It is not customary to talk much about the help of the allies of the USSR during the Second World War. However, it was, and was considerable. And not only within the framework of Lend-Lease. Food, medicines, military equipment were delivered to the Soviet troops.
As you know, there is only one step from love to hate. Especially in politics, where it is quite permissible to smile at those who were vilified yesterday as fiends. Here we are, if we open the Pravda newspaper for 1941 (until June 22), we will immediately find out which Americans and British were bad. They starved their own population and unleashed a war in Europe, while the chancellor of the German people, Adolf Hitler, was only defending himself ...
Well, even earlier in Pravda one could even find the words that “fascism helps the growth of the class self-consciousness of the working class” ...
And then they got really good...
But then came June 22, 1941, and literally the next day Pravda came out with reports that Winston Churchill had promised the USSR military assistance, and the US President had unfrozen Soviet deposits in American banks frozen after the war with Finland. And that's it! Articles about starvation among British workers disappeared in an instant, and Hitler turned from "Chancellor of the German people" into a cannibal.
Convoy "Dervish" and others
Of course, we don't know about all those behind-the-scenes negotiations that took place at the time; even the declassified correspondence between Stalin and Churchill of all the nuances of this difficult period of our common history does not open. But there are facts showing that the Anglo-American allies of the USSR began to provide assistance, if not immediately, then quite timely. Already on August 12, 1941, a caravan of Dervish ships left Loch Ewe (Great Britain).
On August 31, 1941, the first transports of the Dervish convoy delivered ten thousand tons of rubber, about four thousand depth charges and magnetic mines, fifteen Hurricane-type fighters, as well as 524 military pilots from the 151st air wing of two squadrons of the royal military British Air Force.
Later, pilots even from Australia arrived on the territory of the USSR. In total, between August 1941 and May 1945, there were 78 convoys (although there were no convoys between July and September 1942 and March and November 1943). In total, about 1,400 merchant ships delivered important military materials to the USSR as part of the Lend-Lease program.
85 merchant ships and 16 warships of the Royal Navy (2 cruisers, 6 destroyers and 8 other escorts) were lost. And this is only the northern route, because the cargo flow also went through Iran, through Vladivostok, and aircraft from the United States were directly ferried to Siberia from Alaska. Well, and then the same Pravda reported that in honor of the victories of the Red Army and the conclusion of agreements between the USSR and Great Britain, the British were unfolding festivities.
Not only and not so much convoys!
The Soviet Union received assistance from the allies not only under Lend-Lease. In the United States, the Committee for Assistance to Russians in the War (Russia War Relief) was organized.
“With the money raised, the committee purchased and sent medicines, medicines and equipment, food, clothing to the Red Army, the Soviet people. In total, during the war, the Soviet Union was provided with assistance in the amount of more than one and a half billion dollars. A similar committee under the leadership of Churchill's wife operated in England, and he also bought medicines and food to help the USSR.
When Pravda wrote the truth!
On June 11, 1944, the Pravda newspaper placed a significant material on the entire page: “On the supply of arms, strategic raw materials, industrial equipment and food to the Soviet Union by the United States of America, Great Britain and Canada”, and it was immediately reprinted by all Soviet newspapers, including local and even newspapers of individual tank armies.
It reported in detail how much was sent to us and how much cargo in tons was floating by sea at the time the newspaper was published! Not only tanks, guns and planes were listed, but also rubber, copper, zinc, rails, flour, electric motors and presses, portal cranes and technical diamonds!
Army shoes - 15 million pairs, 6491 metal-cutting machines and much more. It is interesting that the message made a precise division of how much was bought for cash, that is, before the adoption of the Lend-Lease program, and how much was sent after. By the way, it was precisely the fact that at the beginning of the war a lot was bought for money that gave rise to the still prevailing opinion that all Lend-Lease came to us for money, and for gold at that. No, much was paid for by “reverse lend-lease” - raw materials, but the calculation was postponed until the end of the war, since everything that was destroyed during hostilities was not subject to payment!
Well, why such information was needed at this particular time is understandable. Good PR is always a useful thing! On the one hand, the citizens of the USSR found out how much they supply us with, on the other hand, the Germans also found out the same thing, and those well, they simply could not help but be overcome with despondency.
How reliable are these numbers? It is obvious that it is possible. After all, if they contained incorrect data, then as soon as German intelligence would have found out, although according to some indicators, how could they declare everything else to be propaganda and, of course, Stalin, giving permission for the publication of this information, could not help but understand this!
Both quantity and quality!
In Soviet times, it was customary to scold equipment supplied under Lend-Lease. But ... it is worth reading the same Pravda and, in particular, articles famous pilot Gromov about American and English planes, articles about the same English tanks "Matilda", to make sure that during the war years all this was assessed in a completely different way than after it ended!
And how can one evaluate the powerful presses on which turrets for T-34 tanks, American drills with corundum tips or technical diamonds, which the Soviet industry did not produce at all, were stamped?! So the quantity and quality of supplies, as well as the participation of foreign technical specialists, sailors and pilots, was very noticeable. Well, then politics intervened in this matter, the post-war conjuncture, and everything that was good during the war years immediately became bad with just a stroke of the guiding pen!
Litus Marina Sergeevna
A history teacher
Stavropol region
Mineralovodsky district
S. Levokumka MBOU Secondary School No. 8
Extracurricular activity in history,
dedicated to the 71st anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic Wars e
"USSR and allies in the anti-Hitler coalition"
Purpose: to define the role Soviet Union and the anti-Hitler coalition in the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies; to instill patriotism, peacefulness, a negative attitude towards all kinds of violence, to promote the development of an active civic position.
Form of the event: round table with elements of a role-playing game
Participants: 9-11 grades
During the event, students should come to understand the importance of creating the Anti-Hitler coalition, the need for closer cooperation, which could lead to much fewer losses and the speedy defeat of Germany and its allies.
The event contributes to increasing interest in the history of the Great Patriotic War, students' awareness of the contribution made by the Soviet people to the defeat of Germany and its allies.
"USSR and the anti-Hitler coalition"
Round table (role-playing game)
Characters:
Leading
Representatives of the USSR
Allies (UK and US representatives)
International experts
1 Lead:
The history of the Great Patriotic War aroused and continues to arouse great public interest. And today, when we and the entire world community are preparing to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Great Victory- this grandiose armed clash is still considered by the majority of citizens of our country as the most important in the history of the country, because it was a war not only for the independence of the state, it was a war for survival, for the possibility of preserving Russian and world civilization.
Never before has our country been confronted by such a cruel, strong, devoid of all human enemy. The Soviet people survived, survived even when it seemed impossible to withstand, moreover, they expelled the invaders from their land, and even found the strength to liberate the fraternal peoples of Europe and forced the fascist Reich to admit defeat. The Soviet Union won. He won, because everyone, as one, stood up to defend their homeland, each for his own reason ...
(view video about the beginning of the war "From the Kremlin to the Reichstag")
In recent decades, disputes have not subsided, and the voices of Western European historians and politicians are increasingly heard that the Soviet Union could not have won without the help of the allies. How true are these statements?
Today we will try to weigh all the pros and cons in this dispute and give our answer.
2 Lead: To today's meeting we have invited representatives of our former allies in the fight against Hitler's Germany - a delegation from Great Britain and the United States. Let's welcome them. (applause)
USSR presents FI students (applause)
UN Experts on International Affairs - FI student (applause)
USSR : It is known that during the Great Patriotic War, the United States and England provided assistance to the USSR by supplying us with military equipment, weapons, military materials, food. The Soviet people remember this help and are grateful for it. But he emphatically disagrees that this help was, after all, the decisive factor in our victory. Namely, this is what some foreign historians are trying to prove.
Allies : Immediately, on the day of the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the governments of our countries issued a statement supporting the just struggle of the peoples of the USSR. The well-known speech on the radio by British Prime Minister W. Churchill on June 22, 1941 confirms this. He said:
"Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than I am. II won't take back a single word. But all this pales before the spectacle now unfolding. The past with its crimes, madness and tragedies disappears. II see Russian soldiers, on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes, their mothers and wives praying - yes, for there are times when everyone prays - for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, their protector and support ... This is not a class war, but a war in which the whole British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations are drawn in, without distinction of race, creed, party... If Hitler imagines that his attack on Soviet Russia will cause even the slightest discord in the aims or weaken the efforts of the great democracies that have decided to destroy him, then he is deeply mistaken ".
On July 12, a Soviet-British agreement was concluded on joint actions in the war against Germany and its allies.
THE USSR: We agree that Great Britain supported the USSR in the fight against Hitler, because it was beneficial for you too, because you are the only country in Europe that continued to resist Germany and it is difficult to say who needed this support for you or us? And the policy of the USA cannot be explained at all!
In the highest circles of the United States, with the defeat of France, fears arose that England would eventually also be defeated or capitulate, then Germany would become so powerful that it could threaten the American continent as well. The German attack on the USSR meant that the threat of an invasion of England was fading into the background. It was regarded by some US politicians (isolationists), who were hostile to both Hitler's militant nationalism and the ideology of the "world revolution" professed in the USSR, as a chance to prevent America from entering the war.
