Year of the beginning of World War II. Events of the Second World War. Japanese offensive in the Pacific

Second World War 1939-1945

a war prepared by the forces of international imperialist reaction and unleashed by the main aggressive states - fascist Germany, fascist Italy and militaristic Japan. V. m. v., like the first, arose due to the operation of the law of uneven development of capitalist countries under imperialism and was the result of a sharp aggravation of inter-imperialist contradictions, the struggle for markets, sources of raw materials, spheres of influence and investment of capital. The war began in conditions when capitalism was no longer an all-encompassing system, when the world's first socialist state, the USSR, existed and was growing stronger. The split of the world into two systems led to the emergence of the main contradiction of the era - between socialism and capitalism. Inter-imperialist contradictions have ceased to be the only factor in world politics. They developed in parallel and in interaction with the contradictions between the two systems. The warring capitalist groups, fighting each other, simultaneously sought to destroy the USSR. However, V. m. began as a clash between two coalitions of major capitalist powers. It was imperialist in origin, its originators were the imperialists of all countries, the system of modern capitalism. Hitlerite Germany, which led the bloc of fascist aggressors, bears special responsibility for its emergence. On the part of the states of the fascist bloc, the war bore an imperialist character throughout its entire length. On the part of the states fighting against the fascist aggressors and their allies, the nature of the war was gradually changing. Under the influence of the national liberation struggle of the peoples, the war was being transformed into a just, anti-fascist one. Introduction Soviet Union in the war against the states of the fascist bloc that treacherously attacked him, completed this process.

Preparation and outbreak of war. The forces that unleashed the war of war prepared strategic and political positions favorable to the aggressors long before it began. In the 30s. Two main centers of military danger formed in the world: Germany - in Europe, Japan - in the Far East. Strengthened German imperialism, under the pretext of eliminating the injustices of the Versailles system, began to demand a redistribution of the world in its favor. The establishment of a terrorist fascist dictatorship in Germany in 1933, which fulfilled the demands of the most reactionary and chauvinist circles of monopoly capital, turned that country into a strike force of imperialism directed primarily against the USSR. However, the plans of German fascism were not limited to the enslavement of the peoples of the Soviet Union. The fascist program for the conquest of world domination provided for the transformation of Germany into the center of a gigantic colonial empire, the power and influence of which would extend to the whole of Europe and the richest regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the mass extermination of the population in the conquered countries, especially in the countries of Eastern Europe. The fascist elite planned to start implementing this program from the countries of Central Europe, then spreading it to the entire continent. The defeat and capture of the Soviet Union, with the aim of primarily destroying the center of the international communist and working-class movement, as well as expanding the "living space" of German imperialism, was the most important political task of fascism and, at the same time, the main prerequisite for the further successful deployment of aggression on a world scale. The imperialists of Italy and Japan also aspired to redistribute the world and establish a "new order". Thus, the plans of the Nazis and their allies posed a serious threat not only to the USSR, but also to Great Britain, France, and the USA. However, the ruling circles of the Western powers, driven by a sense of class hatred for the Soviet state, under the guise of "non-intervention" and "neutrality", essentially pursued a policy of complicity with the fascist aggressors, hoping to avert the threat of a fascist invasion from their countries, to weaken their imperialist rivals by the forces of the Soviet Union, and then with their help to destroy the USSR. They relied on the mutual exhaustion of the USSR and Nazi Germany in a protracted and destructive war.

The French ruling elite, pushing Hitler's aggression to the East in the prewar years and waging a struggle against the communist movement inside the country, at the same time feared a new German invasion, sought a close military alliance with Great Britain, strengthened the eastern borders by building the Maginot Line and deploying armed forces against Germany. The British government sought to strengthen the British colonial empire and sent troops and naval forces to its key areas (the Middle East, Singapore, India). Pursuing a policy of complicity with aggressors in Europe, the government of N. Chamberlain, right up to the start of the war and in its first months, hoped for an agreement with Hitler at the expense of the USSR. In the event of aggression against France, it expected that the French military establishment, repelling aggression together with the British expeditionary forces and British aviation formations, will ensure the security of the British Isles. Before the war, the US ruling circles supported Germany economically and thus contributed to the reconstruction of the German military potential. With the outbreak of the war, they were forced to change their political course somewhat and, as fascist aggression expanded, they switched to supporting Great Britain and France.

The Soviet Union, in a situation of increasing military danger, pursued a policy aimed at curbing the aggressor and creating a reliable system for ensuring peace. On May 2, 1935, the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in Paris. On May 16, 1935, the Soviet Union concluded a mutual assistance pact with Czechoslovakia. The Soviet government struggled to create a system of collective security that could become effective tool preventing war and securing peace. At the same time, the Soviet state carried out a set of measures aimed at strengthening the country's defense and developing its military and economic potential.

In the 30s. Hitler's government launched diplomatic, strategic and economic preparations for a world war. In October 1933, Germany left the Geneva Disarmament Conference of 1932-35 and announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations. On March 16, 1935, Hitler violated the military articles of the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 and introduced universal military service in the country. In March 1936, German troops occupied the demilitarized Rhineland. In November 1936, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, which Italy joined in 1937. The activation of the aggressive forces of imperialism led to a series of international political crises and local wars. As a result of Japan's aggressive wars against China (started in 1931), Italy against Ethiopia (1935–36), and the German-Italian intervention in Spain (1936–39), the fascist states strengthened their positions in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Using the policy of "non-intervention" pursued by Great Britain and France, fascist Germany captured Austria in March 1938 and began to prepare an attack on Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia had a well-trained army, based on a powerful system of border fortifications; treaties with France (1924) and with the USSR (1935) provided for military assistance from these powers to Czechoslovakia. The Soviet Union has repeatedly declared its readiness to fulfill its obligations and provide military assistance to Czechoslovakia, even if France does not do this. However, the government of E. Benes did not accept the help of the USSR. As a result of the Munich Agreement of 1938, the ruling circles of Great Britain and France, supported by the United States, betrayed Czechoslovakia and agreed to the seizure of the Sudetenland by Germany, hoping in this way to open "the road to the East" for fascist Germany. The hands of the fascist leadership were untied for aggression.

At the end of 1938, the ruling circles of fascist Germany launched a diplomatic offensive against Poland, creating the so-called Danzig crisis, the meaning of which was to carry out aggression against Poland under the guise of demands to eliminate the "injustices of Versailles" in relation to the free city of Danzig. In March 1939, Germany completely occupied Czechoslovakia, created a puppet fascist "state" - Slovakia, seized the Memel region from Lithuania and imposed an enslaving "economic" treaty on Romania. Italy occupied Albania in April 1939. In response to the expansion of fascist aggression, the governments of Great Britain and France, in order to protect their economic and political interests in Europe, provided "guarantees of independence" to Poland, Romania, Greece and Turkey. France also pledged military assistance to Poland in the event of an attack by Germany. In April–May 1939, Germany denounced the Anglo-German naval agreement of 1935, tore up the 1934 non-aggression agreement with Poland, and concluded with Italy the so-called Steel Pact, according to which the Italian government pledged to help Germany if it went to war with the Western powers.

In such a situation, the British and French governments, under the influence of public opinion, out of fear of a further strengthening of Germany and with the aim of putting pressure on it, entered into negotiations with the USSR, which took place in Moscow in the summer of 1939 (see Moscow negotiations of 1939). However, the Western powers did not agree to the conclusion of an agreement proposed by the USSR on a joint struggle against the aggressor. Offering the Soviet Union to take unilateral obligations to help any European neighbor in the event of an attack on it, the Western powers wanted to draw the USSR into a one-on-one war against Germany. Negotiations, which lasted until mid-August 1939, did not produce results due to the sabotage by Paris and London of Soviet constructive proposals. Leading the Moscow negotiations to a breakdown, the British government at the same time entered into secret contacts with the Nazis through their ambassador in London, G. Dirksen, seeking to achieve an agreement on the redistribution of the world at the expense of the USSR. The position of the Western powers predetermined the failure of the Moscow negotiations and confronted the Soviet Union with an alternative: to be isolated in the face of a direct threat of an attack by fascist Germany or, having exhausted the possibilities of concluding an alliance with Great Britain and France, to sign the non-aggression pact proposed by Germany and thereby push back the threat of war. The situation made the second choice inevitable. The Soviet-German treaty concluded on August 23, 1939 contributed to the fact that, contrary to the calculations of Western politicians, the world war began with a clash within the capitalist world.

On the eve of V. m. German fascism, through the accelerated development of the war economy, created a powerful military potential. In 1933-39, spending on armaments increased more than 12 times and reached 37 billion marks. Germany smelted 22.5 million tons in 1939. T steel, 17.5 million T cast iron, mined 251.6 million tons. T coal, produced 66.0 billion kW · h electricity. However, for a number of types of strategic raw materials, Germany was dependent on imports (iron ore, rubber, manganese ore, copper, oil and oil products, chromium ore). By September 1, 1939, the number of armed forces of fascist Germany reached 4.6 million people. There were 26 thousand guns and mortars, 3.2 thousand tanks, 4.4 thousand combat aircraft, 115 warships (including 57 submarines) in service.

The strategy of the German High Command was based on the doctrine of "total war". Its main content was the concept of "blitzkrieg", according to which victory must be won in the shortest possible time, before the enemy fully deploys his armed forces and military-economic potential. The strategic plan of the fascist German command was to attack Poland, using the cover of limited forces in the west, and quickly defeat its armed forces. 61 divisions and 2 brigades were deployed against Poland (including 7 tank and about 9 motorized), of which 7 infantry and 1 tank divisions approached after the start of the war, a total of 1.8 million people, over 11 thousand guns and mortars, 2.8 thousand tanks, about 2 thousand aircraft; against France - 35 infantry divisions (after September 3, another 9 divisions approached), 1.5 thousand aircraft.

The Polish command, counting on military assistance guaranteed by Great Britain and France, intended to defend in the border zone and go on the offensive after the French army and British aviation diverted German forces from the Polish front. By September 1, Poland managed to mobilize and concentrate troops only by 70%: 24 infantry divisions, 3 mountain rifle brigades, 1 armored motorized brigade, 8 cavalry brigades and 56 national defense battalions were deployed. The Polish armed forces had over 4,000 guns and mortars, 785 light tanks and tankettes, and about 400 aircraft.

The French plan for waging war against Germany, in accordance with the political course pursued by France and the military doctrine of the French command, provided for defense along the Maginot Line and the entry of troops into Belgium and the Netherlands to continue the defensive front to the north in order to protect the ports and industrial regions of France and Belgium. After mobilization, the armed forces of France numbered 110 divisions (of which 15 were in the colonies), a total of 2.67 million people, about 2.7 thousand tanks (in the metropolis - 2.4 thousand), over 26 thousand guns and mortars, 2330 aircraft (in the metropolis - 1735), 176 warships (including 77 submarines).

