September 2 at Russian Federation celebrated as "End of World War II Day (1945)". This memorial date was established in accordance with the Federal Law “On Amendments to Article 1(1) Federal Law"About the days military glory and memorable dates of Russia”, signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on July 23, 2010. Military Glory Day was established in memory of compatriots who showed dedication, heroism, devotion to their homeland and allied duty to the countries that were members of the anti-Hitler coalition in implementing the decision of the Crimean (Yalta) conference of 1945 on Japan. September 2 is a kind of second Victory Day for Russia, victory in the East.

This holiday cannot be called new - on September 3, 1945, the day after the surrender of the Japanese Empire, Victory Day over Japan was established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. However for a long time In the official calendar of significant dates, this holiday was practically ignored.

The international legal basis for establishing Military Glory Day is the Act of Surrender of the Empire of Japan, which was signed on September 2, 1945 at 9:02 am Tokyo time on board the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On the Japanese side, the document was signed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and the chief General Staff Yoshijiro Umezu. Representatives of the Allied Powers were Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur, American Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the British Pacific Fleet Bruce Fraser, Soviet General Kuzma Nikolaevich Derevyanko, Kuomintang General Su Yong-chang, French General J. Leclerc, Australian General T. Blamey, Dutch Admiral K. Halfrich, New Zealand Air Vice-Marshal L. Isit and Canadian Colonel N. Moore-Cosgrave. This document put an end to the Second World War, which, according to Western and Soviet historiography, began on September 1, 1939 with the attack of the Third Reich on Poland (Chinese researchers believe that the Second World War began with the attack of the Japanese army on China on July 7, 1937).

Do not use prisoners of war for forced labor;

Provide units located in remote areas with additional time to cease hostilities.

On the night of August 15, the “young tigers” (a group of fanatical commanders from the department of the War Ministry and the capital’s military institutions, led by Major K. Hatanaka) decided to disrupt the adoption of the declaration and continue the war. They planned to eliminate the "peace supporters", remove the text with a recording of Hirohito's speech about accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and ending the war by the Empire of Japan before it was broadcast, and then persuade the armed forces to continue the fight. The commander of the 1st Guards Division, which guarded the imperial palace, refused to take part in the mutiny and was killed. Giving orders on his behalf, the “young tigers” entered the palace and attacked the residences of the head of government Suzuki, Lord Privy Seal K. Kido, Chairman of the Privy Council K. Hiranuma and the Tokyo radio station. However, they could not find the tapes with the recording and find the leaders of the “peace party”. The troops of the capital garrison did not support their actions, and even many members of the “young tigers” organization, not wanting to go against the emperor’s decision and not believing in the success of the cause, did not join the putschists. As a result, the rebellion failed within the first hours. The instigators of the conspiracy were not tried; they were allowed to commit ritual suicide by cutting open the abdomen.

On August 15, an address from the Japanese Emperor was broadcast on the radio. Considering high level self-discipline among Japanese government and military leaders, a wave of suicides occurred in the empire. On August 11, the former Prime Minister and Minister of the Army, a staunch supporter of the alliance with Germany and Italy, Hideki Tojo, tried to commit suicide with a revolver shot (he was executed on December 23, 1948 as a war criminal). On the morning of August 15, “the most magnificent example of the samurai ideal” and the Minister of the Army, Koretika Anami, committed hara-kiri; in his suicide note, he asked the emperor for forgiveness for his mistakes. The 1st Deputy Chief of the Naval General Staff (previously the commander of the 1st air fleet), “father of kamikaze” Takijiro Onishi, Field Marshal of the Imperial Japanese Army Hajime Sugiyama, as well as other ministers, generals and officers.

The cabinet of Kantaro Suzuki resigned. Many military and political leaders began to favor the idea of ​​a unilateral occupation of Japan by US troops in order to preserve the country from the threat of the communist threat and preserve the imperial system. On August 15, hostilities between the Japanese armed forces and the Anglo-American troops ceased. However, Japanese troops continued to offer fierce resistance to the Soviet army. Parts of the Kwantung Army were not given the order to cease fire, and therefore the Soviet troops were also not given instructions to stop the offensive. Only on August 19, a meeting between the commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky, and the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, Hiposaburo Hata, took place, where an agreement was reached on the procedure for the surrender of Japanese troops. Japanese units began to surrender their weapons, a process that dragged on until the end of the month. The Yuzhno-Sakhalin and Kuril landing operations continued until August 25 and September 1, respectively.

