December 8, 1941 event. The meaning of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism

December 12, 1941 At two o'clock in the morning, Lieutenant General M.G. Efremov got acquainted with the final version of the plan for a private operation to seize the city of Naro-Fominsk, presented for approval by the chief of staff of the army, Major General A. Kondratyev. Army commander

December 13, 1941 Early in the morning, the army headquarters received a directive from the commander of the Western Front on the preparation of the armies of the center and the left flank, as well as the 1st Guards. cavalry corps of General Belov to the offensive. The battle for Naro-Fominsk on December 12, 1941 of the 33rd Army was delivered

December 22, 1941 As expected, the command of the Western Front remained extremely dissatisfied with the fact that the success that was outlined on the left flank, not only failed to develop, but also had to retreat somewhat. At night, the commander of the army, General Efremov, had no

December 23, 1941 The situation in the 33rd Army's offensive zone was still very difficult. The offensive has long been transformed into "gnawing" at the well-organized enemy defense. The command and headquarters of the army, once again assessing the situation in the strip

December 25, 1941 The success achieved on the left flank of the army in the Iklinsky area by units of the 113th SD in cooperation with the 52nd SP of the 93rd SD gave hope that now the offensive would go faster: the enemy's defenses were broken. The formations of the 33rd Army conducted fierce

December 26, 1941 At night, the front commander, General G.K. Zhukov, signed order No. 0127 / op, which clarified the tasks for the commander of the 33rd and 43rd armies to pursue the enemy in the Mozhaisk and Maloyaroslavets directions. 33rd Army received the task, developing the offensive

December 27, 1941 During the day, formations and units of the 33rd Army continued to engage in heavy battles with the enemy in all sectors of the front. Early in the morning, the commander signed an order appointing the commander of the training battalion of the 183rd reserve joint venture, Lieutenant Aksenov, head of the garrison.

December 28, 1941 During the day, the army formations liberated eight more settlements from the invaders. The enemy, retreating, continued to offer stubborn resistance. The 479th and 1289th SP of the 222nd SD, advancing in the direction of Detenkovo ​​and Cheshkovo, were unsuccessful. In two days

December 29, 1941 Having resumed the offensive in the morning, the army's formations again met strong enemy fire resistance along the entire front. German troops on the right flank were still stubbornly resisting. Reflecting the attacks of our troops, the enemy "did not forget" about

On December 30, 1941, German troops continued to offer stubborn resistance. Especially fierce battles took place in the center of the army's offensive zone. Stubbornly defending the line: Novinskoe, Alekseevka, passing the 75th km, Kotovo, Shchekutina, Christmas, Bashkino, Nefedova, to the enemy

December 31, 1941 The last day of 1941 came. The year that marked the beginning of incredible suffering, trials and losses for every Soviet family. The end of the year instilled in the people some confidence that the enemy will still be defeated and expelled from the territory.

On December 1, 1941, the Germans launched a "final" massive offensive against Moscow. On this day, they unexpectedly broke through the defenses of Soviet troops in the Naro-Fominsk area and rushed north along the highway to Kubinka, to the Minsk-Moscow highway, and further south in the direction

December 2, 1941 By the end of the day, the Germans wedged into the defenses of the Soviet troops 8-9 kilometers south of Naro-Fominsk. The German reconnaissance battalion penetrated into Khimki, but the next morning was driven out of there by several tanks and a detachment of hastily mobilized residents

On December 4, 1941, the troops of the left wing of the Western Front launched a counterattack in the region of Kostrovo, Revyakino, surrounded the units of the 4th German Panzer Division and restored communication between Tula and Moscow. The Kalinin operation was completed. Soviet troops were entrenched on the line east

December 5, 1941 After our troops pushed the enemy back to positions north of Kubinka and south of Naro-Fominsk, frustrating his last attempt to break through to Moscow, counterstrikes in the areas of Dmitrov, Yakhroma, Krasnaya Polyana (20 kilometers from Moscow) and Kryukov were forced

The Germans launched a "final" massive offensive against Moscow.

On that day, they unexpectedly broke through the defenses of Soviet troops in the Naro-Fominsk area and rushed north along the highway to Kubinka, to the Minsk-Moscow highway, and farther south in the direction of Machikhino, to the Kiev highway. German tanks had already gone straight to the capital along the Mozhaisk highway, but they were stopped at the first line. In the area northeast and southwest of Zvenigorod, the Germans wedged into our defenses for 1.5-4 kilometers, by the end of the day they captured the village of Akulovo and reached the Yushkovo area. By December 4, this breakthrough was completely eliminated. On the battlefields, the Germans left 10 thousand people killed, 50 wrecked tanks and many other equipment.

The great Russian commander celebrated his 45th birthday George(Egor) Konstantinovich Zhukov(1896-1974), became Marshal of the Soviet Union, four times Hero of the Soviet Union. He was a different and far from ambiguous person. He could shoot several cowards and alarmists before the formation, or before the same formation he could reward the brave man by removing his order from his uniform. Before a large surprise offensive, when there was no time for mine clearance and it was impossible to attract attention by sappers' sorties, Zhukov ordered infantry to be sent through the minefields: the soldiers, undermining themselves, indicated with their bodies where there was a passage. Then there were tanks. But the authority was colossal: if Zhukov arrived at the front, everyone was animated: an offensive was ahead, and the offensive was victorious. Zhukov is the only military leader who dared to object to Stalin and defend his point of view. Stalin removed him for this on July 30, 1941 from the post of chief of the General Staff, but after Zhukov conducted the first successful in World War II and strategically important operation to eliminate the Elninsky ledge (in September), he began to throw him to save the most vulnerable sectors of the front ...

General of the Army Georgy Zhukov at one of the sectors of the front.

At the same time, Zhukov took out several wagons of trophies from Germany, which he had defeated (194 pieces of furniture, 323 skins of valuable furs, 44 carpets and tapestries, 20 unique hunting rifles, 4,000 meters of fabrics, 713 silverware, 820 items of dining and tea utensils, 60 museum paintings, etc., etc.), which was the reason for Stalin, having removed him from his posts, to send him beyond the Urals. Zhukov could write in a note to Zhdanov that things were bought by him to decorate the Officers' Houses, and the rest was donated by friends. During the period of mass repressions, he could ardently "support the party line" and suggest the names of "unbeaten enemies", or he could stand up for an innocent arrested person. But nothing can diminish the role of his personality in Soviet history, since the winners, in fact, are not judged. After the war, Georgy Konstantinovich was the commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany and the commander-in-chief of the Soviet administration for the administration of the Soviet zone of occupied Germany. Then, during the years of disgrace, he commanded the troops of the Odessa and Ural military districts. After Stalin's death, he was the Minister of Defense of the USSR, and in March 1958 he was dismissed with the right to wear military uniform... His broad chest was deservedly adorned with 6 Orders of Lenin, 2 Orders of Victory, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1 degree, an order October revolution, Tuvan Order of the Republic and 15 medals of the USSR. In addition - the star of the Hero of Mongolia and 17 foreign orders and medals, including the French Order of the Legion of Honor. Zhukov was awarded the Honorary Weapon with the golden image of the State Emblem of the USSR. Only Leonid Brezhnev "bypassed" him in awards in the USSR.

December 2, 1941

By the end of the day, the Germans had penetrated the Soviet defenses 8-9 kilometers south of Naro-Fominsk. A German reconnaissance battalion infiltrated Khimki, but was driven out the next morning by several tanks and a detachment of hastily mobilized residents of the city.

The formations of Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army made a last attempt to seize Tula with a blow from the east, and cut the railway and highways that connected the city with Moscow. At the same time, the Germans launched an offensive north of Tula from the west. For Tula, December 3 was the most critical day: the city was threatened with complete encirclement, the Germans were already 15 kilometers north of Tula on the Serpukhov-Tula railway section.

December 3, 1941

Partisan commissar Nikolay Petrovich Voden , who worked in the city committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in the city of Rechitsa, Gomel region, wrote a letter to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) under the heading "Notes on the causes of our defeats": "Written from August to the end of November 1941 based on personal observations during life in the occupied regions (Gomel, Oryol), conversations with the Red Army men, peasants, workers 1. Mass desertion, surrender - there is a reluctance to fight. All of this is based on the motivation “it won’t get any worse”. The peasants say that taxes in 1941 were increased 4-5 times, and personal income (household plots, side earnings) was cut to a minimum. There was nothing to pay. In the overwhelming majority of collective farms, they never received more than 500 grams of grain per workday; less than that - very often. In addition, compulsory grain purchases, increasing supplies of milk every day - it came to milking sheep. You sit half-starved and tattered, and above all, "they also mock us: you, they say, live happily and prosperously" ... Many peasants are oppressed by the abolition of free education. They dreamed of seeing their children educated and endured a lot in the name of this ... Workers express dissatisfaction with the law on courts for being late for work (that is, actual enslavement), the continuous growth of production rates and an equally continuous decline in real wages. Not even a highly skilled worker is able to feed a family ... 2. Until now, the people were confident in our military power and invincibility, and then suddenly saw what this power was worth, and came to the conclusion: we were deceived, betrayed and sold. They do not believe the figures of German losses, because people saw how battles were going on before their eyes, and Soviet troops suffered many times more losses. The mediocrity of many of our generals and, obviously, the absence of a strategic plan for the war on our territory also affected. This is noticeable, for example, due to the inability to oppose anything to the German encirclement tactics, due to the lack of organization and elementary order in the units ... The impression that the population of the occupied areas has especially disadvantageous for us is the punctuality of the Germans: their clarity when moving, everywhere there are signs, endlessly connected. The car lagged behind, a messenger immediately rushes there: what happened? The Germans very much cherish the life of the soldier: until the planes and guns bomb every dimple, the German soldier will not stick his nose out of the trench. Rises to the attack under the cover of tanks. And we attack without weapons training, without tanks, with one heavy machine gun per battalion. Some conclusions. 1. The opinion “it won’t be worse” appeared because the leaders of the country forgot (or did not take into account at all) the fact that the socialism that we are building will have to be defended by the hands of this generation. Therefore, it was necessary to provide this generation with a minimum of worldly benefits, so that it would go to defend not only the future (for which we have already shed a lot of blood), but also today's more or less bearable life. We didn't have it, but we had numerous difficulties (or, more simply, hunger strikes) with an unclear prospect for the better. 2. The bad work of the NKVD became obvious, breaking away from the masses and becoming not only over them, but also over the party organizations. Therefore, the NKVD failed ... to reveal the German plans for a surprise attack. But the NKVD managed to evoke ... fear on the part of the population, which has not forgotten 37-38 years. 3. Press, cinema, radio educated the people in the spirit of "invincibility, absolute technical and moral superiority of the Red Army," etc. This was necessary, but not to such an extent. The press made one believe that the people were enthusiastically greeting " wise laws"About trials against workers, about paying for education, about milking sheep, etc. The press was shamefully tricking, distorting the opinion of the people about" friendship "with the German fascists (in fact, no one approved of this friendship). Fulfilling the orders of the Central Committee, the newspapers proved at one time that the aggressors were Germany, Japan, then Britain and France, then again Germany ... And the last "pearls" issued by our press. "The Germans have an army starving" (this is after we brought them bread, butter, and ourselves licked our lips; after the Nazis captured Ukraine!). “The Germans have no gasoline, no metal, the main personnel of their army have been destroyed” (it is only unclear how they reached almost Moscow then?). In my opinion, in the future we need to remember two things: first, wars are waged not by governments, but by peoples; the second - it is impossible to deceive the class (and even more so the people). It is also impossible to defeat the Germans without the people. "