The isolationist credo was formulated by Harry Truman, who stated the following: "... if we see that Germany is winning, then we should help Russia, and if Russia wins, then we should help Hitler. Thus, let them kill as many as possible, although I do not want Hitler's victory under any circumstances", thus, the second trend of inter-allied relations is clearly emerging, which was frankly focused on weakening not only its strong competitor in Europe, which was Nazi Germany, but also the Soviet Union. By granting the "right" to the USSR and Germany to fight fiercely with each other, the Anglo-Americans retained their own forces and resources.
However, the events of December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked the American military base Pearl Harbor dealt a decisive blow to American isolationism, because on December 8, 1941, after the United States declared war on Japan, the United States entered World War II and also needed allies in the fight against Japan.
Leading: With the official entry of the United States into the war, the anti-Hitler coalition received organizational formalization. January 1, 1942 in Washington, the government of the countries at war with the countries of the Tripartite Pact, signed the Declaration of 26 states, including the USSR, the USA, England, China. According to this document, they were obliged to use all their military and economic resources to fight against the fascist bloc, cooperate in the war and not conclude separate peace with the enemy. These states, as well as the countries that later joined them, became known as the "United Nations". On May 26, 1942, in London, a Soviet-British treaty was signed on an alliance in the war against Nazi Germany and its allies in Europe and on cooperation and mutual assistance after the war; on June 11, 1942, a Soviet-American treaty on the principles of mutual assistance was signed in Washington in the war.
During the war, more than 40 states joined the anti-Hitler coalition. IN post-war years, with the aggravation of relations between the states of the anti-Hitler coalition, disputes arose - whose contribution to the victory over fascism turned out to be decisive.
Host: How was the assistance to the USSR organized?
Allies: The Lend-Lease Act was passed by the US Congress on March 11, 1941. Congress authorized the President of the country to sell, transfer, lend, rent and lease weapons, equipment, food and other goods to any state whose defense was considered vital to the United States, or to a state that fought or could fight against Nazi Germany, its accomplices in aggression.
During the first two most difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, the supply of military materials to the USSR was carried out on the basis of special protocols concluded in the fall of 1941 (first) and in the summer of 1942 (second). Thus, at the Moscow conference of representatives of the three great powers on the issue of deliveries to the Soviet Union, held from September 29 to October 1, 1941, the Soviet delegation presented a "request program" for the period from October 1941 to June 1942. As a result of its discussion, a protocol was signed on October 1. We undertook to supply the Soviet Union with 400 aircraft, 500 tanks, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, aluminium, tin, lead and other types of weapons and military materials every month. The Soviet Union, for its part, expressed its readiness to supply us with the necessary raw materials.
And we immediately started deliveries.
At the end of October, Roosevelt informed Moscow of the decision of the US government to provide our country with a large interest-free loan in the amount of more than a billion dollars. And on November 7, he extended the law on Lend-Lease to the USSR. Today, the size of all American deliveries to the Soviet Union is well known, both in general for all the years of the war, and for specific types of assistance.
The USSR received from the USA:
9.6 thousand guns, which accounted for about two percent of domestic production;
Seven thousand tanks (about 7 percent);
14.7 thousand aircraft (about 11 percent).
The USSR also received 400,000 vehicles and a significant amount of communications equipment; fuel, oils, aluminum and nickel, various materials necessary for the production of alloy steel, etc. An important role was played by the supply of rubber, which was used for the production of tires. The share of these supplies in comparison with domestic production was measured in tens of percent.
THE USSR: The insignificance of the supply of military materials was recognized during the war by many political leaders in the United States and Britain. The amount of assistance from the USSR was far from corresponding to the huge contribution of the Soviet people to the struggle against Nazi Germany. So, in October-November 1941, when the most difficult battles were going on, the United States sent to the USSR on the basis of the law on lend-lease weapons and military materials in the amount of 545 thousand dollars. The total value of American deliveries to all countries was $741 million. The Soviet Union, bearing the brunt of the war in the common struggle against the aggressor, thus received a meager share of the total American aid. Until the end of 1941, the United States delivered to the USSR 204 aircraft instead of 600 provided for under the protocol, tanks - 182 instead of 750. According to Harriman, on December 24, 1941, the United States fulfilled only one fourth of their obligations under the first protocol.
Deliveries from England were also carried out with long delays.Why didn't the program run?Apparently, not only because of the lack of ships for the delivery of goods. And the Soviet application, handed over to the Lend-Lease Department in April 1942, was cut by almost half. The motivation was the same: the lack of ships to transport goods. And already in the course of the Washington talks themselves, US leaders, under the weighty pretext of speeding up the opening of a second front in 1942, proposed cutting deliveries by a further half, allegedly in order to free up ships to transport American troops and weapons to England. The Soviet side treated this motivation with due understanding and expressed its readiness to accept this proposal, but on condition that the second front would be opened in 1942.
Experts: Today, the size of all American deliveries is indeed well known, and we confirm that the USSR received the listed amount of aid.
On this occasion, the former member of the State Defense Committee, who was the head of the Lend-Lease administration in our country, A.I. Mikoyan, whom one of the modern historians V. Morozov managed to interview in 1969, rightly noted that if we had not received a large number of vehicles and tractors from the United States, we would not have been able to transfer artillery to mechanical traction and, in general, provide high the pace of the offensive, so characteristic of the second half of the war.
Lend-lease assistance was significant both in clothing and in the supply of certain types of food. So, minced meat, egg yolk (in powder form), condensed milk - all these high-calorie foods came to us in large quantities. As for the cost of the total volume of deliveries in comparison with domestic production, it really did not exceed 4 percent.
Lend-lease deliveries went to the USSR along several routes: there were four of them. It is widely known about the main of them - the Northern Sea Route, about which much has been written. Mention was made of the Pacific route, which led from the USA to our Far Eastern ports and which was very dangerous and therefore, naturally, ineffective.
As for the southern route - the Trans-Iranian one, of course, it was much more reliable, much longer and too expensive. Nevertheless, almost a quarter (23.8 percent) of all cargoes addressed to our country was sent through the "Persian corridor". At least 3,000 vehicles assembled at car assembly plants built by our Western allies on the shores of the Persian Gulf were sent to the USSR monthly along this route. In total, 200,000 vehicles, or 50 percent of all vehicles received by the USSR under Lend-Lease, passed under their own power along the Trans-Iranian route.
USSR: And what benefit did the USA have from Lend-Lease?
Experts:
1 .The Lend-Lease Act, first of all, contributed to the mobilization of American industry, the transfer of many of its enterprises to the production of military products. US politicians and businessmen clearly saw in the lend-lease supply system the most acceptable and very profitable form of participation in the world war. It made it possible to revive its own economy, and shift the hardships of direct armed struggle to other members of the anti-Hitler coalition, and above all to the USSR, which bore the main burden of the war on its shoulders. The well-known public figure USA W. Foster: "The Russians, of course, received some help from outside.
But ... the important circumstance that during the entire war in Europe the USSR was forced to keep a select two-million-strong army on its Far Eastern border in order to contain Japan more than compensated for the help that the USSR received from England and the USA. "
The Lend-Lease system provided the US military-industrial corporations with high market conditions and guaranteed sales of products almost throughout the war years.
Being a powerful stimulator of the American military economy, it undoubtedly contributed to the achievement of a common victory over the aggressive fascist-militarist bloc. However, at the same time, we have every reason to say that the Lend-Lease system contributed, first of all, to the achievement of the military-political goals of the United States in the Second World War. After all, the military and economic support that they provided to Great Britain and the Soviet Union, as well as to other states participating in the anti-Hitler coalition, gave them the necessary gain in time and made it possible to fight the enemy at a considerable distance from the American continent, with the least human losses and minimum own material costs. So the desire of some Western authors (and primarily American ones) to qualify the Lend-Lease supply chain as a kind of "charity" or "generosity" does not correspond to the true state of affairs.
In this regard, one cannot fail to recall the so-called "reverse lend-lease", that is, the reciprocal assistance that the USSR provided to the United States. The USSR supplied them with 300 thousand tons of chromium ore, 32 thousand tons of manganese ore, as well as many other valuable products, including a significant amount of platinum and furs. Former US Secretary of Commerce J. Jones frankly remarked on this: "We not only returned our money with supplies from the USSR, but also made a profit." Another quote from the statements of the American historian R. Hering. This American author, distancing himself from the myth of the "disinterestedness" of the United States in helping its allies, writes: "Lend-Lease was not ... the most disinterested act in the history of mankind. It was an act of prudent selfishness, and Americans have always clearly imagined the benefits that they can extract from it."
It seems that it was said quite frankly and ... correctly.
2 .Despite the complexity and ambiguity of the actions of the American allies related to the organization of these supplies, judging by the available research, their material aid was significant. Moreover, deliveries to the USSR came not only from the USA.
The total volume of deliveries to the USSR amounted to 11 billion 260 million 344 thousand dollars, including 9.8 billion dollars from the USA. A quarter of all cargo was food. Here is a list of some of the goods delivered to the USSR under Lend-Lease in 1941-1945:
From UK: 7400 aircraft, 4292 tanks, 5000 anti-tank guns, 472 million shells, 1800 sets of radar equipment, 4000 radio stations, 55 thousand kilometers of telephone cable, 12 minesweepers. In addition, food, medicine and factory equipment worth £120m.
From Canada: 1188 tanks. Automobiles, industrial equipment, food.