On August 14, 1945, the Americans developed a draft of “General Order No. 1 (for the Army and Navy)” on accepting the surrender of Japanese troops. This project was approved by American President Harry Truman and on August 15 it was reported to the allied countries. The draft specified the zones in which each of the Allied powers had to accept the surrender of Japanese units. On August 16, Moscow announced that it generally agreed with the project, but proposed an amendment - to include all the Kuril Islands and the northern half of Hokkaido in the Soviet zone. Washington did not raise any objections regarding the Kuril Islands. But regarding Hokkaido, the American president noted that the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Pacific Ocean General Douglas MacArthur surrenders to the Japanese armed forces on all the islands of the Japanese archipelago. It was specified that MacArthur would use token armed forces, including Soviet units.

The American government from the very beginning did not intend to let the USSR into Japan and rejected allied control in post-war Japan, which was provided for by the Potsdam Declaration. On August 18, the United States put forward a demand to allocate one of the Kuril Islands for the American Air Force base. Moscow rejected this brazen advance, declaring that the Kuril Islands, according to the Crimean Agreement, are the possession of the USSR. The Soviet government announced that it was ready to allocate an airfield for landing American commercial aircraft, subject to the allocation of a similar airfield for Soviet aircraft in the Aleutian Islands.

On August 19, a Japanese delegation led by Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General T. Kawabe, arrived in Manila (Philippines). The Americans notified the Japanese that their forces must liberate Atsugi airfield on August 24, the Tokyo Bay and Sagami Bay areas by August 25, and Kanon Base and the southern part of Kyushu Island by mid-day on August 30. Representatives of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces requested a delay in the landing of the occupying forces by 10 days in order to strengthen precautions and avoid unnecessary incidents. The request of the Japanese side was granted, but for a shorter period. The landing of the advanced occupation forces was scheduled for August 26, and the main forces for August 28.

On August 20, the Japanese in Manila were presented with an Act of Surrender. The document provided unconditional surrender Japanese armed forces, regardless of their location. Japanese troops were required to immediately cease hostilities, release prisoners of war and interned civilians, ensure their maintenance, protection and delivery to designated places. On September 2, the Japanese delegation signed the Instrument of Surrender. The ceremony itself was structured to show main role United States in victory over Japan. The procedure for the surrender of Japanese troops in various areas of the Asia-Pacific region dragged on for several months.

When it comes to a global conflict, it is somehow strange to be interested in who fought in World War II, because it seems that everyone took part. But to obtain such status, every person on the planet does not have to be involved, and over the past years it is easy to forget who was on whose side in this conflict.

Countries that adhere to neutrality

It’s easier to start with those who chose to remain neutral. There are as many as 12 such countries, but since the bulk are small African colonies, it is worth mentioning only “serious” players:

• Spain- contrary to popular belief, the regime, which sympathized with the Nazis and fascists, did not provide real help regular troops;
• Sweden- was able to avoid involvement in military affairs, avoiding the fate of Finland and Norway;
• Ireland- refused to fight the Nazis for the stupidest reason, the country did not want to have anything to do with Great Britain;
• Portugal- adhered to the position of its eternal ally in the person of Spain;
• Switzerland- remained faithful to wait-and-see tactics and a policy of non-intervention.

There is no question of true neutrality - Spain formed a division of volunteers, and Sweden did not prevent its citizens from fighting on the side of Germany.

The trio of Portugal, Sweden and Spain actively traded with all sides of the conflict, sympathizing with the Germans. Switzerland was preparing to repel the advance of the Nazi army and was developing a plan for conducting military operations on its territory.

Even Ireland did not enter the war only because of political convictions and even greater hatred of the British.

Germany's European allies

On Hitler's side the following took part in the fighting:

1. Third Reich;
2. Bulgaria;
3. Hungary;
4. Italy;
5. Finland;
6. Romania;
7. Slovakia;
8. Croatia.

Most of the Slavic countries on this list did not take part in the invasion of the territory of the Union. The same cannot be said about Hungary, whose formations were twice defeated by the Red Army. It's about about more than 100 thousand soldiers and officers.

The most impressive infantry corps belonged to Italy and Romania, which on our land managed to become famous only due to ill-treatment With civilian population in the occupied territories. In the zone Romanian occupation Odessa and Nikolaev were located, along with the adjacent territories, where the mass extermination of the Jewish population took place. Romania was defeated in 1944, the fascist regime of Italy was forced to withdraw from the war in 1943.

ABOUT difficult relationship There’s not much to say about Finland since the 1940 war. The most “significant” contribution is closing the ring of the siege of Leningrad from the northern side. The Finns were defeated in 1944, as was Romania.

USSR and its allies in Europe

The Germans and their allies in Europe were opposed by:

• Britannia;
• THE USSR;
• France;
• Belgium;
• Poland;
• Czechoslovakia;
• Greece;
• Denmark;
• Netherlands;

Considering the losses suffered and the liberated territories, it would be incorrect not to include the Americans in this list. The Soviet Union, along with Britain and France, took the main blow.

