Liberation of the Soviet army in Eastern Europe from the Nazis. Liberation of the countries of Eastern Europe from the Nazi invaders

Liberation of the countries of South-Eastern and Central Europe

Perevezentsev S.V., Volkov V.A.

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

The liberation of Romania occurred mainly as a result of the Iasi-Kishinev strategic offensive operation. It was carried out from August 20 to 29, 1944 by troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts with the assistance of the Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Military Flotilla. 91 divisions totaling 1 million 315 thousand people took part in the operation. As a result of the Iasi-Kishinev operation, the Red Army defeated the main forces of Army Group "Southern Ukraine", destroyed 22 German and almost all Romanian divisions located on the Soviet-German front. Moldova was liberated and royal Romania was removed from the Nazi bloc.

The losses of the Red Army and Navy in the Iasi-Kishinev operation amounted to 13,200 people killed, 54 thousand wounded and sick. The losses of military equipment amounted to: 75 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 108 guns and mortars, 111 aircraft, 6,200 small arms. In total, during the liberation of Romania, the Red Army lost about 70,000 people killed.

Troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, numbering about 260 thousand people, took part in the liberation of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian army did not conduct military operations against the Red Army troops. On September 5, 1944, the Soviet Union broke off 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 a truce. On September 7, Bulgaria decided to sever its relations with Germany, and on September 8, 1944, declared war on Germany. In Sofia, as a result of the September uprising of the people, the government of the Fatherland Front came to power. In connection with this, the Red Army ceased military operations in Bulgaria on September 9.

In Yugoslavia, from September 28 to October 20, 1944, the Red Army carried out the Belgrade strategic offensive operation. It was attended by troops of the 3rd Ukrainian and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, together with units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and troops of the Bulgarian Fatherland Front. The Danube military flotilla also took part in the operation. The total number of Red Army troops in the Belgrade operation is 300,000 people. As a result of the Belgrade operation, the Red Army, in close cooperation with the partisan army of Marshal Tito, defeated the army group "Serbia". The Germans lost 19 divisions, more than 100,000 enemy soldiers and officers were destroyed and captured. On October 20, 1944, Belgrade was liberated. The front of German troops on the Balkan Peninsula was pushed back by more than 200 km, the main Thessaloniki-Belgrade communication line was cut, which forced the German command to hastily withdraw troops from the south of the Balkan Peninsula along mountainous and inaccessible roads controlled by Yugoslav partisans.

The liberation of Poland occurred as a result of the second stage of the Belarusian operation, the Lviv-Sandomierz, Vistula-Oder and East Pomeranian strategic offensive operations. 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 troops of Army Group Center, Army Group Northern Ukraine and Army Group Vistula.

Over 3.5 million people took part in the operations to liberate Poland. In battles that lasted more than 9 months, about 170 enemy divisions were defeated. During the liberation of Poland, the Red Army and the Polish Army lost 265,000 people killed in offensive combat operations, and 850,000 wounded and sick. The losses of military equipment and weapons amounted to: 5,163 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 4,711 guns and mortars, 2,116 aircraft, 286 thousand small arms. Having liberated Poland, the Red Army and the Polish Army reached the Oder and the coast of the Baltic Sea, creating the conditions for a broad offensive on 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. Troops of the 4th and 1st Ukrainian Fronts took part in the operation in the amount of 33 divisions, numbering 363,000 people. The purpose of the operation was to assist the Slovak National Uprising and liberate part of the territory of Czechoslovakia. The 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, consisting of 15 thousand people, took part in the operation. The Red Army defeated the enemy army group "Heinrici", and, having overcome the Carpathians, entered the territory of Czechoslovakia. Having drawn off a significant part of the enemy troops, the Red Army assisted the Slovak uprising.

The West Carpathian operation was carried out from January 12 to February 18, 1945 by troops of the 4th and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, consisting of 60 divisions, numbering 482,000 people. The 1st and 4th Romanian armies and the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps took part in the operation. As a result of the Western Carpathian operation, most of Slovakia and the southern regions of Poland were liberated.

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 by troops of the 1st, 4th and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, numbering 151 divisions in the amount of 1 million 770 thousand people. The 2nd Army of the Polish Army took part in the operation. 1st and 4th Romanian armies, 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps with a total strength of 260,000 people. During the rapid offensive of the 1st, 4th and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, Czechoslovakia and its capital Prague were liberated, and an 860,000-strong group of enemy troops was eliminated, which continued to resist after the signing of the Act of Surrender of Germany. On May 11, units of the Red Army met with advanced units of the American army.

