2 world war allies of the ussr. Anti-Hitler coalition. History of association, actions

USSR and allies.

After the German attack on the USSR in 1941, Great Britain and the USA expressed support for the Soviet Union. An anti-fascist, or anti-Hitler, coalition between the three countries began to take shape. The United States provided economic assistance to the Soviet Union under the lend-lease (long-term lease) program. Under Lend-Lease, certain types of military equipment and vehicles, equipment, ammunition, clothing, and food were supplied to the USSR. Lend-lease deliveries accounted for about 4% of Soviet production, nevertheless, their role in certain categories of goods was very significant.

From the very beginning of the war, the Soviet leadership turned to its Western allies with a request to deploy a second, Western front of the war against Nazi Germany, which would weaken the onslaught of the German army on the USSR and speed up victory in the war. However, the allies were in no hurry to take this step, citing insufficient preparedness. In the ruling circles of the Western countries, there was a strong distrust of the USSR and a desire not to take active military action in Europe until the USSR and Germany mutually bled each other.

To resolve the disagreements that had arisen, the Tehran Conference was convened in November 1943, at which I. V. Stalin (USSR), F. D. Roosevelt (USA) and W. Churchill (Great Britain) met. The main outcome of the conference was the adoption of a decision to open a second front in France in June 1944. The USSR also undertook to enter the war with Japan immediately after the defeat of Germany.

By the end of 1943, British and American troops had defeated the Axis in North Africa and were advancing through Italy. On June 6, 1944, after the decisive victories of the Red Army, the Anglo-American landing force landed in Normandy, in northern France. Now Germany had to fight on two fronts, in the west and in the east, which greatly accelerated the end of the war. In April 1945, Soviet and American troops, who were attacking Germany from two sides, met on the Elbe River.

Even earlier, in February 1945, on the eve of the final defeat of Germany, the Yalta Conference of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition was held in the Crimea with the same composition of participants. Decisions were made regarding the establishment of new borders in Europe and spheres of influence, the creation of the United Nations (UN) to resolve all international issues in the future by peaceful means.

After the capitulation of Germany, the third and last conference of the allied powers was convened, at which the United States was represented by H. Truman, and Great Britain by C. Attlee. The conference took place in Potsdam in August 1945. It determined the procedure for the occupation of Germany by the Allied forces, its post-war structure, and stipulated the payment by Germany of reparations (compensation for damage from the war), half of which went to the Soviet Union.

Despite the existing ideological and political differences between the USSR and the Western allies, their cooperation within the framework of the anti-Hitler coalition played a significant role in the victory over fascism.

USSR and Allies in World War II

Introduction

The heroic epic of the Great Patriotic War, the most cruel of all the wars that our country has experienced, goes further and further into history. World War II 1939-1945 - the largest war in the history of mankind, unleashed by fascist Germany, fascist Italy and militaristic Japan. 61 states (more than 80% of the world's population) were drawn into the war, military operations were conducted on the territory of 40 states. More than 20 million people died.

On the eve of the war, a radical restructuring of our armed forces was carried out. The ground forces included rifle (infantry), armored and mechanized troops, artillery and cavalry. They also included special troops: communications, engineering, air defense, chemical defense and others. Organizationally, they united in 33 rifle, tank, motorized and cavalry divisions, 170 of which were in the western military districts. More than 80% of the personnel of the Armed Forces served in the ground forces. The Air Force and the Navy were greatly strengthened.

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

We believe that the topic we have chosen is very relevant to this day.

We set ourselves the following task: to study the role of the USSR in achieving victory in World War II.

The goals of our work are as follows:

Determination of the degree of participation of the USSR in the 2nd World War

Determination of the degree of participation of the allies in the 2nd World War

Joint actions of the USSR and allies in the 2nd World War.

We will try to answer these questions in our work.

1. Formation of the anti-Hitler coalition

Immediately after the start of the Great Patriotic War, the governments of England and the United States, taking into account the sharply increased threat to the security of their own countries, issued statements of support for the just struggle of the peoples of the USSR.

“Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than me,” said British Prime Minister W. Churchill in a radio address to compatriots on June 22, 1941. “I will not take back a single word. But all this pales before the spectacle now unfolding. The past with its crimes, madness and tragedies disappears. I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes, where their mothers and wives pray - yes, for there are times when everyone prays - for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, their protector and support ... This is not a class war, but a war in which the whole British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations are drawn in, without distinction of race, creed or party... If Hitler imagines that his attack on Soviet Russia will cause even the slightest divergence in purpose or weaken the efforts of the great democracies that have decided to destroy him, then he is deeply mistaken.

On July 12, 1941, a Soviet-British agreement was concluded in Moscow on joint actions against Germany and its allies. It was the first step towards the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. Legally, the coalition took shape in January 1942, when representatives of 26 states signed the Declaration United Nations on the struggle against the aggressor. During the war, more than 20 countries joined this Declaration.

In October 1941, the USSR, Britain and the USA reached an agreement on Anglo-American deliveries of arms and food to our country in exchange for strategic raw materials. In May 1942, an agreement was concluded with England on an alliance in the war and cooperation after its end, in July - an agreement with the United States on lend-lease assistance (loan or lease of weapons, ammunition, food, etc.) In September of that In the same year, the Soviet government recognized General Charles de Gaulle, who led the Free French movement, as the leader of "all free French, wherever they are."

The total volume of lend-lease deliveries was estimated at 11.3 billion dollars. A quarter of all cargo was for food (stew, fats, etc.), the rest - for military equipment, equipment and raw materials. For their individual types, the figures were very impressive: 10% of the domestic production of tanks, 12% of aircraft, 50% of cars, over 90% of steam locomotives, 36% of non-ferrous metals. On the whole, according to economists' estimates, allied deliveries did not exceed 3% of Soviet food production, 4% of industrial output, including defense products. As Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labor in the military government of W. Churchill, later noted, “all the help that we were able to provide was insignificant compared to the enormous efforts of the Soviet people. Our descendants, studying history, will remember with admiration and gratitude the heroism of the great Russian people.”

The stumbling block in the relations between the "Big Three" (USA, England and the USSR) was the question of opening a second front against Nazi Germany in Western Europe, which would allow a significant part of the German troops to be diverted from the Eastern Front and bring the end of the war closer. The initially reached agreement on its deployment in 1942 was not fulfilled by the ruling circles of England and the USA. Their activity was limited mainly to the periphery of the theater of operations (in 1941-1943 - battles in North Africa, in 1943 - landing in Sicily and southern Italy).

2. Meeting in Tehran

The Tehran conference was the first conference of the "Big Three" during the years of the Second World War - the leaders of three countries: F.D. Roosevelt (USA), W. Churchill (Great Britain) and I.V. Stalin (USSR), held in Tehran on November 28 - December 1, 1943. The success of the Red Army in defeating the common enemy was complemented by the landing of allied Anglo-American troops in Italy at the end of July 1943. However, the Soviet leadership was waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of the allies - the landing of their troops in France, which would significantly speed up the victory over Germany. In November - December 1943, a meeting of the leaders of the USSR, the USA and England (the "Big Three") took place in Tehran. Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed on the opening of a second front in Europe in May - June 1944, on the creation of the UN after the war, on the post-war world order, on the fate of Germany after its military defeat, etc. The USSR promised to enter the war against Japan after the end of the war in Europe. The historical significance of the conference can hardly be overestimated - it was the first meeting of the "Big Three", at which the fate of millions of people, the future of the world were decided. The conference was called upon to develop a final strategy for the struggle against Germany and its allies; it became an important stage in the development of international and inter-allied relations; a number of issues of war and peace were considered and resolved at it. The main issue was the opening of a second front in Western Europe. W. Churchill's proposal was accepted that Poland's claims to the lands of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine would be satisfied at the expense of Germany, and the Curzon Line should be the border in the east. At the conference, US President Roosevelt outlined the American point of view regarding the creation of an international security organization in the future, about which he had already spoken in general terms to V.M. Molotov during his stay in Washington in the summer of 1942 and what was the subject of discussion between Roosevelt and British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden in March 1943. After the end of the war, it was proposed to create a world organization on the principles of the United Nations, and military issues were not among its activities, that is, it should not be similar to the League of Nations.