For each country, the war had its own form:

1. Great Britain tried to cope with constant raids by enemy aircraft at the first stage and with missile strikes from continental Europe - on the second;
2. The French army was defeated with amazing speed, and only the partisan movement made a significant contribution to the final result;
3. The Soviet Union suffered the most big losses, the war was massive battles, constant retreats and advances, a struggle for every piece of land.

The Western Front opened by the United States helped accelerate the liberation of Europe from the Nazis and saved millions of lives of Soviet citizens.

War in the Pacific

Fought in the Pacific:

• Australia;
• Canada;
• THE USSR.

The Allies were opposed by Japan, with all its spheres of influence.

The Soviet Union entered this conflict at the final stage:

1. Provided the transfer of ground forces;
2. Defeated the remaining Japanese army on the mainland;
3. Contributed to the surrender of the Empire.

The Red Army soldiers, seasoned in battle, were able to defeat the entire Japanese group, deprived of supply routes, with minimal losses.

The main battles in previous years took place in the sky and on the water:

• Bombing of Japanese cities and military bases;
• Attacks on ship convoys;
• Sinking of battleships and aircraft carriers;
• Battle for the resource base;
• The use of a nuclear bomb on civilians.

Given the geographical and topographical features, there was no talk of any large-scale ground operations. All the tactics were:

1. In control of key islands;
2. Cutting off supply routes;
3. Enemy resource limitations;
4. Knocking out airfields and ship anchorages.

The chances of victory for the Japanese from the first day of the war were very slim. Despite the success, due to surprise and the unwillingness of the Americans to conduct military operations overseas.

How many countries are involved in the conflict?

Exactly 62 countries. Not one more, not one less. There were so many participants in the Second World War. And this is out of 73 states that existed at that time.

This involvement is explained by:

• The crisis brewing in the world;
• Involvement of “big players” in their spheres of influence;
• The desire to solve economic and social problems by military means;
• The presence of numerous alliance treaties between the parties to the conflict.

You can list all of them, indicate the side and years of active action. But such a volume of information will not be remembered and will not leave a trace behind it the next day. Therefore, it is easier to identify the main participants and explain their contribution to the disaster.

The results of World War II have long been summed up:

1. The culprits have been found;
2. War criminals punished;
3. Appropriate conclusions have been drawn;
4. “Memory organizations” were created;
5. Fascism and Nazism are prohibited in most countries;
6. Reparations and debts for the supply of equipment and weapons have been paid.

The main task is not repeat something like that .

Today, even schoolchildren know who fought in World War II and what consequences this conflict had for the world. But too many myths persist that need to be dispelled.

Video about the participants in the military conflict

This video very clearly demonstrates the entire chronology of the events of the Second World War, which countries took part in what:

About the Second World War in brief

Vtoraya mirovaya voyna 1939-1945

Beginning of World War II

Stages of the Second World War

Causes of World War II

Results of the Second World War

Preface

• In addition, this was the first war during which nuclear weapons were used for the first time. In total, 61 countries on all continents took part in this war, which made it possible to call this war a world war, and the dates of its beginning and end are considered the most significant for the history of all mankind.

• It is worth adding that First World War , despite the defeat of Germany, did not allow the situation to finally de-escalate and territorial disputes to be resolved.

• Thus, as part of this policy, Austria was given up without firing a shot, thanks to which Germany gained enough strength to challenge the rest of the world.
  The states that united against the aggression of Germany and its allies included the Soviet Union, the United States, France, Great Britain and China.

• After this, the third stage followed, which became devastating for Nazi Germany - within a year, the advance deep into the territory of the Union republics was stopped, and German troops lost the initiative in the war. This stage is considered to be a turning point. During the fourth stage, which ended on May 9, 1945, Nazi Germany suffered a complete defeat, and Berlin was captured by troops Soviet Union. It is also customary to single out the fifth, final stage, which lasted until September 2, 1945, during which the last centers of resistance of the allies of Nazi Germany were broken, and nuclear bombs.

Briefly about the main thing

• At the same time, knowing the full extent of the threat, Soviet authorities instead of focusing on the defense of their western borders, they ordered an attack on Finland. During the bloody capture Mannerheim lines several tens of thousands of Finnish defenders died, and more than a hundred thousand Soviet soldiers, while only a small territory north of St. Petersburg was captured.

• However repressive policies Stalin in the 30s significantly weakened the army. After the Holodomor of 1933-1934, which was carried out throughout most of modern Ukraine, the suppression of national self-awareness among the peoples of the republics and the destruction of most of the officers on the western borders of the country there was no normal infrastructure, and the local population was so intimidated that at first entire detachments appeared fighting on the side of the Germans. However, when the fascists treated the people even worse, national liberation movements found themselves between two fires, and were quickly destroyed.