During the liberation of Czechoslovakia, 122 enemy divisions were defeated and 858,000 people were captured. The Red Army troops and their allies on the Soviet-German front lost about 140,000 people killed.

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 by troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts and the Danube Military Flotilla. The 1st and 4th Romanian armies operated as part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. 52 divisions, numbering 720 thousand people, took part in the Budapest operation on the part of the Red Army. As a result of the Budapest operation, Soviet troops liberated the central regions of Hungary and its capital Budapest. A 190,000-strong enemy force was surrounded and destroyed, and more than 138,000 people were captured.

The losses of the Red Army amounted to 80,000 killed and 240,000 wounded and sick. Losses of military equipment and weapons: 1,766 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 4,127 guns and mortars, 293 aircraft, 135 thousand small arms,

Hungary was withdrawn from the war on the German side. With the end of the Budapest operation, significant forces were released and favorable conditions were created for the development of the offensive in Czechoslovakia and Austria,

The liberation of Austria occurred during the Vienna strategic offensive operation, which was carried out from March 16 to April 15, 1945 by troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, part of the forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and the Danube military flotilla. The operation to liberate the eastern regions of Austria involved 61 divisions of the Red Army, numbering 645,000 people, and the 100,000-strong 1st Bulgarian Army.

During the rapid offensive, Soviet troops defeated the main forces of the German Army Group South and completely liberated Hungary, the southern regions of Czechoslovakia and the eastern part of Austria with its capital Vienna from German troops. In Austria, 32 German divisions were defeated and 130,000 people were captured.

The losses of the Red Army and the 1st Bulgarian Army during the liberation of Austria amounted to 41,000 killed, 137,000 wounded and sick. Losses of military equipment and weapons: 603 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 764 guns and mortars, 614 aircraft, 29,000 small arms.

The successful offensive in the Vienna direction and the entry of troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front into the eastern regions of Austria accelerated the liberation of Yugoslavia.

The liberation of the northern regions of Norway was achieved as a result of the Petsamo-Kirkenes strategic offensive operation, which took place from October 7 to October 29, 1944. The operation was carried out by troops of the Karelian Front and the forces of the Northern Fleet, with a total number of 133,500 people.

As a result of active combat operations, troops of the 14th Army, in cooperation with the 7th Air Army and the Northern Fleet, in the harsh conditions of the Arctic, defeated the enemy and liberated the occupied part of the Murmansk region, the Petsamo (Pechengi) region and the northern regions of Norway, including the city of Kirkenes . In this way, assistance was provided to the Norwegian people and the Norwegian resistance movement in defeating the remnants of the German Wehrmacht troops. As a result of the Petsamo-Kirkenes strategic offensive operation, German troops lost the 19th Mountain Rifle Corps, numbering 23,000 people, in the Petsamo and northern Norway area. The losses of the Red Army and navy troops amounted to 6,084 people killed and 15,149 people wounded.

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

Bibliography

To prepare this work, materials were used from the site http://www.portal-slovo.ru/

East Prussia was an important springboard for the Germans. Heavily fortified, it was considered equally suitable for defense and offense. The borders of East Prussia were shackled in iron and concrete, the border land was cut up with trenches and military engineering structures. To protect East Prussia, the German command had three armies, which were part of Army Group Center and numbered 41 divisions. There were also a significant number of various military units and institutions: police, serfs, training, reserve, technical and logistics, which significantly increased the total number of troops.

In October 1944, after a short respite, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, in cooperation with the 1st Baltic Front, were given the task of defeating the Tilsit-Gumbinnen enemy group and capturing Konigsberg. The 3rd Guards Artillery Division was supposed to support the offensive of the 65th Rifle Corps, which had the task of breaking through the enemy defenses covering the borders of East Prussia, and, advancing along the Great Shelvy - Stallupenen railway, cross the border and capture the city of Stallupenen on the second day.