3. Meeting in Yalta

In 1943, in Tehran, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill discussed mainly the problem of achieving victory over the Third Reich; between the winning countries. By that time, the collapse of Nazism was no longer in doubt, and victory over Germany was only a matter of time - as a result of powerful offensive strikes by the Soviet troops, hostilities were transferred to German territory, and the war entered its final stage. The fate of Japan also did not raise any special questions, since the United States already controlled almost the entire Pacific Ocean. The Allies understood that they had a unique chance to manage the history of Europe in their own way, since for the first time in history, almost all of Europe was in the hands of only three states. All decisions of Yalta, in general, concerned two problems. Firstly, it was required to draw new state borders on the territory that had recently been occupied by the Third Reich. At the same time, it was necessary to establish unofficial, but generally recognized by all parties, demarcation lines between the spheres of influence of the allies - a matter that had already begun in Tehran. Secondly, the allies were well aware that after the disappearance of a common enemy, the forced unification of the West and the USSR would lose all meaning, and therefore it was necessary to create procedures to guarantee the immutability of the dividing lines drawn on the world map. On the issue of redistribution of borders, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin managed to find a common language on almost all issues. The outlines of Poland changed dramatically after the Second World War - before the war, it was the largest country in Central Europe, sharply decreased and moved to the west and north. A fundamental decision was made on the occupation and division of Germany into occupation zones and on the allocation of France to its own zone. The eternal Balkan issue was also discussed - in particular, the situation in Yugoslavia and Greece. In Yalta, the Declaration on Liberated Europe was also signed, which determined the principles of the policy of the victors in the territories recaptured from the enemy. It assumed, in particular, the restoration of the sovereign rights of the peoples of these territories, as well as the right of the allies to jointly "help" these peoples "improve conditions" for the exercise of these very rights. Once again the question of reparations was raised. However, the Allies were never able to finally determine the amount of compensation. It was only decided that the United States and Great Britain would give Moscow 50 percent of all reparations. A separate document fundamentally decided the fate of the Far East. In exchange for the participation of Soviet troops in the war against Japan, Stalin received significant concessions from the United States and Great Britain. Firstly, the USSR received the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin, lost in the Russo-Japanese War. In addition, Mongolia was recognized as an independent state. The Soviet side was also promised Port Arthur and the Chinese Eastern Railway. The Yalta Conference of the leaders of the USA, USSR and Great Britain was of great historical significance. It was one of the largest international wartime conferences, an important milestone in the cooperation of the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition in waging war against a common enemy. The adoption of agreed decisions at the conference once again showed the possibility of cooperation between states with different social systems. It was one of the last conferences of the pre-atomic era. The bipolar world created in Yalta and the division of Europe into EastAnd westsurvived for more than 40 years, until the end of the 1980s. During the conference, another agreement was concluded, which was very important for the Soviet side, namely an agreement on the repatriation of military and civilians, that is, displaced persons - persons liberated (captured) in the territories captured by the allies.

. Potsdam Conference

The Potsdam Conference was held in Potsdam at the Cecilienhof Palace from July 17 to August 2, 1945 with the participation of the leadership of the three largest powers of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II in order to determine the next steps for the post-war structure of Europe. This was the third and last meeting of the "Big Three" of the anti-Hitler coalition. The first two took place at the end of 1943 in Tehran (Iran) and at the beginning of 1945 in Yalta (Soviet Union). 36 out of 176 rooms of the palace were reserved for the conference. The delegations were not accommodated in Cecilienhof, but in villas in the Potsdam district of Babelsberg - the Soviet delegation was accommodated in a villa that had previously belonged to General Ludendorff. The working room of the Americans was the former salon of the crown prince, the former office of the crown prince served as the working room of the Soviet delegation. Now the Cecilienhof Palace houses a hotel and a restaurant, as well as a memorial museum of the Potsdam Conference.

The goals of the occupation of Germany by the Allies proclaimed its denazification, demilitarization, democratization, decentralization and decartelization. The goal of preserving the unity of Germany was also proclaimed. By decision of the Potsdam Conference, the eastern borders of Germany were moved west to the Neisse line, which reduced its territory by 25% compared to 1937. The territories east of the new frontier consisted of East Prussia, Silesia, West Prussia, and two-thirds of Pomerania. These are mainly agricultural regions, with the exception of Upper Silesia, which was the second largest center of German heavy industry. Most of the territories taken away from Germany became part of Poland. The Soviet Union, together with the capital Königsberg (which was renamed Kaliningrad the following year), included one third of East Prussia, on whose territory the Königsberg (from March 1946 - Kaliningrad) region of the RSFSR was created. A small part, which included part of the Curonian Spit and the city of Klaipeda (Klaipeda or Memel region, the so-called. "Memel sector"), was transferred by the leadership of the Soviet Union in 1945 to the Lithuanian SSR. At the Potsdam Conference, Stalin confirmed his commitment to declare war on Japan no later than three months after the surrender of Germany. The Allies also signed the Potsdam Declaration demanding Japan's unconditional surrender.

The acute issue discussed during the conference was the problem of dividing the surviving fleet of Germany. On July 22-23, Stalin and Molotov presented at the conference the territorial claims of the USSR to Turkey and the demand for a favorable regime for the USSR in the Black Sea straits. These claims were not supported by the British and American side (although the final minutes of the conference mention the revision of the Montreux Convention, taking into account the opinion of the Turkish side). On the final day of the conference, the heads of delegations made fundamental decisions on the settlement of post-war issues, approved on August 7, 1945, with certain reservations by France, not invited to the conference. In Potsdam, many contradictions between the allies emerged, which soon led to the Cold War.

5. Creation of the UN

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The United Nations (UN) is an international organization of states created to maintain and strengthen international peace, security, and development of cooperation between countries. The name United Nations, proposed by United States President Franklin Roosevelt, was first used in the Declaration of the United Nations on January 1, 1942, when, during World War II, representatives of 26 states pledged on behalf of their governments to continue the joint struggle against the countries of the Nazi bloc. The first contours of the UN were outlined at a conference in Washington, Dumbarton Oaks. At two series of meetings, held from September 21 to October 7, 1944, the United States, Great Britain, the USSR and China agreed on the goals, structure and functions of the world organization. On February 11, 1945, after meetings in Yalta, the leaders of the USA, Great Britain and the USSR Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin declared their determination to establish "a universal international organization for the maintenance of peace and security." On April 25, 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco for the United Nations Conference on the Creation of an International Organization to draw up the UN Charter. Delegates from countries representing over 80% of the world's population gathered in San Francisco. The Conference was attended by 850 delegates, and together with their advisers, the staff of delegations and the secretariat of the Conference, the total number of persons who took part in the work of the Conference reached 3,500. In addition, there were more than 2,500 representatives of the press, radio and newsreels, as well as observers from various societies and organizations. The San Francisco Conference was not only one of the most important in history, but in all likelihood the largest of any international gathering ever to take place. On the agenda of the Conference were proposals worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, on the basis of which the delegates were to work out a Charter acceptable to all states. On June 25, 1945, the Charter of 111 articles was unanimously adopted.

The charter was signed on June 26, 1945 by representatives of 50 countries. Poland, not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became the 51st Founding State. The UN officially exists since October 24, 1945 - by this day the Charter has been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, the United States and most of the other signatory states. October 24 is celebrated annually as United Nations Day. The goals of the UN, enshrined in its Charter, are the maintenance of international peace and security, the prevention and elimination of threats to peace, and the suppression of acts of aggression, the settlement or resolution by peaceful means of international disputes, the development of friendly relations between nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples; implementation of international cooperation in the economic, social, cultural and humanitarian fields, promotion and development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. Members of the UN have pledged to act in accordance with the following principles: the sovereign equality of states; settlement of international disputes by peaceful means; renunciation in international relations of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

Conclusion

The Second World War ended in complete defeat and the surrender of those who unleashed it. The victory in the war was of world-historical significance. Huge military forces of the aggressor countries were defeated. The military defeat of Germany, Italy and Japan, other powers of the Hitlerite axis meant the collapse of cruel dictatorial regimes. The victory increased sympathy for the USSR throughout the world and immeasurably raised the prestige of our country.

The USSR played the most important role in the anti-Hitler coalition. The opening of the second front was delayed until the summer of 1944, and therefore the USSR took over the main enemy forces. The role of the allies cannot be denied. The anti-Hitler coalition formed in 1941. In Tehran, the important issues were: the post-war order of the world, the opening of a second front, the creation of the UN after the war, the further fate of Germany. In February 1945, the same issues were discussed and the USSR made a promise to go to war against Japan 2-3 months after the defeat of Germany. At the conference in Potsdam, the "Big Three" was already presented in a new composition - Churchill was replaced by Atlee, having won the elections in Great Britain, and the American delegation was headed by G. Truman. The conference established new borders in Europe, discussed the Polish question and the upcoming war with Japan.

The defeat of Japan ended World War II, and on September 2, 1945, the surrender of Japan was signed on the Missouri cruiser.

List of used sources and literature

1. "Big Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius 2006 (3CD)"

Borisov N.S., Levandovsky A.A., Shchetinyuk Yu.A. The key to the history of the Fatherland - M: Publishing House of Moscow University.

