At the beginning of 1944, the Red Army had an absolute advantage over the enemy. The rearmament of the army with modern technology ended. The victories markedly raised the morale of the troops. They gained valuable experience in offensive operations. The military potential of Germany was steadily decreasing. The Red Army was preparing for the complete liberation of the territory of the USSR from the enemy.

On January 14, 1944, the troops of the Leningrad (L.A. Govorov) and Volkhovsky (K.A. Meretskov) fronts went over to the offensive. As a result, Novgorod was liberated on January 20, and by January 27 the siege from Leningrad was lifted. In February, units of the Red Army cleared the enemy from the strip of the October railway linking Moscow and Leningrad. By the end of February, the offensive had stopped on the Narva-Pskov line.

In Ukraine, the troops of the Red Army took Kirovograd on January 5, 1944, and by February 3 they surrounded the enemy's Korsun-Shevchenko grouping. A significant part of it managed to break through, but the enemy's losses were very significant.

In March, the offensive resumed by the armies of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts. They liberated Nikolaev, on April 10 - Odessa. In April, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front under the command of F.I.Tolbukhin launched battles in the Crimea and on May 9, at the cost of heavy losses, took Sevastopol. On May 12, the battle for the peninsula ended. A significant part of the enemy's 17th army defending it managed to evacuate by sea.

June 6, 1944 The Anglo-American allies opened a second front with a landing in Normandy. This distracted a certain part of the Wehrmacht forces. Soviet troops, according to the plan approved at the Tehran Conference, inflicted powerful new blows on the enemy. On June 10, the armies of the Leningrad Front launched an offensive in Karelia and on June 20 took Vyborg. On June 21 they were supported by the Karelian Front; On June 28, its units captured Petrozavodsk. Soviet troops reached the pre-war border with Finland, which on September 19 signed an armistice with the USSR, and on March 4, 1945, declared war on Germany.

June 23-24 armies of the 1st (K.K. Rokossovsky), 2nd (G.F. Zakharov), 3rd Belorussian (I.D. Chernyakhovsky) and 1st Baltic (I.Kh. Baghramyan) fronts began the Byelorussian operation (Operation Bagration). Having absolute superiority over the enemy, with a series of powerful blows they surrounded the troops of Army Group Center (E. Bush, then V. Model) in boilers near Vitebsk, Orsha, Mogilev, Bobruisk. The enemy's attempts to break out of the encirclement failed. On July 3, units of the 1st and 3rd Belorussian fronts liberated Minsk, east of which another Nazi group was surrounded. The enemy front collapsed over 400 km. Moving rapidly, Soviet troops entered the territory of Poland. Together with them, the 1st Army of the Polish Army, created on the territory of the USSR, operated. On July 23, Soviet units took Lublin on the move, and then reached the Vistula and captured a number of bridgeheads on its left bank, for which bloody battles erupted.

On July 28, Brest was taken, and the remnants of the enemy forces encircled in the area surrendered. The liberation of Belarus is over. The expulsion of the Wehrmacht from the Baltic began: on July 13, the Red Army took Vilnius, on August 1, Kaunas.

On July 13, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front (I.S. Konev) began to carry out the Lvov-Sandomierz operation. Developing the offensive, on July 17 they crossed the Western Bug and entered Poland.

On July 27, Soviet units took Lvov, the center of Western Ukraine, and on July 29 reached the Vistula and crossed it on the move, capturing a bridgehead on its left bank in the Sandomierz region.

On September 8, the formations of the 3rd Ukrainian Front crossed the border of Bulgaria, an ally of Germany, which, however, did not participate in the war against the USSR.

On September 9, as a result of the uprising, the government of the Fatherland Front came to power in Bulgaria, declaring war on Germany.

On September 28, Soviet troops entered Yugoslavia, and on October 20, together with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOAJ), they liberated Belgrade. The armies of the 1st and 4th Ukrainian fronts, trying to save the anti-fascist Slovak uprising from defeat, crossed the border of Czechoslovakia with heavy fighting, captured Mukachevo, Uzhgorod, the Duklinsky pass, but due to heavy losses and stubborn enemy resistance, they could not advance further. The troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entered Hungary and took Debrecen on October 20. In December, the armies of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts surrounded the enemy's Budapest grouping.

Fierce battles were fought in the Baltics. On September 22, the troops of the Leningrad Front captured Tallinn, on October 15 - Riga. The battles for Klaipeda lasted until the end of January 1945. Army Group North, driven back to the Kurland Peninsula, held out there until the end of the war.

October 7 - November 1, the troops of the Karelian Front (K. A. Meretskov) with the support of the Northern Fleet (A. G. Golovko) carried out the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, during which Petsamo was taken on October 15, and Kirkenes, located on the territory of Norway, on October 25 ... Fighting in the Arctic ended.

5.1. Occupation regime.

Even before the war, Hitler approved the "Ost" plan for the "development" of the eastern territories through the eviction and destruction of 120-140 million of their inhabitants (mainly Slavs). In one of the directives, Hitler demanded to shoot the captured Soviet political workers (although many Wehrmacht commanders did not fulfill it).