On the morning of October 16, the troops went on the offensive and, having broken through the heavily fortified enemy defenses in the Insterburg direction, began to slowly move forward, and by the end of the day they came close to the state border. On the second day of the operation, after a powerful artillery fire attack on targets located on Prussian soil, units of the 65th Rifle Corps attacked enemy positions, broke into the territory of East Prussia and occupied several settlements. The fighting went on around the clock; every meter of land had to be recaptured. On October 18, after a short artillery preparation, the corps units again attacked the enemy. The battle for the city of Eidtkunen broke out. By evening he was captured. It was the first German city taken by Soviet troops.

Despite Hitler's stern demand not to leave positions without orders, German troops, under attacks from the Red Army, were forced to retreat deep into East Prussia. On October 23, units of the 144th Rifle Division, with the support of the 7th and 22nd Guards Brigades, entered the northeastern outskirts of the city of Stallupenen. Rifle units captured this city on the night of October 24.

In ten days of intense fighting, from October 16 to 25, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, wedged into East Prussia, advanced 30 kilometers. The troops captured a number of settlements and, having cut the Pilkallen-Stallupenen railway, reached the line Wilthauten, Schaaren, Myllynen. Here the enemy put up even more stubborn resistance. Soviet troops suspended the offensive and, by order of the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, switched to temporary defense. The 3rd Guards Artillery Division of the breakthrough, after a minor regrouping, occupied battle formations in the Ossinen, Lapishkenen, Gross Dagutelen, Drusken zone. Most of its batteries occupied anti-tank defenses.

In November 1944, the General Staff and Headquarters of the Supreme High Command began work on a plan for the 1945 winter-spring campaign. The Red Army was given the decisive task of finally crushing Nazi Germany and victoriously ending the Great Patriotic War. By the end of November, the development of the plan for the East Prussian offensive operation was largely completed. According to the plan, its overall goal was to cut off the troops of Army Group Center defending in East Prussia (from November 26, 1944 - Army Group North) from the rest of the German armies, press them to the sea, dismember and destroy in parts.

2 Beginning of the East Prussian offensive operation

On the evening of January 12, it began to snow and a blizzard began. Soviet troops, having taken their initial positions, prepared for the offensive. On the morning of January 13, the shelling began. The artillery preparation lasted two hours. Due to the fog that hung over the troops, air combat operations were excluded, and the pilots were unable to provide assistance to the advancing infantry.

Artillery fire was carried out simultaneously throughout the entire depth of the main defense line. Small caliber guns, firing direct fire, fired at the first line of trenches, destroying manpower and firepower. Medium caliber artillery destroyed the second and third defensive lines. Larger guns destroyed the second echelons, rear areas and areas where reserves were concentrated, located 12-15 kilometers from the front line, and destroyed strong wood-earth and reinforced concrete structures. The Germans stubbornly defended their positions. On the first day of the offensive, the 72nd Rifle Corps advanced only two kilometers, the 65th Rifle Corps advanced about four.

At dawn on January 14, after a powerful artillery barrage, the troops of the 5th Army resumed their offensive and, having knocked the enemy out of their positions, began to slowly move west. The Nazis launched a counterattack dozens of times. But all their attempts to stop the advance of the Soviet troops were repelled by well-aimed artillery fire. The enemy retreated to previously prepared positions.

3 Insterburg operation

The troops of the Red Army, overcoming resistance, approached the intermediate line of enemy defense, based on Duden, Ientkutkampen, Kattenau, where they met such fierce resistance that the infantry had to lie down. The artillerymen quickly launched a ten-minute massive attack on the main centers of resistance, and the advanced units of the army again moved forward. By the end of January 14, the troops captured the heavily fortified settlements of Duden, Ientkutkampen, Kattenau and directed an attack on Kussen.

During four days of bloody fighting, army troops broke into more than ten trenches. Having traveled to a depth of 15 kilometers, they approached the second intermediate line of enemy defense - the Gumbinnen fortified area. It took five days to chew through the positions of the Gumbinnensky frontier, and only on January 17 the troops were able to begin the assault on its main strip. With the capture of this line, a free path to Insterburg opened up for the front troops. The Germans understood this, and therefore they offered truly fanatical resistance. All approaches to populated areas were mined, dug with trenches and surrounded by a dense network of wire fences; each village was turned into a strong stronghold. But the approaches to the highway connecting Kussen with Gumbinnen were especially strongly fortified, covered with a deep anti-tank ditch and various barriers.