We reprinted this letter almost in its entirety - as a document of the era: what they said, what people thought in the first, most terrible months of the war. The fate of Woden himself is unknown. All inquiries from relatives received an answer: he did not appear in the lists of those killed, died from wounds and missing. This letter was discovered by his daughter, sorting out the papers of her deceased mother. After the war, a woman handed the letter to her mother, and after reading it, you understand that the Stalinist system simply could not keep such a person alive.

The 30th anniversary was celebrated by a participant in the war, a private Mikhail Maksimovich Karavaev, one of those ordinary war workers who bore the brunt of a hard time. Despite shelling, snowstorms and hunger, he carried bread along the Road of Life. And then he reached Konigsberg. He also managed to make war with Japan, so he was demobilized only in July 1946.

December 5, 1941

After our troops pushed the enemy back to positions north of Kubinka and south of Naro-Fominsk, frustrating his last attempt to break through to Moscow, counterattacks in the areas of Dmitrov, Yakhroma, Krasnaya Polyana (20 kilometers from Moscow) and Kryukov forced the Germans to go on the defensive, pushed them in the ledge northeast of Tula (the Germans began to retreat from the ledge), the counteroffensive of the Red Army began near Moscow(until January 7, 1942). Soviet troops numbered 720 thousand against 800 thousand from the enemy, 8 thousand guns and mortars against 10.400, 720 tanks against 1,000, 1,170 aircraft against 615, 415 Katyushas. The counteroffensive was launched by the 29th and 31st Kalinin Fronts towards Kalinin. The first 10 days, despite stubborn battles, the armies were unable to overturn the enemy. The turning point in favor of the Kalinin Front occurred after the troops of the Western Front defeated the German grouping in the Rogachev-Solnechnogorsk region and bypassed Klin.

According to one of the Moscow legends, since the morning of December 5, the Germans were standing on the Volokolamsk highway, 33 kilometers from the center of Moscow, our troops were not to Khimki (a German reconnaissance detachment even penetrated there on December 2) and a platoon of soldiers freely rode to the Sokol metro station. Field Marshal von Bock at 18.00 reported to Hitler about the complete defeat of the Russians. Hitler ordered to enter Moscow that night. Von Bock asked for a reprieve until the morning: the soldiers were exhausted, besides, there was a thaw, and everyone was wet. Hitler insisted on carrying out the order. Von Bock called a meeting at which they decided to violate Hitler's order and enter Moscow in the morning. The night remained. A group of our soldiers passed with the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan (from the one in front of which in Time of Troubles Dmitry Pozharsky prayed, and in 1812 - Mikhail Kutuzov) on the western front of the defenses that no longer existed, and a miracle happened: an unheard-of frost hit at night - minus 42 degrees. The Germans' wet uniform turned to ice. The Mother of God did not let the Nazis enter the heart of Russia.

The days of the defense of Moscow full of tragedy and courage ... This is about them with severe cruelty a poem by tanker Ion Degen:
My comrade, in mortal agony
Don't call your friends in vain.
Let me warm my palms better
Over your steaming blood.
Don't cry, don't groan, you're not small
You are not injured, you are simply killed.
Let me take off your boots as a keepsake.
We still have to advance.

December 6, 1941

The troops of the Western Front under the command of G.K. Zhukov (30th, 1st shock, 20th, 16th and 5th armies - only 100 divisions). The front of the counteroffensive was already 900 kilometers - from Kalinin in the north to Yelets in the south.

Later, Halder said that on December 6, 1941, the myth of the invincibility of the German army was smashed. With the onset of summer, Germany will achieve new victories, but this will not restore the myth of its invincibility.

Before the start of the “final” offensive on Moscow, Hitler, addressing the soldiers of the Eastern Front, wrote: “Before us is Moscow! In two years of war, all the capitals of the continent bowed before you. You marched through the streets of the best cities. You are left with Moscow. Make her bow down, show her the power of your weapon, walk through her squares. Moscow is the end of the war. Moscow is a vacation. Forward!"

SS member Christian Helzer wrote home at the end of October: “When you receive this letter, the Russians will be defeated, we will be already in Moscow, marching along Red Square. I never dreamed that I would see so many countries. I hope that I will also be present at the parade of our troops in England. "

After December 6, a soldier of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, Adolf Fortheimer, sent the following letter: “Dear wife! This is hell. The Russians don't want to leave Moscow. They began to attack. Every hour brings terrible news to us. It's so cold that the soul gets cold. You can't go outside in the evening - they'll kill you. I beg you - stop writing to me about silk and rubber boots, which I had to bring you from Moscow. Understand - I am dying, I am going to die, I can feel it. "

First in the Air Force guards air regiments Steel 29th, 129th, 155th and 526th Fighter Aviation Regiments, 215th Assault and 31st Bomber Aviation Regiments.

Tank crew junior lieutenant Ermolaev in one battle he destroyed 5 anti-tank guns, destroyed an enemy bunker, two dugouts and destroyed an enemy infantry company.

December 7, 1941

During the counteroffensive near Moscow, the troops of the Western Front liberated Yakhroma, Mikhailov and rushed towards Venev, Stalinogorsk, Epifan. The front-line operational group of Lieutenant-General F.Ya. Kostenko, who delivered the main blow to Livny; the troops of the 13th Army of the South-Western Front began fighting for Yelets.

The headquarters of the 3rd German Panzer Division, which had been attacked by the 50th Army since December 3, sent a panicky radio request to its commander, Guderian. Guderian replied: "Burn the machines, retreat to the southeast by ourselves." On December 8, additional forces attacked Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army, threatening to cut off the enemy's escape routes. The entire army of Guderian began hastily to retreat to Uzlovaya and further to Sukhinichi, throwing heavy weapons, vehicles, tractors and tanks.

Our pilots on the Southern Front shot down 82 German aircraft, destroyed 147 enemy tanks, 86 guns, 23 mortars, 24 anti-aircraft guns, more than 2,600 vehicles with infantry and military supplies, and destroyed over 8,000 enemy soldiers and officers.

December 8, 1941

The troops of the Western Front liberated the Kryukovo and Krasnaya Pakhra stations near Moscow. In the area of ​​Kryukov there were especially fierce battles. For two days our tankers and cavalrymen stormed Kryukovo, the village changed hands several times. How many of our soldiers were killed there is unknown, but, in any case, not as in the song: "A platoon is dying near the village of Kryukovo ..."

Intense fighting in the northern sector of the Western Front continues unabated day and night. Fierce battles take place for every line. Taking advantage of the established winter, our troops begin to use skis. Special squads of skiers penetrate the enemy's rear and upset his battle formations.

Nurse Masyutina carried from the battlefield 35 wounded soldiers with their weapons.

December 9, 1941

Reconnaissance Nikolai Andreevich Moiseenko the first marked the beginning of the liberation of Tikhvin from the German fascist invaders. On the night of December 8-9, the enemy was driven out of Tikhvin and thrown back tens of kilometers in a southerly direction. The front advanced 100-120 kilometers, the Nazis' plan to completely isolate Leningrad was thwarted, 10 enemy divisions suffered heavy losses.

Those who escaped from fascist captivity Sergeant Budyansky and Red Army soldiers Kompaneets M., Capurin G., Sankachev T., Savchenko I., Podgorny I., Boyko S... and others talked about the unheard-of atrocities committed by the Nazis over the captured Red Army soldiers and civilians in the occupied regions: “We were kept in a pit for 4 days, they were not given food or water. Then they drove to Kremenchug, and from there to Pavlysh station. The exhausted were shot on the road. In the village of Znamenka, the Germans killed a boy and wounded an old woman for throwing corn to captured Red Army soldiers. One of the nights we managed to escape. Making our way to our own, we saw how the Nazis brutally dealt with the population. In the village of Yanovka, the Germans took away from the population all the bread, pigs, cows, chickens, geese and household items. When the Germans began to take the last pig from the collective farmer, whose name we did not remember, she began to cry. Then the fiends stabbed the woman with a bayonet. On the "Chervone Selo" collective farm, entering the courtyard of a collective farmer, the Nazis shot all the ducks from machine guns. The collective farmer could not resist and asked them to stop firing. She was immediately shot. In the village of Tymmi, the Germans killed a boy because he approached the German tanks. In the village of Sofievka, the Nazis shot 50 women and children for the murder of one Italian officer. "

December 12, 1941

Heroic feat accomplished Red Army soldier Syplepov... In battle, he set fire to 2 German tanks with bottles of flammable liquid, destroyed a machine-gun nest with grenades, and exterminated 10 German soldiers.