From USA : 14,795 aircraft, 7,500 tanks, 376,000 trucks, 51,000 jeeps, 8,000 tractors, 35,000 motorcycles, 8,000 anti-aircraft guns, 132,000 machine guns, 96 merchant ships, 11,156 railway wagons, 28 frigates, 77 minesweepers, 166 torpedo boats , 60 patrol boats and much, much more.
... Despite the fact that the volume of supplies was approximately 4% of the gross industrial production in the USSR, Lend-Lease equipment for certain types of weapons represented a very significant percentage. In particular, for cars - 70%, for tanks - 12%, for aircraft - 10%, including naval aviation - 29%. It should be noted that some types of Lend-Lease equipment in the USSR during the war years were not produced at all (landing craft, non-contact trawls, individual samples of radar and sonar equipment), but as for warships, the bulk of them (except for 12 British minesweepers, received in 1942 - 1943) was received from the second half of 1944. Minesweepers from the USA and Canada became part of the Baltic and Black Sea Fleet after the victory over Germany. A significant part of the ships that entered the Pacific Fleet could also not be used in military operations against Japan.
The delivery of goods was associated with large work news. As a result of attacks by German submarines, ships and aircraft in 1941-1945. 329 transports died in various seas and oceans.
The supply problem caused a copious correspondence on the high level, whose tone was often biting. The Allies accused the USSR of being "unreliable" because it completely ignored foreign aid in its propaganda. For its part, the Soviet Union suspected the allies of intending to replace the opening of a second front with a material contribution. So, the "second front" Soviet soldiers jokingly called the American stew they liked.
In reality, the Lend-Lease supply of finished goods, semi-finished products and foodstuffs played an economically important role.
It is an indisputable fact that the supplies became not only material, but above all political and moral support in the most tragic months of the war, when the USSR held back the decisive enemy forces on the Soviet-German front and Soviet industry was not able to provide the Red Army with everything necessary.
THE USSR. Well, then why did the Allies delay the opening of the second world front? The entry of the United States into the war in December 1941, with its powerful military and economic base, created real opportunities for organizing an offensive campaign in the West, but both the United States and Great Britain found themselves out of this until 1943.
Allies : US President F. Roosevelt rejected these proposals, because this would only lead to the dispersion of allied forces, without giving real help THE USSR. The landing operation of the British troops was extremely difficult and inexpedient.
THE USSR: The United States had a Pacific First strategy in 1942. It was based on military motives (to stop the advance of the Japanese in the southwest of the Pacific Ocean) and political (the United States considered Japan, not Germany, as the main enemy), and therefore were in no hurry to open a second front. However, after the victory of the Soviet troops in Battle of Kursk The US attitude towards this issue has changed. The advisers of the American president feared that, if a major operation was not carried out in northern France, “the power and prestige of the USSR would be so great that any opposition to the Soviet foreign policy by the United States will be impossible. They promised to open a second front back in 1942, then no later than May 1944, but they opened it only on June 6 and lingered here!
Experts:
1 .Contradictions in the anti-Hitler coalition are most clearly seen in the question of opening a second front. Of course, no country - neither the USSR nor its allies - could fight on two fronts. But for the Allies, it was about fighting far from their territory, for the USSR, it was about saving the Motherland. That is why, from the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Stalin began to insistently demand that the Allies open a second front in Europe, which did not find support either in London or Washington.
However, W. Churchill and F. Roosevelt could not ignore the real situation. Thus, in April 1942, Roosevelt wrote to Churchill that "the Russians today kill more Germans and destroy more equipment than you and I put together." On June 11, 1942, the Soviet-American agreement was signed"On the Principles Applicable to Mutual Assistance in the Waging of War against Aggression". The United States and Britain pledged to open a second front in 1942, and a few days later they postponed this date by exactly one year. In the most difficult months for the USSR in 1942-1943. the second front was not opened. The consequence was a colossal strain of all the forces, means and resources of our country, the death of millions of people. The main intensity of the struggle took place precisely on the Soviet-German front (contrary to the opposite point of view common in Western historiography). Pay attention to the composition of forces in the largest operations in North Africa and Italy and the balance of forces in the most important offensive operations on the Soviet-German front
We see that the number of fascist forces involved in operations in North Africa and Italy is at least 2.5 times smaller than the allied forces, this explains their victories in the battle of El Alamein, where the troops under the command of Montgomery defeated the German troops under the command of Rommel .
The Soviet Union in 1941-1942 held back the superior numbers of fascist troops on the Soviet-German front.
2 The USSR made a decisive contribution to delivering the world from fascist enslavement. The Soviet-German front was the main one throughout the Second World War. It was here that the troops of the Third Reich lost up to 73% of their personnel, up to 75% of tanks and artillery, and about 75% of aviation.
Official soviet history explained the victory mainly by the advantages of the socialist system, “the moral and political unity of the Soviet people”, etc. The actual course of events of the Patriotic War of 1941-1945 showed that when the question of the life of the nation was being decided, the Soviet leadership did not rely on tanks and communist doctrines, but on the Russian people and his patriotic spirit.
In his speech on May 24, 1945. “for the health of the entire Russian people” I. Stalin was forced to admit that it was he who won the war, the Russian people in the closest alliance with the large and small peoples of our country.
However, one cannot ignore the contribution made to the defeat of Germany and its allies, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
By the end of 1941, the Germans succeeded in capturing Soviet territory, which before the war housed over 30,000 soldiers. industrial enterprises, including 7.5 thousand large ones. Most of the cast iron and steel were smelted on it, 2/3 of coal was mined. At the same time, the Red Army lost almost all tank, aircraft and artillery fleets created in prewar years, lost 20% of ammunition and fuel. Under these conditions, the solution to the problem of providing the Red Army with the necessary military equipment and armament largely depended on establishing cooperation with Great Britain and the United States, in particular in the field of military supplies. Despite the complexity and ambiguity of the actions of the American allies related to the organization of these supplies, judging by the available research, the material assistance of the USSR was of great importance.
The truth is that without the cooperation of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, the Anti-Hitler coalition could not achieve victory. According to most historians, acting alone, the USSR could not have defeated Germany without opening a second world front. As these correlations of forces show, even in 1944 Germany remained a strong adversary. It is also impossible to underestimate the fact that the prolongation of the war would lead to a situation in which fascist Germany could have nuclear weapon which would have catastrophic consequences for all mankind. Therefore, it can be assumed that with a greater degree of trust and mutual understanding between the main participants in the anti-Hitler coalition, the second World War could end much earlier and with the least losses.
Leading: It seems that the answer to the question has been received. We thank all the participants of our round table for their active work.
References
1. Kirillov V.V., Chernova M.N. History of Russia: lesson methodical developments of class 11. - M .: Eksmo Publishing House, 2006
Military operations in the Second World War were conducted on the territory of 40 states of Europe, Asia, Africa and four oceans. More than fifty million people died in this war, it had a huge impact on the fate of mankind, since fascist Germany and militaristic Japan, which were the shock forces of imperialism, were defeated.
In World War II, valuable experience was gained in military operations, in which millions of armies, equipped with the latest means of combat, took part. Operations were carried out for various purposes. Military operations were conducted in various theaters of operations (land, sea) and in various natural and climatic conditions.
The combat experience of the Great Patriotic War has not lost its significance even today. Wars are unique and unrepeatable - the history of wars testifies, but the historical continuity in the art of war is preserved.
Military operations of the allies of the USSR in the Mediterranean and Western European theaters of military operations (1940-1945)
In North Africa and the Middle East, the interests of three capitalist states clashed: fascist Germany, England and Italy. In 1940, Italy had the largest military forces in this area. British troops were dispersed in various parts of Egypt and the Middle East.
The desire of Italian fascism to seize Egypt, the Suez Canal zone and penetrate into the Middle East did not correspond to the interests of England and led in the fall of 1940 to military operations in North Africa. These actions unfolded in the vast territory of Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea.
The main events on land in 1941-1942. occurred in the Libyan desert and the western regions of Egypt, in a narrow strip of terrain up to 1300 km long - from El Agheila in Libya to El Alamein in Egypt. Military operations were carried out in a coastal strip 20-40 km deep on terrain that allows the use of all types of troops.
The Italian army invaded Egypt from Libya (a colony of Italy) in September 1940, but could not achieve serious success due to poorly organized supplies. In December 1941, the British troops not only repelled the Italians, but also, pursuing them, by the beginning of February 1941 advanced almost 800 km to the west across the Libyan desert and inflicted a heavy defeat on them.
The Hitlerite command, seeking to seize key positions in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, transferred one tank and one light infantry division under the command of General Rommel to North Africa to help the Italians. At the end of March 1941, the German-Italian troops went on the offensive and, having defeated the British army, threw it back to the borders of Egypt.
In mid-June 1941, Rommel was forced to abandon further offensive and went on the defensive. First of all, this was a consequence of the hostilities that began on the Soviet-German front, as well as the increased resistance of the British. Now the Nazi command was not going to take major offensive actions in Africa "until the victory over the USSR." Beginning in the summer of 1941, military operations in North Africa were determined mainly by the situation on the Soviet-German front.
Using the favorable situation that had developed by the autumn of 1941, the British troops, united in the 8th Army (4 infantry divisions, 2 infantry brigades, 455 tanks and up to 700 aircraft), after careful preparation, went on the offensive on November 18 from the area of the Libyan-Egyptian borders. Several tank battles German-Italian troops were defeated and were driven back through the Libyan desert to the El Agheila region. But, having won this victory, the British calmed down, underestimated the enemy and were taken by surprise when the German-Italian troops at the end of May 1942 again suddenly went on the offensive. Having suffered heavy losses, the 8th British Army was forced to withdraw and stopped the enemy only in Western Egypt, near El Alamein.
