How is World War II different from ours? The Tsarist Army and the Red Army

Second World War became the largest military conflict in human history. Military operations took place on the territory of 40 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, covering vast areas of four oceans and adjacent seas. 61 states with a population of 1 billion 700 million people, that is, 4/5 of the population, were drawn into the orbit of war globe. 110 million people were put under arms. The Second World War lasted six years, accompanied by the death of masses of people and numerous destructions.

According to its deep origins, the Second World War should be considered as an outburst of the global crisis of the system international relations first half of the 20th century. The results of the First World War, embodied in the Versailles-Washington system (1919-1922), as well as the victory of the Bolsheviks in Russia, did not allow the restoration of a stable balance of power in international arena. The world split into socialist and capitalist camps, and the latter into triumphant victorious powers and humiliated losing countries. At the same time, the two largest and rapidly recovering economic powers: the USSR and Germany, were placed, as it were, outside the system of civilized states, in the position of international “pariahs.” The totalitarian regimes that formed in them were united by rejection universal human values, “bourgeois democracies” and the Versailles-Washington system, the desire for social (and national - in Germany) messianism. “Genetically” they were united by the fact that global crisis sphere of international relations was an important prerequisite for the victory of the Bolshevik and fascist regimes, and in many ways a condition for their existence.

The difference between them was, in particular, that the victory of the Bolsheviks was directly promoted by the First World War, and the fascists - by its results and the growing influence of the communists. The formation of a totalitarian regime in Germany took only three years, compared to two decades in the Soviet Union. Having quickly solved their internal political problems, the Nazis relied on external expansion. As a means of implementing their ideological doctrine, which was based on the thesis of the racial superiority of the “Aryans” over other peoples, as well as a way to solve internal socio-economic problems, A. Hitler openly proclaimed war. Already in 1933, Germany withdrew from the League of Nations, in 1935 it introduced universal conscription and broke its obligations under Treaty of Versailles, returned (via a plebiscite) the Saar region. In 1936, German troops entered the demilitarized Rhineland, and in 1938 the Anschluss of Austria was carried out. Fascist Italy in 1935-1936. captured Ethiopia, and in 1936-1939. carried out armed intervention together with Germany in the civil war in Spain, where for the first time they were opposed not only by the left-democratic world community, but also by the USSR.

The situation in Asia has also worsened. In 1931--1932. Japan annexed Manchuria, and in 1937 began large-scale war against China and captured Beijing, Shanghai and other important centers of the country. Thus, in the interwar period, up to 70 regional wars and local armed conflicts occurred.

The growth of international instability was facilitated by the weakness of the forces interested in preserving the Versailles-Washington system. The traditional Russian-French alliance that held Germany back disappeared after 1917, and isolationist sentiments prevailed in the United States. The Versailles system relied mainly only on France and England. However, the desire of these countries to maintain the status quo in Europe was negated both by the contradictions that existed between them and by the unwillingness of their ruling elites to active actions to suppress aggressors. The passive wait-and-see position of England and France was explained not only by the relative instability of their internal situation, but, above all, by the desire to use Germany against the Bolshevik threat. That is why they pursued a policy of “appeasement,” which actually encouraged Hitler’s aggressive actions. The apogee of this policy was Munich Agreements(September 1938), which authorized the transfer of the industrially and militarily important Sudetenland to Germany, thereby leaving Czechoslovakia virtually defenseless.

Munich was the biggest strategic miscalculation of Western democracy, which opened the way for the armed expansion of fascism and brought closer the start of the “great war” in Europe. In March 1939 German troops occupied the Czech Republic and Moravia (a puppet state was created in Slovakia), and then the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda (Memel). In April, Italy captured Albania. In Spain Civil War ended in victory for Franco's fascist regime. Grew quickly and strengthened german army. Hitler could equip up to 40 of his divisions with weapons captured in Czechoslovakia, and the Skoda factories produced the same amount of weapons as the whole of Great Britain. The balance of power in Europe was rapidly changing.

In response, England and France were forced to speed up their military programs, agree on mutual assistance and provide guarantees to some European countries against possible aggression. There was a smell of war in the air, but a significant part of the ruling elites of England and France still did not lose hope of directing Hitler’s aspirations to the East and, after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, expected a German-Soviet conflict.

