States liberated by Soviet troops. Liberation of Europe and the surrender of Germany

By 1944, the Third Reich was exhausted, but still a deadly enemy. The armed forces of Germany and its allies numbered about five million. There were more than six million people in the Soviet army, and the rise in military equipment production was incredible.

Liberation

The liberation of Europe from Nazism began in March 1944 and continued until the end of the war.

The Soviet army liberated Bulgaria and Romania quite quickly.

However, the Hungarian army and Nazi units in Hungary put up incredibly fierce resistance. The liberators were met with hostility.

The bloodiest battles were the battles for Poland, after which only Germany remained to be taken. The battles lasted about 6 months. 600 thousand Red Army soldiers died. There could have been fewer losses if the forces of the Soviet army had joined forces with the forces of the Polish national liberation movement, which had already begun to expand its activities against the Nazis. However, Stalin did not want Poland to liberate itself on its own. So he waited until the uprising was suppressed, then gave the order to continue the offensive.

Germany

On June 6, 1944, the Second Front opened. Then France was liberated from the Nazis. Troops from England, the United States and France advanced on West Germany, bombing German cities and turning them into ruins. Germany was destabilized by the advance of Soviet troops from the east, the creation of a second front, and the destruction of German cities.

At the beginning of 1945, the Soviet army had already entered Germany. But the enemy was still dangerous.

Some of Hitler's closest aides conducted secret negotiations with the British and Americans, wanting to ensure Germany's place in the allies of England and the United States to unite against the USSR. Germany also created completely new and deadly weapons FAU-1,2,3. The last missile was even capable of reaching the United States. The Wehrmacht was running out of time to develop the atomic bomb.

Given these threats, the USSR leadership decided to give the order for an independent offensive and assault on Berlin. The battle began on April 16, and on April 30, the Reichstag was taken, over which the red Soviet flag fluttered. Then the Fuhrer committed suicide.

Losses

The following died in the battles for Europe:

• 600 thousand Soviet soldiers died in Poland;
• In Romania – 69 thousand;
• In Hungary - more than 40 thousand;
• In Czechoslovakia - about 12 thousand;
• On Austrian territory - 26 thousand;
• More than 102 thousand Soviet soldiers died during the liberation of the German people.

Thus, more than a million Soviet soldiers died in battles abroad.

Despite the great victory and the huge number of victims, in some countries liberated 70 years ago there are nationalist formations. Monuments to Soviet soldiers are being destroyed, history is being actively rewritten, and disinformation is spreading, desecrating the bright memory of the heroes. Now claims are becoming louder that with this liberation the USSR sought to enslave all of Europe.

Therefore, especially now, it is very important to remember and honor the exploits of Soviet soldiers, regardless of anyone’s offensive statements or actions.

No matter how the events of the Second World War are now interpreted and its history is not rewritten, the fact remains: having liberated the territory of the USSR from the Nazi invaders, the Red Army carried out a liberation mission - returning freedom to 11 countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe with a population of 113 million people .

At the same time, without disputing the contribution of the Allies to the victory over German Nazism, it is obvious that the Soviet Union and its Red Army played a decisive contribution to the liberation of Europe. This is evidenced by the fact that the most fierce battles in 1944-1945, when, finally, on June 6, 1944, the second front was opened, still took place in the Soviet-German direction.

As part of the liberation mission, the Red Army carried out 9 strategic offensive operations, which began with Yasso-Kishinev (August 20-29, 1944).

During the operations carried out by the Red Army on the territory of European countries, significant Wehrmacht forces were defeated. For example, on the territory of Poland there are over 170 enemy divisions, in Romania - 25 German and 22 Romanian divisions, in Hungary - more than 56 divisions, in Czechoslovakia - 122 divisions.

The liberation mission began with the restoration of the USSR state border on March 26, 1944 and the crossing of the Soviet-Romanian border by the Red Army in the area of ​​the Prut River as a result of the Uman-Botosha operation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. Then Soviet troops restored a small - only 85 km - section of the USSR border.

It is noteworthy that the regiment took over to guard the liberated section of the border, whose border guards took their first battle here on June 22, 1941. And the very next day, March 27, troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front crossed the Soviet-Romanian border, thereby beginning the direct liberation of Romania from the Nazis .

The Red Army liberated Romania for about seven months - this was the longest stage of the liberation mission. From March to October 1944, more than 286 thousand Soviet soldiers shed their blood here, of which 69 thousand people died.

The significance of the Iasi-Kishinev operation on August 20-29, 1944, in the liberation mission is due to the fact that during it the main forces of the Army Group “Southern Ukraine” were defeated and Romania was withdrawn from the war on the side of Nazi Germany, real preconditions were created for its liberation itself, as well as other countries of south-eastern Europe.

It is noteworthy that the operation itself is called Iasi-Chisinau Cannes. It was carried out so brilliantly that it testified to the leadership talent of the Soviet military leaders who led this operation, as well as the high qualities, including professional and moral, of the commanders, and, of course, of His Majesty - the Soviet Soldier.

The Iasi-Kishinev operation had a great influence on the further course of the war in the Balkans. Although the liberation of Romania itself continued until the end of October 1944, already at the beginning of September 1944 the Red Army began to liberate Bulgaria. The results of the operation had a demoralizing effect on its then leadership. Therefore, already on September 6-8, power in most cities and towns in Bulgaria passed to the anti-fascist Fatherland Front. On September 8, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, General F.I. Tolbukhin crossed the Romanian-Bulgarian border and practically moved through its territory without firing a single shot. On September 9, the liberation of Bulgaria was completed. Thus, in fact, the liberation mission of the Red Army in Bulgaria was completed in two days.

Subsequently, Bulgarian troops took part in hostilities against Germany in Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria.

The liberation of Bulgaria created the preconditions for the liberation of Yugoslavia. It should be noted that Yugoslavia is one of the few states that dared to challenge Nazi Germany back in 1941. It is noteworthy that it was here that the most powerful partisan movement in Europe was launched, which diverted significant forces of Nazi Germany and the collaborators of Yugoslavia itself. Despite the fact that the country's territory was occupied, a significant part of it was under the control of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia under the leadership of I. Tito. Having initially turned to the British for help and not receiving it, Tito on July 5, 1944 wrote a letter to I. Stalin with the wish that the Red Army would help the NOAI expel the Nazis.

This became possible in September - October 1944. As a result of the Belgrade offensive operation, the Red Army troops, in cooperation with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, defeated the German army group "Serbia" and liberated the eastern and northeastern regions of Yugoslavia with its capital Belgrade (October 20).

Thus, favorable conditions were created for the preparation and conduct of the Budapest operation, which began 9 days after the liberation of Belgrade (October 29, 1944) and continued until February 13.

Unlike Yugoslavia, Hungary, like Romania and Bulgaria, was actually a satellite of Nazi Germany. In 1939, she joined the Anti-Comintern Pact and participated in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, the attack on Yugoslavia and the USSR. Therefore, a significant part of the country's population had concerns that the Red Army would not liberate, but conquer Hungary.

In order to dispel these fears, the command of the Red Army, in a special appeal, assured the population that it was entering Hungarian soil “not as a conqueror, but as a liberator of the Hungarian people from the Nazi yoke.”

By December 25, 1944, troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts surrounded the 188,000-strong enemy group in Budapest. On January 18, 1945, the eastern part of the city of Pest was liberated, and on February 13, Buda.

As a result of another strategic offensive operation - Bolotonskaya (March 6 - 15, 1945), troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front with the participation of the 1st Bulgarian and 3rd Yugoslav armies were defeated, which went on a counter-offensive in the area north of the island. Balaton group of German troops. The liberation of Hungary lasted 195 days. As a result of heavy battles and battles, the losses of Soviet troops here amounted to 320,082 people, of which 80,082 were irrevocable.

Soviet troops suffered even more significant losses during the liberation of Poland. More than 600 thousand Soviet soldiers gave their lives for its liberation, 1,416 thousand people were wounded, almost half of all the losses of the Red Army during the liberation of Europe.