Great Britain had a strong Navy and Air Force - 320 warships of the main classes (including 69 submarines), about 2 thousand aircraft. Its ground forces consisted of 9 personnel and 17 territorial divisions; they had 5.6 thousand guns and mortars, 547 tanks. The number of the British army was 1.27 million people. In the event of a war with Germany, the British command planned to concentrate its main efforts on the sea and send 10 divisions to France. The English and French commands did not intend to provide serious assistance to Poland.

1st period of the war (September 1, 1939 - June 21, 1941)- the period of military successes of fascist Germany. On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland (see Polish Campaign of 1939). On September 3, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. With an overwhelming superiority of forces over the Polish army and by concentrating a mass of tanks and aircraft on the main sectors of the front, the Hitlerite command was able to achieve major operational results from the beginning of the war. The incomplete deployment of forces, the lack of help from the Allies, the weakness of the centralized leadership and its subsequent collapse put the Polish army in front of a catastrophe.

The courageous resistance of the Polish troops near Mokra, Mlawa, on the Bzura, the defense of Modlin, Westerplatte and the heroic 20-day defense of Warsaw (September 8-28) wrote bright pages in the history of the German-Polish war, but could not prevent the defeat of Poland. Hitler's troops surrounded a number of groupings of the Polish army west of the Vistula, transferred hostilities to the eastern regions of the country, and completed its occupation in early October.

On September 17, by order of the Soviet government, the troops of the Red Army crossed the border of the collapsed Polish state and began a liberation campaign in Western Belarus and Western Ukraine in order to protect the lives and property of the Ukrainian and Belarusian population, striving for reunification with the Soviet republics. A march to the West was also necessary to stop the spread of Hitler's aggression to the East. The Soviet government, confident in the inevitability of German aggression against the USSR in the near future, sought to postpone the starting point for the future deployment of troops of a potential enemy, which was in the interests not only of the Soviet Union, but of all peoples threatened by fascist aggression. After the liberation of the Western Belorussian and Western Ukrainian lands by the Red Army, Western Ukraine (November 1, 1939) and Western Belarus (November 2, 1939) were reunited with the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR, respectively.

In late September - early October 1939, Soviet-Estonian, Soviet-Latvian and Soviet-Lithuanian mutual assistance treaties were signed, which prevented Nazi Germany from seizing the Baltic countries and turning them into a military foothold against the USSR. In August 1940, after the overthrow of the bourgeois governments of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, these countries, in accordance with the desire of their peoples, were admitted to the USSR.

As a result of the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–40, according to an agreement dated March 12, 1940, the USSR border on the Karelian Isthmus, in the area of ​​Leningrad and the Murmansk Railway, was somewhat pushed back to the northwest. On June 26, 1940, the Soviet government proposed to Romania that Bessarabia, which had been occupied by Romania in 1918, be returned to the USSR and that the northern part of Bukovina, inhabited by Ukrainians, be transferred to the USSR. On June 28, the Romanian government agreed to the return of Bessarabia and the transfer of Northern Bukovina.

After the outbreak of the war until May 1940, the governments of Great Britain and France continued only in a slightly modified form the pre-war foreign policy, which was based on calculations of reconciliation with Nazi Germany on the basis of anti-communism and the direction of its aggression against the USSR. Despite the declaration of war, the French armed forces and the British Expeditionary Force (began to arrive in France from mid-September) were inactive for 9 months. During this period, called the "strange war", the Nazi army was preparing for an offensive against the countries of Western Europe. From the end of September 1939, active military operations were carried out only on sea lanes. To blockade Great Britain, the Nazi command used the forces of the fleet, especially submarines and large ships (raiders). From September to December 1939, Great Britain lost 114 ships from German submarine attacks, and in 1940 - 471 ships, while the Germans in 1939 lost only 9 submarines. By the summer of 1941, strikes against the sea communications of Great Britain led to the loss of 1/3 of the tonnage of the British merchant fleet and created a serious threat to the country's economy.

In April–May 1940, the German armed forces seized Norway and Denmark (see the Norwegian operation of 1940) with the aim of strengthening German positions in the Atlantic and northern Europe, seizing iron ore resources, bringing the bases of the German fleet closer to Great Britain, and securing a foothold in the north for an attack on the USSR . On April 9, 1940, amphibious assault troops, having landed at the same time, captured the key ports of Norway along its entire coast with a length of 1800 km, and airborne troops occupied the main airfields. The courageous resistance of the Norwegian army (late in deployment) and the patriots delayed the onslaught of the Nazis. Anglo- French troops to drive the Germans out of the points they occupied led to a series of battles in the areas of Narvik, Namsus, Molle (Molde), and others. British troops recaptured Narvik from the Germans. But it was not possible to snatch the strategic initiative from the Nazis. In early June, they evacuated from Narvik. The occupation of Norway was facilitated by the Nazis by the actions of the Norwegian "fifth column" headed by V. Quisling. The country turned into a Nazi base in northern Europe. But the significant losses of the Nazi fleet during the Norwegian operation weakened its capabilities in the further struggle for the Atlantic.

At dawn on May 10, 1940, after careful preparation, the Nazi troops (135 divisions, including 10 tank and 6 motorized, and 1 brigade, 2580 tanks, 3834 aircraft) invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and then through their territories and into France (see French campaign of 1940). The Germans delivered the main blow with a mass of mobile formations and aircraft through the Ardennes mountains, bypassing the Maginot Line from the north, through northern France to the coast of the English Channel. The French command, adhering to the defensive doctrine, deployed large forces on the Maginot Line and did not create a strategic reserve in the depths. After the start of the German offensive, it brought the main grouping of troops, including the British Expeditionary Army, into Belgian territory, exposing these forces to a blow from the rear. These serious mistakes of the French command, aggravated by poor interaction between the armies of the allies, allowed the Nazi troops after forcing the river. Meuse and battles in central Belgium to break through northern France, cut the front of the Anglo-French troops, go to the rear of the Anglo-French group operating in Belgium, and break through to the English Channel. On May 14, the Netherlands capitulated. The Belgian, British and part of the French armies were surrounded in Flanders. On May 28, Belgium capitulated. The British and part of the French troops, surrounded in the Dunkirk area, managed, having lost all military equipment, to evacuate to Great Britain (see the Dunkirk operation of 1940).

At the 2nd stage of the summer campaign of 1940, the Nazi army, with much superior forces, broke through the front hastily created by the French along the river. Somme and En. The danger hanging over France demanded the rallying of the forces of the people. The French Communists called for nationwide resistance and the organization of the defense of Paris. The capitulators and traitors (P. Reynaud, C. Peten, P. Laval and others), who determined the policy of France, the high command, headed by M. Weygand, rejected this only way to save the country, as they feared the revolutionary actions of the proletariat and the strengthening of the Communist Party. They decided to surrender Paris without a fight and capitulate to Hitler. Without exhausting the possibilities of resistance, the French armed forces laid down their arms. The Compiègne armistice of 1940 (signed on June 22) became a milestone in the policy of national treason pursued by the Pétain government, which expressed the interests of a part of the French bourgeoisie that was oriented towards fascist Germany. This truce was aimed at strangling the national liberation struggle of the French people. According to its terms, an occupation regime was established in the northern and central parts of France. Industrial, raw materials, food resources of France were under the control of Germany. In the unoccupied, southern part of the country, an anti-national pro-fascist Vichy government led by Pétain came to power, which became a puppet of Hitler. But at the end of June 1940, the Committee of Free (from July 1942 - Fighting) France was formed in London, headed by General Charles de Gaulle to lead the struggle for the liberation of France from the Nazi invaders and their henchmen.

On June 10, 1940, Italy entered the war against Great Britain and France, striving to establish dominance in the Mediterranean basin. In August, Italian troops captured British Somalia, part of Kenya and Sudan, and in mid-September invaded Egypt from Libya in order to break through to Suez (see North African campaigns of 1940-43). However, they were soon stopped, and in December 1940 they were driven back by the British. The Italian attempt, launched in October 1940, to develop an offensive from Albania to Greece was resolutely repulsed by the Greek army, which inflicted a number of strong retaliatory blows on the Italian troops (see Italo-Greek War of 1940-41 (See Italo-Greek War of 1940-1941)). In January - May 1941, British troops expelled the Italians from British Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Italian Somalia, Eritrea. Mussolini was forced in January 1941 to ask for help from Hitler. In the spring, German troops were sent to North Africa, forming the so-called African Corps led by General E. Rommel. Going on the offensive on March 31, the Italo-German troops reached the Libyan-Egyptian border in the second half of April.

After the defeat of France, the threat looming over Great Britain contributed to the isolation of the Munich elements and the rallying of the forces of the British people. The government of W. Churchill, which replaced the government of N. Chamberlain on May 10, 1940, set about organizing effective defense. The British government attached particular importance to the support of the United States. In July 1940, secret negotiations between the air and naval headquarters of the United States and Great Britain began, culminating in the signing on September 2 of an agreement on the transfer of the last 50 obsolete American destroyers in exchange for British military bases in the Western Hemisphere (they were provided by the United States for a period of 99 years). Destroyers were required to fight on the Atlantic communications.

On July 16, 1940, Hitler issued a directive for the invasion of Great Britain (Operation Sea Lion). Since August 1940, the Nazis began massive bombardments of Great Britain in order to undermine its military and economic potential, demoralize the population, prepare an invasion, and ultimately force it to surrender (see Battle of England 1940-41). German aviation caused significant damage to many British cities, enterprises, ports, but did not break the resistance of the British Air Force, was unable to establish air supremacy over the English Channel and suffered heavy losses. As a result of air raids that continued until May 1941, the Nazi leadership was unable to force Great Britain to capitulate, destroy its industry, and undermine the morale of the population. The German command was unable to provide the required amount of landing equipment in a timely manner. The strength of the fleet was insufficient.

However, the main reason for Hitler's refusal to invade Great Britain was the decision he made back in the summer of 1940 on aggression against the Soviet Union. Having begun direct preparations for an attack on the USSR, the Nazi leadership was forced to transfer forces from the West to the East, to direct huge resources for the development of ground forces, and not the fleet necessary to fight against Great Britain. In autumn, the preparations for war against the USSR removed the direct threat of a German invasion of Great Britain. Closely connected with plans to prepare for an attack on the USSR was the strengthening of the aggressive alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan, which found expression in the signing of the Berlin Pact of 1940 on September 27 (See Berlin Pact of 1940).