Meanwhile, Germany was not yet ready for big war with the USSR, and Hitler chose the Western option. The Nazi expansion strategy provided that after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, Poland would be captured by the fall of 1939, and in 1940-1941. it will be France's turn, and then England's. The ultimate goal the “unification” of Europe and the establishment of fascist domination on the American continent were proclaimed. Since they also had their own aggressive plans fascist Italy and militaristic Japan, an alliance of aggressors formed between these two countries and Germany. Back in October 1936, an Italian-German cooperation protocol was signed, called the “Berlin-Rome Axis.” In November of the same year, Germany and Japan concluded the Anti-Comintern Pact. A year later Italy joined him. The Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis emerged. The aggressive bloc was created with the aim of preparing and unleashing a war for the redivision of the world.

Responsibility for the short-sighted policy of “appeasement” lay primarily with the governments of England and France. But not only them. The general underestimation of the fascist threat (January 2, 1939, the American magazine “Time” declared Hitler “man of the year”), and the not unreasonable (in the future) fear of communist expansion, and, finally, the well-known “national egoism” had an impact » leading European peoples. Poll conducted in October 1938 in France public opinion showed that 57% of respondents approved of the Munich agreements, and only 37% opposed them.

Dramatic changes also occurred in the foreign policy of the USSR. In the spring of 1939, the Soviet leadership carried out sudden change its foreign policy strategy, choosing a course towards rapprochement with Berlin. On August 23, after three hours of negotiations in Moscow, the so-called “Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact” was signed. Attached to the non-aggression pact was a secret protocol that provided for “the delimitation of spheres of mutual interests in Eastern Europe.”

These documents radically changed not only Soviet foreign policy, but also the situation in Europe as a whole. Now the Stalinist leadership has become an ally of Germany in the division of Europe. Thus, the last obstacle to starting a new global war for the redivision of the world was removed.

The nature of the fighting. The Second World War differed from the first by the very nature of military operations. If the first was predominantly a positional war, in which defense was stronger than attack, then during the second, the use of tanks, aircraft, motorization of armies and increased firepower made it possible to break through the enemy’s defenses. War has become more maneuverable, and fighting more dynamic, their geographical scope has grown.

For countries - fascist states that took the path of aggression, the Second World War was an aggressive one. The expansionist policies of these countries led to the elimination of democratic order in the occupied territories and the emergence of racial and national oppression. Therefore, all those peoples who fought against the aggressors fought a just war of liberation, regardless of what the motives of this fight were for each of its participants. It should be borne in mind that among the countries anti-Hitler coalition it turned out totalitarian state-- THE USSR. For the Soviet people anti-fascist war did not become a movement towards democracy; rather, on the contrary, the war contributed to the strengthening of totalitarianism. But this in no way diminishes the role that the peoples of the USSR played in the war, nor does it diminish their contribution to the defeat of fascism.

Periodization of war. Chronologically, the Second World War can be divided into three long periods. The first period lasted from September 1, 1939 to June 1942. It was characterized by the expanding scale of the war while maintaining the superiority of the aggressor forces. The second period lasted from June 1942 to January 1944 - this was the turning point in the war, during which the initiative and superiority in forces gradually fell into the hands of the anti-Hitler coalition. The third - from January 1944 to September 2, 1945 - the final stage of the war, during which the superiority of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition was consolidated, their armies managed to defeat the enemy, and the crisis of the regimes of the aggressor states developed into their collapse.

There is a point of view in historical literature according to which the war for the Soviet Union began long before the German attack. Its supporters believe that the annexation of the Baltic states, a war of conquest with Finland, annexation Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and Bessarabia can also be designated as episodes of the Second World War, which means it was the direct participation of the USSR in the world conflict. These researchers raise the question of the legitimacy of the periodization of the events of 1939 - 1945. to the “Second World War” “Great Patriotic War”. In their opinion, everything that the Soviet leadership did in 1939 - 1945. - this is the nurturing and implementation of aggressive plans for “historical” revenge, called, in accordance with the ideology of that time, the “expansion” of socialism. Only after June 22, 1941, the nature of the war for the Soviet Union changed - it became a people's war of liberation. Despite this, the USSR's participation in World War II continued. As a result, the Soviet political elite actually managed to expand its sphere of influence, extending it to some areas of Central and Eastern Europe.

To the previous...

IN Lately– or rather, somewhere from the end of Perestroika – the opinion became popular that the concept “Great Patriotic War” should not be used. They say this is a purely propaganda construct created by a “bloody tyrant” for his own purposes. Therefore, you should use “international” - World War II. In general, for late-Soviet and post-Soviet discourse this is a fairly common idea, strictly following the framework of the denial of everything that was created in the USSR. The most surprising thing here, rather, is that despite all this, the concept of “Great Patriotic War” still remains relevant. The latter may well mean that there is something very important behind it. However, it was very difficult to understand what is important, why we really should separate the aggression of the Third Reich against the USSR and the Soviet reaction to it into a separate category. At least, until recently I did not have a clear answer to this question. And only by the time of writing the last post with the specified topic it became more or less clear.