The liberation of Poland was overshadowed by the actions of the Polish émigré government, which initiated the uprising in Warsaw on August 1, 1944, which was inconsistent with the command of the Red Army.

The rebels expected that they would have to fight with the police and the rear. And I had to fight with experienced front-line soldiers and SS troops. The uprising was brutally suppressed on October 2, 1944. This is the price that Polish patriots had to pay for the ambitions of politicians.

The Red Army was able to begin the liberation of Poland only in 1945. The Polish direction, or more precisely the Warsaw-Berlin direction, was the main one from the beginning of 1945 until the end of the war. On the territory of Poland alone, within its modern borders, the Red Army carried out five offensive operations: Vistula-Oder, East Prussian, East Pomeranian, Upper Silesian and Lower Silesian.

The largest offensive operation in the winter of 1945 was the Vistula-Oder operation (January 12 – February 3, 1945). Its goal was to complete the liberation of Poland from the Nazi occupiers and create favorable conditions for the decisive offensive on Berlin.

During the 20 days of the offensive, Soviet troops completely defeated 35 enemy divisions, and 25 divisions suffered losses of 60 to 75% of their personnel. An important result of the operation was the liberation of Warsaw on January 17, 1945 by the joint efforts of Soviet and Polish troops. On January 19, troops of the 59th and 60th armies liberated Krakow. The Nazis intended to turn the city into a second Warsaw by mining it. Soviet troops saved the architectural monuments of this ancient city. On January 27, Auschwitz, the largest extermination factory created by the Nazis, was liberated.

The final battle of the Great Patriotic War - the Berlin offensive operation - is one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the Second World War. More than 300 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers laid their heads here. Without dwelling on the analysis of the operation itself, I would like to note a number of facts that emphasize the liberating nature of the Red Army’s mission.

On April 20, the storming of the Reichstag was launched - and on the same day, food supply points for the population of Berlin were set up on the outskirts of Berlin. Yes, the act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed, but today’s Germany itself hardly considers itself the losing side.

On the contrary, for Germany it was liberation from Nazism. And if we draw an analogy with the events of another great war - the First World War, when in 1918 Germany was actually brought to its knees, then it is obvious that as a result of the Second World War, Germany, although it was divided, was nevertheless not humiliated and it was not subject to unaffordable reparations, as was the case following the Treaty of Versailles.

Therefore, despite the severity of the situation that developed after 1945, the fact that for more than half a century in Europe the “Cold War” never transformed into a “hot” Third World War, I think is a consequence of the decisions made at the Potsdam Conference and their implementation in practice. And, of course, the liberation mission of our Red Army also made a certain contribution to this.

The main result of the final operations of the Red Army on the territory of a number of countries in Central, South-Eastern and Northern Europe was the restoration of their independence and state sovereignty. The military successes of the Red Army provided the political conditions for the creation of the Yalta-Potsdam system of international legal relations, with the most active participation of the USSR, which determined the world order for many decades and guaranteed the inviolability of borders in Europe.

Bocharnikov Igor Valentinovich
(From a speech at the International Scientific Conference “Iasi-Chisinau Operation: Myths and Realities” on September 15, 2014).

October 14 p.m. In Prague, at a meeting of the prime ministers of the Visegrad Four countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary), the creation of the Platform for European Memory and Conscience was announced. The corresponding document was signed by the heads of 19 organizations from 13 EU countries, including Germany. The platform intends to coordinate the work of governmental and non-governmental organizations in order to “actively study the history of totalitarian regimes.”

Many experts express the opinion that the Platform will prepare an analogue of the Nuremberg trials in relation to the USSR and Russia as its legal successor.

Regnum editor-in-chief Modest Kolerov believes that the goal of the new “condemnation of totalitarianism” will be to present claims to Russia for the payment of reparations for the “crimes of Stalinism” in Eastern European countries. Researcher at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Oleg Nemensky notes that “the West has a huge need to condemn the actions of the USSR in the Second World War. Without condemning Russia, the West cannot be confident in its positive self-esteem.”

Dancing in liberated Vienna.

And the head of the research programs of the Historical Memory Foundation, Vladimir Simindey, believes that “within the framework of this so-called. The “Platform of European Memory and Conscience” is attempting... supposedly to scientifically substantiate why the Nazi regime and Soviet socialism are fully comparable,” and on the basis of this to put pressure on Russia. He calls for “preempting some things at the diplomatic level, as well as engaging in active information support for your position.”

Taking into account recent trends, especially in connection with the decision adopted on August 23 this year. EU Justice Ministers in Warsaw Declaration on the occasion of the European Day of Remembrance of Totalitarian Regimes, which speaks of the responsibility of Soviet communism along with fascism “for the majority of shameful acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes”, the forecasts made by experts look very likely.

In this regard, it is necessary to recall what political changes actually accompanied the end of the Second World War for most countries of Eastern Europe. For example, in all these countries, with the exception of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, the first free multi-party elections since the 20-30s. Fascist dictatorships were established there and ended only after Soviet troops entered their territory. We can rightfully consider the events of 1944-1945. in these countries not by the “establishment of totalitarianism,” but by the liberation of the peoples of these countries from political, social, and in some cases, national oppression.

Let's look at the situation in these states separately.

Baltics

In 1926, the Lithuanian nationalist party, supported by the military, carried out a coup d'etat. Party leader and president Antanas Smetona was proclaimed “leader of the nation” in 1928, and practically unlimited power was concentrated in his hands. In 1936, all parties except the nationalist party were banned in Lithuania. In 1934, Latvian Prime Minister Karlis Ulmanis carried out a coup, dissolved parliament, banned all parties and received the title of “leader of the people” and unlimited power. That same year, a triumvirate of President and Prime Minister Päts, Commander-in-Chief Laidoner and Interior Minister Eerenpalu seized power in Estonia, dissolved parliament and banned all parties except the Fatherland Union. All these coups were marked by repression against the political opposition and the destruction of the rights and freedoms of citizens. Trade unions were banned and strike participants were brutally persecuted. In 1940, after the entry of Soviet troops, elections to the Seimas were held in the Baltic republics, which approved joining the USSR.

In 1926, Józef Pilsudski carried out a coup d'etat, became president for life and proclaimed the establishment of a “rehabilitation regime” (recovery). One of the symbols of the “sanation” was the concentration camp in Bereza-Kartuzskaya (now the Brest region of Belarus) for the political opposition. The concentration camp was built in 1935 with the help of Nazi "experts" as a replica of the Oranienburg concentration camp near Berlin. Under the new constitution of 1935, the president was responsible only “before God and history.” The legal opposition remained, but the results of the elections to the Sejm were shamelessly falsified. Therefore, more than half of voters ignored them. The “Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth” was characterized by the suppression of ethnic and religious minorities (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Jews), which numbered up to 40% of the country’s population; forced linguistic assimilation. Before World War II, the ruling circles of Poland more than once discussed with the leaders of Nazi Germany, democratic England and France the issue of deporting all Polish Jews to Madagascar. Poland participated in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia following the Munich Agreement of 1938. From October 1920 to September 1939, it occupied the Vilna region from Lithuania.

Czechoslovakia

Soviet tanks in Prague.

It was one of the few European countries that managed to maintain a competitive multi-party system until 1939. At the same time, the liquidation of Czechoslovakia and its transition into the orbit of influence of Nazi Germany was formalized in a completely legitimate way by the democratic institutions of this state. The agreement on the occupation of the Czech Republic by the Wehrmacht and the transformation of the Czech Republic into a protectorate of the Third Reich, Bohemia and Moravia, was signed by the legitimate president of the Czechoslovak Republic, Emil Haha, who, as a reward for this, was appointed by the Nazis as president of the protectorate. The parliament of autonomous Slovakia proclaimed the country's independence, conditioned by a close alliance with Hitler's Germany (in fact, vassal dependence on it). The Slovak Motorized Corps took part in Hitler's aggression against the USSR.

Meeting of liberators.