The 45th anniversary was celebrated by a participant in the 1st World, Civil and Patriotic Wars Vasily Nikolaevich Gordov(1896-1950), commander of the 21st Army, Stalingrad Front, 33rd and 3rd Guards Armies. Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General. After the war, he was arrested on a falsified criminal case and shot.

Soviet writer celebrated his 30th birthday Evgeny Zakharovich Vorobiev

(1911-1990), during the war he served as a special correspondent for the front-line newspaper Krasnoarmeyskaya Pravda.

December 13, 1941

Soviet troops approached Kalinin and Klin and invited the German garrisons to surrender. They rejected the ultimatum, but hastened to retreat, having managed to set fire to many buildings. Elsewhere, the German retreat was more like a stampede. West of Moscow and in the Tula region, the roads for many kilometers were strewn with abandoned guns, trucks, tanks, stuck in the snow. Writer Elena Rzhevskaya, who served as a translator at the front in those days, recalled: “The retreat of the freezing, snow-covered hordes resembled the exodus of Napoleon's army. On the way to the front, I saw the formidable tanks of Guderian rolling back from Moscow, abandoned, destroyed, crushing Europe with their tracks and threatening Moscow. Two German formation commanders died in those days of the retreat. Army commander Brauchitsch was forced to resign. Guderian was recalled, disgraced. Hitler confessed to Goebbels that the retreat of his army, which had suffered defeat on the outskirts of Moscow, was a nightmare for him and that “had he (Hitler) been weak even for a moment, the front would have turned into a landslide, and such a catastrophe would have approached far into the shadows. " It was at this time that the appearance in Soviet folklore of the image of a "winter German" wrapped in women's scarves and fur boas stolen from civilians, and with icicles hanging from red noses.

The Pravda newspaper published the first victory report of the Sovinformburo, which spoke about the failure of the Germans to encircle Moscow and talked about the first successes of the Soviet counteroffensive. The newspaper published portraits of the generals who won the battle for Moscow: G.K. Zhukova, D.D. Lelyushenko, V.I. Kuznetsova, K.K. Rokossovsky, L.A. Govorova, I.V. Boldin, F.I. Golikova, P.A. Belov and, by the way, A.A. Vlasov. As A.I. Solzhenitsyn, Vlasov was one of the "most successful generals at the beginning of the war, as the commander of the 99th rifle division he recaptured Przemysl and held the city for 6 days, this division on June 22 was not taken by surprise; being later the commander of the 37th Army near Kiev, he left the encirclement and then became the commander of the 20th Army near Moscow, which struck the first blow there. "

The crew of the BT-7 tank of the 27th armored division of the 20th mountain cavalry division, being on patrol 1.5-2 kilometers from the village of Denisikha (Kubinka region), destroyed three German Pz.III tanks, two of them with a ram ... The tank was in ambush at the edge of the forest. Having found two German tanks emerging from the forest, the tankers set fire to one of the cannons, and decided to ram the other.

The blow fell on the drive wheel, the caterpillar of the "troika" burst. The engine of the BT-7 tank did not stall, and the tankers, dragging the enemy tank with a skid, threw it off the cliff into the river. Then the BT-7 returned to its original position. At this time, another T-3 came out of the forest and stopped at the first shot down "German". The BT-7 ran out of armor-piercing shells, and they decided to ram this tank too. On impact, the German's drive wheel was cut off and the caterpillar burst, the BT-7's engine stalled. Having started the engine on the fourth attempt, ours several times fired high-explosive shells at the German tank "for persuasiveness", and returned to the original one.

During the war, cases of tanks ramming by tanks were not isolated, however, for ramming our tankers used heavier vehicles - T-34 and KV. This case is unique. It is surprising precisely because our tankers successfully rammed a heavier and better protected enemy in a fairly light (both in terms of weight and armor) vehicle.

Collective farmers of districts Tula region , liberated by Soviet troops from the German fascist invaders, help Red Army units and Soviet partisans to smash the enemy. Thus, a group of collective farmers in the village of Brykovo blocked the road along which a unit of German motorcyclists retreated with snow. German motorcycles crashed into a snow block at full speed.

Fire at the enemy. 1941 year.

The Nazis abandoned their cars and fled through the surrounding forests. On December 13, not far from the village of Dubna, collective farmers, armed with pitchforks and stakes, attacked a group of German soldiers and turned them into a panicky flight. The workers of the Koptevsky state farm, armed with rifles and machine guns recaptured from the Germans, together with the Red Army men of one of the units took part in a battle in which many Germans were exterminated.

December 15, 1941

To cut off the Germans' escape routes from Klin, on the night of December 15, an airborne assault force (415 people) was sent to the area of ​​Teryaeva Sloboda. The paratroopers intercepted the road to Teryaeva Sloboda, destroyed bridges, destroyed communication lines. Throwing equipment, the enemy had to retreat along country roads. Only a few groups managed to break through from Klin to the west. Unfortunately, this was almost the only operation of this kind during the first stage of the Soviet counteroffensive near Moscow.

During the execution of a combat mission, a Soviet military pilot, aviation lieutenant was killed Georgy Terentyevich Nevkipely(1913-1941), a graduate of the Kachin military aviation school, a participant in the Soviet-Finnish and World War II. Squadron commander of the 65th Assault Aviation Regiment (Moscow Defense Zone), he flew 29 sorties near Moscow, destroyed several enemy tanks, 250 infantry vehicles and burned 7 enemy aircraft. Posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Troops General Lelyushenko in one day of fighting with the enemy, they captured 8 German tanks, 6 guns, 16 machine guns, 58 vehicles and other trophies.

Ten Red Army men under the leadership junior political instructor Polyansky in one battle killed 75 fascists, while losing three people wounded.

The Pravda newspaper publishes:

“The whole country will see a wonderful film about the parade. For twelve days on the screens of the nine largest cinemas in Moscow, the film "The Parade of Our Units on Red Square in Moscow on November 7, 1941" has been shown with great success. The film delights the audience. Cinema halls are overcrowded. For 11 days, about 300,000 Muscovites have visited the cinemas in which this film is shown. By December 12, 300 copies of the painting were printed ... To Leningrad, Kuibyshev. Tbilisi, Novosibirsk sent countertypes of the film for reproduction of copies of the film on site and distribution to the periphery; from Novosibirsk to the eastern regions, from Tbilisi to the republics of the Caucasus. The Cinematography Committee is making arrangements for the wide distribution of the film throughout the country. "

December 17, 1941

As a result of the battles in the Yasnaya Polyana area, our soldiers captured 11 German tanks, an armored vehicle, 119 vehicles, 9 cars, 16 motorcycles, 208 bicycles, 37 guns, 43 machine guns, 21 mortars, 46 horse carts, one plane, 48300 shells, 55 boxes of mines and 150,000 rounds.

An outstanding Soviet pilot became a Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Petrovich Silantyev(1918-1996), a participant in the war, who made 203 sorties by December 1941. In 35 air battles, he shot down 8 enemy aircraft. After the war, after graduating from two military academies, he served as deputy commander-in-chief of the Air Force. Air Marshal.

Our gunners knocked out an enemy tank. Fascist tankers got out of the car and tried to hide in the forest. Red Army Signal Officer Pomosov under the hurricane fire of enemy artillery, he ran up to the tank, jumped into the hatch and, turning the tower, shot the fleeing fascists with well-aimed machine-gun bursts.

December 18, 1941

On the outskirts of Volokolamsk, near the village of Goryuny, a tanker, senior lieutenant, took the last battle Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko(1914-1941). Attacking the enemy that had broken through our positions, he destroyed his 52nd german tank, 2 anti-tank guns and up to fifty German soldiers. On the same day, after the battle, Dmitry Lavrinenko was hit by a mine fragment.

For two and a half months of fierce fighting, the hero tanker took part in 28 battles and destroyed 52 Nazi tanks. He became the most productive tanker in the Red Army, but did not become a Hero. On December 22, 1941 he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Already in peacetime, numerous performances for the hero's award at the highest levels (Marshal Katukov, General of the Army Lelyushenko) had an effect on the bureaucratic routine. By the decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990, Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously for his courage and heroism in battles with the Nazi invaders.

The Pravda newspaper publishes:

“Having broken through the enemy's line of defense in the Aleksin-Tarusa-Volkovskoye areas, commander Zakharkin's units launched an offensive in a wide sector of the front. Over the past day, our troops have liberated up to 60 settlements from the fascist invaders. Retreating in panic, German beasts, leaving villages, burn houses, shoot civilians, torture old people and children, torture wounded Red Army soldiers. In the village of Spasskoye, fascist bandits shot 10 wounded Red Army soldiers. In the village of Rakitino, the Germans staged a brutal reprisal against the chairman of the local village council, Elena Savelyevna Shiryaeva. Having gathered the entire population of the village, the Germans hanged Shiryaeva by the legs and mocked her for a long time. When Shiryaeva tried to free the loop, the fascist monsters cut off her hands and shot her young son Shiryaeva in front of her eyes. "

The 20th anniversary was celebrated by a participant of the Soviet-Finnish and Patriotic wars Yuri Nikulin(1921–1997), who later became an outstanding Russian circus and cinema artist, great clown, People's Artist of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor.

