Partitioning Eastern Europe While It Was Burning tank battle at Debrecen between the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and the German Army Group "South", a number of events took place in Moscow that turned out to be decisive for Budapest. From 8 to 18 October 1944 in negotiations with the Soviet

"Society for the Study of Eastern Europe" Otto Götsch was able to capture and use for their own purposes the newly awakened interest of the Germans in Russia, caused by the revolutionary upheavals of 1905 and authoritarian reforms " iron chancellor"Stolypin. Edition of the "Journal

In July 1943, the Allies landed on the island of Sicily. The appearance of enemy troops on their own territory caused a crisis of the fascist regime in Italy. Mussolini was removed from power and arrested. The new government was headed by Marshal Badoglio. The fascist party was disbanded, an amnesty for political prisoners was carried out, and secret negotiations with the allies began. On September 3, the allies crossed the Strait of Messina and landed on the Apennine Peninsula. On the same day, Badoglio signed an armistice with the United Nations. Italian troops ceased their resistance to the allies. At that moment, German troops entered Italy from the north in a swift march. North of Naples, another front was formed in Europe. In the part of Italy occupied by Germany, a fascist regime was recreated, led by Mussolini, who was freed from custody. But now his power rested only on the strength of the German army. The Badoglio government, for its part, declared war on Germany.

There was also a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. First of all, the Allies managed to reduce losses from the actions of German submarines. All ships began to cross the Atlantic only in guarded convoys. A system of constant surveillance from aircraft was deployed over the entire North Atlantic, about 3 thousand ships were ready to start hunting for submarines as soon as they were discovered. German submarines were forced to be submerged most of the time, which reduced their range and stay on alert. Losses in the German submarine fleet began to grow, and the possibilities for its replenishment were narrowed. In 1942, about 200 submarines were sunk. They practically stopped attacking the convoys and hunted only a few stragglers and stragglers. The convoys began to cross the Atlantic without hindrance.

1944 became the year complete liberation the territory of the USSR. During the winter and spring offensive operations of the Red Army, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted, the Korsun-Shevchenko group of the enemy was surrounded and captured, Crimea and most of Ukraine were liberated.

On March 26, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal I.S. Koneva were the first to reach the state border of the USSR with Romania. On the third anniversary of the attack fascist Germany on the Soviet country the grandiose Belarusian offensive operation began, which ended with the liberation of a significant part of the Soviet land from the German occupation. In the fall of 1944, the state border of the USSR was restored along its entire length. Under the blows of the Red Army, the fascist bloc collapsed.

Exit wide front The Red Army to Central and South-Eastern Europe immediately raised the question of further relations between the countries of this region and the USSR. On the eve of and during the battles for this vast and vital region, the USSR began to openly support the pro-Soviet politicians of these countries - mainly from among the communists. At the same time, the Soviet leadership sought from the United States and Britain to recognize their special interests in this part of Europe. Taking into account the fact of the presence of Soviet troops there, Churchill in 1944 agreed to the inclusion of all the Balkan countries, except Greece, in the sphere of influence of the USSR. In 1944, Stalin achieved the creation of a pro-Soviet government of Poland, parallel to the émigré government in London. Of all these countries, only in Yugoslavia did Soviet troops receive powerful support from the partisan army of Josip Broz Tito. Together with the partisans on October 20, 1944, the Red Army liberated Belgrade from the enemy.

The main blow was delivered by the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, advancing from the Vistula, south of Warsaw, and moving westward to the borders of Germany. These fronts were commanded by Marshals of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and I.S. Konev. These fronts numbered 2 million 200 thousand soldiers and officers, more than 32 thousand guns and mortars, about 6,500 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, about 5 thousand combat aircraft. They quickly broke the resistance of the Germans, completely destroyed 35 enemy divisions. 25 enemy divisions lost 50 to 70% of their strength.

The continuous advance to the west lasted for 23 days. The Soviet soldiers fought 500 - 600 km. On February 3, they were already on the banks of the Oder. Before them lay the land of Germany, from where the scourge of war came to us. On January 17, Soviet troops entered the Polish capital. The city, turned into ruins, looked completely dead.