After the suppression of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, Miklós Horthy became ruler with the title of regent. Hungary had a limited legal opposition and parliamentary structures, but left-wing parties were driven underground. The regime fought against political opponents by all means, including the death penalty. Before World War II, Hungary became closer to Nazi Germany, thanks to which in 1938-1940. captured Transcarpathian Ukraine and the border regions of Slovakia from Czechoslovakia, and Transylvania and Banat from Romania. However, in the spring of 1944, Horthy's attempt to enter into peace negotiations with the Western powers led to the direct occupation of the country by German troops. Horthy nominally remained in power, the government was headed by Hitler's protege. The Holocaust began in Hungary, killing 600 thousand Jews in less than a year. In October 1944, with the support of the SS, the fascist Arrow Cross organization led by Szalashi carried out a pro-Nazi coup. Hungarian troops in 1941-1945. took an active part in the war against the USSR, and their numbers were steadily increasing: one corps in the summer of 1941, one army in the summer of 1942, three armies in the fall of 1944. Among the troops that occupied the USSR, the Hungarians, according to eyewitnesses, were distinguished by the greatest cruelty, which horrified even the Nazis.

Brutal repressions by the royal government of Romania in the 20-30s. both left and right opposition forces were subjected to. In 1940, all actual power was transferred to General Antonescu. There is only one legal party left in the country; trade unions were banned, and instead “corporations” were created on the model of fascist Italy. Romanian troops were the largest among Germany's allies on the Eastern Front of World War II. In August 1944, when Soviet troops entered Romanian territory, King Mihai organized the overthrow of the dictator (similar to how the king of Italy overthrew Mussolini a year earlier) and declared war on Germany. The Red Army was greeted with jubilation by the Romanian people.

Bulgaria

Sofia - the first day of freedom.

In 1923, a military coup took place, during which the democratic government led by the leader of the People's Agricultural Union, Stamboliysky, was overthrown (he was killed in the process). In 1934, another coup took place, as a result of which all parties were dissolved. In 1935, an absolute monarchy was established in Bulgaria, headed by Tsar Boris. The Tsar became an ally of Germany and in 1941 achieved significant territorial gains at the expense of the victims of Hitler's aggression - Yugoslavia and Greece. Bulgaria did not officially take part in military operations against the USSR and the occupation of Soviet territory, but the Bulgarian Navy and Air Force repeatedly sank Soviet submarines that found themselves near Bulgarian waters. All these years, the people's struggle against the monarcho-fascist regime did not stop in Bulgaria, often taking the form of guerrilla warfare. In September 1944, with the entry of Soviet troops into Bulgaria, the regime, hated by the Bulgarian people, collapsed overnight and without resistance.

Yugoslavia

The presence of parliamentary structures did not prevent the executive branch from pursuing policies that were contrary to the interests of the people. When the government entered into a military alliance with Hitler in March 1941, it caused violent indignation, in the wake of which a new government came to power, and the regent was forced to flee the country. The Nazis created a puppet state in Croatia, which was marked by genocide against Serbs, Gypsies, and Jews, the victims of which were hundreds of thousands of people. Croatia was a loyal ally of Nazi Germany throughout the war. She left the war only on the day of the Wehrmacht’s surrender - on May 8, Tito’s anti-fascist troops took Zagreb.

The backward feudal monarchy, a de facto protectorate of Italy, was directly occupied by Italian troops in 1939. The unfolding nationwide resistance movement adopted communist ideology from the very beginning.

The USSR sought to prevent the countries of “people's democracy” from directly copying their model. In Yugoslavia, the one-party model was established without the participation of the USSR, since Tito already in 1945 began a rapprochement with the West, which ended in 1948. In Hungary and Romania, the one-party system was not established immediately, but only after several elections, the last of which was a landslide victory united parties of communists and former left socialists. In Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and the GDR, parties other than communist (workers') parties operated throughout the years of the socialist system.

It is impossible to deny that the Soviet Union put pressure on the “countries of people's democracy”, helping to establish political forces friendly to the Soviet Union in power there. These were the communists and some parties close to them. But in this case, the policy of the USSR was no different in essence from the policy of the USA and England in the countries of Western and Southern Europe after the war.

So, in 1945-1946. under direct pressure from the Anglo-Saxon powers, the communists were expelled from the governments of France, Italy, and Belgium. In November 1944, British troops landed in Greece, where they began to suppress the democratic wing of the anti-fascist resistance. On December 3, 1944, British interventionists shot an opposition demonstration in Athens. The war with Hitler was still going on... The actions of the British military caused a storm of indignation in Western countries, in particular in American public circles of that time.

England's active military intervention in Greece lasted until 1949 and ended with the establishment of a dictatorial regime in power. The loyalty of most other Western European countries to the alliance with the Anglo-Saxon democracies was ensured by the constant presence of American troops on their territory. An objective view is not able to discern any fundamental difference between the measures by which each of the great powers - winners in World War II tried to ensure their geopolitical interests in European countries.

As rightly noted in the 1970s. English historian Alan Taylor, “the establishment of communist rule in the states bordering Russia was a consequence of the Cold War, not its cause.”

At the same time, we should not forget for a minute the main fact - without the Soviet Union, Nazism would not have been crushed. In the event of such a development of events, Europe (not only its eastern part) would face a very sad fate. However, neither those who are today ready to make claims against Russia as the heir of “Soviet totalitarianism”, nor those who stand behind them, prefer not to remember this.

A fifth of Europeans simply know nothing about the events of 70 years ago, and only one in eight believes that the Soviet army played a key role in liberating Europe from fascism. For decades, Europeans have been adjusting their consciousness regarding the role of the USSR and Russia in the history of the twentieth century. In this way, the goal is achieved to belittle the importance of our country, even at the cost of falsifying the results of the Second World War and the Victory of the Soviet people, and send Russia to the margins of history. Nothing personal just business.

Europeans prefer the American army

From March 20 to April 9, 2015, a survey was conducted by ICM Research for the Sputnik agency in the UK, France and Germany. Three thousand people (1000 in each country) answered the question: who, in your opinion, played a key role in the liberation of Europe in World War II? Most respondents named the American and British armies as the main liberators. The answers generally looked like this:

Soviet army - 13 percent;

US Army - 43 percent;

British Army - 20 percent;

Other armed forces - 2 percent;

I don’t know - 22 percent.

At the same time, in France and Germany, 61 and 52 percent, respectively, consider the American army to be the main liberator (only in Great Britain, 46 percent preferred their own rather than the American army). Judging by the survey results, residents of France are the most misinformed, where only 8 percent of respondents know about the true role of the Soviet army.

A fifth of Europeans have a significant gap in their knowledge of the events of 70 years ago. This unconsciousness is all the more striking against the backdrop of well-known and indisputable historical facts. Investments in oblivion and false historical landmarks can cost Europeans dearly.

Figures and facts: troops, front line, equipment

It was the Soviet Union that stopped the victorious march of Nazi Germany across Europe in 1941. At the same time, the power of Hitler's military machine was greatest, and the military capabilities of the United States and Great Britain remained modest.

The victory near Moscow dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the German army, contributed to the rise of the Resistance movement and strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition. After the defeat at Stalingrad, Germany, and after it Japan, switched from an offensive war to a defensive one. In the Battle of Kursk, Soviet troops completely undermined the morale of Hitler's army, and the crossing of the Dnieper opened the way to the liberation of Europe.

The Soviet army fought against the bulk of the troops of Nazi Germany. In 1941-1942, more than 75 percent of all German troops fought against the USSR; in subsequent years, about 70 percent of Wehrmacht formations were on the Soviet-German front. Moreover, in 1943, it was the USSR that achieved a radical turning point during the Second World War in favor of the anti-Hitler coalition.

By the beginning of 1944, Germany had suffered significant losses, and yet remained a strong enemy - holding 5 million people on the Eastern Front. Almost 75 percent of German tanks and self-propelled artillery units (5.4 thousand), guns and mortars (54.6 thousand), and aircraft (more than 3 thousand) were concentrated here.

And after the opening of the second front, the main thing for Germany remained the Eastern Front. In 1944, over 180 German divisions operated against the Soviet army. The Anglo-American troops were opposed by 81 German divisions.

