June 21, 1941, 13:00. German troops receive the code signal "Dortmund", confirming that the invasion will begin the next day.

Commander of the 2nd Tank Group of Army Group Center Heinz Guderian writes in his diary: “Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they did not suspect anything about our intentions. In the courtyard of the Brest fortress, which was visible from our observation points, they were changing the guards to the sounds of an orchestra. The coastal fortifications along the Western Bug were not occupied by Russian troops."

21:00. Soldiers of the 90th border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained a German serviceman who crossed the border Bug River by swimming. The defector was sent to the detachment headquarters in the city of Vladimir-Volynsky.

23:00. German minelayers stationed in Finnish ports began to mine the exit from the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, Finnish submarines began laying mines off the coast of Estonia.

June 22, 1941, 0:30. The defector was taken to Vladimir-Volynsky. During interrogation, the soldier identified himself Alfred Liskov, soldiers of the 221st Regiment of the 15th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht. He said that at dawn on June 22, the German army would go on the offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German border. The information was transferred to higher command.

At the same time, the transmission of Directive No. 1 of the People's Commissariat of Defense for parts of the western military districts began from Moscow. “During June 22-23, 1941, a surprise attack by the Germans is possible on the fronts of LVO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO. An attack may begin with provocative actions,” the directive said. “The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications.”

The units were ordered to be put on combat readiness, to secretly occupy firing points of fortified areas on the state border, and to disperse aircraft to field airfields.

It is not possible to convey the directive to military units before the start of hostilities, as a result of which the measures specified in it are not carried out.

Mobilization. Columns of fighters are moving to the front. Photo: RIA Novosti

“I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory”

1:00. The commandants of the sections of the 90th border detachment report to the head of the detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “nothing suspicious was noticed on the adjacent side, everything is calm.”

3:05 . A group of 14 German Ju-88 bombers drops 28 magnetic mines near the Kronstadt roadstead.

3:07. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to the Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov: “The fleet's air surveillance, warning and communications system reports the approach of a large number of unknown aircraft from the sea; The fleet is in full combat readiness."

3:10. The NKGB for the Lviv region transmits by telephone message to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR the information obtained during the interrogation of the defector Alfred Liskov.

From the memoirs of the chief of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, I heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant’s office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken...”

3:30. Chief of Staff of the Western District General Klimovsky reports on enemy air raids on the cities of Belarus: Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi and others.

3:33. The chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reports on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine, including Kyiv.

3:40. Commander of the Baltic Military District General Kuznetsov reports on enemy air raids on Riga, Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas and other cities.

“The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled."

3:42. Chief of the General Staff Zhukov is calling Stalin and reports the start of hostilities by Germany. Stalin orders Tymoshenko and Zhukov arrive at the Kremlin, where an emergency meeting of the Politburo is convened.

3:45. The 1st border outpost of the 86th August border detachment was attacked by an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group. Outpost personnel under command Alexandra Sivacheva, having entered into battle, destroys the attackers.

4:00. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to Zhukov: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled. But there is destruction in Sevastopol.”

4:05. The outposts of the 86th August Border Detachment, including the 1st Border Outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev, come under heavy artillery fire, after which the German offensive begins. Border guards, deprived of communication with the command, engage in battle with superior enemy forces.

4:10. The Western and Baltic special military districts report the beginning of hostilities by German troops on the ground.

4:15. The Nazis open massive artillery fire on the Brest Fortress. As a result, warehouses were destroyed, communications were disrupted, and there were a large number of dead and wounded.

4:25. The 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division begins an attack on the Brest Fortress.

Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Residents of the capital on June 22, 1941, during the radio announcement of a government message about the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti

“Protecting not individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe”

4:30. A meeting of Politburo members begins in the Kremlin. Stalin expresses doubt that what happened is the beginning of a war and does not exclude the possibility of a German provocation. People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko and Zhukov insist: this is war.

4:55. In the Brest Fortress, the Nazis manage to capture almost half of the territory. Further progress was stopped by a sudden counterattack by the Red Army.

5:00. German Ambassador to the USSR Count von Schulenburg presented to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov“Note from the German Foreign Office to the Soviet Government,” which states: “The German Government cannot remain indifferent to the serious threat on the eastern border, therefore the Fuehrer has ordered the German Armed Forces to ward off this threat by all means.” An hour after the actual start of hostilities, Germany de jure declares war on the Soviet Union.

5:30. On German radio, the Reich Minister of Propaganda Goebbels reads out the appeal Adolf Hitler to the German people in connection with the start of the war against the Soviet Union: “Now the hour has come when it is necessary to speak out against this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow... At the moment, a military action of the greatest extent and volume is taking place, what the world has ever seen... The task of this front is no longer to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and thereby save everyone.”

7:00. Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs Ribbentrop begins a press conference at which he announces the beginning of hostilities against the USSR: “The German army has invaded the territory of Bolshevik Russia!”

“The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?”

7:15. Stalin approves a directive to repel the attack of Nazi Germany: “The troops with all their might and means attack enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border.” Transfer of “directive No. 2” due to saboteurs’ disruption of communication lines in the western districts. Moscow does not have a clear picture of what is happening in the combat zone.

9:30. It was decided that at noon, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov would address the Soviet people in connection with the outbreak of war.

10:00. From the speaker's memories Yuri Levitan: “They’re calling from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they’re calling from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?” “Enemy planes are over Kiev.” A woman’s crying, excitement: “Is it really war?..” However, no official messages are transmitted until 12:00 Moscow time on June 22.

10:30. From a report from the headquarters of the 45th German division about the battles on the territory of the Brest Fortress: “The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles. Enemy sniper fire resulted in heavy casualties among officers and non-commissioned officers."

11:00. The Baltic, Western and Kiev special military districts were transformed into the North-Western, Western and South-Western fronts.

“The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours"

12:00. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov reads out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union: “Today at 4 o’clock in the morning, without making any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed us with their planes attacked our cities - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Raids by enemy planes and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory... Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repel the bandit attack and expel German troops from the territory of our homeland... The government calls on you, citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally our ranks even more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader, Comrade Stalin.

Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours" .

12:30. Advanced German units break into the Belarusian city of Grodno.

13:00. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issues a decree “On the mobilization of those liable for military service...”
“Based on Article 49, paragraph “o” of the USSR Constitution, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces mobilization on the territory of the military districts - Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kiev special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North -Caucasian and Transcaucasian.

Those liable for military service who were born from 1905 to 1918 inclusive are subject to mobilization. The first day of mobilization is June 23, 1941.” Despite the fact that the first day of mobilization is June 23, recruiting stations at military registration and enlistment offices begin to operate by the middle of the day on June 22.

13:30. Chief of the General Staff General Zhukov flies to Kyiv as a representative of the newly created Headquarters of the Main Command on the Southwestern Front.

Photo: RIA Novosti

14:00. The Brest Fortress is completely surrounded by German troops. Soviet units blocked in the citadel continue to offer fierce resistance.

14:05. Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano states: “In view of the current situation, due to the fact that Germany declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and as a member of the Tripartite Pact, also declares war on the Soviet Union from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory.”

14:10. The 1st border outpost of Alexander Sivachev has been fighting for more than 10 hours. The border guards, who had only small arms and grenades, destroyed up to 60 Nazis and burned three tanks. The wounded commander of the outpost continued to command the battle.

15:00. From the notes of the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal von Bock: “The question of whether the Russians are carrying out a systematic withdrawal remains open. There is now plenty of evidence both for and against this.

What is surprising is that nowhere is any significant work of their artillery visible. Heavy artillery fire is conducted only in the northwest of Grodno, where the VIII Army Corps is advancing. Apparently, our air force has an overwhelming superiority over Russian aviation."

Of the 485 border posts attacked, not a single one withdrew without orders.

16:00. After a 12-hour battle, the Nazis took the positions of the 1st border outpost. This became possible only after all the border guards who defended it died. The head of the outpost, Alexander Sivachev, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

The feat of the outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev was one of hundreds committed by border guards in the first hours and days of the war. On June 22, 1941, the state border of the USSR from the Barents to the Black Sea was guarded by 666 border outposts, 485 of which were attacked on the very first day of the war. Not one of the 485 outposts attacked on June 22 withdrew without orders.

Hitler's command allotted 20 minutes to break the resistance of the border guards. 257 Soviet border posts held their defense from several hours to one day. More than one day - 20, more than two days - 16, more than three days - 20, more than four and five days - 43, from seven to nine days - 4, more than eleven days - 51, more than twelve days - 55, more than 15 days - 51 outpost. Forty-five outposts fought for up to two months.

Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The workers of Leningrad listen to a message about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti

Of the 19,600 border guards who met the Nazis on June 22 in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, more than 16,000 died in the first days of the war.

17:00. Hitler's units manage to occupy the southwestern part of the Brest Fortress, the northeast remained under the control of Soviet troops. Stubborn battles for the fortress will continue for weeks.

“The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland”

18:00. The Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow and Kolomna, addresses the believers with a message: “Fascist robbers attacked our homeland. Trampling all kinds of agreements and promises, they suddenly fell upon us, and now the blood of peaceful citizens is already irrigating our native land... Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not abandon her people even now... The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland.”

19:00. From the notes of the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces, Colonel General Franz Halder: “All armies, except the 11th Army of Army Group South in Romania, went on the offensive according to plan. The offensive of our troops, apparently, came as a complete tactical surprise to the enemy along the entire front. Border bridges across the Bug and other rivers were everywhere captured by our troops without a fight and in complete safety. The complete surprise of our offensive for the enemy is evidenced by the fact that the units were taken by surprise in a barracks arrangement, the planes were parked at airfields, covered with tarpaulins, and the advanced units, suddenly attacked by our troops, asked the command about what to do... The Air Force command reported, that today 850 enemy aircraft have been destroyed, including entire squadrons of bombers, which, having taken off without fighter cover, were attacked by our fighters and destroyed.”

20:00. Directive No. 3 of the People's Commissariat of Defense was approved, ordering Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive with the task of defeating Hitler's troops on the territory of the USSR with further advance into enemy territory. The directive ordered the capture of the Polish city of Lublin by the end of June 24.

Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. June 22, 1941 Nurses provide assistance to the first wounded after a Nazi air raid near Chisinau. Photo: RIA Novosti

“We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can.”

21:00. Summary of the Red Army High Command for June 22: “At dawn on June 22, 1941, regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced units of the field troops of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristinopol directions did the enemy manage to achieve minor tactical successes and occupy the towns of Kalwaria, Stoyanuv and Tsekhanovets (the first two are 15 km and the last 10 km from the border).

Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and populated areas, but everywhere they met decisive resistance from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy aircraft.”

23:00. Message from the Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill to the British people in connection with the German attack on the USSR: “At 4 o'clock this morning Hitler attacked Russia. All his usual formalities of treachery were observed with scrupulous precision... suddenly, without a declaration of war, even without an ultimatum, German bombs fell from the sky on Russian cities, German troops violated Russian borders, and an hour later the German ambassador, who just the day before had generously lavished his assurances on the Russians in friendship and almost an alliance, paid a visit to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and declared that Russia and Germany were at war...

No one has been more staunchly opposed to communism over the past 25 years than I have been. I will not take back a single word that was said about him. But all this pales in comparison to the spectacle unfolding now.