The fact is that, paradoxical as it may sound, the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War are really two completely different phenomena. No, of course, from the point of view of historiography, the Great Patriotic War is really just a local moment in the Second World War, which began on June 22, 1941 and ended on May 9, 1945. By the way, the Soviet Union continued to fight after the surrender of Germany - until September 2, 1945, in accordance with allied obligations, participated in hostilities against Japan. Moreover, we can say that our country entered the Second World War even before the start of aggression from Germany - for example, the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940 undoubtedly acts as an act of the Second World War. So it might seem that separating the Great Patriotic War into a separate category makes no sense - well, except taxonomically.
However, if we consider these events not in a historiographical, but in a “historiosophical”, so to speak, key - that is, paying attention not so much to the formal sequence of events, but also to their genetic connection with each other - then you can see that these very “wars” are really different. The fact is that the Second World War, in itself, is an “ordinary” World War, which is a consequence of the more than once mentioned desire of the imperialists to redivide the world. That is why, as already mentioned in the previous part, it was inevitable - despite all the feelings, beliefs and aspirations of the people who went through the First World War. After all, imperialism, in general, is deeply indifferent to all this - one thing is important to it: increasing capital. And this, in turn, can only happen in one way - through continuous market growth.

That is, by involving everyone in the sphere of influence of capital more of people. The problem is that capital, as such, does not originate at one “point” from which it could grow exponentially until it takes over the entire Earth. (And as soon as he captures it, the skiff will come to him.) In reality, what happened was somewhat different: there were many points of origin of capital. Capitals grew like weeds in a garden bed - in enormous crowding and snatching from each other all the resources that could be reached. Well, and of course, in conditions of devouring the weakest. As a result, the further you go, the more power is concentrated in one “unit”, and the more brutal and costly the clashes between competitors become. In the end, it was the emergence of this process at the interstate level that became the phenomenon called the World War.

Therefore, there was only one way to stop this process. Namely, by limiting the “war of capital”. But who was able to do this if almost the entire state and social structure of imperialist societies was its (this very process) consequence? The question, as you can understand, is rhetorical. This means that some time after the end of one World War, the next one inevitably had to begin. No matter how strange it seemed to contemporaries. And no political (or any other) measures to prevent this beginning could do anything. So, no matter how much you would like, welcome back to the trenches, fertilize the rich European, Asian or African soil with your bodies - because this is what alpha and omega demands modern world- economy.

True, from this we can understand that by changing the economy, eliminating the already mentioned competition between capitals, the danger of war can be eliminated. But this is very, very difficult to do, because we're talking about about the basis of the social structure - that is, about the phenomenon that determines most of the lives of all people living in it. About the basis on which a huge number of diverse social subsystems are built, which is supported by countless numbers of the most different connections. In general, about what change means a complete restructuring of society - and a fundamental restructuring. Essentially, this means that society must be “overhauled” from top to bottom. But by whom? After all, a subject “sorting through” an entire society must be at least equal to it in complexity. But this, of course, is impossible. More precisely, it is possible only for one situation...

Namely, the transition of society through a catastrophic state. That is, through a situation when most of the indicated connections in it are broken, the subsystems, if not dismantled, are in a “suspended” state, and the population is gradually plunging into Chaos. Since, with all the horror of this situation, it is in this state that a small - in relation to the entire society - but having high level structurality, the subject is able to initiate changes that completely change the basis. Yes, this path is very, very risky - at least from the point of view of everyday thinking - since there is a very high probability that instead of restructuring, the said Chaos will simply absorb everything and everyone. Therefore, it is deliberately impossible to move on to such “actions”. However, this is not required - since in reality History provides unique opportunity make this transition without your own desire...

The point is that during the transition of the world to the state of imperialism and the beginning of the era of World Wars, the social systems of the warring states inevitably begin to experience unprecedented stress. Which could potentially send society's data to the above state. True, imperialist societies - as well as any other forms of class structure - are extremely stable. But all the same, sooner or later, there will be “ weak link”, which will be able to experience the method of transmutation described above - and go beyond the limits of the inevitability described above. However, everything described here is an extremely complex and large topic that requires separate consideration. Therefore, I will not dwell on it in detail. I will limit myself only very much a brief note that in our history all this happened during the First World War, and led to the formation of the USSR - the world's first non-imperialist developed state. (Yes, developed - despite the fact that the early USSR had quite low level development, but it could at least somehow be compared with the countries of the “first division”. All other societies that were not imperialist were at a much lower stage of development.)