• There is an opinion that the initial success of Nazi Germany in capturing the Soviet Union was planned. For Stalin, this was a great opportunity to destroy peoples hostile to him with the wrong hands. Slowing down the advance of the Nazis, throwing crowds of unarmed recruits to slaughter, full-fledged defensive lines were created near distant cities, where the German offensive got bogged down.

• The greatest role during the Great Patriotic War was played by several major battles, in which Soviet troops inflicted crushing defeats on the Germans. Thus, in just three months from the beginning of the war, fascist troops managed to reach Moscow, where full-fledged defensive lines had already been prepared. A series of battles that took place near the modern capital of Russia are usually called Battle for Moscow. It lasted from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942, and it was here that the Germans suffered their first serious defeat.

• To others, even more important event became the siege of Stalingrad and the subsequent Battle of Stalingrad. The siege began on July 17, 1942, and was lifted on February 2, 1943, during a turning point battle. It was this battle that turned the tide of the war and took away the strategic initiative from the Germans. Then, from July 5 to August 23, 1943, there was Battle of Kursk, to this day there has not been a single battle in which such a large number of tanks participated.

• However, we must pay tribute to the allies of the Soviet Union. So, after the bloody Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US naval forces attacked the Japanese fleet, and in the end independently broke the enemy. However, many still believe that the United States acted extremely cruelly by dropping nuclear bombs on cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After such an impressive show of force, the Japanese capitulated. In addition, the combined forces of the USA and Great Britain, which Hitler, despite the defeats in the Soviet Union, feared more than the Soviet troops, landed in Normandy and recaptured all the countries captured by the Nazis, thus diverting the German forces, which helped the Red Army enter Berlin.

• To prevent the terrible events of these six years from happening again, the participating countries created United Nations, which to this day strives to maintain security throughout the world. Usage nuclear weapons also showed the world how destructive this type weapons, so all countries signed an agreement banning their production and use. And to this day, it is the memory of these events that keeps civilized countries from new conflicts that could turn into a destructive and disastrous war.

Conventionally, historians divide the Second World War into five periods:

The beginning of the war and the invasion of German troops into Western Europe.

The Second World War began on September 1, 1939 with the attack of Nazi Germany on Poland. On September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany; The Anglo-French coalition included the British dominions and colonies (September 3 - Australia, New Zealand, India; September 6 - Union of South Africa; September 10 - Canada, etc.)

The incomplete deployment of the armed forces, the lack of assistance from Great Britain and France, and the weakness of the top military leadership put the Polish army before a disaster: its territory was occupied by German troops. The Polish bourgeois-landowner government secretly fled from Warsaw to Lublin on September 6, and to Romania on September 16.

The governments of Great Britain and France, after the outbreak of the war until May 1940, continued the pre-war foreign policy course in only a slightly modified form, hoping to direct German aggression against the USSR. During this period, called the “Phantom War” of 1939-1940, the Anglo-French troops were virtually inactive, and the armed forces of Nazi Germany, using the strategic pause, were actively preparing for an offensive against the countries of Western Europe.

On April 9, 1940, formations of the Nazi army invaded Denmark without declaring war and occupied its territory. On the same day, the invasion of Norway began.

Even before the completion of the Norwegian operation, the military-political leadership of Nazi Germany began to implement the Gelb plan, which provided for a lightning strike on France through Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. The fascist German troops delivered the main blow through the Ardennes Mountains, bypassing the Maginot Line from the North through Northern France. The French command, adhering to a defensive strategy, placed large forces on the Maginot Line and did not create a strategic reserve in the depths. Having broken through the defenses in the Sedan area, tank formations of fascist German troops reached the English Channel on May 20. On May 14, the Dutch armed forces capitulated. The Belgian army, the British expeditionary force and part of the French army were cut off in Flanders. On May 28, the Belgian army capitulated. The British and parts of the French troops blocked in the Dunkirk region succeeded, losing all their heavy military equipment, evacuate to the UK. At the beginning of June, fascist German troops broke through the front hastily created by the French on the Somme and Aisne rivers.

On June 10, the French government left Paris. Having not exhausted the possibilities of resistance, the French army laid down its arms. On June 14, German troops occupied the French capital without a fight. On June 22, 1940, hostilities ended with the signing of the act of surrender of France - the so-called. Compiègne Armistice of 1940. According to its terms, the territory of the country was divided into two parts: a fascist German occupation regime was established in the northern and central regions, South part The country remained under the control of the anti-national government of Pétain, which expressed the interests of the most reactionary part of the French bourgeoisie, oriented toward fascist Germany (the so-called Vichy government).