The past, with its crimes, follies and tragedies, recedes. I see Russian soldiers as they stand on the border of their native land and guard the fields that their fathers have plowed since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes; their mothers and wives pray—oh, yes, because at such a time everyone prays for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, patron, their protectors...

We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can. We must call on all our friends and allies in all parts of the world to pursue a similar course and pursue it as steadfastly and steadily as we will, to the very end.”

June 22 came to an end. There were still 1,417 days ahead of the worst war in human history.

22 JUNE 1941 YEAR - THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

On June 22, 1941, at 4 a.m., without declaring war, Nazi Germany and its allies attacked the Soviet Union. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War did not just happen on a Sunday. It was the church holiday of All Saints who shone in the Russian land.

Units of the Red Army were attacked by German troops along the entire border. Riga, Vindava, Libau, Siauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius, Grodno, Lida, Volkovysk, Brest, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol and many other cities, railway junctions, airfields, naval bases of the USSR were bombed , artillery shelling was carried out on border fortifications and areas of deployment of Soviet troops near the border from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathians. The Great Patriotic War began.

At that time, no one knew that it would go down in human history as the bloodiest. No one guessed that the Soviet people would have to go through inhuman tests, pass and win. To rid the world of fascism, showing everyone that the spirit of a Red Army soldier cannot be broken by the invaders. No one could have imagined that the names of the hero cities would become known to the whole world, that Stalingrad would become a symbol of the fortitude of our people, Leningrad - a symbol of courage, Brest - a symbol of courage. That, along with male warriors, old men, women and children will heroically defend the earth from the fascist plague.

1418 days and nights of war.

Over 26 million human lives...

These photographs have one thing in common: they were taken in the first hours and days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

On the eve of the war

Soviet border guards on patrol. The photograph is interesting because it was taken for a newspaper at one of the outposts on the western border of the USSR on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the war.

German air raid

The first to bear the blow were the border guards and the soldiers of the covering units. They not only defended themselves, but also launched counterattacks. For a whole month, the garrison of the Brest Fortress fought in the German rear. Even after the enemy managed to capture the fortress, some of its defenders continued to resist. The last of them was captured by the Germans in the summer of 1942.

The photo was taken on June 24, 1941.

During the first 8 hours of the war, Soviet aviation lost 1,200 aircraft, of which about 900 were lost on the ground (66 airfields were bombed). The Western Special Military District suffered the greatest losses - 738 aircraft (528 on the ground). Having learned about such losses, the head of the district air force, Major General Kopets I.I. shot himself.

On the morning of June 22, Moscow radio broadcast the usual Sunday programs and peaceful music. Soviet citizens learned about the start of the war only at noon, when Vyacheslav Molotov spoke on the radio. He reported: “Today, at 4 o’clock in the morning, without presenting any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country.”

Poster from 1941

On the same day, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was published on the mobilization of those liable for military service born in 1905-1918 in the territory of all military districts. Hundreds of thousands of men and women received summonses, appeared at military registration and enlistment offices, and then were sent in trains to the front.

The mobilization capabilities of the Soviet system, multiplied during the Great Patriotic War by the patriotism and sacrifice of the people, played an important role in organizing resistance to the enemy, especially at the initial stage of the war. The call “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” was accepted by all the people. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens voluntarily joined the active army. In just a week since the start of the war, over 5 million people were mobilized.

The line between peace and war was invisible, and people did not immediately accept the change in reality. It seemed to many that this was just some kind of masquerade, a misunderstanding and that everything would soon be resolved.

The fascist troops met stubborn resistance in battles near Minsk, Smolensk, Vladimir-Volynsky, Przemysl, Lutsk, Dubno, Rivne, Mogilev, etc.And yet, in the first three weeks of the war, the Red Army troops abandoned Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, a significant part of Ukraine and Moldova. Six days after the start of the war, Minsk fell. The German army advanced in various directions from 350 to 600 km. The Red Army lost almost 800 thousand people.

The turning point in the perception of the war by the inhabitants of the Soviet Union was, of course, August 14. It was then that the whole country suddenly learned that The Germans occupied Smolensk . It really was a bolt from the blue. While the battles were going on “somewhere there, in the west,” and the reports flashed cities, the location of which many could hardly imagine, it seemed that the war was still far away. Smolensk is not just the name of a city, this word meant a lot. Firstly, it is already more than 400 km from the border, and secondly, it is only 360 km to Moscow. And thirdly, unlike all those Vilno, Grodno and Molodechno, Smolensk is an ancient purely Russian city.

The stubborn resistance of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 thwarted Hitler's plans. The Nazis failed to quickly take either Moscow or Leningrad, and in September the long defense of Leningrad began. In the Arctic, Soviet troops, in cooperation with the Northern Fleet, defended Murmansk and the main fleet base - Polyarny. Although in Ukraine in October - November the enemy captured the Donbass, captured Rostov, and broke into the Crimea, yet here, too, his troops were fettered by the defense of Sevastopol. Formations of Army Group South were unable to reach the rear of the Soviet troops remaining in the lower reaches of the Don through the Kerch Strait.

Minsk 1941. Execution of Soviet prisoners of war

September 30th within Operation Typhoon the Germans started general attack on Moscow . Its beginning was unfavorable for the Soviet troops. Bryansk and Vyazma fell. On October 10, G.K. was appointed commander of the Western Front. Zhukov. On October 19, Moscow was declared under siege. In bloody battles, the Red Army still managed to stop the enemy. Having strengthened Army Group Center, the German command resumed its attack on Moscow in mid-November. Overcoming the resistance of the Western, Kalinin and right wing of the Southwestern fronts, enemy strike groups bypassed the city from the north and south and by the end of the month reached the Moscow-Volga canal (25-30 km from the capital) and approached Kashira. At this point the German offensive fizzled out. The bloodless Army Group Center was forced to go on the defensive, which was also facilitated by the successful offensive operations of Soviet troops near Tikhvin (November 10 - December 30) and Rostov (November 17 - December 2). On December 6, the Red Army counteroffensive began. , as a result of which the enemy was thrown back 100 - 250 km from Moscow. Kaluga, Kalinin (Tver), Maloyaroslavets and others were liberated.

On guard of the Moscow sky. Autumn 1941

The victory near Moscow had enormous strategic, moral and political significance, since it was the first since the beginning of the war. The immediate threat to Moscow was eliminated.

Although, as a result of the summer-autumn campaign, our army retreated 850 - 1200 km inland, and the most important economic regions fell into the hands of the aggressor, the “blitzkrieg” plans were still thwarted. The Nazi leadership faced the inevitable prospect of a protracted war. The victory near Moscow also changed the balance of power in the international arena. The Soviet Union began to be looked upon as the decisive factor in the Second World War. Japan was forced to refrain from attacking the USSR.

In winter, units of the Red Army carried out offensives on other fronts. However, it was not possible to consolidate the success, primarily due to the dispersal of forces and resources along a front of enormous length.

During the offensive of German troops in May 1942, the Crimean Front was defeated in 10 days on the Kerch Peninsula. On May 15 we had to leave Kerch, and July 4, 1942 after stubborn defense Sevastopol fell. The enemy completely captured Crimea. In July - August, Rostov, Stavropol and Novorossiysk were captured. Stubborn fighting took place in the central part of the Caucasus ridge.

Hundreds of thousands of our compatriots ended up in more than 14 thousand concentration camps, prisons, and ghettos scattered throughout Europe. The scale of the tragedy is evidenced by dispassionate figures: in Russia alone, the fascist occupiers shot, strangled in gas chambers, burned, and hanged 1.7 million. people (including 600 thousand children). In total, about 5 million Soviet citizens died in concentration camps.

But, despite stubborn battles, the Nazis failed to solve their main task - to break into the Transcaucasus to seize the oil reserves of Baku. At the end of September, the offensive of fascist troops in the Caucasus was stopped.

To contain the enemy onslaught in the eastern direction, the Stalingrad Front was created under the command of Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko. On July 17, 1942, the enemy under the command of General von Paulus struck a powerful blow on the Stalingrad front. In August, the Nazis broke through to the Volga in stubborn battles. From the beginning of September 1942, the heroic defense of Stalingrad began. The battles were fought literally for every inch of land, for every house. Both sides suffered colossal losses. By mid-November, the Nazis were forced to stop the offensive. The heroic resistance of the Soviet troops made it possible to create favorable conditions for their launching a counteroffensive at Stalingrad and thereby mark the beginning of a radical change in the course of the war.

By November 1942, almost 40% of the population was under German occupation. The regions captured by the Germans were subject to military and civil administration. In Germany, a special ministry for the affairs of the occupied regions was even created, headed by A. Rosenberg. Political supervision was carried out by the SS and police services. Locally, the occupiers formed the so-called self-government - city and district councils, and the positions of elders were introduced in villages. People who were dissatisfied with Soviet power were invited to cooperate. All residents of the occupied territories, regardless of age, were required to work. In addition to participating in the construction of roads and defensive structures, they were forced to clear minefields. The civilian population, mainly young people, were also sent to forced labor in Germany, where they were called “Ostarbeiter” and were used as cheap labor. In total, 6 million people were kidnapped during the war years. More than 6.5 million people were killed due to hunger and epidemics in the occupied territory, more than 11 million Soviet citizens were shot in camps and at their places of residence.

November 19, 1942 Soviet troops moved to counter-offensive at Stalingrad (Operation Uranus). The forces of the Red Army surrounded 22 divisions and 160 separate units of the Wehrmacht (about 330 thousand people). Hitler's command formed Army Group Don, consisting of 30 divisions, and tried to break through the encirclement. However, this attempt was unsuccessful. In December, our troops, having defeated this group, launched an attack on Rostov (Operation Saturn). By the beginning of February 1943, our troops eliminated a group of fascist troops that found themselves in a ring. 91 thousand people were taken prisoner, led by the commander of the 6th German Army, General Field Marshal von Paulus. Behind 6.5 months of the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943) Germany and its allies lost up to 1.5 million people, as well as a huge amount of equipment. The military power of Nazi Germany was significantly undermined.

The defeat at Stalingrad caused a deep political crisis in Germany. It declared three days of mourning. The morale of German soldiers fell, defeatist sentiments gripped wide sections of the population, who trusted the Fuhrer less and less.

The victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Second World War. The strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Soviet Armed Forces.

In January - February 1943, the Red Army launched an offensive on all fronts. In the Caucasian direction, Soviet troops advanced 500 - 600 km by the summer of 1943. In January 1943, the blockade of Leningrad was broken.

The Wehrmacht command planned summer 1943 conduct a major strategic offensive operation in the Kursk salient area (Operation Citadel) , defeat the Soviet troops here, and then strike in the rear of the Southwestern Front (Operation Panther) and subsequently, building on the success, again create a threat to Moscow. For this purpose, up to 50 divisions were concentrated in the Kursk Bulge area, including 19 tank and motorized divisions, and other units - a total of over 900 thousand people. This group was opposed by the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts, which had 1.3 million people. During the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle of World War II took place.

On July 5, 1943, a massive offensive of Soviet troops began. Within 5 - 7 days, our troops, stubbornly defending, stopped the enemy, who had penetrated 10 - 35 km behind the front line, and launched a counter-offensive. It has begun July 12 in the Prokhorovka area , Where The largest oncoming tank battle in the history of war took place (with the participation of up to 1,200 tanks on both sides). In August 1943, our troops captured Orel and Belgorod. In honor of this victory, a salute of 12 artillery salvoes was fired for the first time in Moscow. Continuing the offensive, our troops inflicted a crushing defeat on the Nazis.

