A significant component of World War II, the Great Patriotic War, played a noticeable and decisive role in unleashing one of the bloodiest international conflicts of the 20th century.
Periodization of the Second World War
The five-year confrontation that took place on the territory of the republics that were part of the Soviet Union, historians are divided into three periods.
- Period I (06/22/1941 - 11/18/1942) includes the transition of the USSR to military rails, the failure of Hitler’s initial plan for “lightning war”, and the creation of conditions for turning the tide of military operations in favor of the countries of the Coalition.
- Period II (11/19/1942 - the end of 1943) was associated with a radical change in the military conflict.
- Period III (January 1944 - May 9, 1945) - the crushing defeat of the Nazi troops, their expulsion from Soviet territories, the liberation of the countries of Southeast and Eastern Europe by the Red Army.
How it all began
The largest battles of World War II were briefly and in detail described more than once. They will be discussed in this article.
The unexpected and rapid attack of Germany on Poland, and then on other European countries, led to the fact that by 1941 the Nazis, along with the Allies, had seized vast territories. Poland was defeated, and Norway, Denmark, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium were occupied. France was able to resist only 40 days, after which it was also captured. The Nazis inflicted a major defeat on the British expeditionary army, after which they entered the Balkans. The Red Army became the main obstacle to Germany, and the largest battles of the Great Patriotic War proved that the power and indestructibility of the spirit of the Soviet people who defended the freedom of their homeland is one of the decisive factors in the successful struggle against the enemy.
The Barbaross Plan
The plans of the German command of the USSR was just a pawn, which quickly and easily got out of the way, thanks to the so-called lightning war, the principles of which were set forth in the "Barbaross Plan".
Its development was led by General Friedrich Paulus. According to this plan, the Soviet troops were to be defeated in a short time by Germany and its allies, and the European part of the territory of the Soviet Union was captured. Further, the complete defeat and destruction of the USSR was supposed.
The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War, presented in historical order, clearly indicate on which side the advantage was at the beginning of the confrontation and how it ended in the end.
The Germans' ambitious plan suggested that within five months they would be able to capture key cities of the USSR and reach the Arkhangelsk-Volga-Astrakhan line. The war against the USSR was supposed to end by the fall of 1941. Adolf Hitler was counting on this. By his order, the impressive forces of Germany and the allied countries concentrated in the eastern direction. What major battles of the Great Patriotic War did they have to go through in order to finally be convinced of the impossibility of establishing world supremacy in Germany?
It was assumed that the strike would be delivered in three directions in order to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible, which stood in the way of world domination:
- Central (Minsk-Moscow line);
- South (Ukraine and the Black Sea coast);
- North-West (Baltic countries and Leningrad).
The largest battles of World War II: the struggle for the capital
The operation to seize Moscow was codenamed Typhoon. Its beginning was in September 1941.
Implementation of the plan to seize the capital of the USSR was assigned to Army Group Center, headed by Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. The enemy surpassed the Red Army not only in the number of soldiers (1.2 times), but also in armament (more than 2 times). Nevertheless, the major battles of the Great Patriotic War soon proved that it no longer means stronger.
The troops of the Southwest, Northwest, Western and Reserve fronts fought against the Germans in this direction. In addition, partisans and militias took an active part in the hostilities.
The beginning of the confrontation
In October, the main line of Soviet defense was broken through in the central direction: the Nazis captured Vyazma and Bryansk. The second line, passing near Mozhaisk, managed to briefly delay the offensive. In October 1941, the head of the Western Front was George Zhukov, who declared the state of siege of Moscow.
By the end of October, hostilities took place literally 100 kilometers from the capital.
However, numerous military operations and major battles of World War II, carried out during the defense of the city, did not allow the Germans to capture Moscow.
Fracture during the battle
Already in November 1941, the last attempts of the Nazis to conquer Moscow were averted. The Soviet Army turned out to have an advantage, thereby providing it with the possibility of going over to the counteroffensive.
The German command attributed the reasons for the failure to fall bad weather and debauchery. The largest battles of World War II shook the Germans' confidence in their own invincibility. Enraged by the failure, the Führer gave the order to seize the capital before the winter colds, and on November 15 the fascists again tried to go on the offensive. Despite huge losses, German troops managed to break through to the city.
However, their further progress was prevented, and the Nazis' last attempts to break through to Moscow ended in failure.
The end of 1941 was marked by the offensive of the Red Army on the enemy troops. In early January 1942, it covered the entire front line. The occupying forces were driven back 200-250 kilometers. As a result of a successful operation, Soviet soldiers liberated the Ryazan, Tula, Moscow regions, as well as some areas of the Oryol, Smolensk, Kalinin regions. During the confrontation, Germany lost a large number of equipment, including about 2500 pieces of firearms and 1300 tanks.
The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War, in particular the battle for Moscow, proved that victory over the enemy is possible, despite its military-technical superiority.
Interesting facts about the battle for Moscow
One of the most important battles of the war of the Soviets against the countries of the Triple Alliance - the battle for Moscow, became a brilliant embodiment of the plan to disrupt the blitzkrieg. To whatever methods the Soviet soldiers resorted to prevent the capture of the capital by the enemy.
