21.3. Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)

At dawn on June 22, 1941, Hitler's Germany attacked the Soviet Union. On the side of Germany were Romania, Hungary, Italy and Finland. The group of troops of the aggressor numbered 5.5 million people, 190 divisions, 5 thousand airplanes, about 4 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery installations (SAU), 47 thousand guns and mortars.

In accordance with the Barbarossa plan developed in 1940, Germany planned to reach the Arkhangelsk-Volga-Astrakhan line in the shortest possible time (6-10 weeks). It was the installation of a blitzkrieg-blitzkrieg. So began the Great Patriotic War.

The main periods of the Great Patriotic War. The first period (June 22, 1941 –November 18, 1942) from the beginning of the war to the start of the Soviet offensive near Stalingrad. It was the hardest period for the USSR.

By creating multiple superiority in men and military equipment in the main lines of attack, the German army achieved significant success. By the end of November 1941, Soviet troops, retreating under the blows of superior enemy forces to Leningrad, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, left the enemy a huge territory, lost about 5 million people, most of the tanks and aircraft, killed, missing and captured. .

The main efforts of the German fascist troops in the fall of 1941 were aimed at seizing Moscow. The battle for Moscow lasted from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942. On December 5-6, 1941 the Red Army launched an offensive, the enemy defense front was broken. Fascist troops were driven back from Moscow for 100-250 km. The plan for the capture of Moscow failed, the lightning war in the east did not take place.

Victory near Moscow was of great international importance. Japan and Turkey refrained from entering the war against the USSR. The increased authority of the USSR on the world stage contributed to the creation of the anti-Hitler coalition. However, in the summer of 1942, due to the mistakes of the Soviet leadership (primarily Stalin), the Red Army suffered a series of major defeats in the North-West, near Kharkov and in the Crimea. The fascist German troops reached the Volga - Stalingrad and the Caucasus. The stubborn defense of the Soviet troops in these areas, as well as the transfer of the country's economy to military lines, the creation of a harmonious military economy, the deployment of the partisan movement in the rear of the enemy prepared the necessary conditions for the Soviet troops to go on the offensive.

The second period (November 19, 1942 - the end of 1943) - a radical change in the war. Having exhausted and bleeding the enemy in defensive battles, on November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive, surrounding 22 Fascist divisions of more than 300,000 men near Stalingrad. February 2, 1943 this group was eliminated. At the same time, enemy troops were expelled from the North Caucasus. By the summer of 1943, the Soviet-German front had stabilized.

Using the favorable front configuration for them, on July 5, 1943, the fascist troops launched an offensive near Kursk in order to return the strategic initiative and surround the Soviet grouping of troops on the Kursk Bulge. During the fierce battles, the enemy offensive was stopped. On August 23, 1943, Soviet troops liberated Oryol, Belgorod, Kharkov, reached the Dnieper, and on November 6, 1943, Kiev was liberated.

During the summer-autumn offensive, half of the enemy's divisions were defeated, and considerable territories of the Soviet Union were liberated. The disintegration of the fascist bloc began, in 1943 Italy emerged from the war.

1943 was a year of a radical change not only in the course of combat operations on the fronts, but also in the work of the Soviet rear. Thanks to the selfless labor of the rear by the end of 1943, an economic victory was won over Germany. The war industry in 1943 gave the front 29.9 thousand aircraft, 24.1 thousand tanks, 130.3 thousand guns of all kinds. This was more than Germany produced them in 1943. The Soviet Union in 1943 surpassed Germany in the production of basic types of military equipment and weapons.

The third period (end of 1943 - May 8, 1945) is the final period of the Great Patriotic War. In 1944, the Soviet economy reached the highest recovery in all wartime. Successfully developed industry, transport, agriculture. Especially rapidly grew military production. The output of tanks and self-propelled guns in 1944 compared with 1943 increased from 24 to 29 thousand, and combat aircraft - from 30 to 33 thousand units. From the beginning of the war, by 1945, about 6 thousand enterprises were commissioned.

1944 was marked by the victories of the Soviet Armed Forces. The entire territory of the USSR was completely liberated from the fascist invaders. The Soviet Union came to the aid of the peoples of Europe - the Soviet Army liberated Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and fought its way to Norway. Romania and Bulgaria declared war on Germany. Finland out of the war.

The successful offensive actions of the Soviet Army pushed the allies on June 6, 1944 to open a second front in Europe - Anglo-American troops under the command of General D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) landed in northern France, in Normandy. But the Soviet-German front still remained the main and most active front of the Second World War.