On the morning of January 19, after powerful artillery preparation, the troops of the 5th Army again went on the offensive and, overcoming enemy resistance, began to slowly move forward. By the end of the day, the advanced units, with the assistance of artillery, captured several strong points. The 72nd Rifle Corps advanced most successfully that day, advancing more than 10 kilometers. Now his troops came close to the last line of the Gumbinnen fortified area, which ran along the line of Pazleijen, Wittgirren, Mallvishken, Shmilgen and Gumbinnen. The 45th Rifle Corps began the battle for Abschrutten, Ederkemen, and its 184th Rifle Division reached the eastern bank of the Aymenis River in the Uzhbollen area. =

In seven days, the army, having broken through four heavily fortified defensive lines, advanced 30 kilometers and captured hundreds of settlements, including Kattenau, Kussen, Kraupishken. At the same time, the 28th Army (neighbor on the left) also captured several strong points and reached the approaches to the large administrative center of East Prussia - Gumbinnen.

On the morning of January 21, more than a thousand guns and mortars rained down tons of metal on the Insterburg fortifications. The artillery cannonade continued for an hour, after which the rifle divisions, breaking enemy resistance, rushed forward. Under attacks from Soviet troops, abandoning fortifications, the Germans quickly retreated to the city center. The solid front was broken, the pain took on a focal character, then subsiding, then flaring up. On January 22, army troops completely captured one of the largest cities in East Prussia - the fortified city of Insterburg.

On January 23, the enemy, who had lost almost all of his external defensive lines after the surrender of Insterburg, began to retreat to the Baltic Sea. Covered by rearguards, reinforced tanks and self-propelled artillery units, he still continued to snarl.

By order of the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, the 5th Army, changing direction, went to Kreuzburg. On the night of January 23, the 65th Rifle Corps also received a new task: to reach the northern bank of the Pregel River, cross it and develop an offensive on Ilmsdorf on the Plibishken and Simonen front.

By February 1, the advanced units of the 5th Army reached the line of Konigsberg, Kreuzburg, Preussisch-Eylau. Having encountered fierce enemy resistance, they were forced to temporarily go on the defensive in order to prepare forces and means for a new assault.

4 Mlawa-Elbing operation

By the beginning of the East Prussian offensive operation, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front occupied the line of the Augustow Canal, the Bobr and Narev rivers. The bridgeheads were located at Augustow, Ruzhan and Serock. The main blow was to be delivered from the Ruzhansky bridgehead by the 3rd, 48th, 2nd shock armies and the 5th Guards Tank Army on Marienburg. The 65th and 70th armies attacked from the Serock bridgehead to the north-west. The 49th Army attacked Myshinets. There were well-modernized field installations and anti-tank barriers of the German troops there. The old fortresses (Mlawa, Modlin, Elbing, Marienburg, Toruń) strengthened their defenses.

The terrain and defenses of the German troops did not allow a breakthrough in one continuous area. Therefore, between the breakthrough sites there was from 5 to 21 km. In these areas, areas of high artillery density were created - 180-300 guns per 1 km of front.

On January 14, 1945, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front went on the offensive. The Germans put up stubborn resistance, launching counterattacks. But the troops, with the help of two tank and mechanized corps, broke through the main line of defense on January 15, and by the end of January 16 they had advanced 10-25 km and completed the breakthrough of the entire tactical defense of the Nazis. Due to the improvement in weather, Soviet aviation began to operate actively on January 16. During the day she carried out more than 2,500 sorties.

On January 17, the 5th Guards Tank Army was introduced into the breakthrough in the 48th Army zone. During the day, the tank army increased the depth of the breakthrough to 60 km and reached the Mlavsky fortified area. In the first days, up to 85% of the front's aviation forces were involved to facilitate the successful offensive of the tank army. Therefore, several concentrated airstrikes were launched against the railway junctions of Ortelsburg, Allenstein and Neidenburg. The concentration of the main aviation efforts on the right wing of the front made it possible to disrupt the German regrouping and provide effective support to the tank army. The rapid advance of Soviet tanks thwarted the Nazi counterattack, which was being prepared from the areas of Ciechanów and Przasnysz.

Developing the offensive, Soviet troops from the north and south bypassed the Mlava fortified area and by the morning of January 19 captured Mlava. By this time, the troops of the left wing of the front had reached the approaches to Plonsk and captured Modlin. The main forces and reserves of the 2nd German Army were destroyed.