December 19, 1941

A 38-year-old cavalry corps commander, Major General, Hero of the Soviet Union died in a battle near Moscow Region Ruza Lev Mikhailovich Dovator(1903-1941). At the beginning of the war, he commanded a cavalry group, made several raids on the enemy's rear, disorganizing his defenses. During the Battle of Moscow, he commanded a Guards Cavalry Corps, which distinguished itself with unparalleled valor during the most difficult period of the defense of Moscow in the autumn-winter of 1941. During one of the battles on December 19, 1941 in the area of ​​Ruza near Moscow, the Cossacks lay down; their attack is about to choke. And then, dismounting, Dovator crawled on his bellies into the chain of fighters. His voice sounded loudly in the frosty air: "Communists - forward!" The general stood up to his full height, and then suddenly there was heavy fire from enemy machine guns. A day later (December 21) he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

At dawn, the enemy resumed the offensive against Sevastopol after a strong artillery and mortar preparation. Continuous fighting with increasing force continued throughout the day. The city's defenders fought back desperately. So, in the sector of the 8th Marine Brigade, the chief of staff of the brigade, Major A.K. Kerner, the commanders of the company, Captain S.S.Sleznikov and Senior Lieutenant D.F. Fedorov, were killed in battles. The brigade commander, Colonel E. I. Zhidilov, was seriously wounded.

The Pravda newspaper publishes:

“Southwestern Front. Retreating under the pressure of our units, the Germans took with them an old collective farmer comrade. Spiridonov and invited him to show the way. Spiridonov led the Germans out of the village at night and declared: “I don’t know the road, I forgot…” The barbaric fascists shot Spiridonov, a valiant Russian patriot. Our people will not forget his feat, his boundless love for the homeland. "

December 20, 1941

The Red Army liberated Volokolamsk after bloody battles. There was a gallows in the central square of the city. The bodies had already been removed from it: local residents said that the executed had been hanging for a month - the Germans did not allow them to be buried.

During the month-long occupation of the city, the Nazis burned alive 126 captured soldiers, shot and killed 86 civilians, hanged eight Komsomol members from Moscow, destroyed and burned seven industrial enterprises, about 100 residential buildings and institutions.

Eight Red Army scouts led by platoon commander Karamendinov penetrated into the rear of the enemy and organized an ambush along the road. Soon 4 cars with 80 German soldiers appeared. Brave Soviet soldiers, throwing grenades at the enemy, exterminated over 20 fascists. Having destroyed a few more Germans in the ensuing firefight, the scouts skillfully left the battle and returned to their unit without loss.

December 21, 1941

The troops of the right wing of the Western Front reached the line of the Lama and Ruza rivers, where until December 25 they fought with the enemy. A mobile group of the 50th Army broke into Kaluga and started street battles with the German garrison.

An outstanding Soviet military leader, legendary commander celebrated his 45th birthday Patriotic War Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky(1896-1968), who was among the first creators of our victory. The troops under his command distinguished themselves in the Smolensk battle, battles near Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk and in other operations. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland. He was the Minister of National Defense and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Poland, Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. He was awarded 7 Orders of Lenin, 6 Orders of the Red Banner, the highest military order "Victory".

December 22, 1941

Every day, the combat score of a sniper of the 54th rifle regiment (25th rifle division (Chapaevskaya), lieutenant Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko(1916-1974). And in total, by July 1942, she had destroyed 309 Nazis. During the defensive battles, she trained dozens of good snipers, who, following her example, exterminated more than one hundred Nazis. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to her on October 25, 1943. A street in Sevastopol is named after her.

In the battle for the village of Kharino, a Soviet tankman Comrade Fomichev the tracks of his tank destroyed the enemy's anti-tank gun and about 160 German soldiers. Tank Comrade Pugacheva suppressed in the same battle 2 anti-tank guns and exterminated 90 German soldiers and officers. Tank commander senior sergeant Baranbai with well-aimed fire destroyed 4 German vehicles, 4 machine guns and a platoon of enemy infantry.

Heroic Soviet women, helping the Red Army to destroy the Nazi invaders, join the ranks of the Red Cross warriors. During the war, only the Moscow regional organizations of the Red Cross trained 3,000 vigilantes and nurses in courses. Most of them successfully work in the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, at the front, in ambulance trains and hospitals.

Recently, Nazi planes dropped bombs on the ambulance train number 100. The policemen, in spite of the impending danger, carried the seriously wounded soldiers out of the carriages and hid them in the forest. Druzhinnitsa Vera Isaeva covered the wounded soldier with her body from the fragments of enemy bombs. Being herself wounded, Comrade. Isaeva continued to save the soldiers. Druzhinnitsy of the Klinsky district Marusya Karivanova, Claudia Rogozhina and others saved the lives of 50 people by carrying them out of the burning house. The volunteers of the Dmitrovsky district, the Moscow region, are also selflessly working, Utkin, Chekunova, Shirokova, Emelyanova and many other patriots of the Soviet country.

December 23, 1941

For several days, the 350th Infantry Division of the Kalinin Front fought heavy battles near Selizharovo, which is north of Rzhev. T. Pilipenko, a participant in those battles, described the completely unprepared battle of her division in the following way: “The rifles did not fire (they did not have time to remove the factory lubricant from them), but the Germans fired heavily from machine guns. Shouts, obscenities, curses ... The commander was stupid and stubborn, chasing battalion after battalion ... Ask those who rose from the trenches what they shouted (certainly not toasts to the leader. And some words are inconvenient to write). "

Famous Belarusian partisan celebrates 50th anniversary Minai Filippovich Shmyrev(1891-1964), who became the organizer during the Patriotic War partisan movement in Belarus. His detachment included cardboard workers, and after the detachment Shmyrev commanded a partisan brigade (1st Belorussian) and worked in the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, four Orders of Lenin and became an honorary citizen of Vitebsk.

The Pravda newspaper publishes:

“Having seized Latvia, the Germans expected meek obedience from the Latvian people. But the invaders were cruelly miscalculated. Latvian soldiers and officers fought shoulder to shoulder with soldiers and commanders of the Red Army against the German invaders. Latvians also took part in the battles near Moscow. The Latvian division has shown what the people of this wonderful, proud and freedom-loving people are capable of ”.

December 24, 1941

Kalinin front. Soldiers and commanders show examples of heroism, courage, and military valor in fierce battles.

Senior Lieutenant Romadin with fifteen fighters made his way into the enemy's rear. He found a German convoy, near which up to 70 soldiers had gathered. Romadin with his soldiers quietly crept up to the enemy. From a distance of 150 meters, fire was opened from machine guns and rifles. 15 fascist soldiers were killed, the rest fled. Our group had no losses.

Junior commander Tokarev and Red Army soldier Sidorov under a hail of bullets, they crawled to the shed, where the enemy machine gun was installed. Brave Soviet soldiers threw grenades at the Germans and destroyed the entire machine-gun crew. Platoon commander of the same unit Comrade Tukhovlen with a group of fighters made his way during the attack to the dugout, where the Germans were. The Red Army men threw grenades at the enemy, destroyed four fascists and captured a machine gun.

Part-commander communist Ivanov, twice wounded, still did not leave the battlefield, and only after the third wound was he evacuated. Sergeant Komsomol Chuev was instructed to lay a communication line. On the way to Chuev and Red Army soldier Hilles attacked by fascist submachine gunners. Chuev ordered Hilles to deliver the cable to the unit, and he himself began to shoot back from the advancing enemies. He was wounded in the leg. Having tightened it with a belt, he continued to shoot. The Germans surrounded Chuev when he was already running out of cartridges, and offered to surrender. Preferring death to the shame of captivity, the signalman hero fired the last cartridge into his temple.

December 26, 1941

Kerch-Feodosia began landing operation- the first significant landing operation of the Soviet troops during the Great Patriotic War. The ships of the Black Sea Fleet, the Azov military flotilla from December 26 to 31, landed in the north and east of the Kerch Peninsula about 40 thousand people, 43 tanks, 434 guns and mortars. The enemy's Kerch grouping consisted of 25 thousand people - the main German forces in the Crimea were concentrated near Sevastopol. The initial force of the blow of our troops was impressive. Together with units of the Crimean Front, the paratroopers advanced more than 100 kilometers westward and already on December 30 liberated Kerch and Feodosia.

The Pravda newspaper publishes:

"Hero of the Soviet Union captain Basov Fulfilling a combat mission, his tank rammed 4 heavy and 7 light tanks of the enemy, crushed a camouflaged plane with tracks, and destroyed up to a hundred fascists. The Germans managed to set fire to the hero's car. Without leaving the burning tank, the crew continued to strike at the enemy and died a heroic death along with their fearless commander. "

The paramedics provided enormous assistance to the troops. Carried out from the battlefield and provided first aid to 40 wounded on this day by the nurse of the 4th battalion of the 7th marine brigade Lydia Nozenko... Medical instructor Natasha Lapteva removed from the battlefield more than 30 wounded with weapons, and in just four days of fighting -90 (!) people. The nurse of the sapper battalion behaved heroically Klava Shchelkunova... Once surrounded with a group of wounded, the girl boldly entered into a battle with the Nazis and managed to take the wounded to the location of the unit.

25th anniversary celebrated by a Soviet military pilot Nikolay Fedorovich Kuznetsov(1916-2000), who later became a Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, Doctor of Military Sciences, Major General of Aviation, Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center.

Soviet counteroffensive in the battle of Moscow. Soldiers in camouflage coats go on the attack in a village near Moscow occupied by Nazi troops.

December 27, 1941

Junior Lieutenant became a Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolay Vasilievich Oplesnin(1914-1942), a participant in the war. Assistant Chief of the Operations Division of the 111th Infantry Division (52nd separate army), he, being surrounded on September 20, 25 and 29, 1941, overcame the Volkhov (Novgorod region) by swimming, conducted reconnaissance of the area, which contributed to the exit from the encirclement of his entire division. Killed in battle.

Unit machine gunners junior lieutenant Shandur in one of the battles, 100 enemy soldiers were exterminated and 5 vehicles, several motorcycles and 30,000 rounds of ammunition were captured. The next day, the soldiers of Shandur's unit seized 26 more vehicles, a medium tank, 2 tractors, a heavy gun, 3 machine guns and a large number of ammunition.