In September, Left Bank Ukraine and Donbass were liberated. On November 6, formations of the 1st Ukrainian Front entered Kyiv.

Having thrown the enemy back 200 - 300 km from Moscow, Soviet troops began to liberate Belarus. From that moment on, our command maintained the strategic initiative until the end of the war. From November 1942 to December 1943, the Soviet Army advanced westward by 500 - 1300 km, liberating about 50% of the enemy-occupied territory. 218 enemy divisions were defeated. During this period, partisan formations, in whose ranks up to 250 thousand people fought, caused great damage to the enemy.

The significant successes of the Soviet troops in 1943 intensified diplomatic and military-political cooperation between the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. On November 28 - December 1, 1943, the Tehran Conference of the “Big Three” took place with the participation of I. Stalin (USSR), W. Churchill (Great Britain) and F. Roosevelt (USA). The leaders of the leading powers of the anti-Hitler coalition determined the timing of the opening of a second front in Europe (the landing operation Overlord was scheduled for May 1944).

Tehran Conference of the “Big Three” with the participation of I. Stalin (USSR), W. Churchill (Great Britain) and F. Roosevelt (USA).

In the spring of 1944, Crimea was cleared of the enemy.

In these favorable conditions, the Western Allies, after two years of preparation, opened a second front in Europe in northern France. June 6, 1944 the combined Anglo-American forces (General D. Eisenhower), numbering over 2.8 million people, up to 11 thousand combat aircraft, over 12 thousand combat and 41 thousand transport ships, crossed the English Channel and Pas de- Calais, began the largest war in years airborne Normandy Operation (Overlord) and entered Paris in August.

Continuing to develop the strategic initiative, in the summer of 1944, Soviet troops launched a powerful offensive in Karelia (June 10 - August 9), Belarus (June 23 - August 29), Western Ukraine (July 13 - August 29) and Moldova (June 20 - 29). August).

During Belarusian operation (code name "Bagration") Army Group Center was defeated, Soviet troops liberated Belarus, Latvia, part of Lithuania, eastern Poland and reached the border with East Prussia.

The victories of Soviet troops in the southern direction in the fall of 1944 helped the Bulgarian, Hungarian, Yugoslav and Czechoslovak peoples in their liberation from fascism.

As a result of military operations in 1944, the state border of the USSR, treacherously violated by Germany in June 1941, was restored along the entire length from the Barents to the Black Sea. The Nazis were expelled from Romania, Bulgaria, and most areas of Poland and Hungary. In these countries, pro-German regimes were overthrown and patriotic forces came to power. The Soviet Army entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.

While the bloc of fascist states was falling apart, the anti-Hitler coalition was strengthening, as evidenced by the success of the Crimean (Yalta) conference of the leaders of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain (from February 4 to 11, 1945).

But still The Soviet Union played a decisive role in defeating the enemy at the final stage. Thanks to the titanic efforts of the entire people, the technical equipment and armament of the army and navy of the USSR reached its highest level by the beginning of 1945. In January - early April 1945, as a result of a powerful strategic offensive on the entire Soviet-German front with forces on ten fronts, the Soviet Army decisively defeated the main enemy forces. During the East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, West Carpathian and completion of the Budapest operations, Soviet troops created the conditions for further attacks in Pomerania and Silesia, and then for an attack on Berlin. Almost all of Poland and Czechoslovakia, as well as the entire territory of Hungary, were liberated.

The capture of the capital of the Third Reich and the final defeat of fascism was carried out during Berlin operation (April 16 - May 8, 1945).

April 30 in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery Hitler committed suicide .

On the morning of May 1, over the Reichstag by sergeants M.A. Egorov and M.V. Kantaria was hoisted the Red Banner as a symbol of the Victory of the Soviet people. On May 2, Soviet troops completely captured the city. Attempts by the new German government, which was headed by Grand Admiral K. Dönitz on May 1, 1945 after the suicide of A. Hitler, to achieve a separate peace with the USA and Great Britain failed.

May 9, 1945 at 0:43 a.m. In the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany was signed. On behalf of the Soviet side, this historical document was signed by the war hero, Marshal G.K. Zhukov, from Germany - Field Marshal Keitel. On the same day, the remnants of the last large enemy group on the territory of Czechoslovakia in the Prague region were defeated. City Liberation Day - May 9 became Victory Day of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. The news of the Victory spread throughout the world with lightning speed. The Soviet people, who suffered the greatest losses, greeted it with popular rejoicing. Truly, it was a great holiday “with tears in our eyes.”

In Moscow, on Victory Day, a festive fireworks display of a thousand guns was fired.

Great Patriotic War 1941-1945

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

22nd of June. An ordinary Sunday day. More than 200 million citizens are planning how to spend their day off: going on a visit, taking their children to the zoo, some are in a hurry to go to football, others are on a date. Soon they will become heroes and victims of war, killed and wounded, soldiers and refugees, blockade survivors and concentration camp prisoners, partisans, prisoners of war, orphans, and disabled people. Winners and veterans of the Great Patriotic War. But none of them knows about it yet.

In 1941 The Soviet Union stood quite firmly on its feet - industrialization and collectivization bore fruit, industry developed - out of ten tractors produced in the world, four were Soviet-made. The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station and Magnitka have been built, the army is being re-equipped - the famous T-34 tank, Yak-1, MIG-3 fighters, Il-2 attack aircraft, Pe-2 bomber have already entered service with the Red Army. The situation in the world is turbulent, but the Soviet people are confident that “the armor is strong and our tanks are fast.” In addition, two years ago, after three-hour negotiations in Moscow, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov and the German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop signed a non-aggression pact for a period of 10 years.

After the abnormally cold winter of 1940–1941. A rather warm summer has arrived in Moscow. There are amusement rides in Gorky Park, and football matches are held at the Dynamo Stadium. The Mosfilm film studio is preparing the main premiere for the summer of 1941 - they have just completed editing of the lyrical comedy "Hearts of Four", which will be released only in 1945. Starring the favorite of Joseph Stalin and all Soviet moviegoers, actress Valentina Serova.

June, 1941 Astrakhan. Near the village of Lineiny

1941 Astrakhan. On the Caspian Sea

July 1, 1940. Scene from the film “My Love” directed by Vladimir Korsh-Sablin. In the center is actress Lidiya Smirnova as Shurochka

April, 1941 A peasant welcomes the first Soviet tractor

July 12, 1940 Residents of Uzbekistan work on the construction of a section of the Great Fergana Canal

August 9, 1940 Belorussian SSR. Collective farmers of the village of Tonezh, Turov district, Polesie region, on a walk after a hard day

May 05, 1941 Kliment Voroshilov, Mikhail Kalinin, Anastas Mikoyan, Andrei Andreev, Alexander Shcherbakov, Georgy Malenkov, Semyon Timoshenko, Georgy Zhukov, Andrei Eremenko, Semyon Budyonny, Nikolai Bulganin, Lazar Kaganovich and others at the presidium of the ceremonial meeting dedicated to the graduation commanders who graduated from military academies. Joseph Stalin speaking

June 1, 1940 Civil defense classes in the village of Dikanka. Ukraine, Poltava region

In the spring and summer of 1941, Soviet military exercises began to be held increasingly on the western borders of the USSR. War is already in full swing in Europe. Rumors reach the Soviet leadership that Germany could attack at any moment. But such messages are often ignored, since the non-aggression pact was signed only recently.
August 20, 1940 Villagers talk with tank crews during military exercises

"Higher, higher and higher
We strive for the flight of our birds,
And every propeller breathes
Peace of our borders."

Soviet song, better known as "March of the Aviators"

June 1, 1941. Suspended under the wing of a TB-3 aircraft is an I-16 fighter, under the wing of which is a high-explosive bomb weighing 250 kg

September 28, 1939 People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop shake hands after signing the joint Soviet-German Treaty “On Friendship and Borders”

Field Marshal W. Keitel, Colonel General W. von Brauchitsch, A. Hitler, Colonel General F. Halder (from left to right in the foreground) near the table with a map during a meeting of the General Staff. In 1940, Adolf Hitler signed Prime Directive 21, codenamed Barbarossa.

On June 17, 1941, V. N. Merkulov sent an intelligence message received by the NKGB of the USSR from Berlin to I. V. Stalin and V. M. Molotov:

“A source working at the headquarters of the German air force reports:
1. All German military measures to prepare an armed uprising against the USSR are completely completed, and a strike can be expected at any time.

2. In the circles of the aviation headquarters, the TASS message of June 6 was perceived very ironically. They emphasize that this statement cannot have any significance...”

There is a resolution (regarding point 2): “To Comrade Merkulov. You can send your “source” from the headquarters of the German aviation to the fucking mother. This is not a “source”, but a disinformer. I. Stalin"

July 1, 1940 Marshal Semyon Timoshenko (right), Army General Georgy Zhukov (left) and Army General Kirill Meretskov (2nd left) during exercises in the 99th Infantry Division of the Kyiv Special Military District

June 21, 21:00

At the Sokal commandant's office, a German soldier, Corporal Alfred Liskoff, was detained after swimming across the Bug River.

From the testimony of the head of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky:“Due to the fact that the translators in the detachment are weak, I called a German language teacher from the city ... and Liskof again repeated the same thing, that is, that the Germans were preparing to attack the USSR at dawn on June 22, 1941 ... Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, I heard in the direction Ustilug (first commandant's office) heavy artillery fire. I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately started calling the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken.”

21:30

In Moscow, a conversation took place between the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov and the German Ambassador Schulenburg. Molotov protested against numerous violations of the USSR border by German planes. Schulenburg avoided answering.

From the memoirs of Corporal Hans Teuchler:“At 10 p.m. we were lined up and the Fuhrer’s order was read out. Finally they told us straight out why we were here. Not at all for a rush to Persia to punish the British with the permission of the Russians. And not in order to lull the vigilance of the British, and then quickly transfer troops to the English Channel and land in England. No. We, soldiers of the Great Reich, are facing a war with the Soviet Union itself. But there is no force that could restrain the movement of our armies. For the Russians this will be a real war, for us it will be just Victory. We will pray for her."

June 22, 00:30

Directive No. 1 was sent to the districts, containing an order to secretly occupy firing points on the border, not to succumb to provocations and to put troops on combat readiness.

From the memoirs of German General Heinz Guderian:“On the fateful day of June 22 at 2:10 a.m. I went to the group’s command post...
At 3:15 a.m. our artillery preparation began.
At 3 hours 40 minutes - the first raid of our dive bombers.
At 4:15 a.m. the crossing of the Bug began.”

03:07

The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Oktyabrsky, called the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army Georgy Zhukov and reported that a large number of unknown aircraft were approaching from the sea; the fleet is in full combat readiness. The admiral suggested meeting them with naval air defense fire. He was given the instruction: “Go ahead and report to your people’s commissar.”

03:30

The Chief of Staff of the Western District, Major General Vladimir Klimovskikh, reported on a German air raid on the cities of Belarus. Three minutes later, the chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reported on an air raid on Ukrainian cities. At 03:40, the commander of the Baltic district, General Kuznetsov, announced a raid on Kaunas and other cities.

From the memoirs of I. I. Geibo, deputy regiment commander of the 46th IAP, Western Military District:“...I felt a chill in my chest. In front of me are four twin-engine bombers with black crosses on the wings. I even bit my lip. But these are “Junkers”! German Ju-88 bombers! What to do?.. Another thought arose: “Today is Sunday, and the Germans don’t have training flights on Sundays.” So it's war? Yes, war!