Operation of the 8th British Army at El Alamein
By early July 1942, both sides were defending fortified positions between the coast at El Alamein and the Qatar Basin. In the autumn of 1942, the British army had favorable conditions for a new offensive. main forces fascist german army were tightly fettered on the Soviet-German front, where they suffered heavy losses. With this in mind, the British command decided to launch an offensive from the El Alamein area.
By the beginning of October 1942, the troops of the 8th British Army under the command of General Montgomery included the 30th, 13th and 10th Army Corps. The British command equipped its troops with everything necessary for a major offensive operation, which involved 600 tanks, 2,275 guns and up to 1,200 aircraft.
The situation was completely different in the German-Italian troops. They received no reinforcements from Europe. The German-Italian troops included the 20th, 21st and 10th Italian army corps and the German African Corps, a total of 14 divisions and one parachute brigade. The tank divisions were not fully equipped. Security for all types did not exceed 40%, there was only a week's supply of gasoline. Only 3.3 rounds of ammunition were available instead of the required 8.
The allied troops outnumbered the enemy in people by more than one and a half times, in tanks and artillery - more than twice, in aviation they had a fourfold superiority. The most suitable for the offensive was the seaside strip of terrain, having a width of 20-40 km. The highway ran through it. Railway and an oil pipeline through which the troops were supplied.
The commander of the 8th British Army decided to deliver the main blow on the right flank, breaking through the German-Italian defenses on a 6.5-kilometer front with the forces of four infantry divisions of the 30th Army Corps, which were in the first echelon of the army. With the release of army troops on the coastal highway, it was supposed to develop an offensive into the depths of Libya. An auxiliary strike was delivered by the 13th Army Corps.
The plan of the German-Italian command was defensive in nature. It decided to repel a possible offensive by the British troops with the forces of the infantry divisions in the first echelon, and to destroy the troops that had broken through with counterattacks by four tank divisions of the second echelon of the army.
For the first time in a desert theater, a strong artillery group was created to carry out a breakthrough. The density of artillery in the breakthrough sector reached 100 guns and mortars per 1 km of the front. Great importance had preliminary aviation training, during which the Anglo-American air force effective strikes were made on German communications, ports and airfields.
In the desert, camouflage and disinformation were of the utmost importance. The lack of cover made it easier for the Germans to observe the preparations of the British from the air. This was taken into account by the command of the British troops. The British, knowing that it was impossible to completely hide all preparations for an offensive in the desert, decided to mislead the enemy about the timing of the offensive and the place of the strike. To do this, they disguised the tank grouping on the right flank as trucks, built models of tanks on the left flank and imitated an artillery grouping with wooden guns. On the left flank of the army, a false radio network of the 10th Army Corps worked, and a false oil pipeline was built from old cans and models of pumping stations. All this was done in order to give the enemy the impression of an impending offensive on the left flank.
At 23.00 on October 25, 1942, a 20-minute artillery preparation began. Concentrated strikes were delivered against artillery batteries, command and observation posts, and enemy resistance centers. At 23:30, the infantry began to advance.
The formations of the first echelon of the 8th Army advanced very slowly. During the night, they passed through a 6-kilometer neutral zone, approached the front line of the German-Italian defense, and only attacked the enemy in certain areas. Over the next two days, fierce battles were fought for the main position of the German-Italian defense.
The British failed to quickly break through the tactical defense zone of the enemy. October 27, 1942 Rommel began to regroup forces. He wanted to create a shock tank fist on his northern flank to defeat the main advancing British grouping. Thus, all available tank forces were concentrated on the northern flanks of both sides. The critical moment of the battle has come. In the afternoon of October 28, 1942, British planes took to the air, which inflicted heavy blows on the German and Italian tank divisions located in their starting areas, and thwarted the counterattack that was being prepared.
After a pause, the troops of the 8th Army on the night of November 2, 1942 resumed the offensive. However, despite the complete superiority, especially artillery and aviation, the British troops were still moving slowly. Having overcome 4 km in 1.5 days, the formations of the 8th Army completed the breakthrough. The 7th armored division was introduced into the gap that had formed, which began to develop an offensive to the west. The Italian troops, having suffered defeat, capitulated. This ended the battle of El Alamein.
Over the next month, the troops of the 8th Army advanced almost 1200 km (an average daily rate of 40 km). It was stopped by the Germans only on November 23, 1942 at a position near El Ageyla.
The political and military leadership of the United States, despite the commitments made, in 1942 and 1943. did not open a second front in Europe. At the insistence of the British Prime Minister, it was decided at the end of 1942 to carry out the landing of American and British troops in North Africa, in the French colonies of Algeria and Tunisia.
On October 22, 1942, the operation to land an expeditionary force in North Africa ("Torch") began. The United States and Britain have long and carefully prepared for it. Transports with troops (about 650 ships in total) moved from England and the USA. On the morning of November 8, 1942, 42 Allied troops landed in the areas of Algiers, Oran and Casablanca. On the entire route of the sea passage, the caravans of ships did not meet with the opposition of the German fleet and aviation. This allowed American and British troops to freely occupy French Morocco and Algeria in 15-20 days and reach Tunisia at the end of November.
The German command urgently took countermeasures. As early as November 10, 1942, it began the transfer of large forces to Tunisia by air and sea. By November 15, 1942, the newly arrived German formations deployed on a front of 300 km from the coast south to Sfax, with the front to the west. However, the Germans were late with the transfer of troops to Tunisia.
Meanwhile, the 8th British Army, advancing along the coast, occupied Tripoli. Rommel's troops withdrew to the fortified Maret line. In the second half of March, the British troops carried out a deep detour of the Maret line from the south, through the desert and mountains. The bypassing group advanced 180 km. Rommel managed to withdraw the exhausted, exhausted army from the blow, after which, having transferred command to the Italian general, he left for Germany. The remnants of the German army were defeated and captured in mid-May 1943 in the area of Cape Bon.
The leaders of Britain and the United States decided, following the end of hostilities in North Africa, to land an expeditionary force in Sicily.
The landing in Sicily was characterized by the concentration of large forces and the creation of multiple superiority over the defending Italian troops. The landing of troops of the 15th Allied Army Group was provided by 4,000 combat and 900 transport aircraft, as well as over 3,000 ships. Preliminary aviation training lasted about 50 days. The desire to create maximum excellence, especially in technical means struggle, became the main distinguishing feature of the military art of the armed forces of England and the USA.
On July 10, 1943, the Allies invaded Sicily with large forces of the fleet, aviation and landing troops, occupied it in mid-August 1943, and on September 3, 1943 began landing on the southern coast of the Apennine Peninsula. In such circumstances, and as a result of the struggle waged by the Italian people against fascism, Mussolini's regime was overthrown. The new Badoglio government, under the influence of failures in North Africa and Sicily, the catastrophe of the Nazi army near Kursk and the growth of the anti-fascist movement of the Italian people, was forced to conclude a truce with the Allies on September 3, 1943. Italy withdrew from the war. The fascist German command withdrew its troops to the area south of Rome. Here in November 1943 the front stabilized.
Thus, the victory achieved by the Allies in North Africa and Italy was of relatively little importance for the course and outcome of the Second World War. The withdrawal of Italy from the war in 1943 weakened the forces of the fascist bloc, but the diversion of the allied forces for operations in Italy led to a delay in the opening of a second front in Europe.
By the summer of 1944, the situation in Europe was determined by the victories of the Soviet troops on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War and the powerful national liberation movement in the countries occupied by the Nazis. It clearly testified to the ability of the Red Army to complete the liberation of the territory not only of the Soviet Union, but also of the enslaved countries of Europe without the help of the allies. This is what made ruling circles The US and Britain, after lengthy delays, hurry up with the opening of a second front in Europe.
Normandy landing operation (Operation Overlord) of the Anglo-American troops on the coast of North-West France, carried out from June 6 to July 24, 1944
The plan of the Normandy landing operation provided for the landing of an amphibious assault consisting of five infantry divisions on the coast of the Senskaya Bay in a section about 80 km long and an airborne assault force consisting of three airborne divisions at a depth of 10-15 km from the coast, seizing bridgeheads, then combining them into one and expand it by the end of the twentieth day to 100 km along the front and 100-110 km in depth (go to the Avranches-Domfront-Falaise line).
When choosing a landing area for troops, the American-British command proceeded from the fact that the enemy, considering the most likely invasion on the coast of the Pas de Calais, paid little attention to the area of the Bay of Seine.
The beginning of the landing of troops was scheduled for the morning of June 6, 1944. This time was the most favorable for the landing. During these hours visibility was the best, and the conditions of high and low tide made it possible to approach closer to the shore and at the same time clear obstacles.
The general landing front was divided into two zones: the western one, where the American troops were to land, and the eastern one, for the British troops. The western zone was divided into two separate sections, the eastern - into three sections. One reinforced infantry division was to land at the same time in each landing site. According to the number of landing sites, five landing detachments were created, which included the landing troops of these divisions and the naval forces that transported them.