December 28, 1941

By December 28, senior pilot of the 3rd Aviation Squadron of the 57th Assault Aviation Regiment of the 8th Bomber Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet junior lieutenant Alexey Efimovich Mazurenko(1917-2004) performed 45 sorties. Personally and in a group, he destroyed 10 tanks, 18 armored vehicles, 115 vehicles, 1 heavy gun, 9 field artillery guns, 14 anti-aircraft guns, 17 anti-aircraft machine gun points, 22 carts, 10 tanks, a lot of enemy manpower. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 23, 1942, the pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Telephone operator Ulyana Potapenko under enemy fire eliminates line damage.

From January 1944 until the end of the war - commander of the 7th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment of the 9th Assault Aviation Division of the Air Force of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. By August 17, 1944, he flew 202 successful sorties. He personally sunk 8 enemy ships (5 transports and 3 minesweepers) and 22 - as part of a group (6 transports, 6 minesweepers, 1 patrol ship, 2 high-speed landing barges, 7 patrol boats). He also destroyed a large number of military equipment on land personally and as part of a group - 21 tanks, 185 vehicles, 18 armored vehicles, 33 anti-aircraft guns, 9 field guns, 33 carts and other equipment. On November 5, 1944, Guard Lieutenant Colonel A.E. Mazurenko was awarded the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

The 30th anniversary was celebrated by a participant in the Soviet-Finnish and Patriotic wars, a Soviet military pilot Evgeny Petrovich Fedorov(1911-1993). He successfully carried out bombing strikes on the accumulations of enemy troops in the Crimea, became twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation.

The 25th anniversary was met by a participant in the battles on the Khalkhin-Gol River and the Patriotic War Vasily Andreevich Voronin(19161944), who later became a Hero of the Soviet Union, a major of the guard. The battalion commander of the 37th Guards Rifle Regiment (Central Front), at the end of September 1943, in the battles for the liberation of the Chernigov region, he knocked out the enemy from 6 settlements, knocked out 3 tanks, quickly crossed the Dnieper, seized a bridgehead, expanded it and held it in fierce battles until the main forces of the regiment approach. The hero died of his wounds.

December 29, 1941

On December 25, 1941, the Feodosia-Kerch landing operation began, which aimed to help the troops of the besieged Sevastopol, and, if possible, to release it. On December 26, tactical assault forces were landed on the Azov coast, and in the morning of the 29th, insolently, mooring at the berths of Feodossia, captured by the Nazis, in front of the Germans, the cruisers and transports began disembarking the advance detachment of the landing directly into the port of the occupied city. A little earlier, at 3.30 am, the Koktebel landing was landed from the D-5 "Spartakovets" submarine. Simultaneously with the Koktebel landing, it was planned to land in N of the item. Sarygol, however, due to the lack of watercraft, the Sarygol landing was canceled.

The Koktebel landing was considered a distraction - the reconnaissance group of sailors was tasked with tying up the Koktebel garrison in battle, so that it could not provide any assistance to the German and Romanian troops in the Feodossia area. Only volunteers were recruited into the landing. As one of the participants in the landing later recalled: "None of us really hoped to survive then, but we really wanted to help the brothers in Sevastopol."

The enemy garrison of Koktebel, fearing a new landing in its area, took up defensive positions and did not take any active actions, which was actually what the Black Sea people were trying to achieve. By the end of January 1, Soviet troops, developing the offensive, reached Koktebel and the Red Navy had the opportunity to join the main forces. At that time, about ten people remained alive, almost all were injured. On January 2, the offensive of our troops stopped, and the wounded soldiers were sailed to the rear. Until the end of the war, three members of this landing survived - G.D. Gruby, M.E. Lipai and, apparently, V.Osievsky. After the war, in honor of the heroic deed of the sailors, the central street of the village. Koktebel (aka - Planerskoe) was renamed into the street of Paratroopers.

The Koktebel landing fully completed the task - with minimal forces, he pinned down the enemy garrison and did not allow him to come to the aid of his troops on the Kerch Peninsula, or any other actions to

interfere with our troops conducting the Feodosia-Kerch landing

operation. Unfortunately, the situation at the end of 1941 was still such that it was necessary to massively resort to operations such as "distraction landings", in which the chances of the participants to survive tended to be zero.

December 30, 1941

After fierce fighting, the Red Army liberated Kaluga. At dawn, Soviet troops stormed the station, which was turned by the Germans into a fortress. The Germans fought desperately hard.

During the occupation and fighting in the city, almost all industrial enterprises, 495 buildings of cultural institutions, 445 residential buildings were destroyed. The Germans plundered the house-museum of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, destroyed the scientist's archive, and stole model missiles.

Red Army chefs Chadin and Ivanov were surrounded by ten German machine gunners. The brave Red Army men entered the battle with the enemies. Comrade Chadin stabbed 3 German soldiers with a bayonet, and Comrade. Ivanov shot the officer, the rest of the enemies fled.

December 31, 1941

The troops of the Western Front liberated the city of Belev.

By December 31, since the beginning of the war, the Red Army has lost 2,993,803 people killed and 1,314,291 wounded (total 4,308,094 people). According to some sources, 2 million people were taken prisoner, according to others - 3.9 million. Almost the entire first strategic echelon - the most trained cadre troops - was killed. In addition, the Red Army lost more than 6 million units. small arms(67 percent of what was available on June 22, 1941), 20 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery installations (91 percent), 100 thousand guns and mortars (90 percent), 10 thousand aircraft (90 percent), the total loss of ammunition amounted to 24 thousand wagons.

During the same period, the Germans lost 750 thousand (according to other sources, 830 thousand) in killed and wounded on the Eastern Front.

On the Leningrad front branch senior sergeant Zforozhan attacked two enemy wood-and-earth firing points and destroyed several dozen German soldiers who were in them. In the battle for the village of Novosyolki, the squad captured 4 enemy anti-tank guns and immediately opened fire from them on the retreating enemy. Around a company of German soldiers and officers were destroyed by well-aimed fire.

Came to Central Russia in December very coldy- the temperature reached minus 42 degrees, moreover, it was strong wind... The German troops circulated the "Memo of Great Colds" with many tips: "The lower abdomen should be especially protected from the cold with a strip of newsprint between the undershirt and the sweatshirt. Put felt, a handkerchief, crumpled newsprint or a cap with a comforter in the helmet ... The sleeves can be made from old socks. " The Germans were terribly freezing and warmed themselves as best they could, taking things from the population. A few lucky ones got peasant sheepskin coats, city wool coats or ladies' boas. But usually German soldiers looked like this: the heads of the soldiers were tied with women's scarves, some wore children's hoods under black helmets, and they wove huge boots from straw. In the second war winter, the Germans were already dressed in warm quilted overalls.

After the war, German generals unanimously began to say that the reason for the defeat near Moscow was first the dirt, and then the terrible frosts that hit. It would be extremely naive to believe that the thaw or cold did not cause any inconvenience to our troops: our soldiers with the same difficulty pulled the equipment bogged down in the muddy earth and froze in the same greatcoats. The army was dressed in sheepskin coats only in the following winter; in the winter of 1941/42, the officers and the lucky few had them.

The Nazis in the occupied Soviet territories have killed 500 thousand Jews since the beginning of the war.

June 22 - The beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Transformation of the western border districts into fronts: the Baltic Special - into the North-Western, Western Special - into the Western, Kiev Special - into the South-Western.

June 24 - Creation of the Sovinformburo. Transformation of the Leningrad Military District into the Northern Front.

June 30 - Creation of the State Defense Committee (GKO). The beginning of the formation of the people's militia in Leningrad.

July 3 Address of the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and the State Defense Committee of the USSR I.V. Stalin to the Soviet people: "Everything for the front, everything for victory."

July 30 - The troops of the Northern Front stopped the offensive of the Finnish troops in the Olonets and Petrozavodsk directions.

September 8 - Breakthrough of German troops to Lake Ladoga and their capture of Shlisselburg. The beginning of the defense of Leningrad.

October 10 - December 4 - Kalinin defensive operation of the troops of the Western and Kalinin Fronts.

On October 15, the State Defense Committee decided to evacuate part of government agencies from Moscow.

October 24 - December 5 - Tula defensive operation of the troops of the Bryansk and Western fronts.

December 6-16 - Tula offensive operation of the troops of the Western Front. Yelets offensive operation of the troops of the Southwestern Front.

December 9 - The troops of the Southwestern Front liberated Yelets. Troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts liberated Tikhvin.

December 17, 1941 - January 5, 1942 - Kaluga offensive operation of the troops of the Western Front.

December 25, 1941 - January 2, 1942 - Kerch-Feodosia landing operation of the troops of the Transcaucasian Front and the Black Sea Fleet.

1942 - major events

On January 1, 26 states, including the USA, USSR, Great Britain and China, signed the United Nations Declaration in Washington.

May 15 - The beginning of a defensive operation by partisans of the southern massif of the Bryansk forests against a punitive expedition consisting of 5 infantry divisions, police units, 120 tanks and aviation.

June 19, 21, 24, 26 - Long-range aviation formations of the Soviet Air Force attacked Konigsberg.

July 31 - Creation of the Northern defensive area for the defense of the Rybachy and Sredny peninsulas.

October 25 - November 12 - Nalchik-Ordzhonikidze defensive operation of the Soviet troops.

October 26 - November 29 - Partisan formations S.A. Kovpak and A.N. Saburova carried out a raid on the rear of the enemy in the area of ​​the Bryansk forests and the Right-Bank Ukraine.

November The greatest advance of the troops of Germany and its allies on the Soviet-German front: to Voronezh, Stalingrad, Novorossiysk, Maikop and the foothills of the Caucasus.

November 24, 1942 - January 20, 1943 - The Velikie Luki offensive operation of the troops of the Kalinin Front.