In preparation for an attack on the USSR, fascist Germany carried out aggression in the Balkans in the spring of 1941 (see Balkan Campaign of 1941). On March 2, fascist German troops entered Bulgaria, which had joined the Berlin Pact; On April 6, Italo-German and then Hungarian troops invaded Yugoslavia and Greece and occupied Yugoslavia by April 18 and mainland Greece by April 29. Puppet fascist "states" - Croatia and Serbia - were created on the territory of Yugoslavia. From May 20 to June 2, the fascist German command carried out the Crete Airborne Operation of 1941, during which Crete and other Greek islands in the Aegean Sea were captured.

The military successes of fascist Germany in the first period of the war were largely due to the fact that its opponents, who possessed an overall higher industrial and economic potential, were unable to pool their resources, create a unified system of military leadership, and develop unified effective war plans. Their military machine lagged behind the new requirements of armed struggle and with difficulty resisted more modern methods of its conduct. In terms of training, combat training and technical equipment, the Nazi Wehrmacht as a whole surpassed the armed forces of Western states. The insufficient military preparedness of the latter was mainly due to the reactionary pre-war foreign policy of their ruling circles, which was based on the desire to negotiate with the aggressor at the expense of the USSR.

By the end of the first period of the war, the bloc of fascist states had sharply increased economically and militarily. Most of continental Europe, with its resources and economy, came under German control. In Poland, Germany seized the main metallurgical and machine-building plants, the coal mines of Upper Silesia, the chemical and mining industries - a total of 294 large, 35,000 medium and small industrial enterprises; in France - the metallurgical and steel industry of Lorraine, the entire automotive and aviation industry, reserves of iron ore, copper, aluminum, magnesium, as well as cars, precision mechanics, machine tools, rolling stock; in Norway - the mining, metallurgical, shipbuilding industry, enterprises for the production of ferroalloys; in Yugoslavia - copper, bauxite deposits; in the Netherlands, in addition to industrial enterprises, a gold reserve in the amount of 71.3 million florins. By 1941, the total amount of wealth plundered by fascist Germany in the occupied countries amounted to 9 billion pounds sterling. By the spring of 1941, more than 3 million foreign workers and prisoners of war were working at German enterprises. In addition, all the weapons of their armies were seized in the occupied countries; for example, only in France - about 5 thousand tanks and 3 thousand aircraft. In 1941, the Nazis equipped 38 infantry, 3 motorized, 1 tank division. in german railway more than 4 thousand locomotives and 40 thousand wagons from the occupied countries appeared. The economic resources of most European states were put at the service of the war, primarily the war being prepared against the USSR.

In the occupied territories, as well as in Germany itself, the Nazis established a terrorist regime, exterminating all those who were dissatisfied or suspected of discontent. A system of concentration camps was created, in which millions of people were exterminated in an organized manner. The activities of the death camps especially unfolded after the attack of fascist Germany on the USSR. Only in the Auschwitz camp (Poland) over 4 million people were killed. The Nazi command widely practiced punitive expeditions and mass executions of civilians (see Lidice, Oradour-sur-Glane, and others).

Military successes allowed Hitler's diplomacy to push the boundaries of the fascist bloc, to consolidate the accession to it of Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Finland (which were headed by reactionary governments closely connected with fascist Germany and dependent on it), plant their agents and strengthen their positions in the Middle East, in parts of Africa and Latin America. At the same time, the political self-exposure of the Nazi regime took place, hatred for it grew not only among the general population, but also among the ruling classes of the capitalist countries, and the Resistance Movement began. In the face of the fascist threat, the ruling circles of the Western powers, primarily Great Britain, were forced to revise their previous political course aimed at condoning fascist aggression, and gradually replace it with a course towards the fight against fascism.

Gradually, the US government began to revise its foreign policy course. It increasingly actively supported Great Britain, becoming its "non-belligerent ally". In May 1940, Congress approved an amount of 3 billion dollars for the needs of the army and navy, and in the summer - 6.5 billion, including 4 billion for the construction of a "fleet of two oceans." The supply of arms and equipment for Great Britain increased. According to the law adopted by the US Congress on March 11, 1941, on the transfer of military materials to belligerent countries on loan or lease (see Lend-Lease), Great Britain was allocated 7 billion dollars. In April 1941, the lend-lease law was extended to Yugoslavia and Greece. US troops occupied Greenland and Iceland and established bases there. The North Atlantic was declared a "patrol zone" for the US Navy, which at the same time began to be used to escort merchant ships bound for the UK.

2nd period of the war (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942) characterized by a further expansion of its scale and the beginning in connection with the attack of fascist Germany on the USSR, the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, which became the main and decisive component of military m.v. (for details about the actions on the Soviet-German front, see the article. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-45). On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany treacherously and suddenly attacked the Soviet Union. This attack completed the long course of the anti-Soviet policy of German fascism, which sought to destroy the world's first socialist state and seize its richest resources. Against the Soviet Union, fascist Germany threw 77% of the personnel of the armed forces, the bulk of tanks and aircraft, that is, the main most combat-ready forces of the fascist Wehrmacht. Together with Germany, Hungary, Romania, Finland and Italy entered the war against the USSR. The Soviet-German front became the main front of the war. From now on, the struggle of the Soviet Union against fascism decided the outcome of V. m. v., the fate of mankind.

From the very beginning, the struggle of the Red Army exerted a decisive influence on the entire course of the military war, on the entire policy and military strategy of the belligerent coalitions and states. Under the influence of events on the Soviet-German front, the Nazi military command was forced to determine the methods of strategic leadership of the war, the formation and use of strategic reserves, and the system of regroupings between theaters of military operations. During the war, the Red Army forced the Nazi command to completely abandon the doctrine of "blitzkrieg". Under the blows of the Soviet troops, other methods of warfare and military leadership used by the German strategy consistently collapsed.

As a result of the surprise attack, the superior forces of the Nazi troops succeeded in the first weeks of the war in penetrating deeply into Soviet territory. By the end of the first decade of July, the enemy captured Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, a significant part of Ukraine, part of Moldova. However, moving deep into the territory of the USSR, the fascist German troops met the growing resistance of the Red Army and suffered more and more heavy losses. Soviet troops fought steadfastly and stubbornly. Under the leadership of the Communist Party and its Central Committee, the restructuring of the entire life of the country on a military footing began, the mobilization of internal forces to defeat the enemy. The peoples of the USSR rallied into a single fighting camp. The formation of large strategic reserves was carried out, the reorganization of the country's leadership system was carried out. The Communist Party launched work to organize the partisan movement.

Already the initial period of the war showed that the military adventure of the Nazis was doomed to failure. The Nazi armies were stopped near Leningrad and on the river. Volkhov. The heroic defense of Kiev, Odessa and Sevastopol for a long time fettered the large forces of the Nazi troops in the south. In the fierce battle of Smolensk 1941 (See Battle of Smolensk 1941) (July 10 - September 10) The Red Army stopped the German strike force - Army Group Center, advancing on Moscow, inflicting heavy losses on it. In October 1941, the enemy, having pulled up reserves, resumed the attack on Moscow. Despite initial successes, he failed to break the stubborn resistance of the Soviet troops, who were inferior to the enemy in numbers and military equipment, and break through to Moscow. In tense battles, the Red Army defended the capital under exceptionally difficult conditions, bled the enemy's shock groupings, and in early December 1941 launched a counteroffensive. The defeat of the Nazis in the Moscow battle of 1941-42 (September 30, 1941 - April 20, 1942) buried the fascist plan for a "blitzkrieg", becoming an event of world-historical significance. The battle near Moscow dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Nazi Wehrmacht, forced Nazi Germany to wage a protracted war, contributed to the further consolidation of the anti-Hitler coalition, and inspired all freedom-loving peoples to fight the aggressors. The victory of the Red Army near Moscow meant a decisive turn in military events in favor of the USSR and had a great influence on the entire further course of the V. m.

Having carried out extensive preparations, the Nazi leadership at the end of June 1942 resumed offensive operations on the Soviet-German front. After fierce fighting near Voronezh and in the Donbass, the Nazi troops managed to break into the big bend of the Don. However, the Soviet command managed to withdraw the main forces of the South-Western and Southern fronts from under attack, withdraw them beyond the Don, and thereby frustrate the enemy's plans to encircle them. In mid-July 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943 began (See Battle of Stalingrad 1942-43) - the greatest battle of the V. m. In the course of the heroic defense near Stalingrad in July-November 1942, Soviet troops pinned down the enemy strike force, inflicted heavy losses on it, and prepared the conditions for a counteroffensive. Hitler's troops were not able to achieve decisive success in the Caucasus either (see the article Caucasus).

By November 1942, despite enormous difficulties, the Red Army had achieved major successes. The fascist German army was stopped. A well-coordinated military economy was created in the USSR, the output of military products surpassed the output of military products of fascist Germany. The Soviet Union created the conditions for a radical change in the course of V. m.

The liberation struggle of the peoples against the aggressors created the objective prerequisites for the formation and consolidation of the anti-Hitler coalition. The Soviet government sought to mobilize all forces in the international arena to fight against fascism. On July 12, 1941, the USSR signed an agreement with Great Britain on joint actions in the war against Germany; On July 18, a similar agreement was signed with the government of Czechoslovakia, on July 30 - with the Polish government in exile. On August 9-12, 1941, talks were held on warships near Argentilla (Newfoundland) between British Prime Minister W. Churchill and US President F. D. Roosevelt. Taking a wait-and-see position, the United States intended to limit itself to providing material support (lend-lease) to countries fighting against Germany. Great Britain, urging the United States to enter the war, proposed a strategy of protracted actions by naval and air forces. The goals of the war and the principles of the post-war order of the world were formulated in the Atlantic Charter signed by Roosevelt and Churchill (See Atlantic Charter) (dated August 14, 1941). On September 24, the Soviet Union joined the Atlantic Charter, while expressing its dissenting opinion on certain issues. In late September - early October 1941, a meeting of representatives of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain was held in Moscow, which ended with the signing of a protocol on mutual deliveries.

December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on the American military base in the Pacific Ocean, Pearl Harbor unleashed a war against the United States. On December 8, 1941, the USA, Great Britain and a number of other states declared war on Japan. The war in the Pacific and Asia was a product of long-standing and deep-seated Japanese-American imperialist contradictions, which were exacerbated in the course of the struggle for dominance in China and Southeast Asia. The US entry into the war strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition. The military alliance of states fighting against fascism was formalized in Washington on January 1 by the Declaration of 26 States of 1942 (See Declaration of 26 States of 1942). The declaration proceeded from the recognition of the need to achieve complete victory over the enemy, for which the countries waging war were charged with the duty to mobilize all military and economic resources, cooperate with each other, and not conclude a separate peace with the enemy. The creation of the anti-Hitler coalition meant the failure of the Nazi plans to isolate the USSR, the consolidation of all world anti-fascist forces.

