - Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan.

Some French colonies in Africa refused to recognize the new French government led by Pétain. Charles de Gaulle became the symbol of the national struggle against the Nazis. In London, he created a liberation movement called "Fighting France". British troops, together with de Gaulle's troops, began to recapture the African colonies from Germany. Equatorial Africa and Gabon were liberated.

In September the Italians invaded Greece. The attack took place against the backdrop of the fighting for North Africa. Many fronts and stages of the Second World War began to intertwine with each other due to the increasing expansion of the conflict. The Greeks managed to successfully resist the Italian onslaught until April 1941, when Germany intervened in the conflict, occupying Hellas in just a few weeks.

Simultaneously with the Greek campaign, the Germans began the Yugoslav campaign. The forces of the Balkan state were split into several parts. The operation began on April 6, and on April 17 Yugoslavia capitulated. Germany in World War II increasingly looked like an unconditional hegemon. Puppet pro-fascist states were created on the territory of occupied Yugoslavia.

Invasion of the USSR

All previous stages of World War II paled in scale compared to the operation that Germany was preparing to carry out in the USSR. War with the Soviet Union was only a matter of time. The invasion began exactly after the Third Reich occupied most of Europe and was able to concentrate all its forces on the Eastern Front.

Wehrmacht units crossed the Soviet border on June 22, 1941. For our country, this date became the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Until the last moment, the Kremlin did not believe in the German attack. Stalin refused to take intelligence data seriously, considering it disinformation. As a result, the Red Army was completely unprepared for Operation Barbarossa. In the first days, airfields and other strategic infrastructure in the western Soviet Union were bombed without hindrance.

The USSR in World War II faced another German blitzkrieg plan. In Berlin they were planning to capture the main Soviet cities in the European part of the country by winter. For the first months everything went according to Hitler's expectations. Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states were completely occupied. Leningrad was under siege. The course of World War II brought the conflict to a key point. If Germany had defeated the Soviet Union, it would have had no opponents left except overseas Great Britain.

The winter of 1941 was approaching. The Germans found themselves in the vicinity of Moscow. They stopped on the outskirts of the capital. On November 7, a festive parade was held dedicated to the next anniversary of the October Revolution. Soldiers went straight from Red Square to the front. The Wehrmacht was stuck several tens of kilometers from Moscow. The German soldiers were demoralized by the harsh winter and the most difficult battle conditions. On December 5, the Soviet counteroffensive began. By the end of the year, the Germans were driven back from Moscow. The previous stages of World War II were characterized by the total advantage of the Wehrmacht. Now the army of the Third Reich stopped for the first time in its global expansion. The Battle of Moscow became the turning point of the war.

Japanese attack on the USA

Until the end of 1941, Japan remained neutral in the European conflict, while at the same time fighting China. At a certain point, the country's leadership faced a strategic choice: to attack the USSR or the USA. The choice was made in favor of the American version. On December 7, Japanese aircraft attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. As a result of the raid, almost all American battleships and, in general, a significant part of the American Pacific fleet were destroyed.

Until this moment, the United States had not openly participated in World War II. When the situation in Europe changed in favor of Germany, the American authorities began to support Great Britain with resources, but did not interfere in the conflict itself. Now the situation has changed 180 degrees, since Japan was an ally of Germany. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Washington declared war on Tokyo. Great Britain and its dominions did the same. A few days later, Germany, Italy and their European satellites declared war on the United States. This is how the contours of the alliances that faced head-to-head confrontation in the second half of World War II were finally formed. The USSR had been at war for several months and also joined the anti-Hitler coalition.

In the new year of 1942, the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, where they began to capture island after island without much difficulty. At the same time, the offensive in Burma was developing. By the summer of 1942, Japanese forces controlled all of Southeast Asia and large parts of Oceania. The United States in World War II changed the situation in the Pacific theater of operations somewhat later.

USSR counter-offensive

In 1942, the Second World War, the table of events of which usually includes basic information, was at its key stage. The forces of the opposing alliances were approximately equal. The turning point occurred towards the end of 1942. In the summer, the Germans launched another offensive in the USSR. This time their key target was the south of the country. Berlin wanted to cut off Moscow from oil and other resources. To do this, it was necessary to cross the Volga.