All ground forces involved in the landing operation were combined into the 21st Army Group. In its first echelon, the troops of the 1st American and 2nd British armies landed, in the second - the troops of the 1st Canadian army.
The battle formations of the corps of the 1st American and 2nd British armies also had a two-echelon formation. The two corps that made up the first echelon of the 1st American Army landed in their first echelons two infantry divisions, reinforced by five tank battalions and two Ranger battalions. In the first echelons of the two corps of the 2nd British Army, there were three infantry divisions, reinforced by three assault tank brigades and two Commando brigades. Each division of the first echelon initially landed 1-2 reinforced regiments (brigades).
Along with the ground forces, airborne troops were involved in the operation as part of three airborne divisions (82nd and 101st American and 6th British). Airborne assault forces were supposed to be dropped on the flanks of the landing area to a depth of 10-15 km from the coast 4-5 hours before the start of the amphibious landing. The American airborne divisions were to land in the area north of the city of Carentan, the British airborne division - in the area northeast of the city of Caen. The airborne troops were to assist the amphibious assault during the landing and capture of a bridgehead on the coast, for which purpose they would capture road junctions, crossings, bridges and other objects in the landing areas and prevent enemy reserves from approaching the landing sites from the sea.
In the interests of achieving surprise, measures were taken to covertly concentrate forces and means, to misinform the enemy, for which false concentrations of troops and equipment were created, and demonstrative actions were carried out where troops were not supposed to land. Despite the undoubted weakness of the actions of the German aviation and navy, the American-British command organized cover for the operation from the sea, anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and mine defense.
For the operation, the troops had big amount transport and landing facilities. In order to supply the troops with everything necessary on the coast of the Bay of Senskaya, in the very first days of the operation, two artificial ports were built, and a gasoline pipeline was laid along the bottom of the English Channel.
At 2.00 on June 6, the drop began airborne troops. Parts of the 82nd American Airborne Division landed in the area west of St. Mere-Eglise. The 101st Airborne Division landed in the area north of Carentan. The British 6th Airborne Division landed in the area north-east of Caen and entrenched themselves in the landing area.
At 5 o'clock on June 6, artillery preparations for the amphibious assault began. At 0630 on June 6, in the American landing zone and about an hour later in the British zone, the first amphibious assault groups entered the coast of the Bay of Seine. The order of disembarkation was as follows. Initially, small assault groups of amphibious tanks were landed on the seashore, which had the task of ensuring the landing of engineering and sapper groups. The latter were supposed to clear obstacles and ensure the landing of infantry and military equipment of amphibious assault on the coast.
Subdivisions and units of the amphibious assault, using the confusion of the Germans, their numerical superiority and the massive fire of naval artillery, made their way ashore and pushed the enemy back.
This was largely facilitated by air preparation for the landing and support of troops on the coast. The Germans did not actually interfere with the actions of the American and British aviation. During June 6, only 50 German sorties were registered in the area of Senskaya Bay.
By the end of the first day of the operation, the American-British troops managed to capture separate bridgeheads up to 10 km deep. During the day of June 6, the main body of five infantry and three airborne divisions, several tank regiments and brigades, and four detachments of Commandos and Ranger were landed. This success was achieved due to the fact that in the course of aviation and artillery preparation, the antiamphibious defense of the Nazi troops on the coast was basically suppressed. The fire of the surviving German batteries was ineffective.
During June 7 and 8, simultaneously with the consolidation of the captured bridgeheads and the improvement of the positions occupied, the intensive transfer of new forces and means of the expeditionary forces to the coast of Senskaya Bay continued. By the end of June 8, eight infantry, one tank and three airborne divisions were concentrated on the bridgeheads and a large number of reinforcement parts.
On the morning of June 9, the American-British troops went on the offensive in order to create a single bridgehead. As a result of hostilities in the period of June 9-12, they managed to unite the captured bridgeheads into a common bridgehead with a length of about 80 km along the front and 13-18 km in depth.
By June 12, the German command, having introduced an additional three tank and one motorized divisions into battle, brought the grouping of its troops in Normandy to 12 divisions. However, these troops rushed into battle in parts, as they approached, a strong shock fist was not created from them. As a result, they could not have a serious impact on the course of hostilities. In addition, the German divisions felt a great shortage of fuel and ammunition.
The situation that developed in mid-June 1944 favored the deployment of offensive operations in order to expand the bridgehead. By the end of June, the troops of the 1st American Army captured Cherbourg and cleared the Cotentin Peninsula from the remnants of German troops.
In the first half of July, the port of Cherbourg was restored and subsequently played a significant role in supplying the American-British troops in Normandy. This was especially important because two temporary ports built in the first days of the operation were destroyed during a storm that broke out on June 19, 1944. Soon one of these ports was restored.
By the end of June, the captured bridgehead was expanded to 100 km along the front and from 20 to 40 km in depth. By this time, the main forces of the 1st American and 2nd British armies and part of the forces of the 1st Canadian army had landed on the bridgehead. The total number of expeditionary forces in the bridgehead reached one million people. These forces were opposed by 13 German divisions, which had suffered heavy losses in previous battles and operated partly in battle groups. The fact that during the second half of June the fascist German command increased its troops in Normandy by only one division is explained by the following: it still believed that the Anglo-Americans would strike the main blow through the Pas de Calais, and therefore continued to hold relatively large forces in this direction. Not a single German unit was transferred from the coast of the Pas de Calais to Normandy.
Thus, the situation allowed the Anglo-Americans to launch a major offensive in Northwestern France as early as early July. However, in an effort to create conditions for a complete guarantee of success, the American-British command postponed the start of such an offensive until the end of this month.
During July, the troops of the 1st American Army, continuing the fighting to expand the bridgehead, advanced into southbound 10-15 km and occupied the city and the Saint-Lo road junction. The main efforts of the troops of the 2nd British Army at that time were aimed at capturing the city of Caen, to which both sides attached great importance.
On July 7-8, the British launched an offensive with the forces of three infantry divisions and three armored brigades in order to capture the northwestern part of the city of Caen, in which units of one German division were defending. During the day of July 8, the advancing troops failed to succeed. By the end of July 9, the British captured the northwestern part of this city.
In order to create a bridgehead on the southeastern bank of the river. Orne and the capture of the second half of the city of Caen, the Anglo-Canadian troops launched a new offensive on July 18. Within three days, the troops completely captured the city of Kan and advanced to the southeast up to 10 km. Attempts by the Anglo-Canadian troops to move further south and southeast, undertaken on July 21-24, were not successful.
Thus, in the period from June 6 to July 24, 1944, the American-British expeditionary forces managed to land in Normandy and occupy a bridgehead about 100 km along the front and up to 30-50 km in depth. This bridgehead was about half the size of the one that was planned to be occupied according to the plan of the landing operation. However, in conditions of absolute air supremacy, the captured bridgehead made it possible to concentrate a large number of forces and means on it. The American-British command had every opportunity to prepare and conduct a major offensive operation in Northwestern France.
Allied offensive in France, Belgium and Holland
The Falaise operation, an offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops in Northwestern France, carried out from August 10 to 25, 1944.
The purpose of the Falaise operation was to encircle and destroy the grouping of German troops in the area of the cities of Falaise, Mortain, Argentan and go to the Seine River.
After the completion of the Normandy operation of 1944, the Allied Command (Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, General D. Eisenhower), using the favorable situation (the main forces of the Wehrmacht were pinned down by the offensive of the Soviet troops on the Soviet-German front), from July 25, without waiting for the full concentration of their troops, launched an offensive in Northwestern France with the intention of pushing German troops back across the Loire and Seine rivers.
By August 10, the troops of the 12th Army Group (1st and 3rd American armies; commander General O. Bradley) deeply enveloped from the south the main forces of the enemy troops defending against the allies (5th tank and 7th armies) from the Army Group "B" (commander Field Marshal V. Model). From the north, they were covered by the troops of the 21st Army Group (2nd British and 1st Canadian armies; commander General B. Montgomery).
In the area formed in the area of the cities of Falaise, Arzhantan, the so-called. "Falaise bag" turned out to be up to 20 German divisions. The allies against them had at least 28 divisions and completely dominated the air. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, the allied command decided to surround the Falaise grouping with counter attacks on Argentan by the troops of the 3rd American Army from the south, from the Le Mans region, and by the forces of the troops of the 1st Canadian Army from the north, the area north of Falaise.
The offensive of the American troops began on August 10, 1944. On August 13, the units of the 15th Army Corps operating in the main direction reached the Argentan area, but were stopped here on the orders of Bradley and with the approval of Eisenhower, who feared that the passage of the corps through the demarcation line with the 21st group armies will lead to a mixture of American and Canadian troops and loss of command and control. Leaving the 2nd division and the 7th artillery battalion to defend in the Argentan area until the Canadians approached, the American command turned the main forces of the 3rd Army troops east, to the Seine River. However, the troops of the 21st Army Group advanced extremely slowly, at a rate of 6-7 km per day, and only on August 17 the British occupied Falaise, and the Canadians bypassed it from the east.
The German command began to withdraw the main forces of the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies through the 40-km passage that remained between Falaise and Argentan.
Only on August 18, American troops (1st Army) resumed their offensive from the Argentan region to the north, and two days later, in the Chambois and Tren regions, they connected with the 1st Polish Armored Division (1st Canadian Army), completing the encirclement. Over 8 German divisions were surrounded (including 3 tank divisions). The remaining forces of the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies withdrew to the line of Lizaro, Gase, Rugl and entrenched themselves on it, ensuring the withdrawal of the entire Army Group "B" behind the Seine.