In October 1942, British troops launched a counteroffensive in North Africa under the command of General B.L. Montgomery. In the battle of El-Alamein, the Italian-German troops were defeated. Their non-stop retreat to the west began. In November from opposite side North Africa, in Morocco, American troops landed under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Italian-German troops, pressed from both sides, were pushed to the sea in Tunisia, where they surrendered on May 13, 1943.

In July 1943, the Allies landed on the island of Sicily. The appearance of enemy troops on their own territory caused a crisis of the fascist regime in Italy. Mussolini was removed from power and arrested. The new government was headed by Marshal Badoglio. The fascist party was disbanded, an amnesty for political prisoners was carried out, and secret negotiations with the allies began. On September 3, the allies crossed the Strait of Messina and landed on the Apennine Peninsula. On the same day, Badoglio signed an armistice with the United Nations. Italian troops ceased their resistance to the allies. At that moment, German troops entered Italy from the north in a swift march. North of Naples, another front was formed in Europe. In the part of Italy occupied by Germany, a fascist regime was recreated, led by Mussolini, who was freed from custody. But now his power rested only on the strength of the German army. The Badoglio government, for its part, declared war on Germany.

There was also a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. First of all, the Allies managed to reduce losses from the actions of German submarines. All ships began to cross the Atlantic only in guarded convoys. A system of constant surveillance from aircraft was deployed over the entire North Atlantic, about 3 thousand ships were ready to start hunting for submarines as soon as they were discovered. German submarines were forced to be submerged most of the time, which reduced their range and stay on alert. Losses in the German submarine fleet began to grow, and the possibilities for its replenishment were narrowed. In 1942, about 200 submarines were sunk. They practically stopped attacking the convoys and hunted only a few stragglers and stragglers. The convoys began to cross the Atlantic without hindrance.

• 1944 was the year of the complete liberation of the territory of the USSR. During the winter and spring offensive operations of the Red Army, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted, the Korsun-Shevchenko group of the enemy was surrounded and captured, Crimea and most of Ukraine were liberated.
• On March 26, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal I.S. Koneva were the first to reach the state border of the USSR with Romania. On the third anniversary of the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet country, a grandiose Belarusian offensive operation began, which ended with the liberation of a significant part of Soviet land from German occupation. In the fall of 1944, the state border of the USSR was restored along its entire length. Under the blows of the Red Army, the fascist bloc collapsed.

The Soviet government officially announced that the entry of the Red Army into the territory of other countries was caused by the need to completely defeat the armed forces of Germany and did not pursue the goal of changing the political structure of these states or violating the territorial integrity. Soviet troops had to fight on the territory of many European countries captured by the Germans - from Norway to Austria. Most (600 thousand) Soviet soldiers and officers were killed and buried in the territory of modern Poland, more than 140 thousand - in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 26 thousand - in Austria.

The emergence of a wide front of the Red Army in Central and Southeastern Europe immediately raised the question of further relations between the countries of this region with the USSR. On the eve of and during the battles for this vast and vital region, the USSR began to openly support the pro-Soviet politicians of these countries - mainly from among the communists. At the same time, the Soviet leadership sought from the United States and Britain to recognize their special interests in this part of Europe. Taking into account the fact of the presence of Soviet troops there, Churchill in 1944 agreed to the inclusion of all the Balkan countries, except Greece, in the sphere of influence of the USSR. In 1944, Stalin achieved the creation of a pro-Soviet government of Poland, parallel to the émigré government in London. Of all these countries, only in Yugoslavia did Soviet troops receive powerful support from the partisan army of Josip Broz Tito. Together with the partisans on October 20, 1944, the Red Army liberated Belgrade from the enemy.

Together with Soviet troops, they took part in the liberation of their countries czechoslovak corps, the Bulgarian army, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army, several Romanian units and formations. In the summer of 1944, a broad conspiracy - from communists to monarchists - arose to this end in Romania. At this time, the Red Army was already fighting on Romanian territory. On August 23, a palace coup took place in Bucharest. The next day, the new government declared war on Germany.

On August 31, Soviet troops entered Bucharest. Romanian armies joined the Soviet fronts... King Mihai later even received the Order of Victory from Moscow (although before that his army had fought against the USSR). At the same time, on fairly honorable conditions, Finland managed to withdraw from the war, which signed an armistice on September 19, 1944.