The Great Patriotic War. Military Publishing, M.1989

The Great Patriotic War: questions and answers / Bobylev P.N., Lipitsky S.V., Monin M.E., Pankratov N.R. - M: Politizdat.

History of Russia, XX - beginning of the XXI century: textbook. for 9 cells. general education institutions / A.A. Danilov, L.G. Kosulina, M.Yu. Brandt. - 3rd ed. - M.: Enlightenment, 2006. - 381 p.,

Russia in the XX century: Proc. For 10-11 cells. general education institutions /A.A. Levandovsky, Yu.A. Shchetinov. - 5th ed. - M.: Enlightenment, 2001. - 368 p.,

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Military operations in the Second World War were conducted on the territory of 40 states of Europe, Asia, Africa and four oceans. More than fifty million people died in this war, it had a huge impact on the fate of mankind, since fascist Germany and militaristic Japan, which were the shock forces of imperialism, were defeated.

In World War II, valuable experience was gained in military operations, in which millions of armies, equipped with the latest means of combat, took part. Operations were carried out for various purposes. Military operations were conducted in various theaters of operations (land, sea) and in various natural and climatic conditions.

The combat experience of the Great Patriotic War has not lost its significance even today. Wars are unique and inimitable - the history of wars testifies, but the historical continuity in the art of war is preserved.

Military operations of the allies of the USSR in the Mediterranean and Western European theaters of military operations (1940-1945)

In North Africa and the Middle East, the interests of three capitalist states clashed: fascist Germany, England and Italy. In 1940, Italy had the largest military forces in this area. British troops were dispersed in various parts of Egypt and the Middle East.

The desire of Italian fascism to seize Egypt, the Suez Canal zone and penetrate into the Middle East did not correspond to the interests of England and led in the fall of 1940 to military operations in North Africa. These actions unfolded in the vast territory of Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea.

The main events on land in 1941-1942. occurred in the Libyan desert and the western regions of Egypt, in a narrow strip of terrain up to 1300 km long - from El Agheila in Libya to El Alamein in Egypt. Military operations were carried out in a coastal strip 20-40 km deep on terrain that allows the use of all types of troops.

The Italian army invaded Egypt from Libya (a colony of Italy) in September 1940, but could not achieve serious success due to poorly organized supplies. In December 1941, the British troops not only repelled the Italians, but, pursuing them, by the beginning of February 1941 advanced almost 800 km to the west across the Libyan desert and inflicted a heavy defeat on them.

The Hitlerite command, seeking to seize key positions in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, transferred one tank and one light infantry division under the command of General Rommel to North Africa to help the Italians. At the end of March 1941, the German-Italian troops went on the offensive and, having defeated the British army, threw it back to the borders of Egypt.

In mid-June 1941, Rommel was forced to abandon further offensive and went on the defensive. First of all, this was a consequence of the hostilities that began on the Soviet-German front, as well as the increased resistance of the British. Now the Nazi command was not going to take major offensive actions in Africa "until the victory over the USSR." Beginning in the summer of 1941, military operations in North Africa were determined mainly by the situation on the Soviet-German front.

Using the favorable situation that had developed by the autumn of 1941, the British troops, united in the 8th Army (4 infantry divisions, 2 infantry brigades, 455 tanks and up to 700 aircraft), after careful preparation, went on the offensive on November 18 from the area of ​​the Libyan-Egyptian borders. During several tank battles, the German-Italian troops were defeated and were driven back through the Libyan desert to the El Agheila region. But, having won this victory, the British calmed down, underestimated the enemy and were taken by surprise when the German-Italian troops at the end of May 1942 again suddenly went on the offensive. Having suffered heavy losses, the 8th British Army was forced to withdraw and stopped the enemy only in Western Egypt, near El Alamein.

Operation of the 8th British Army at El Alamein

By early July 1942, both sides were defending fortified positions between the coast at El Alamein and the Qatar Basin. In the autumn of 1942, the British army had favorable conditions for a new offensive. The main forces of the fascist German army were firmly pinned down on the Soviet-German front, where they suffered heavy losses. With this in mind, the British command decided to launch an offensive from the El Alamein area.

By the beginning of October 1942, the troops of the 8th British Army under the command of General Montgomery included the 30th, 13th and 10th Army Corps. The British command equipped its troops with everything necessary for a major offensive operation, which involved 600 tanks, 2,275 guns and up to 1,200 aircraft.

The situation was completely different in the German-Italian troops. They received no reinforcements from Europe. The German-Italian troops included the 20th, 21st and 10th Italian army corps and the German African Corps, a total of 14 divisions and one parachute brigade. The tank divisions were not fully equipped. Security for all types did not exceed 40%, there was only a week's supply of gasoline. Only 3.3 rounds of ammunition were available instead of the required 8.

The allied troops outnumbered the enemy in people by more than one and a half times, in tanks and artillery - more than twice, in aviation they had a fourfold superiority. The most suitable for the offensive was the seaside strip of terrain, having a width of 20-40 km. A highway, a railway and an oil pipeline passed along it, through which the troops were supplied.

The commander of the 8th British Army decided to deliver the main blow on the right flank, breaking through the German-Italian defenses on a 6.5-kilometer front with the forces of four infantry divisions of the 30th Army Corps, which were in the first echelon of the army. With the release of army troops on the coastal highway, it was supposed to develop an offensive into the depths of Libya. An auxiliary strike was delivered by the 13th Army Corps.

The plan of the German-Italian command was defensive in nature. It decided to repel a possible offensive by the British troops with the forces of the infantry divisions in the first echelon, and to destroy the troops that had broken through with counterattacks by four tank divisions of the second echelon of the army.

For the first time in a desert theater, a strong artillery group was created to carry out a breakthrough. The density of artillery in the breakthrough sector reached 100 guns and mortars per 1 km of the front. Preliminary aviation training was of great importance, during which the Anglo-American air forces delivered effective strikes against German communications, ports and airfields.

In the desert, camouflage and disinformation were of the utmost importance. The lack of cover made it easier for the Germans to observe the preparations of the British from the air. This was taken into account by the command of the British troops. The British, knowing that it was impossible to completely hide all preparations for an offensive in the desert, decided to mislead the enemy about the timing of the offensive and the place of the strike. To do this, they disguised the tank grouping on the right flank as trucks, built models of tanks on the left flank and imitated an artillery grouping with wooden guns. On the left flank of the army, a false radio network of the 10th Army Corps worked, and a false oil pipeline was built from old cans and models of pumping stations. All this was done in order to give the enemy the impression of an impending offensive on the left flank.

At 23.00 on October 25, 1942, a 20-minute artillery preparation began. Concentrated strikes were delivered against artillery batteries, command and observation posts, and enemy resistance centers. At 23:30, the infantry began to advance.

The formations of the first echelon of the 8th Army advanced very slowly. During the night, they passed through a 6-kilometer neutral zone, approached the front line of the German-Italian defense, and only attacked the enemy in certain areas. Over the next two days, fierce battles were fought for the main position of the German-Italian defense.

The British failed to quickly break through the tactical defense zone of the enemy. October 27, 1942 Rommel began to regroup forces. He wanted to create a shock tank fist on his northern flank to defeat the main advancing British grouping. Thus, all available tank forces were concentrated on the northern flanks of both sides. The critical moment of the battle has come. In the afternoon of October 28, 1942, British planes took to the air, which inflicted heavy blows on the German and Italian tank divisions located in their starting areas, and thwarted the counterattack that was being prepared.

After a pause, the troops of the 8th Army on the night of November 2, 1942 resumed the offensive. However, despite the complete superiority, especially artillery and aviation, the British troops were still moving slowly. Having overcome 4 km in 1.5 days, the formations of the 8th Army completed the breakthrough. The 7th armored division was introduced into the gap that had formed, which began to develop an offensive to the west. The Italian troops, having suffered defeat, capitulated. This ended the battle of El Alamein.

Over the next month, the troops of the 8th Army advanced almost 1200 km (an average daily rate of 40 km). It was stopped by the Germans only on November 23, 1942 at a position near El Ageyla.

The political and military leadership of the United States, despite the commitments made, in 1942 and 1943. did not open a second front in Europe. At the insistence of the British Prime Minister, it was decided at the end of 1942 to carry out the landing of American and British troops in North Africa, in the French colonies of Algeria and Tunisia.

On October 22, 1942, the operation to land an expeditionary force in North Africa ("Torch") began. The United States and Britain have long and carefully prepared for it. Transports with troops (about 650 ships in total) moved from England and the USA. On the morning of November 8, 1942, 42 Allied troops landed in the areas of Algiers, Oran and Casablanca. On the entire route of the sea passage, the caravans of ships did not meet with the opposition of the German fleet and aviation. This allowed American and British troops to freely occupy French Morocco and Algeria in 15-20 days and reach Tunisia at the end of November.