On the Soviet-German front, military operations were carried out with the greatest intensity and spatial scope. Of the 1418 days, active fighting took place on 1320 days. On the North African front, respectively, out of 1068 days, 309 were active; on the Italian front, out of 663 days, 49 were active.

The spatial scope of the Eastern Front was 4-6 thousand km along the front, which was four times greater than the North African, Italian and Western European fronts combined.

The Red Army defeated 507 Nazi divisions and 100 divisions of its allies - 3.5 times more than the allies on all fronts of World War II. On the Soviet-German front, the German armed forces suffered more than 73 percent losses. The bulk of the Wehrmacht's military equipment was destroyed here: about 75 percent of aircraft (70 thousand), tanks and assault guns (about 50 thousand), and artillery pieces (167 thousand).

The continuous strategic offensive of the Soviet army in 1943 - 1945 shortened the duration of the war, saved millions of British and American lives, and created favorable conditions for our allies in Europe.

In addition to its territory, the USSR liberated 47 percent of European territory (the allies liberated 27 percent; through the joint efforts of the USSR and allies, 26 percent of European territory was liberated).

The Soviet Union eliminated fascist domination over the majority of enslaved peoples, preserving their statehood and historically just borders. If we count according to the current state of Europe (individual Bosnia, Ukraine, etc.), then the USSR liberated 16 countries, the allies - 9 countries (with joint efforts - 6 countries).

The total population of the countries liberated by the USSR is 123 million, the allies liberated 110 million, and through joint efforts almost 90 million people were liberated.

Thus, it was the Soviet army that ensured the victorious course and outcome of the war, and protected the peoples of Europe and the world from Nazi enslavement.

The severity of the losses

The Soviet Union made the greatest contribution to the armed struggle, defeated the main forces of the Hitler bloc, and ensured the complete and unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan. And the number of our losses in World War II is several times greater than the losses of other countries (even combined) - 27 million Soviet citizens versus 427 thousand people in the USA, 412 thousand people in Great Britain, 5 million people in Germany.

During the liberation of Hungary, our losses amounted to 140,004 people (112,625 people died), and almost the same number in Czechoslovakia. In Romania - about 69 thousand people, in Yugoslavia - 8 thousand people, in Austria - 26 thousand people, in Norway - more than 1 thousand people, in Finland - about 2 thousand people. During the fighting in Germany (including East Prussia), the Soviet army lost 101,961 people (92,316 dead).

In addition to the 27 million dead, tens of millions of our citizens were wounded and maimed. On June 22, 1941, there were 4,826,907 military personnel in the Red Army and Navy. Over the four years of the war, another 29,574,900 people were mobilized, and in total, together with personnel, 34 million 476 thousand 752 people were recruited into the army, navy and military formations of other departments. For comparison: in 1939, there were 24.6 million German men aged 15 to 65 years living in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Enormous damage was caused to the health of several generations, the living standards of the population and the birth rate fell sharply. During the war years, millions of people experienced physical and moral suffering.

Enormous damage has been caused to the national economy. Our country has lost a third of its national wealth. 1,710 cities and towns, more than 70 thousand villages, 6 million buildings, 32 thousand enterprises, 65 thousand km of railways were destroyed. The war emptied the treasury, prevented the creation of new values, and led to negative consequences in the economy, psychology, and morality.

Western propagandists deliberately suppress or distort all these facts, attributing a decisive contribution to the victory to the United States and Great Britain, in order to belittle the role of our country in the international arena. Nothing personal just business.

Each country contributed to the victory over German fascism. This historical mission determines the authority of the state in the post-war world and its political weight in resolving international issues. Therefore, no one is allowed to forget or distort the exceptional role of our country in the Second World War and the victory over German fascism.

LIBERATION OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The aggressors achieved maximum success in Europe, Asia and Africa by the fall of 1942. In Europe, we recall, they occupied 12 countries (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, Greece), as well as part of the territory of the USSR, where more than 80 million people lived before the war, reached Stalingrad and the foothills of the Caucasus in the east and the Atlantic coast in the west. In Asia, Japanese troops occupied the vast territory of China, French Indochina, Malaya with the fortress of Singapore, Burma, Thailand, Hong Kong, present-day Indonesia and the Philippines, most of the Solomon Islands, and reached the approaches to Australia and India. Italo-German forces in North Africa occupied the area from Tunisia to the Egyptian border. It took the armies of the anti-Hitler coalition, supported by the Resistance movement in Europe and Asia, more than three years of fierce battles to achieve a turning point in the war and liberate countries and territories occupied by the aggressors.

In Europe, this was achieved through the joint efforts of the armed forces of the USSR, Great Britain and the USA, with a decisive contribution to the liberation of the European continent by the Red Army. In Asia, the main confrontation was between the United States and Japan. In Africa - between British and Italian-German troops, with the participation of US troops from the end of 1942.

Let us dwell in more detail on the liberation mission of the Soviet Union, with which, from the first days of the Great Patriotic War, people from all walks of life in many countries of the world pinned their hopes.

Bernard Shaw wrote on July 17, 1941 to Alexander Fadeev in Moscow; “...Hitler threw down the gauntlet as a champion of his idea, and Russia is picking up this gauntlet as a champion of another, incomparably more powerful idea. When Russia crushes Hitler, it will become the spiritual center of the world... Remember that our civilization is now facing a turning point that it has never been able to overcome. And this time Russia must lead us forward or perish.”

The Soviet Union did not separate its struggle against Nazism from the struggle of other peoples for their national liberation. This position was confirmed in a statement by the Soviet government on September 24, 1941 in connection with the Atlantic Charter signed shortly before by the US President and the British Prime Minister. The USSR expressed its agreement with the goals of the ongoing war against the aggressive bloc, as well as with the basic principles of the post-war world order. The Soviet leadership guaranteed full support for the right of all enslaved peoples to restore their state independence and sovereign development.

The victories of the Red Army at Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk marked a radical turn in the Great Patriotic War. In the fall of 1943, Soviet troops crossed the Dnieper and began a rapid advance through the territory of Right Bank Ukraine. It became clear to both the leadership of the Axis states and the leaders of the allied powers of the USSR that the day was not far off when the Red Army would reach its pre-war borders and begin expelling enemy troops from the territories of European countries. At this time, fears arose in the ruling circles of England and the United States that the further offensive of the Soviet armies in Romania, Poland and other states of Central and South-Eastern Europe could lead to a significant strengthening of Moscow’s position in this region. London, which considered the USSR its geopolitical rival in the struggle for influence on the continent, primarily in the Balkans and Poland, expressed particular concern about this. However, the ever-increasing military power of the Soviet Union forced Great Britain to moderate its imperial ambitions. Moreover, the public in Western countries enthusiastically perceived each new success of the Red Army, which took place against the backdrop of the still absent second front in France.

On March 26, 1944, Soviet troops in a number of areas reached the Prut River, along which the state border between the USSR and Romania passed. The situation on the Soviet-German front was such that the Red Army now had to fight on the territory of an ally of Nazi Germany. Even before the entry of Soviet troops into the depths of the European continent, Moscow faced the problem of how to treat those countries that openly participated in the world war on the side of Germany. It was necessary to initially determine its policy in relation to both Romania and other states - satellites of the Third Reich.

The document emphasized that Moscow “does not pursue the goal of acquiring any part of Romanian territory or changing the existing social system of Romania...”. At the same time, the USSR sought to use every opportunity to bring Romania out of the war through political means. The Romanians themselves had to contribute to the expulsion of German troops from their territory.

In a similar way, the USSR hoped to achieve the withdrawal from the war of the remaining countries that fought on the side of Germany. He agreed on his position with the governments of the USA and Great Britain.

On May 13, a joint statement was published by the governments of the three leading powers of the anti-Hitler coalition, addressed to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Finland. It said that these countries had the opportunity to shorten the time of the European war by breaking with Germany and resisting the Nazi forces by all means, to decide whether they "intend to persist in their present hopeless and disastrous policy of preventing the inevitable victory of the Allies, although there is still time for them to make contribution to this victory."