In November 1942, the whole world anxiously awaited news from Stalingrad. The Soviet counter-offensive on the banks of the Volga led to the fact that since then the strategic initiative was finally in the hands of the USSR. There was no bloodier or larger-scale battle in World War II than the Battle of Stalingrad. The total losses on both sides exceeded two million people. At the cost of incredible efforts, the Red Army stopped the Axis advance on the Eastern Front.

The next strategically important success of the Soviet troops was the Battle of Kursk in June - July 1943. That summer, the Germans tried for the last time to seize the initiative and launch an attack on Soviet positions. The Wehrmacht's plan failed. The Germans not only did not achieve success, but also abandoned many cities in central Russia (Orel, Belgorod, Kursk), while following the “scorched earth tactics.” All tank battles of World War II were bloody, but the largest was the Battle of Prokhorovka. It was a key episode of the entire Battle of Kursk. By the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, Soviet troops liberated the south of the USSR and reached the borders of Romania.

Allied landings in Italy and Normandy

In May 1943, the Allies cleared the Italians from North Africa. The British fleet began to control the entire Mediterranean Sea. Earlier periods of World War II were characterized by Axis successes. Now the situation has become exactly the opposite.

In July 1943, American, British and French troops landed in Sicily, and in September on the Apennine Peninsula. The Italian government renounced Mussolini and within a few days signed a truce with the advancing opponents. The dictator, however, managed to escape. Thanks to the help of the Germans, he created the puppet republic of Salo in the industrial north of Italy. The British, French, Americans and local partisans gradually conquered more and more cities. On June 4, 1944, they entered Rome.

Exactly two days later, on the 6th, the Allies landed in Normandy. This is how the second or Western Front was opened, as a result of which the Second World War was ended (the table shows this event). In August, a similar landing began in the south of France. On August 25, the Germans finally left Paris. By the end of 1944 the front had stabilized. The main battles took place in the Belgian Ardennes, where each side made, for the time being, unsuccessful attempts to develop its own offensive.

On February 9, as a result of the Colmar operation, the German army stationed in Alsace was surrounded. The Allies managed to break through the defensive Siegfried Line and reach the German border. In March, after the Meuse-Rhine operation, the Third Reich lost territories beyond the western bank of the Rhine. In April, the Allies took control of the Ruhr industrial region. At the same time, the offensive continued in Northern Italy. On April 28, 1945 he fell into the hands of Italian partisans and was executed.

Capture of Berlin

In opening a second front, the Western Allies coordinated their actions with the Soviet Union. In the summer of 1944, the Red Army began to attack. Already in the fall, the Germans lost control over the remnants of their possessions in the USSR (with the exception of a small enclave in western Latvia).

In August, Romania, which had previously acted as a satellite of the Third Reich, withdrew from the war. Soon the authorities of Bulgaria and Finland did the same. The Germans began to hastily evacuate from the territory of Greece and Yugoslavia. In February 1945, the Red Army carried out the Budapest operation and liberated Hungary.

The route of Soviet troops to Berlin ran through Poland. Together with her, the Germans left East Prussia. The Berlin operation began at the end of April. Hitler, realizing his own defeat, committed suicide. On May 7, the act of German surrender was signed, which came into force on the night of the 8th to the 9th.

Defeat of the Japanese

Although the war ended in Europe, bloodshed continued in Asia and the Pacific. The last force to resist the Allies was Japan. In June the empire lost control of Indonesia. In July, Great Britain, the United States and China presented her with an ultimatum, which, however, was rejected.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These cases were the only ones in human history when nuclear weapons were used for combat purposes. On August 8, the Soviet offensive began in Manchuria. The Japanese Surrender Act was signed on September 2, 1945. This ended the Second World War.

Losses

Research is still being conducted on how many people suffered and how many died in World War II. On average, the number of lives lost is estimated at 55 million (of which 26 million were Soviet citizens). The financial damage amounted to $4 trillion, although it is hardly possible to calculate exact figures.

Europe was hit hardest. Its industry and agriculture continued to recover for many years. How many died in World War II and how many were destroyed became clear only after some time, when the world community was able to clarify the facts about Nazi crimes against humanity.

The largest bloodshed in human history was carried out using completely new methods. Entire cities were destroyed by bombing, and centuries-old infrastructure was destroyed in a few minutes. The Third Reich's genocide of World War II, directed against Jews, Gypsies and Slavic populations, is horrifying in its details to this day. German concentration camps became real “death factories,” and German (and Japanese) doctors conducted cruel medical and biological experiments on people.