03:40

People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko asks Zhukov to report to Stalin about the start of hostilities. Stalin responded by ordering all Politburo members to gather in the Kremlin. At this time, Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovich, Bobruisk, Volkovysk, Kiev, Zhitomir, Sevastopol, Riga, Vindava, Libava, Siauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius and many other cities were bombed.

From the memoirs of Alevtina Kotik, born in 1925. (Lithuania):“I woke up from hitting my head on the bed - the ground was shaking from falling bombs. I ran to my parents. Dad said: “The war has begun. We need to get out of here!” We didn’t know who the war started with, we didn’t think about it, it was just very scary. Dad was a military man, and therefore he was able to call a car for us, which took us to the train station. They only took clothes with them. All furniture and household utensils remained. First we traveled on a freight train. I remember how my mother covered my brother and me with her body, then we boarded a passenger train. We learned that there was a war with Germany around 12 noon from people we met. Near the city of Siauliai we saw a large number of wounded, stretchers, and doctors.”

At the same time, the Bialystok-Minsk battle began, as a result of which the main forces of the Soviet Western Front were surrounded and defeated. German troops captured a significant part of Belarus and advanced to a depth of over 300 km. On the part of the Soviet Union in the Bialystok and Minsk “cauldrons”, 11 rifle, 2 cavalry, 6 tank and 4 motorized divisions were destroyed, 3 corps commanders and 2 division commanders were killed, 2 corps commanders and 6 division commanders, another 1 corps commander and 2 commanders were captured divisions were missing.

04:10

The Western and Baltic special districts reported the start of hostilities by German troops on land.

04:12

German bombers appeared over Sevastopol. The enemy raid was repulsed, and an attempt to strike the ships was thwarted, but residential buildings and warehouses in the city were damaged.

From the memoirs of Sevastopol resident Anatoly Marsanov:“I was only five years old then... The only thing that remains in my memory: on the night of June 22, parachutes appeared in the sky. It became light, I remember, the whole city was illuminated, everyone was running, so joyful... They shouted: “Parachuters! Paratroopers!”... They don’t know that these are mines. And they gasped - one in the bay, the other below us on the street, so many people were killed!”

04:15

The defense of the Brest Fortress began. With their first attack, at 04:55, the Germans occupied almost half of the fortress.

From the memoirs of the defender of the Brest Fortress Pyotr Kotelnikov, born in 1929:“In the morning we were awakened by a strong blow. It broke through the roof. I was stunned. I saw the wounded and killed and realized: this is no longer a training exercise, but a war. Most of the soldiers in our barracks died in the first seconds. I followed the adults and rushed to arms, but they didn’t give me a rifle. Then I, along with one of the Red Army soldiers, rushed to put out the fire in the clothing warehouse. Then he and the soldiers moved to the basements of the barracks of the neighboring 333rd Infantry Regiment... We helped the wounded, carried them ammunition, food, water. Through the western wing they made their way to the river at night to get water, and returned back.”

05:00

Moscow time, Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop summoned Soviet diplomats to his office. When they arrived, he informed them about the beginning of the war. The last thing he said to the ambassadors was: “Tell Moscow that I was against the attack.” After this, the telephones in the embassy did not work, and the building itself was surrounded by SS detachments.

5:30

Schulenburg officially informed Molotov about the start of the war between Germany and the USSR, reading a note: “Bolshevik Moscow is ready to strike in the back of National Socialist Germany, which is fighting for existence. The German government cannot remain indifferent to the serious threat on its eastern border. Therefore, the Fuhrer gave the order to the German armed forces to ward off this threat by all means and means..."

From Molotov's memoirs:“The advisor to the German ambassador, Hilger, shed tears when he handed over the note.”

From Hilger's memoirs:“He gave vent to his indignation by declaring that Germany had attacked a country with which it had a non-aggression pact. This has no precedent in history. The reason given by the German side is an empty pretext... Molotov concluded his angry speech with the words: “We have not given any grounds for this.”

07:15

Directive No. 2 was issued, ordering the USSR troops to destroy enemy forces in areas of border violation, destroy enemy aircraft, and also “bomb Koenigsberg and Memel” (modern Kaliningrad and Klaipeda). The USSR Air Force was allowed to enter “the depth of German territory up to 100–150 km.” At the same time, the first counterattack of Soviet troops took place near the Lithuanian town of Alytus.

09:00

At 7:00 Berlin time, Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels read on the radio Adolf Hitler’s appeal to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against the Soviet Union: “...Today I have decided again to put the fate and future of the German Reich and our people in our hands soldier. May the Lord help us in this struggle!”

09:30

The Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Mikhail Kalinin, signed a number of decrees, including the decree on the introduction of martial law, on the formation of the Headquarters of the Main Command, on military tribunals and on general mobilization, to which all those liable for military service from 1905 to 1918 were subject to birth.

10:00

German bombers raided Kyiv and its suburbs. A railway station, the Bolshevik plant, an aircraft plant, power plants, military airfields, and residential buildings were bombed. According to official data, 25 people died as a result of the bombing; according to unofficial data, there were many more casualties. However, peaceful life continued in the capital of Ukraine for several more days. Only the opening of the stadium, scheduled for June 22, was canceled; on that day, the football match Dynamo (Kyiv) - CSKA was supposed to take place here.

12:15

Molotov gave a speech on the radio about the beginning of the war, where he for the first time called it patriotic. Also in this speech, for the first time, the phrase that became the main slogan of the war was heard: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".

From Molotov's address:“This unheard-of attack on our country is a treachery unparalleled in the history of civilized peoples... This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intelligentsia, whose suffering we well understand, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French and Czechs , Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples... This is not the first time our people have to deal with an attacking arrogant enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon’s campaign in Russia with a Patriotic War and Napoleon was defeated and came to his collapse. The same will happen to the arrogant Hitler, who announced a new campaign against our country. The Red Army and all our people will once again wage a victorious patriotic war for the Motherland, for honor, for freedom.”

Workers of Leningrad listen to a message about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union

From the memoirs of Dmitry Savelyev, Novokuznetsk: “We gathered at the poles with loudspeakers. We listened carefully to Molotov’s speech. Many felt a certain sense of wariness. After this, the streets began to empty, and after a while food disappeared from the stores. They weren’t bought up - the supply was just reduced... People were not afraid, but rather focused, doing everything the government told them.”

After some time, the text of Molotov’s speech was repeated by the famous announcer Yuri Levitan. Thanks to his soulful voice and the fact that Levitan read the front-line reports of the Soviet Information Bureau throughout the war, there is an opinion that he was the first to read the message about the beginning of the war on the radio. Even Marshals Zhukov and Rokossovsky thought so, as they wrote about in their memoirs.

Moscow. Announcer Yuri Levitan during filming in the studio

From the memoirs of speaker Yuri Levitan:“When we, the announcers, were called to the radio early in the morning, the calls had already begun to ring out. They call from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they call from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why don’t you broadcast anything on the radio?”, “Enemy planes are over Kiev.” A woman’s crying, excitement - “is it really war”?.. And then I remember - I turned on the microphone. In all cases, I remember that I was worried only internally, only internally worried. But here, when I said the word “Moscow speaks,” I feel that I can’t speak further - there’s a lump stuck in my throat. They are already knocking from the control room - “Why are you silent? Continue!” He clenched his fists and continued: “Citizens and women of the Soviet Union...”

Stalin addressed the Soviet people only on July 3, 12 days after the start of the war. Historians are still arguing why he remained silent for so long. Here is how Vyacheslav Molotov explained this fact:“Why me and not Stalin? He didn't want to go first. There needs to be a clearer picture, what tone and what approach... He said that he would wait a few days and speak when the situation on the fronts became clearer.”

And here is what Marshal Zhukov wrote about this:"AND. V. Stalin was a strong-willed man and, as they say, “not one of the cowardly dozen.” I saw him confused only once. It was at dawn on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked our country. During the first day, he could not truly pull himself together and firmly direct events. The shock produced on J.V. Stalin by the enemy’s attack was so strong that the sound of his voice even lowered, and his orders for organizing armed struggle did not always correspond to the prevailing situation.”

From Stalin's radio speech on July 3, 1941:“The war with Nazi Germany cannot be considered an ordinary war... Our war for the freedom of our Fatherland will merge with the struggle of the peoples of Europe and America for their independence, for democratic freedoms.”

12:30

At the same time, German troops entered Grodno. A few minutes later, the bombing of Minsk, Kyiv, Sevastopol and other cities began again.

From the memoirs of Ninel Karpova, born in 1931. (Kharovsk, Vologda region):“We listened to the message about the beginning of the war from the loudspeaker at the House of Defense. There were a lot of people crowding there. I wasn’t upset, on the contrary, I was proud: my father will defend the Motherland... In general, people were not afraid. Yes, the women, of course, were upset and cried. But there was no panic. Everyone was confident that we would quickly defeat the Germans. The men said: “Yes, the Germans will flee from us!”

Recruitment centers have opened at military registration and enlistment offices. In Moscow, Leningrad and other cities there were queues.

From the memoirs of Dina Belykh, born in 1936. (Kushva, Sverdlovsk region):“All the men were immediately called up, including my dad. Dad hugged mom, they both cried, kissed... I remember how I grabbed him by the tarpaulin boots and shouted: “Dad, don’t leave! They will kill you there, they will kill you!” When he got on the train, my mother took me in her arms, we were both sobbing, she whispered through her tears: “Wave to dad...” What the hell, I was sobbing so much, I couldn’t move my hand. We never saw him, our breadwinner, again.”

Calculations and experience of the mobilization carried out showed that in order to transfer the army and navy to wartime, it was necessary to call up 4.9 million people. However, when mobilization was announced, conscripts of 14 ages were called up, the total number of which was about 10 million people, that is, almost 5.1 million people more than what was required.

The first day of mobilization into the Red Army. Volunteers at the Oktyabrsky military registration and enlistment office

The conscription of such a mass of people was not caused by military necessity and introduced disorganization into the national economy and anxiety among the masses. Without realizing this, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.I. Kulik proposed to the government to additionally call up older people (born 1895 - 1904), the total number of which was 6.8 million people.

13:15

To capture the Brest Fortress, the Germans brought into action new forces of the 133rd Infantry Regiment on the Southern and Western Islands, but this “brought no changes in the situation.” The Brest Fortress continued to hold its defense. Fritz Schlieper's 45th Infantry Division was sent to this section of the front. It was decided that the Brest Fortress would be taken only by infantry - without tanks. No more than eight hours were allotted to capture the fortress.

From a report to the headquarters of the 45th Infantry Division by Fritz Schlieper:“The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the Citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35–40 tanks and armored vehicles. The fire of Russian snipers led to heavy losses among officers and non-commissioned officers."

14:30

Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano told the Soviet ambassador in Rome Gorelkin that Italy declared war on the USSR “from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory.”

From Ciano's diaries:“He perceives my message with rather great indifference, but this is in his character. The message is very short, without unnecessary words. The conversation lasted two minutes."

15:00

The German bomber pilots reported that they had nothing left to bomb; all airfields, barracks and armored vehicles had been destroyed.