In a number of places (especially in the Baltics and Western Ukraine) the population welcomed the invading German troops. In some cases, normal relations were established between Wehrmacht soldiers and local residents, but in general the occupation regime ("new order") was very difficult. Food, raw materials, equipment, historical and artistic values ​​were exported from the occupied territory. In the villages, as a rule, collective farms were preserved, which facilitated the exploitation of the peasants. The population was involved in forced labor. 6 million people were taken to Germany, where they actually became slaves - both to the state and to private individuals. (Upon returning to the USSR after the war, they, like the inhabitants of the occupied territories, fell under the suspicion of the authorities.) For possession of weapons, reading Soviet leaflets, harboring Red Army soldiers, communication with partisans, local residents were threatened with death. Mass executions of Jews were carried out (more than 100 thousand people were shot in Babi Yar alone near Kiev), communists and Komsomol members were killed. Concentration camps were established. The Gestapo and the SS troops acted especially cruelly. Hundreds of hostages were mercilessly shot for killing German soldiers and officials by partisans (although this did not stop the partisans). During punitive operations, entire villages were burned, their inhabitants were destroyed. In Belarus alone, there were more than 600 such villages (the most famous of them is Khatyn). The invaders tried to attract to cooperation local residents who were dissatisfied with the Soviet regime or simply wanted to get a job under the “new order”. From them, police detachments and lower-level officials were formed (in the village and villages - the elders, in the cities - burgomasters). However, they did not have any serious power. The population of the USSR was viewed by the fascists as an "inferior" race subject to merciless exploitation, and later - to "displacement" by the "Aryan" (ie, Germanic) race, ie, simply extermination.

5.2. Partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War.

In the occupied territory, already in 1941, a partisan movement began to unfold, to which Stalin called in his speech on July 3, 1941. The organizers of the underground groups and partisan detachments were party and Soviet workers, officers of the State Security Service, who were left behind for this purpose in the rear of the enemy. surrounded or escaped from captivity soldiers and officers of the Red Army. By the end of 1941, there were 3,500 partisan detachments, and in total during the war their number reached 6,000. They attacked small detachments and enemy garrisons, destroyed warehouses, disabled railways, bridges, echelons with cargo ("rail war") ... Underground groups organized sabotage and sabotage in factories and workshops, disabled rolling stock, distributed leaflets with calls for struggle and messages about the victories of the Red Army, collected valuable intelligence information, and killed the most hated fascist military and officials and their accomplices. The partisan movement was especially developed in Belarus, Northern Ukraine, Bryanshin, in Leningrad region, where large territories were cleared of the enemy (the so-called partisan lands). Some partisan formations - S. A. Kovpak, A. F. Fedorov, M. I. Naumov, A. N. Saburov, and others - became so strong that they were able to conduct large-scale raids in the rear of the enemy. Over time, the supply of the partisans by air was established with " big land»Weapons, foodstuffs, etc. On May 30, 1942, the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement under the SVGK, headed by PK Ponomarenko, was created to lead the partisan movement.

To fight the partisans, the German command had to throw in significant forces (according to Soviet data, up to 20-22 divisions).

When the Red Army approached, partisan detachments sometimes freed entire cities from the occupiers, and then often joined its ranks. The most experienced of them sometimes went further to the west, continuing their sabotage activities behind enemy lines and coming into contact with partisans of the countries of Eastern Europe. The partisan movement in the USSR, the largest in Europe during the war years, became an important factor in the victory over the enemy.

By 1944, the decisive superiority of the Soviet troops had been achieved. Domestic industry managed to produce 102,800 tanks during the war years, Germany - only 43,400.

The balance of forces at the beginning of 1944

Soviet post-war historians called strategic offensive operations in 1944 " Ten Stalinist Strikes ".

Currently, the term "Stalinist strikes" is not used, but this does not diminish the significance of these offensive operations:

1. Leningrad operation(January 1944). The blockade of Leningrad was lifted, the city of Novgorod (now Veliky Novgorod) was liberated.

2. Korsun-Shevchenko operation(February-March 1944). 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts ( N.F. Vatutin and I.S. Konev) defeated 10 divisions of Army Group South of Army Group General Field Marshal to the south of Kiev E. Manstein and liberated the Right-Bank Ukraine.

3. Odessa and Crimean operations(April-May 1944). The cities of Nikolaev and Odessa were liberated, then the cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol.

4. Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation(June-July 1944). Soviet troops defeated the Finnish army, liberated the city of Vyborg, Petrozavodsk and most of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.

5. Belarusian operation, or operation « Bagration"(June-July 1944). Army of 4 fronts (1st, 2nd, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic) Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky, generals G.F. Zakharova, I. D. Cher-Nyakhovsky and I.X. Baghramyan surrounded the group of Germans, forming "cauldrons" (Bobruisk, Minsk, Mogilev, Vitebsk), liberated Belarus and part of Lithuania.

6. Lvov-Sandomierz operation(July-August 1944). Soviet troops defeated the Germans near Lvov, liberated Western Ukraine, crossed the Vistula and formed a bridgehead near the city of Sandomierz.

7. Yassko-Chisinau and Romanian operations(August-September 1944). Soviet troops liberated Moldova and reached the border with Romania. Romania and Bulgaria withdrew from the Hitlerite coalition.

8. Baltic operation(September-October 1944). Soviet troops surrounded in the Baltic (Courland cauldron) and defeated more than 30 divisions. Estonia, Lithuania, part of Latvia were liberated. The Kurland group of Germans resisted until the end of the war. Finland, a former ally of Germany, has declared war on it.

9. East Carpathian and Belgrade operations(October-December 1944) - most of Hungary was cleared, Transcarpathian Ukraine was liberated, assistance was provided in the liberation of Yugoslavia. Germany's former ally Hungary declared war on her.

10. Petsamo-Kirkenes operation(October 1944) - the defeat of the 20th mountain German army in Northern Finland. Soviet troops occupied Pechenga, entered the territory of Norway.

As a result of these offensive operations, 136 enemy divisions were defeated. Former allies of Germany - Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary declared war on her. By November 1944, the Nazi troops were finally expelled from Soviet territory, fully restored state border The USSR and military operations were transferred to German territory. The liberation campaign of the Soviet Army began in Eastern Europe... In total, about 1.5 million Soviet soldiers were killed during the campaign. The liberation campaign gradually turned into a struggle for spheres of influence and soon caused contradictions between the USSR and the allies.

Warsaw Uprising.