After the defeat of France, the threat looming over Great Britain contributed to the isolation of the Munich capitulators and the rallying of the forces of the English people. The government of W. Churchill, which replaced the government of N. Chamberlain on May 10, 1940, began organizing a more effective defense. The US government gradually began to reconsider its foreign policy course. It increasingly supported Great Britain, becoming its “non-belligerent ally.”

Preparing a war against the USSR, Nazi Germany carried out aggression in the Balkans in the spring of 1941. On March 1, Nazi troops entered Bulgaria. On April 6, 1941, Italo-German and then Hungarian troops launched an invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece, occupied Yugoslavia by April 18, and the Greek mainland by April 29.

By the end of the First Period of the War, almost all countries of Western and Central Europe found themselves occupied by Nazi Germany and Italy or became dependent on them. Their economy and resources were used to prepare for war against the USSR.

The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, the expansion of the scale of the war, the collapse of Hitler's Blitzkrieg doctrine.

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet Union. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941 - 1945 began, which became the most important part of the 2nd World War.

The entry of the USSR into the war determined its quality new stage, led to the consolidation of all the progressive forces of the world in the fight against fascism, and influenced the policies of the leading world powers.

The governments of the leading powers of the Western world, without changing their previous attitude towards the social system of the socialist state, saw in an alliance with the USSR the most important condition for their security and the weakening of the military power of the fascist bloc. On June 22, 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt, on behalf of the British and US governments, issued a statement of support for the Soviet Union in the fight against fascist aggression. On July 12, 1941, an agreement was concluded between the USSR and Great Britain on joint actions in the war against Germany. On August 2, an agreement was reached with the United States on military-economic cooperation and providing material support to the USSR. On August 14, Roosevelt and Churchill promulgated the Atlantic Charter, to which the USSR joined on September 24, expressing a special opinion on a number of issues directly related to the military actions of the Anglo-American troops. At the Moscow meeting (September 29 - October 1, 1941), the USSR, Great Britain and the USA considered the issue of mutual military supplies and signed the first protocol. To prevent the danger of creating fascist bases in the Middle East, British and Soviet troops entered Iran in August–September 1941. These joint military-political actions marked the beginning of the creation of the Anti-Hitler coalition, which played an important role in the war.

During the strategic defense in the summer and autumn of 1941, Soviet troops offered staunch resistance to the enemy, exhausted and bled the forces of the Nazi Wehrmacht. The fascist German troops were unable to capture Leningrad, as envisaged by the invasion plan, and were shackled for a long time by the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol, and stopped near Moscow. As a result of the counter-offensive of Soviet troops near Moscow and the general offensive in the winter of 1941/42, the fascist plan for a “lightning war” finally collapsed. This victory had world-historical significance: it dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the fascist Wehrmacht, confronted fascist Germany with the need to wage a protracted war, inspired the European peoples to fight for liberation against fascist tyranny, and gave a powerful impetus to the Resistance movement in the occupied countries.

December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on the American military base Pearl Harbor in the Pacific started a war against the United States. Two major powers entered the war, which significantly affected the balance of military-political forces and expanded the scale and scope of the armed struggle. On December 8, the USA, Great Britain and a number of other states declared war on Japan; On December 11, Nazi Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

The entry of the United States into the war strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition. On January 1, 1942, the Declaration of 26 States was signed in Washington; Later, new states joined the Declaration. On May 26, 1942, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Great Britain on an alliance in the war against Germany and its partners; On June 11, the USSR and the USA entered into an agreement on the principles of mutual assistance in waging war.

Having carried out extensive preparations, the fascist German command in the summer of 1942 launched a new offensive on the Soviet-German front. In mid-July 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad began 1942 - 1943 one of greatest battles 2nd World War. During the heroic defense in July - November 1942, Soviet troops pinned down the enemy strike group, inflicted heavy losses on it and prepared the conditions for launching a counteroffensive.

In northern Africa, British troops managed to stop the further advance of German-Italian troops and stabilize the situation at the front.

In the Pacific Ocean in the first half of 1942, Japan managed to achieve supremacy at sea and occupied Hong Kong, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, the Philippines, the most important islands of Indonesia and other territories. At the cost of great efforts, the Americans managed to defeat the Japanese fleet in the Coral Sea and at Midway Atoll in the summer of 1942, which made it possible to change the balance of forces in favor of the allies, limit Japan's offensive actions and force the Japanese leadership to abandon their intention to enter the war against the USSR.