The tone of this statement reflected the realities of the military-political situation in Europe that had developed by that time. The countries listed in the document were in the enemy camp, so the main task of the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition was to withdraw them from the war on the side of Germany. Moreover, if this was unattainable through political measures, then the Red Army had no choice but to enter their territory as the territory of enemy states. The calculation was that the threat of complete military defeat and new heavy losses would prompt the governments of Germany's satellite countries to stop hostilities against the USSR and its allies and turn their weapons against the Nazis.

The position of each of the satellite countries of the fascist-militarist bloc was not unambiguous. Thus, Bulgaria, although an ally of Germany, did not participate in the war against the USSR. In addition to Germany, Italy, Romania (June 22, 1941), Finland (June 26), and Hungary (June 27) also declared war on the USSR. They were joined by the puppet governments of Slovakia, Croatia and Norway created by the Nazis. The entry of the Red Army into the states that found themselves against their will under German occupation - Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Norway, Denmark (Bornholm Island) - occurred, as a rule, on the basis of bilateral agreements either with the governments of these countries that were in exile, or with the leading forces of the Resistance movement.

From the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR actively helped the development of the national liberation movement on their territory. Thus, in the Soviet rear, Polish and Czechoslovak units were formed, which then fought on the Soviet-German front and took part in the liberation of their homeland from the aggressors; Soviet weapons were supplied to the partisans of Yugoslavia. The liberation of each of the occupied countries also had its own characteristics. In Yugoslavia, the troops of the Red Army carried out close cooperation with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, already seasoned in heavy battles, under the command of Josip Broz Tito. Since 1941, vast partisan areas existed in the country, cleared of the enemy through the efforts of the Yugoslavs themselves.

In Poland the situation was different. The armed units of the Home Army, subordinate to the emigrant government in London, avoided cooperation with the Red Army. As a result of the failure to reach a compromise between various political forces within the Polish Resistance movement itself, the first post-war government of Poland was formed in Moscow. It was based on representatives of the Union of Polish Patriots, a public organization of Poles who were in the USSR during the war...

Dividing the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union into two parts, one of which was fought on Soviet territory, and the other abroad, can only be purely conditional. Both before and after our armies crossed the borders of the USSR, the country's policy and the actions of the Armed Forces were subordinated to a single goal - the defeat of the invaders, the liberation of the countries and territories they occupied. It is noteworthy that the liberation of European states by the Red Army began in the spring of 1944, i.e. even earlier than many areas that were part of the Soviet Union before June 22, 1941 were cleared of the enemy. Thus, the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda was taken by Soviet troops on January 28, 1945, and the German group in Courland (Latvia) surrendered only on May 9, 1945. This state of affairs is explained by purely military reasons. The Soviet command had to take into account the rapidly changing situation at the front, maneuver forces, and deliver powerful blows to the enemy, primarily in those areas where this was due to strategic necessity.

The first foreign country to which the Red Army entered, as already noted, was Romania. Having immediately crossed the Prut, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union I. Konev) on March 27, 1944 occupied a bridgehead on its western, Romanian, bank. Until mid-May, front troops liberated 800 cities and villages in northeastern Romania and reached the foothills of the Carpathians. Then, until the second half of August, they fought to hold the liberated areas. Front losses for April - August 1944 amounted to only 16 thousand people killed.

Meanwhile, attempts by the dictatorial regime of Marshal I. Antonescu intensified to negotiate with the United States and Great Britain on the introduction of troops of the Western allies into Romanian territory even before the start of a new offensive by the Red Army. However, neither the US nor the UK agreed to this deal. Washington and London understood that they would not be able to decide the fate of Romania behind the back of the USSR. On April 12, 1944, the Romanian emissary Prince B. Stibrey, who arrived in Cairo to negotiate with representatives of the anti-Hitler coalition, was handed the terms of the truce developed by the Soviet government and approved by the leadership of the United States and Great Britain. They provided for Romania’s severance of relations with Germany, its entry into the war on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition as an independent and sovereign state, the restoration of the Soviet-Romanian border of 1940, Romania’s compensation for the damage it caused to the USSR through military actions and the occupation of part of its territory (Bessarabia and a number of regions of Southern Ukraine, including Odessa), the return of all prisoners of war and internees, ensuring the free movement of Allied troops across Romanian territory. For its part, the Soviet government agreed to annul the so-called Vienna Arbitration imposed on Romania by Germany in 1940, according to which it was forced to transfer Northern Transylvania to Hungary.

For the Romanian dictator Antonescu, the terms of the truce turned out to be unacceptable. He continued to insist on the entry of Anglo-American troops into the country, believing that in this way he would be able to retain power and avoid retribution for complicity in aggression against the USSR. In this situation, the most sober-minded national politicians took the path of cooperation with the Romanian Communist Party (RCP), which invariably advocated the overthrow of the pro-fascist regime and the immediate end of the war with the Soviet Union.

By May 1944, representatives of the Communist Party and other parties opposed to the regime of I. Antonescu established contacts with King Mihai, who agreed to the arrest of Antonescu. With the participation of the Romanian military command, preparations began for an uprising with the goal of overthrowing the dictatorial regime.

At the same time, anxiety was growing in Berlin about the likelihood of a breakdown in relations with Bucharest. At the beginning of August, the German command began to prepare for the implementation of a plan for the complete occupation of Romania (code name - “Margarita II”). On August 15, the commander of Army Group “Southern Ukraine”, General G. Friesner, received from Hitler’s headquarters the authority to take over the leadership of all German military formations in Romania and, as necessary, carry out the “Margarita II” plan.

However, the Wehrmacht leadership failed to implement its plan. On August 20, the Yassy-Kishinev operation of troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts against the German formations of Army Group “Southern Ukraine” began. Its goal was to complete the liberation of Soviet Moldova and bring Romania out of the war on the side of Nazi Germany.

The skillful actions of the Soviet armies in the Iasi-Kishinev operation played a decisive role in the expulsion of German troops from Romanian territory and the transition of Romania to the side of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. As a result of the operation from August 20 to 29, 1944, 22 German divisions were destroyed, including 18 divisions that were surrounded, as well as many divisions of the Romanian army. The dictatorial regime lost its armed support in the country, which created favorable conditions for the victory of the popular uprising that began on August 23, 1944. On this day, Marshal Antonescu was arrested by order of King Mihai, and the Romanian troops of the Bucharest garrison began blocking the German headquarters and other military installations of the Wehrmacht . By evening, a new government of the country was formed, headed by the king's adjutant, General C. Sanatescu. It called for an immediate end to the war against the anti-Hitler coalition and announced the start of war with Germany.

Attempts by the commander of Army Group Southern Ukraine Friesner to suppress the armed uprising in Bucharest were in vain. The Germans did not have the strength to resist the rebels: the most combat-ready units of the Wehrmacht were destroyed near Chisinau and Iasi. By August 28, Bucharest was completely cleared of German troops. On August 31, formations of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entered the city liberated by the patriots. The first columns included units of the 1st Romanian Volunteer Division named after Tudor Vladimirescu, which in 1943 was formed from Romanian prisoners of war in the USSR and included in the front. The population of Bucharest enthusiastically greeted the liberating troops.

On September 12, the signing of the armistice terms presented to Romania in April 1944 took place in Moscow. By this time, along with the formations of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts, two Romanian armies were already fighting against the German troops - the 1st and 4th. Together, they completed the complete liberation of the country on October 25, 1944. In the battles for the liberation of Romania, the total losses of Soviet troops amounted to 286 thousand people, including 69 thousand killed. Romanian troops from August 23 to October 30, 1944 lost 58 thousand people killed, wounded and missing.

In connection with the approach of Soviet troops to the borders of Poland in mid-July 1944, the question arose about the path of its development after liberation by units of the Red Army. It should be emphasized that the Polish problem had by that time become one of the most difficult in relations between the USSR and its Western allies. Moscow's attempts to establish cooperation with the Polish government in exile in London in order to coordinate efforts to liberate Poland were unsuccessful. On the way to establishing mutual understanding, first of all, there was the demand of the Polish émigré government to restore the border between the two states as of September 1, 1939. The Soviet leadership was asked to refuse the reunification of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus with the USSR.