In July 1944, Soviet troops entered the territory of Poland. The leadership of the USSR was in hostile relations with the Polish bourgeois government, which was in exile in London. Polish resistance movement - Home Army(AK, " Patriotic Army») - was hostile to both Germany and the USSR, considering them the occupiers. The last act of the desperate struggle of the Polish government in exile for power was the adventurous decision to start an uprising in Warsaw on August 1, 1944. It was assumed that the AK fighters, weakly armed and insufficiently trained, would liberate Warsaw from the Nazis, and the Polish bourgeois government would return from London by air and at the time of the approach of the Soviet Army would declare its rights to power.

Soviet troops approached Warsaw, but did not provide assistance to the dying insurgents. According to the official version, the Soviet Army was exhausted by the fighting. According to the German historian, the former general of the Wehrmacht K. Tippelskircha, "The uprising broke out when the power of the Russian strike had already dried up." But many foreign historians argue that JV Stalin deliberately allowed the Germans to drown the Warsaw uprising in blood in order to prevent the return of the Polish bourgeois government to power. At first, Stalin did not allow Anglo-American aircraft, which dropped cargo to the Warsaw people, to land on Soviet airfields. Only on September 9, Stalin agreed to help the uprising, but it was too late. The Warsaw Uprising on October 2, 1944 was suppressed. 200 thousand Poles were killed.

Opening of the second front June 6, 1944 Liberation of Poland. Operation " Overlord"- the landing of the Anglo-American troops (commander - D. Eisenhower). In January 1945, when the threat of the defeat of the Anglo - American troops in Alsace and the Ardennes arose, Churchill asked Stalin to accelerate the offensive from the east. Soviet troops and the Polish Army, equipped with Soviet weapons, during Vistula-Oder operation forced the river. Vistula and 17 January 1945 liberated the ruins of Warsaw. During the liberation of Poland, more than 650 thousand Soviet soldiers were killed.

Liberation of Romania. With the approach of the Soviet Army in August 1944 there was a coup d'état in Bucharest, the pro-fascist government of the dictator J. Antonescu was overthrown, the dictator was executed in 1946 Romania broke the alliance with Germany and joined the anti-Hitler coalition.

Liberation of Bulgaria. In July 1944, the Bulgarian government began secret negotiations with Britain and the United States on the possibility of allied troops entering its territory. On September 5, 1944, the Soviet Union announced that it was at war with Bulgaria, an ally of Germany. When the Soviet Army crossed the border, the Bulgarians greeted it with music and flowers. On September 9, 1944, an anti-fascist uprising took place in Sofia. The Bulgarian army went over to the side of the rebels, the liberation of the country was almost bloodless.

Liberation of Yugoslavia produced by the guerrilla People's Liberation Army Josip Broz Tito and Soviet troops F.I.Tolbukhina. On October 20, 1944, the city of Belgrade was taken.

Liberation of Hungary. Hungary remained Germany's only alliance in Europe. Two attempts by Soviet troops to capture Budapest ended in failure. In the fall of 1944, during the Debrecen operation, Soviet troops defeated German and Hungarian troops. In December 1944 Hungary withdrew from the war. Germany has lost its last ally. However, a large group of Nazis defended Budapest. Hungary was liberated in April 1945.

Liberation of Czechoslovakia. In August 1944, an anti-fascist uprising began in Slovakia. In the fall of 1944, the Soviet tank armies, together with Czechoslovak Corps captured the Duklinsky pass in the Carpathians, but could not advance further. The rebels on the radio appealed to the Soviet Army with an appeal for help. The USSR airlifted troops, weapons, and food. On May 5, 1945, Soviet tank armies were sent to Prague, and on May 9 it was liberated.

Yalta (Crimean) conference (4-11 February 1945).

The Big Three in Yalta solved the following issues:

1) the occupation of Germany;

2) creation United Nations(UN). The USSR was represented in the UN by three republics (RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus). Allied powers accepted Declaration on a Liberated Europe and declared their readiness to help the European peoples "create democratic institutions of their own choice."

3) the question of the post-war status of Poland. The USSR was against the return to power of the Polish bourgeois government;

4) the USSR confirmed its readiness to enter the war with Japan;

5) meeting the requirements of the USSR for reparations(damages) from Germany in the amount of $ 10 billion.

Berlin operation April 16-May 8, 1945

In January 1945, the Soviet Army reached the borders of Austria. During the winter-spring offensive of 1945, Soviet troops carried out two major operations in Germany - Koenigsberg and Berlin... On April 13, after stubborn battles, the fortress city of König-sberg was taken. April 25, 1945 on the river. Elbe, a meeting of Soviet and American troops took place.

Three fronts took part in the Berlin operation - 1st, 2nd Belorussian and 1st Uk-rainsky (marshals G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky and I.S. Konev). On April 18, Soviet tank armies captured the enemy's defensive lines on the Seelow Heights, and by April 20 they reached Berlin. The general's tank army was cut off from the capital of the Reich Walter Wenck(1900-1982). On April 25, Berlin with a 400,000-strong Nazi group was taken into the ring. The shelling of Berlin from more than 40 thousand guns and rocket launchers turned the city into ruins.

Then more than 6 thousand Soviet tanks entered Berlin. After stubborn street fighting on April 30, 1945, sergeants Mikhail Egorov(1923-1975) and Meliton Cantaria(1920-1993) hoisted the Victory Banner over the Reichstag. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide, transferring power to the admiral Karl Dönitz(1891-1980). On May 2, the Berlin garrison surrendered. During the Berlin operation, about 300 thousand people died. Soviet soldiers and officers.

Capitulation of Germany. On the night of 8 to 9 May 1945 in a Berlin suburb Karlshorst representatives of the armies of the USSR, USA, England, France and representatives of the fascists (field marshal V. Keitel) signed an act of complete and unconditional surrender Germany. On behalf of the Soviet Supreme High Command, the act was signed by the marshal G.K. Zhukov... Great Patriotic War completed.

Victory parade took place on the Red Square of Moscow June 24, 1945... 200 banners of non-German divisions were thrown to the Mausoleum.