On the morning of January 19, the troops of the center and left wing of the front, with active support from aviation, began pursuing German troops, deeply enveloping the right flank of the East Prussian group. Under the threat of encirclement, the German command on January 22 began withdrawing troops from the Masurian Lakes region to the northwest. However, already on January 25, the mobile formations of the Red Army, having bypassed Elbing from the east, reached Frichess Huff Bay and cut the main land communications of Army Group Center. The Germans could communicate with the troops operating beyond the Vistula only along the Frische-Nerung spit.

On January 26, formations of the 2nd Shock Army broke into Marienburg. By this time, the troops of the left wing of the front had reached the Vistula and, in the Bromberg area, captured a bridgehead on its western bank.

5 Heilsberg operation

On February 10, 1945, the 3rd Belorussian Front began an operation to destroy the largest German group concentrated around the Heilsberg fortified area, southwest of Konigsberg. The general idea of ​​the operation was as follows. The 5th Guards Tank Army was supposed to advance along the Frischess-Haff Bay in order to prevent the retreat of the Heilsbeer group to the Frische-Nerung Spit (Baltic/Vistula Spit), as well as to prevent the evacuation of German troops by sea. The main forces of the front were to advance in the general direction of Heiligenbeil and the city of Deutsch-Tirau.

At the beginning of the operation, the offensive developed extremely slowly. The reason for this was due to many factors: the stretched nature of the rear, the short preparation time for the offensive, the extremely dense enemy defense, and bad weather did not allow the use of aviation. About 20 German divisions resisted our troops here, who were gradually tightening the encirclement. The troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front were supported by aviation of the 1st Air Army. The greatest success was achieved by the 28th Army, which was able to capture a large defense stronghold and an important transport hub - the city of Preussisch-Eylau. But this did not change the overall picture. The rate of advance did not exceed 2 kilometers per day.

Particularly fierce battles broke out for the transport hub and powerful defense stronghold of the city of Melzak. The assault on the city lasted four days. Melzak was captured only on February 17th.

On March 13, the 3rd Belorussian Front resumed offensive operations against enemy troops blocked southwest of Koenigsberg. The operation resumed after a 40-minute artillery preparation; aviation could not be involved at the initial stage; the weather did not allow it. But, despite all the difficulties and stubborn resistance of the German troops, the defense was broken through.

By mid-March, Soviet troops came close to the city of Deutsch-Tirau. The enemy resisted desperately and the fighting was stubborn. On the approach to the city, the enemy organized a well-planned defense: to the right of the road at a dominant height there were four anti-tank defense batteries in direct fire, to the left in the forest three self-propelled guns and two anti-tank guns were camouflaged. It was impossible to go around the height due to the heavily swampy area around it. All that remained was to knock the enemy out of the forest and from the heights. At dawn on March 16, the tank company made a breakthrough. In this battle, 70 enemy soldiers, one self-propelled gun and 15 anti-tank guns were destroyed. And a few days later another city was taken - Ludwigsort.

On March 18, after some improvement in weather conditions, aviation from the 1st and 3rd Air Armies joined the offensive. This circumstance significantly increased the pressure on the German defense. The bridgehead occupied by the Heilsbury group was steadily narrowing. By the sixth day of the offensive, it did not exceed 30 kilometers along the front and 10 kilometers in depth, which allowed our troops to completely sweep it with artillery.

On March 20, 1945, the senior military leadership of the Wehrmacht decided to evacuate the 4th Army by sea to the Pillau (Baltiysk) area. However, the Red Army troops, intensifying the onslaught, thwarted the plans of the German command.

On March 26, 1945, German troops began to lay down their arms. On March 29, the Heilsbeer group of the Wehrmacht ceased to exist, and the entire southern coast of Frisches Huff Bay came under the control of Soviet troops.

6 Königsberg operation

The German command took all possible measures to prepare the fortified city of Königsberg for long-term resistance under siege conditions. The city had underground factories, numerous military arsenals and warehouses. In Königsberg, the Germans had three defensive rings. The first - 6-8 kilometers from the city center - consisted of trenches, an anti-tank ditch, wire fences and minefields. On this ring there were 15 forts (built by 1882) with garrisons of 150-200 people, with 12-15 guns. The second defense ring ran along the outskirts of the city and consisted of stone buildings, barricades, firing points at intersections and minefields. The third ring, in the city center, consisted of 9 bastions, towers and ravelins (built in the 17th century and rebuilt in 1843-1873).