To develop a joint plan of action, Churchill and Roosevelt held a conference in Washington on December 22, 1941 - January 14, 1942 (under the code name "Arcadia"), during which an agreed course of Anglo-American strategy was determined, based on the recognition of Germany as the main enemy in the war, and area of ​​the Atlantic and Europe - the decisive theater of war. However, assistance to the Red Army, which bore the brunt of the struggle, was planned only in the form of increased air raids on Germany, its blockade and the organization of subversive activities in the occupied countries. It was supposed to prepare an invasion of the continent, but not earlier than 1943, either from the Mediterranean region, or by landing in Western Europe.

At the Washington Conference, the system of general leadership of the military efforts of the Western allies was determined, a joint Anglo-American headquarters was created to coordinate the strategy developed at conferences of heads of government; a unified allied Anglo-American-Dutch-Australian command for the southwestern part of the Pacific was formed, headed by the British Field Marshal A.P. Wavell.

Immediately after the Washington Conference, the Allies began to violate their own established principle of the decisive importance of the European theater of operations. Without developing concrete plans for waging war in Europe, they (primarily the United States) began to transfer more and more forces of the fleet, aviation, and landing craft to the Pacific Ocean, where the situation was unfavorable for the United States.

Meanwhile, the leaders of fascist Germany sought to strengthen the fascist bloc. In November 1941, the "Anti-Comintern Pact" of the fascist powers was extended for 5 years. December 11, 1941 Germany, Italy, Japan signed an agreement on waging war against the United States and Great Britain "to a victorious end" and refusing to sign a truce with them without mutual agreement.

Having disabled the main forces of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese armed forces then occupied Thailand, Xianggang (Hong Kong), Burma, Malaya with the fortress of Singapore, the Philippines, the most important islands of Indonesia, capturing vast reserves of strategic raw materials in the zone of the southern seas. They defeated the US Asiatic Fleet, part of the British Navy, the Air Force and the Allied ground forces and, having ensured supremacy at sea, deprived the US and Great Britain of all naval and air bases in the Western Pacific Ocean in 5 months of the war. With a strike from the Caroline Islands, the Japanese fleet captured part of New Guinea and the islands adjacent to it, including most of the Solomon Islands, and created the threat of an invasion of Australia (see Pacific campaigns of 1941-45). The ruling circles of Japan hoped that Germany would tie up the forces of the United States and Great Britain on other fronts, and that both powers, after seizing their possessions in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, would give up fighting at a great distance from the mother country.

Under these conditions, the United States began to take emergency measures to deploy a military economy and mobilize resources. By transferring part of the fleet from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the United States launched the first retaliatory strikes in the first half of 1942. The two-day battle in the Coral Sea on May 7-8 brought success to the American fleet and forced the Japanese to abandon further offensive in the southwestern Pacific. In June 1942 at Fr. Midway, the American fleet defeated the large forces of the Japanese fleet, which, having suffered heavy losses, was forced to limit its operations and go on the defensive in the Pacific Ocean in the second half of 1942. The patriots of the countries occupied by the Japanese - Indonesia, Indochina, Korea, Burma, Malaya, the Philippines - launched a national liberation struggle against the invaders. In China, in the summer of 1941, a major Japanese offensive against the liberated areas was halted (mainly by the forces of the People's Liberation Army of China).

The actions of the Red Army on the Eastern Front had a growing influence on the military situation in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and North Africa. Germany and Italy, after the attack on the USSR, were unable to simultaneously conduct offensive operations in other areas. Having transferred the main aviation forces against the Soviet Union, the German command lost the opportunity to actively act against Great Britain, to deliver effective strikes against British sea lanes, fleet bases, and shipyards. This allowed Great Britain to strengthen the construction of the fleet, remove large naval forces from the waters of the mother country and transfer them to ensure communications in the Atlantic.

However, the German fleet soon seized the initiative for a short time. After the US entered the war, a significant part of the German submarines began to operate in the coastal waters of the Atlantic coast of America. In the first half of 1942, the losses of Anglo-American ships in the Atlantic increased again. But the improvement of anti-submarine defense methods allowed the Anglo-American command from the summer of 1942 to improve the situation on the Atlantic sea lanes, launch a series of retaliatory strikes against the German submarine fleet and push it back to the central regions of the Atlantic. From the beginning of V. m. Until the autumn of 1942, the tonnage of merchant ships sunk mainly in the Atlantic of Great Britain, the USA, allies with them and neutral countries exceeded 14 million tons. T.

The transfer of the bulk of the fascist German troops to the Soviet-German front contributed to a radical improvement in the position of the British armed forces in the Mediterranean basin and in North Africa. In the summer of 1941, the British Navy and Air Force firmly seized naval and air supremacy in the Mediterranean theater. Using o. Malta as a base, they sank in August 1941 33%, and in November - more than 70% of the cargo sent from Italy to North Africa. The British command re-formed the 8th Army in Egypt, which on November 18 went on the offensive against the German-Italian troops of Rommel. A fierce tank battle unfolded near Sidi Rezeh, which proceeded with varying success. The depletion of forces forced Rommel on December 7 to begin a withdrawal along the coast to positions at El Agheila.

In late November-December 1941, the German command reinforced its Air Force in the Mediterranean basin and transferred part of the submarines and torpedo boats from the Atlantic. Having inflicted a series of strong blows on the British fleet and its base in Malta, having sunk 3 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier and other ships, the German-Italian fleet and aviation again seized dominance in the Mediterranean Sea, which improved their position in North Africa. January 21, 1942 German-Italian troops suddenly went on the offensive for the British and advanced 450 km to El Ghazala. On May 27, they resumed their offensive with the aim of reaching Suez. With a deep maneuver, they managed to cover the main forces of the 8th Army and capture Tobruk. At the end of June 1942, Rommel's troops crossed the Libyan-Egyptian border and reached El Alamein, where they were stopped without reaching their goal due to exhaustion and lack of reinforcements.

3rd period of the war (November 19, 1942 - December 1943) was a period of a radical turning point, when the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition wrested the strategic initiative from the Axis powers, fully deployed their military potentials and went over to the strategic offensive everywhere. As before, decisive events took place on the Soviet-German front. By November 1942, out of 267 divisions and 5 brigades that Germany had, 192 divisions and 3 brigades (or 71%) were operating against the Red Army. In addition, there were 66 divisions and 13 brigades of German satellites on the Soviet-German front. On November 19, the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad began. The troops of the Southwestern, Don and Stalingrad fronts broke through the enemy defenses and, having introduced mobile formations, by November 23 surrounded 330,000 troops in the interfluve of the Volga and Don. grouping from the 6th and 4th Panzer German armies. Soviet troops stubborn defense in the area of ​​the river. Myshkov thwarted an attempt by the Nazi command to release the encircled. The offensive on the middle Don of the troops of the South-Western and left wing of the Voronezh fronts (began on December 16) ended with the defeat of the 8th Italian army. The threat of a strike by Soviet tank formations on the flank of the German deblocking group forced it to start a hasty retreat. By February 2, 1943, the group surrounded by Stalingrad was liquidated. This ended the Battle of Stalingrad, in which from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943, 32 divisions and 3 brigades of the Nazi army and German satellites were completely defeated and 16 divisions were bled white. The total losses of the enemy during this time amounted to over 800 thousand people, 2 thousand tanks and assault guns, over 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 3 thousand aircraft, etc. The victory of the Red Army shocked Nazi Germany, inflicted irreparable damage on its armed forces. damage, undermined the military and political prestige of Germany in the eyes of its allies, increased dissatisfaction with the war among them. The Battle of Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the entire V. m.

The victories of the Red Army contributed to the expansion of the partisan movement in the USSR, became a powerful stimulus for the further development of the Resistance Movement in Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Greece, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and other European countries. Polish patriots gradually moved from spontaneous, scattered actions during the beginning of the war to a mass struggle. The Polish communists at the beginning of 1942 called for the formation of a "second front in the rear of the Nazi army." The fighting force of the Polish Workers' Party - the Guards of Ludow became the first military organization in Poland, which led a systematic struggle against the invaders. The creation at the end of 1943 of the Democratic National Front and its formation on the night of January 1, 1944 central authority- Craiova Rada Narodova (See Craiova Rada Narodova) contributed to the further development of the national liberation struggle.

In Yugoslavia in November 1942, under the leadership of the Communists, the formation of the People's Liberation Army began, which by the end of 1942 had liberated one-fifth of the country's territory. And although in 1943 the occupiers carried out 3 major offensives against the Yugoslav patriots, the ranks of active anti-fascist fighters steadily multiplied and grew stronger. Under the blows of the partisans, the Nazi troops suffered ever-increasing losses; the transport network in the Balkans by the end of 1943 was paralyzed.

In Czechoslovakia, on the initiative of the Communist Party, the National Revolutionary Committee was created, which became the central political body of the anti-fascist struggle. The number of partisan detachments grew, and centers of the partisan movement formed in a number of regions of Czechoslovakia. Under the leadership of the CPC, the anti-fascist resistance movement gradually developed into a national uprising.

The French Resistance Movement intensified sharply in the summer and autumn of 1943, after new defeats by the Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front. Organizations of the Resistance Movement were included in the united anti-fascist army created on the territory of France - the French Internal Forces, the number of which soon reached 500 thousand people.

The liberation movement that unfolded in the territories occupied by the countries of the fascist bloc fettered the Nazi troops, their main forces were bled to death by the Red Army. As early as the first half of 1942, conditions were in place for the opening of a second front in Western Europe. The leaders of the United States and Great Britain undertook to open it in 1942, which was announced in the Anglo-Soviet and Soviet-American communiqués published on June 12, 1942. However, the leaders of the Western powers delayed the opening of the second front, trying to weaken both fascist Germany and the USSR at the same time, in order to establish its dominance in Europe and throughout the world. On June 11, 1942, the British Cabinet rejected a plan for a direct invasion of France across the English Channel under the pretext of difficulties in supplying troops, transferring reinforcements, and a shortage of special landing craft. At a meeting in Washington of the heads of government and representatives of the joint headquarters of the United States and Great Britain in the second half of June 1942, it was decided to abandon the landing in France in 1942 and 1943, and instead carry out an operation to land expeditionary forces in French Northwest Africa (Operation "Torch") and only in the future to begin the concentration of large masses of American troops in the UK (Operation "Bolero"). This decision, which had no solid grounds, provoked a protest from the Soviet government.