Potsdam Conference 17 July-2 August 1945 The Big Three met in Potsdam (Germany). At the talks, the contradictions between the parties intensified - the day before, the Americans experienced nuclear weapon and felt superior.

The conference participants discussed the principles of the post-war world order:

New borders of Poland were defined;

A decision was made to transfer the USSR to East Prussia from the city of Königsberg (since 1946 - the Kaliningrad region and the city of Kaliningrad);

Germany and Berlin are divided into zones of occupation: American, British, French and Soviet;

In Germany, the principle of three "D" was introduced: denazification(cleansing from Nazi ideology) , democratization, demilitarization;

The International Military Tribunal for Fascist War Criminals was established in Nuremberg;

Germany has established a payment for significant reparations to states that have suffered from fascist aggression;

In order to prevent new wars and resolve international disputes peacefully in October 1945 was established United Nations(UN). The main organs of the UN: General Assembly, Security Council. Headquarters - in New York;

The allies were forced to agree with the inclusion of the countries of Central and Southern Europe (except Austria), liberated by the Soviet Army, in the sphere of interests of the USSR.

In addition, the USSR demanded a revision of the Convention on the Regime of the Black Sea Straits, the return of the cities of Kars and Ardahan, bordering Armenia and withdrew to Turkey in 1921, the naval base in the Aegean Sea. These exaggerated demands of Stalin led to aggravation of relations with yesterday's allies.

Nuremberg Trials (November 1945-October 1946). In the city of Nuremberg, at the international trial of the surviving leaders of the Third Reich, 12 defendants were sentenced to death ( G. Goering, I. von Ribbentrop, W. Keitel, E. Kaltenbrunner and others), the rest - to long prison terms.

War with Japan August 9-September 2, 1945 On August 9, the USSR, fulfilling allied obligations, violated the Soviet-Japanese pact of neutrality in 1941 and declared war on Japan. The commander of the Soviet troops on Far East Marshal was appointed A. M. Vasilevsky... The forces of three fronts - Transbaikal ( R. Ya. Malinovsky), 1st Far-Stock ( K. A. Meretskov), 2nd Far Eastern ( M. A. Purkaev) in the course of 24 days, the Japanese Kwantung army in Man Churia (1 million people). Soviet troops drove the Japanese out of Man-Churia and Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuriles.

On August 6, 1945, by order of the President of the United States H. Truman, it was blown up atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, and on August 9 - over Naga-saki. Over 100 thousand Japanese were killed. The atomic bombing was caused, on the one hand, by the desire of the United States to speed up the end of the war, to avoid huge casualties among its soldiers during the assault on the Japanese islands, and on the other hand, to demonstrate to the USSR its atomic power.

Major military operations 1944-1945

Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya. Troops of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts under the command of generals N.F. Vatutin and I.S. Konev on January 28, 1944, ten enemy divisions were encircled, and the defeat of the group was completed. In April 1944 Kherson, Vinnitsa, Nikolaev and in the beginning of April - Odessa were liberated. The Red Army began to liquidate the enemy grouping in the Crimea.

Belarusian operation ("Bagration") began on June 23, 1944. Soviet troops within six days destroyed large enemy groupings near Vitebsk and Bobruisk. Minsk was liberated. The Soviet offensive turned into a general strategic offensive from the Baltic to the Carpathians. Overcoming enemy resistance, Soviet troops reached the German border on August 17.

As a result Iasi-Chisinau operation On August 20-24, 1944, Moldova was liberated.

In October - November 1944, the offensive of the troops of the Karelian Front on the northern wing ended, the strategically important Murmansk region and the northeastern regions of Norway were liberated from the enemy.

The victories of the Red Army created conditions for the liberation of the countries of Europe occupied by the Nazis and assistance to their peoples:

2) 9th of September in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, an uprising began. The government created by the Fatherland Front severed relations with Germany and declared war on it. The Soviet army entered Sofia;

3) October 20, 1944 troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front and units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia liberated Belgrade;

4) in Hungary, Soviet troops met fierce resistance from the enemy. As a result of bloody battles, the encirclement of the Budapest group was completed only by the end of December. Budapest was liberated from the Nazis only on February 13, 1945;

5) Vistula-Oder operation (12.01.-3.02.);

6) On January 17, Soviet soldiers liberated Warsaw. By the end of March, they reached the Baltic Sea coast.

Berlin operation. The question of who will be the first to enter the German capital has become an acute political problem. Soviet troops were located 60 km from Berlin, and parts of the Anglo-American troops by April 1945 - 100 km. However, the Red Army overcame fierce opposition, and the Anglo-American forces faced little resistance. Troops of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts and the 1st Ukrainian Front, led by G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky, I.S. Konev. The offensive began at 5 am on April 16, 1945. Artillery and bombers inflicted crushing blows on the enemy. 140 searchlights blinded the enemy when they went on the attack Soviet tanks and infantry. The enemy fiercely defended himself. On April 21, shock units of the Red Army broke into the outskirts of Berlin. The troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, advancing from the north and south, united west of Berlin. On the Elbe River, near the city of Torgau, their significant meeting with the American army took place. On May 8, an act of unconditional surrender was signed in the suburbs of Berlin fascist Germany... WITH Soviet side the signature was put by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. The war in Europe is over.

For three years Belarus was under the yoke of the enemy. The invaders plundered the territory of the republic: cities were ruined, more than a million buildings were burned in countryside, turned into ruins of 7 thousand schools. The Nazis killed more than two million prisoners of war and civilians. In fact, there was no family in the Byelorussian SSR that did not suffer from the Nazis. Belaya Rus was one of the most affected territories of the Union. But people did not lose heart and resisted. Knowing that in the East, the Red Army repelled the onslaught of the enemy on Moscow, Stalingrad and the Caucasus, defeated the Nazis in Kursk Bulge, liberates the regions of Ukraine, the Belarusian partisans were preparing for decisive action. By the summer of 1944, about 140 thousand partisans were operating on the territory of Belarus. The general leadership of the partisans was carried out underground organizations Communist Party of the BSSR, headed by Panteleimon Kondratyevich Ponomarenko, who was also the head of the Central Staff partisan movement THE USSR. It should be noted that his contemporaries noted his amazing honesty, responsibility and deep analytical skills. Stalin highly valued Ponomarenko; some researchers believe that the leader wanted to make him his successor.