A serious blow to bilateral relations was also dealt by the evacuation in mid-1942 of the more than 100,000-strong Polish army of General W. Anders, formed in 1941 from Poles who were then on Soviet territory. Thus, the agreement on the participation of this army in hostilities on the Soviet-German front was violated. From the Poles remaining in the Soviet Union, the Soviet command formed a new 1st Polish Army led by Colonel E. Berling. The attitude of the emigrant government of Poland in London towards the USSR took on an extremely negative character after in the spring of 1943 the German radio announced that the bodies of interned Polish soldiers who had been shot by the NKVD in 1940 were found in the territory of the Soviet Union occupied by the Wehrmacht - in the Katyn Forest near Smolensk. While the German version was refuted in Moscow, the Polish government in London published a statement claiming responsibility for the crime in Katyn by the Soviet leadership, which led to a temporary severance of relations between the USSR and the Polish émigré government.

On January 1, 1944, in Warsaw (underground), the pro-Moscow Crajova Rada Narodova (KRN) was formed and began to operate - the political representation of the national front created to fight against the occupiers. The KRN supported the position of the USSR on the issue of the post-war borders of Poland, advocated close Polish-Soviet cooperation, and challenged the right of the London government in exile to speak on behalf of the entire Polish people.

The KRN addressed greetings to the soldiers of the 1st Ukrainian Front (since May 1944, the commander was Marshal of the Soviet Union I. Konev), who crossed the Western Bug and entered Polish territory on July 17, 1944. On July 21, the KRN, with the assistance of the Soviet leadership, created the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKNO) - a temporary executive body. On July 22, the PCNO issued a manifesto in which it called on all Poles to cooperate with the Red Army to liberate their country. On July 26, an agreement was signed in Moscow between the government of the USSR and the PKNO, according to which the latter was given full power in the Polish territory liberated by the Red Army after it ceased to be a war zone. The Soviet government exchanged official representatives with the PKNO, located first in Chelm and then in Lublin.

Meanwhile, the Soviet offensive in Eastern Poland continued. During the final stage of the Belarusian operation, which lasted until the end of August 1944, the Red Army liberated approximately one-fourth of Polish territory. More than 5 million Poles living east of the Vistula were rescued from Nazi slavery. The majority of the local population greeted the Soviet soldiers extremely cordially. According to a report from the political department of the 1st Ukrainian Front dated August 6, 1944, almost all residents of liberated cities and towns came out to meet the advance detachments of the Red Army. “The Poles,” the document noted, “bring water and milk to our fighters, treat them to berries, present flowers and warmly express gratitude for their liberation from the fascist yoke under which they were for five years.”

The German command transferred large forces to the Warsaw direction against the advancing Red Army formations and at the same time took active steps to block the uprising of AK units in the Polish capital that began on August 1. The situation of the rebels, who were joined by thousands of townspeople, soon became critical. Their losses during the uprising are estimated at 22–25 thousand people, more than 11 thousand surrendered to the Germans. The number of civilian casualties during this period was even greater - from 150 to 200 thousand dead and missing.

The final liberation of Polish territory occurred only the following year, 1945. The Vistula-Oder operation, which began in January 1945, during which Warsaw was liberated, shook the defenses of the German Army Group A to the core. Having marched more than 500 km to the west, Soviet troops liberated the western part of Poland and reached the Oder in a number of areas. The territories of Silesia, Eastern Pomerania, and the southern regions of East Prussia, which before the war were part of Germany and, by agreement with the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, were transferred to Poland, were completely liberated by the Red Army during subsequent operations against Nazi troops in February - April 1945. Shoulder to Fighters from the 1st and 2nd Polish armies of the Polish Army, representing the armed forces of the PKNO, fought alongside the Soviet troops.

More than 600 thousand Soviet soldiers gave their lives in the battles for the liberation of Poland. The Polish Army, created with the full assistance of the USSR, lost 26 thousand killed and missing in the battles for their homeland.

In Romania, Soviet troops, having encircled and destroyed the main forces of Army Group Southern Ukraine, approached the Bulgarian border. Officially, this country was at war with the USA and Great Britain from the end of December 1941, taking a neutral position in Germany’s war against the USSR. Her government was forced to reckon with the Bulgarian people, who felt a deep sense of gratitude to Russia and the Russians, who in 1878 liberated them from the centuries-old Ottoman yoke. However, in reality, the Bulgarian government provided considerable support to the Wehrmacht in the war against the USSR. It put the country's economy at the service of Germany, providing it with various types of raw materials and food, and put its airfields and ports on the Black Sea at the disposal of the German army. 12 Bulgarian divisions and 2 cavalry brigades carried out occupational service in Yugoslavia and Greece, which allowed Germany to free up significant forces and resources to replenish Wehrmacht units on the Soviet-German front.

The complicity of the Bulgarian leadership in German aggression against the USSR caused protest among the population, which intensified as the Red Army advanced. The most radical part of the political forces opposed to the government, on the initiative of the Bulgarian Workers' Party, united in 1943 into the Fatherland Front. In the same year, under the leadership of the Bulgarian communists, the People's Liberation Insurgent Army was formed from scattered partisan detachments throughout the country that waged armed struggle against German units and Bulgarian government troops. Since the spring of 1944, the outskirts of the Bulgarian capital Sofia became an area of ​​partisan warfare. Bulgarian soldiers and officers who were in Yugoslavia openly expressed their sympathy for Russia. An increasing number of them deserted the army and joined the partisans.

The Bulgarian ruling circles, fearing an explosion of popular indignation and an anti-government uprising, sought to prevent the Red Army from entering the country. Their goal was the surrender of the country to the troops of Great Britain and the United States. The government of M. Muraviev, which came to power, published a declaration on September 4, which stated that Bulgaria was leaving the military alliance with Germany and would henceforth pursue a policy of “complete unconditional neutrality.” The calculation was based on the fact that the proclaimed neutrality would serve as an obstacle to the passage of Soviet troops into Bulgarian territory.

However, this plan failed. On September 5, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria. Only after this did Sofia decide to sever diplomatic relations with Germany. On September 8, the advanced units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union F. Tolbukhin) crossed the Romanian-Bulgarian border without firing a single shot. Almost the entire population came out to meet the Red Army soldiers. At 12 noon, the Muraviev government announced that it was in a state of war with Germany. On the evening of the same day, the USSR accepted for consideration Bulgaria's request for a truce.

By this time, Bulgaria was engulfed in a popular uprising. It was led by the Fatherland Front. On the night of September 9, Muraviev's government was overthrown. The new government of the Fatherland Front declared war on Germany and its ally Hungary. On September 15, Soviet units and soldiers of the Bulgarian People's Liberation Army entered Sofia. The city residents gave them an enthusiastic reception.

The liberation of Bulgaria was not without losses. They amounted to 12,750 people, including irrevocable ones - 977.

On October 28, 1944, the USSR, USA and Great Britain signed an armistice agreement with Bulgaria. It documented the transition of this country to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.

The new Bulgarian army was operationally subordinate to the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. About 200 thousand Bulgarian soldiers, together with Soviet troops, took part in the battles against the Wehrmacht in Yugoslavia and Hungary.

By the beginning of September 1944, as a result of successfully carried out operations by the Red Army in Romania and Western Ukraine, it became possible for Soviet troops to enter the territory of Czechoslovakia. The Soviet forces were first to enter Slovakia, a puppet state formed in 1939 after the German occupation of the Czech Republic. Several Slovak units were on the Soviet-German front, usually performing security functions in the rear of the German troops. The Supreme Command headquarters set the task of bringing this country out of the war and the sphere of German domination.

Already after the Battle of Stalingrad, forces in opposition to the dictatorial regime became more active in Slovakia. Dissatisfaction with the country's participation in the war against the USSR grew among the people and the army. In two Slovak divisions sent to the Soviet-German front, the transition of soldiers to the side of the partisans took on such a wide scale that the German command was forced at the end of 1943 to prohibit these formations from participating in hostilities and send them to construction work. Created in December 1943 as the governing body of the Resistance movement, the Slovak National Council (SNC) set out to prepare an armed uprising with the aim of overthrowing the pro-Nazi leadership of the country and restoring the democratic Czechoslovak Republic.