December 12-23 - Reflection by troops Stalingrad front a counterattack by the enemy's Kotelnikov grouping, which was trying to unblock the encircled army of Paulus.

December 16-30 - Mid Don offensive operation of the troops of the Southwestern and Voronezh fronts (Operation Little Saturn).

1943 year

January 1 - February 4 - North Caucasian offensive operation of the troops of the South and Transcaucasian (North Caucasian) fronts.

January - May - Defeat of the German Army Group "A". Liberation of most of the North Caucasus by Soviet troops. Withdrawal of the 17th German Army to the Taman Peninsula.

January 10 - February 2 - The offensive of the troops of the Don Front with the aim of eliminating the German troops encircled at Stalingrad (Operation Ring).

January 12 - January 30 - Offensive operation of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet (Operation Iskra). Break of the blockade of Leningrad.

January 13 - January 27 - Ostrogozh-Rossosh offensive operation of the Voronezh Front.

January 24 - February 17 - Voronezh-Kastornenskaya offensive operation of the Voronezh and Bryansk fronts.

January 26 - Combination of the troops of the 21st and 62nd armies of the Don Front in Stalingrad near the Mamaev Kurgan and the dismemberment of the encircled German group into two parts.

January 29 - February 18 - Voroshilovgrad offensive operation of the troops of the Southwestern and Southern fronts.

January 31 - April 5 - Raid of the partisan cavalry unit of M. I. Naumov across the territory of Kursk, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovograd, Odessa, Vinnitsa, Kiev and Zhytomyr regions.

January 31 - Surrender of the southern group of German troops led by Field Marshal Paulus in Stalingrad.

February 2 - March 6 - Offensive operations of the troops of the Voronezh and the left wing of the Bryansk (then Central) fronts in the Kursk-Rylsk and Kharkov-Poltava directions.

February 2 - May 25 - Raid of S.A. Kovpak's compound through Rivne, Zhytomyr and Kiev regions.

February 4 - April 6 - Novorossiysk landing operation of the Black Sea Group of Forces of the North Caucasian Front together with the Black Sea Fleet.

February 9 - March 16 - Krasnodar offensive operation of the troops of the North Caucasian Front.

February 12 - March 21 - Offensive operations of the Bryansk, Central and left wings of the Western Fronts in the Oryol-Bryansk direction.

February 19 - March 23 - Soviet troops repulse the counter-offensive of Army Group South in the Donbass and the Kharkov region.

March 2 –31 - Rzhev-Vyazemskaya offensive operation of the troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts.

March 8 - The first battle of the 1st separate Czechoslovak battalion with German troops near Sokolovo (Kharkov region).

April 4 - June 7 - Offensive operations of the troops of the North Caucasian Front in the Krasnodar-Taman direction.

May - June - Fighting of the Soviet partisans, based in the Bryansk forests, with a large punitive expedition of the enemy.

5-15 July - Defensive operation of the troops of the Central Front in the Oryol-Kursk direction.

5-23 July - Defensive operation of the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts in the Belgorod-Kursk direction.

July 12 - August 18 - Oryol operation of the troops of the left wing of the Western, Bryansk and Central fronts.

August 3 - September 15 - The first stage of the operation of the Soviet partisans to destroy the enemy's railway communications ("Rail War").

August 23 - The troops of the Steppe Front, with the assistance of the troops of the Voronezh and Southwestern Fronts, liberated Kharkov.

September 9-16 - Novorossiysk operation by the troops of the North Caucasian Front and the Black Sea Fleet.

September 9 - October 9 - Novorossiysk-Taman operation of the troops of the North Caucasian Front and the Black Sea Fleet.

September 16 - Troops of the North Caucasian Front, together with the Black Sea Fleet, liberated Novorossiysk.

September 19 - October 31 - The second stage of the operation of the Soviet partisans to destroy railway communications ("Concert").

September 22-30 - Forcing the troops of the Central, Voronezh, Southwestern and Steppe fronts of the Dnieper and seizing bridgeheads on its right bank.

10-14 October - Troops of the Southwestern Front eliminated the German bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper and liberated Zaporozhye.

October 31 - December 11 - Kerch-Eltigen landing operation of the troops of the North Caucasian Front, the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Flotilla.

November 28 - December 1 - Tehran Conference of the Heads of Government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain.

1944 year

On January 5, the Kirovograd offensive operation of the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front began, the purpose of the operation was to defeat the enemy's Kirovograd grouping.

On January 14, the Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation ended, during which the Kiev and Zhitomerskaya regions were almost completely liberated. The Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive operation of the troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov, 2nd Baltic Fronts and the Baltic Fleet began, the purpose of which was to defeat Army Group Sever and completely lift the blockade of Leningrad.

On January 27 in Leningrad, they saluted in commemoration of the final lifting of the blockade. During the blockade in Leningrad, more than 640 thousand people died of hunger. Tens of thousands were exhausted and died in evacuation, hundreds of historical and cultural monuments were destroyed or damaged.

January 24 - February 17 Encirclement and destruction of German troops in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky area.

On April 8, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front reached the state border with Czechoslovakia and Romania. The State Defense Committee adopted a resolution on the restoration of the protection of the western state border of the USSR. On the same date, the Crimean offensive operation began by forces of the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet, which continued until May 12.

On April 17, the Proskurovsko-Chernivtsi and Umansko-Batoshansk operations ended, with the end, which ended the offensive of Soviet troops in the Right-Bank Ukraine

On July 24, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front began a liberation movement in Poland, liberating the city of Lublin and one of the largest Nazi concentration camps - Majdanek. According to the Nuremberg Trials, from Oct. 1941 1.5 million people passed through this camp. 50 nationalities. In the agreement between the USSR and Poland, it was stated that the actions of Soviet troops on the territory of Poland are considered as actions on the territory of a sovereign, friendly, allied state and are dictated by the sole military necessity in the liberation of the Polish people from fascist occupation. The USSR does not lay claim to any part of Polish territory and has no goal of changing the social order of Poland.

By mid-summer, Soviet troops liberated the occupied regions of the RSFSR from the enemy.

On August 29, the operation to liberate part of the Lithuanian SSR and the Latvian SSR was completed, the liberation of the Byelorussian SSR was completed, and the liberation of Poland continued.

1945 year

January 12 - February 3 The offensive of Soviet troops in Poland and East Prussia ("Vistula-Oder operation").

January 23 - February 3 Soviet troops crossed the river. Oder and seized a foothold on its western bank.

In 1945, from 4 to 11 February, the Crimean (Yalta) conference of the leaders of the USSR, Great Britain and the United States was held. The participants agreed on the need to disarm and dissolve all German armed forces, destroy the German General Staff, liquidate the war industry, punish all war criminals, liquidate the Nazi Party and Nazi laws. Issues of reparations were discussed with Germany, about liberated Europe, about Poland, about Yugoslavia, about the creation of international organization for peacekeeping - the UN and its permanent body - the Security Council. A separate agreement provided for the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan 2-3 months after the end of hostilities in Europe.

In March, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front basically cleared the coast of the Baltic Sea from the enemy.

In April, the first and second Berlin strategic offensive operations of the Soviet troops began, which continued until May 8. Their goal was to defeat the enemy grouping that was defending in the Berlin direction.

On April 23, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke into Berlin from the south and reached the Elbe River, where they met with units of the 1st American Army approaching from the west.

On April 30, Soviet intelligence officers M.A. Egorov and M.V. Contarius hoisted the Victory Banner over the Reichstag. Fighting for the Reichstag continued until the morning of May 1, some groups surrendered on the night of May 2.

May 8 in Karlshorst at 22h. 43min. the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces took place. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a decree declaring May 9 the day of national celebrations - the Victory Day.

On August 6 and 9, American planes dropped atomic bombs to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

On August 11, the People's Liberation Army of China launched an offensive against Japanese troops in Manchuria.

On September 2, representatives of the Japanese government signed an act of Japan's unconditional surrender on board the American battleship Missouri. End of World War II.

November 20 - October 1, 1946 Trial of the main German war criminals in Nuremberg.

May 3, 1946 - November 12, 1948 Trial of the main Japanese war criminals in Tokyo.

Results of the war

"The traces of war are indelible!

Let it end

We can’t walk quietly by

Unshadowed window! "

D. Kedrin

The second World War ended. It was attended by 61 states. The fighting took place in 40 countries. Over 50 million people died in the war, including about 27 million Soviet citizens. This is the bloodiest and most destructive war ever. Thousands of cities and villages, innumerable material and cultural values ​​were destroyed. The results of World War II led to major political changes in the international arena, the gradual development of a trend towards cooperation between states with different social systems. In order to prevent new world conflicts, create in the post-war period a system of security and cooperation between countries at the end of the war, the United Nations Organization (UN) was created, the Charter of which was signed on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco by 50 states (USSR, USA, Great Britain, China and others).

In order to expose the essence of German fascism, its plans for the destruction of entire states and peoples, the danger of fascism for all mankind, the Nuremberg trials took place. At the Nuremberg Trials, for the first time in history, aggression was recognized as the gravest crime against humanity.

The trial in Nuremberg (Germany) in 1945–46 over the main Nazi criminals, which was conducted in accordance with an agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France and the charter of the International Military Tribunal. Almost the entire ruling elite of Nazi Germany was in the dock - leading Nazi politicians, industrialists, military leaders, diplomats, ideologists, who were accused of crimes committed by the Hitlerite regime. The tribunal was to consider the issue of recognizing the organizations of the Hitlerite regime - the leadership of the Nazi party, the SS, the SA (assault detachments), the Gestapo, and others - as criminal. The indictment was based on the concept of a general plan or conspiracy drawn up by the defendants in order to achieve world domination by committing crimes against peace, war crimes or crimes against humanity. Among the defenders were prominent German lawyers. None of the defendants pleaded guilty.