A few days before the start of the operation to liberate Belarus, partisan detachments dealt a number of sensitive blows to the Germans. The partisans destroyed their transport infrastructure, communication lines, practically paralyzed the rear of the enemy at the most crucial moment. During the operation, the partisans struck at individual enemy units and attacked the rear structures of the Germans.

Preparation of the operation

The operational plan of the Belarusian operation began to be developed back in April. The general plan of the General Staff was to crush the flanks of the German army group "Center", to encircle its main forces east of the capital of the BSSR and complete release Belarus. It was a very ambitious and large-scale plan; the simultaneous destruction of an entire group of enemy armies was planned very rarely during the Second World War. It was one of the largest operations in the entire military of humanity.

By the summer of 1944, the Red Army had achieved impressive successes in Ukraine - the Wehrmacht suffered heavy losses, the Soviet forces conducted a number of successful offensive operations, liberating most of the territory of the republic. But in the Belarusian direction, things were worse: the front line approached the Vitebsk - Orsha - Mogilev - Zhlobin line, forming a huge ledge that turned into the depths of the USSR, the so-called. "Belarusian Balcony".

In July 1944, German industry reached the highest point of its development in this war - in the first half of the year, Reich factories produced more than 16 thousand aircraft, 8.3 thousand tanks, and assault guns. Berlin carried out several mobilizations, and its number armed forces was 324 divisions and 5 brigades. Army Group Center, which defended Belarus, had 850-900 thousand people, up to 10 thousand guns and mortars, 900 tanks and self-propelled guns, 1350 aircraft. In addition, at the second stage of the battle, Army Group Center was supported by formations of the right flank of Army Group North and the left flank by Army Group Northern Ukraine, as well as reserves with Western Front and various sites Eastern Front... Army Group Center consisted of 4 armies: the 2nd Field Army, which held the area of ​​Pinsk and Pripyat (commander Walter Weiss); 9th Field Army, it defended the area on both sides of the Berezina southeast of Bobruisk (Hans Jordan, after June 27 - Nikolaus von Forman); The 4th Field Army (Kurt von Tippelskirch, after June 30, the army was commanded by Vincenz Müller) and the 3rd Panzer Army (Georg Reinhardt), which occupied the interfluve of the Berezina and the Dnieper, as well as the bridgehead from Bykhov to the region northeast of Orsha. In addition, the connections of the 3rd tank army occupied the Vitebsk region. The commander of Army Group Center was Field Marshal Ernst Busch (on June 28, Busch was replaced by Walter Model). His chief of staff was Hans Krebs.

If the command of the Red Army was well aware of the German grouping in the area of ​​the future offensive, then the command of Army Group Center and headquarters ground forces The Reichs had a completely misconception about Moscow's plans for the 1944 summer campaign. Adolf Hitler and the Wehrmacht High Command believed that a major Soviet offensive should still be expected in Ukraine, north or south of the Carpathians (most likely north). It was believed that from the area south of Kovel, Soviet troops would strike towards the Baltic Sea, trying to cut off Army Groups Center and North from Germany. Large forces were allocated to fend off a possible threat. Thus, Army Group Northern Ukraine had seven tank divisions, two tank-grenadier divisions, and four battalions of Tiger heavy tanks. And Army Group Center had one tank, two tank-grenadier divisions and one battalion of heavy tanks. In addition, they feared a blow to Romania - to the oil fields of Ploiesti. In April, the command of Army Group Center presented to the top leadership a proposal to reduce the front line and withdraw troops to better positions beyond the Berezina. But this plan was rejected, Army Group Center was ordered to defend itself in its previous positions. Vitebsk, Orsha, Mogilev and Bobruisk were declared "fortresses" and fortified with the expectation of an all-round defense, a possible fight in encirclement. Forced labor of local residents was widely used for engineering work. Aviation, radio intelligence and German agents were unable to reveal the preparations by the Soviet command for a major operation in Belarus. Army Groups Center and North were predicted to have a "calm summer", the situation inspired so little concern that Field Marshal Bush went on vacation three days before the start of the Red Army operation. But, it should be noted that the front in Belarus stood still for a long time, and the Nazis managed to create a developed defense system. It included "fortress" cities, numerous field fortifications, bunkers, dugouts, interchangeable positions for artillery and machine guns. The Germans assigned a large role to natural obstacles - wooded and swampy areas, many rivers and streams.

Red Army. Stalin made the final decision on the summer campaign, including the Belarusian operation, at the end of April. Deputy Chief of the General Staff A. I. Antonov was instructed to organize the work of planning operations in the General Staff. The plan for the liberation of Belarus was codenamed - Operation Bagration. On May 20, 1944, the General Staff completed the development of a plan for an offensive operation. A.M. Vasilevsky, A.I. Antonov, and G.K. Zhukov were summoned to the Headquarters. On May 22, the commanders of the fronts I. Kh. Bagramyan, I. D. Chernyakhovsky, K. K. Rokossovsky were received at Headquarters to hear their views on the operation. The coordination of the front troops was entrusted to Vasilevsky and Zhukov, they left for the troops in early June.