Results

The results of World War II were summed up at the Potsdam Conference, held in July - August 1945. Europe was divided between the USSR and the Western allies. Communist pro-Soviet regimes were established in eastern countries. Germany lost a significant part of its territory. was annexed by the USSR, several more provinces passed to Poland. Germany was first divided into four zones. Then, on their basis, the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany and the socialist GDR emerged. In the east, the USSR received the Japanese-owned Kuril Islands and the southern part of Sakhalin. The communists came to power in China.

Western European countries lost much of their political influence after World War II. The former dominant position of Great Britain and France was occupied by the United States, which suffered less than others from German aggression. The process of collapse of colonial empires began. In 1945, the United Nations was created to maintain world peace. Ideological and other contradictions between the USSR and Western allies caused the start of the Cold War.

Plan

1.World War II: beginning, causes, nature, scale, main stages.

2. Domestic and foreign policy of the Soviet state in 1939 – 1941.

3. Attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR. Failure of the “blitzkrieg” war plan (June 1941 – November 1942).

4. A radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War (November 1942-1943).

5. Liberation of Soviet territory. The victorious conclusion of the Great Patriotic War (1944-1945).

6. Sources of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.

1. World War II: beginning, causes, nature, scale, main stages.

The start date of World War II is September 1, 1939, when Germany treacherously attacked Poland. England, which provided Poland with guarantees, and France, bound with Poland by a non-aggression pact, declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Thus began the Second World War.

What are the causes of war? Historians have differing opinions on this issue. Some (mostly Western historians) argue that the war was caused by the extremism of the Fuhrer, the intractability of neighboring states, the injustice of the Versailles Treaty, overpopulation in Germany, etc. Others are trying to blame the Soviet Union. Allegedly, it was his fault that negotiations on the creation of a collective security system in Europe were disrupted. He is accused of signing a non-aggression pact (August 23, 1939) with Germany.

The true causes of the war are hidden by bourgeois historiography. There are two trends at work in the world of capital: the desire for unification in the fight against socialism and the deepening of contradictions between individual capitalist states and their coalitions. The second trend turned out to be stronger. The expansionist interests of the Nazi Reich came into conflict with the interests of the monopolies of the Western powers.

By its nature, the war was imperialist, reactionary, aggressive, and unjust.

The culprits of this war are not only the fascist states: Germany, Italy and militaristic Japan, but also England and France, who refused to take joint steps with the USSR to create a system of collective security in Europe and sought to pit Germany against the Soviet Union. This is evidenced by the Munich Agreement of Germany, England, France and Italy in 1938, which was discussed in the previous lecture.

The war began in 1939 and lasted 6 years. 72 states took part in it. 110 million people were mobilized in the army. The area of ​​military operations was five times larger than during World War I, the number of aircraft was 4 times larger, the number of guns was 8 times larger, and the number of tanks was 30 times larger.

During the Second World War, historians distinguish five periods.

The first period (September 1939 – June 1941) – the beginning of the war and the invasion of German troops into Western Europe.

The second period (June 1941 - November 1942) - the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, the expansion of the scale of the war, the collapse of Hitler's blitzkrieg doctrine and the myth of the invincibility of the German army.

The third period (November 1942 – December 1943) was a radical turning point in the course of the entire Second World War, the collapse of the offensive strategy of the fascist bloc.

The fourth period (January 1944 - May 1945) - the defeat of the fascist bloc, the expulsion of enemy troops from the USSR, the creation of a second front, liberation from the occupation of European countries, the complete collapse of Germany and its unconditional surrender.

Fifth period (May - September 1945) – the defeat of imperialist Japan, the liberation of the peoples of Asia from Japanese occupation and the end of World War II.

2. Domestic and foreign policy of the Soviet state in 1939 – 1941.

In the context of the outbreak of World War II, the USSR continued to implement the third five-year plan, the main objectives of which were the further development of industrial production, agriculture, transport, defense power, and increasing the living standards of the population. Particular attention was paid to the development of the production base in the East.

In 1940, the country's industry produced 45% more output than in 1937. Compared to 1913, the output of large-scale industry in 1940 was almost 12 times greater, and that of mechanical engineering - 35 times greater (History of the USSR. 1917-1978, M., 1979, p. 365).