During the Nuremberg Trials, 403 public meetings of the tribunal were held. The charge was based mainly on German documents. The defendants and their lawyers sought to prove the legal inconsistency of the Tribunal's Charter, placed all responsibility for the crimes committed on Hitler, the SS and the Gestapo, and counter-charges against the founding countries of the Tribunal. The closing speeches of the main prosecutors were based on general principles.

In late September - early October 1946, the tribunal announced a verdict in which the principles of international law, the arguments of the parties, a picture of the criminal activities of the regime for more than 12 years of its existence is given. The tribunal sentenced G. Goering, I. Ribbentrop, W. Keitel, E. Kaltenbrunner, A. Rosenberg, G. Frank, W. Frick, J. Streicher, F. Sauckel, A. Jodl, A. Seyss-Inquart and M. Bormana (in absentia) - to death by hanging; R. Hess, V. Funk and E. Raeder - to life imprisonment, V. Schirach and A. Speer - to 20 years, K. Neurath - to 15 years, K. Doenitz - to 10 years in prison; G. Fritsche, F. Papen and G. Schacht were acquitted. The Tribunal announced criminal organizations SS, SD, Gestapo, the leadership of the National Socialist Party (NSDAP), but did not recognize the SA, the German government, the General Staff and the High Command of the Wehrmacht as such. A member of the tribunal from the USSR, RA Rudenko, stated in his "dissenting opinion" about his disagreement with the acquittal of the three defendants, and spoke in favor of the death penalty against R. Hess. After the rejection of the petitions for clemency by the Control Council for Germany, those sentenced to death were hanged in the Nuremberg prison on the night of October 16, 1946 (G. Goering committed suicide).

The Nuremberg trial was a response to the atrocities of the fascists and militarists unprecedented in world history, and became an important milestone in the development of international law. For the first time, officials responsible for planning, preparing and unleashing aggressive wars were brought to justice. For the first time, it was recognized that the position of the head of state, department or army, as well as the execution of government orders or a criminal order does not exempt from criminal liability. The Nuremberg Principles, supported by the UN General Assembly as universally recognized norms of international law, entered the minds of most people. They serve as the basis for refusal to carry out a criminal order, warn of the future responsibility of those leaders of states who commit crimes against humanity.

PRICE VICTORY turned out to be high, but the sacrifices made on the altar of the Fatherland were not in vain. Our people brought them in the struggle against fascism, in the war, in which the question of the life and death of the country, of the historical fate of the state, of independent existence was decided.

Of course, our losses could have been smaller, if not for the significant miscalculations and mistakes of the country's political and military leadership on the eve and at the beginning of the war.

Affected by the incompetence of a number of military leaders, and the weak professional training of some commanders and personnel, the pre-war repression of command personnel, as well as the unfavorable circumstances of the entry of the Red Army into fighting at the beginning of the war.

In the Great Patriotic War at the front and in the rear at Soviet people selflessness and discipline, massive self-sacrifice and tremendous energy, pressure and unprecedented stamina, without which victory would have been impossible, manifested themselves with all their might. History did not know such resilience. She did not know such a will, and the strength of convictions.

In this conviction in the rightness of their cause, the idea of ​​defending the Fatherland and the national idea, faith in the justice of socialism and religious faith, trust in the authorities were merged. This strengthened the Red Army, saved it during defeats and failures, made the country a single military camp, and contributed to the mobilization of all material and spiritual resources in the name of victory.

The existing social system, political system, the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks as the engine of the entire state machine were able to ensure such an order that, on the whole, met the requirements of war. No matter what they say and write after dozens of years, historical fact is that in the most difficult times for the country, the main stabilizing force of society was the Communist Party. This can be hushed up in official speeches, opportunistic publications and television programs, it can be deleted from school textbooks, but it is impossible to delete it from the real history of the Great Patriotic War. The political, organizational and ideological activity of the communists at the front and rear became the most important factor in victory. Perhaps, never, in spite of mistakes and miscalculations, the party did not act so fully in this capacity as during the Great Patriotic War.

The Great Patriotic War showed that only force can be opposed to force, only a close-knit society could win in it, people who are confident in the rightness of their cause, firmly knowing what they are fighting for and what they are dying for, what is on the scales of history.

On September 2, 1945, the Second World War, which lasted for six years, ended, which was the most difficult and bloody in the history of mankind. Over 50 million people died during the war. The Soviet people suffered especially heavy losses. The total death toll was about 27 million. During the Great Patriotic War, 32 million people were drafted into the army, of which about 7.8 million people died, died of wounds, and were taken prisoner. About 7 million died in the occupied territories. The same number, about 7 million people, died in the Soviet rear due to deteriorating living conditions. The losses of the camp population amounted to about 3 million people. The population decline due to migration is about 2 million people. However, not everyone agrees with these data, which are officially recognized. A number of historians claim that the cumulative losses in World War II amounted to 46 million people.

Human and material losses during the war

The war against fascism brought the country innumerable losses and destruction. Almost 27 million Soviet people died, of which more than 10 million were killed on the battlefields. About 18 million Soviet soldiers and commanders were injured or ill while on duty, many of them lost their ability to work and became disabled. About 6 million Soviet people were in Nazi captivity, 4 million of them died. Almost 4 million partisans and underground fighters were killed in the enemy rear. As a result of all these losses, the number of the country's working-age population has sharply decreased. The grief of irrecoverable losses has visited almost every Soviet family. The war left millions of orphans, widows and invalids.

According to the estimates accepted in Russian historiography, 1710 cities and about 70 thousand villages and villages were completely destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Over 25 million people lost their roof over their heads and huddled in dugouts, sheds and basements. Such large Soviet cities like Leningrad, Kiev, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Smolensk, Kursk and many others, suffered significant destruction, and some of them, for example Minsk, Stalingrad, Rostov-on-Don, completely lay in ruins.

The Soviet economy suffered enormous damage. The German fascist invaders completely destroyed almost 32 thousand industrial enterprises, and such industrial giants of the first Soviet five-year plans as Zaporizhstal, Azovstal, Mariupol Metallurgical Plant, Makeevsky Plant named after CM. Kirov, which could not be completely evacuated to the east of the country, lay in ruins. The country's fuel and energy base, railways and highways, and river transport suffered enormous damage. The enemy destroyed thousands of mines in the Donbass and the Moscow region coal basin, disabled more than 3 thousand oil wells in the oil fields of Grozny and the Krasnodar Territory. More than 60 large power plants in the western part of the country were destroyed. Thousands of kilometers of railways and highways were destroyed, many railway junctions and bridges were blown up, tens of thousands of kilometers of communication lines were inoperative.

A truly tragic situation developed in the post-war village. About 100 thousand collective and state farms were destroyed by the invaders. The sown area decreased by 36.8 million hectares, that is, by almost one quarter. Livestock has been severely affected. Tens of thousands of livestock were taken to Germany or destroyed. In terms of its technical equipment, the country's agriculture was thrown back to the level of the first half of the 30s. The country has lost approximately one third of its national wealth. The damage inflicted on the Soviet Union by the war exceeded the losses during the Second World War of all other European countries combined.

The meaning of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism

The victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War saved the peoples of the country and all of humanity from the threat of fascist enslavement. The Soviet-German front was the main front of the Second World War. The fierce battles that took place on it attracted large forces of Nazi Germany and its allies - more than 70% of the aggressor's ground forces fought here. It was on the European continent, on the Eastern Front, and not on the periphery (1941-1943 - the battles of the Allies in East and North Africa, 1943 - the landing of the Allied forces in Italy, 1941-1945 - the battles with Japan in the Pacific) that the fate was decided countries and peoples involved in the hostilities of the Second World War. The landing of Anglo-American troops in Normandy in 1944 could not have a decisive influence on the course of World War II, since it was the decisive offensive actions Soviet army have practically decided the fate of Nazi Germany.

It was the Soviet Union, its fighting army and people that became the main force that blocked the path of German fascism to world domination. On the Soviet-German front, more than six hundred divisions of the fascist coalition were destroyed, the German-fascist army here lost three-quarters of its aviation, most of the tanks and artillery, warships and transport ships.

The Soviet Union rendered decisive assistance to the peoples of Europe and Asia in their struggle for national independence. As a result of the victory over fascism, the balance of forces in the world has drastically changed. Despite the heavy losses, the Soviet Union emerged from the war stronger, its authority in the international arena increased significantly. In countries of Eastern Europe power passed to the governments of people's democracy, the socialist system went beyond the borders of one country, the geographical isolation of the USSR was eliminated and the attempt of the imperialist powers to create a kind of "cordon sanitaire" of states hostile to the Soviet Union was thwarted.

The USSR turned into a great world power, which became a tangible consequence of the formation of a new geopolitical situation in the world, characterized in the future by the confrontation between two different systems - socialist and capitalist. The disintegration of the world colonial system of imperialism began. In the course of the liberation movement, the impetus for which was the victory over German fascism and Japanese militarism, colonial countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Burma, the Philippines, and Korea declared themselves independent.

The main source of victory over fascism in the Great Patriotic War was the heroism of the soldiers of the Red Army, selfless labor, patriotism and the initiative of the masses. No matter how we evaluate the role of the socio-economic and political system of socialism in our country in those years, it should be admitted that it withstood the hardest tests of the war years and showed all its positive traits in confrontation with a strong and insidious enemy. On the other hand, many flaws in the administrative and bureaucratic methods of governing the country, which were so clearly manifested especially in the initial, most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War, turned out to be obvious not only for many communists and working people, but also for the leadership, who tried to direct the awakened in the popular masses of sincere patriotism.

Victory over fascism has been achieved with blood, unparalleled heroism, hard work and enormous irrecoverable losses of the Soviet people, their inexhaustible energy and faith in an inevitable victory over the enemy. In this case, one cannot belittle the role of the Communist Party, which has become for ordinary communists, for the whole people, the organizer and inspirer of victories over fascism. It was the belief of the entire Soviet people in the inevitable collapse of the plans of the perfidious aggressor that became the decisive force that ensured the victory of the Soviet Union in the most terrible and bloody war of all times and peoples.