The German command urgently took countermeasures. As early as November 10, 1942, it began the transfer of large forces to Tunisia by air and sea. By November 15, 1942, the newly arrived German formations deployed on a front of 300 km from the coast south to Sfax, with the front to the west. However, the Germans were late with the transfer of troops to Tunisia.

Meanwhile, the 8th British Army, advancing along the coast, occupied Tripoli. Rommel's troops withdrew to the fortified Maret line. In the second half of March, the British troops carried out a deep detour of the Maret line from the south, through the desert and mountains. The bypassing group advanced 180 km. Rommel managed to withdraw the exhausted, exhausted army from the blow, after which, having transferred command to the Italian general, he left for Germany. The remnants of the German army were defeated and captured in mid-May 1943 in the area of ​​Cape Bon.

The leaders of Britain and the United States decided, following the end of hostilities in North Africa, to land an expeditionary force in Sicily.

The landing in Sicily was characterized by the concentration of large forces and the creation of multiple superiority over the defending Italian troops. The landing of troops of the 15th Allied Army Group was provided by 4,000 combat and 900 transport aircraft, as well as over 3,000 ships. Preliminary aviation training lasted about 50 days. The desire to create maximum superiority, especially in the technical means of combat, became the main distinguishing feature of the military art of the armed forces of England and the United States.

On July 10, 1943, the Allies invaded Sicily with large forces of the fleet, aviation and landing troops, occupied it in mid-August 1943, and on September 3, 1943 began landing on the southern coast of the Apennine Peninsula. In such circumstances, and as a result of the struggle waged by the Italian people against fascism, Mussolini's regime was overthrown. The new Badoglio government, under the influence of failures in North Africa and Sicily, the catastrophe of the Nazi army near Kursk and the growth of the anti-fascist movement of the Italian people, was forced to conclude a truce with the Allies on September 3, 1943. Italy withdrew from the war. The fascist German command withdrew its troops to the area south of Rome. Here in November 1943 the front stabilized.

Thus, the victory achieved by the Allies in North Africa and Italy was of relatively little importance for the course and outcome of the Second World War. The withdrawal of Italy from the war in 1943 weakened the forces of the fascist bloc, but the diversion of the allied forces for operations in Italy led to a delay in the opening of a second front in Europe.

By the summer of 1944, the situation in Europe was determined by the victories of the Soviet troops on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War and the powerful national liberation movement in the countries occupied by the Nazis. It clearly testified to the ability of the Red Army to complete the liberation of the territory not only of the Soviet Union, but also of the enslaved countries of Europe without the help of the allies. It was this that forced the ruling circles of the United States and Britain, after lengthy delays, to hurry up with the opening of a second front in Europe.

Normandy landing operation (Operation Overlord) of the Anglo-American troops on the coast of North-West France, carried out from June 6 to July 24, 1944

The plan of the Normandy landing operation provided for the landing of an amphibious assault consisting of five infantry divisions on the coast of the Senskaya Bay in a section about 80 km long and an airborne assault force consisting of three airborne divisions at a depth of 10-15 km from the coast, seizing bridgeheads, then combining them into one and expand it by the end of the twentieth day to 100 km along the front and 100-110 km in depth (go to the Avranches-Domfront-Falaise line).

When choosing a landing area for troops, the American-British command proceeded from the fact that the enemy, considering the most likely invasion on the coast of the Pas de Calais, paid little attention to the area of ​​the Bay of Seine.

The beginning of the landing of troops was scheduled for the morning of June 6, 1944. This time was the most favorable for the landing. During these hours visibility was the best, and the conditions of high and low tide made it possible to approach closer to the shore and at the same time clear obstacles.

The general landing front was divided into two zones: the western one, where the American troops were to land, and the eastern one, for the British troops. The western zone was divided into two separate sections, the eastern - into three sections. One reinforced infantry division was to land at the same time in each landing site. According to the number of landing sites, five landing detachments were created, which included the landing troops of these divisions and the naval forces that transported them.

All ground forces involved in the landing operation were combined into the 21st Army Group. In its first echelon, the troops of the 1st American and 2nd British armies landed, in the second - the troops of the 1st Canadian army.

The battle formations of the corps of the 1st American and 2nd British armies also had a two-echelon formation. The two corps that made up the first echelon of the 1st American Army landed in their first echelons two infantry divisions, reinforced by five tank battalions and two Ranger battalions. In the first echelons of the two corps of the 2nd British Army, there were three infantry divisions, reinforced by three assault tank brigades and two Commando brigades. Each division of the first echelon initially landed 1-2 reinforced regiments (brigades).

Along with the ground forces, airborne troops were involved in the operation as part of three airborne divisions (82nd and 101st American and 6th British). Airborne assault forces were supposed to be dropped on the flanks of the landing area to a depth of 10-15 km from the coast 4-5 hours before the start of the amphibious landing. The American airborne divisions were to land in the area north of the city of Carentan, the British airborne division - in the area northeast of the city of Caen. The airborne troops were to assist the amphibious assault during the landing and capture of a bridgehead on the coast, for which purpose they would capture road junctions, crossings, bridges and other objects in the landing areas and prevent enemy reserves from approaching the landing sites from the sea.

In the interests of achieving surprise, measures were taken to covertly concentrate forces and means, to misinform the enemy, for which false concentrations of troops and equipment were created, and demonstrative actions were carried out where troops were not supposed to land. Despite the undoubted weakness of the actions of the German aviation and navy, the American-British command organized cover for the operation from the sea, anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and mine defense.

For the operation, the troops had a large number of vehicles and landing craft. In order to supply the troops with everything necessary on the coast of the Bay of Senskaya, in the very first days of the operation, two artificial ports were built, and a gasoline pipeline was laid along the bottom of the English Channel.

At 02:00 on June 6, the drop of airborne troops began. Parts of the 82nd American Airborne Division landed in the area west of St. Mere-Eglise. The 101st Airborne Division landed in the area north of Carentan. The British 6th Airborne Division landed in the area north-east of Caen and entrenched themselves in the landing area.

At 5 o'clock on June 6, artillery preparations for the amphibious assault began. At 0630 on June 6, in the American landing zone and about an hour later in the British zone, the first amphibious assault groups entered the coast of the Bay of Seine. The order of disembarkation was as follows. Initially, small assault groups of amphibious tanks were landed on the seashore, which had the task of ensuring the landing of engineering and sapper groups. The latter were supposed to clear obstacles and ensure the landing of infantry and military equipment of amphibious assault on the coast.

Subdivisions and units of the amphibious assault, using the confusion of the Germans, their numerical superiority and the massive fire of naval artillery, made their way ashore and pushed the enemy back.

This was largely facilitated by air preparation for the landing and support of troops on the coast. The Germans did not actually interfere with the actions of the American and British aviation. During June 6, only 50 German sorties were registered in the area of ​​Senskaya Bay.

By the end of the first day of the operation, the American-British troops managed to capture separate bridgeheads up to 10 km deep. During the day of June 6, the main body of five infantry and three airborne divisions, several tank regiments and brigades, and four detachments of Commandos and Ranger were landed. This success was achieved due to the fact that in the course of aviation and artillery preparation, the antiamphibious defense of the Nazi troops on the coast was basically suppressed. The fire of the surviving German batteries was ineffective.

During June 7 and 8, simultaneously with the consolidation of the captured bridgeheads and the improvement of the positions occupied, the intensive transfer of new forces and means of the expeditionary forces to the coast of Senskaya Bay continued. By the end of June 8, eight infantry, one tank and three airborne divisions and a large number of reinforcement units were concentrated on the bridgeheads.

On the morning of June 9, the American-British troops went on the offensive in order to create a single bridgehead. As a result of hostilities in the period of June 9-12, they managed to unite the captured bridgeheads into a common bridgehead with a length of about 80 km along the front and 13-18 km in depth.

By June 12, the German command, having introduced an additional three tank and one motorized divisions into battle, brought the grouping of its troops in Normandy to 12 divisions. However, these troops rushed into battle in parts, as they approached, a strong shock fist was not created from them. As a result, they could not have a serious impact on the course of hostilities. In addition, the German divisions felt a great shortage of fuel and ammunition.

The situation that developed in mid-June 1944 favored the deployment of offensive operations in order to expand the bridgehead. By the end of June, the troops of the 1st American Army captured Cherbourg and cleared the Cotentin Peninsula from the remnants of German troops.

In the first half of July, the port of Cherbourg was restored and subsequently played a significant role in supplying the American-British troops in Normandy. This was especially important because two temporary ports built in the first days of the operation were destroyed during a storm that broke out on June 19, 1944. Soon one of these ports was restored.