Defense expenditures grew: in 1938 they amounted to 21.3% of the budget expenditures (57 billion rubles).

The government has taken a number of measures to strengthen the country's defense capabilities.

· The Red Army switched to personnel status;

· Its number increased to 5.3 million people;

· The law on universal conscription was adopted (September 1939);

· The production of military equipment has increased and its quality has improved.

From 1939 to June 1941 alone, 125 new divisions were formed. More than 105 thousand light and heavy machine guns, 100 thousand machine guns, more than 7 thousand tanks, 29,637 field guns, 52,407 mortars, 17,745 combat aircraft entered service. (Pravda, 1995, April 12).

But it was not possible to fully complete the planned measures.

Foreign policy was aimed, on the one hand, at strengthening the country's defense capability, and on the other, avoiding a one-on-one military clash with Germany.

After attempts to create a system of collective security in Europe and to conclude an effective mutual assistance pact with England and France failed, the USSR, acting for the purposes of self-defense and to disrupt the attempts of the imperialists to push the USSR against Germany in conditions of international isolation, accepted Germany’s proposal to conclude a treaty on non-aggression, which was signed on 08/23/39. With this, the USSR secured peace for a year and a half and the opportunity to strengthen its defense capabilities. On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland.

In an effort to secure its borders and take the peoples of Western Ukraine and Belarus under protection, on September 17, 1939, by order of the government, the Red Army entered the territory of Poland. The people's assemblies of Western Ukraine and Belarus, elected by secret universal suffrage, in October 1939 asked to be accepted into the USSR.

In September - October 1939, mutual assistance agreements were signed between the USSR and the Baltic republics. The USSR received the right to build military bases and airfields, and introduce military units to protect them.

The city of Vilna and the Vilna region, which were forcibly captured by Poland, were transferred to Lithuania.

November 30, 1939 Finnish reactionaries provoked a conflict on the Soviet-Finnish border. The Soviet-Finnish war began. Finland refused to move the border away from Leningrad - one of the reasons for the conflict. On March 12, 1940, a peace treaty was signed with Finland. The Karelian Isthmus and the northern and western coasts of Lake Ladoga passed to the USSR. The USSR received the right to lease the Hanko Peninsula for 30 years. The treaty provided for mutual non-aggression and non-participation in coalitions hostile to each other.

Fearing German penetration into the Baltic states, the Soviet government in June 1940 presented a demand to the governments of the Baltic republics to remove reactionary, pro-fascist elements from the governments and to introduce Soviet military units into the territory of these states. These demands were supported by the masses. Violent demonstrations began.

Bourgeois governments were removed from power by force. In the second half of June, people's democratic governments were formed. On July 14-15, elections were held to the people's diets of Latvia and Lithuania and to the State Duma of Estonia. The Union of Working People won the victory.

New parliaments in July 1940 proclaimed the restoration of Soviet power, which had been eliminated with the help of interventionists in 1919, and decided to ask the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to accept the new Soviet republics into the USSR. On August 3-6, 1940, the 7th session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR granted their request.

06/26/1940 The Soviet government demanded that Romania return Bessarabia, which was torn away from Russia in 1918, and transfer the northern part of Bukovina to the USSR. Romania accepted the demands of the USSR.

The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted (August 2, 1940) a law on the reunification of the Moldavian population of Bessarabia and the Moldavian ASSR and the formation of the Moldavian SSR. The northern part of Bukovina, as well as its Khotyn, Ankerman and Gumanovsky districts of Bessarabia, were included in the Ukrainian SSR.

Thus, the border was pushed to the west, and its strengthening began. From a strategic point of view, such a measure was necessary to strengthen the defense capability of the USSR. Statesmen in the West also understood this.

The USSR tried to stop Hitler's aggression: it warned Germany about the inadmissibility of violating Sweden's neutrality; offered Bulgaria to sign a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance, but was refused by Tsar Boris, who agreed to the entry of German troops into Bulgaria. April 5, 1941 A treaty of friendship and non-aggression was signed with Yugoslavia, but 3 hours later the German army attacked Yugoslavia.

In the spring and summer of 1941, relations improved with England (at this time the government was headed by W. Churchill), with the United States, which lifted the “moral embargo” on trade with the USSR, introduced during the conflict between Finland and the USSR.