In North Africa, British troops, using the weakening of the Italo-German grouping, launched offensive operations. British aviation, which again seized air supremacy in the fall of 1942, sank in October 1942 up to 40% of the Italian and German ships heading for North Africa, and disrupted the regular replenishment and supply of Rommel's troops. On October 23, 1942, General B. L. Montgomery's Eighth Army launched a decisive offensive. Having won an important victory in the battle of El Alamein, for the next three months she pursued Rommel's African Corps along the coast, occupied the territory of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, liberated Tobruk, Benghazi and reached positions at El Agheila.

On November 8, 1942, the landing of the American-British expeditionary forces in French North Africa began (under the overall command of General D. Eisenhower); in the ports of Algiers, Oran, Casablanca, 12 divisions were unloaded (a total of over 150 thousand people). Airborne detachments captured two large airfields in Morocco. After little resistance, the commander-in-chief of the French armed forces of the Vichy regime in North Africa, Admiral J. Darlan, ordered not to interfere with the American-British troops.

The fascist German command, intending to hold North Africa, urgently transferred the 5th Panzer Army to Tunisia by air and sea, which succeeded in stopping the Anglo-American troops and driving them back from Tunisia. In November 1942, fascist German troops occupied the entire territory of France and tried to capture the French Navy (about 60 warships) in Toulon, which, however, was sunk by French sailors.

At the Casablanca Conference of 1943 (see Casablanca Conference of 1943), the leaders of the United States and Great Britain, declaring the unconditional surrender of the "Axis" countries as their ultimate goal, determined further plans for the conduct of the war, which were based on a policy of delaying the opening of a second front. Roosevelt and Churchill considered and approved the strategic plan prepared by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 1943, which provided for the capture of Sicily in order to put pressure on Italy and create conditions for attracting Turkey as an active ally, as well as an intensified air attack on Germany and the concentration of the largest possible forces to enter the Continent "as soon as German resistance has weakened to the desired level."

The implementation of this plan could not seriously undermine the forces of the fascist bloc in Europe, much less replace the second front, since active operations by the American-British troops were planned in a theater of military operations secondary to Germany. In the main questions of the strategy of V. m. this conference proved fruitless.

The struggle in North Africa went on with varying success until the spring of 1943. In March, the 18th Anglo-American Army Group under the command of the British Field Marshal H. Alexander struck with superior forces and, after lengthy battles, occupied the city of Tunis, and by May 13 forced the Italo-German troops capitulate on the Bon Peninsula. The entire territory of North Africa passed into the hands of the allies.

After the defeat in Africa, the Nazi command expected the Allied invasion of France, not being ready to resist it. However, the allied command was preparing a landing in Italy. On May 12, Roosevelt and Churchill met at a new conference in Washington. The intention was confirmed not to open a second front in Western Europe during 1943 and the approximate date of its opening was set - May 1, 1944.

At this time, Germany was preparing a decisive summer offensive on the Soviet-German front. The Hitlerite leadership sought to defeat the main forces of the Red Army, regain the strategic initiative, and achieve a change in the course of the war. It increased its armed forces by 2 million people. by means of "total mobilization", forced the release of military products, transferred large contingents of troops from various regions of Europe to the Eastern Front. According to the Citadel plan, it was supposed to encircle and destroy Soviet troops in the Kursk salient, and then expand the front of the offensive and capture the entire Donbass.

The Soviet command, having information about the enemy's impending offensive, decided to wear down the Nazi troops in a defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge, then defeat them in the central and southern sectors of the Soviet-German front, liberate the Left-Bank Ukraine, Donbass, eastern regions of Belarus and reach the Dnieper. Significant forces and means were concentrated and skillfully located to solve this problem. The Battle of Kursk 1943, which began on July 5, is one of the greatest battles of the V. m. - immediately developed in favor of the Red Army. The Hitlerite command failed to break the skillful and staunch defense of the Soviet troops with a powerful avalanche of tanks. In a defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge, the troops of the Central and Voronezh Fronts bled the enemy to death. On July 12, the Soviet command launched a counteroffensive of the troops of the Bryansk and Western fronts against the Germans' Oryol bridgehead. On July 16, the enemy began to withdraw. The troops of the five fronts of the Red Army, developing a counteroffensive, defeated the enemy strike groups, opened their way to the Left-Bank Ukraine and the Dnieper. In the Battle of Kursk, Soviet troops defeated 30 Nazi divisions, including 7 tank divisions. After this major defeat, the leadership of the Wehrmacht finally lost the strategic initiative, was forced to completely abandon the offensive strategy and go on the defensive until the end of the war. The Red Army, using its major success, liberated the Donbass and the Left-bank Ukraine, crossed the Dnieper on the move (see Dnepr in the article), began the liberation of Belarus. In total, in the summer and autumn of 1943, Soviet troops defeated 218 Nazi divisions, completing a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War. A catastrophe loomed over Nazi Germany. The total losses of the German ground forces alone from the beginning of the war to November 1943 amounted to about 5.2 million people.

After the end of the struggle in North Africa, the Allies carried out the Sicilian operation of 1943 (See Sicilian operation of 1943), which began on July 10. With absolute superiority of forces at sea and in the air, by mid-August they captured Sicily, and in early September they crossed to the Apennine Peninsula (see Italian campaign 1943-1945 (See Italian campaign 1943-1945)). In Italy, a movement was growing for the elimination of the fascist regime and a way out of the war. As a result of the blows of the Anglo-American troops and the growth of the anti-fascist movement, Mussolini's regime fell at the end of July. He was replaced by the government of P. Badoglio, who signed an armistice with the United States and Great Britain on September 3. In response, the Nazis brought additional contingents of troops into Italy, disarmed the Italian army and occupied the country. By November 1943, after the Anglo-American landings in Salerno, the fascist German command withdrew its troops to S., in the area of ​​Rome, and entrenched itself on the line of the river. Sangro and Carigliano, where the front has stabilized.

In the Atlantic Ocean by the beginning of 1943 the positions of the German fleet were weakened. The Allies ensured their superiority in surface forces and naval aviation. The large ships of the German fleet could now operate only in the Arctic Ocean against convoys. Given the weakening of its surface fleet, the Nazi naval command, headed by Admiral K. Dönitz, who replaced the former fleet commander E. Raeder, shifted the focus to the actions of the submarine fleet. Having commissioned more than 200 submarines, the Germans inflicted a series of heavy blows on the allies in the Atlantic. But after the highest success achieved in March 1943, the effectiveness of German submarine attacks began to decline rapidly. Growth of the allied fleet, application new technology to detect submarines, an increase in the range of naval aviation predetermined the growth of losses of the German submarine fleet, which were not replenished. Shipbuilding in the United States and Great Britain now provided an excess of the number of newly built ships over those sunk, the number of which had decreased.

In the Pacific Ocean in the first half of 1943, after the losses suffered in 1942, the belligerents accumulated forces and did not conduct extensive operations. Japan more than tripled its aircraft output compared to 1941, and its shipyards laid down 60 new ships, including 40 submarines. The total strength of the Japanese armed forces increased by 2.3 times. The Japanese command decided to stop further advance in the Pacific Ocean and consolidate what was captured by going on the defensive on the lines of the Aleutian, Marshall, Gilbert Islands, New Guinea, Indonesia, Burma.

The United States also intensively deployed military production. 28 new aircraft carriers were laid down, several new operational formations were formed (2 field and 2 air armies), many special units; military bases were built in the South Pacific. The forces of the United States and its allies in the Pacific were consolidated into two operational groups: the central part of the Pacific (Admiral C.W. Nimitz) and the southwestern part of the Pacific (General D. MacArthur). The groups included several fleets, field armies, marines, aircraft carrier and base aviation, mobile naval bases, etc., in total - 500 thousand people, 253 large warships (including 69 submarines) , over 2 thousand combat aircraft. The US Navy and Air Force outnumbered the Japanese. In May 1943, units of the Nimitz group occupied the Aleutian Islands, securing American positions in the north.

In connection with the great summer successes of the Red Army and the landing in Italy, Roosevelt and Churchill held a conference in Quebec (August 11-24, 1943) to refine military plans again. The main intention of the leaders of both powers was to “achieve in the shortest possible time the unconditional surrender of the European countries of the “axis””, for which, through an air offensive, to achieve “undermining and disorganization on an ever-increasing scale of the military and economic power of Germany”. On May 1, 1944, it was planned to launch Operation Overlord to invade France. In the Far East, it was decided to expand the offensive in order to capture bridgeheads, from which it would then be possible, after the defeat of the European countries of the "axis" and the transfer of forces from Europe, to strike Japan and defeat it "within 12 months after the end of the war with Germany." The plan of action chosen by the allies did not meet the objectives of ending the war in Europe as soon as possible, since active operations in Western Europe were not expected until the summer of 1944.

Carrying out plans for offensive operations in the Pacific, the Americans continued the battles for the Solomon Islands that began as early as June 1943. Having mastered about New George and a bridgehead on about. Bougainville, they brought their bases in the South Pacific closer to the Japanese, including the main Japanese base - Rabaul. At the end of November 1943, the Americans occupied the Gilbert Islands, which were then turned into a base for preparing an attack on the Marshall Islands. MacArthur's group in stubborn battles captured most of the islands in the Coral Sea, the eastern part of New Guinea and deployed a base here for an attack on the Bismarck Archipelago. By removing the threat of a Japanese invasion of Australia, she secured US sea lanes in the area. As a result of these actions, the strategic initiative in the Pacific passed into the hands of the Allies, who eliminated the consequences of the defeat of 1941-42 and created the conditions for an offensive against Japan.

The national liberation struggle of the peoples of China, Korea, Indo-China, Burma, Indonesia, and the Philippines expanded ever more. The communist parties of these countries rallied partisan forces in the ranks of the National Front. The People's Liberation Army and partisan detachments of China, having resumed active operations, liberated the territory with a population of about 80 million people.

The rapid development of events in 1943 on all fronts, especially on the Soviet-German front, required the Allies to clarify and coordinate plans for the conduct of the war for the next year. This was done at the November 1943 conference in Cairo (see the Cairo Conference of 1943) and the Tehran Conference of 1943 (see the Tehran Conference of 1943).

At the Cairo Conference (November 22-26), the delegations of the United States (head of the delegation F. D. Roosevelt), Great Britain (head of the delegation W. Churchill), China (head of the delegation Chiang Kai-shek) considered plans for waging war in Southeast Asia, which provided for limited goals: the creation of bases for the subsequent offensive against Burma and Indochina and the improvement of air supply to Chiang Kai-shek's army. Questions of military action in Europe were seen as secondary; The British leadership proposed to postpone Operation Overlord.