Throughout the war Bulgaria was an ally of Germany and fought against England and the United States, but The Soviet Union she did not declare war. September 5, 1944 The Soviet government declared war on Bulgaria, giving the order to start an offensive, but one of the infantry divisions of the Bulgarian army, lining up along the road, met our units with unfurled red banners and solemn music. After a while, the same events took place in other directions. A spontaneous fraternization of Soviet soldiers with the Bulgarian people began. On the night of September 9, a bloodless coup took place in Bulgaria. A new government came to power in Sofia, under the strong influence of the communists. Bulgaria declared war on Germany.

At the end of August 1944, a popular anti-fascist uprising broke out in Slovakia, and units of the 1st Ukrainian Front, which included the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps under the command of General L. Svoboda, were sent to its aid. Stubborn battles began in the Carpathian Mountains. On October 6, Soviet and Czechoslovak troops entered the land of Czechoslovakia in the area of ​​the Duklinsky Pass. This day is celebrated today as the Day of the Czechoslovak People's Army. The bloody battles lasted until the end of October. Soviet troops failed to completely overcome the Carpathians and connect with the rebels. But gradually the liberation of Eastern Slovakia continued. It was attended by both the rebels, who left for the mountains and became partisans, and the civilian population. The Soviet command helped them with people, weapons and ammunition.

By October 1944, Germany had only one ally in Europe - Hungary. On October 15, the country's supreme ruler Miklos Horthy also tried to withdraw it from the war, but to no avail. He was arrested by the Germans. After that, Hungary had to fight to the end. Stubborn battles were fought for Budapest. Soviet troops were able to take it only on the third attempt on February 13, 1945. And the last battles in Hungary ended only in April. In February, the Germans' Budapest group was defeated. In the area of ​​Lake Balaton (Hungary), the enemy made a last attempt to go over to the offensive, but was defeated. In April, Soviet troops liberated the Austrian capital Vienna, and in East Prussia captured the city of Konigsberg.

The German occupation regime in Poland was very harsh: during the war, out of 35 million inhabitants, 6 million people died. Nevertheless, since the beginning of the war, the Resistance movement, which was called the "Home Army" ("Fatherland Army"), operated here. It supported the Polish government in exile. On July 20, 1944, Soviet troops entered the territory of Poland. A provisional government of the country, led by the communists, was immediately created - the Committee for National Liberation. The Army of Ludov obeyed him (" People's Army Together with Soviet troops and units of the Human Army, the Committee moved towards Warsaw. The Home Army strongly opposed the coming to power of this committee. Therefore, it tried to liberate Warsaw from the Germans on its own. On August 1, an uprising broke out in the city, in which most of the inhabitants participated The Soviet leadership reacted to the uprising sharply negatively. J. Stalin wrote to W. Churchill on August 16: “The Warsaw action is a reckless terrible adventure that cost the population great victims. Given the current situation, the Soviet command came to the conclusion that it should distance itself from the Warsaw adventure, since it cannot bear either direct or indirect responsibility for the Warsaw action. ”Not supporting the rebels, the Soviet leadership refused to drop weapons and food to them from aircraft.

On September 13, Soviet troops reached Warsaw and stopped on the other bank of the Vistula. From here they could observe how the Germans dealt mercilessly with the rebels. Now they began to provide assistance, dropping everything they needed from Soviet aircraft. But the uprising was already fading away. During its suppression, about 18 thousand insurgents and 200 thousand civilians in Warsaw were killed. On October 2, the leaders of the Warsaw Uprising decided to surrender. As punishment, the Germans almost completely destroyed Warsaw. Residential buildings were burned or blown up. The surviving residents left the city.

By the beginning of 1945, the Soviet active forces included twice as many soldiers as the opposing enemy, three times as many tanks and self-propelled guns, four times as many guns and mortars, and almost eight times as many combat aircraft. Our aviation reigned supreme in the air. Nearly half a million soldiers and officers of its allies fought side by side with the Red Army. All this allowed the Soviet command to simultaneously launch an offensive on the entire front and strike at the enemy where it was convenient for us, and when it was beneficial for us.