The garrison of the fortress city numbered approximately 130 thousand people. It was armed with about 4,000 guns and mortars, as well as over 100 tanks and assault guns. To attack Koenigsberg, Soviet troops concentrated 137 thousand soldiers and officers, over 5,000 guns and mortars, about 500 tanks and self-propelled guns, and 2,400 aircraft in the city area.

On April 2, 1945, the 3rd Belorussian Front, in preparation for the assault on Konigsberg, began an operation to destroy defensive structures and long-term fortified firing points. The massive artillery bombardment lasted 4 days. Aviation from the front and the Baltic Fleet also took part in the operation.

On April 6 at 12 noon, after a powerful artillery attack on the advanced positions of the Germans, the Soviet troops went on the offensive. Formations of the 11th Army of General Galitsky and the 43rd Army of General Beloborodov went on the offensive. At noon, after an artillery and air raid, the infantry rose to attack. By the end of the day, the forces of the 43rd, 50th and 11th Guards Army were able to break through the fortifications of the outer perimeter of Koenigsberg and reach the outskirts of the city. On April 7, fierce fighting for the city continued. By evening, more than 100 city blocks were cleared of the enemy, and 2 forts were captured.

On the morning of April 8, the weather improved, which made it possible to make full use of aviation. 500 heavy bombers of the 18th Air Force rained down a real hail of powerful bombs. Having received air support, the army's assault troops moved steadily towards the city center. During this day, another 130 city blocks were cleared of German troops, and 3 forts were taken. By the evening of April 8, the main station and port of the city were cleared of the enemy.

During the entire offensive, the sapper and engineering units had to do a lot of work. In the city, not only the roads were mined, but also large buildings, the explosion of which would create powerful rubble. As soon as a house or business was cleared from the enemy, sappers immediately began to clear it of mines.

On the night of April 9, the Soviet armies advancing from the north and south united, thereby cutting the Koenigsberg group in two.

On April 9, 1945, the commandant of the fortress, General O. Lasch, gave the order to surrender. During April 9-10, Soviet troops accepted the surrender of the German garrison. However, for several more days our units had to confront enemy units that did not want to lay down their arms.

7 Zemland operation

After the assault on Koenigsberg, only the Zemland task force remained in East Prussia, which occupied the defense on the peninsula of the same name. In total, the size of the German group reached about 65 thousand soldiers and officers, supported by 12,000 guns and mortars, as well as approximately 160 tanks and self-propelled guns. The peninsula was well fortified and abounded with strongholds of resistance.

By April 11, 1945, Red Army troops concentrated to break through German defenses on the Zemland Peninsula. Four armies were involved in the operation: the 5th, 39th, 43rd and 11th Guards, which had over 110 thousand soldiers and officers, 5,200 guns and mortars, 451 rocket artillery installations, 324 tanks and self-propelled artillery installations.

On the night of April 12, front commander Vasilevsky invited the German troops to lay down their arms. There was no response from the German command.

At 8 a.m. on April 13, after a powerful artillery attack, the front troops went on the offensive. Already on April 14, under the pressure of Soviet troops, German troops began to retreat to the port city of Pillau. By April 15, the northwestern part of the peninsula was completely cleared of German troops.

On April 17, a swift attack by the 39th and 43rd armies captured the port city of Fischhausen (Primorsk). By April 20, the remnants of German troops with a total number of about 20 thousand people were entrenched in the Pillau area. Relying on a well-prepared defensive line in engineering terms, the Germans put up stubborn resistance. The Germans fought with the ferocity of the doomed; they had nowhere to retreat. In addition, in its northern part the peninsula was very narrow, which completely neutralized the advantage of the attacking forces. There were fierce battles for Pillau for 6 days. On April 25, Soviet troops still managed to break into the outskirts of the city. By the evening of the same day, the red flag of victory fluttered over the last bastion of East Prussia.

With the end of the Zemland operation, the East Prussian operation also ended. The campaign lasted 103 days and became the longest operation of the last year of the War.

The success of Soviet troops in the Iasi-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 sever relations with Germany and declare war on it. Romanian units took part in the hostilities together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. On August 31 they entered Bucharest.