The rate provided for the delivery of three powerful blows. The 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts advanced in the general direction of Vilnius. The troops of the two fronts were to defeat the enemy's Vitebsk grouping, develop an offensive to the west and cover the left-flank grouping of the Borisov-Minsk group of German forces. The 1st Belorussian Front was supposed to crush the Bobruisk grouping of the Germans. Then develop the offensive in the direction of Slutsk-Baranovichi and cover the Minsk group of German troops from the south and southwest. The 2nd Belorussian Front, in cooperation with the left-flank grouping of the 3rd Belorussian and the right flank of the 1st Belorussian fronts, was to move in the general direction of Minsk.

On the Soviet side, about 1 million 200 thousand people took part in the operation as part of four fronts: the 1st Baltic Front (General of the Army Ivan Khristoforovich Baghramyan); 3rd Belorussian Front (Colonel General Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky); 2nd Belorussian Front (Colonel General Georgy Fedorovich Zakharov); 1st Belorussian Front (General of the Army Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky). The coordinator of the actions of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts was Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, and the coordinator of the actions of the 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts was Chief of the General Staff Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky. The Dnieper military flotilla also took part in the operation.

Preparation of the Belarusian operation (from left to right) Varennikov I. S., Zhukov G. K., Kazakov V. I., Rokossovsky K. K. 1st Belorussian Front. 1944 g.

Operation Bagration had to solve several important tasks:

Completely clear of German troops Moscow direction, because the leading edge of the "Belarusian salient" was located 80 kilometers from Smolensk. The configuration of the front line in the BSSR was a huge arc stretched to the east with an area of ​​almost 250 thousand square kilometers. The arc stretched from Vitebsk in the north and Pinsk in the south to the Smolensk and Gomel regions, hanging over the right wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The German high command attached great importance to this territory - it defended the distant approaches to Poland and East Prussia. In addition, Hitler still cherished plans for a victorious war if a "miracle" was created or major geopolitical changes took place. From the bridgehead in Belarus, it was possible to strike again at Moscow.

Complete the liberation of the entire Belarusian territory, parts of Lithuania and Poland.

To reach the Baltic coast and to the borders of East Prussia, which made it possible to cut the German front at the junctions of the Army Groups "Center" and "North" and isolate these German groupings from each other.

To create favorable operational and tactical prerequisites for subsequent offensive operations in the Baltic, Western Ukraine, Warsaw and East Prussian directions.

Operational milestones

The operation was carried out in two stages. At the first stage (June 23 - July 4, 1944), the following were carried out: Vitebsk-Orshansk, Mogilev, Bobruisk, Polotsk and Minsk front-line offensive operations. At the second stage of Operation Bagration (July 5 - August 29, 1944), the following were carried out: Vilnius, Shauliai, Bialystok, Lublin-Brest, Kaunas and Osovets front-line offensive operations.

The first stage of the operation

The offensive began on the morning of June 23, 1944. Near Vitebsk, the Red Army successfully broke through the German defenses and already on June 25 surrounded five enemy divisions west of the city. The liquidation of the Vitebsk "cauldron" was completed by the morning of June 27, on the same day Orsha was released. With the destruction of the Germans' Vitebsk grouping, the key position on the left flank of the defense of Army Group Center was captured. The northern flank of Army Group Center was virtually destroyed, more than 40,000 Germans were killed and 17,000 were taken prisoner. In the Orsha direction, after breaking through the German defense, the Soviet command brought the 5th Guards Tank Army into battle. Having successfully crossed the Berezina, Rotmistrov's tankmen cleared Borisov of the Nazis. The withdrawal of the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front to the Borisov area led to significant operational success: the 3rd Panzer Army of Army Group Center was cut off from the 4th Field Army. The formations of the 2nd Belorussian Front advancing on the Mogilev direction pierced the powerful and deeply echeloned German defense, which the enemy had prepared along the Pronya, Basya and Dnieper rivers. On June 28 they liberated Mogilev. The retreat of the 4th German army lost its organization, the enemy lost up to 33 thousand killed and prisoners.

Bobruisk offensive was supposed to create the southern "claw" of the huge encirclement, conceived by the Soviet headquarters. This operation was carried out entirely by the most powerful of the fronts - the 1st Byelorussian under the command of K. K. Rokossovsky. The 9th Army of the Wehrmacht opposed the offensive of the Red Army. They had to advance over very difficult terrain - swamps. The blow was struck on June 24: from the southeast to the northwest, gradually turning to the north, Batov's 65th army (reinforced by the 1st Don Tank Corps) was moving, Gorbatov's 3rd Army advancing from the east to the west with the 9th tank body. For a quick breakthrough in the Slutsk direction, the 28th Army of Luchinsky and the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps of Pliev were used. The armies of Batov and Luchinsky quickly broke through the defenses of the stunned enemy (the Russians made their way through the swamp, which was considered impassable). But the 3rd army of Gorbatov had to literally bite into the orders of the Germans. The commander of the 9th Army, Hans Jordan, threw his main reserve against it - the 20th Panzer Division. But soon he had to redirect his reserve to the southern flank of the defense. 20th tank division could not plug the breakthrough. On June 27, the main forces of the 9th Field Army fell into the "cauldron". General Jordan was replaced by von Foreman, but this could not save the situation. Attempts to release the blockade from outside and from within have failed. In the encircled Bobruisk, panic reigned, on the 27th the assault began on it. By the morning of June 29, Bobruisk was completely liberated. The Germans lost 74 thousand people killed and captured. As a result of the defeat of the 9th Army, both flanks of Army Group Center were open, and the road to Minsk was free from the northeast and southeast.

On June 29, the 1st Baltic Front attacked Polotsk. 6th guards army Chistyakov and Beloborodov's 43rd army bypassed the city from the south (the 6th Army guards also bypassed Polotsk from the west), the 4th shock army Malysheva - from the north. 1st tank corps Butkova liberated the town of Ushachi south of Polotsk and advanced far to the west. Then the tankers with a surprise attack seized a bridgehead on the western bank of the Dvina. But it did not work to take the Germans into the "ring" - the commander of the garrison of the city, Karl Hilpert, left the "fortress" without permission, without waiting for the escape routes to be cut by the Russian troops. Polotsk was occupied on 4 July. As a result of the Polotsk operation, the German command lost a strong stronghold and a railway junction. In addition, the flank threat to the 1st Baltic Front was eliminated, the positions of the German Army Group "North" were bypassed from the south and were under the threat of a flank attack.