On August 20, German troops with counter attacks by five tank and two infantry divisions concentrated east of Tren, Chambois against the outer front of the encirclement, and parts of the tank and parachute corps from the encircled group broke through the encirclement front. About half of the encircled German troops managed to withdraw beyond the Seine, the rest were captured.
By August 25, allied troops reached the Seine and captured small bridgeheads on its right bank. On August 19, an armed uprising began in Paris, which ended on August 25 with the surrender of the German garrison. On August 26, the Nazi troops began to withdraw to the borders of Germany. The allied armies began to pursue along the entire front. By September 12, the German command withdrew the bulk of its troops and organized defenses in the southern part of Holland and on the Siegfried Line.
The Falaise operation was successful for the Allied forces. However, despite the most favorable conditions, the allies, as a result of indecisive actions and shortcomings in command and control, failed to complete the encirclement in time and achieve the goal set in the operation of destroying the troops of the 7th and 5th tank armies.
Dutch operation, an offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops, carried out from September 17 to November 10, 1944.
Using the fact that the main forces of the Germans were on the Eastern Front, the Allies carried out a number of successful offensive operations in France and by mid-September, the troops of their northern wing had captured almost the entire territory of Belgium and reached the borders of Holland.
The 21st Allied Army Group (Commander Field Marshal B. Montgomery), as part of the 2nd British and 1st Canadian armies (a total of 16 divisions, including 5 armored ones), reached the line of Bre, sowing. Gel, sev. Antwerp, northeast. Bruges. In the rear of the advancing Allied troops, the surrounded German garrisons remained in the ports of Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk. In front of the Anglo-Canadian troops on this sector of the front, the 15th and 1st parachute armies (9 divisions and 2 battle groups in total) of the German troops of Army Group B (Commander General Field Marshal V. Model) defended themselves,
The Allied command, seeking to create favorable conditions for a further offensive on the Ruhr, the main economic base of fascist Germany, decided to conduct the Dutch operation with the forces of the 21st Army Group.
The troops of the 2nd British Army received the task of breaking through the enemy's defenses and developing an offensive on Arnhem, seizing a bridgehead on the northern bank of the Lower Rhine and thereby creating conditions for a further offensive. To reinforce the troops of the 2nd British Army and capture the crossings across the Meuse, Waal and Lower Rhine rivers, it was given the 1st Allied Airborne Corps (82nd, 101st American, 1st British Airborne Divisions and the Polish Parachute Brigade) .
In the offensive zone of the troops of the 2nd British Army, the main blow was delivered by the 30th Army Corps (one armored and two tank divisions) with the task of breaking through the enemy’s defenses on a narrow sector of the front and advancing on Eindhoven, Grave, Nijmegem, Arnhem, using crossings through water barriers captured by landing forces thrown in the corps' offensive zone.
For artillery preparation and support, 880 guns were concentrated in the offensive zone of the 30th Army Corps (136 per 1 km of the front).
The 8th and 12th Army Corps were to operate on the flanks of the strike force in order to expand the breakthrough front.
About 650 aircraft were involved in aviation support for the actions of the troops of the 2nd British Army.
The ratio of forces in the zone of the 2nd British Army was in favor of the allies 2:1 (in the direction of the main attack 4:1), in terms of aviation and tanks - absolute.
The troops of the 1st Canadian Army had the task of eliminating the encircled enemy grouping in the area of Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk and clearing the mouth of the Scheldt River from the Germans, and then advancing on Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
On September 17-18, after aviation training, airborne assault forces (Arnhemskaya airborne operation 1944, carried out from 17 to 26 September as part of the Dutch operation).
The 30th Army Corps, after a short air and artillery preparation, went on the offensive. The armored division, operating in the first echelon of the corps, broke through the enemy defenses. It was followed by two infantry divisions.
By the end of the first day, the allied forces advanced to a depth of 6-8 kilometers. On September 18, parts of the corps approached Eindhoven, where they joined up with the 101st Airborne Division. On September 20, the troops of the 30th Army Corps reached Nijmegen in a narrow area and joined with the 82nd Airborne Division. The 8th and 12th Army Corps, operating on the flanks of the strike force, met stubborn enemy resistance and only slightly expanded the breakthrough front. The German command, having concentrated tank and infantry formations, launched a counterattack on the flank of the advancing Allied grouping and on their landing forces in the Arnhem area.
The situation for the allied forces became more complicated, and a real threat of encirclement of the strike group arose. The 1st British Airborne Division and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade suffered heavy losses. With great difficulty, the command of the 2nd British Army managed to fend off the enemy's counterattack. On September 27-29, British troops reached the southern bank of the Lower Rhine and were forced to go on the defensive, failing to capture a bridgehead on the northern bank.
With the beginning of the Dutch operation, the troops of the 1st Canadian Army fought against the encircled enemy garrisons, liberated Boulogne (September 22) and Calais (September 30). The offensive northwest of Antwerp developed slowly, and Canadian troops reached the mouth of the Scheldt only towards the end of September.
In October-November, the troops of the 21st Army Group continued offensive operations with limited targets, trying to capture the territory north of Antwerp. The troops of the 2nd British Army, having regrouped, struck with the forces of the 12th Army Corps in the direction of Breda.
The troops of the 1st Canadian Army advanced on Rosendal, Bergen and fought to capture the Zeid-Beveland peninsula and the island of Walcheren. The Allied advance was slow. On October 30, Zuid-Beveland was occupied, on November 9, Walcheren.
By November 10, the Allied forces reached the Meuse River, from the Grave to the mouth, having captured the southwestern part of the Netherlands. In 55 days, the Anglo-Canadian troops advanced to a depth of 45 to 90 km on a front of 200 km. The tasks of the operation were not fully completed.
The characteristic features of the Dutch operation were the use of large airborne assault forces to assist the offensive in the main direction, the deep formation of the battle formation of the advancing army corps, and the high density of artillery for the allied forces.
At the same time, breaking through the enemy's defenses in a narrow section of the front (initially 1.5 km) with its subsequent expansion by active operations on the flanks of the strike force did not bring the expected results.
The Ardennes operation (in the Ardennes region in southeastern Belgium), an offensive operation of German troops carried out in December 1944 - January 1945.
The purpose of the Ardennes operation (codenamed "Watch on the Rhine") is to defeat the American-English waxes, to change the situation in Western Europe in favor of Germany and release the forces of the Wehrmacht to fight against the USSR.
Operation plan: break through the front in the Monschau, Echternach sector, force the Meuse River in the Liege and Namur regions and on the 7th day of the operation, reaching Antwerp, cut off the Allied troops in Belgium and Holland (1st Canadian, 2nd English, 9 -I and 1st American armies) and defeat them.
The troops of the 6th SS, 5th tank, 7th field army of army group "B" (commander Field Marshal V. Model) participated in the operation. In total, 25 divisions were intended, including 7 tank divisions. The offensive group consisted of about 250 thousand people, 900 tanks and assault guns, 800 aircraft, 2,517 guns and mortars. However, this was not enough, the command of the German troops planned to transfer part of the forces from other sectors of the Western Front and from Germany during the offensive.
The strike force was provided with fuel only half the depth of the operation. The Anglo-American command considered the Ardennes area unsuitable for conducting broad offensive operations. Here, on a 115-kilometer front, the Germans were opposed by up to 5 divisions (83 thousand people, 242 tanks, 182 self-propelled anti-tank and 394 artillery guns) from the 1st Army of the 12th Army Group, (commander General O. Bradley).
The offensive of the German troops began at dawn on December 16, 1944. Caught by surprise, the American troops could not resist, suffered heavy losses and retreated.
By December 25, the German group, having broken through the front, advanced to a depth of more than 90 km. Its advanced tank units reached the area of the city of Dinan and were 4 km from the Meuse River. The Anglo-American command was forced to transfer divisions there from other sectors of the front. On December 23, with the onset of flying weather, allied aviation began to operate actively. From December 22 to 26, the troops of the 3rd American Army launched a counterattack on the southern flank of the advancing enemy grouping and connected with units of the 101st Airborne Division encircled in the city of Bastogne. By the end of December, the German offensive on the river. Maas was stopped. However, the German command did not abandon their plans. On the night of January 1, 1945, it launched an offensive in Alsace, in the Strasbourg region, against the troops of the 7th American Army. On January 1, more than 1,000 German aircraft launched a surprise attack on airfields in France, Belgium and Holland, as a result of which 260 Allied aircraft were destroyed. The position of the Allied forces remained difficult. On January 6, 1945, W. Churchill turned to I. Stalin with a request for help. Fulfilling their allied duty, the Soviet troops began it on January 12 - eight days ahead of schedule. The offensive of the Soviet troops forced the Germans to curtail active operations on the Western Front and transfer their forces from there to the East.
By the end of January, the Germans in the Ardennes had retreated to their original positions. Losses in the Ardennes operation on the part of the allies amounted to about 77 thousand people, from the German - about 82 thousand people.
The Ardennes operation was the culmination of the struggle on the Western Front. The forced transfer of large forces and assets to the Soviet-German front, the losses suffered in the Ardennes, the lack of reserves - all this led to a sharp weakening of the German troops on the Western Front, contributed to the success of the armed forces of the USA, England and France in subsequent offensive operations, which took on the character of pursuing the retreating enemy.