From the memoirs of Air Marshal, Hero of the Soviet Union G.V. Zimina:“On June 22, 1941, large groups of fascist bombers attacked 66 of our airfields, where the main aviation forces of the western border districts were based. First of all, the airfields on which aviation regiments armed with aircraft of new designs were based were subjected to air strikes... As a result of attacks on airfields and in fierce air battles, the enemy managed to destroy up to 1,200 aircraft, including 800 at the airfields.”

16:30

Stalin left the Kremlin for the Near Dacha. Even members of the Politburo are not allowed to see the leader until the end of the day.

From the memoirs of Politburo member Nikita Khrushchev:
“Beria said the following: when the war began, members of the Politburo gathered at Stalin’s place. I don’t know if it was everyone or just a certain group that most often gathered at Stalin’s. Stalin was morally completely depressed and made the following statement: “The war has begun, it is developing catastrophically. Lenin left us a proletarian Soviet state, and we screwed it up.” That's literally how I put it.
“I,” he said, “resign from leadership,” and left. He left, got into the car and drove to a nearby dacha.”

Some historians, citing the recollections of other participants in the events, claim that this conversation took place a day later. But the fact that in the first days of the war Stalin was confused and did not know how to act is confirmed by many witnesses.

18:30

The commander of the 4th Army, Ludwig Kübler, gives the order to “withdraw his own forces” from the Brest Fortress. This is one of the first orders for the retreat of German troops.

19:00

The commander of Army Group Center, General Fedor von Bock, gives the order to stop the executions of Soviet prisoners of war. After that, they were kept in fields hastily fenced with barbed wire. This is how the first prisoner of war camps appeared.

From the notes of SS Brigadeführer G. Keppler, commander of the Der Fuhrer regiment from the SS division Das Reich:“Rich trophies and a large number of prisoners were in the hands of our regiment, among whom there were many civilians, even women and girls, the Russians forced them to defend themselves with weapons in their hands, and they fought bravely together with the Red Army.”

23:00

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a radio address in which he stated that England “will provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help it can.”

Speech by Winston Churchill on BBC radio:“Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than me. I won't take back a single word I said about him. But all this pales in comparison to the spectacle now unfolding. The past with its crimes, follies and tragedies disappears... I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial... I see how the vile Nazi war machine is approaching all this.”

23:50

The Main Military Council of the Red Army sent out Directive No. 3, ordering counterattacks on enemy groups on June 23.

Text: Information center of the Kommersant Publishing House, Tatyana Mishanina, Artem Galustyan
Video: Dmitry Shelkovnikov, Alexey Koshel
Photo: TASS, RIA Novosti, Ogonyok, Dmitry Kuchev
Design, programming and layout: Anton Zhukov, Alexey Shabrov
Kim Voronin
Commissioning Editor: Artem Galustyan

Illustration copyright RIA Novosti Image caption Semyon Timoshenko and Georgy Zhukov knew everything, but took the secrets to the grave

Until the very beginning of the war and in the first hours after it, Joseph Stalin did not believe in the possibility of a German attack.

He learned that the Germans were crossing the border and bombing Soviet cities at about 4 a.m. on June 22 from Chief of the General Staff Georgy Zhukov.

According to Zhukov’s “Memoirs and Reflections,” the leader did not react to what he heard, but only breathed heavily into the phone, and after a long pause, he limited himself to ordering Zhukov and the People’s Commissar of Defense Semyon Timoshenko to go to a meeting in the Kremlin.

In a prepared but undelivered speech at the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in May 1956, Zhukov argued that Stalin forbade opening fire on the enemy.

At the same time, in May-June, Stalin secretly transferred 939 trains with troops and equipment to the western border, called up 801 thousand reservists from the reserves under the guise of training, and on June 19, by secret order, he reorganized the border military districts into fronts, which was always done and exclusively a few days before the start of hostilities.

“The transfer of troops was planned with the expectation of completing the concentration from June 1 to July 10, 1941. The disposition of troops was influenced by the offensive nature of the planned actions,” says the collective monograph “1941 - Lessons and Conclusions” published by the Russian Ministry of Defense in 1992.

A legitimate question arises: what was the cause of the tragedy of June 22? Usually referred to as "mistakes" and "miscalculations" of the Soviet leadership. But upon careful examination, some of them turn out to be not naive delusions, but the consequence of thoughtful measures with the aim of preparing a pre-emptive strike and subsequent offensive actions Vladimir Danilov, historian

“There was surprise, but only tactical. Hitler was ahead of us!” - Vyacheslav Molotov said to the writer Ivan Stadnyuk in the 1970s.

“The trouble was not that we had no plans - we had plans! - but that the suddenly changed situation did not allow us to carry them out,” reported Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky in an article written for the 20th anniversary of the Victory, but which was published only in the early 90s -X.

Not “the traitor Rezun,” but the President of the Academy of Military Sciences, General of the Army Makhmud Gareev, pointed out: “If there were plans for defensive operations, then the groupings of forces and means would be located completely differently, the management and echeloning of material reserves would be structured differently. But this was not done in the border military districts."

“Stalin’s main miscalculation and his guilt lay not in the fact that the country was not prepared for defense (it did not prepare for it), but in the fact that it was not possible to accurately determine the moment. A preemptive strike would have saved our Fatherland millions of lives and, perhaps, would have led much earlier to the same political results that the country, ruined, hungry, and having lost the color of the nation, achieved in 1945,” believed the director of the Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician Andrei Sakharov.

Clearly aware of the inevitability of a clash with Germany, the leadership of the USSR until June 22, 1941 did not see itself in the role of a victim, did not wonder with a sinking heart “whether they will attack or not,” but worked hard to start the war at a favorable moment and carry it out “smallly.” blood on foreign territory." Most researchers agree with this. The difference is in details, dates and, mainly, in moral assessments.

Illustration copyright RIA Novosti Image caption The war broke out unexpectedly, although a premonition was in the air

On this tragic day, on the eve and immediately after it, amazing things happened that did not fit into either the logic of preparation for defense or the logic of preparation for an offensive.

There is no explanation for them based on documents and testimonies of participants in the events, and it is unlikely that one will appear. There are only more or less plausible guesses and versions.

Stalin's dream

Around midnight on June 22, having agreed and authorized Tymoshenko and Zhukov to send a controversial document known as “Directive No. 1” to the border districts for their signatures, the leader left the Kremlin for the Near Dacha.

When Zhukov called with a report of the attack, the guard said that Stalin was sleeping and did not order to wake him up, so the chief of the general staff had to shout at him.

The widespread opinion that the USSR was waiting for an attack by the enemy, and only then planning an offensive, does not take into account that in this case the strategic initiative would be given into the hands of the enemy, and the Soviet troops would be placed in obviously unfavorable conditions Mikhail Meltyukhov, historian

Saturday June 21st passed in incredible tension. There were a stream of reports from the border that the approaching roar of engines could be heard from the German side.

After the Führer's order was read out to the German soldiers before the formation at 13:00, two or three communist defectors swam across the Bug to warn the "camaraden": it will begin tonight. By the way, another mystery is that we know nothing about these people who should have become heroes in the USSR and the GDR.

Stalin spent the day in the Kremlin in the company of Timoshenko, Zhukov, Molotov, Beria, Malenkov and Mehlis, analyzing incoming information and discussing what to do.

Let's say he doubted the data he was receiving and never took concrete steps. But how could you go to bed without waiting for the ending, when the clock was ticking? Moreover, a person who had the habit, even in a calm everyday environment, of working until dawn and sleeping until lunch?

Plan and directive

At the headquarters of the Soviet troops in the western direction, up to and including the divisions, there were detailed and clear cover plans, which were stored in “red packets” and were subject to execution upon receipt of the appropriate order from the People's Commissar of Defense.

Cover plans are different from strategic war plans. This is a set of measures to ensure the mobilization, concentration and deployment of the main forces in the event of a threat of a preemptive strike by the enemy (occupying fortifications with personnel, moving artillery to tank-threat areas, raising aviation and air defense units, intensifying reconnaissance).

The introduction of a cover plan is not yet a war, but a combat alert.

During the one and a half hour meeting that began at 20:50 on June 21, Stalin did not allow Timoshenko and Zhukov to take this necessary and obvious step.

The directive completely confused the troops on the border Konstantin Pleshakov, historian

In return, the famous “Directive No. 1” was sent to the border districts, which, in particular, said: “During June 22-23, a surprise attack by the Germans is possible. The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions […] at the same time be in full combat readiness to meet a possible attack […] other measures should not be carried out without special orders.”

How can one “meet the blow” without carrying out the measures provided for in the cover plan? How to distinguish provocation from attack?

Late mobilization

Incredible, but true: general mobilization in the USSR was announced not on the day the war began, but only on June 23, despite the fact that every hour of delay gave the enemy additional advantages.

The corresponding telegram from the People's Commissar of Defense arrived at the Central Telegraph at 16:40 on June 22, although since the early morning the state leadership, perhaps, had not had a more urgent task.

At the same time, the short text, just three sentences long, written in dry clerical language, did not contain a word about the treacherous attack, defense of the homeland and sacred duty, as if it were a routine conscription.

Theater and concert evening

The command of the Western Special Military District (by that time actually the Western Front), led by Army General Dmitry Pavlov, spent Saturday evening at the Minsk Officers' House at a performance of the operetta “Wedding in Malinovka.”

Memoir literature confirms that the phenomenon was widespread and widespread. It’s hard to imagine that big commanders in that atmosphere would go out and have fun without orders from above.

There is numerous evidence of the cancellation on June 20-21 of previously issued orders to increase combat readiness, the unexpected announcement of days off, and the dispatch of anti-aircraft artillery to training camps.

Anti-aircraft divisions of the 4th Army and the 6th Mechanized Corps of the Western OVO met the war at a training ground 120 km east of Minsk.

The orders to the troops to send artillery to the firing ranges and other ridiculous instructions in that situation caused complete bewilderment of Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky

“The regiment was declared a day off on Sunday. Everyone was happy: they had not rested for three months. On Saturday evening, the command, pilots and technicians went to their families,” recalled former pilot of the 13th Bomber Aviation Regiment Pavel Tsupko.

On June 20, the commander of one of the three ZapOVO air divisions, Nikolai Belov, received an order from the district air force commander to put the division on combat readiness, cancel vacations and dismissals, disperse equipment, and at 16:00 on June 21, it was canceled.

“Stalin tried to make it clear by the very condition and behavior of the troops in the border districts that calm, if not carelessness, reigns in our country. As a result, instead of misleading the aggressor with skillful disinformation actions regarding the combat readiness of our troops, we actually reduced it to an extremely low degree,” the former chief of the operational department of the 13th Army headquarters, Sergei Ivanov, was perplexed.

The ill-fated regiment

But the most incredible story happened in the 122nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, which covered Grodno.

On Friday, June 20, high-ranking officials from Moscow and Minsk arrived at the unit, and at 6 pm on Saturday, an order was announced to the personnel: to remove the I-16 fighters from the I-16 fighters and send weapons and ammunition to the warehouse.

Illustration copyright RIA Novosti Image caption It took several hours to reinstall the removed machine guns on the I-16.

The order was so wild and inexplicable that the pilots started talking about treason, but they were silenced.

Needless to say, the next morning the 122nd Air Regiment was completely destroyed.

The Soviet Air Force grouping in the western direction consisted of 111 air regiments, including 52 fighter regiments. Why did this one attract so much attention?

What's happened?