The German command, trying to rectify the situation, changed the commander of Army Group Center Bush to Field Marshal Walter Model. He was considered a master of defensive operations. Reserve units were sent to Belarus, including the 4th, 5th and 12th tank divisions.

The 4th German Army, facing the threat of imminent encirclement, retreated across the Berezina River. The situation was extremely difficult: the flanks were open, the retreating columns were subjected to constant attacks by Soviet aviation and attacks by partisans. The pressure from the 2nd Belorussian Front, which was located directly in front of the 4th Army front, was not strong, since the plans of the Soviet command did not include the expulsion of German troops from the future "cauldron".

The 3rd Belorussian Front advanced in two main directions: to the southwest (towards Minsk) and west (towards Vileika). The 1st Belorussian Front advanced on Slutsk, Nesvizh and Minsk. German resistance was weak, the main forces were defeated. On June 30, Slutsk was taken, and on July 2 Nesvizh, the Germans were cut off their escape routes to the southwest. By July 2, tank units of the 1st Belorussian Front approached Minsk. The advancing units of the 3rd Belorussian Front had to endure a fierce battle with the 5th German tank division (reinforced by a battalion of heavy tanks), which arrived in the Borisov area on June 26-28. This division was full-blooded, for several months it did not participate in hostilities. During several bloody battles, the last one took place on July 1-2 north-west of Minsk, the tank division lost almost all its tanks and was thrown back. On July 3, Burdeyny's 2nd Panzer Corps broke into Minsk from the northwestern direction. At the same time with south direction the advanced units of Rokossovsky approached the city. The German garrison was not numerous and did not last long, Minsk was liberated by lunchtime. As a result, units of the 4th Army and the units of other armies that joined it fell into the encirclement ring. The Red Army actually avenged the 1941 "boilers". The encircled could not organize long-term resistance - the area of ​​the encirclement was shot through by artillery fire, it was constantly bombed, the ammunition ran out, there was no outside help. The Germans fought until July 8-9, made several desperate attempts to break through, but were defeated everywhere. July 8 and. O. army commander, commander of the XII army corps Vincenz Müller signed the surrender. Even before July 12, a "cleansing" operation was underway, the Germans lost 72 thousand killed and more than 35 thousand were taken prisoner.

The poverty of the road network in Belarus and the swampy-wooded area led to the fact that many kilometers of columns of German troops huddled on only two large highways - Zhlobinsky and Rogachevsky, where they were subjected to massive attacks by the Soviet 16th Air Army. Some German units were practically destroyed on the Zhlobin highway.

Photo of destroyed German equipment from the area of ​​the bridge over the Berezina.

The second stage of the operation

The Germans tried to stabilize the situation. The head of the General Staff of the Ground Forces, Kurt Zeitzler, proposed transferring Army Group North to the south in order to build a new front with the help of its troops. But this plan was rejected by Hitler for political reasons (relations with the Finns). In addition, the naval command opposed - the withdrawal from the Baltic worsened communications with the same Finland and Sweden, led to the loss of a number of naval bases and strong points in the Baltic. As a result, Zeitzler resigned and was replaced by Heinz Guderian. The model, for its part, tried to erect a new defensive line, which went from Vilnius through Lida and Baranovichi to close a hole in the front about 400 km wide. But for this he had only one whole army - the 2nd and the remnants of other armies. Therefore, the German command had to transfer significant forces to Belarus from other sectors of the Soviet-German front and from the West. Until July 16, 46 divisions were sent to Belarus, but these troops did not enter the battle immediately, in parts, often "from the wheels", and therefore they could not quickly turn the tide.

From 5 to 20 July 1944, the forces of the 3rd Belorussian Front under the command of Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky carried out the Vilnius operation. The Germans did not have a continuous front of defense in the Vilnius direction. On July 7, units of Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army and Obukhov's 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps reached the city and began to grip it. An attempt to take the city on the move failed. On the night of July 8, new German forces were brought up to Vilnius. On July 8-9, the city was completely surrounded and an assault was launched. Attempts by the Germans to unblock the city from the west were repulsed. The last pockets of resistance were suppressed in Vilnius on 13 July. Up to 8 thousand Germans were destroyed, 5 thousand people were taken prisoner. On July 15, units of the front occupied several bridgeheads on the western bank of the Neman. Until the 20th, there were battles for bridgeheads.

On July 28, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front launched a new offensive - they were aimed at Kaunas and Suwalki. On July 30, the German defense along the Neman was broken through, on August 1, the Germans left Kaunas in order not to get encircled. Then the Germans received reinforcements and launched a counteroffensive - the battles went on with varying success until the end of August. The front did not reach several kilometers to the border of East Prussia.

The 1st Baltic Front of Baghramyan received the task of reaching the sea in order to cut off the "North" group. In the Dvina direction, the Germans were initially able to hold back the offensive, since the front was regrouping its forces and was waiting for reserves. Dvinsk was cleared in cooperation with the troops advancing to the right of the 2nd Baltic Front only on July 27. On the same day, they took Shauliai. By July 30, the front managed to separate the two enemy army groups from each other - the advanced units of the Red Army cut the last railroad between East Prussia and the Baltic States in the Tukums region. Jelgava was captured on July 31. The 1st Baltic Front reached the sea. The Germans began to try to reestablish the connection with Army Group North. The fighting went on with varying success, and at the end of August there was a break in the battles.