The troops of seven fronts were involved in the winter offensive - three Byelorussian and four Ukrainian. The troops of the 1st and 2nd Baltic Fronts continued to blockade the enemy grouping in Courland from land. Baltic Fleet helped ground forces move along the coast, and the Northern Fleet provided transportation through the Barents Sea. The offensive was scheduled to begin in the second half of January.

But the Soviet command was forced to amend its plan, and here's why. In mid-December 1944, the Nazis suddenly attacked American and British troops in the Ardennes, on the border of Belgium and France, and threw the allied forces back 100 km west, towards the sea. The British experienced this defeat especially painfully - the situation reminded them of the tragic days of June 1940, when their troops were pushed to the sea in the Dunkirk region. On January 6, Churchill appealed to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces, JV Stalin, with a request to expedite the transition of the Red Army to the offensive in order to alleviate the position of the Anglo-American troops. This request was granted, and the Red Army, despite the incomplete preparations, on January 12, 1945, launched a general offensive from the shores of the Baltic to the southern spurs of the Carpathians. It was the largest and most powerful offensive in the entire war.

The main blow was delivered by the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, advancing from the Vistula, south of Warsaw, and moving westward to the borders of Germany. These fronts were commanded by Marshals of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and I.S. Konev. These fronts numbered 2 million 200 thousand soldiers and officers, more than 32 thousand guns and mortars, about 6,500 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, about 5 thousand combat aircraft. They quickly broke the resistance of the Germans, completely destroyed 35 enemy divisions. 25 enemy divisions lost 50 to 70% of their strength.

The continuous advance to the west lasted for 23 days. The Soviet soldiers fought 500 - 600 km. On February 3, they were already on the banks of the Oder. Before them lay the land of Germany, from where the scourge of war came to us. On January 17, Soviet troops entered the Polish capital. The city, turned into ruins, looked completely dead. During the Vistula-Oder operation (February 1945), the territory of Poland was completely cleared from the Nazi invaders, the Vistula-Oder operation saved the Allied troops in the Ardennes from defeat, where the Americans lost 40 thousand people.

The Soviet command offered to arrange negotiations with the underground leadership of the Home Army. However, at the very first meeting, its head, General L. Okulitsky, was arrested. In June 1945, an open trial of the leaders of the Home Army was held in Moscow. As in the previous open trials in Moscow, the defendants admitted their guilt and repented of their "anti-Soviet activities." 12 of them were sentenced to imprisonment.

In mid-January, an equally powerful offensive by the troops of the 3rd and 2nd Belorussian fronts was launched in East Prussia under the command of Army General I.D. Chernyakhovsky and Marshal of the Soviet Union K. K. Rokossovsky. East Prussia- the nest of the Prussian landowners and the military - the Nazis turned into a continuous fortified area with strong reinforced concrete defensive structures. The enemy organized the defense of his cities in advance. He covered the approaches to them with fortifications (adapting old forts, built pillboxes, bunkers, trenches, etc.), and inside the cities, most buildings, including factories, were adapted for defense. Many buildings had a circular view, others flanked the approaches to them. As a result, many strong strongholds and nodes of resistance were created, reinforced with barricades, trenches, and traps. If we add to the above that the walls of some buildings were not penetrated even by 76-mm shells from the ZIS-3 divisional cannons, then it becomes clear that the Germans had the opportunity to provide long-term and stubborn resistance to our advancing troops.

The enemy's tactics in urban combat boiled down to firmly holding positions (fortified buildings, quarters, streets, lanes), using high-density fire to impede the movement of attackers to the attack target, and in the event of its loss by a counterattack from neighboring houses to restore the position, create fire bags in the area of ​​the captured object and thereby inflict defeat on the advancing, disrupt the attack. The garrison of the building (quarter) was quite numerous, since not only the regular troops of the Wehrmacht participated in the defense of the city, but also militia units (Volkssturm).