“Stalin, contrary to obvious facts, believed that this was not a war, but a provocation of individual undisciplined units of the German army,” Nikita Khrushchev said in a report at the 20th Congress of the CPSU.

The obsessive thought of some kind of provocation, apparently, was indeed present in Stalin’s mind. He developed it both in “Directive No. 1” and at the first meeting in the Kremlin after the start of the invasion, which opened at 05:45 on June 22. He did not give permission to return fire until 06:30, until Molotov announced that Germany had officially declared war on the USSR.

The now deceased St. Petersburg historian Igor Bunich claimed that a few days before the start of the war, Hitler sent a secret personal message to Stalin warning that some Anglophile generals might try to provoke a conflict between the USSR and Germany.

Stalin allegedly remarked with satisfaction to Beria that this was impossible in our country; we had brought order to our army.

True, it was not possible to find the document in German or Soviet archives.

Israeli researcher Gabriel Gorodetsky explains Stalin's actions by panic fear and the desire to not give Hitler a reason for aggression at any cost.

Stalin really drove away every thought from himself, but not about war (he was no longer thinking about anything else), but about the fact that Hitler at the very last moment would be able to get ahead of him Mark Solonin, historian

“Stalin drove away any thought about war, he lost the initiative and was practically paralyzed,” writes Gorodetsky.

Opponents object that Stalin was not afraid in November 1940, through the mouth of Molotov, to harshly demand from Berlin Finland, Southern Bukovina and the base in the Dardanelles, and in early April 1941 to conclude an agreement with Yugoslavia that infuriated Hitler and at the same time had no practical meaning.

Demonstration of defensive preparations cannot provoke a potential enemy, but it can make you think again.

“When dealing with a dangerous enemy, we should probably show him, first of all, our readiness to fight back. If we had demonstrated to Hitler our true power, he might have refrained from war with the USSR at that moment,” the experienced staff officer believed Sergei Ivanov, who later rose to the rank of army general.

According to Alexander Osokin, Stalin, on the contrary, deliberately pushed Germany to attack in order to appear in the eyes of the world as a victim of aggression and receive American help.

Critics point out that the game in this case turned out to be very dangerous, Lend-Lease did not have a self-sufficient meaning in the eyes of Stalin, and Roosevelt was guided not by the kindergarten principle of “who started?”, but by the interests of US national security.

Shoot first

Another hypothesis was put forward by historians Keistut Zakoretsky and Mark Solonin.

In the first three weeks of June, Timoshenko and Zhukov met with Stalin seven times.

According to Zhukov, they called for immediately bringing the troops into some incomprehensible “state of full readiness for war” (preparations were already carried out continuously and at the limit of strength), and, according to a number of modern researchers, for a preemptive strike without waiting for the completion of the strategic deployment .

Truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction must stay within the bounds of probability, but truth cannot. Mark Twain

Zakoretsky and Solonin believe that in the face of Berlin’s obvious aggressive intentions, Stalin did listen to the military.

Presumably at a meeting on June 18 with the participation of Tymoshenko, Zhukov, Molotov and Malenkov, it was decided to start a preventive war not sometime, but on June 22, the longest daylight hours of the year. Not at dawn, but later.

The war with Finland was preceded by. According to researchers, the war with Germany should also have begun with a provocation - a raid on Grodno by several Junkers and Dorniers purchased from the Germans. At the hour when residents have breakfast and go out into the streets and parks to relax after a week of work.

The propaganda effect would have been deafening, and Stalin could well have sacrificed several dozen civilians in the higher interests.

The version explains almost everything quite logically.

And Stalin’s refusal to believe that the Germans would strike almost simultaneously (such coincidences simply do not happen, and what Hitler intends to do in the following days is no longer important).

And mobilization began on Monday (the decree was prepared in advance, but they did not bother to redo it in the confusion of the first morning of the war).

There are two wills in the field Russian proverb

And the disarmament of the fighters based near Grodno (so that one of the “vultures” would not be accidentally shot down over Soviet territory).

The deliberate complacency made the fascist perfidy even more blatant. The bombs were supposed to fall on a peaceful Soviet city in complete prosperity. Contrary to popular belief, the demonstration was not addressed to the Germans, but to its own citizens.

It also becomes clear that Stalin did not want to blur the effect by introducing a cover-up plan ahead of time.

Unfortunately for the USSR, the aggression turned out to be real.

However, this is only a hypothesis, as the authors themselves emphasize.

The great secret of the Great Patriotic War. Eyes are open Osokin Alexander Nikolaevich

What did German aircraft bomb at dawn on June 22, 1941?

I have already written several times in my books about the mysteries of aviation actions on the first day of the war, that to this day it is not known exactly which cities were the first to be subjected to German bombing on the morning of June 22, 1941, that of the four cities named Molotov in his radio speech on June 22 (Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas), in the recently published General Staff report for that day only Kaunas is mentioned. And according to Churchill (according to information from a British agent at the German embassy), Molotov, when meeting with Ambassador Schulenburg on that day, told the latter: “Your planes bombed 10 defenseless villages today.”

The colossal number of Soviet aircraft destroyed on that day (1,200 - according to officially recognized Soviet data, 1,800 - according to individual researchers) is still explained in different ways: by their lack of combat readiness (dismantling due to maintenance), and by the lack of pilots (at the same time, the flight crew was sent on layoffs and vacations), and the lack of fuel in the tanks (in some places the gas tanks turned out to be filled with water!), and even a direct ban on shooting down German planes.

The superiority of German aircraft in terms of tactical and technical characteristics is also cited as the reason for the defeat of Soviet aviation on the first day of the war, since the bulk of Soviet aviation allegedly consisted of outdated types of aircraft. However, in recent years it has become known that in the border districts there were already from 1,500 to 2,000 aircraft of new types (Yak-1, LaGG-3, Il-2, Pe-2, Su-2, but most of all there were high-altitude high-speed fighters MiG-3).

It was reported that the border airfields of the Air Force were located very close to the border - at a distance of 8 - 30 km (by the way, this coincides with the 7.5-kilometer zone introduced in 1939, in which the Soviet Air Force was prohibited from detaining German intruders without warning the border troops) .

It was alleged that 66 Soviet border airfields were subjected to the first attack. For the first time, this number, as well as the number of 1,200 aircraft destroyed on them, was named in the official publication “History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941–1945.” Volume 2" (M.: Voenizdat, 1961. P. 16).

It was Molotov’s words “ten defenseless villages” that gave me the idea that I am going to develop further. But weren’t these airfields, which are most often named after nearby villages (such as Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Bykovo, Tushino, etc.)? It is quite logical that the Germans began their attack on the USSR with a strike on Soviet airfields, and primarily on those where the latest aircraft were based, capable of successfully resisting massive German air raids. And I was able to find a document that made it possible to document this assumption. Such a document turned out to be “Operational report of the General Staff of the Red Army No. 01 at 10:00 a.m. on June 22, 1941,” signed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Army General Zhukov (by the way, this is the first report of the General Staff in this war and the only one signed personally by Zhukov for the first five days of the war, since on the afternoon of June 22 he will fly to Kiev and in the evening he will arrive with Khrushchev at the front office of the Southwestern Front in Tarnopol).

I counted the settlements mentioned in it, including the cities subjected to German bombing, and there were exactly 33 of them. This figure aroused my suspicion - exactly two times less than the number of airfields that German aircraft bombed on June 22. This multiplicity suggested that Zhukov, and perhaps Timoshenko, decided not to immediately expose their heads by reporting that the Germans had attacked all 66 airfields that had new aircraft, since Stalin would have immediately realized that in the end all new aircraft were destroyed.

There is another option for the appearance of the number 66. The famous historian M.I. Meltyukhov, in the 3rd edition of his book “Stalin’s Lost Chance,” reports that according to German data, “At 3:15 a.m. on June 22, 1941, 637 bombers and 231 fighters German Air Force (868 aircraft in total, remember this figure. - A.O.) launched a massive attack on 31 Soviet airfields. In total, on this day, 66 Soviet airfields were subjected to air strikes, where 70% of the air forces of the border districts were located.” If this is the case, the German data almost exactly confirms the Soviet data (a simple coincidence is unlikely here). Therefore, I decided to bring together new information from the first General Staff report with data from the two most serious sources about Soviet aviation on the first day of the war: “Air Force grouping as of 06/22/41. Aviation regiments of the Red Army Air Force on 06/22/41" (00000654.xls) and "The Red Army in June 1941" (statistical collection).

OPERATIONAL REPORT OF THE GENERAL STAFF OF THE RED ARMY No. 01

At 04.00 on June 22, 1941, the Germans, without any reason, raided our airfields and cities and crossed the border with ground troops.

1. Northern front. The enemy violated the border with a flight of bomber aircraft and entered the area of ​​Leningrad and Kronstadt. In an air battle, our fighters shot down 2 aircraft.

Up to 17 enemy aircraft tried to get to the Vyborg area, but, not reaching it, they turned back.

In the Kuolajärvi area, a German soldier of the 9th Infantry Motorized Regiment was captured. The rest of the front is calm.

2. Northwestern Front. The enemy opened artillery fire at 04.00 and simultaneously began bombing airfields and cities Vindava, Libau, Kovno, Vilna and Siauliai. As a result of the raid, fires broke out in Vindava, Kovno and Vilna.

Losses: 3 of our planes were destroyed at the Vindava airfield, 3 Red Army soldiers were wounded and a fuel depot was set on fire; at 04.30 there was an air battle over the areas of Kaunas and Libau, the results are being clarified. From 05.00 the enemy conducted systematic raids in groups of 8 - 20 aircraft on Ponevezh, Shavli, Kovno, Riga, Vindava, the results are being clarified. The enemy's ground forces have gone on the offensive and are striking in two directions: the main one - from the area of ​​Pillkallen, Suwalki, Goldap with forces of three to four infantry divisions and 200 tanks in the direction of Olita, and the strike providing the main group - from the area of ​​Tilsit on Taurage, Jurbarkas with forces of up to three four infantry divisions with an unknown group of tanks.

As a result of border battles, the enemy attack on Taurage was repulsed, but the enemy managed to capture Jurbarkas. The position in the direction of the main enemy group is being clarified. The enemy, apparently, is striving to attack Olita, Vilna to reach the rear of the Western Front, ensuring its actions with a blow to Taurage, Siauliai.

3. Western Front. At 04.20 up to 60 enemy aircraft bombed Grodno And Brest. At the same time, the enemy opened artillery fire throughout the entire Western Front.

At 05.00 the enemy bombed Lida, disrupting the army's wire communications.

From 05.00 the enemy continued continuous raids, attacking cities with groups of Do-17 bombers accompanied by Me-109 fighters Kobrin, Grodno, Bialystok, Brest, Pruzhany. The main targets of attack are military camps.

In air battles in the Pruzhany area, 1 enemy bomber and 2 enemy fighters were shot down. Our losses are 9 aircraft.

Sopotskin and Novoselki are burning. With ground forces, the enemy is developing an attack from the Suwalki area in the direction of Golynka, Dąbrowa and from the Sokołów area along the railway to Wołkowisk. The advancing enemy forces are being clarified. As a result of the fighting, the enemy managed to capture Golynka and reach the Dombrov area, throwing back units of the 56th Infantry Division to the south.

Intense fighting is taking place in the direction of Sokolow and Wolkowysk in the Cheremkha area. With his actions in these two directions, the enemy is obviously trying to cover the northwestern group of the front.

