We all know very well that the beginning of the Second World War refers to the military operations against Poland, organized by the German secret services, which began on September 1, 1939. Two days later, England and France declared war on Germany. Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India and the countries of South Africa came forward in support of the states. Thus, these three days turned into a global war.
It took only two weeks for the German army to completely occupy the territory of Poland. Unfortunately, the heroism of the Polish soldiers was not enough to defend the country, and no real help was received from other states. The Western and Eastern fronts of World War II suffered many victories and defeats. Read more about significant events in the article.
The role of the Eastern Front in World War II
As already noted, after the attackGermany to Poland on September 1, 1939, there was no response from the West. On September 8, the Germans beat back the resistance and captured Warsaw. Already on September 17, the Soviet Union leaves for Poland from the East, through Western Ukraine and Belarus.
The country's government saw only one way out - flight from Poland. In fact, the army remains destined for itself, without command. These events led to the fall of Warsaw on September 28.
Already by October 5, the Soviet Union and Germany divide Poland between them. From these events, active operations began on the Eastern Front of World War II.
Attack on the USSR
Let's analyze the main events of World War II on the eastern front. On June 22, 1941, German troops attacked the Soviet Union without declaring hostilities. Germany's allies were Italy, Finland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
Surprise attack, of course, played into the hands of the Germans. That is why, already in the first weeks of the war, Germany penetrated as deep as possible into the territory of the USSR. Literally in ten days, German troops occupied Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, a huge part of Ukraine and Moldova. For the Soviet Union, this was a big blow, because all the counterattacks ended in complete failure, many soldiers and officers of the Red Army were captured.
At the end of October, Germany set a course for Moscow. Initially, the German troops were successful, however, already in December 1941, the Red Army managed to defend the capital, the Germans suffered a serious defeat.
Summer Campaign
Another important period for the Eastern Front. Both sides, both Soviet and German, were waiting for the beginning of the summer of 1942 to carry out their offensive plans. Germany had a goal for the summer - the Caucasus and Leningrad, also to establish contact with Finland. That is, the original plans on the eastern front remained in force.
But the Soviet Union had another failure. In May 1942, an offensive was carried out near Kharkov, but it was not crowned with success. The Germans repelled the blow without any problems, defeated the Red Army troops and went on the offensive.
An important event on the Eastern Front is the Battle of Stalingrad, which began in mid-July 1942. Here the Soviet army managed to stop the enemy's advance, only this entailed huge losses.
The turning point of the Eastern Front of World War II
A significant event on the Eastern Front was the period from November 1942 to December 1943. It was on November 19 that this was the beginning of the counterattack of the USSR army near Stalingrad. In four days, the troops managed to unite in the city of Kalach-on-Don and surround twenty-two enemy divisions. The victory in the south was the first significant defeat of German troops in the world war. This battle was a turning point on the Eastern Front.
In July 43, Germany decided to strike at the Soviet troops on the Kursk Bulge, however, the Red Army managed to contain and literally exhaust the German troops. The result is a victory in thisthe battle remained for the USSR.
Already by the autumn of 1943, Soviet troops managed to liberate part of Ukraine and Belarus from the Nazi invaders.
Important events of 1944-1945
These major battles of World War II on the Eastern Front were decisive. The Soviet Union managed to liberate the Crimea, unblock Leningrad, reach the Carpathians and enter the territory of Romania. And also to defeat large groups and make a breakthrough of the German front for 600 kilometers.
During operations Iskra, Bagration, B altic, Lvov-Sandomierz, 26 enemy divisions were destroyed, and 82 German fascist groups suffered serious losses.
During the Karelian campaign, the Lapland war, the Jasso-Kishinev and Budapest operations, the governments of Romania and Bulgaria were overthrown, and Finland broke off the agreement with Germany.
Already in January 1945, Hungary capitulated. The war ended with the Vistula-Oder, East Prussian operation, as well as the battle for Berlin. In Karlhorst, on the night of May 8-9, an act of surrender was signed.
Bialystok-Minsk and Smolensk battles in the West
This battle lasted from June 22 to July 8, and the troops of the Western Front suffered a serious defeat. These figures are terrifying. Before the start of the battle, the front included about 625,000 people, and about 420,000 souls were lost.
Disappointing for the Western Front was the battle of Smolensk, which suffered a new defeat. However,due to the fact that the troops of the front of the Reserve armies were in the rear, the enemy was not able to enter the operational space. By July 30, the 41st Western Front had grown from four to six armies. All summer until September, hard fighting was fought, after which the Western Front was ordered to go on the defensive.
Battle of Moscow
On October 2, 1941, the German army group "Center" launched an offensive on the Western Front. And it turned out to be very successful for Germany. Further, it was decided to unite the Western and Moscow Reserve Fronts. All this happened under the leadership of General Zhukov and Colonel General Konev. The army concentrated on the Mozhaisk line of defense.
On November 15, German troops launched an offensive against Moscow, and on December 6, the Western Front launched a counteroffensive, as a result of which the Center army group suffered a crushing defeat.
Already in 1942, the Western Front again launched an offensive, the purpose of which was to destroy the main forces of the German troops, namely the Army Group Center. General Zhukov headed the Rzhev-Vyazemsky operation, only now it was not crowned with success.
1943-1944
Active actions by the Red Army forced Germany to start withdrawing its troops from the Rzhev-Vyazma bridgehead. An important event was the Battle of Kursk, where the troops of the Western and Bryansk fronts launched a counterattack. However, only the liberation of Smolensk ended in success.
The Western Front declared failure in eleven operations. On April 24, 1944, the front was renamed the Third Belorussian. Preparations for the Belarusian strategic offensive operation immediately began.
It is worth noting that the war greatly affected the economic situation of European countries. The United States now dominated the global arena in this sector. The creation of the UN gave hope that in the future all conflicts can be resolved through agreements, excluding military clashes.