IN initial period Soviet development However, it seemed that the emergence of such a state was some kind of temporary phenomenon, a funny fluctuation in history that was about to end. How this happens is not important: perhaps Soviet power will simply collapse from internal problems, and perhaps it will degenerate into something more or less “class-familiar.” Finally, it is quite likely that the country will simply be conquered by some external force. Actually, in the 1920s and even 1930s, the confidence that the USSR would not exist indefinitely significant time, was with many - from white emigrants to major politicians. There’s even maintaining sustainability “ communist regime“during the two interwar decades was not a significant argument: it was explained by the “dictatorship” and “terror” with which the Bolsheviks allegedly kept the country from collapse. It was decided that the Soviet Union was a kind of Eastern European dictatorship, capable of suppressing internal enemies, but not capable of serious development.

It was this idea that became the basis for the development of the capture plan Soviet territory on the part of the Third Reich - since in this case there was an opportunity to easily seize quite “tasty” territory. However, I already wrote about this in the previous part, so I won’t dwell on it here. I will only note that the main idea German aggression was that after delivering a significant blow to the Red Army, the entire “terrorist dictatorship” of Stalin would crumble like sand. (The Barbarossa plan was a purely military plan, and the Ost plan was a plan for capitalizing already captured resources.) That is why all the data about the mobilization potential available in the USSR did not frighten anyone. In fact, all these plants and factories, all the existing citizens of military age are actually nothing without some kind of “force” uniting them. And if this very “force” is terror, that is, the population’s fear of the state, then after understanding that this state is worthless, no obedience to the authorities should be expected. Moreover, Nazi ideologists believed that the only alternative to terror in terms of maintaining the stability of society was the so-called. "nation". Which could not exist in the USSR.

However, it is clear that there is a different understanding of the Soviet world order from the point of view. The West—the “West of that time”—simply could not exist. The USSR was not just Terra Incognita for him, but a world that there was no particular need to explore. Because, as mentioned above, it itself will soon collapse. As a result, in the best - or rather, in the worst case - information was drawn from the stories of numerous emigrants. (Which only confused the whole matter.) Of course, there was intelligence - but it extracted exclusively military-industrial and political information. Social structure the country was inaccessible to spies. Therefore, the war with the Soviet Union was thought of in the West as one of the acts of the future redivision of the world. Moreover, not the most serious of them. (By the way, plans for aggression against the USSR were developed not only by the Third Reich - everyone was doing this, from Great Britain to Poland.)

However, in reality, as we know, the aggressor was in for a very unpleasant surprise. Actually, we need to talk about what happened after June 22, 1941 separately - but there is no particular need for this. In short, from the very beginning the notorious “pleasure ride” with the mass slaughter of herds of stupid Russian “vaneks” driven into battle by hellish commissars turned into a bloody and cruel battle. Where many future “landowners”, instead of the desired estates, found two meters of Russian land for themselves, and the victorious march of the Wehrmacht turned into an intense struggle for every piece of land. And although initially the generals and politicians tried not to notice this, by the autumn of 1941, when the forces accumulated for the blitzkrieg had dried up, it became clear that all the plans had to be scrapped.

And not only in relation to the USSR. In fact, the entire German strategy, designed to redivide the world and gain hegemony through the use of Soviet resources. Moreover, it is unknown what was even sadder for the Third Reich - that every day the victorious Wehrmacht was increasingly “drowning” in the mysterious “Soviet cauldron”, losing people, equipment and time. Or that the world suddenly realized who the real power was - and the hope of recognition of the Pax Germanica disappeared forever. It became clear that the only possible way The stories are about the complete destruction of the fascist regime. At this moment, anti-fascism was born - not as a pathetic resistance to Hitler's aggression, but as the main direction of existing politics. As an idea that determines the actions of tens and hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Actually, it’s difficult to say when this happened - to openly declare Soviet victories became possible somewhere after Battle of Stalingrad. But the real awareness of what happened began even earlier. In any case, somewhere from the end of 1942 - 1943, we began to talk about a fundamental change in current forces war. From an imperialist war, a war for the redistribution of spheres of influence, it turned into a war of destruction fascist regimes. This may not seem particularly important - especially since the “same” economy seemed to remain the same... But in fact, it was in this area that the most important change took place. The fact is that it became clear to representatives of developed countries that the USSR, as a state of a non-class type, has so much great strength, which is capable of defeating the recently invincible “hegemon.” This means that he must be taken into account - and in terms of what should not be underestimated, as an enemy. And in terms of what is worth learning from Russians - no matter how strange it may sound.