In connection with the approach of the Red Army to the borders of Czechoslovakia, at the proposal of the Czechoslovak government, which was in exile in London, with the consent of the governments of Great Britain and the United States, a Soviet-Czechoslovak agreement was concluded on May 8, 1944, which stated that as soon as any part liberated Czechoslovak territory will cease to be a zone of direct military operations, management of affairs in this territory will pass to the Czechoslovak government.

At the beginning of August 1944, the partisan movement began to grow in Slovakia. The Slovak puppet government, not without reason, was alarmed by this and turned to Berlin for help. On August 29, several German units began to move into Slovakia. On the same day, the SNS issued a call for an uprising. On August 31, the Czechoslovak government in exile turned to the Soviet leadership with a request to provide assistance to the rebels within the operational capabilities of the Red Army.

From a military point of view, starting an operation to liberate Slovakia at that time was inappropriate, since the troops of the 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts needed rest and replenishment after heavy fighting. In addition, the offensive had to be carried out through the difficult mountainous terrain of the Eastern Carpathians. Nevertheless, on September 2, 1944, the Supreme Command Headquarters gave the order to the command of these fronts to prepare and conduct an operation to reach the Slovak border and connect with the rebels. On September 8, the East Carpathian operation began. On September 20, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front (commander - Army General I. Petrov), having completed the liberation of the western regions of Ukraine, entered the territory of Slovakia. However, further offensive in the mountains developed slowly. The Red Army units met particularly fierce resistance here. On October 28, the operation was stopped. Soviet soldiers did everything they could to ease the situation of the rebels, losing only 21 thousand killed and 89 thousand wounded. But due to insufficient preparation and superiority of German forces, the Slovak uprising was suppressed. Slovakia found itself under the occupation of the Wehrmacht and soon turned into an arena of new bloody battles.

At the beginning of 1945, Soviet troops continued military operations to liberate Czechoslovakia. To this end, four more offensive operations were carried out. It must be said that for a long time the Red Army units were unable to inflict a final defeat on the enemy here. Difficult terrain conditions, stiff resistance from German forces in well-fortified defensive positions, as well as mistakes by the command of the 4th and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts during the preparation and conduct of the offensive had an effect. Difficulties in the West Carpathian operation (January 12 - February 18, 1945) and the subsequent low rate of advance of Soviet troops were the reason for the removal of Army General I. Petrov from the post of commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front in March 1945 and his replacement by Army General A . Eremenko.

The liberation of Czechoslovakia was completed during the Prague operation (May 6–11, 1945), in which the Red Army assisted the armed uprising of the Czech people and liberated Prague from the German invaders. The western part of Czechoslovakia was liberated by US troops.

The struggle for the liberation of Czechoslovakia lasted 246 days. It cost the Red Army great sacrifices. The total losses of Soviet troops amounted to 500 thousand people killed, wounded and missing. 140 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers were buried on the territory of the Czech Republic and Slovakia...

On September 23, 1944, troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Malinovsky) fought across the Romanian-Hungarian border and by the end of the day had advanced 10–15 km into Hungarian territory. By this time, the ruling circles of Hungary were in a deep political crisis. Starting with the defeat of the 2nd Hungarian Army on the Upper Don in the winter of 1942/43, they, through neutral countries, tried to persuade the United States and Great Britain to conclude a separate peace and send Anglo-American troops into Hungary before the Red Army entered its territory. At the same time, the Hungarian leadership, trying to distance itself from Germany, spoke out for the withdrawal of all its units from the Soviet-German front. All this caused distrust in Berlin towards its ally. On March 19, 1944, the German plan for the occupation of Hungary was carried out. The previous government was dissolved. The new government, loyal to Germany, was appointed by the emissary of the German Reich in Budapest, SS General E. Wesenmayer, endowed with emergency powers by Hitler. On March 23, the Hungarian dictator M. Horthy was forced to approve the composition of the cabinet.

These measures were taken by the German leadership to strengthen the defense on the southern sector of the Eastern Front, before the territory of Hungary was to turn into an arena of fierce battles. The German command paid special attention to this area, not without reason fearing the exit of Soviet units from the southeast to the vital centers of Germany.

In connection with the approach of Soviet troops to the borders of Hungary in September 1944, Horthy asked the Soviet government for consent to negotiate an armistice. Consent was obtained. On October 11, in Moscow, the Hungarian delegation accepted the terms of the truce. Hungary renounced all the territories it had previously captured, pledged to break off relations with Germany and declare war on it. The USSR undertook to provide military assistance to Hungary.

However, on October 15–16, German units, supported by members of the Hungarian pro-Nazi Arrow Cross party, captured Budapest and overthrew the government. The German protege F. Salasi was declared the head of the new puppet government. Horthy was arrested. Thus, Berlin managed to keep Hungary and its army under its control.

The fighting in Hungary became protracted. At first, the Soviet offensive on the Hungarian plain developed quite successfully. During the Debrecen operation (October 6–28, 1944), the 2nd Ukrainian Front liberated about 30% of Hungarian territory. By the end of December, Soviet units reached Budapest and surrounded it. However, it was not possible to immediately liquidate the 188,000-strong German group in the Hungarian capital. German formations carried out a number of strong counterattacks, which were repulsed by Soviet troops only during heavy and bloody battles. The assault on Budapest ended only on February 13, 1945. The remnants of the enemy garrison surrendered.

At the beginning of March 1945, the German command launched a new attempt at a counteroffensive in Hungary. The 6th SS Panzer Army was transferred from the Western Front to the Lake Balaton area. She was given the task of pushing back the Soviet troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front beyond the Danube. The offensive was unexpected for the Soviet command. The Chief of the General Staff, Army General A. Antonov, talking on the phone with F. Tolbukhin, even asked with disbelief: “Who can believe that Hitler withdrew the 6th SS Panzer Army from the west and sent it against the 3rd Ukrainian Front, and not near Berlin, where the last operation to defeat the fascist troops is being prepared?” Over the course of several days of fighting, German formations managed in some areas to push back the Red Army units that had gone on the defensive. One of the reasons for the surprise of the German attack was unverified information received by the Supreme Command Headquarters from the Western allies. However, the enemy failed to achieve major success in the Lake Balaton area. By mid-March, the formations of the 6th SS Panzer Army were drained of blood and thrown back to their original positions.

Back in December 1944, the Provisional Government of this country was formed on Hungarian lands that had already been liberated from the enemy. It was formed by the Provisional National Assembly on the initiative of the communists and social democrats. On December 24, the Provisional Government requested a truce from the USSR, and on December 28 declared war on Germany. On January 20, 1945, an armistice agreement was signed in Moscow between the new Hungarian leadership, on the one hand, and representatives of the USSR, USA and Great Britain, on the other. This document cemented Hungary’s transition to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition...

Soviet troops entered Yugoslavia at the request of the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia (NKLJ), the highest executive and administrative body of this country, which exercised power in areas controlled by partisans. On behalf of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, Marshal I. Broz Tito flew to Moscow on September 21, 1944, where he agreed with Stalin on joint actions of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and the Red Army to liberate Eastern Serbia and the Yugoslav capital Belgrade. During the negotiations, the request of the Soviet government was granted that parts of the Soviet troops that had reached the Romanian-Yugoslav border would launch a planned offensive into Hungary through the northeastern regions of Yugoslavia. At the same time, the Soviet leadership pledged to withdraw its troops from Yugoslavia as soon as they completed their operational tasks.