Our fighters suffered heavy losses. On February 18, the hero of the Great Patriotic War, an outstanding commander, commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, General of the Army ID Chernyakhovsky, fell on the battlefield, struck by a fragment of an enemy shell. Step by step, squeezing the ring around the encircled German grouping, our units in three months of fighting cleared the whole of East Prussia from the enemy. The assault on Konigsberg began on April 7. This assault was accompanied by unprecedented artillery and air support, for the organization of which Air Force Chief Air Force Marshal Novikov received a Hero of the Soviet Union. The use of 5000 guns, including heavy artillery of 203 and 305 (!) Mm caliber, as well as mortars of 160 mm caliber, 2500 aircraft “... destroyed the fortifications of the fortress and demoralized the soldiers and officers. Going out into the street to contact the headquarters of the units, we did not know where to go, completely losing our bearings, so the destroyed and flaming city changed its appearance ”(eyewitness testimony from the German side). On April 9, the main fortress of the Nazis, the city of Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad), surrendered. Almost 100 thousand German soldiers and officers surrendered, tens of thousands were killed.

Meanwhile, in the south of the Soviet-German front, in the area of ​​Budapest liberated by Soviet troops on February 13, 1945, the Nazis unsuccessfully tried to seize the initiative and repeatedly launched counterblows. On March 6, they even launched a major counteroffensive between Lakes Velence and Lake Balaton, southwest of Budapest. Hitler ordered to transfer large tank forces here from the Western European front, from the Ardennes. But the Soviet soldiers of the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian fronts, repelling the fierce attacks of the enemy, resumed the offensive on March 16, liberated Hungary from the Nazis, entered the territory of Austria and on April 13 captured the capital - Vienna.

In February and March, our troops also successfully thwarted the enemy's attempt to launch a counteroffensive in Eastern Pomerania and drove the Nazis out of this ancient Polish region. From mid-April 1945, the troops of the 4th and 2nd Ukrainian fronts launched the final battles for the liberation of Czechoslovakia. On April 30, Moravska Ostrava, a large industrial center of Czechoslovakia, was liberated. The capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, was liberated on April 4, but the capital of Czechoslovakia, Prague, was still far away. Meanwhile, on May 5, an armed uprising of the city residents began in Nazi-occupied Prague.

The Nazis were preparing to drown the uprising in blood. The rebels spoke on the radio to allied forces with an appeal for help. The Soviet command responded to this call. For three days, two tank armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front made an unprecedented three-hundred-kilometer march from the outskirts of Berlin to Prague. On May 9, they entered the capital of the fraternal people and helped save it from destruction. All the troops of the 1st, 4th and 2nd Ukrainian fronts joined the offensive, which developed from Dresden to the Danube. The fascist invaders were completely driven out of Czechoslovakia.

On April 16, the Berlin operation began, which ended two weeks later with the hoisting of the red banner over the defeated Reichstag. After the capture of Berlin, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front made a rapid march to the aid of the rebellious Prague and on the morning of May 9 entered the streets of the Czechoslovak capital. On the night of May 8-9, 1945, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, representatives of the German command signed an act of unconditional surrender of all German armed forces. The war in Europe is over. soviet army counteroffensive german occupation

The radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War as a result of the military operations of the Red Army caused a powerful upsurge in the anti-fascist and national liberation movement in the occupied countries, which developed from the first days of the world war and was called the Resistance. It was the inevitable reaction of the populations of the occupied countries to the order established by Germany, Italy and Japan. The position of the countries they captured was different - the independence of some was simply destroyed, in others, regimes were established that duplicated the state system of Germany (Slovakia, Croatia). But the meaning of the "new order" was everywhere the same: the abolition of independence and sovereignty, of all democratic and social gains, unrestrained economic exploitation and arbitrary rule of the occupiers. To this must be added the actions of the German occupation authorities to implement the racial policy of extermination of "inferior" peoples.

Scattered throughout Europe concentration camps, the largest of which were Auschwitz, Majdanek, Treblinka, Dachau, Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück, Mauthausen. Prisoners of war, members of the Resistance movement, people declared racially inferior were languishing in them. In total, 18 million people ended up in concentration camps, 12 of whom were killed. Millions of Europeans were forcibly driven to work in Germany. To keep the population submissive, the system of hostages and massacres of the civilian population was widely used. The symbols of this policy were the complete destruction of the inhabitants of the villages of Oradour in France, Lidice in Czechoslovakia, Khatyn in Belarus. In the territories inhabited by Slavic peoples, the Nazis created conditions for their gradual degeneration and death. These territories themselves were to be settled by the Aryans. It was a policy of genocide.

