According to military experts, by the beginning of the war with the Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) was considered the strongest army in the world. Why, then, did the Barbarossa plan, according to which Hitler expected to put an end to the USSR in 4-5 months, failed? Instead, the war dragged on for a long 1418 days and ended in a crushing defeat of the Germans and their allies. How did it happen? What were the reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War? What was the miscalculation of the Nazi leader?
Reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War
Unleashing a war with the Soviet Union, Hitler, in addition to the power of his army, counted on the help of that part of the population of the USSR that was dissatisfied with the existing system, party and power. He also believed that in a country where so many peoples live, there must be interethnic hostility, which means that the invasion of German troops will provoke a split in society, which again will play into the hands of Germany. And here was the first puncture of Hitler.
Everything happened exactly the opposite: the outbreak of the war only rallied the peoplehuge country, turning it into a single fist. Questions of personal attitude to power receded into the background. The defense of the fatherland from a common enemy erased all interethnic boundaries. Of course, in a huge country there were traitors, but their number was negligible in comparison with the mass of people, consisting of real patriots, ready to die for their land.
Therefore, the main reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War can be called the following:
- The unprecedented patriotism of the Soviet people, manifested not only in the regular army, but also in the partisan movement, in which more than a million people took part.
- Social cohesion: the Communist Party had such a powerful authority that it was able to ensure unity of will and high performance at all levels of society, from the very top of power to ordinary people: soldiers, workers, peasants.
- Professionalism of Soviet military leaders: during the course of the war, commanders quickly gained practical experience in conducting effective combat operations in various conditions.
- No matter how modern scribes of history scoff at the concept of "friendship of peoples", claiming that supposedly it never existed in reality, the facts of the war prove the opposite. Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Ossetians, Moldavians… - all the peoples of the USSR took part in the Patriotic War, freeing the country from invaders. And for the Germans, regardless of their real nationality, they were all Russian enemies to be destroyed.
- The rear made a huge contribution to the victory. Old men, women and even children stood day and night at the factory machines, making weapons, equipment, ammunition, uniforms. Despite the deplorable state of agriculture (many grain-growing territories of the country were under occupation), the workers of the village supplied the front with food, while they themselves often remained on starvation rations. Scientists and designers created new types of weapons: rocket-propelled mortars, affectionately nicknamed "Katyushas" in the army, the legendary T-34, IS and KV tanks, combat aircraft. Moreover, the new equipment was not only highly reliable, but also easy to manufacture, which made it possible to use low-skilled workers (women, children) in its production.
- Not the last role in the victory over Nazi Germany was played by the successful foreign policy pursued by the country's leadership. Thanks to her, in 1942, an anti-Hitler coalition was organized, consisting of 28 states, and by the end of the war, it included more than fifty countries. But still, the leading roles in the union belonged to the USSR, England and the USA.
By the way, in modern literature, many authors, voicing the reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War, put the successful actions of the allies of the Soviet state in the forefront. But what was it like in reality?
Allies of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War
Almost immediately after the start of the war, the government of the USSR tried to convince the allies of the need to open a second, western front as soon as possible, which forcedHitler would weaken the onslaught on the Soviet state by dividing his forces in two. By the way, then the price of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War would have been completely different, but more on that later. The allies had a different opinion on this matter: they took a wait-and-see attitude, not taking any active steps in Europe. The main assistance to the Soviet Union consisted in the supply of equipment, transport, and ammunition on a long-term lease basis. At the same time, the volume of foreign military aid amounted to only 4% of the total amount of products going to the front.
The truly allies of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War showed themselves only in 1944, when its outcome became clear. On June 6, a joint Anglo-American landing landed in Normandy (northern France), thus marking the opening of a second front. Now the already pretty battered Germans had to fight both with the west and with the east, which, of course, significantly brought such a long-awaited date - Victory Day.
The price of victory over fascism
The price of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War, which the Soviet people paid, was extremely high: 1710 cities and large towns, 70 thousand villages and villages were completely or partially destroyed. The Nazis destroyed 32 thousand enterprises, 1876 state farms and 98 thousand collective farms. In general, the Soviet Union lost a third of its national we alth during the war. Twenty-seven million people died on the battlefield, in the occupied territories and in captivity. The losses of Nazi Germany - fourteen million. Several thousand people were killedwere in the US and England.
How the war ended for the USSR
The consequences of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War were not at all what Hitler had hoped for when he attacked the Soviet Union. The victorious country ended the fight against fascism with the largest and strongest army in Europe - 11 million 365 thousand people.
At the same time, the rights to the territory of Bessarabia, Western Ukraine, the B altic states, Western Belarus and Northern Bukovina, as well as to Koenigsberg with its adjacent territories were assigned to the USSR. Klaipeda became part of the Lithuanian SSR. However, it was not the expansion of the borders of the state that became the main result of the war with Hitler.
What does the victory of the USSR over Germany mean for the whole world
The significance of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War was grandiose both for the country itself and for the whole world. After all, firstly, the Soviet Union became the main force that stopped fascism in the person of Hitler, striving for world domination. Secondly, thanks to the USSR, the lost independence was returned not only to the countries of Europe, but also to Asia.
Thirdly, the victorious country has significantly strengthened its international authority, and the socialist system has gone beyond the territory of one country. The USSR turned into a great power that changed the geopolitical situation in the world, which eventually turned into a confrontation between capitalism and socialism. The established colonial system of imperialism cracked and began to disintegrate. As a result, Lebanon, Syria, Laos, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia andKorea declared their independence.
A new page in history
With the victory of the USSR, the situation in world politics was radically transformed. The position of countries in the international arena was rapidly changing - new centers of influence were formed. Now America has become the main power in the West, and the Soviet Union in the East. Thanks to its victory, the USSR not only got rid of the international isolation in which it was before the war, but also became a full-fledged, and most importantly, a very significant world power, which was already difficult to ignore. Thus, a new page was opened in world history, and one of the main roles was assigned to the Soviet Union in it.