The Soviet government did everything to avoid war with Germany, strictly complied with treaties, and eliminated all the reasons that Nazi Germany could use to justify a “preventive war” against the USSR. Although it was not possible to prevent the German attack, but with its policy the USSR deprived Germany of the slightest opportunity to justify this attack. Germany appeared as an aggressor, and the USSR received a huge political gain as a peace-loving country that was attacked.

3. Attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR. Failure of the “blitzkrieg” war plan (June 1941 – November 1942).

Germany's goals: to eliminate the socialist system, restore capitalism, dismember the USSR into a number of small states and their enslavement, and exterminate tens of millions of Soviet people. Germany saw the defeat of the USSR as a decisive condition for gaining world domination.

“Plan Barbarossa,” developed in 1940, provided for a surprise attack on the Soviet Union, encircling Soviet troops at the border and destroying them, quickly advancing deep into the territory, capturing Leningrad, Moscow, Kiev within 6-8 weeks, reaching the Arkhangelsk line - Astrakhan and the victorious end of the war.

By the summer of 1941, Germany concentrated 190 divisions, 5.5 million soldiers, up to 50 thousand guns and mortars, 430 tanks and almost 5 thousand aircraft on the border with the USSR (History of the Second World War. 1939 -1945. Vol. IV. M ., 1975, p. 21).

On the part of the USSR, this war was fair, liberating, people's.

The war began under favorable conditions for Germany: its army was mobilized, had two years of experience in warfare, the economy had already been transferred to a war footing, it had at its disposal large resources of the countries it occupied, there was no second front in Europe, it had allies (Italy, Romania, Finland, Hungary), she was helped by Japan, Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey. The USSR was forced to maintain large forces in the Far East and Transcaucasia. The surprise of the attack also gave her an advantage. But these benefits were temporary.

The enemy met heroic resistance from the Red Army. Brest, defensive battles on the Bug and Prut. The heroism of the Soviet people: D.V. Kokorev - the first ram, N. Gastello - directed a burning plane towards a cluster of tanks.

The country's leadership was not at a loss and took a number of measures aimed at repelling aggression.

· Stalin concentrated all power in his hands: Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, State Defense Committee, People's Commissar of Defense, Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

· Evacuation of enterprises to the East -1500.

· Self-government bodies were restructured, new ones were created: the Evacuation Council, the Labor Distribution Committee, etc., the rights of the People's Commissars were expanded, local defense committees were created, etc.

· At the call of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), a partisan movement began in enemy-occupied territory.

· A massive collection of funds and items for the defense fund began in the Soviet rear.

· The restructuring of industry on a war footing began.

· The diplomatic activity of the USSR intensified.

In 1941, the main battles took place in the Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev directions. The enemy had the initiative. The enemy met stubborn resistance in the area of ​​Smolensk, Yelnya, Kyiv, Odessa, which defended for 73 days, and Leningrad.

By the end of 1941, the enemy had captured vast territory. The Nazis established a brutal occupation regime. However, the plan for a “lightning” war was not implemented.

In early December 1941, the Soviet armies launched a successful counter-offensive near Moscow. 11 thousand settlements, including cities, were liberated, up to 50 enemy divisions were defeated, 1,300 tanks and much other equipment were destroyed. The plan for a “lightning” war was thwarted. Under the influence of the victory of the Soviet troops, the liberation struggle of the peoples of Europe is intensifying. The anti-Hitler coalition strengthened. The Allies promised to open a second front in 1942 and increase assistance to the USSR.

1942 The Allies did not fulfill their promise: the second front was not opened. The initiative was still in the hands of Germany. In July 1942, the fortress of Sevastopol fell. At the same time, a powerful German offensive began from the Kharkov region towards Stalingrad and the North Caucasus.

Thus, by the end of 1942, the enemy managed to capture part of the Soviet territory, where before the war 80 million people lived, over 70% of cast iron and 60% of steel were produced, and 47% of the USSR's crop area was sown. (History of the Second World War 1939-1945. T. V. M., p. 318).

Despite this, already in 1942 the USSR surpassed Nazi Germany in the production of aircraft, tanks, and guns, and the gross industrial output of the USSR in 1942 increased by more than 1.5 times. Relying on its strengthening rear, the Red Army was able to achieve a radical change in the course of the war. (History of the USSR. 1917-1978. M., 1979, p. 365).