Ruhr offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops, carried out March 23 - April 18, 1945.
The purpose of the Ruhr operation was to defeat the Ruhr grouping of the enemy, in the future - an offensive towards the Soviet troops to the Elbe and the dismemberment of the German troops. This operation was the final one during the conduct of hostilities in Western Europe by the Anglo-American troops.
In the first half of March, the Allied troops completely captured the left bank of the Rhine and captured two bridgeheads on its right bank in the areas of the cities of Oppenheim and Remagen. By that time, Soviet troops advancing from the east were on the Oder, 60 km from Berlin, and were preparing for the final blow against Nazi Germany.
The Allied Command (Supreme Commander General D. Eisenhower) decided to launch an offensive deep into Germany along the entire front. To do this, it planned, first of all, to defeat the most powerful enemy grouping on the Western Front, which defended the Ruhr industrial region (5th Panzer and 15th Armies of Group B) under the command of Field Marshal V. Model and part of the forces of 1- and parachute army.
The Ruhr grouping of the Germans included 29 divisions and one brigade - half of all forces deployed on the Western Front. It was supported by the main aviation forces of the 3rd Air Fleet and the Reich Air Fleet, which had a total of 1,704 combat aircraft. German formations were completed by 50-75%, lacked fuel and ammunition.
The Allied command attracted the main forces of the 21st Army Group (9th American and 2nd British armies) under the command of Field Marshal B. Montgomery, the 12th Army Group (3rd and 1st American armies) to participate in the Ruhr operation under the command of General O. Bradley and the 18th separate airborne corps - a total of 51 divisions, including 14 armored, 2 airborne and 12 brigades, incl. 7 armored.
According to the plan of the operation, the main blow was delivered by the forces of the 21st Army Group from the Wesel region and the auxiliary from the Rhine bridgeheads by the forces of the 1st Army Group on Kassel. In the future, it was supposed to develop an offensive in the general direction of the Elbe River.
The offensive of the main grouping of the 21st Army Group began on the night of March 24 after powerful artillery and aviation preparation. They were preceded by a two-week preliminary aviation training. The troops of the 2nd British and 9th American armies crossed the Rhine during the night and captured a bridgehead on its right bank. In the morning of March 24, the 18th Airborne Corps was landed behind enemy lines east of the Rhine. In the afternoon, the British troops advancing from the front joined with the landing force. The enemy put up little resistance. In the following days, the captured bridgeheads were united, and on March 28 the general bridgehead was expanded to 60 km along the front and 35 km in depth.
In the direction of the auxiliary strike, the 1st and 3rd American armies developed an offensive to the north and northeast. April 1 troops of the 1st and 9th American armies united in the Lipstadt area, creating an internal front for the encirclement of the Germans in the Ruhr industrial region (18 divisions, a total of about 325 thousand people). With the encirclement of this grouping, the western front of the German troops actually disintegrated.
The Anglo-American command decided to shift the main efforts to the central direction in order to develop an offensive on the outer front of the encirclement. In this regard, the 9th Army on April 4 was transferred from the 21st to the 12th Army Group, which advanced to the middle reaches of the Elbe. Encountering almost no resistance from the enemy, the troops of the 12th Army Group on April 12 reached the Elbe in the Magdeburg region, and on April 19 captured Leipzig. In other directions, the Allied offensive developed in a similar situation.
At the same time, part of the forces of the 12th Army Group fought against the encircled Ruhr group, which capitulated on April 18.
For the first time, the Allies managed to surround a large grouping of German troops. This operation was carried out with the absolute superiority of the Allies in strength and means, in exceptionally favorable conditions, when the main forces of the Germans were turned against the Soviet troops that threatened Berlin, and the German troops in the west, seeing the hopelessness of the situation, capitulated to the Anglo-American troops.
1942 (Washington Declaration of Twenty-Six). The influence of the coalition on the military and post-war world order is enormous; on its basis, the United Nations (UN) was created.
Members of the anti-Hitler coalition[ | ]
Since September 1939, Poland, France, Great Britain and its dominions have been at war with Germany (the Anglo-Polish military alliance of 1939 and 1921). As a result of the German attack on the USSR on June 22, 1941, the Soviet Union also ended up in the coalition. As a result of the Japanese attack on the United States on December 7, 1941, the United States and China (which Japan invaded in 1931) ended up in a coalition.
As of January 1942, the anti-Hitler coalition consisted of 26 states: the Big Four (USSR, Great Britain, USA, China), the British dominions (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa) and the dependent state of India, the countries of Central and Latin America, the Caribbean, and also governments in exile of occupied European countries. The number of coalition members increased during the war.
By the time hostilities with Japan ended, 53 states were at war with the countries of the Nazi bloc: Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Great Britain, Venezuela, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Greece, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, India, Iraq , Iran , Canada , China, Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Liberia , Lebanon , Luxembourg , Mexico , Netherlands , Nicaragua , New Zealand , Norway , Panama , Paraguay , Peru , Poland , El Salvador , Saudi Arabia , Syria , USSR , USA , Turkey , Uruguay , Philippines , France , Czechoslovakia , Chile , Ecuador , Ethiopia , Yugoslavia , Union of South Africa .
War on the "Axis countries" on final stage confrontations were also announced by Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Finland, which were previously part of the "axis".
The fighting ally of the anti-Hitler coalition was the resistance movement in the occupied territories against the German, Italian and Japanese occupiers and the reactionary regimes that collaborated with them.
History of association, actions[ | ]
"Russian". American wartime poster from the series "This is your friend. He fights for freedom"
The forerunner of the anti-Hitler coalition - the Western Allies coalition - arose after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, when Great Britain, France and other countries, connected with the latter and among themselves, entered the war on mutual assistance. Before the German attack in 1941, the USSR was not part of the anti-Hitler coalition.
A broad anti-Hitler coalition was formed first in spirit after the statements of the governments of the United States and Great Britain about the support of the Soviet Union after the German attack on it, and then on bilateral and multilateral documents as a result of lengthy negotiations between the governments of the three powers on mutual support and joint actions.
On July 12, 1941, a joint Soviet-British agreement was signed to fight Germany.
On June 24, US President Roosevelt lifted the ban on the use of USSR funds in the United States, which was imposed in connection with the war between the USSR and Finland.
At the same time, the United States until the end of 1941 (before the Japanese attack) was not formally at war, but was a "non-belligerent ally" of the anti-Hitler coalition, providing military and economic assistance to the warring countries.
The contribution of the participants of the anti-Hitler coalition to the fight against the enemy is extremely uneven: some participants conducted active hostilities with Germany and its allies, others helped them with the supply of military products, and still others participated in the war only nominally. Thus, the military formations of some countries - Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, as well as Australia, Belgium, India, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, Ethiopia and others - took part in hostilities. Individual states of the anti-Hitler coalition (for example, Mexico) helped its main participants mainly by supplying military raw materials.
The attitude of the United States towards the Soviet Union at that time characterizes an interview with the future US President, Senator Harry Truman, given to the New York Times on June 24, 1941:
| Paradoxically, the defeat of Nazi Germany raised the international status of America, although it did not play a decisive role in the military victory over Nazism. The credit for achieving this victory must be given to Stalin's Soviet Union, Hitler's odious rival. |
The main stages of formation[ | ]
- July 12, 1941: Soviet-British agreement on joint action in the war against Germany.
- August 14, 1941: The Atlantic Charter of the United States and Great Britain, which was joined by the USSR on September 24, 1941
- September 29 - October 1, 1941: Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers of the USSR, England, USA.
- 1941: Start of Lend-Lease deliveries to the USSR from the USA.
- January 1, 1942: Signing of the Washington Declaration by 26 states on the aims of the war against fascism.
- The Soviet-British treaty of alliance in the war against Germany on May 26, 1942, signed in London.
- Soviet-American agreement on the principles of mutual assistance in the conduct of war against aggression June 11, 1942 Washington
- Establishment of a European Consultative Commission in accordance with the decision of the Moscow Conference in 1943 of the Foreign Ministers of Great Britain, the USSR and the USA.
- Meeting of Roosevelt, Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek, treaty of joint action against Japan.
- November 28 - December 1, 1943: Tehran Conference, a meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, dedicated to the development of a strategy to fight Germany and the Axis countries.
- July 1–22, 1944: United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, discussing the settlement of financial relations after the end of the war.
- December 10, 1944: The Soviet-French Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance.
- 4-11 February 1945: Second meeting of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.
- 17 July - 2 August 1945: Potsdam Conference, last meeting leaders" big three».
- December 16–26, 1945: Moscow Conference of 1945, a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Great Britain, the USSR and the United States.
USSR and the anti-Hitler coalition[ | ]
When W. Churchill became aware of the German attack on the USSR, he summoned the four closest members of the Cabinet to a meeting. During the preparation of the statement, differences arose in the assessment of the USSR's ability to resist, and the text of the statement was finally approved only 20 minutes before the start of W. Churchill's speech on the radio.
An official statement from the US State Department followed on June 23, 1941; it stated that the USSR was at war with Germany, and “any defense against Hitlerism, any association with the forces opposing Hitlerism, whatever the nature of these forces, will contribute to the possible overthrow of the present German leaders and will serve to the benefit of our own defense and security. Hitler's armies are at present the main threat to the American continent.. US President F. Roosevelt, speaking at a press conference on June 24, 1941, stated: “Of course, we are going to give Russia all the help we can”.