In general, the “Soviet shadow” fell on the imperialist world. Fell and forced him to drive as if economic basis changed. No, of course, these changes were weak, almost imperceptible at first - but they acted continuously, changing the world to a previously incredible state. In general, we can say that Soviet troops at Stalingrad, on the Kursk Bulge, during the offensives of 1944 and, of course, in 1945, not only broke the “backbone of the Wehrmacht”, not only “carried out” the notorious German domination to the dustbin of history - but also made possible a completely different course of history than what was dictated by the logic of the development of imperialism. To put it even more simply, but at the same time more pathetically, they made the Second World War the last World War.

Once again, before the outbreak of the Third Reich’s aggression in the USSR and the defeat of this aggression, the Second World War was, as already said, an “ordinary” World War. A war between imperialists for the right to control markets. The USSR turned this very war into a war against fascism - that is, in fact, with that same imperialism taken to its extreme form. As a result, the “eternal circle” of competitive clashes mentioned at the beginning was broken - and humanity got a chance to avoid a repetition of the global massacre. And of course, Victory in the Great Patriotic War was only the beginning of this process - it also required post-war reconstruction, and the creation of new industries, and the beginning space race, and many, many, many more things to make “eternal peace” possible. Possible, of course, as long as another form of economy was possible - one in which deadly competition would not be an inevitable consequence of its basic principles. (And, of course, after the disappearance of this form, everything gradually returned, or, more precisely, returns to normal...)

But all this must be discussed separately. Here, returning to the topic raised, it is worth saying that this is precisely why we must remember the Great Patriotic War, as the war that ensured the subsequent “eternal peace.” (At least until the collapse of the USSR.) As an event that gave several generations the opportunity to live without fear of death in the next “global meat grinder.” (Compared to which, all these “Vietnams” and “Afghans” would seem like pathetic games in the sandbox.) As for the Second World War, it should be treated as just one of the stages historical development- albeit cruel, albeit heroic, even if it gave a certain impetus to progress, but, nevertheless, standing in a long line of its own kind. And that is why, speaking about Victory with a capital V - that is, about a phenomenon that goes beyond infinite number victories of certain countries in no less endless wars - we must clearly understand that we are talking specifically about victory in the Great Patriotic War. In a war that brought peace - which, of course, is priceless for every person...

Modern young people often do not understand why the war was called the Patriotic War, and even the Great. And how is World War II different from it?

Maybe these are completely different historical events that do not intersect with each other? What other patriotic wars took place on Russian soil? And why are they called that? There are a lot of questions. To find the answer to them, it is worth looking into the history of Russia.

Patriotic War of 1812

Every patriot should know the history of his homeland. To find the answer to the question of why the war was called Patriotic, you need to understand what the word itself means. In another way, the country in which a person was born and lives is called the Fatherland. And all wars aimed at defending their homeland bear this proud title.

In 1812, Napoleon attacked Russia with the goal of conquering and enslaving the Russian people. But he failed. This war entered the history of Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812. Naturally, for France everything was different. Even now they will not understand why the war was called the Patriotic War, because for them it was a war of conquest.

The Second World War

In September 1939, on the first day, fascist Germany, together with its henchmen - Italy, Japan and some other states - unleashed a global fire in which 1.7 billion people took part. This is almost eighty percent of the entire population of the planet. And almost one hundred and ten million people fought directly in the armies of all the countries involved in this horror.

In 1941, Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. This is exactly what our Motherland was called in those years. And the entire Soviet people stood up to defend the Fatherland.

On the part of the Nazis, it was a war of aggression. The Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler, did not understand why the war was called the Patriotic War. Many people still argue, arguing that this was an action to liberate peoples from communist terror. But in reality there was no talk of any liberation. The Nazis simply tried to carry out a new division of lands and enslave other peoples.

But our people waged a liberation struggle, defended their Motherland and other countries. Now it’s clear why the war of 1941-1945 was called the Patriotic War? Although it is worth remembering that the name of the event depends on whose point of view it is viewed from.

Although the world war was already raging on earth, the Soviet people were confident that Hitler would not dare to encroach on our Motherland. Moreover, a non-aggression pact was concluded between the Soviet Union and Germany.