Introduction: The situation of the Soviet Union on the eve of the Great Patriotic War

1. The initial period of the war (June 1941 - November 1942). The main task of the army and the people is to survive!

2. 2nd period of the war (November 1942 - end of 1943). The initiative passes to the side of the Red Army. German troops suffer major defeats on the territory of the Soviet Union.

3. The final period of the war (January 1944 - May 1945). Liberation of the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe from the Nazi yoke.

Conclusion: A great feat of the Red Army soldiers and home front workers.

On the eve of the war, a radical restructuring of our armed forces was carried out. Ground forces included rifle (infantry), armored and mechanized troops, artillery and cavalry. They also included special troops: communications, engineering, air defense, chemical defense and others. Organizationally, they united into ZoZ rifle, tank, motorized and cavalry divisions, 170 of which were located in the western military districts. In the ground forces, over 80% of the personnel of the Armed Forces underwent smriba. The Air Force and Navy were significantly strengthened.

The limited time that our country had did not allow us to resolve all the issues on which the ground-based security of the state depended. The Soviet government tried in every possible way to gain time, at least for another one or two years, when the next five-year plan would be completed, the main task of which was to rearm the army and fleet. Since 1939, the troops began to receive samples of new modern weapons and equipment: T-34 and KV tanks, BM-13 (Katyusha) multiple launch rocket weapons, F. Tokarev’s self-loading rifle (SVT-40), a heavy machine gun (12 .7 mm) on a tripod. Many activities were unfinished at the beginning of the war.

The peaceful efforts of the Soviet Union to curb fascist aggression were not supported by England, France and the USA. France was soon conquered by Germany and capitulated, and the British government, fearing the landing of German troops on the islands, did everything to push German fascism to the East, to war against the USSR. And they achieved it. On June 22, 1941, Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet Union. Germany’s European allies – Italy, Hungary, Romania and Finland – also entered the war against the USSR.

German generals warned Hitler about the danger of a war against Russia, emphasizing that the war should end with a German victory a maximum of 3 months after the start, since Germany did not have the economic resources to wage a long war in the vast expanses of Russia. To implement the plan of lightning war ("blitzkrieg") called "Barbarossa" - a plan for the destruction of Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk and the seizure of the North Caucasus, and most importantly Baku with its oil, the Nazis created exceptional military power, the main striking force of which were tank armies, capable of moving forward quickly.

To deliver a surprise strike, Hitler pulled 157 German and 37 divisions of Germany's European allies to the borders of the USSR. This armada was armed with about 4.3 thousand tanks and assault guns, up to 5 thousand aircraft, 47.2 thousand guns and mortars and 5.5 million soldiers and officers. The Red Army faced such a monstrous military machine in June 1941.

The Soviet Army in June 1941 in the border military districts had 2.9 million people, 1.8 thousand tanks, 1.5 thousand aircraft of a new design.

But the “blitzkrieg” did not work out for the Nazis, they had to fight for almost 4 years (or rather 1418 days and nights), and as a result, they lost everything and shamefully capitulated in Berlin.

The war can be divided into three periods: the first period – June 1941 – November 1942; second period – November 1942 – end of 1943; third period – January 1944 – May 1945

1.First period.

So, how did military operations take place during the first period? The main directions of military operations: northwestern (Leningrad), western (Moscow), southwestern (Ukraine). Main events: border battles in the summer of 1941, defense of the Brest Fortress; the capture of the Baltic states and Belarus by Nazi troops, the beginning of the siege of Leningrad; Smolensk battles 1941; Kiev defense, Odessa defense 1941 - 1942; Nazi occupation of Ukraine and Crimea; The Battle of Moscow in September-December 1941. In November 1941, the Germans realized that the “blitzkrieg” had not worked out, so they had to go on the defensive so as not to lose their main forces in the winter of 1941-1942.

On December 5, 1941, the Red Army went on the offensive near Moscow. This was the first major defeat of German troops in the Second World War, starting in the autumn of 1939. This was the collapse of the idea of ​​“blitzkrieg” - a lightning war and the beginning of a turning point in its course. The front in the east for Germany and its allies stopped near Moscow.