By the end of June, the captured bridgehead was expanded to 100 km along the front and from 20 to 40 km in depth. By this time, the main forces of the 1st American and 2nd British armies and part of the forces of the 1st Canadian army had landed on the bridgehead. The total number of expeditionary forces in the bridgehead reached one million people. These forces were opposed by 13 German divisions, which had suffered heavy losses in previous battles and operated partly in battle groups. The fact that during the second half of June the fascist German command increased its troops in Normandy by only one division is explained by the following: it still believed that the Anglo-Americans would strike the main blow through the Pas de Calais, and therefore continued to hold relatively large forces in this direction. Not a single German unit was transferred from the coast of the Pas de Calais to Normandy.

Thus, the situation allowed the Anglo-Americans to launch a major offensive in Northwestern France as early as early July. However, in an effort to create conditions for a complete guarantee of success, the American-British command postponed the start of such an offensive until the end of this month.

During July, the troops of the 1st American Army, continuing combat operations to expand the bridgehead, advanced 10-15 km southward and occupied the city and the Saint-Lô road junction. The main efforts of the troops of the 2nd British Army at that time were aimed at capturing the city of Caen, to which both sides attached great importance.

On July 7-8, the British launched an offensive with the forces of three infantry divisions and three armored brigades in order to capture the northwestern part of the city of Caen, in which units of one German division were defending. During the day of July 8, the advancing troops failed to succeed. By the end of July 9, the British captured the northwestern part of this city.

In order to create a foothold on the southeastern bank of the river. Orne and the capture of the second half of the city of Caen, the Anglo-Canadian troops launched a new offensive on July 18. Within three days, the troops completely captured the city of Kan and advanced to the southeast up to 10 km. Attempts by the Anglo-Canadian troops to move further south and southeast, undertaken on July 21-24, were not successful.

Thus, in the period from June 6 to July 24, 1944, the American-British expeditionary forces managed to land in Normandy and occupy a bridgehead about 100 km along the front and up to 30-50 km in depth. This bridgehead was about half the size of the one that was planned to be occupied according to the plan of the landing operation. However, in conditions of absolute air supremacy, the captured bridgehead made it possible to concentrate a large number of forces and means on it. The American-British command had every opportunity to prepare and conduct a major offensive operation in Northwestern France.

Allied offensive in France, Belgium and Holland

The Falaise operation, an offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops in Northwestern France, carried out from August 10 to 25, 1944.

The purpose of the Falaise operation was to encircle and destroy the grouping of German troops in the area of ​​​​the cities of Falaise, Mortain, Argentan and go to the Seine River.

After the completion of the Normandy operation of 1944, the allied command (supreme commander of the allied expeditionary forces, General D. Eisenhower), using the favorable situation (the main forces of the Wehrmacht were pinned down by the offensive of the Soviet troops on the Soviet-German front), from July 25, without waiting for the full concentration of their troops, launched an offensive in northwestern France with the intention of pushing German troops back across the Loire and Seine rivers.

By August 10, the troops of the 12th Army Group (1st and 3rd American armies; commander General O. Bradley) deeply enveloped from the south the main forces of the enemy troops defending against the allies (5th tank and 7th armies) from the Army Group "B" (commander Field Marshal V. Model). From the north, they were covered by the troops of the 21st Army Group (2nd British and 1st Canadian armies; commander General B. Montgomery).

In the area formed in the area of ​​​​the cities of Falaise, Arzhantan, the so-called. "Falaise bag" turned out to be up to 20 German divisions. The allies against them had at least 28 divisions and completely dominated the air. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, the allied command decided to surround the Falaise grouping with counter attacks on Argentan by the troops of the 3rd American Army from the south, from the Le Mans region, and by the forces of the troops of the 1st Canadian Army from the north, the area north of Falaise.

The offensive of the American troops began on August 10, 1944. On August 13, the formations of the 15th Army Corps operating in the main direction went to the Argentan area, but they were stopped here on the orders of Bradley and with the approval of Eisenhower, who feared that the corps would cross the demarcation line with the 21st Group armies will lead to a mixture of American and Canadian troops and loss of command and control. Leaving the 2nd division and the 7th artillery battalion to defend in the Argentan area until the Canadians approached, the American command turned the main forces of the 3rd Army troops east, to the Seine River. However, the troops of the 21st Army Group advanced extremely slowly, at a rate of 6-7 km per day, and only on August 17 the British occupied Falaise, and the Canadians bypassed it from the east.

The German command began to withdraw the main forces of the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies through the 40-km passage that remained between Falaise and Argentan.

Only on August 18, American troops (1st Army) resumed their offensive from the Argentan region to the north, and two days later, in the Chambois and Tren region, they connected with the 1st Polish Armored Division (1st Canadian Army), completing the encirclement. Over 8 German divisions were surrounded (including 3 tank divisions). The remaining forces of the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies withdrew to the line of Lizaro, Gase, Rugl and entrenched themselves on it, ensuring the withdrawal of the entire Army Group "B" behind the Seine.

On August 20, German troops with counter attacks by five tank and two infantry divisions concentrated east of Tren, Chambois against the outer front of the encirclement, and parts of the tank and parachute corps from the encircled group broke through the encirclement front. About half of the encircled German troops managed to withdraw beyond the Seine, the rest were captured.

By August 25, allied troops reached the Seine and captured small bridgeheads on its right bank. On August 19, an armed uprising began in Paris, which ended on August 25 with the surrender of the German garrison. On August 26, Hitler's troops began to retreat to the borders of Germany. The allied armies began to pursue along the entire front. By September 12, the German command withdrew the bulk of its troops and organized defenses in the southern part of Holland and on the Siegfried Line.

The Falaise operation was successful for the Allied forces. However, despite the most favorable conditions, the allies, as a result of indecisive actions and shortcomings in command and control, failed to complete the encirclement in time and achieve the goal set in the operation of destroying the troops of the 7th and 5th tank armies.

Dutch operation, an offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops, carried out from September 17 to November 10, 1944.

Using the fact that the main forces of the Germans were on the Eastern Front, the Allies carried out a number of successful offensive operations in France, and by mid-September the troops of their northern wing had captured almost the entire territory of Belgium and reached the borders of Holland.

The 21st Allied Army Group (Commander Field Marshal B. Montgomery), as part of the 2nd British and 1st Canadian armies (a total of 16 divisions, including 5 armored ones), reached the line of Bre, sowing. Gel, sev. Antwerp, northeast. Bruges. In the rear of the advancing Allied troops, the surrounded German garrisons remained in the ports of Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk. In front of the Anglo-Canadian troops on this sector of the front, the 15th and 1st parachute armies (9 divisions and 2 battle groups in total) of the German troops of Army Group B (Commander General Field Marshal V. Model) defended themselves,

The Allied command, seeking to create favorable conditions for a further offensive on the Ruhr, the main economic base of fascist Germany, decided to conduct the Dutch operation with the forces of the 21st Army Group.

The troops of the 2nd British Army received the task of breaking through the enemy's defenses and developing an offensive on Arnhem, seizing a bridgehead on the northern bank of the Lower Rhine and thereby creating conditions for a further offensive. To reinforce the troops of the 2nd British Army and capture the crossings across the Meuse, Waal and Lower Rhine rivers, it was given the 1st Allied Airborne Corps (82nd, 101st American, 1st British Airborne Divisions and the Polish Parachute Brigade) .

In the offensive zone of the troops of the 2nd British Army, the main blow was delivered by the 30th Army Corps (one armored and two tank divisions) with the task of breaking through the enemy’s defenses on a narrow sector of the front and advancing on Eindhoven, Grave, Nijmegem, Arnhem, using crossings through water barriers captured by landing forces thrown in the corps' offensive zone.

For artillery preparation and support, 880 guns were concentrated in the offensive zone of the 30th Army Corps (136 per 1 km of the front).

The 8th and 12th Army Corps were to operate on the flanks of the strike force in order to expand the breakthrough front.

About 650 aircraft were involved in aviation support for the actions of the troops of the 2nd British Army.

The ratio of forces in the zone of the 2nd British Army was in favor of the allies 2:1 (in the direction of the main attack 4:1), in terms of aviation and tanks - absolute.

The troops of the 1st Canadian Army had the task of eliminating the encircled enemy grouping in the area of ​​Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk and clearing the mouth of the Scheldt River from the Germans, and then advancing on Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

On September 17-18, after aviation training, airborne assault forces were dropped in the areas of Vegel, Grave, Arnhem (Arnhem airborne operation of 1944, carried out from September 17 to 26 as part of the Dutch operation).

The 30th Army Corps, after a short air and artillery preparation, went on the offensive. The armored division, operating in the first echelon of the corps, broke through the enemy defenses. It was followed by two infantry divisions.