However, Hitler vilely violated it. On the night of June 21-22, everyone who graduated from school celebrated their graduation party. No one could have imagined that exactly at dawn after such a wonderful holiday, shots would ring out, bombs would fall from the sky, and blood would flow. And yet it happened. On June 22, 1941, at four o'clock in the morning, without warning, Germany committed treacherous attack and to the Soviet Union. Immediately on huge space, from the Carpathian Mountains to Baltic Sea, fascist troops crossed the border of our Motherland.

The Nazis planned to destroy culture huge country, and turn its people into slaves who would work for Germany. The invaders bombed cities and villages, railways and ports, airfields and train stations. A great many people, including children, old people and women, were killed in the most brutal manner: burned alive, buried, shot, torn to pieces.

But the people did not want to give up. Even the smallest settlements heroically defended themselves. A bunch of beautiful songs People came up with ideas about the exploits of unknown soldiers. “Near an unfamiliar village on a nameless height” heroes laid down their heads, the memory of which will live for centuries. That is why the war of 1941-1945 was called the Patriotic War. After all, the Soviet people fought for their Fatherland.

War is not a game, it is death and pain...

The search for an answer to the question of why the Great Patriotic War was called “Patriotic” forces us to travel back to those distant terrible years. It was not liberation that came to the Soviet Union, but a terrible monster called “fascism,” insatiable and cruel. Nothing was sacred to him.

The Nazis rampaged through the occupied lands as if they themselves had never been human. A huge part of the population was taken out and imprisoned concentration camps. There, the atrocities of the invaders were especially sophisticated. Blood was taken from children for transfusion to the wounded, people were inoculated with terrible diseases and monitored. They even tried to create a new creature that would be a carrier of the human gene and animal, using for their inhumane experiments prisoners.

Not only Patriotic, but also Great.

Not only men of military age went to the front. Volunteers simply blocked all the points that were engaged in mobilization. There were elderly people, and very young boys and girls. There were a lot of venerable elders and snotty kids. At first, these were immediately sent home, to their mother’s hem. “This war will not be damned for long!” - everyone said.

However, after the first two years, it became obvious that the end to these horrors would not come soon. And everyone remembered about the old people and children who were so eager to fight at the beginning of the war. It is now clear that every pair of hands is valuable. Twelve-year-old boys stood at the machines next to elderly men and women. Together they worked eighteen hours a day, producing ammunition and military equipment.

Thus, by rallying against fascism, our Motherland managed to clear its lands of fascist cholera. But the Red Army did not stop there. Soviet tanks reached Berlin itself, liberating other countries from the fascist yoke along the way. Our country has accomplished a great deed. Saved a huge number of people, the most different nationalities and religion. That is why the war is called the Great Patriotic War.

Over its centuries-old history, humanity has become famous primarily for its numerous wars, both local and global. The 20th century was the most distinguished in this regard. It was marked in our history by two world wars, the largest in the entire existence of human civilization. And, of course, the Second World War took first place in terms of its grandeur by a large margin. 62 countries out of 73 that existed on the planet at that time took part in it, and total losses amounted to more than 70 million people. But, for all its scale, this war in terms of goals and methods differs little from dozens and hundreds of other military conflicts. However, it has a certain characteristic feature.

It is well known that the Soviet Union bore the brunt of this global conflict, which is rightfully the main winner in this battle, despite numerous attempts by a number of today's politicians to rewrite history anew. Therefore, it is not surprising that the winning country gave its name this conflict- The Great Patriotic War. And this definition became the main one in Soviet history, and many of our compatriots perceive it as the only and correct name for the noisy battles. But it is not so. Let's be clear and figure out how the Great Patriotic War differs from World War II.

The whole world must kneel

European blitzkrieg

The Second World War began at 04:26 on September 1, 1939, with a raid by a flight of Luftwaffe bombers on the Dirschau railway station in Poland. 20 minutes later, the coastal fortifications on Westerplatte were fired upon from the sea. At the same time, the Wehrmacht marching companies began the invasion of Poland. This day is considered the official date of the beginning of World War II, the bloodiest massacre in the entire existence of mankind.

At the beginning of October, or rather on the 6th, the last Polish military units surrendered. Despite some heroic moments, the resistance of one of the largest European countries lasted a little over a month. However, the same fate befell other main countries of the European part of the continent. In just six months (spring-summer 1940), the Germans successively “brought to their knees” Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In the summer of 1940, the Wehrmacht knocked out France with a swift blow, and on June 22 in Compiègne the French signed a shameful peace for themselves. After this, Hitler gives his armies a one-year respite without conducting large-scale hostilities. True, in the Mediterranean, Africa and in the skies of Britain there are constant small battles, the Balkans have been captured, but these are skirmishes of a local nature that have no of decisive importance for the main players in geopolitics. The whole world freezes in anticipation of more menacing events. And they came. But first, let's turn our gaze to the east, or more precisely to the Soviet Union.