However, Hitler could not agree that further military operations against Russia would not lead Germany to victory. In June 1942, Hitler changed the plan - the main thing was to capture the Volga region and the Caucasus in order to provide the troops with fuel and food. The Nazi offensive began in the southeast of our country. A bright page in the history of the Great Patriotic War was the heroic defense of Stalingrad (July 17 - November 18, 1942). The battle for the Caucasus lasted from July 1942 to October 1943.

2. Second period of the war

The second period of the war begins with the counter-offensive of our troops near Stalingrad (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943). By this time, our country was experiencing an increase in military production and an increase in the USSR's combat reserves. The defeat of the 330,000-strong German fascist group over Stalingrad meant a radical turning point in the course of the war.

Offensive operations in the North Caucasus, the Middle Don, as well as breaking the blockade of Leningrad in January 1943 - all this dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the fascist army. In the summer of 1943, Hitler was forced to carry out total mobilization in Germany and in the satellite states. He urgently needed to take revenge for the defeats at Stalingrad and in the Caucasus. German generals no longer believed in a final victory over Russia, but made another attempt to take the initiative in the war on the Kursk Bulge. Here the Germans were preparing enormous tank equipment with the goal of going on the offensive again. The Battle of Kursk lasted for a month (from July 5 to August 5, 1943). The Soviet command launched a powerful artillery warning strike, but despite this, the Germans launched an offensive that lasted from July 5 to July 11, 1943.

And from July 12 to July 15, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive. On August 5, Orel and Belgrade were liberated, in honor of which the first salute during the war years thundered in Moscow to our generals and soldiers who won a major victory. The victory in the Battle of Kursk is regarded as an event of the war, during which the Soviet army “broke the back” of the German troops. From now on, no one in the world doubted the victory of the USSR.

From that moment on, the Soviet army took full strategic initiative, which was retained until the end of the war. In August-December 1943, all our fronts went on the offensive, German troops retreated everywhere beyond the Dnieper. On September 16, Novorossiysk was liberated, and on November 6, Kyiv.

In 1943, Russia achieved complete economic and military superiority over Germany. The restoration of the national economy began in the liberated regions and regions. Western countries (England and the USA) understood that next year the Soviet army would begin the liberation of European countries. Fearing being late and eager to share the victory over Nazi Germany, the rulers of the United States and Great Britain agreed to open a second front. To do this, they met with the Soviet delegation, headed by Stalin, at the Tehran Conference in 1943.

But even after the agreement on joint actions, the USA and Great Britain were in no hurry to open a second front, guided by their far-reaching plans to bleed the USSR, and after the war to impose their will on Russia.

Military operations are transferred to the territory of Germany's allies and the countries it occupied. The Soviet government officially stated that the entry of the Red Army into the territory of other countries was caused by the need to completely defeat the armed forces of Germany and did not pursue the goal of changing the political structure of these states or violating territorial integrity. The political course of the USSR was based on a program for organizing and recreating the state, economic and cultural life of European peoples, which was put forward back in November 1943, which provided for the provision of liberated peoples with full right and freedom to choose their state structure. The heads of the country did not agree with this statement some world powers. W. Churchill and many Western historians spoke about the establishment of “Soviet despotism” in the liberated territory.

Under the blows of the Red Army, the fascist bloc was falling apart. Finland left the war. In Romania, the Antonescu regime was overthrown and the new government declared war on Germany. During the summer-autumn of 1944, Romania (2nd Ukrainian Front), Bulgaria (2nd Ukrainian Front), Yugoslavia (3rd Ukrainian Front), Hungary and Slovakia were liberated. In October 1944, Soviet troops entered German territory. Together with the Soviet troops, the Czechoslovak corps, the Bulgarian army, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army, and several Romanian units and formations took part in the liberation of their countries.

Chronologically it happened like this. On August 20, troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts went on the offensive on the southern flank and after three days of fighting surrounded the main forces of the German-Romanian troops. On August 23, a military coup took place in Bucharest. The German protege, Marshal I. Antonescu, and a number of his ministers were arrested. Attempts by German troops to capture Bucharest encountered resistance from the city's rebellious population. On August 31, Soviet troops entered the capital of Romania.

In the context of World War II, which began on September 1, 1939, the Soviet leadership set a course to expand its sphere of influence, and then its territory in Europe. Stalin believed that such a course contributed to strengthening the country's security.