So, during the confrontation, soldiers of the Red Army launched huge 35-meter balloons into the sky. The purpose of such actions was to reduce the aiming accuracy of German bombers. These colossals rose to a height of 3-4 kilometers and, being there, significantly impeded the work of enemy aircraft.
The battle for the capital was attended by more than seven million people. Therefore, it is considered one of the largest.
A notable role in the battle for Moscow was played by Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, who led the 16th Army. In the fall of 1941, his troops blocked the Volokolamsk and Leningradskoye highways, preventing the enemy from breaking through to the city. The defense on this site lasted two weeks: the locks of the Istra reservoir were blown up, and the approaches to the capital were mined.
Another interesting fact in the history of the legendary battle: in the middle of October 1941 the Moscow metro was closed. It was the only day in the history of the metro when it did not work. The panic caused by this event led to the so-called exodus of residents - the city was empty, looters began to wield. The situation was saved by the order to take decisive measures against fugitives and looters, according to which even the shooting of violators was allowed. This fact stopped the mass exodus of people from Moscow and stopped the panic.
Battle of Stalingrad
The largest battles of World War II took place on the approaches to key cities of the country. One of the most important confrontations was the battle of Stalingrad, which covered the interval from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943.
The aim of the Germans in this direction was a breakthrough to the south of the USSR, where numerous enterprises of the metallurgical and defense industries were located, as well as the main food reserves.
The formation of the Stalingrad Front
During the offensive of the troops of the Nazis and their allies, Soviet troops felt significant damage in the battles for Kharkov; the Southwestern Front was defeated; divisions and regiments of the Red Army were scattered, and the lack of fortified positions and open steppes gave the Germans the opportunity to almost seamlessly go to the Caucasus.
Such a seemingly hopeless situation of the USSR instilled in Hitler confidence in the imminent success. On his orders, the army “South” was divided into 2 parts - the purpose of part “A” was to capture the North Caucasus, and part “B” - Stalingrad, where the Volga flowed - the main waterway of the country.
In a short period, Rostov-on-Don was taken, and the Germans moved to Stalingrad. Due to the fact that 2 armies marched in this direction at once, a huge traffic jam was formed. As a result, one of the armies was ordered to return to the Caucasus. This hitch delayed the advance for a whole week.
In July 1942, a single Stalingrad Front was formed, the purpose of which was to protect the city from the enemy and organize defense. The whole complexity of the task was that the newly formed units did not yet have experience of interaction, there was not enough ammunition, and there were no defensive structures.
Soviet troops outnumbered the German in number of people, but they were almost twice as inferior to them in equipment and weapons, which were sorely lacking.
The desperate struggle of the Red Army postponed the entrance of the enemy to Stalingrad, but in September the fighting moved from the outlying territories to the city limits. In late August, the Germans destroyed Stalingrad, first by bombing, and then dropping high-explosive and incendiary bombs on it.
Operation Ring
Residents of the city fought for every meter of land. The result of many months of confrontation was a turning point in the battle: in January 1943, the operation "Ring" was launched, which lasted 23 days.
Its result was the defeat of the enemy, the destruction of his armies and the surrender on February 2 of the surviving troops. This success was a real breakthrough during the war, shook the position of Germany and questioned its influence on other states. He gave the Soviet people hope for a future victory.
Battle of Kursk
The defeat of the troops of Germany and its allies near Stalingrad was the impetus for Hitler to decide to carry out a major operation to attack the Red Army, code-named "Citadel", in order to avoid centrifugal tendencies within the Union of the Triple Pact countries. The battle began on July 5 of the same year. The Germans launched new tanks that were not frightened by the Soviet troops, which provided them with effective resistance. By July 7, both armies had lost a huge number of people and equipment, and the tank battle at Ponyry led to the Germans losing a large number of vehicles and people. This turned out to be a significant factor for the weakening of the Nazis in the northern section of the Kursk ledge.
Record Tank Battle
On July 8, the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War began near Prokhorovka. About 1200 combat vehicles took part in it. The confrontation lasted several days. The culmination came on July 12, when two tank battles took place at the same time near Prokhorovka, ending in a draw. Despite the fact that neither side seized the decisive initiative, the German offensive was stopped, and on July 17 the defensive phase of the battle went over to the offensive. Its result was that the Nazis were driven back south of the Kursk Bulge to their original positions. In August, Belgorod and Oryol were liberated.
What major battle ended the Great Patriotic War? This battle was the confrontation on the Kursk Bulge, the decisive chord of which was the liberation of Kharkov on 08.23.1944. It was this event that completed a series of major battles in the territory of the USSR and laid the foundation for the liberation of Europe by Soviet soldiers.
Major battles of World War II: table
For a better understanding of the course of the war, especially with regard to its most significant battles, there is a table reflecting the periodicals of what is happening.
Battle for Moscow | 09/30/1941 - 04/20/1942 |
Leningrad blockade | 09/08/1941-27.01.1944 |
Battle of Rzhev | 01/08/1942-31.03.1943 |
Battle of Stalingrad | 07.17.1942-02.02.1943 |
Battle for the Caucasus | 07/25/1942-09/10/1943 |
Battle of Kursk | 07/05/1943 08/23/1943 |
The major battles of the Great Patriotic War, the names of which are known to people of any age today, have become undeniable evidence of the strength of spirit and will of the Soviet people, which did not allow the establishment of Nazi power not only in the USSR, but throughout the world.