The forms of resistance were different. In some cases, it was the collection and transfer of valuable information to the allies. In others, sabotage, disruption of military supplies, disruption of the rhythm of military production, sabotage. In the same years, the first partisan detachments began to be created in Poland, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece. One of the first acts of European resistance was the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943. For almost a month, the poorly armed inhabitants of the Jewish ghetto, doomed to destruction, fought heroic battles against German troops. General governing bodies of the Resistance movement began to form. So in France it united under the leadership of General Charles de Gaulle.

The Resistance Movement acquired a mass character, in its ranks were representatives of different strata of the population. Communists played an active role in the Resistance. It was they who, as a rule, became the organizers of partisan detachments, created liberated regions in the fascist rear, in which power belonged to the people's democratic councils or committees. The authority of the communist parties in the fight against fascism has grown, their numbers have increased.

The Communist Parties acted independently since the Comintern was disbanded. The communists, who actively fought against fascism, participated in the leadership of the resistance movement, gained credibility and aspired to power, or at least to participate in government in many countries. So, in the liberated part of Italy, the government included representatives of all anti-fascist parties, including two communists. In the territories liberated by the Anglo-American troops, Western countries supported liberal parties and groups and tried by all means to push the communists out of power. They rightly saw in the communists, despite their struggle against fascism, a destructive force for Western civilization, because the communists set the goal of their activities to destroy it. In countries that were liberated by the Soviet Army, support was provided to the communist forces. With the support of the USSR, including the military, governments of anti-fascist forces came to power in the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, in which the communists played a prominent and often decisive role.

The provisional government of France sought to restore the country's position as a great power. France joined the fight against the fascist bloc. Without doubting the victory over Germany and Japan, the great powers, which formed the core of the anti-Hitler coalition and bore the brunt of the fight against fascism, paid more and more attention to the problems of the post-war system. The role of the United States has increased, its economic and military potential has grown significantly during the years of the world war. The United States ranked first in the world in all economic indicators and expected to play a decisive role in the post-war world. In American society, the ideas of class, cooperation, and transformation of society have spread exclusively through reforms.

The success of the Soviet troops in the Iassy-Kishinev operation had a decisive influence on the change in the political situation in Romania. On August 23, 1941, the country's government decided to break off relations with Germany and declare war on it. Romanian units took part in hostilities together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. On August 31, they entered Bucharest.

On September 8, 1944, Soviet troops entered the territory of Bulgaria. The Soviet Union declared war on it, for the Bulgarian government continued to be an ally of Hitler's Germany. The Soviet command established contact with the People's Liberation Insurgent Army of Bulgaria. On September 9, an uprising began in Sofia. Created by Patriotic front the government broke off relations with Germany and declared war on her. On September 16, Soviet troops entered the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia.

In September, the Red Army reached the eastern borders of Yugoslavia. During the Soviet-Yugoslav negotiations in Moscow, an agreement was concluded on the entry of Soviet troops into the territory of Yugoslavia. On October 20, troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front and units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia liberated Belgrade.

The victories of the Soviet troops had a huge impact on the development of events in Czechoslovakia. On August 29, 1944, the Slovak National Uprising began in connection with the entry of German troops into its territory. In response to a request for help to the Slovak patriots, the Soviet command sent the 2nd Czechoslovak airborne brigade and the Czechoslovak Fighter Aviation Regiment, increased the airlift of weapons, ammunition, and medicines. In order to provide quick and effective assistance to the rebels, it was decided to strike a direct blow through the Carpathians, and not bypassing them, as originally planned. The offensive began on 8 September. But it was not possible to overcome the Carpathian borders quickly, and the uprising was suppressed.

By the end of September, Hungary remained the only ally of Nazi Germany in Europe. She covered the routes to Austria and southern Germany. Hungary also had a large economic importance for the Nazis, supplying them with oil and food. The fascist German command decided to hold Hungary at any cost and concentrated large forces here.

Having entered Hungarian territory, the Soviet troops met fierce resistance from the enemy. In October, part of Hungary was liberated, but the forces to capture its capital were not enough. As a result of bloody battles, the encirclement of the Budapest group was completed only by the end of December. To avoid unnecessary casualties, the Soviet command sent an ultimatum to surrender to the Budapest garrison. The Nazis rejected him and shot the Soviet envoys. Budapest was liberated from the Nazis only on February 13, 1945.