On September 8, 1944, Soviet troops entered Bulgarian territory. The Soviet Union declared war on it, because the Bulgarian government continued to be an ally of Nazi Germany. The Soviet command established contact with the People's Liberation Insurgent Army of Bulgaria. On September 9, an uprising began in Sofia. The government created by the Fatherland Front broke off relations with Germany and declared war on it. 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 parts 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 from Slovak patriots, the Soviet command sent the 2nd Czechoslovak Airborne Brigade and the Czechoslovak Fighter Aviation Regiment to Slovakia, and increased the airlift of weapons, ammunition, and medicine. In order to provide quick and effective assistance to the rebels, it was decided to launch a direct strike through the Carpathians, and not bypassing them, as originally planned. The offensive began on September 8. But it was not possible to quickly overcome the Carpathian borders, and the uprising was suppressed.

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

Having entered Hungarian territory, Soviet troops met fierce enemy resistance. In October, part of Hungary was liberated, but the forces were not enough to capture its capital. 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 the Budapest garrison to surrender. 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 unfolded as a result of the Vistula-Oder operation (January 12 - February 3, 1945). The Soviet command did not plan to start it on January 20, but the offensive of the Nazi army on the Western Front brought the Anglo-American troops to the brink of disaster. The offensive of the Soviet troops, launched at the request of the allies, was accelerated. On January 12, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front went on the offensive, and on January 14, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front. The enemy's defenses were broken through 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 fighting in Europe ended on May 9, 1945 in Prague, after Hitler Germany signed the act of unconditional surrender.

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

By the end of 1944, Soviet troops 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 locally, and order was restored in the economy.

History of the Soviet Union: Volume 2. From the Patriotic War to the position of the second world power. Stalin and Khrushchev. 1941 - 1964 Boffa Giuseppe

From the book The Great Slandered War author Pykhalov Igor Vasilievich

Hyena of Eastern Europe Now is the time to remember what Poland was like at that time, for the sake of saving which from Hitler we had to join forces with England and France. As soon as it was born, the revived Polish state unleashed armed

From the book World History. Volume 2. Middle Ages by Yeager Oscar

From the book “Jewish Dominance” - fiction or reality? The most taboo topic! author Burovsky Andrey Mikhailovich

Unplowed virgin soil of Eastern Europe But in fact, why should only Germany pay?! All the Federal Republic of Germany and the Federal Republic of Germany... The fall of the communist system in 1989-1991 opened up new opportunities for a great many people. Political Jews would not be themselves if these

From the book Gumilyov, son of Gumilyov author Belyakov Sergey Stanislavovich

THE TERRIBLE SECRET OF EASTERN EUROPE The Khazars are the terrible secret of Eastern Europe. A people who appeared as if from nowhere, who went into nowhere. Their ancestors are not known exactly, and their descendants have not been found. The only word preserved from the Khazar language is “Sarkel”, translated by the author of the “Tale

From the book History of Art of All Times and Peoples. Volume 2 [European Art of the Middle Ages] author Wörman Karl

From the book Rus': from Slavic settlement to the Muscovite kingdom author Gorsky Anton Anatolievich

Essay 2 “Slavinia” of Eastern Europe The “Tale of Bygone Years” of the early 12th century paints a picture of the settlement of Slavic communities in Eastern Europe and their life before “they began to be called Ruska land”. in its introductory, undated part. “It’s the same with those words? didn’t come and

From the book History of Art of All Times and Peoples. Volume 3 [Art of the 16th–19th centuries] author Wörman Karl

1. The Art of Eastern Europe In the Christian East, only Russia had its own indigenous art in the 16th century. In all other countries, it was only a question of the way of perceiving the new, revived and transformed in Italy, the world artistic language of the ancients

From the book Beyond the Threshold of Victory author Martirosyan Arsen Benikovich

Myth No. 21. At the end of the war and immediately after its end, Stalin began to impose communist rule in the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern

From the book World History. Volume 1. Stone Age author Badak Alexander Nikolaevich

Mesolithic in the north of Eastern Europe A number of archaeological finds suggest that people first penetrated into the territory of Eastern Europe almost immediately following the retreating ice - back in the cold Late Glacial period. Most likely, these were small groups

From the book Essays on the history of geographical discoveries. T. 2. Great geographical discoveries (end of the 15th - mid-17th century) author Magidovich Joseph Petrovich