At the Tehran conference (November 28 - December 1, 1943) of the heads of government of the USSR (head of the delegation I. V. Stalin), the USA (head of the delegation F. D. Roosevelt) and Great Britain (head of the delegation W. Churchill) military questions were in the center of attention. The British delegation proposed a plan to invade Southeast Europe through the Balkans, with the participation of Turkey. The Soviet delegation proved that this plan did not meet the requirements of the fastest defeat of Germany, because operations in the Mediterranean area were "operations of secondary importance"; With its firm and consistent position, the Soviet delegation forced the Allies to once again recognize the paramount importance of the invasion of Western Europe, and "Overlord" - the main operation of the Allies, which should be accompanied by an auxiliary landing in southern France and distracting actions in Italy. For its part, the USSR pledged to enter the war with Japan after the defeat of Germany.

The report on the conference of the heads of government of the three powers said: “We have come to full agreement on the scale and timing of the operations to be undertaken from the east, west and south. The mutual understanding we have reached here guarantees us victory.”

At the Cairo Conference held on December 3-7, 1943, the delegations of the United States and Great Britain, after a series of discussions, recognized the need to use landing craft destined for Southeast Asia in Europe and approved a program according to which the most important operations in 1944 should be Overlord and Anvil ( landing in the south of France); the conference participants agreed that "in no other part of the world should any action be taken that could hinder the success of these two operations." This was an important victory for Soviet foreign policy, its struggle for the unity of action of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and the military strategy based on this policy.

4th period of the war (January 1, 1944 - May 8, 1945) was the period when the Red Army, in the course of a powerful strategic offensive, expelled the Nazi troops from the territory of the USSR, liberated the peoples of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, and, together with the armed forces of the allies, completed the defeat of Nazi Germany. At the same time, the offensive of the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain in the Pacific Ocean continued, and the people's liberation war in China intensified.

As in previous periods, the main burden of the struggle was borne by the Soviet Union, against which the fascist bloc continued to hold its main forces. By the beginning of 1944, the German command of 315 divisions and 10 brigades that it had had 198 divisions and 6 brigades on the Soviet-German front. In addition, there were 38 divisions and 18 brigades of satellite states on the Soviet-German front. In 1944, the Soviet command planned an offensive along the front from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, with the main attack in the southwestern direction. In January - February, the Red Army, after a 900-day heroic defense, liberated Leningrad from the blockade (see the Battle of Leningrad 1941-44). By spring, having carried out a number of major operations, Soviet troops liberated the Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea, reached the Carpathians and entered the territory of Romania. In the winter campaign of 1944 alone, the enemy lost 30 divisions and 6 brigades from the blows of the Red Army; 172 divisions and 7 brigades suffered heavy losses; human losses amounted to more than 1 million people. Germany could no longer make up for the damage it had suffered. In June 1944, the Red Army struck the Finnish army, after which Finland requested an armistice, an agreement on which was signed on September 19, 1944 in Moscow.

The grandiose offensive of the Red Army in Belarus from June 23 to August 29, 1944 (see the Belarusian operation of 1944) and in Western Ukraine from July 13 to August 29, 1944 (see the Lvov-Sandomierz operation of 1944) ended with the defeat of the two largest strategic groups of the Wehrmacht in the center of the Soviet -German front, breakthrough of the German front to a depth of 600 km, the complete destruction of 26 divisions and the infliction of heavy losses on 82 Nazi divisions. Soviet troops reached the border of East Prussia, entered the territory of Poland and approached the Vistula. Polish troops also took part in the offensive.

In Chelm, the first Polish city liberated by the Red Army, on July 21, 1944, the Polish Committee of National Liberation was formed - a temporary executive body of people's power, subordinate to the Craiova Rada Narodova. In August 1944, the Home Army, following the order of the Polish government in exile in London, which sought to seize power in Poland before the Red Army approached and restore pre-war order, launched the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. After 63 days of heroic struggle, this uprising, undertaken in an unfavorable strategic environment, was defeated.

The international and military situation in the spring and summer of 1944 developed in such a way that a further delay in the opening of the second front would lead to the liberation of all of Europe by the forces of the USSR. This prospect worried the ruling circles of the United States and Great Britain, who sought to restore the pre-war capitalist order in the countries occupied by the Nazis and their allies. In London and Washington, they began to rush to prepare for an invasion of Western Europe across the English Channel in order to seize bridgeheads in Normandy and Brittany, ensure the landing of expeditionary troops, and then liberate northwestern France. In the future, it was supposed to break through the "Siegfried Line", which covered the German border, cross the Rhine and advance deep into Germany. By the beginning of June 1944, the Allied expeditionary forces under the command of General Eisenhower had 2.8 million people, 37 divisions, 12 separate brigades, "commando detachments", about 11 thousand combat aircraft, 537 warships and a large number of transports and landing craft.

After the defeats on the Soviet-German front, the fascist German command could keep in France, Belgium and the Netherlands as part of Army Group West (Field Marshal G. Rundstedt) only 61 weakened, poorly equipped divisions, 500 aircraft, 182 warships. The allies had, in the same way, absolute superiority in forces and means.

The most cruel and destructive in all human history the conflict was World War II. It was only during this war that nuclear weapons were used. 61 states became participants in the Second World War. It began on September 1, 1939 and ended on September 2, 1945.

The causes of the Second World War are quite diverse. But, above all, these are territorial disputes caused by the results of the First World War and a serious imbalance of power in the world. The Versailles Treaty of England, France and the United States, concluded on extremely unfavorable terms for the losing side (Turkey and Germany), led to a constant increase in tension in the world. But, the so-called policy of appeasing the aggressor, adopted by England and France in the 1030s, led to an increase in the military power of Germany and led to the start of active hostilities.

The anti-Hitler coalition included: the USSR, England, France, the USA, China (the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek), Yugoslavia, Greece, Mexico, and so on. On the side of Nazi Germany, Japan, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Albania, Finland, China (Wang Jingwei's leadership), Iran, Finland and other states took part in World War II. Many powers, without taking part in active hostilities, helped with the supply of necessary medicines, food and other resources.

Here are the main stages of the Second World War, which researchers distinguish today.

• This bloody conflict began on September 1, 1939. Germany and its allies carried out the European blitzkrieg.
• The second stage of the war began on June 22, 1941 and lasted until mid-November of the following 1942. Germany attacks the USSR, but Barbarossa's plan fails.
• The next in the chronology of the Second World War was the period from the second half of November 1942 to the end of 1943. At this time, Germany is gradually losing the strategic initiative. At the Tehran Conference, in which Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill took part (end of 1943), a decision was made to open a second front.
• The fourth stage, which began at the end of 1943, ended with the capture of Berlin and the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany on May 9, 1945.
• The final stage of the war lasted from May 10, 1945 to September 2 of the same year. It was during this period that the United States used nuclear weapons. Military operations were conducted in the Far East and Southeast Asia.

The beginning of the Second World War of 1939-1945 took place on September 1. The Wehrmacht launched an unexpected large-scale aggression against Poland. France, England and some other states declared war on Germany. But, nevertheless, real help was not provided. By September 28, Poland was completely under German rule. On the same day, a peace treaty was signed between Germany and the USSR. Fascist Germany thus secured a fairly reliable rear. This made it possible to begin preparations for war with France. By June 22, 1940, France was invaded. Now nothing prevented Germany from starting serious preparations for military operations directed against the USSR. Even then, the plan for a lightning war against the USSR "Barbarossa" was approved.

It should be noted that in the USSR on the eve of the Second World War they received intelligence about the preparation of the invasion. But Stalin, believing that Hitler would not dare to attack so early, did not give the order to put the border units on alert.

The actions that unfolded between June 22, 1941 and May 9, 1945 are of particular importance. This period is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Many of the most important battles and events of World War II unfolded on the territory of modern Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

By 1941, the USSR was a state with a rapidly developing industry, primarily heavy and defense. Much attention was also paid to science. Discipline in collective farms and in production was as strict as possible. A whole network of military schools and academies was created in order to replenish the ranks of the officer corps, more than 80% of which by that time had been repressed. But, these personnel could not receive full-fledged training in a short time.

For world and Russian history, the main battles of the Second World War are of great importance.

• September 30, 1941 - April 20, 1942 - the first victory of the Red Army - the Battle of Moscow.
• July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943 - a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War, the Battle of Stalingrad.
• July 5 - August 23, 1943 - Battle of Kursk. During this period, the largest tank battle of the Second World War took place - near Prokhorovka.
• April 25 - May 2, 1945 - the battle for Berlin and the subsequent surrender of Nazi Germany in World War II.

The events that had a serious impact on the course of the war took place not only on the fronts of the USSR. Thus, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 led to the US entry into the war. It is worth noting the landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944, after the opening of the second front and the use of nuclear weapons to attack Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

September 2, 1945 marked the end of World War II. After the Kwantung Army of Japan was defeated by the USSR, an act of surrender was signed. The battles and battles of World War II claimed at least 65 million lives. The greatest losses in the Second World War were suffered by the USSR, having taken the main blow of the Nazi army. At least 27 million citizens died. But, only the resistance of the Red Army made it possible to stop the powerful war machine of the Reich.

These terrible results of the Second World War could not but horrify the world. For the first time, war threatened the existence of human civilization. Many war criminals were punished during the Tokyo and Nuremberg trials. The ideology of fascism was condemned. In 1945, at a conference in Yalta, a decision was made to create the UN (United Nations Organization). The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the consequences of which are still felt today, eventually led to the signing of a number of pacts on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.

The economic consequences of the Second World War are also obvious. In many countries of Western Europe, this war provoked a decline in the economic sphere. Their influence has declined, while the authority and influence of the United States has grown. The significance of the Second World War for the USSR is enormous. As a result, the Soviet Union significantly expanded its borders and strengthened the totalitarian system. Friendly communist regimes were established in many European countries.

It would seem that the answer to this question is absolutely clear. Any more or less educated European will name the date - September 1, 1939 - the day the Nazi Germany attacked Poland. And the more prepared will explain: more precisely, the world war began two days later - on September 3, when Great Britain and France, as well as Australia, New Zealand and India, declared war on Germany.

True, they did not immediately participate in hostilities, waging the so-called waiting strange war. For Western Europe, the real war began only in the spring of 1940, when German troops invaded Denmark and Norway on April 9, and on May 10, the Wehrmacht launched an offensive in France, Belgium and Holland.

Recall that at that time the largest powers of the world - the USA and the USSR remained out of the war. For this reason alone, there are doubts about the complete validity of the date of the beginning of the planetary slaughter established by Western European historiography.

And therefore, I think, by and large it can be assumed that it would be more correct to consider the starting point of the Second World War as the date of involvement in the hostilities of the Soviet Union - June 22, 1941. Well, from the Americans it was possible to hear that the war acquired a truly global character only after the treacherous Japanese attack on the Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor and the announcement in December 1941 by Washington of war against militaristic Japan, Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.