The decisive battles for the liberation of Poland took place as a result of the Vistula-Oder operation (January 12 - February 3, 1945). The Soviet command planned to start it not on January 20, but the offensive of the fascist German army on Western front put the Anglo-American troops on the brink of disaster. The Soviet offensive, launched at the request of the allies, was accelerated. On January 12, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front went over to the offensive, and on January 14, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front. The enemy's defenses were broken, and he began to retreat. On January 17, Soviet soldiers, together with units of the Polish Army, liberated Warsaw. By the end of March, they reached the coast of the Baltic Sea, to the Oder and Neisse rivers. Soviet troops were stationed 60-70 km from Berlin.

The hostilities in Europe ended on May 9, 1945 in Prague, after the signing Hitlerite Germany the act of unconditional surrender.

During the liberation of the peoples of Europe from the Nazi occupation, more than a million Soviet soldiers and officers were killed. The vast majority of them are sons of Russia. 600 thousand Soviet soldiers rest in Polish soil, over 140 thousand - in Hungary, the same number - in Czechoslovakia, 102 thousand - in Germany, 69 - thousand - in Romania, 26 thousand are buried in Austria, 8 thousand - in Yugoslavia.

By the end of 1944, Soviet troops had completely liberated Romania and Bulgaria, as well as the eastern regions of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia. Everywhere, where the USSR troops entered, normal life was established, government bodies operated in the center and in the localities, order was restored in the economy.

During 1944-1945. at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army liberated the peoples of Southeast and Central Europe from the totalitarian regimes of their own rulers and the German occupation forces. The Red Army assisted in the liberation of Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria and Norway (Finnmark province).

The liberation of Romania took place mainly as a result of the Iasi-Kishinev strategic offensive operation. It was held from 20 to 29 August 1944. Moldavia was liberated and royal Romania was withdrawn from the fascist German bloc.

The Bulgarian army did not fight against the troops of the Red Army. On September 5, 1944, the Soviet Union severed diplomatic relations with Bulgaria and declared a state of war between the USSR and Bulgaria. The Red Army entered the territory of Bulgaria. On September 6, Bulgaria turned to the Soviet Union with a request for an armistice. On September 7, Bulgaria decided to break off its relations with Germany, and on September 8, 1944, declared war on Germany.

In Yugoslavia, from September 28 to October 20, 1944, the Red Army carried out the Belgrade strategic offensive operation. As a result of the Belgrade operation, the Red Army, in close cooperation with partisan army Marshal Tito defeated the army group "Serbia". Belgrade was liberated on October 20, 1944.

The liberation of Poland took place as a result of the second stage of the Belarusian operation. From the second half of 1944 to April 1945 the territory of Poland was completely cleared of German troops. The Red Army defeated most of the forces of Army Group Center, Army Group Northern Ukraine and Army Group Vistula.

Having liberated Poland, the Red Army and the Polish Army reached the Oder and the coast of the Baltic Sea, creating conditions for a broad offensive against Berlin.

The liberation of Czechoslovakia followed as a result of the East Carpathian, West Carpathian and Prague strategic offensive operations. The East Carpathian operation was carried out from September 8 to October 28, 1944.

The West Carpathian operation was carried out from January 12 to February 18, 1945. As a result of the West Carpathian operation, most of Slovakia was liberated and southern regions Poland.

The final operation of the Red Army in Europe was the Prague Strategic Offensive Operation, which was carried out from May 6 to 11, 1945. During the rapid offensive, Czechoslovakia and its capital Prague were liberated.

The liberation of Hungary was achieved mainly during the Budapest and Vienna strategic offensive operations. The Budapest operation was carried out from October 29, 1944 to February 13, 1945. As a result of the Budapest operation, Soviet troops liberated the central regions of Hungary and its capital, Budapest.

The liberation of Austria took place during the Vienna Strategic Offensive Operation, which was carried out from March 16 to April 15, 1945.

The liberation of the northern regions of Norway was achieved as a result of the Petsamo-Kirkenes strategic offensive operation, which took place from 7 to 29 October 1944.

The capture of parts of the Red Army and the Northern Fleet of Petsamo and Kirkenes sharply limited the actions of the German fleet in the northern sea lanes and deprived Germany of supplies of strategically important nickel ore.