A radical turning point in the course of the war. The collapse of the offensive strategy of the fascist bloc. The 3rd period of the war was characterized by an increase in the scope and intensity of military operations. The decisive events in this period of the war continued to take place on the Soviet-German front. On November 19, 1942, a counteroffensive of Soviet troops began near Stalingrad, which ended with the encirclement and defeat of a 330-thousand group of troops of the pr-ka. The victory of Soviet troops at Stalingrad shocked Nazi Germany and undermined its military and political prestige in the eyes of its allies. This victory became a powerful stimulus for the further development of the liberation struggle of the peoples in the occupied countries, giving it greater organization and purpose. In the summer of 1943, the military-political leadership of Nazi Germany made a last attempt to regain the strategic initiative and defeat the Soviet troops

in the Kursk region. However, this plan was a complete failure. The defeat of fascist German troops in the Battle of Kursk in 1943 forced fascist Germany to finally switch to strategic defense.

The USSR's allies in the anti-Hitler coalition had every opportunity to fulfill their obligations and open a 2nd front in Western Europe. By the summer of 1943, the strength of the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain exceeded 13 million people. However, the strategy of the USA and Great Britain was still determined by their policies, which ultimately counted on the mutual exhaustion of the USSR and Germany.

On July 10, 1943, American and British troops (13 divisions) landed on the island of Sicily, captured the island, and in early September they landed amphibious assault forces on the Apennine Peninsula, without encountering serious resistance from Italian troops. The offensive of the Anglo-American troops in Italy took place in the context of an acute crisis in which the Mussolini regime found itself as a result of the anti-fascist struggle of the broad masses led by the Italian communist party. On July 25, Mussolini's government was overthrown. The new government was headed by Marshal Badoglio, who signed an armistice with the United States and Great Britain on September 3. On October 13, the government of P. Badoglio declared war on Germany. The collapse of the fascist bloc began. Anglo-American forces landed in Italy launched an offensive against the Nazi troops, but, despite their numerical superiority, they were unable to break their defenses and suspended active operations in December 1943.

During the 3rd period of the war, significant changes occurred in the balance of forces of the warring parties in the Pacific Ocean and in Asia. Japan, having exhausted the possibilities of further offensive in the Pacific theater of operations, sought to gain a foothold on the strategic lines conquered in 1941-42. However, even under these conditions, the military-political leadership of Japan did not consider it possible to weaken the grouping of its troops on the border with the USSR. By the end of 1942, the United States made up for the losses of its Pacific Fleet, which began to surpass the Japanese fleet, and intensified its operations on the approaches to Australia, in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean and on Japan's sea lanes. The Allied offensive in the Pacific Ocean began in the fall of 1942 and brought the first successes in the battles for the island of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands), which was abandoned by Japanese troops in February 1943. During 1943, American troops landed on New Guinea, drove the Japanese out of the Aleutian Islands, and a number of significant losses to the Japanese navy and merchant fleet. The peoples of Asia rose more and more decisively in the anti-imperialist liberation struggle.

The defeat of the fascist bloc, the expulsion of enemy troops from the USSR, the creation of a second front, liberation from the occupation of European countries, the complete collapse of fascist Germany, and its unconditional surrender. The most important military-political events of this period were determined by the further growth of the military-economic power of the anti-fascist coalition, the increasing force of the blows of the Soviet Armed Forces and the intensification of the actions of the allies in Europe. On a larger scale, the offensive of the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain unfolded in the Pacific Ocean and Asia. However, despite the well-known intensification of allied actions in Europe and Asia, the decisive role in the final destruction of the fascist bloc belonged to the Soviet people and their Armed Forces.

The Great's Progress Patriotic War irrefutably proved that the Soviet Union was capable of, on its own, winning a complete victory over fascist Germany and liberating the peoples of Europe from the fascist yoke. Under the influence of these factors, significant changes took place in the military-political activities and strategic planning of the United States, Great Britain and other participants in the anti-Hitler coalition.

By the summer of 1944, the international and military situation was such that a further delay in the opening of the 2nd Front would have led to the liberation of all of Europe by the USSR. This prospect worried the ruling circles of the USA and Great Britain and forced them to rush to invade Western Europe across the English Channel. After two years of preparation, the Normandy landing operation of 1944 began on June 6, 1944. By the end of June, the landing troops occupied a bridgehead about 100 km wide and up to 50 km deep, and on July 25 went on the offensive. It took place in a situation when the anti-fascist struggle of the Resistance forces, which numbered up to 500 thousand fighters by June 1944, was especially intensified in France. On August 19, 1944, an uprising began in Paris; By the time the allied troops arrived, the capital was already in the hands of French patriots.

At the beginning of 1945, a favorable environment was created for the final campaign in Europe. On the Soviet-German front it began with a powerful offensive of Soviet troops from Baltic Sea to the Carpathians.