By the end of the first day, the allied forces advanced to a depth of 6-8 kilometers. On September 18, parts of the corps approached Eindhoven, where they joined up with the 101st Airborne Division. On September 20, the troops of the 30th Army Corps reached Nijmegen in a narrow area and joined with the 82nd Airborne Division. The 8th and 12th Army Corps, operating on the flanks of the strike force, met stubborn enemy resistance and only slightly expanded the breakthrough front. The German command, having concentrated tank and infantry formations, launched a counterattack on the flank of the advancing Allied grouping and on their landing forces in the Arnhem area.

The situation for the allied forces became more complicated, and a real threat of encirclement of the strike group arose. The 1st British Airborne Division and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade suffered heavy losses. With great difficulty, the command of the 2nd British Army managed to fend off the enemy's counterattack. On September 27-29, British troops reached the southern bank of the Lower Rhine and were forced to go on the defensive, failing to capture a bridgehead on the northern bank.

With the beginning of the Dutch operation, the troops of the 1st Canadian Army fought against the encircled enemy garrisons, liberated Boulogne (September 22) and Calais (September 30). The offensive northwest of Antwerp developed slowly, and Canadian troops reached the mouth of the Scheldt only towards the end of September.

In October-November, the troops of the 21st Army Group continued offensive operations with limited targets, trying to capture the territory north of Antwerp. The troops of the 2nd British Army, having regrouped, struck with the forces of the 12th Army Corps in the direction of Breda.

The troops of the 1st Canadian Army advanced on Rosendal, Bergen and fought to capture the Zeid-Beveland peninsula and the island of Walcheren. The Allied advance was slow. On October 30, Zuid-Beveland was occupied, on November 9, Walcheren.

By November 10, the Allied forces reached the Meuse River, from the Grave to the mouth, having captured the southwestern part of the Netherlands. In 55 days, the Anglo-Canadian troops advanced to a depth of 45 to 90 km on a front of 200 km. The tasks of the operation were not fully completed.

The characteristic features of the Dutch operation were the use of large airborne assault forces to assist the offensive in the main direction, the deep formation of the battle formation of the advancing army corps, and the high density of artillery for the allied forces.

At the same time, breaking through the enemy's defenses in a narrow section of the front (initially 1.5 km) with its subsequent expansion by active operations on the flanks of the strike force did not bring the expected results.

The Ardennes operation (in the Ardennes region in southeastern Belgium), an offensive operation of German troops carried out in December 1944 - January 1945.

The purpose of the Ardennes operation (codenamed "Watch on the Rhine") is to defeat the American-English waxes, change the situation in Western Europe in favor of Germany and free up Wehrmacht forces to fight against the USSR.

Operation plan: break through the front in the Monschau, Echternach sector, force the Meuse River in the Liege and Namur regions and on the 7th day of the operation, reaching Antwerp, cut off the Allied troops in Belgium and Holland (1st Canadian, 2nd English, 9 -I and 1st American armies) and defeat them.

The troops of the 6th SS, 5th tank, 7th field army of army group "B" (commander Field Marshal V. Model) participated in the operation. In total, 25 divisions were intended, including 7 tank divisions. The offensive group consisted of about 250 thousand people, 900 tanks and assault guns, 800 aircraft, 2,517 guns and mortars. However, this was not enough, the command of the German troops planned to transfer part of the forces from other sectors of the Western Front and from Germany during the offensive.

The strike force was provided with fuel only half the depth of the operation. The Anglo-American command considered the Ardennes area unsuitable for conducting broad offensive operations. Here, on a 115-kilometer front, the Germans were opposed by up to 5 divisions (83 thousand people, 242 tanks, 182 self-propelled anti-tank and 394 artillery guns) from the 1st Army of the 12th Army Group, (commander General O. Bradley).

The offensive of the German troops began at dawn on December 16, 1944. Caught by surprise, the American troops could not resist, suffered heavy losses and retreated.

By December 25, the German group, having broken through the front, advanced to a depth of more than 90 km. Its advanced tank units reached the area of ​​​​the city of Dinan and were 4 km from the Meuse River. The Anglo-American command was forced to transfer divisions there from other sectors of the front. On December 23, with the onset of flying weather, allied aviation began to operate actively. From December 22 to 26, the troops of the 3rd American Army launched a counterattack on the southern flank of the advancing enemy grouping and connected with units of the 101st Airborne Division encircled in the city of Bastogne. By the end of December, the German offensive on the river. Maas was stopped. However, the German command did not abandon their plans. On the night of January 1, 1945, it launched an offensive in Alsace, in the Strasbourg region, against the troops of the 7th American Army. On January 1, more than 1,000 German aircraft launched a surprise attack on airfields in France, Belgium and Holland, as a result of which 260 Allied aircraft were destroyed. The position of the Allied forces remained difficult. On January 6, 1945, W. Churchill turned to I. Stalin with a request for help. Fulfilling their allied duty, the Soviet troops began it on January 12 - eight days ahead of schedule. The offensive of the Soviet troops forced the Germans to curtail active operations on the Western Front and transfer their forces from there to the East.

By the end of January, the Germans in the Ardennes had retreated to their original positions. Losses in the Ardennes operation on the part of the allies amounted to about 77 thousand people, from the German - about 82 thousand people.

The Ardennes operation was the culmination of the struggle on the Western Front. The forced transfer of large forces and assets to the Soviet-German front, the losses suffered in the Ardennes, the lack of reserves - all this led to a sharp weakening of the German troops on the Western Front, contributed to the success of the armed forces of the USA, England and France in subsequent offensive operations, which took on the character of pursuing the retreating enemy.

Ruhr offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops, carried out March 23 - April 18, 1945.

The purpose of the Ruhr operation was to defeat the Ruhr grouping of the enemy, in the future - an offensive towards the Soviet troops to the Elbe and the dismemberment of the German troops. This operation was the final one during the conduct of hostilities in Western Europe by the Anglo-American troops.

In the first half of March, the Allied troops completely captured the left bank of the Rhine and captured two bridgeheads on its right bank in the areas of the cities of Oppenheim and Remagen. By that time, Soviet troops advancing from the east were on the Oder, 60 km from Berlin, and were preparing for the final blow against Nazi Germany.

The Allied Command (Supreme Commander General D. Eisenhower) decided to launch an offensive deep into Germany along the entire front. To do this, it planned, first of all, to defeat the most powerful enemy grouping on the Western Front, which defended the Ruhr industrial region (5th Panzer and 15th Armies of Group B) under the command of Field Marshal V. Model and part of the forces of 1- and parachute army.

The Ruhr grouping of the Germans included 29 divisions and one brigade - half of all forces deployed on the Western Front. It was supported by the main aviation forces of the 3rd Air Fleet and the Reich Air Fleet, which had a total of 1,704 combat aircraft. German formations were completed by 50-75%, lacked fuel and ammunition.

The Allied command attracted the main forces of the 21st Army Group (9th American and 2nd British armies) under the command of Field Marshal B. Montgomery, the 12th Army Group (3rd and 1st American armies) to participate in the Ruhr operation under the command of General O. Bradley and the 18th separate airborne corps - a total of 51 divisions, including 14 armored, 2 airborne and 12 brigades, incl. 7 armored.

According to the plan of the operation, the main blow was delivered by the forces of the 21st Army Group from the Wesel region and the auxiliary from the Rhine bridgeheads by the forces of the 1st Army Group on Kassel. In the future, it was supposed to develop an offensive in the general direction of the Elbe River.

The offensive of the main grouping of the 21st Army Group began on the night of March 24 after powerful artillery and aviation preparation. They were preceded by a two-week preliminary aviation training. The troops of the 2nd British and 9th American armies crossed the Rhine during the night and captured a bridgehead on its right bank. In the morning of March 24, the 18th Airborne Corps was landed behind enemy lines east of the Rhine. In the afternoon, the British troops advancing from the front joined with the landing force. The enemy put up little resistance. In the following days, the captured bridgeheads were united, and on March 28 the general bridgehead was expanded to 60 km along the front and 35 km in depth.

In the direction of the auxiliary strike, the 1st and 3rd American armies developed an offensive to the north and northeast. On April 1, the troops of the 1st and 9th American armies united in the Lipstadt area, creating an internal encirclement front of the Germans in the Ruhr industrial region (18 divisions, about 325 thousand people in total). With the encirclement of this grouping, the western front of the German troops actually disintegrated.

The Anglo-American command decided to shift the main efforts to the central direction in order to develop an offensive on the outer front of the encirclement. In this regard, the 9th Army on April 4 was transferred from the 21st to the 12th Army Group, which advanced to the middle reaches of the Elbe. Encountering almost no resistance from the enemy, the troops of the 12th Army Group on April 12 reached the Elbe in the Magdeburg region, and on April 19 captured Leipzig. In other directions, the Allied offensive developed in a similar situation.