Surveys in the center and south of Eastern Europe The results of the work of the surveyors of the Russian land in the study of the river network of Eastern Europe are best revealed if we consider the data from the “Book of the Big Drawing” for large basins. The length of rivers in the “Book” is sometimes not indicated, but, as

From the book All about the Great War author Rzheshevsky Oleg Alexandrovich

LIBERATION OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES The aggressors achieved maximum success in Europe, Asia and Africa by the fall of 1942. In Europe, we recall, they occupied 12 countries (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, Greece), as well as

From the book Sink “Icebreaker” author Zorin Andrey Alexandrovich

Chapter 10. Liberation of Europe After long consultations with myself, I decided to introduce a dose of irony into my work. Actually (I state this with slight envy), the text of this chapter was not written by me. As sad as it is, history has not preserved for me either the name of the author or

From the book History of the Soviet Union: Volume 2. From the Patriotic War to the position of the second world power. Stalin and Khrushchev. 1941 - 1964 by Boffa Giuseppe

Putting Eastern Europe in Chains But Stalin considered Tito's excommunication insufficient. In the conditions of a sharp turn in the international situation from the anti-fascist war to the cold war, the largest communist parties showed themselves to be political organizations with

From the book Native Antiquity author Sipovsky V.D.

The Ancient Inhabitants of Eastern Europe In ancient times, thousands of three years or more before the birth of Christ (P. X.), people already lived in different places in Europe. The life of these primitive wild settlers of Europe was difficult and impenetrable. They did not yet know iron: animal bones and

From the book The Siege of Budapest. One Hundred Days of World War II author Christian Ungvari

The Division of Eastern Europe While the tank battle of Debrecen was raging 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 October 8 to October 18, 1944, during negotiations with the Soviet

From the book Between Fear and Admiration: “The Russian Complex” in the German Mind, 1900-1945 by Kenen Gerd

“Society for the Study of Eastern Europe” Otto Goetsch managed to capture and use for his own purposes the newly awakened interest of the Germans in Russia, caused by the revolutionary upheavals of 1905 and the authoritarian reforms of the “Iron Chancellor” Stolypin. Publication 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 for the fascist regime in Italy. Mussolini was removed from power and arrested. The new government was headed by Marshal Badoglio. The fascist party was dissolved, an amnesty was given to political prisoners, and secret negotiations were begun with the allies. 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 stopped resisting the Allies. At that moment, German troops entered Italy in a rapid march from the north. North of Naples another front formed in Europe. In the part of Italy occupied by Germany, the fascist regime was recreated, headed by Mussolini, who was released 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.

A turning point also occurred 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 as part of guarded convoys. A system of constant surveillance from aircraft was deployed over the entire North Atlantic; about 3 thousand ships were ready to begin hunting for submarines as soon as they were detected. German submarines were forced to remain submerged most of the time, which reduced their range of action and the time they spent on combat duty. Losses in the German submarine fleet began to increase, and the possibilities for its replenishment narrowed. During 1942, about 200 submarines were sunk. They practically stopped attacking convoys and hunted only for isolated stragglers and stragglers. Convoys began to cross the Atlantic without hindrance.

1944 was the year of 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 enemy group was surrounded and captured, Crimea and most of Ukraine were liberated.

On March 26, 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 entry of the Red Army on a broad front into 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 pro-Soviet politicians in these countries - mainly from among the communists. At the same time, the Soviet leadership sought recognition from the United States and England of their special interests in this part of Europe. Given the fact of the presence of Soviet troops there, Churchill in 1944 agreed to the inclusion of all Balkan countries, except Greece, in the sphere of influence of the USSR. In 1944, Stalin achieved the creation of a pro-Soviet government in Poland, parallel to the exile government in London. Of all these countries, only in Yugoslavia did Soviet troops receive strong support from Josip Broz Tito's partisan army. 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 west to the borders of Germany. These fronts were commanded by Marshals of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and I.S. Konev. These fronts included 2 million 200 thousand soldiers and officers, more than 32 thousand guns and mortars, about 6,500 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, about 5 thousand combat aircraft. They quickly broke the German resistance and completely destroyed 35 enemy divisions. 25 enemy divisions lost from 50 to 70% of their strength.

The continuous offensive to the west continued for 23 days. 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.