The last center of resistance to Nazi Germany was Berlin. At the beginning of April, Hitler’s command pulled the main forces to the Berlin direction: up to 1 million people, St. 10 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, 3.3 thousand combat aircraft, on April 16, a grandiose in scope and intensity began Berlin operation 1945 troops of 3 Soviet fronts, as a result of which the Berlin enemy group was surrounded and defeated. On April 25, Soviet troops reached the city of Torgau on the Elbe, where they united with units of the 1st American Army. On May 6-11, troops from 3 Soviet fronts carried out the Paris Operation of 1945, defeating the last group of Nazi troops and completing the liberation of Czechoslovakia. Advancing on a broad front, the Soviets Armed forces completed the liberation of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Carrying out liberation mission, Soviet troops received gratitude and active support European peoples, all democratic and anti-fascist forces of the countries occupied by the fascists.

After the fall of Berlin, capitulation in the West became widespread. On the eastern front, Nazi troops continued their fierce resistance where they could. The goal of Dönitz, created after Hitler’s suicide (April 30), was to, without stopping the fight against Soviet army, conclude an agreement with the United States and Great Britain on partial surrender. Back on May 3, on behalf of Dönitz, Admiral Friedeburg established contact with the British commander Field Marshal Montgomery and obtained consent to surrender the Nazi troops to the British “individually.” On May 4, the act of surrender of German troops in the Netherlands, North-West Germany, Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark was signed. On May 5, fascist troops capitulated in Southern and Western Austria, Bavaria, Tyrol and other areas. On May 7, General A. Jodl, on behalf of the German command, signed the terms of surrender at Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims, which was to take effect on May 9 at 00:01. The Soviet government expressed categorical protest against this unilateral act, so the Allies agreed to consider it a preliminary protocol of surrender. At midnight on May 8, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, occupied by Soviet troops, representatives of the German High Command, led by Field Marshal W. Keitel, signed an act of unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany. Unconditional surrender was accepted on behalf of the Soviet government by Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov together with representatives of the USA, Great Britain and France.

Defeat of imperialist Japan. Liberation of the peoples of Asia from Japanese occupation. End of World War 2. Of the entire coalition of aggressive states that started the war, only Japan continued to fight in May 1945. From July 17 to August 2, the Potsdam Conference of 1945 heads of government of the USSR (J. V. Stalin), USA (H. Truman) and Great Britain (W. Churchill, from July 28 - K. Attlee) took place, at which, along with the discussion European problems great attention was paid to the situation on Far East. In a declaration dated July 26, 1945, the governments of Great Britain, the United States and China offered Japan specific terms of surrender, which the Japanese government rejected. The Soviet Union, which denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact in April 1945, confirmed at the Potsdam Conference its readiness to enter the war against Japan in the interests of quickly ending World War II and eliminating the source of aggression in Asia. On August 8, 1945, the USSR, true to its allied duty, declared war on Japan, and on August 9. The Soviet Armed Forces began military operations against the Japanese Kwantung Army concentrated in Manchuria. The entry of the Soviet Union into the war and the defeat of the Kwantung Army accelerated the unconditional surrender of Japan. On the eve of the USSR's entry into the war with Japan, on August 6 and 9, the United States used new weapons for the first time, dropping two atomic bombs for years Hiroshima and Nagasaki are beyond any military necessity. About 468 thousand residents were killed, wounded, irradiated, or went missing. This barbaric act was intended, first of all, to demonstrate the power of the United States in order to put pressure on the USSR in solving post-war problems. The signing of the act of surrender of Japan took place on September 2. 1945. World War 2 ended.



Gafurov Said 05/09/2017 at 10:25

In the days of the Great Victory, the hubbub of revisionist historians about the intolerable implicit racism of the Anglo-Saxons, about Budyonny and Tukhachevsky, the conspiracy of the marshals had already become familiar... What and how actually happened? What are the well-known and new facts? World War II began in the summer of 1937, not the fall of 1939. The bloc of lordly Poland, Horthy Hungary and Hitlerite Germany tore apart unfortunate Czechoslovakia. It was not for nothing that Churchill called the Polish masters of life the most vile of vile hyenas, and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty a brilliant success of Soviet diplomacy.

Every year, as Victory Day approaches, various non-humans try to revise history, shouting that the Soviet Union is not the main winner, and its victory would have been impossible without the help of its allies. They usually cite the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty as their main argument.

The very fact that Western historians They believe that the Second World War began in September 1939, is explained solely by the overt racism of the Western allies, primarily the Anglo-American ones. In fact, World War II began in 1937 when Japan began its aggression against China.

Japan is the aggressor country, China is the victorious country, and the war went on from 1937 to September 1945, without a single break. But for some reason these dates are not named. After all, this happened somewhere in far Asia, and not in civilized Europe or North America. Although the end is completely obvious: the end of World War II is the surrender of Japan. It is logical that the beginning of this story should be considered the beginning of Japanese aggression against China.