However, Chinese scholars and politicians most persistently and, say, from their own point of view, convincingly defend the illegality of the countdown of the world war adopted in Europe from September 1, 1939. I have repeatedly encountered this at international conferences and symposiums, where Chinese participants invariably defend the official position of their country that the start of the Second World War should be considered the date of the unleashing of a full-scale war in China by militaristic Japan - July 7, 1937. There are also such historians in the "Celestial Empire" who believe that this date should be September 18, 1931 - the beginning of the Japanese invasion of the North-Eastern provinces of China, then called Manchuria.

One way or another, it turns out that this year the PRC will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the start of not only the Japanese aggression against China, but also the Second World War.

One of the first in our country to seriously pay attention to such a periodization of the Second World War was the authors of the collective monograph prepared by the Foundation for Historical Perspective “The Score of the Second World War. Thunderstorm in the East” (author-comp. A.A. Koshkin. M., Veche, 2010).

In the preface, the head of the Foundation, Doctor of Historical Sciences N.A. Narochnitskaya notes:

"According to the established historical science and in the public mind, World War II began in Europe with an attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, after which Great Britain, the first of the future victorious powers, declared war on the Nazi Reich. However, this event was preceded by large-scale military clashes in other parts of the world, which are unreasonably considered by Eurocentric historiography as peripheral, and therefore secondary.

By September 1, 1939, a truly world war was already in full swing in Asia. China, fighting Japanese aggression since the mid-1930s, has already lost twenty million lives. In Asia and Europe, the Axis powers - Germany, Italy, and Japan - have been delivering ultimatums, bringing in troops, and redrawing borders for several years. Hitler, with the connivance of Western democracies, seized Austria and Czechoslovakia, Italy occupied Albania and waged war in North Africa, where 200,000 Abyssinians died.

Since the end of the Second World War is considered the surrender of Japan, the war in Asia is recognized as part of the Second World War, but the question of its beginning needs a more reasonable definition. The traditional periodization of World War II needs to be rethought. In terms of the scale of the redistribution of the world and military operations, in terms of the scale of the victims of aggression, the Second World War began precisely in Asia long before the German attack on Poland, long before the Western powers entered the world war.

The word in the collective monograph was also given to Chinese scientists. Historians Luan Jinghe and Xu Zhiming note:

“According to one of the generally accepted points of view, the Second World War, which lasted six years, began on September 1, 1939 with the German attack on Poland. Meanwhile, there is another view of the starting point of this war, which at different times involved more than 60 states and regions and which disrupted the lives of over 2 billion people around the world. The total number of mobilized from both sides amounted to more than 100 million people, the death toll - more than 50 million. The direct costs of waging the war amounted to 1.352 trillion US dollars, financial losses reached 4 trillion dollars. We cite these figures to once again indicate the scale of those huge disasters that the Second World War brought to mankind in the 20th century.

There is no doubt that the formation of the Western Front meant not only the expansion of the scale of hostilities, it also played a decisive role in the course of the war.

However, an equally important contribution to the victory in World War II was made on the Eastern Front, where the eight-year war of the Chinese people against the Japanese invaders was going on. This resistance became an important part of the world war.

An in-depth study of the history of the Chinese people's war against the Japanese invaders and understanding of its significance will help to create a more complete picture of the Second World War.

This is what the proposed article is devoted to, in which it is argued that the actual date of the start of the Second World War should be considered not September 1, 1939, but July 7, 1937 - the day when Japan unleashed a full-scale war against China.

If we accept this point of view and do not strive to artificially separate the Western and Eastern fronts, there will be all the more reason to call the anti-fascist war ... the Great World War.

The author of the article in the collective monograph, a prominent Russian sinologist, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.S. Myasnikov, who does a lot to restore historical justice, to properly assess the contribution of the Chinese people to the victory over the so-called "Axis countries" - Germany, Japan and Italy, who aspired to enslave the peoples and world domination. An eminent scientist writes:

“As for the beginning of the Second World War, there are two main versions: European and Chinese ... Chinese historiography has long been saying that it is time to move away from Eurocentrism (which, in essence, is similar to negritude) in assessing this event and admit that the beginning of this war is falling on July 7, 1937 and is connected with the open aggression of Japan against China. Let me remind you that the territory of China is 9.6 million square meters. km, that is, approximately equal to the territory of Europe. By the time the war broke out in Europe, most of China, where they were Largest cities and economic centers - Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, was occupied by the Japanese. Almost the entire railway network of the country fell into the hands of the invaders, its sea coast was blocked. Chongqing became the capital of China during the war.

It should be borne in mind that China lost 35 million people in the war of resistance against Japan. The European public is not sufficiently aware of the heinous crimes of the Japanese military.

So, on December 13, 1937, Japanese troops captured the then capital of China - Nanjing and carried out a mass extermination of civilians and a robbery of the city. 300 thousand people became victims of this crime. These and other crimes were condemned by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East at the Tokyo Trial (1946-1948).

But, finally, objective approaches to this problem began to appear in our historiography... The collective work gives a detailed picture of military and diplomatic moves, which fully confirms the need and validity of revising the outdated Eurocentric point of view.”

For our part, I would like to note that the proposed revision will cause resistance from pro-government historians of Japan, who not only do not recognize the aggressive nature of their country's actions in China and the number of victims in the war, but also do not consider the eight-year extermination of the Chinese population and the all-out plunder of China as a war. They stubbornly call the Japanese-Chinese war an “incident” allegedly caused by China, despite the absurdity of such a name for military and punitive actions, during which tens of millions of people were killed. They do not recognize Japan's aggression in China as an integral part of the Second World War, claiming that they participated in the global conflict, opposing only the United States and Great Britain.

In conclusion, it should be recognized that our country has always objectively and comprehensively assessed the contribution of the Chinese people to the victory of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II.

High assessments of the heroism and self-sacrifice of Chinese soldiers in this war are also given in modern Russia, both by historians and leaders Russian Federation. Such assessments are duly contained in the issued by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the 70th anniversary Great Victory The 12-volume work of prominent Russian historians "The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945". Therefore, there is reason to expect that our scientists and politicians, during the events planned for the upcoming 80th anniversary of the start of the Japanese-Chinese war, will treat with understanding and solidarity the position of the Chinese comrades, who consider the events that took place in July 1937 the starting point that then fell upon almost the entire a world of unprecedented planetary tragedy.

The Second World War was the bloodiest and most brutal military conflict in the history of mankind and the only one in which nuclear weapons were used. 61 states took part in it. The dates of the beginning and end of this war (September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) are among the most significant for the entire civilized world.

The causes of World War II were the imbalance of power in the world and the problems provoked by the results, in particular territorial disputes.

The United States, England and France, who won the First World War, concluded the Treaty of Versailles on the most unfavorable and humiliating conditions for the losing countries (Turkey and Germany), which provoked an increase in tension in the world. At the same time, adopted in the late 1930s. Britain and France's policy of appeasing the aggressor made it possible for Germany to sharply increase its military potential, which accelerated the transition of the fascists to active military operations.

The members of the anti-Hitler bloc were the USSR, the USA, France, England, China (Chiang Kai-shek), Greece, Yugoslavia, Mexico, etc. On the part of Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, China (Wang Jingwei), Thailand, Iraq, etc. participated in World War II. Many states participating in the Second World War did not conduct operations on the fronts, but helped by supplying food, medicines and other necessary resources.

Researchers identify the following stages of World War II:

• first stage: from September 1, 1939 to June 21, 1941 - the period of the European blitzkrieg of Germany and the allies;
• second stage: June 22, 1941 - approximately mid-November 1942 - attack on the USSR and the subsequent failure of the Barbarossa plan;
• the third stage: the second half of November 1942 - the end of 1943 - a radical turning point in the war and the loss of strategic initiative by Germany. At the end of 1943, at the Tehran Conference, in which Roosevelt and Churchill took part, it was decided to open a second front;
• the fourth stage: from the end of 1943 to May 9, 1945 - was marked by the capture of Berlin and the unconditional surrender of Germany;
• fifth stage: May 10, 1945 - September 2, 1945 - during this time, fighting was fought only in Southeast Asia and the Far East. The United States used nuclear weapons for the first time.

The beginning of World War II fell on September 1, 1939. On this day, the Wehrmacht suddenly began aggression against Poland. Despite the retaliatory declaration of war by France, Great Britain and some other countries, no real assistance was provided to Poland. Already on September 28, Poland was captured. The peace treaty between Germany and the USSR was concluded on the same day. Having received a reliable rear, Germany began active preparations for war with France, which capitulated already in 1940, on June 22. Nazi Germany began large-scale preparations for war on the eastern front with the USSR. was approved already in 1940, on December 18. The Soviet top leadership received reports of the impending attack, however, fearing to provoke Germany and believing that the attack would be carried out at a later date, they deliberately did not put the border units on alert.

In the chronology of World War II, the period from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945, known in Russia as . The USSR on the eve of World War II was an actively developing state. Since the threat of a conflict with Germany increased over time, defense and heavy industry and science developed first of all in the country. Closed design bureaus were created, whose activities were aimed at developing the latest weapons. Discipline was tightened to the maximum at all enterprises and collective farms. In the 30s. more than 80% of the officers of the Red Army were repressed. To make up for the losses, a network of military schools and academies was created. However, there was not enough time for full-fledged training of personnel.

The main battles of World War II, which were of great importance for the history of the USSR:

• (September 30, 1941 - April 20, 1942), which became the first victory of the Red Army;
• (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943), which marked a radical turning point in the war;
• (July 5 - August 23, 1943), during which the largest tank battle of the Second World War took place under the village. Prokhorovka;
• which led to the surrender of Germany.

Important events for the course of World War II took place not only on the fronts of the USSR. Among the operations carried out by the allies, it is worth noting:

• the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which caused the United States to enter World War II;
• the opening of a second front and the landing of troops in Normandy on June 6, 1944;
• the use of nuclear weapons on August 6 and 9, 1945 to strike at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The date of the end of the Second World War was September 2, 1945. Japan signed the act of surrender only after the defeat of the Kwantung Army by the Soviet troops. The battles of World War II, according to the most rough estimates, claimed about 65 million people on both sides.

The Soviet Union suffered the greatest losses in World War II - 27 million citizens of the country were killed. It was the USSR that took the brunt of the blow. These figures, according to some researchers, are approximate. It was the stubborn resistance of the Red Army that became the main reason for the defeat of the Reich.

The results of World War II horrified everyone. Military operations have put the very existence of civilization on the brink. During the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, fascist ideology was condemned, and many war criminals were punished. In order to prevent the possibility of a new world war in the future, at the Yalta Conference in 1945 it was decided to create the United Nations (UN), which still exists today.