The commander of the 3rd Army with the introduction of a tank division seeks to eliminate the enemy breakthrough to Golynka.

4. Southwestern Front. At 04.20 the enemy began shelling our border with machine-gun fire. Since 04.30 enemy planes have been bombing cities Lyuboml, Kovel, Lutsk, Vladimir-Volynsky, Novograd-Volynsky, Chernivtsi, Khotyn and airfields near Chernivtsi, Galich, Buchach, Zubov, Adam, Kurovice, Chunev, Sknilov. As a result of the bombing in Sknilov, a technical warehouse was set on fire, but the fire was extinguished; 14 aircraft were disabled at the Kurowice airfield and 16 aircraft at the Adam airfield. Our fighters shot down 2 enemy aircraft.

At 04.35, after artillery fire in the Vladimir-Volynsky and Lyuboml areas, enemy ground forces crossed the border, developing an attack in the direction of Vladimir-Volynsky, Lyuboml and Krystynopol.

At 05.20, in the Chernovitsa area near Karpeshti, the enemy also launched an offensive.

At 06.00, an enemy parachute landing of an unknown number was dropped in the Radzechów area. As a result of the actions of ground troops, the enemy occupied, according to unverified data, Parkhach and Vysotsko in the Radymno area. Up to a regiment of enemy cavalry with tanks operating in the direction of Rava-Russkaya penetrated to the UR. In the Chernivtsi area, the enemy pushed back our border outposts.

In the Romanian sector, 2 enemy aircraft were shot down in air battles over Chisinau and Balti. Individual enemy aircraft managed to break through Grosulovo and bomb airfields Balti, Bolgrad and Bulgarian. As a result of the bombing, 5 aircraft were destroyed at the Grosulovo airfield.

Enemy ground forces on the Lipkana and Reni front tried to cross the river. Prut, but were repulsed. According to unverified data, the enemy in the Kartal area landed troops across the river. Danube.

Front commanders have put into effect a cover plan and, through active actions of mobile troops, are trying to destroy enemy units that have crossed the border.

The enemy, having forestalled our troops in deployment, forced units of the Red Army to take battle in the process of occupying their initial position according to the cover plan. Using this advantage, the enemy managed to achieve partial success in certain areas.

Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army

Army General ZHUKOV

(TsAMO. F. 28 (16). Op. 1071. D. 1. L. 2–5. Original)

I wrote down the names of all the settlements mentioned in the report of General Staff No. 01 in connection with the bombing and the information found about the air regiments located in them.

Airfields in populated areas indicated in the operational report of General Staff No. 01

In 16 settlements (with a “?” sign - no information and a “+” sign - there are mentions in various memoirs) according to the indicated sources, there were no Soviet airfields. In my opinion, this does not mean at all that they were not there. Most likely, the data on the basing of a particular air regiment indicates only its main airfield, and some regiments, by decision of their commanders or commanders of divisions, corps, armies and even districts (for example, OdVO), were transferred to reserve field airfields on June 20–21. From the memoirs of eyewitnesses published in the press, published in the form of books, and also on the Internet, I became aware of a number of Soviet border airfields not listed in the first report of the General Staff, which at dawn on June 22, 1941 were attacked by German planes: Zubov, Buchach, Khotin, Novograd-Volynsky (marked with a + sign), Mitava, Keidany, Zabludov, Dolubovo, Velitsk, Kolki, Kivertsy, Mlinov, Dubno, Stanislav, etc. It follows that the Germans struck the first blow on a much larger number of Soviet airfields than indicated in the General Staff report No. 01, it is quite possible that there really were 66 of them. (Although it can be assumed that the Soviet pilots who came under these bombings, as well as representatives of other branches of the military, call the first all German raids that were their first on that day.) And the number 33 perhaps means the number of airfields on which the new type of aircraft were based, attacked in the first raid by German aviation.

In the table “Aviation regiments of the Red Army Air Force as of June 22, 1941,” given on the website www.soldat.ru/files/f/00000654.xls, I found data on the number of MiG-3 fighters as of June 22, 1941 in the air regiments of the Red Army Air Force.

TOTAL: 784 MiG-3 (of which 342 are not in the western districts)

15 MiG-3 (four aircraft have 1–5 MiG-3 each)

TOTAL: 799 MiG-3

It turned out that all border airfields that had MiG-3 fighters were attacked by German aircraft at dawn on June 22, 1941, while out of 16 airfields, only three airfields with MiG-3 located in the Leningrad Military District, and one in ORVO.

I also counted the number of other (except MiG-3) aircraft of new types in the air force regiments of the western districts and summarized the results in a table (a small number of MiG-1 aircraft are included in the total number of MiG-3 aircraft).

Number of new aircraft (without MiG-3) 22.6.41 in air regiments of the KA Air Force

The total number of new types of aircraft in the western border districts attacked on June 22, 1941 (PribOVO, ZapOVO, KOVO, OdVO):

799 MiG-3+ 44 LaGG-3 + 131 Yak-1+ 265 Pe-2 + 77 Il-2 + 203 Su-2 + 121 Yak-2, Yak-4 = 1,640 units.

A total of 1,640 aircraft of new types, but there were also quite modern bombers Il-4 and DB-3f (939 units) and SB (1,336 units).

There are reports that 70% of new types of Soviet aircraft were destroyed on the first day. If this is so, then their number will be about 1,148 units, which is very close to 1,200 - the number of Soviet aircraft destroyed on the first day of the war (so maybe the Germans destroyed 1,200 new aircraft, and 1,800 in total?)

While counting the number of MiGs in the air regiments of the Red Army on June 22, 1941, I also counted how many aircraft of all types there were in the air regiments of the five western border districts. It turned out that 8,178 units. Of these, the aviation of only one district was not subject to German air attacks - Leningrad, whose air regiments had 1,721 aircraft that day. This means that there were 6,457 aircraft at the airfields of the four remaining western border districts. A German source indicated that the 66 Soviet airfields attacked that day contained 70% of the Soviet aviation of the border districts. That is, 4,520 aircraft (most likely, the remaining aircraft were dispersed to alternate field airfields, or they were long-range bombers and were located quite far from the border).

If on the first day 1,200 Soviet aircraft were destroyed, the losses of aviation in the border districts amounted to 26.5%, but if 1,800, then 40%. These were unheard of losses.

Analysis of the tables above allows us to draw the following conclusions:

1. All border airfields of the western Soviet districts, where fighters and new types of aircraft were located, were attacked by the Germans on the morning of June 22. From the above-mentioned (p. 483) 868 aircraft that took part in the first raid (there is information that on June 21 they carried out exactly 868 sorties - preparations were underway for the attack on June 22), it follows that on average 20 bombers flew at each Soviet airfield accompanied by 7 fighters. If we take into account that, according to German information, on June 22, 1941, German Air Force aircraft made 2,272 sorties, it turns out that these aircraft carried out an average of three raids.

2. Of the new aircraft, the MiG-3 was the most common among the troops along the western border, most likely due to the fact that at that time it was the only high-altitude serial fighter capable of countering the bombers in service with England (aircraft with similar altitude capabilities Germany did not). They were distributed as follows: ZOVO - 235 aircraft, LVO - 173, PribOVO - 139, KOVO - 122, OdVO - 127 aircraft. An important detail is that not a single MiG-3 was allocated to guard Moscow and Baku on June 22, 1941. Obviously, Stalin understood that it would not be possible to fly from London to Moscow (2,485 km) with a bomb load (including return). Not a single MiG-3 was allocated for air defense of Baku oil fields either. Apparently, the leader considered that the I-16 and I-153 Chaika would cope perfectly with the old-type bombers flying from British air bases in the Middle East.

3. From these tables the plan of the Luftwaffe command emerges. It knew how many and what kind of aircraft the Soviet Union had allocated for a joint operation against Great Britain. Since, by agreement with Stalin, German planes flew over Soviet territory in the last two pre-war days, transferring their planes to Iraq, and landed at border Soviet airfields, the Germans knew exactly at which airfields there were MiGs and other new Soviet fighters capable of intercepting German bombers. That’s why they struck the very first blow at dawn on June 22 against them. On the other hand, it is very likely that the priority destruction of the MiG-3 high-altitude interceptors was one of the points in Churchill’s agreement with Hitler (through Hess) on a joint attack on the USSR.

4. It turned out that at almost all airfields of the Soviet border districts, the air regiments in approximately equal numbers included new MiG-3s, obsolete I-16 aircraft, as well as I-153 biplanes (serial production of which began in 1939). ). Why the regiments, when receiving new equipment, did not completely switch to new aircraft is unclear, because this seriously complicated the supply and maintenance of aircraft, led to a shortage of pilots, etc. Perhaps one of the reasons is the extensive experience in piloting the I-16 and I-153 and the lack of such experience in piloting the MiG-3, which is also much more difficult to control.

But, according to my assumptions, there was another reason. I believe that this was due to the preparation of a joint attack on England with Germany. In 1940–1941 Germany was experiencing an acute shortage of aircraft. Even for the war against the USSR, by June 22, 1941, the German command allocated no more than 3,600 aircraft (and according to V.A. Belokon - 2,600) against 8,178 Soviet ones (the last figure was obtained by me as a result of counting all aircraft from the western districts only) . At that time, German aircraft regularly bombed England, but the target detection posts of the British air defense, equipped with radars, promptly informed the Air Force of the direction of the next enemy raid and the distance from its bombers to protected objects. This allowed the British command to direct their planes precisely towards the approaching German bombers and very effectively counter them.

I believe that the idea of ​​​​using the obsolete Soviet fighters I-16 and I-153 could be so that in a raid on the islands at the time of landing, the huge number of aircraft participating in it would not allow British radar operators to distinguish reflections from obsolete ones on their screens Soviet and from the latest German aircraft. And the use of a huge number of such Soviet fighters in the East during a joint operation against the British Empire would be even more effective.

It is possible that to ensure such massive raids, the secret order of the People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko No. 0362 dated December 22, 1940 “On changing the order of service for junior and middle commanding personnel of the Red Army Air Force” appeared. By this order, all command, navigator and technical personnel from the aviation unit (detachment) and below were transferred to the category of junior command personnel, therefore all positions in them had to be filled by sergeants and foremen. Because of this, all aviation schools and colleges that previously graduated junior lieutenants and junior military technicians began to graduate sergeants (“the sergeant period” was six months before the start of the war and a whole year during it).

5. On October 2, 1940, Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee No. 1854-773ss “On increasing the range of fighters and organizing their production at factories” was adopted. Its first paragraph said: “Set a range of 1,000 km for all single-engine fighter aircraft being introduced into mass production and newly designed. at 0.9 maximum speed. The specified range must be ensured by the capacity of the tanks located inside the aircraft.” (The next paragraph of the resolution established a range of 2,000 km for twin-engine fighters.) Such a decision could have been made to ensure the transfer of new Soviet fighters to the shores of the English Channel - after all, the distance from the new border of the USSR (Lithuania - Latvia - Western Belarus) to the strait is 800–900 km (by the way, from the old border it was 1,100 – 1,200 km). Its main goal is the non-stop transfer of new fighters at maximum speed. (It should be noted that the MiG-3's original flight range of 700 km was increased to 1,200 km by June 22, 1941.)