At the end of September 1944, formations of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, marching through the territory of Bulgaria, approached the Bulgarian-Yugoslav border. In accordance with the agreement with the NKJU, to participate in the liberation of Yugoslavia, the command of the Red Army allocated the 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front and the 46th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, a total of 190 thousand people, as well as the 17th Air Army and units Danube military flotilla. On September 28, this group, having entered Yugoslav soil, began the Belgrade offensive operation. During its course, Soviet formations, together with units of the NOAU, liberated the capital of the country, Belgrade, and defeated the German army group “Serbia”. The depth of advance of the Soviet troops was more than 200 km. The Yugoslav army received a strong rear for further struggle for the liberation of the entire territory of the country. In the Belgrade operation, the Red Army lost more than 35 thousand killed, wounded and missing.

The peoples of Yugoslavia warmly welcomed the Soviet soldiers, greeting them as liberators. The victories of the Red Army were an important condition for the revival of the national independence of the Yugoslav people. I. Broz Tito emphasized that without the USSR “the liberation of Yugoslavia would have been impossible.”

Soon after the Belgrade operation, the regrouping of Soviet troops began in the Budapest-Vienna direction. But even after leaving the borders of Yugoslavia, the 3rd Ukrainian Front, during the offensive in Hungary and Austria, assisted the Yugoslav army in the complete liberation of its country. The offensive operations of the Yugoslav troops in Croatia and Slovenia were supported by Soviet aviation until May 10, 1945.

In the north of the Soviet-German front, the Red Army in the second half of 1944 achieved the withdrawal of Finland from the war without transferring hostilities to its territory. During the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk strategic operation (June 10 - August 9, 1944), the troops of the Leningrad (commander - Army General L. Govorov) and Karelian (commander - Army General K. Meretskov) fronts came close to the state border with Finland in a number of sectors. The Finnish government was faced with a choice: either continue the senseless resistance or end the war. After the commander-in-chief of the Finnish army, Marshal K. Mannerheim, was appointed president of the country, a decision was made to end the war. On August 25, the Finnish side turned to the USSR with a proposal for a truce. On August 29, Moscow responded that it agreed to begin peace negotiations on the condition that Finland breaks off relations with Germany and ensures the withdrawal of German troops from its territory within two weeks. On September 4, 1944, Finland announced a severance of relations with Germany and demanded that Wehrmacht units leave its territory by September 15.

On September 12, 1944, even before the start of the Soviet-Finnish negotiations in Moscow, Stalin forbade the commander of the Karelian Front, K. Meretskov, to advance with battles deep into Finnish territory to defeat the German forces stationed in the north of this country. Stalin's telegram indicated that the decision to attack against the German group was wrong. “According to preliminary agreements,” he emphasized, “the Finns themselves should deal with the expulsion of the Germans from Finland, and our troops will only provide them with assistance in this.”

On September 14, negotiations began in Moscow with the Finnish delegation, in which, in addition to the Soviet side, British representatives also took part. They ended on September 19 with the signing of an armistice agreement. Soviet troops were ordered to reach the border between the USSR and Finland in 1940 and stop further movement. The offensive was planned to continue only along the coast of the Barents Sea in the Petsamo-Kirkenes direction against the grouping of the 20th Mountain Army of the Wehrmacht to liberate Northern Norway.

The Germans, instead of beginning to withdraw their troops from Finland, on the night of September 15 attempted to capture the island of Suursaari, which was under Finnish control, which was important for blocking the Soviet fleet at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. Up to 2 thousand German soldiers were landed on the island. The Finnish garrison entered into battle with them. With the support of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet aviation, the attackers were defeated. September 15, 1944 was later recognized by the Finnish government as the day the war with Germany began.

On October 1, Finnish units began pursuing German troops, who were retreating further and further to the north of the country - to the nickel-rich Petsamo (Pechenga) region. Its defense was entrusted to the 19th Mountain Corps of the 20th German Mountain Army. Under the terms of the Soviet-Finnish armistice agreement, the Petsamo region was returned to the Soviet Union. The task of liberating it and subsequently reaching the area of ​​the Norwegian port of Kirkenes was entrusted to the troops of the 14th Army of the Karelian Front.

Back on May 17, 1944, at the request of the Norwegian exile government located in London, the Soviet Union, the USA and Great Britain signed an agreement with it in the event of the participation of allied forces in hostilities on Norwegian territory. The document provided that "the Allied commanders should enjoy de facto supreme authority during the first, or military, phase of the liberation of Norway," but "as soon as the military situation permits, the Norwegian government should resume its full constitutional responsibility for the civil administration." in the liberated territory of the country.

During the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation (October 7–29, 1944), troops of the Karelian Front took Petsamo on October 15, a stronghold of the German defense in the Far North. With further pursuit of the enemy, on October 18 they moved the fighting beyond the Soviet-Norwegian border. On October 22, Soviet troops captured the city of Tarnet, and on October 25, after a stubborn battle, Kirkenes was liberated. Thus, the Red Army units completed their task. Having reached the Neiden-Nautsi line by October 29, they went on the defensive.

The losses of Soviet troops in the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation amounted to about 16 thousand people, including more than 2 thousand killed and wounded directly on Norwegian soil.

The Soviet troops were warmly received by the Norwegians. For their part, the soldiers of the Red Army tried their best to alleviate the situation of the local population: they supplied the Norwegians with food and fuel, and provided assistance in the formation of military units.

In a telegram to the government of the USSR on the occasion of the end of the war in Europe, King Haakon VII of Norway, on “his own behalf and on behalf of the Norwegian people,” expressed “admiration and gratitude for the brilliant struggle of the Soviet Armed Forces for the common cause of freedom.” In September 1945, Soviet troops left the territory of Northern Norway.

During the Vienna operation, troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front and part of the forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entered Austria on March 30, 1945. The Soviet government never recognized the inclusion of Austria into Germany. On his initiative, at the conference of the foreign ministers of the USSR, USA and Great Britain held in Moscow (October 19–30, 1943), the “Declaration on Austria” was adopted. In it, the three states of the anti-Hitler coalition declared invalid the forced liquidation of the independent Republic of Austria by Nazi Germany and declared their desire to “see a restored, free and independent Austria.”

After Soviet troops crossed the Hungarian-Austrian border, the military councils of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts issued special appeals to the Red Army soldiers and the Austrian people. They emphasized that “the Red Army does not confuse Austrians with German occupiers”, that its task is “to enable the Austrian people to restore their independence and democratic freedoms.”

On April 6, Soviet formations made their way to the outskirts of Vienna. On April 13, Vienna was completely liberated. The Viennese greeted the Red Army soldiers as liberators. The quick and decisive actions of the Red Army saved one of the most beautiful cities in the world from destruction and saved many thousands of its inhabitants.

During subsequent stubborn battles, troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts completely liberated the provinces of Lower Austria and Burgenland, most of Styria, and part of Upper Austria (total 36,551 sq. km) with a population of more than 4.5 million people. 26 thousand Soviet soldiers died in the battles for the liberation of the Austrian people. The western part of Austria was liberated by US troops.

In Austria, the fighting of the Red Army on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front ended. With the support of the Resistance movement, she fulfilled her liberation mission in relation to six European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia.

In the very last days of the war, Soviet troops participated in the expulsion of the German invaders from Danish territory. During the Red Army's attack on Berlin, the Danish island of Bornholm was turned by the German command into a base for their ships and the removal there of a large number of troops from Pomerania. When a small Soviet landing force landed on the island on May 7, the commandant of the German garrison refused to surrender it. In response, the aircraft of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet launched air strikes on the island.

On May 9, the Germans were forced to capitulate. The next day, units of the 132nd Rifle Corps landed on the island and began to disarm the German garrison. By May 13, 1945, at least 11 thousand German soldiers and officers were disarmed and evacuated from the island. During the liberation of Bornholm, 30 Red Army soldiers were killed. Several Soviet officers who participated in his release were awarded an order in honor of his name and the Freedom Medal by decree of the Danish King Christian X.

Soviet troops left Bornholm on April 5, 1946. Before this, captured property, communication lines, and ground communications were transferred to the local administration by representatives of the Red Army command. The joint act signed on this occasion noted that the presence of Soviet units “was not associated with any interference in the internal affairs of the island”, that the population of the island “thanks the Soviet troops for their liberation from the Nazi invaders, as well as for the good and friendly relations of the Soviet troops to the Danish people."