We are for the international

IN Soviet time they didn’t particularly like to dwell on the topic of the date of the USSR’s entry into World War II. The countdown always began on June 22, 1941. However, in reality there was annexation of the Baltic states in the fall of 1940, the introduction of troops into Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in June of the same year. It is also worth remembering the war with Finland in the winter of 1939. Did this apply to World War II? Without a doubt. No matter what sauce this dish was served under Stalinist propaganda, in fact these were aggressive actions of one state against others, supported by superior military power of this state and leading to the seizure of foreign territories. And since all this became possible only because Germany unleashed global war in Europe, then, naturally, such actions should be attributed to elements of the Second World War.

They fought for their homeland

A colossus with feet of clay? Fatal mistake

Sunday, 4 a.m., June 22, 1941. Recently ended proms in all schools in the country of the Soviets. In its western part, former schoolchildren are still enjoying their graduation night before entering the adult life. They do not yet suspect that most of them will remain young forever...

And at this time, the head of the Imperial Foreign Ministry, Mr. Ribbentrop, was presenting a note declaring war to the Soviet Ambassador Dekanozov in Berlin. Although the real fighting began an hour earlier. At 03:05 on June 22, 1941, German divisions crossed the border of the USSR, and Luftwaffe planes had already begun to bomb border military units and airfields. It can be considered that it was from this moment that the Second World War turned into the Great Patriotic War for the Soviet Union. This formulation was first heard in Stalin’s radio address to the people on July 3, 1941, but this was only a formal confirmation of the fact.

Almost from the first hours of the invasion, military operations acquired completely different features compared to the European blitzkrieg. At first everything was reminiscent of the European campaign, only in on a large scale. Rapid passages of tank wedges of Guderian and Kleist, wide coverage of huge masses Soviet troops, rapid advance to the east... It would seem that the colossal losses at the beginning of the war, tens and hundreds of thousands of killed and captured should have irrevocably undermined the spirit Soviet soldiers and finally turn them into a weak-willed herd. However, the further the Wehrmacht moved east, the fiercer and more organized the Russian resistance became.

“Why did we even come to this barbaric country?..”

Already on the approaches to Moscow and Leningrad, the Germans began to realize that they had never encountered such an enemy. They couldn't imagine that ordinary people(not career military), the militia, almost unarmed, will stand to the death on the line allotted to them and will remain there forever, without taking a single step back. Or that beardless pilots on plywood planes on their first combat mission, smiling, will go for a deadly ram, taking with them to another world the German aces, who were responsible for dozens of downed aircraft. This was not the war that the Germans were accustomed to - this was the beginning of the Great Patriotic War...

“Take no prisoners!”

The war with the Soviet Union differed sharply from the European campaign almost from the first hours. And the main message came from fascist Germany. Bombings and shelling of civilians were mandatory element military actions and were officially part of Hitler's eastern doctrine. This installation led to unprecedented civilian casualties. Moreover, the fascists not only showed the callousness of pathological killers, but also took sadistic pleasure from mocking defenseless people. Human history has not seen such atrocities on such a scale since the Dark Middle Ages.

Ultimately, this caused such a wave of hatred on the part of Soviet soldiers and people that the Germans simply drowned in it. Order: “Take no prisoners!” you will not find in any official Soviet document, but unofficially it was always implied following the command calls: “For the Motherland! For Stalin! Attack!”, this especially applies to the first two years of the war.

There were also in Europe individual cases fascist terror in conquered countries, for example the Czech village of Lidice, burned to the ground by the Nazis along with its inhabitants. But this was more the exception to the rule than the rule. On the territory of the USSR such actions were the norm.

Note. A short excerpt from Wikipedia: “Out of 9200 settlements, destroyed and burned by German occupiers and collaborators in Belarus during the Great Patriotic War, over 5295 were destroyed along with all or part of the population during punitive operations. (According to other data, 5295 is the number of settlements destroyed, including 628 along with the population. 186 villages could not be revived, as they were destroyed along with all their inhabitants, including mothers and infants, frail old people and the disabled." And this is only in one Belarus!