During the winter offensive of 1945, the Soviet Army threw the enemy back more than 500 km. Poland, Hungary and Austria, and the eastern part of Czechoslovakia were almost completely liberated. The Soviet Army went to the Oder (60 km from Berlin). On April 25, 1945, a historic meeting of Soviet troops with American and British troops took place on the Elbe , in the Torgau region.

The fighting in Berlin was exceptionally fierce and stubborn. On April 30, the banner of victory over the Reichstag was hoisted. On May 8, the act of unconditional surrender of fascist Germany was signed. May 9 - became Victory Day. From July 17 to August 2, 1945, the Third Conference of the Heads of Government of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain took place in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam, which made important decisions on the post-war world structure in Europe, the German problem and other issues. On June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade was held in Moscow on Red Square.

The Soviet victory over Nazi Germany was not only political and military, but also economic. This is evidenced by the fact that in the period from July 1941 to August 1945 in our country significantly more military equipment and weapons were produced than in Germany. Here are the specific data (thousand pieces):

This economic victory in the war became possible due to the fact that the Soviet Union managed to create a better economic organization and to achieve a more efficient use of all its resources.

War with Japan. The end of the Second World War. However, the end of military actions in Europe did not mean the end of the Second World War. In accordance with the agreement in principle in Yalta (February 1945), on August 8, 1945, the Soviet Government declared war on Japan. Soviet troops launched offensive actions on a front of over 5 thousand kilometers in length. The geographical and climatic conditions in which the hostilities took place were extremely difficult. The advancing Soviet troops had to overcome the ridges of the Great and Lesser Khingan and the East Manchurian Mountains, deep and turbulent rivers, waterless deserts, and impassable forests. But despite these difficulties, the Japanese troops were defeated.

In the course of stubborn fighting for 23 days, Soviet troops liberated Northeast China, North Korea, the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the Kurile Islands. 600 thousand soldiers and officers of the enemy were captured, a large number of weapons and military equipment were captured. Under the blows of the armed forces of the USSR and its allies in the war (primarily the United States, Britain, China), Japan on September 2, 1945 capitulated. The southern part of Sakhalin and the islands of the Kuril Ridge withdrew to the Soviet Union.

The United States, dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, marked the beginning of a new nuclear era.

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The economic, social and political situation in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century gave rise to the revolution of 1905-1907, then the February and October revolutions of 1917.

Russia's participation in the First World War, the Civil War and military intervention 1918-1920. led to the loss of millions of lives of Russians and the enormous devastation of the national economy.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) of the Bolshevik Party allowed for seven years (1921-1927) to overcome the devastation, restore industry, agriculture, transport, establish commodity-money relations, conduct financial reform. However, the NEP was not free from internal contradictions and crisis phenomena. Therefore, in 1928 she was finished.

Stalin's leadership in the late 20s - early 30s. took a course on the accelerated construction of state socialism through the accelerated implementation of the industrialization of the country and the complete collectivization of agriculture. In the course of this course, the command-administrative system of management and the cult of the personality of Stalin took shape, which brought many troubles to our people. However, it should be noted that the industrialization of the country and the collectivization of agriculture. were an important factor in ensuring economic victory over the enemy during the Great Patriotic War.

The Great Patriotic War was an important part of the Second World War. The Soviet people and their Armed Forces bore the brunt of this war and achieved a historic victory over Nazi Germany and its allies. The participants of the anti-Hitler coalition made a significant contribution to the victory over the forces of fascism and militarism. The main lesson of the Second World War is that the prevention of war requires the unity of the actions of the peace forces. During the preparation of the Second World War it could have been prevented. Many countries and public organizations tried to do this, but unity of action was never achieved.

Questions for self-test

1. 1. Describe the changes in the socio-economic development of Russia at the turn of the XIXXX centuries.

2. 2. Expand the causes, the main stages of development and the significance of the revolution of 1905-1907.

3. 3. Tell us about Russia's participation in the First World War and the reasons for the failure of the Russian army on the fronts.

4. 4. Illuminate the beginning, the course and the victory of the February revolution in Russia and its historical significance.

5. 5. Analyze the victory of the October Revolution and the first events of Soviet power.

6. 6. What are the causes and results of the Civil War and military intervention in Russia in 1918-1920?

7. 7. What are the essence, results and lessons of the new economic policy?

8. 8. Tell us about the formation of the USSR and the adoption of the first Constitution of the USSR in 1924.

9. 9. Describe the results of the accelerated industrialization of the country and the mass collectivization of agriculture in the 1930s.

10. 10. Show how the command-administrative system of management developed in the conditions of the personality cult.

11. 11. Tell us about the main periods and factors of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War.