In 1939-1940, the western parts of Belarus and Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, as well as Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were annexed to the USSR. Contradictions with Finland led to the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940), during which the USSR achieved only that the border was moved from Leningrad to Vyborg.

Under the cover of outwardly friendly relations, Germany and the USSR were preparing for a military clash. The initiative in deploying troops belonged to Germany. In December 1940, Hitler signed a directive to develop a plan for an attack on the USSR (“Barbarossa”).

On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the USSR. The Great Patriotic War began - an integral part of the Second World War. The Red Army suffered a crushing defeat in border battles. The USSR's unpreparedness for a defensive war and the better preparation of the German army allowed the aggressor to seize the strategic initiative in the first months of the war.

The outbreak of war caused a patriotic upsurge. Millions of people voluntarily came to recruiting stations and went to the front. Reserve units advanced from the depths of the country to meet the advancing German army. However, they also suffered heavy losses, since they did not have combat experience, support from tanks and aircraft, the bulk of which were lost in the border districts.

Soon after the attack, the restructuring of Soviet society on a war footing began. The entire life of the Soviet people was now subordinated to the task of ensuring victory over the enemy. On June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was formed (later headed by Stalin). The terrible blow that struck the USSR led to the undermining of the country's economy. By November 1941, production had fallen by half. However, a significant part of the equipment was transported to the Urals, Siberia and Central Asia. One and a half thousand enterprises were dismantled, loaded onto trains, transported to new locations and started up again there. Beyond the Urals, a new industrial base was essentially created. During the war, the majority of the population lived according to the principle “Everything for the front! Everything for victory!

By mid-July, the slowdown in the pace of the German offensive showed that blitzkrieg was impossible. The USSR was more prepared for a protracted war than Germany.

The Nazis managed to occupy more than 40% of the territory of the Soviet Union with a population of about 80 million people; 6 million people were driven into slavery in Germany (half of them died during the war). The Gestapo, a security service, was active, arresting anyone it suspected of anti-fascist sentiments, torturing and exterminating them. Raids by “Einsatz teams” were carried out to exterminate Jews. Thus, in 1941-1943, about 100 thousand Soviet citizens, mostly Jews, died in Babi Yar (in the northern part of Kyiv).

Locally, the occupation administration recruited local collaborators to serve as headmen and policemen (policemen). Some people cooperated with the occupiers out of despair, considering the USSR defeated, some - wanting to make a career under the new regime, some - out of ideological considerations, hatred of the communist regime and sympathy for Nazi Germany. Ideological motives also dictated the behavior of that part of the Russian emigration that cooperated with Nazism. Some of the emigrant collaborators were Germanophile or pro-Nazi (P.N. Krasnov, A.G. Shkuro, etc.), and some hoped to play the role of a “third force” (People’s Labor Union). Life has proven the naivety of these hopes. Military collaborationist formations were also created, the largest of which was the Russian Liberation Army, led by General A. A. Vlasov.

In the territories occupied by the Germans, a partisan movement and an anti-fascist underground developed. In total, partisans controlled 200 thousand square kilometers in 1943.

After the victories of the Red Army near Moscow (December 1941), Stalingrad (November 1942 - February 1943) and Kursk (July - August 1943), a turning point came in the course of the war. In 1943, the blockade of Leningrad that began in September 1941 was broken, remaining in the patriotic tradition as a symbol of the courage of the civilian population.

In July 1944, with the capture of Pskov, the territory of the RSFSR was liberated from the enemy. In June - August 1944, Belarus was liberated during Operation Bagration. In October 1944, the liberation of Ukraine from the occupiers was completed.

In March 1944, Soviet troops crossed the USSR border with Romania. In 1944-1945, in cooperation with local resistance, they liberated the countries of Eastern Europe from the Nazis and occupied them. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and the eastern parts of Germany and Austria fell into the Soviet sphere of influence.

In February 1945, meeting in Yalta, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that it was necessary to achieve the unconditional surrender of Germany. Germany had to pay reparations to the victors. The USSR pledged to enter the war against Japan 2-3 months after the victory over Germany, for which it was supposed to get back the Kuril Islands, South Sakhalin, Port Arthur and regain control of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). The Allies recognized the new borders of the USSR, but agreed that coalition governments would be created in Eastern European countries with the participation of both communists and non-communist forces. The negotiators agreed to create the United Nations.