This will remain on the conscience of Anglo-American historians, but we just need to know about it. In fact, the situation is not at all so simple. The question is posed the same way: in what year did the Soviet Union enter World War II? The war had been going on since 1937, and its beginning was not at all the liberation campaign of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army in Poland, when Western Ukraine and Western Belarus reunited with their brothers in the east. The war began earlier in Europe. It was in the fall of 1938, when the Soviet Union announced to lordly Poland that if it took part in aggression against Czechoslovakia, the non-aggression treaty between the USSR and Poland would be considered terminated. This is very important point; because when a country breaks the non-aggression pact, it is actually a war. The Poles were very scared then, there were several joint statements. But nevertheless, Poland took part, together with the Nazi allies and Chartist Hungary, in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Fighting were agreed upon between the Polish and German General Staffs.

Here it is important to remember one document that patented anti-Sovietists are very fond of: this is the prison testimony of Marshal Tukhachevsky on the strategic deployment of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. There are papers there that both anti-Sovietists and Stalin supporters call very important and interesting. True, for some reason their substantive analysis can hardly be found anywhere.

The fact is that Tukhachevsky wrote this document in prison back in 1937, and in 1939, when the war began on the Western Front, the situation changed dramatically. The entire substantive pathos of Tukhachevsky’s testimony lies in the fact that the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army was not able to win against the Polish-German coalition. And in accordance with the Hitler-Pilsudski Pact (the first brilliant success of Hitler's diplomacy), Poland and Germany must jointly attack the Soviet Union.

There is a lesser-known document - the report of Semyon Budyonny, who was present at the trial of the marshals' conspiracies. Then all the marshals, including Tukhachevsky, Yakir, Uborevich, were sentenced to death - along with big amount army commanders. The head of the political department of the Red Army, Gamarnik, shot himself. They shot Blucher and Marshal Egorov, who participated in another conspiracy.

These three military men took part in the marshals' conspiracy. In the report, Budyonny says that the final impetus that forced Tukhachevsky to begin planning a coup was his realization that the Red Army was not able to win against the united allies - Hitler's Germany and the lord's Poland. This was precisely the main threat.

So, we see that in 1937 Tukhachevsky says: the Red Army has no chance against the Nazis. And in 1938, Poland, Germany and Hungary tear unfortunate Czechoslovakia to pieces, after which Churchill calls the Polish leaders hyenas and writes that the bravest of the brave were led by the most vile of the vile.

And only in 1939, thanks to the brilliant successes of Soviet diplomacy and the fact that the Litvinov line was replaced by the Molotov line, the USSR managed to remove this mortal threat, which consisted in the fact that in the West Germany and Poland could act against the Soviet Union, and in the South Western front - Hungary and Romania. And at the same time, Japan had the opportunity to attack in the east.

Tukhachevsky and Budyonny considered the position of the Red Army in this situation to be almost hopeless. Then, instead of soldiers, diplomats began to work, who managed to break the block between Soviet diplomacy, between Hitler, Beck and lordly Poland, between the fascists and the Polish leadership, and start a war between Germany and Poland. It should be noted that the German army at that moment was practically invincible.

Bolshoi combat experience the Germans did not have it, it consisted only in the Spanish War, in the relatively bloodless Anschluss of Austria, as well as in the bloodless seizure of the Sudetenland and then the rest of Czechoslovakia, except for those pieces that, by agreement between the Nazis and Poland and Hungary, went to these countries.

Pan's Poland was defeated by the Germans in three weeks. To understand how this happened, it is enough to re-read war memoirs and analytical documents; for example, the famous book by brigade commander Isserson “New Forms of Fighting,” which is now becoming popular again. It was a completely unexpected and quick defeat for Poland. In 1940, France, then considered the most powerful army in Europe, suffered a similarly rapid, three-week and catastrophic defeat. Nobody expected this.

But, in any case, such a quick defeat of Poland meant only one thing: Soviet diplomacy worked superbly, it pushed the borders of the Soviet Union far to the West. After all, in 1941, the Nazis were very close to Moscow, and it is quite possible that these several hundred kilometers, by which the border moved to the West, made it possible to save not only Moscow, but also Leningrad. We managed to do the almost impossible.

The victory of Soviet diplomacy provided us with guarantees that not only broke the bloc, but also led to Hitler destroying the Warsaw threat to Russia. No one expected how rotten it would turn out then Polish army. Therefore, when they tell you about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, answer: it was a brilliant response to the Munich agreement, and the Polish gentlemen received their well-deserved punishment. Churchill was right: these were the vilest of the vilest.

The Great Victory is not just a holiday that unites us. This is a very important thing in our historical experience, which forces us to always remember to keep our powder dry: we are never safe.