6. There were at least two options for using the mass of Soviet I-16 and I-153 fighters against England:

- during Operation Sea Lion, a flight from coastal airfields or simply suitable sites for take-off in a straight line to the straits, a minimal (to London) deepening over the territory of England, then a turn and return to the original airfield; the purpose of the flight is only to distract and maximally clog the screens of English radar stations with targets; since the pilots of these aircraft were not going to conduct any battles, then air combat masters were not required;

- using them as projectile aircraft in an unmanned version (we must not forget that in Germany work was already in full swing on the creation of V-1 projectile aircraft, which had a similar combat mission). Of course, it was not about installing any guidance systems on these aircraft; it was possible to use only a small starting device, and on the route - a regular autopilot. Instead of a pilot, machine guns and ammunition, explosives could be loaded (about 300 kg). The simultaneous launch of several thousand of these aircraft and their explosion at the end of the flight would not only completely disable the British radar detection system, but would also turn such a massive fighter raid into a giant artillery barrage, after which it would be possible to begin landing sea and airborne troops. (It should be recalled that in 1939–1940 the Soviet aircraft industry produced more than 3,000 I-153 biplane fighters and more than 4,000 I-16 fighters.)

7. The reality of this option is also confirmed by the fact that in the USSR, from the mid-1930s, at the Ostekhbyuro (under the leadership of V.I. Bekauri), later at NII-20, with the participation of plant No. 379, work was underway to create a radio control system for aircraft - at first bombers TB-1, and then TB-Z (see Appendix 11). In those years such an aircraft was called telemechanical and was controlled by radio from an escort aircraft. Initially, a variant was developed for lifting such an aircraft by a pilot who, after lifting and putting the aircraft on course, jumped out of it with a parachute. A more advanced version made it possible to take off without a pilot, “route flight to a target and return to the airfield under radio control” (as stated in the report on its successful state tests dated 4/4/41 - see Appendix 11). This means that, as befits a projectile aircraft in battle, it flies only in one direction. It is known that in addition to TB-Z, means of radio and telemechanical control of DB-3F and SB aircraft were developed. So we cannot exclude the possibility of an attempt to make both the I-16 and I-153 unmanned aircraft.

8. It is impossible not to recall that during Molotov’s visit to Berlin and after it, the world press called the construction of aircraft factories in the USSR, which also work for the benefit of Germany, one of the most important topics of the negotiations held there (see p. 254). This means that the issue of Germany using the air power of the USSR in the fight against the British Empire was considered very seriously. Therefore, Molotov’s delegation included two deputy people’s commissars of the aviation industry and, as will be shown below, almost the entire top leadership of the Soviet Air Force.

In this regard, it should be noted that during the month preceding Molotov’s trip to Berlin and the month after the end of the negotiations, Stalin made a number of important decisions on aviation. The main one is decision PB No. 22/94 dated November 5, 1940 “On the Red Army Air Force,” the key point of which was the creation of long-range bomber aviation and the increase by the end of 1941 of front-line aviation (bombers and fighters) to 100 air regiments with increasing the number of its aircraft to 22,171 (6,750 aircraft more than before). During this period, a number of resolutions were also adopted on the organization of the production of combat aircraft and aircraft engines in the western regions of the country - in Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (PB decisions No. 21/99 dated 8.10.40, 21/ 240 from 10/18/40 and 21/372 from 11/28/40).

9. Taking into account the previous conclusions, the arrival of the German Aviation Commission in the USSR on April 2–17, 1941 looks completely different (see pp. 361–381). It is quite possible that the commission checked how work was progressing on the production of two aircraft specifically for Operation Sea Lion: the high-altitude high-speed fighter MiG-3 and the three-seat dive daytime front-line bomber Pe-2 without pressurized cabins and a turbocharger (it was initially developed in this form) .

By the way, by that time the flight range of both aircraft had been increased to 1,200 km, which means they could fly from PribOVO to England, strike, fly over the English Channel and land at one of the German airfields. The reason for the transformation of a daytime high-altitude escort fighter into a dive bomber is not very clearly explained in historical and memoir literature. Some authors believe that after the visit of our representatives to Germany and familiarization with Hitler’s technology, it was recognized that such a fighter was not really needed. We should also not forget that simultaneously with the Pe-2 bomber, the Pe-3 heavy fighter was produced for the air defense of Moscow on the same basis during the war years. The two-seat Pe-3 fighter with the first Soviet aircraft radar "Gneiss-2" (chief designer V.V. Tikhomirov) in 1942 became the first Soviet night fighter.

The purpose for which the modification of the Messerschmitt Bf-109A (in common parlance - Felix) was developed, the main task of which was considered to be the ability to withstand the English Spitfire-V fighter, but it turned out that its development began immediately after its appearance MiG-3.

While working with the documents of the pre-war decisions of the Politburo on aviation at the RGASPI, I discovered a number of declassified documents marked “Special Folder”, allowing us to understand Stalin’s strategic plans.

From the appendix clause 88 (OP) of the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars, approved by the Decision of the PB of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks No. 30 of April 8, 1941 “On the capital construction plan of NPOs for 1941”:

“...7. Approve the following distribution of funds for the construction of gasoline tanks:

LVO - 8 O79 tr.

PribOVO – 25,121 tr.

ZAPOVO – 8,048 tr.

Kiev Special Military District - 12,991 rubles.

Odessa - 6,995 tr.

Total: – 150,000 tr.

…12. Approve the following distribution of funds for the construction of operational airfields by district:

Leningrad Military District - 24,274 thousand rubles.

Baltic Special Military District - 23,800 rubles.

Western Special Military District - 25,110 rubles.

Kiev Special Military District - 39,288 rubles.

Odessa Military District - 10,637 tr.

Total: – 150,000 tr.

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (Molotov)

Secretary of the Central Committee (Stalin)"

(RGASPI. F. 17. Op. 162. Storage unit. 33. L. 158)

Another important document was discovered - on the distribution of fuel and lubricants between military districts before the war - Appendix No. 10 to the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks No. P33/197 dated 6.6.41 “On the types of state material reserves and the plan for the accumulation of these reserves for 1941" (OP):

Mobile location location reserves of fuel and lubricants for non-commercial organizations by 1.1. 1942 in tn.

(RGASPI. F. 17. Op. 162. Item 34. L. 135)

From the first document it is clear that out of seventeen Soviet military districts, a third of all allocated capital investments were allocated to the five western border districts for the construction of gasoline tanks, that is, the proportion was approximately met. The majority (82%) of funds were allocated to these five districts for the construction of new airfields. And this is quite understandable: there is a war in Europe. But the allocated amount was distributed quite unexpectedly among these five districts, which is clearly seen from the table in which I have compiled this new data. For clarity, I calculated the percentage for each of the five western border districts of the total amount allocated to all five and indicated it in brackets. In addition, I indicate the number of German divisions deployed against each of these districts. 24 divisions that were in reserve were not included in the calculation.

Distribution of air resources and funds between western districts

Noteworthy is the fact that although only 10% of the air regiments of all those located in the western districts were located in PribOVO, 20% of the funds were allocated for the construction of operational airfields in this district, and twice as much - 40% - for the construction of gasoline tanks.

In my opinion, it is logical to explain this by the maximum proximity of the Baltic states to the English Channel, where Soviet air regiments intended to participate in the Great Transport Operation were supposed to be transferred, and therefore fuel was delivered. In addition, part of this gasoline was to be used to refuel German aircraft transferred from East Prussia through the USSR to the Middle East during a joint transport operation.

The distribution of mobile gasoline reserves by district not only testifies in favor of this explanation, but also suggests that the main efforts of Soviet aviation in the war for some reason should have been directed to the south, since the mobile reserve of aviation gasoline for the southern direction was 5.8 times higher than the mobile reserve of PribOVO , 2.8 times the mobile reserve of the PribOVO and LVO combined and 1.28 times the total mobile reserve of all other western districts.

The distribution of Soviet air regiments (10% each in the north-west and PribOVO and 60% in the south in KOVO and OdVO) can be explained by the fact that, according to an agreement between Hitler and Stalin, the main striking force during the landing on the British Isles was to be Luftwaffe aircraft, and during an attack on British bases and during further hostilities in the Middle East - Soviet Air Force aircraft.

If we assume that Soviet air regiments were to be located in proportion to the German forces concentrated against them in the north-west and south, then in PribOVO, for the above reason, there were half as many air regiments, and in KOVO and OdVO one and a half times as many as required.

The discovered documents completely deny the hypothesis that in June 1941 Stalin was preparing a strike on Germany, and show the complete lack of evidence of both the Hitler-Ribbentrop-Goebbels and Rezuno-Suvorov-Solonin statements about this.

Foreign authors: “On June 22, 1941, Stalin or his double was in Sochi.” This is what some modern foreign historians write about Stalin’s life in the last pre-war days and at the very beginning of the war. One of them is the American journalist and historian Roman Brakman, for many years

From the book Night of the Long Knives. The struggle for power of the party elites of the Third Reich. 1932–1934 by Gallo Max

June 22, 1941 through the eyes of the Germans (cited from with page indication) * * * The soldiers of the divisions concentrated in the east could not help but feel a change in the relations between the countries. One lieutenant wrote home in early March: “Do you know what I noted? That now is the first time since

From the book Secret Pages of the Great Patriotic War author Bondarenko Alexander Yulievich

June 22, 1941 through the eyes of Soviet people * * *Major General P.V. Sevastyanov, in 1941 political officer of the 5th Infantry

From the book The Great Secret of the Great Patriotic War. Eyes open author Osokin Alexander Nikolaevich

On June 22, 1941, Soviet radars detected the first enemy raid. One of the mysteries of the Red Army disaster on June 22, 1941, which allowed the Germans to reach the walls of Moscow, was the first strike inflicted by German aviation. It is still unclear which cities were subjected to the first strike from

From the book The Word and “Deed” by Osip Mandelstam. Book of denunciations, interrogations and indictments author Nerler Pavel

Radio message at 6.00 am on June 22, 1941 After the publication of the book “The Great Secret...” the publishing house “Vremya” received a letter from a reader from Yoshkar-Ola, Veniamin Mochalov. Along with the letter, I received from the editor his fifty-page brochure “The Collapse of the World Revolution (New Look

From the book Diary of 1827–1842. Love affairs and military campaigns author Wulf Alexey Nikolaevich

Secret Politburo resolution of June 21, 1941 One of the mysterious pre-war documents that appeared at the most tense moment, when information was received from all sides about the readiness of German troops to attack and defectors directly stated that at 4.00 on June 22

From the author's book

Was Chernyakhovsky's 28th Tank Division in Germany on June 22, 1941? In the book by I. Bunich “Operation Thunderstorm”. “Stalin’s mistake” says: On the North-Western Front, the commander of the tank division, the valiant Colonel Chernyakhovsky, opened his red package without a moment’s hesitation,

From the author's book

June 10, 1941 We discussed the situation. North Africa. The British completed the regrouping of troops in the Es-Sollum area. It is not yet known whether they will attempt to defend or attack. (Radio reconnaissance discovered another divisional and regimental headquarters.) Crete. Until now

The first step towards the tragedy of June 22, 1941. Did Hitler come to Moscow with Ribbentrop? A complete list of Ribbentrop's delegation has been discovered. If in previous times in our country historical truth was hidden with the help of censorship - literary, political and most importantly -

From the author's book

The second step towards the tragedy of June 22, 1941. Photo trip to Berlin with Molotov “Golden nuggets” from the archives Work in the archive is similar to the work of a gold digger - endless sifting of rock in search of gold flakes, when only occasionally one or another will sparkle. And suddenly one day I

From the author's book