At the same time, part of the forces of the 12th Army Group fought against the encircled Ruhr group, which capitulated on April 18.

For the first time, the Allies managed to surround a large grouping of German troops. This operation was carried out with the absolute superiority of the Allies in strength and means, in exceptionally favorable conditions, when the main forces of the Germans were turned against the Soviet troops that threatened Berlin, and the German troops in the west, seeing the hopelessness of the situation, capitulated to the Anglo-American troops.

D. Yu. Medvedev-Baryakhtar

Increasingly, I meet on the Internet the assertion that while the Russians, bleeding, fought with the German Wehrmacht, our cunning and vile ones sat out across the ocean and entered the war when its outcome was already a foregone conclusion. To be honest, I don’t like it at all when they give me a ready-made solution, where accents are already placed on the principle of “good - bad”. I would like, first of all, to remove the subjective assessment of events, and secondly, to try to look at the situation as a whole. By the way, a good exercise for thinking. Therefore, we will try to free events from emotional coloring, such as which battle of the Second World War was decisive. We believe that Stalingrad, the British - El Alamein, and the Americans - the Battle of Midway Atoll. Everyone has their reasons and arguments. Let's try to operate only with facts.

On September 27, 1940, after numerous preliminary negotiations, Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact on political and military mutual assistance, as well as on the delimitation of zones of influence. Since September 1939, Britain and France have been at war with the Axis. In June 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union, and in December 1941, the Japanese attacked the US fleet at Pearl Harbor. Thus, the Soviet Union and the United States of America were drawn into the war in 1941 with a difference of about six months and became, naturally, allies in World War II. Two major theaters of military operations were formed - the first in Europe and North Africa, the second in the Pacific Ocean. These are well-known facts. Further, as a rule, our historians follow arguments about the priority of the European war because:

We will refrain from this emotional assessment. We consider the war in Europe more important, and the Americans and the Japanese naturally prefer the Pacific. It is clear that one's own problems are always and for everyone the most important, and other people's problems are not worth a penny. The land Wehrmacht significantly outnumbered the Japanese army, but the Japanese fleet was much stronger than the German one. Everyone was preparing for their own war. Japanese aircraft carriers are as useless in the steppes of Ukraine as German tanks are not needed in the Pacific.

A slightly more reasonable estimate of the losses that allies in World War II inflicted on the enemy during hostilities, but here, too, subjectivity rolls over. We are keenly counting how many more Wehrmacht divisions fought against us than against the Americans. On the Eastern Front, the losses of the Germans in manpower were indeed significant, but the harmonious picture is spoiled by the fact that for some reason we count only Wehrmacht divisions. Where did the allies of Germany - the Italians and the Japanese - go, and why were their divisions not included in the calculation? In addition to losses in manpower, there are also very sensitive losses in equipment. For a very long time I was looking for the ratio of Luftwaffe losses on the fronts. For some reason, we do not like to mention them. According to indirect data, in air battles with aircraft allies in World War II the Germans lost on all Western fronts (between September 1, 1939 and May 8, 1945) 62,733 aircraft and about 24,000 aircraft on the Eastern Front (between June 22, 1941 and May 8, 1945). And our share in the destruction of German, Japanese and Italian warships is generally close to zero. In a word, such statistics are a very subjective matter, and whoever thinks gets such a result. Talking about a large number of our losses in general looks more than strange. Can you imagine a normal general who takes credit for the loss of his own soldiers? Rather, it should be the opposite, like the Japanese General Nogi, who forced Port Arthur to capitulate in the Russo-Japanese War. After the conclusion of peace, he made himself a seppuku, so he considered the great losses of the Japanese during the assault to be his personal fault. A large number of dead soldiers, at all times, is more of an inability to fight than efficiency. So we will not evaluate who is the main and who is not, where is the priority theater of operations, and where is the secondary one, but we simply state the fact that there are two theaters of military operations, in which when, and when not, they fight allies in World War II.

The humor is that the Americans talk about our role in the war with Japan in the same way and in almost the same words. I attribute the following phrase to General MacArthur, which he said before signing the surrender of Japan: "The Russians entered the war with Japan when we had already won it. And now they are in a hurry to sign the surrender with us."

So, allies in World War II fighting in both theaters of war. Since 1941, the Americans have been fighting the Japanese in the Pacific and, by the way, at first they suffer defeat after defeat. The samurai turned out to be tough nuts and knew how to fight (only forty years ago, in 1905, we had to see this on our own skin). However, the precarious situation in the Pacific did not prevent the Americans from landing in Morocco in November 1942 (at that time street fighting was going on in Stalingrad) and, together with the British, starting military operations in North Africa against the Germans and Italians. We, again, say that a company in Africa is not a war at all, but a walk allies in World War II across the desert. Again, refrain from emotional evaluation. On the one hand, the total number of Axis troops in North Africa was less than in Eastern Europe, but on the other hand, more German and Italian troops were destroyed during Operation Torch in Tunisia than at Stalingrad. We also note that the operations in North Africa and Sicily, the Americans and the British practically knocked Italy out of the war. The combat potential of the Italians, relative to the Germans or the Japanese, is really small, but Italy is still the third member of the Axis. And, more importantly, in the war with the Italians, we Russians did not lose a single soldier. Therefore, we simply state the fact that the Americans began to fight the Germans in Europe in 1942. The photo shows the landing of American and British troops in North Africa.

In 1944, the Americans are moving 3 million soldiers, and God knows how much cargo (up to 10 tons of equipment per soldier) across the ocean to England. The operation is, to put it mildly, large-scale, the costs are enormous. Keeping such a transfer of troops secret is unrealistic and communications are constantly attacked by German submarines. And all this at the same time as the war in the Pacific. In June 1944, the Americans, British and Canadians landed in Normandy - D-Day, widely known even to non-professionals. You can evaluate their contribution to the victory over Germany in different ways, but every German machine gun that mowed down American paratroopers on Omaha Beach did not fire at our soldiers in Belarus. The result is well known - Germany is crushed on both sides by troops allies in World War II and capitulates in May 1945.

By 1945, the Americans gradually put the squeeze on the Japanese. The basis of Japanese military power - the fleet and aviation were practically destroyed, the Japanese lost all strategic positions and were pushed back to the shores of Japan itself, the military industry was left without resources, the Axis allies in Europe were defeated. By 1945, no one doubted the outcome of the war in the Pacific, even the Japanese. It was clear to everyone that an island country without a fleet and resources was not capable of fighting against the whole world (by 1945, Japan was at war with about 60 states). We often say that in 1945 Japan was going to continue the war based on the resources of Manchuria. Maybe, maybe ... But there is one difficulty here. Oil in the 20th century was called the blood of war, since all equipment traveled, flew and floated on gasoline, which was obtained from oil. There is no oil and the planes will remain at the airfields, the ships in the harbors, and the tanks will stop where gasoline ran out, as German tanks stood up when the Allied front was broken through in the Ardennes. The Japanese rush to the south in 1941 - 1942 was due to the fact that the country of the Rising Sun really needed oil, which the Japanese hoped to get in French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), which they lost by 1945. The situation with fuel in Japan by the end of the war was so desperate that the Japanese tried to fill the engines with pine turpentine. Where could Japan get oil to continue the war? Have you heard anything about serious hydrocarbon deposits in Manchuria? I personally don't.

And at this moment of the general crisis of the entire Japanese military machine in August 1945, the Soviet Union enters the Pacific War and allies in World War II are now working together against Japan. Soviet tank spearheads are smashing the Kwantung Army, and landing marines on the islands. By the way, think about why our landings were so successful? Estimate what would happen to our transports if the Japanese fleet had not been put out of action by the Americans by this time. The Japanese in 1905 sank the fleet of the Russian Empire, and the Soviet one by 1940 was many times weaker than the Russian one. Two Soviet cruisers and 12 destroyers in the Pacific against Japanese battleships and aircraft carriers are practically nothing. But there is a fact - the Soviet Union enters the war in the East in August 1945. In the photo "Mikuma" - a Japanese cruiser attacked by carrier-based aircraft in a battle near Midway Atoll on June 7, 1942.