The 2nd Belorussian Front advanced to the west - to Novogrudok, and then Grodno and Bialystok. Grishin's 49th Army and Boldin's 50th Army took part in the destruction of the Minsk "cauldron", so on July 5 only one army went on the offensive - the 33rd. The 33rd Army advanced without encountering much resistance, covering 120-125 km in five days. On July 8, Novogrudok was liberated, the 9th army reached the Neman River. On July 10, the 50th Army joined the offensive and the troops crossed the Neman. On July 16, Grodno was liberated, the Germans were already showing fierce resistance, a series of counterattacks was repulsed. The German command tried to stop the Soviet troops, but for this they did not have enough strength. On July 27, Bialystok was recaptured. Soviet soldiers reached the pre-war border Soviet Union... The front was unable to conduct significant encirclements, since it did not have large mobile units (tank, mechanized, cavalry corps) in its composition. On August 14, Osovets and the bridgehead beyond the Narew were occupied.

The 1st Belorussian Front was advancing in the direction of Baranovichi-Brest. Almost immediately, the advancing units collided with German reserves: the 4th Panzer Division, the 1st Hungarian Cavalry Division, the 28th Light Infantry Division, and other formations went. On July 5-6, a fierce battle was going on. Gradually, the German forces were ground, they were inferior in number. Besides Soviet front supported powerful air force formations, which inflicted strong blows on the Germans. On July 6, Kovel was released. On July 8, after a fierce battle, Baranovichi was taken. On July 14 they took Pinsk, on the 20th Kobrin. On July 20, units of Rokossovsky crossed the Bug on the move. The Germans did not manage to create a line of defense along it. On July 25, a "cauldron" was created near Brest, but on the 28th the remnants of the encircled German group broke out of it (the Germans lost 7 thousand people killed). It should be noted that the battles were fierce, there were few prisoners, but a lot of Germans were killed.

On July 22, units of the 2nd Panzer Army (which was attached to the front during the second phase of the operation) reached Lublin. On July 23, the assault on the city began, but due to the lack of infantry, it dragged on, the city was finally taken by the morning of the 25th. In late July - early August, Rokossovsky's front captured two large bridgeheads beyond the Vistula.

Operation results

As a result of the two-month offensive of the Red Army, Belaya Rus was completely cleared of the Nazis, part of the Baltic States and the eastern regions of Poland were liberated. In general, the advance of troops to a depth of 600 km was achieved on a front of 1,100 kilometers.

This was a major defeat for the Wehrmacht. There is even an opinion that it was the largest defeat of the German armed forces in World War II. Army Group Center was defeated, Army Group North was threatened with defeat. A powerful line of defense in Belarus, protected by natural barriers (swamps, rivers), has been broken. The German reserves were depleted, which had to be thrown into battle to close the "hole".

An excellent reserve has been created for a future offensive into Poland and further into Germany. Thus, the 1st Belorussian Front captured two large bridgeheads beyond the Vistula south of the capital of Poland (Magnushevsky and Pulawsky). In addition, during the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, the 1st Ukrainian Front took a bridgehead at Sandomierz.

Operation Bagration was a triumph of Soviet military art. The Red Army "answered" for the "boilers" of 1941.

The Soviet army lost up to 178.5 thousand dead, missing and prisoners, as well as 587.3 thousand wounded and sick. Total losses Germans - about 400 thousand people (according to other sources, more than 500 thousand).

In January 1944, Soviet troops, with the active participation of partisans, defeated the German grouping near Leningrad and Novgorod, finally eliminating the blockade of Leningrad.

The Red Army began fighting for the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine. The enemy was defeated in the area of ​​Zhitomir and Berdichev.

Troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front (commander R. Ya. Malinovsky), together with the Black Sea Fleet, liberated Nikolaev (March 28) and Odessa (April 10). In April - May, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front (commander F.I. Tolbukhin) and the Separate Primorsky Army (commander A.I. Eremenko) cleared the Crimea of ​​the enemy. On June 10, 1944, the Finns were expelled from Vyborg, Petrozavodsk; Finland withdrew from the war. In June-August, the forces of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Belorussian fronts (commanders K.K. Rokossovsky, G.F. Zakharov, I.D. Chernyakhovsky) and the 1st Baltic Front (commander I.Kh. Baghramyan), the operation "Bagration" was carried out - the defeat of the largest enemy grouping in Belarus. During it, 30 German divisions were completely destroyed, 67 divisions lost up to 70% of their personnel. Minsk, Vilnius were liberated, the Red Army reached the Vistula.

In July, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front (commander I.S. Konev) took Lvov, encircling 8 enemy divisions.

In August, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts (commanders R. Ya. Malinovsky and F. I. Tolbukhin) carried out the Jassy-Kishinev operation, encircling and destroying 22 divisions of the Germans and Romanians. Romania went over to the side of the allies, Soviet troops occupied Bulgaria. In September - October, Estonia and most of Latvia were cleared of the Nazis. In October, Belgrade was liberated together with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, created by the communists. In the fall of 1944, a 200,000-strong enemy group was surrounded in the Budapest region. Then there was hit by the Germans in the Arctic and liberated the northern part of Norway.

The operations of the Soviet troops in 1944 went down in history as the ten Stalinist strikes.

Norman operation.

The USSR insisted on opening a second front in France since 1942. However, the Allies, under the pretext of a lack of forces and enormous difficulties, delayed the landing of troops until the summer of 1944, when the outcome of the war was already a foregone conclusion. On June 6, 1944, the Normandy landing operation began (this day is considered the opening of the second front). It was attended by almost 3 million Allied soldiers, 10 thousand aircraft, 1 thousand ships.

After a massive air strike, the landing of air and sea landings began. The allies completely dominated the air, so they established an uninterrupted transfer of troops and their supply. On June 12, a large common bridgehead for the allied armies was created. The German troops were significantly inferior to them in number, felt a lack of everything necessary, but still they offered fierce resistance. By July 24, the territory was occupied, sufficient for the accumulation of forces with the aim of a decisive offensive by the Anglo-American troops in France.