The results of the nuclear bombardment of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the signing of pacts on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and a ban on their production and use. It must be said that the consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are felt today.

The economic consequences of the Second World War were also serious. For Western European countries, it turned into a genuine economic disaster. The influence of Western European countries has significantly decreased. At the same time, the United States managed to maintain and strengthen its position.

The significance of the Second World War for the Soviet Union is enormous. The defeat of the Nazis determined the future history of the country. According to the results of the conclusion of the peace treaties that followed the defeat of Germany, the USSR significantly expanded its borders.

At the same time, the totalitarian system was strengthened in the Union. In some European countries, communist regimes were established. Victory in the war did not save the USSR from those that followed in the 50s. mass repression.

Commanders

Side forces

The Second World War(September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) - the war of two world military-political coalitions, which became the largest war in the history of mankind. It involved 61 states out of 73 that existed at that time (80% of the world's population). The fighting took place on the territory of three continents and in the waters of four oceans.

Military operations at sea in World War II

Members

The number of countries involved varied over the course of the war. Some of them were active in the war, others helped their allies with food supplies, and many participated in the war only nominally.

The anti-Hitler coalition included: the USSR, the British Empire, the USA, Poland, France and other countries.

On the other hand, the Axis countries and their allies participated in the war: Germany, Italy, Japan, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries.

Background of the war

The prerequisites for the war stem from the so-called Versailles-Washington system - the balance of power that developed after the First World War. The main winners (France, Great Britain, USA) were unable to make new system sustainable world order. Moreover, Britain and France counted on a new war to strengthen their positions as colonial powers and weaken their competitors (Germany and Japan). Germany was limited in participation in international affairs, the creation of a full-fledged army and was subject to indemnities. With the decline in living standards in Germany, political forces with revanchist ideas led by A. Hitler came to power.

German battleship Schleswig-Holstein firing on Polish positions

1939 campaign

Capture of Poland

World War II began on September 1, 1939 with a surprise German attack on Poland. The Polish naval forces did not include large surface ships, were not ready for war with Germany and were quickly defeated. Three Polish destroyers left for England before the start of the war, German aircraft sank a destroyer and a mine layer Gryf .

The beginning of the struggle at sea

Operations on communications in the Atlantic Ocean

In the initial period of the war, the German command hoped to solve the problem of fighting on sea communications, using surface raiders as the main striking force. Submarines and aviation were assigned a supporting role. They were supposed to force the British to transport in convoys, which facilitated the actions of surface raiders. The British intended to use the convoy method as the main method of protecting shipping from submarines, and to use long-range blockade as the main method of combating surface raiders, following the experience of the First World War. To this end, at the beginning of the war, the British established naval patrols in the English Channel and in the Shetland Islands - Norway region. But these actions were ineffective - surface raiders, and even more so German submarines, were actively operating on communications - allies and neutral countries lost 221 merchant ships with a total tonnage of 755 thousand tons by the end of the year.

German merchant ships had instructions to start the war and tried to reach the ports of Germany or friendly countries, about 40 ships were sunk by their crews, and only 19 ships fell into the hands of the enemy at the beginning of the war.

Operations in the North Sea

With the outbreak of war, a large-scale laying of minefields in the North Sea began, which fettered active operations in it until the end of the war. Both sides mined the approaches to their coast with wide barrier belts of dozens of minefields. German destroyers set up minefields off the coast of England.

German submarine raid U-47 in Scapa Flow, during which she sank an English battleship HMS Royal Oak showed the weakness of the entire anti-submarine defense of the British fleet.

Capture of Norway and Denmark

1940 campaign

Occupation of Denmark and Norway

In April - May 1940, German troops carried out Operation Weserübung, during which they captured Denmark and Norway. With the support and under the cover of large aviation forces, 1 battleship, 6 cruisers, 14 destroyers and other ships in Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik, a total of up to 10 thousand people were landed. The operation came as a surprise to the British, who belatedly got involved. The British fleet in battles 10 and 13 in Narvik destroyed German destroyers. On May 24, the Allied command ordered the evacuation from Northern Norway, which was carried out from June 4 to 8. During the evacuation on June 9, German battleships sank an aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and 2 destroyers. In total, during the operation, the Germans lost a heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 10 destroyers, 8 submarines and other ships, the Allies lost an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, 7 destroyers, 6 submarines.

Operations in the Mediterranean. 1940-1941

Activities in the Mediterranean

Military operations in the Mediterranean theater began after Italy declared war on England and France on June 10, 1940. The fighting of the Italian fleet began with the laying of minefields in the Strait of Tunis and on the approaches to their bases, with the deployment of submarines, as well as with air raids on Malta.

The first major naval battle between the Italian Navy and the British Navy was the battle at Punta Stilo (in English sources also known as the battle of Calabria. The clash occurred on July 9, 1940 at the southeastern tip of the Apennine Peninsula. As a result of the battle, neither side lost But Italy was damaged: 1 battleship, 1 heavy cruiser and 1 destroyer, while the British - 1 light cruiser and 2 destroyers.

French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir

Capitulation of France

On June 22, France capitulated. Despite the terms of surrender, the Vichy government had no intention of handing over the fleet to Germany. Distrustful of the French, the British government launched Operation Catapult to seize French ships located in different bases. In Porsmouth and Plymouth, 2 battleships, 2 destroyers, 5 submarines were captured; ships in Alexandria and Martinique were disarmed. In Mers-el-Kebir and Dakar, where the French resisted, the British sank a battleship Bretagne and damaged three more battleships. From the captured ships, the Free French fleet was organized, meanwhile the Vichy government broke off relations with Great Britain.

Operations in the Atlantic in 1940-1941.

After the surrender of the Netherlands on 14 May, the German ground forces pinned the Allied troops to the sea. From May 26 to June 4, 1940, during Operation Dynamo, 338,000 Allied troops were evacuated to Britain from the French coast near Dunkirk. At the same time, the Allied fleet suffered heavy losses from German aviation - about 300 ships and vessels perished.

In 1940, German boats ceased to operate under the rules of prize law and switched to unrestricted submarine warfare. After the capture of Norway and the western regions of France, the basing system of German boats expanded. After Italy entered the war, 27 Italian boats began to be based in Bordeaux. The Germans gradually switched from the actions of single boats to the actions of groups of boats with curtains that blocked the ocean area.

German auxiliary cruisers successfully operated on ocean communications - until the end of 1940, 6 cruisers captured and destroyed 54 ships with a displacement of 366,644 tons.

1941 campaign

Operations in the Mediterranean in 1941

Activities in the Mediterranean

In May 1941, German troops captured about. Crete. The British Navy, which was waiting for enemy ships near the island, lost 3 cruisers, 6 destroyers, more than 20 other ships and transports from attacks by German aircraft, 3 battleships, an aircraft carrier, 6 cruisers, 7 destroyers were damaged.

Active actions on Japanese communications put the Japanese economy in a difficult situation, disrupted the implementation of the shipbuilding program, and complicated the transportation of strategic raw materials and troops. In addition to submarines, the surface forces of the US Navy, and above all TF-58 (TF-38), also actively participated in the battle on communications. In terms of the number of Japanese transports sunk, the carrier forces were second only to submarines. Only in the period of October 10 - 16, the aircraft carrier groups of the 38th formation, having subjected naval bases, ports and airfields in the Taiwan, Philippines, to strikes, destroyed about 600 aircraft on the ground and in the air, sank 34 transports and several auxiliary ships.

Landing in France

Landing in France

On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord (Normandy Landing Operation) began. Under the cover of massive air strikes and naval artillery fire, an amphibious landing of 156 thousand people was carried out. The operation was supported by a fleet of 6,000 military and landing ships and transport ships.

The German navy offered almost no resistance to the amphibious landings. The Allies suffered the main losses from mines - 43 ships were blown up on them. During the second half of 1944, in the landing area off the coast of England and in the English Channel, as a result of the actions of German submarines, torpedo boats, and mines, 60 Allied transports were lost.

German submarine sinks transport

Actions in the Atlantic Ocean

German troops began to retreat under pressure from the landed Allied troops. As a result, the German Navy lost bases on the Atlantic coast by the end of the year. On September 18, units of the allies entered Brest, on September 25 troops occupied Boulogne. Also in September, the Belgian ports of Ostend and Antwerp were liberated. By the end of the year, the fighting in the ocean had ceased.

In 1944, the Allies were able to ensure almost complete security of communications. To protect communications, they at that time had 118 escort aircraft carriers, 1,400 destroyers, frigates and sloops, and about 3,000 other patrol ships. Coastal aviation PLO consisted of 1700 aircraft, 520 flying boats. The total losses in the allied and neutral tonnage in the Atlantic as a result of the actions of submarines in the second half of 1944 amounted to only 58 ships with a total tonnage of 270,000 gross tons. The Germans lost 98 boats at sea during this period alone.

Submarines

Signing of Japan's surrender

Action in the Pacific

Possessing an overwhelming superiority in forces, the American armed forces in tense battles in 1945 broke the stubborn resistance of the Japanese troops and captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. For landing operations, the United States attracted huge forces, so the fleet off the coast of Okinawa consisted of 1,600 ships. For all the days of fighting off Okinawa, 368 Allied ships were damaged, another 36 (including 15 landing ships and 12 destroyers) were sunk. The Japanese had 16 ships sunk, including the battleship Yamato.

In 1945, American air raids on Japan's bases and coastal installations became systematic, and strikes were carried out by both coastal-based naval aviation and strategic aviation and strike aircraft carrier formations. In March - July 1945, American aircraft sank or damaged all large Japanese surface ships as a result of massive strikes.

On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan. From August 12 to 20, 1945, the Pacific Fleet conducted a series of landings that captured the ports of Korea. On August 18, the Kuril landing operation was launched, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands.

September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship USS Missouri Japan's surrender was signed, ending World War II.

The results of the war

The Second World War had a huge impact on the fate of mankind. It involved 72 states (80% of the world's population), military operations were conducted on the territory of 40 states. The total human losses reached 60-65 million people, of which 27 million people were killed on the fronts.

The war ended with the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition. As a result of the war, the role of Western Europe in world politics was weakened. The main powers in the world were the USSR and the USA. Great Britain and France, despite the victory, were significantly weakened. The war showed the inability of them and other Western European countries to maintain huge colonial empires. Europe was divided into two camps: Western capitalist and Eastern socialist. Relations between the two blocs deteriorated sharply. A couple of years after the end of the war, the Cold War began.

History of World Wars. - M: Tsentrpoligraf, 2011. - 384 p. -