When the war ended with the defeat of the aggressors, the war criminals were put on trial and materials from the secret archives were revealed, irrefutably proving that the Second World War was started by Germany, followed by Italy and Japan, the propaganda myths created by fascist propaganda collapsed. In Western European and American historiography, the opinion, which was established even during the war years, prevailed, that the war was started by Hitlerite Germany and Hitler bears the main responsibility for it. This opinion is based on an obvious fact: it was Hitler who ordered the attack on Poland, which began the Second World War, and, undoubtedly, Hitler bears personal responsibility for unleashing it. However, saying this alone is not enough. Hitler's order could be so important only because Hitler was the head of a large state and a powerful army. Consequently, the responsibility for the war is borne not only by Hitler himself, but also by the leaders of the ruling Nazi party, army and state.

After the war, it was proved (including in the trials of war criminals) that the largest German monopolies (for example, the metallurgical concern Krupna and the chemical concern IG Farbenindustri) supported Hitler, participated in the robbery of the countries occupied by Germany, seized raw materials there and entire industrial enterprises, used the slave labor of workers forcibly driven to Germany, participated in the construction and operation of concentration camps and extermination camps. Their share of responsibility for unleashing and waging a war is obvious, but nevertheless, they did not draw up plans for an attack on neighboring states, they did not give orders to invade, and it was not they who led the troops of the aggressors.

Features of Soviet cinema during the Great Patriotic War

"If there is war tomorrow, if the enemy attacks

If the dark force is coming -

As one person, the entire Soviet people

He will stand up for a free Motherland. "

V. Lebedev-Kumach

Documentary newsreels Feature films Photo album

During the Second World War, the struggle for the independence of the Motherland became the main content of people's lives. This struggle demanded from them the utmost exertion of spiritual and physical strength. And it was precisely the mobilization of the spiritual forces of our people that was the main task of Soviet literature and all art. Here is how GV Aleksandrov spoke about it: “From the first days of the war, our artistic cinematography also lived with the needs of the front and rear. The plan for the production of feature films and documentaries was revised. ". During the Second World War, the significance of different types of cinema became different than in peaceful conditions.

Newsreel came to the fore as the most efficient type of cinema. The wide spread of documentary filming, the prompt release of film magazines and thematic short and full-length films - documentaries - allowed the chronicle as a form of information and journalism to take a place next to our newspaper periodicals.

Many special films, created by the masters of popular science cinematography, introduced the participants of the war to the various equipment with which their country was armed to fight against the fascist invaders, a number of films talked about tactics modern combat; a significant number of instructional pictures helped the population of areas subjected to an air attack by the enemy to organize local air defense.

Fiction cinematography has become a different, but still powerful means of ideological education of the masses than before the war. In an effort to immediately reflect the events of the Second World War, the masters of artistic cinematography turned to a short propaganda short story. This choice was predetermined mainly by two circumstances. The first was that the events of the beginning of the war did not provide the artists with sufficient material for a generalized display of military operations. And in the short story one could tell about the heroes, tell so that their exploits would inspire thousands and tens of thousands of soldiers, officers, partisans, and home front workers for new heroic deeds. The heroic and satirical novella in cinematography was supposed to take and really did take the same place as the frontline essay took in the literature.

Feature Films Themes:

1) Patriotism.

2) Heroism.

3) Hatred of fascism.

4) Courage of women and children.

5) Guerrilla warfare.

Genres became more diverse by the end of the war: propaganda short story, comedy, historical tragedy, historical-revolutionary and historical films, works of classical literature were filmed.

During the Great Patriotic War, a complete restructuring of film production took place. Soviet cinema during the Second World War came to the fore the following task: the mobilization of the spiritual forces of the Russian people. Cinematography during these years became the best means of political agitation.

The film itself has also changed. The mobility and timeliness of artistic response to events has become particularly important. Therefore, the following genres were widespread: documentary-publicistic films, short stories, war dramas.

The first seven issues of "Fighting Film Collections", consisting of short films, were released at "Mosfilm" and "Lenfilm". But in the fall of 1941, in blockaded Leningrad, and even in Moscow, which was bombed from the air and lacked electricity, it became impractical and impossible to continue filming feature films. And the government decided to evacuate the Feature Films Studio to the deep rear.

The process of evacuation and organization of production in a new location could not but affect the production of films. However, in the most difficult conditions of a tense military economy, the Moscow and Leningrad film workers were able to quickly master the base in Alma-Ata and start production and creative activities.

During the war, more than 400 issues of Soyuzkinozhurnal, 65 issues of the News of the Day newsreel, 24 front-line film issues, about a hundred documentaries were released, the subjects of which were the main milestones of the struggle of the Red Army against the invaders, the largest battles and heroic everyday life of workers in the home front.

Theatrical art workers did not remain aloof from the events. New performances created by them in creative collaboration with playwrights ("On the Eve" by A. Afinogenov, "Russian People" by K. Simonov, "Invasion" by L. Leonov and others) showed the heroism of the Soviet people in the war, their steadfastness and patriotism. During the years of the war, a huge number of theatrical and artistic performances of concert brigades and individual performers took place at the front and in the rear.

Northwest Front. (Kurochkin Pavel Alekseevich) On December 8, with the onset of darkness, units of the northern and central operational groups launched battles for Tikhvin, trying to complete the encirclement of the German troops entrenched in it.

Halder Franz (head of the General Staff of the German Dry Forces): "Our troops evacuated Tikhvin."

Western Front (Zhukov, Georgy Konstantinovich). The 1st Shock Army (Kuznetsov Vasily Ivanovich) liberated a large enemy stronghold - the city of Yakhroma. German troops were driven back from the Moscow-Volga canal.

Halder Franz (head of the General Staff of the German Dry Forces): “Army Group“ Center ”... The troops were withdrawn from Yakhroma without any difficulties. As a result of the withdrawal, small forces were released, which will be thrown into the elimination of the enemy's breakthrough at Klin. Almost all of the troops have already reached the intended cut-off line. However, the situation remains tense. "

The 20th Army (Vlasov, Andrei Andreevich) was advancing on the Solnechnogorsk direction. On the night of December 8, the army command organized a new attack, which turned out to be successful. By 15:00 on December 8, Soviet troops drove the enemy out of Krasnaya Polyana, and by the end of the day - from Bely Rast and neighboring villages.

The 16th Army (Rokossovsky, Konstantin Konstantinovich) fought for Kryukovo. As a result of the night attack, our troops defeated the enemy's Kryukovo garrison and by 10 o'clock in the morning on December 8, Kryukovo was completely liberated. On the same night, the 17th Rifle Brigade, in cooperation with the cavalry regiment, cleared the village of Kamenka from the Nazi invaders. This forced the enemy to start retreating in the direction of Istra and Istra reservoir

Army Group Center. “The commander of the 4th Panzer Group, Colonel-General Gepner, gave the order to leave their positions in other sectors of his front, including in the zone of the SS Reich division. On December 8, the headquarters of the SS division ordered its subordinate units to accelerate the occupation of defensive positions west of Istra. ... The anti-human essence of Nazism was reflected in the order of the commander of the SS "Reich" division of December 8, 1941. Here is just an excerpt from it: ] would be burned without a trace. Bunches of straw and bottles of gasoline should be prepared for each house. All houses should be set on fire at 7.00, December 9. Care must be taken that the glow from the fires would not attract the attention of the enemy ... "

The 50th Army (Boldina Ivan Vasilievich) went on the offensive. Striking in the southeastern and southern directions, it threatened to intercept the retreat routes of German units from the Venev and Mikhailov regions. The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps (Pavel Alekseevich Belov), advancing from Kashira in a southern direction, liberated Mordves. 10th Army (Golikov Philip Ivanovich), developing an offensive on Stalinogorsk, cut railroad Kashira - Pavelets.

Southwestern Front (Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich). The 61st Army is subordinated to the commander-in-chief of the Southwest direction. The 3rd Army (Kreizer Yakov Grigorievich), using the success of the 13th Army and the front operational group, launched an offensive from the area south of the city of Efremov in a westerly direction.

Zhukov, Georgy Konstantinovich: “Guderian's army, deeply enveloped from the flanks and did not have the strength to fend off counter-offensive strikes of the Western Front and the operational group of the South-Western Front, began to hastily retreat in the general direction to Uzlovaya, Bogoroditsk and further to Sukhinichi, throwing heavy guns and vehicles , tractors and tanks. "

Guderian Heinz (2nd Panzer Army): “The 24th Panzer Corps managed to systematically break away from the enemy, but the 53rd Army Corps was under strong pressure from its troops from Kashira, the 47th tank corps on the night of December 8, as a result of a Russian strike, Mikhailov was forced to surrender, the 10th motorized division suffered heavy losses ... Fortunately, we managed to keep those of our tanks that were still on the move. However, only God knows how long they will be able to be in the ranks in such a cold. "

Halder Franz (head of the General Staff of the German Dry Forces): "Conversation with von Bock. We discussed the situation at the front of his army group. The result was next output: "The army group in no sector of the front is not able to hold back a major offensive"

“On December 8, Hitler signed Directive No. 39 on the transition to defense on the entire Soviet-German front. The German high command demanded that the command of the ground forces organize defense as soon as possible and at any cost to hold the areas that were of important operational-strategic and military-economic importance. During defensive battles, the command of the ground forces was asked to withdraw from the front the remnants of the defeated formations (primarily battered tank and motorized divisions) and begin to restore them. The directive provided for replacing part of the divisions that had lost their combat effectiveness with divisions located in the west, in particular in France. To make up for the losses incurred on the Soviet-German front, in Germany, the mobilization of men employed in production and exempt from conscription began. They began to be replaced by Soviet citizens, forcibly deported to work in Germany, and prisoners of war. This was the beginning of the total mobilization into the German army. "