And the war itself on European fields was often surprising. The confrontation between the Allies (France and England) and Germany from September 3, 1939 to May 10, 1940 is widely known. Western Front. For almost a year, the opponents did not conduct any combat operations, sometimes separated by literally just a few tens of meters. Moreover, they demonstrated a completely peaceful lifestyle - they played football and volleyball in front of each other, sunbathed and pleasantly joked across the front line. Imagine this on Eastern Front Probably even the most ardent lover of rewriting the history of the Second World War will not be able to.

“And let the earth burn under their feet!”

The main difference between the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War is the complete unity of the entire people in the fight against the foreign invader. Already in the first weeks of the war, partisan detachments, which initially consisted of encirclement and specially left groups of NKVD employees. Over time, local residents began to join them, and by the middle of the war, huge partisan areas appeared behind enemy lines, uncontrolled by German troops.

When Soviet army began to liberate the territories captured by the fascists, entire partisan divisions and brigades were added to the advancing fronts, not much inferior in combat experience and training to personnel units. None of the European countries that came under occupation had such a large-scale and effective partisan movement.

In almost all captured Soviet cities sooner or later an underground appeared. In some places it was limited to ideological struggle (leaflets, dissemination of truthful information about the course of military operations, hanging red flags, etc.), and in others these were real underground armies. Well armed, trained, knowing no fear of the enemy and hating him fiercely. Remember the “shooting ruins” of Minsk or the unbending catacombs of Odessa.

Can “freedom-loving” Europe boast of something similar? Of course, there was the famous French Resistance, which, by the way, almost half consisted of foreigners. But without belittling one ounce of the heroism and courage of its fighters, we must still admit that it cannot be compared in any way with the anti-Hitler movement in the occupied part of the Soviet Union, either in terms of effectiveness or mass numbers.

Let's not resist and make a small digression from the topic. Now they really like to rewrite the history of the Second World War. Especially in part liberation struggle during the occupation. If you read these “experts”, it may seem that at least 50% of the population of the Soviet Union supported or were ready to support German invaders. Only these pseudo-historians are silent about why we were able to defeat the strongest army peace, for which all “proud and independent Europe” worked. The answer is simple. Only he doesn’t fit into the “ recent history"from home-grown "democrats".

Yes, there were traitors, there were collaborators and all kinds of renegades. And there were many of them, if we consider these figures separately from the entire Soviet people. Which, by the way, is what some are trying to do today modern researchers WWII. However, in general, against the general background of the entire country, people, according to own initiative There were an insignificant number of those who supported the Nazis. In any case, significantly less than in Europe. Suffice it to recall the Vichy government in Southern France, huge number whose residents were quite loyal to the pro-fascist regime and even actively collaborated with it on a voluntary basis.

In the USSR, for the most part, with rare exceptions, they were cowards and nonentities who fled at the slightest threat to their worthless lives. The Germans themselves recognized this and used them, as a rule, as punishers and executioners of their own people.

Everything for the front, everything for victory!

There was also a massive rise in patriotism on the home front. Almost the entire working-age population, including children and the elderly, worked for the defense of the country 14-16 hours a day with one day off per week (and even then not always). And all this is not out of fear or some kind of mercantile interests, but from the real desire of people to help their Motherland in bloody war. In besieged Leningrad, small children, almost weightless from hunger, stood behind huge machines and produced output that was several times higher than pre-war adult standards. There are hundreds, thousands of cases where people died right at work from hunger, from overexertion, from diseases that were not dangerous at first, which there was no time to treat. But others took their place and continued to work... And, we repeat, it was not fear of the enemy or the NKVD, as all sorts of history reshapers now like to claim, that forced these people to sacrifice themselves. It was the Great Patriotic War...

During the entire period of World War II, enlightened Europe had never seen such mass labor heroism. Even the rebellious Great Britain, one of the most active participants in the resistance to the German military machine in the Western vector, cannot boast of anything.

Comparison

It seems to us that it is impossible to write about the great feat of our fathers and grandfathers, and for many even great-grandfathers, without falling into pathos. However, facts do not recognize romance and require a dry statement. Therefore, we decided to present here a table in which we will briefly and without excesses outline the main points of our article.

Table

So, we hope that our readers have become absolutely clear what the difference is between the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War. Confusing these two concepts is completely wrong. Yes, they are organically compatible and connected by an unbreakable thread. But at the same time it's two different events. Unfortunately, today many attempts are being made to level out, or even completely throw out even the very mention of the Great Patriotic War from history. This is being done with quite understandable goals - to minimize the role of the USSR in the defeat of the Third Reich. This has happened more than once in the past long history humanity. However, in the end, the truth won out. It will be so now. We are sure of this.