So, what do we have in the "dry residue". There are two major theaters of war - in Europe and in the Pacific. Since June 1941, the Russians have been cutting with the Germans in Europe (as well as the British with the Germans and Italians in Africa). Since December 1941, the Americans and the Japanese have been enthusiastically drowning each other in the Pacific Ocean. In 1942, the Americans appear in Africa and, together with the British, smash the Germans and Italians in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy. The Russians at this time first retreat to Moscow and the Volga, then methodically begin to "take away our spans and crumbs" and push the Germans to the West. In 1944, the Americans land in Europe and, together with the Russians, destroy the Third Reich in May 1945. What is there in the East? From the beginning of the Second World War until August 1945, there was peace and quiet on the Soviet-Japanese border along the Amur. In August 1945, the USSR declares war on Japan and takes part in the Pacific War. A month later, in September, Japan capitulates and the war ends. It turns out that the Americans from 1941 to 1945 are at war with the Japanese and from 1942 to 1945 with the Germans and Italians. The USSR from 1941 to 1945 is at war with Germany, and one month in 1945 is at war with Japan. This is information that is open and accessible to everyone, freed from emotional overtones.

And now you can ask a rhetorical question. Why the USSR, having a common border with Japan, did not want to help for 4 years allies in World War II and open a Second Front in the Far East? The war with the Japanese did not prevent the Americans from fighting the Germans for 3 years, but crossing the Amur is, after all, not an ocean to cross. It is clear that in 1942 - 1945 the Americans did little to distract German soldiers, aircraft, tanks. It's time to ask the question - how much during this period did we distract Japanese soldiers, ships, aircraft? And do the Americans have the right to say that the USSR entered the war against Japan only when everything had already been decided in the Pacific?

Separately, there is the question of America's help on Lend-Lease ally in World War II. During the program, the Americans brought ammunition, equipment, food, medical equipment, medicines, strategic raw materials (someone thought that up to 300 items) to everyone fighting against a common enemy. The greatest assistance was provided to Britain, then Russia and after China. By the way, the “greedy Yankees” included the following clause in the Lend-Lease law (Article 5): “Supplied materials (machines, various military equipment, weapons, raw materials, other items), destroyed, lost and used during the war, are not subject to payment ". By the way, think purely logically why it was necessary to pass the law on Lend-Lease. If the British, Russians, Chinese would pay for everything in full, then no law would be needed. Go directly to American corporations that produce what you need (raw materials, medicines, weapons, food), pay money and get the products you need. World trade, including raw materials and weapons, was at all times. The meaning of the Lend-Lease law was that the Americans supplied everyone allies in World War II these items for free. We, as always, immediately start talking about the fact that they were not transporting where they needed to, not what they needed, and not all the goods arrived at all, and also that we paid for everything. Maybe not everyone made it (like the infamous convoy PQ - 17), but in the winter of 1941/42, there were 10 imported tanks for 31 domestic tanks, 10 for 13 Soviet aircraft delivered under Lend-Lease. At the same time, if the American tanks were inferior to the Soviet ones in many respects, then the aircraft produced in America were seriously superior to our models. Oh, you see, a significant contribution to the most difficult period of the war for us! By the way, the total amount of Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union was 10.8 billion dollars, of which, after lengthy and repeated negotiations, we agreed to pay, minus those same losses, 800 million (and, it seems, have not yet paid off). But even that is not important. You can compare equal values. So let's compare the economic assistance that America provided to the Soviet Union at war with the economic assistance that the Soviet Union provided to America at war. On the second pan of the scales, a complete zero. In general, if humanly, when they give you something, and they give you a lot, and you cannot give anything in return, then you should just say thank you, and not make a complaint.

In fact, I think it's pointless to consider allies in World War II through the prism of "who invested more in victory." The Second World War is a tragedy of millions killed on all sides of the front, it is the crippled fate of people, it is parents who have lost children, and children left without parents, these are destroyed and burned villages and cities. All allies in World War II we put everything we could into making this nightmare end as soon as possible and helped each other as much as possible. Even the Germans and the French have reconciled, but we all cannot let go of the shadows of the past and argue over who shed more of their own and other people's blood on this nightmarish altar. In the photo, French President Francois Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at the memorial to the victims. Verdun.

Everyone knows that the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War had three main allies - England, France and the United States, which assisted the USSR in the fight against fascism. But the Soviet Union also had other allies.
Back in July 1941, the USSR signed an agreement to fight a common enemy with the governments of Czechoslovakia and Poland, who were in exile in London. In September of the first year of the war, the conference in London, the Soviet leadership established contacts with Belgium, Holland, Norway, Yugoslavia, Luxembourg and the National Committee of Free France. It was only in May 1942 that a Soviet-British treaty was signed in London on an alliance in the war against Nazi Germany and its accomplices in Europe and on cooperation and mutual assistance after the end of the war. Following this, on June 11, 1942, a Soviet-American agreement was concluded in Washington on the principles of mutual assistance and the conduct of war against fascist aggression. These treaties formed the core of the anti-Hitler coalition.
However, the union between the USSR, the USA and England was not bound by a tripartite union treaty. Only bilateral agreements existed and operated. Relations within the coalition did not fit into the parameters of the bloc and rather corresponded to the concept of a temporary alliance.
But there were also states that, themselves, were the first to offer assistance to the Soviet Union, without demanding anything in return. One of these states is the Tuva People's Republic. This is a small state, formerly belonged to the Chinese Qing Empire under the name "Tyanu-Uriankhai". In 1912, during the Xinghai Revolution in China, the Tuvans asked for a Russian protectorate. And in April 1914, by decree of Nicholas II, Tuva received a Russian protectorate and was annexed to the Yenisei province. After the revolution and civil war in Russia in 1922, Tuva became an independent state of the Tuva People's Republic (TNR), under the auspices of the USSR. Only the USSR and Mongolia recognized the new state, and until 1945, on all maps, except for the Soviet ones, this territory was depicted as Chinese.
In 1941, the Tuvans, having learned about the German attack on the USSR, immediately (June 23, 1941) declared war on the Third Reich and all its allies.
The People's Khural of Tuva announced: "The Tuvan people are ready, sparing no life, to participate with all their might and means in the struggle of the Soviet Union against the fascist aggressor until the final victory over him."
Tuva immediately handed over its gold reserves (for 35 million rubles, huge money at that time), offered to mobilize its troops and send them to the Soviet-German front. But Moscow refused Tuvan soldiers due to the small number of people. In addition, aggressive Japanese troops stood on the eastern borders of the USSR, ready to open a "second front" against the USSR, and Tuva troops could be a factor holding back the Japanese army.
Thus, Tuva became the first allies of the USSR in World War II.
Tuva helped the fighting Soviet Union in any way it could. Voluntary donations from citizens of Tuva were used to create and fully equip two tank brigades. At the expense of the republic, 10 Yak-7B fighters were purchased and transferred to the Soviet army. The Tuvans handed over to the USSR 50,000 horses and 750,000 heads of cattle.
The Tuvans delivered to the front 52,000 pairs of skis, 10,000 sheepskin coats, 400,000 tons of meat, ghee, wool, leather, canned fruits and berries, barley, flour, wax, resin. And all the help of the Tuvan people of the Red Army was free of charge. The Tuvans sincerely did not understand how to take money from a fighting ally.
By 1943, when it became clear that Japan would no longer dare to go to war with the USSR, Tuvan volunteers were allowed to fight against the Nazis. A Tuvan tank brigade was formed, which fought as part of the 52nd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and several cavalry divisions, which immediately showed high combat qualities. Skillfully disguised, they made raids on the rear of the enemy, the blessed steppe horses are extremely hardy and unpretentious, they unexpectedly attacked the Germans, sometimes, having caught the infantry on the march, they attacked "with a swoop", preventing them from lying down and organizing defense. Soon the Germans became terrified of the Tuvan cavalrymen, who did not take prisoners in principle in the war, and if they caught someone alive, then in the evening, by the fire, secretly from the political instructor, they slowly sent a "messenger to the Upper Heaven" to tell "ancestors" about their victory and good spirits."
The surviving officer of the German army, G. Remke, left the following memories: "their attacks were terrible and had an extremely demoralizing effect on the Wehrmacht soldiers." "Hordes of barbarians rode on us, from whom there was no escape."
However, victories came at great cost. Of the 10,000 Tuvan volunteers, only 300 returned home. They did not spare their enemies, despised cowardice, and were not afraid of death.
In 1944, the Tuva People's Republic became part of the USSR on the rights of autonomy. And the national military units were transformed into the Separate 7th Cavalry Division of the Red Banner Siberian Military District.
Also during the war years, large supplies of food, uniforms and other goods were from the Mongolian People's Republic.
According to historians, deliveries from Tuva and Mongolia were only a third less than all the total deliveries from the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and other countries.
Few people know that Tuva is still at war with Germany. Declaring war on Germany in 1941, the Tuva People's Republic was a separate state, and in 1944, having become part of the USSR, it could no longer sign the surrender of Germany and the subsequent peace treaty of 1955, since it was no longer a separate state.
These are the allies of the USSR.