After the end of the war[ | ]
Monument in honor of the Commonwealth of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in Murmansk
On May 9, 2010, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition took part in the Victory Parade on Red Square for the first time ever.
And the United States, taking into account the sharply increased threat to the security of its own countries, made statements supporting the just struggle of the peoples of the USSR. “Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than I,” said British Prime Minister W. Churchill in a radio address to compatriots on June 22, 1941. “I will not take back a single word. But all this pales before the spectacle now unfolding. The past with its crimes, madness and tragedies disappears. I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes, where their mothers and wives pray - yes, for there are times when everyone prays - for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, their protector and support ... This is not a class war, but a war, into which the whole British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations are drawn, without distinction of race, creed or party... If Hitler imagines that his attack on Soviet Russia will cause even the slightest divergence in aim or diminution of the efforts of the great democracies which have determined to destroy him, then he is profoundly deluded."
On July 12, 1941, a Soviet-British agreement was concluded in Moscow on joint actions in the war against Germany and her allies. It was the first step towards the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. Legally, the coalition took shape in January 1942, when in Washington, the capital of the United States, which entered the war with Japan and Germany after the Japanese armed forces struck the American base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands in December 1941, representatives of 26 states signed the Declaration United Nations on the fight against the aggressor. During the war, more than 20 countries joined this Declaration.
In October 1941, the USSR, Britain and the USA reached an agreement on Anglo-American deliveries of arms and food to our country in exchange for strategic raw materials. In May 1942, an agreement was concluded with England on an alliance in the war and cooperation after its end, in July - an agreement with the United States on lend-lease assistance (loan or lease of weapons, ammunition, food, etc.) - In September of that In the same year, the Soviet government recognized General Charles de Gaulle, who led the Free French movement, as the leader of "all free French, wherever they are."
The total volume of Lend-Lease deliveries was estimated at 11.3 billion dollars. A quarter of all cargo was for food (stew, fats, etc.), the rest - for military equipment, equipment and raw materials. For their individual types, the figures were very impressive: 10% of the domestic production of tanks, 12% of aircraft, 50% of cars, over 90% of steam locomotives, 36% of non-ferrous metals. On the whole, according to economists' estimates, allied deliveries did not exceed 3% of Soviet food production, 4% of industrial output, including defense products. As the Minister of Labor in the military government of W. Churchill, Ernest Bevin, later noted,<вся помощь, которую мы были в состоянии оказать, была незначительной по сравнению с громадными усилиями советских людей. Наши потомки, изучая историю, будут с восхищением и благодарностью вспоминать героизм великого русского народа>.
The stumbling block in the relationship between the "big three" (USA, England, USSR) was the question of opening a second front against Nazi Germany in Western Europe, which would allow a significant part of the German troops to be diverted from Eastern Front and hasten the end of the war. The initially reached agreement on its deployment in 1942 was not fulfilled by the ruling circles of Britain and the USA. Their activity was limited mainly to the periphery of the theater of operations (in 1941-1943 - battles in North Africa, in 1943 - landing in Sicily and southern Italy).
Allied Conferences.
In November 1943, the first meeting of the leaders of the Big Three took place in Tehran: I.V. Stalin, US President F. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill. The Western allies, having accepted with satisfaction Stalin's decision to dissolve the Comintern (May 1943), promised to open a second front in northern France in May 1944. This happened a month later, when the ability of the USSR to independently complete the defeat of Germany became obvious.
The Big Three conferences in Yalta (February 1945) and Potsdam (July-August 1945) 1 focused on the basic principles of the post-war world order. At the conferences, new western and eastern borders of Poland were determined, a decision was made to transfer Eastern Prussia with its main city of Koenigsberg (since 1946 - Kaliningrad). Germany and Berlin were temporarily divided into zones of occupation: American, British, French and Soviet. Its complete disarmament, the destruction of monopolies and the military industry, and the liquidation of the Nazi Party were envisaged. Germany pledged to pay significant reparations to the states affected by the aggression.
1 The US delegation was headed by the new President G. Truman, and the British delegation - after the start of negotiations - by the leader of the Labor Party that won the elections, K. Attlee.
At the Yalta Conference, it was decided to create a special international institution with the goal of protecting the world from a new military catastrophe and maintaining interstate stability - the United Nations.
in the same<Декларации об освобожденной Европе>Allied powers declared their readiness to help the European peoples<создать демократические учреждения по их собственному выбору>. But much more important for the fate of the post-war world was what was not fixed in official documents.<большой тройки>, but was only implied. The Western allies were forced to agree de facto with the inclusion of the countries of Central and Southern Europe (except Austria), liberated by the Soviet Army, into the sphere of interests of the USSR. Concerning the reasons for such tacit consent, Western historians rightly remark:<Советский Союз уже держал в руках то, что он хотел, и лишить его этого можно было только применением силы>. And the allies of the USSR in the war were not ready for such a turn of events.
Far Eastern Campaign of the Soviet Army.
In accordance with the agreement in principle reached at Yalta, on April 5, 1945, the Soviet government denounced the neutrality pact with Japan, and on August 8 declared war on her.
By that time western allies The USSR carried out a number of successful offensive operations against Japan in pacific ocean. During 1944, the Anglo-American Expeditionary Force, having inflicted a defeat on the Japanese fleet, occupied the Mariana and Marshall Islands. By the summer of 1945 they had liberated the Philippines, Burma, part of Indonesia. fighting transferred to the territory of the aggressor country itself. But the resistance of the Japanese militarists had not yet been broken. The resources of Northeast China and Korea remained in their hands. A powerful grouping of Japanese ground forces, the millionth Kwantung Army, was stationed in Manchuria.
General leadership Soviet troops, aimed at the Kwantung Army, was carried out by Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky. It was planned to strike in three directions: from the territory of Mongolia (the Trans-Baikal Front - Commander Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky), from the Soviet Primorye (1st Far Eastern Front - Commander Marshal K. A. Meretskov) and from the region of Blagoveshchensk and Khabarovsk (2- th Far Eastern Front - Commander General M.A. Purkaev). The fronts had 1.5 million people, 27 thousand guns and mortars, 5.2 thousand tanks and 3.7 thousand aircraft.
In a short time after the start of hostilities, the Soviet armies made a march through the Khingan Range, which was considered impassable for equipment, and went behind enemy lines. Tank and infantry units supported the ships Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla. August 19 command Kwantung Army announced their readiness to lay down their arms. On September 2, under the joint attacks of the armed forces of the allies, Japan completely capitulated.
It was the final event of the Second World War. The southern part of Sakhalin and the islands of the Kuril chain went to the Soviet Union. His sphere of influence extended to North Korea and China.
Results of the war.
USSR made a decisive contribution to ridding the world of the threat of fascist enslavement. In terms of scale, the Soviet-German front was the main one throughout the Second World War. It was here that the Wehrmacht lost more than 73% of its personnel, up to 75% of tanks and artillery pieces, and more than 75% of aviation.
However, the price paid by the peoples of the USSR for the victory over the aggressor was excessively high. 1710 cities of our country lay in ruins, over 70 thousand villages and villages were burned. The invaders destroyed almost 32 thousand plants and factories, 65 thousand km of railway lines, flooded and blew up 1135 mines, plundered 427 museums and 43 thousand libraries. Direct material damage reached almost a third of the country's national wealth. Up to 27 million people died at the front, in captivity and in the occupied lands (11.4 million of them were irretrievable losses of the Armed Forces). The total losses of the Armed Forces of Germany and its allies amounted to over 15 million people (of which 8.6 million were irretrievable losses on the Soviet-German front). The United States and Britain missed several hundred thousand dead soldiers each.
The unprecedented losses of the Soviet Union were the result of both the purposefully carried out by the Nazis installation for the total destruction of the Russian statehood and people, and the neglect of the Soviet political and military leaders to the life of their compatriots. The history of the Great Patriotic War was replete with examples of how unprepared and technically unsupported offensives were launched.
One of the main outcomes of the war was a new geopolitical situation. It was characterized by the growing confrontation between the leading capitalist powers and the Soviet Union, which extended its influence to a number of countries in Europe and Asia. This confrontation was exceptionally dramatic due to the fact that it developed in the nuclear era, which humanity entered in August 1945. By order of the President of the United States, then atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1. Read W. Churchill's radio address to his compatriots on June 22, 1941 and compare it with the statements of Western diplomats in the mid-30s. (see 51). What questions could you ask the Prime Minister of Great Britain if<прямого эфира>?
2. Using textbooks on the history of Russia and foreign countries, draw up a list of the main measures to create an anti-Hitler coalition. Evaluate the effectiveness of the efforts of the countries participating in this process. What opinions do historians express about the importance of foreign assistance to the USSR and the role of the second front during the Great Patriotic War?
3. On contour map indicate the territorial acquisitions of the USSR according to the decisions of international conferences.
4. ESSAY: Compare the human losses and material damage of our country after the civil (see 39) and the Great Patriotic Wars. What thoughts do these comparisons lead you to?
Levandovsky A.A., Shchetinov Yu.A. Russia in the XX century. 10-11 classes. - M.: Enlightenment, 2002
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