First day of the war. The truth about the first days of the Great Patriotic War “The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bring the directive to military units before the start of hostilities fails, as a result of which the measures specified in it are not carried out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4:10. Western and Baltic special military districts report the start of hostilities German troops on land areas.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9:30. It was decided that at noon, with an appeal to to the Soviet people In connection with the outbreak of war, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Molotov, will speak.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo: RIA Novosti

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 22 came to an end. There were still 1417 days ahead terrible war in the history of mankind.

So where are we going? To Sebezh? To Idritsa? Luckily for us, it rained for the whole day. It was possible to take a break from the air robbers who were hunting for literally every car. It will emerge in low-level flight from behind the treetops and there will be fire from all the side trunks. From cannons, machine guns. Of course, everyone in the car jumps out and rushes into the ditch; the driver either abandons the car on the road or jerks it into the forest. If a car left on the road does not immediately catch fire, the fascist plane makes a second or third pass to set it on fire. And at the same time it scatters small fragmentation bombs on both sides of the road. The calculation is precise - whoever will survive after such a scrape is already morally depressed, the front-line roads are paralyzed. And not only roads - the enemy bombed groves, forests, bombed everywhere where he expected our military units to be concentrated, not to mention massive air strikes on cities, airfields, and crossings.

In the first days of the war, we became acquainted with the Ju-87 dive bombers. A single-engine monoplane with predatory curved wings, designed for targeted bombing, for striking bridges, railway junctions, and for processing the enemy’s leading edge. Ju-87 carried out rampages on the roads of Belgium and France, terrifying refugees, and bombed Warsaw. Their attack really made a depressing impression. They walked at an altitude of about one and a half thousand meters, in a chain of up to thirty vehicles. Here the front one, swinging its wing, falls into a sheer drop, with the roar of the engine intensifying with each second. The howl grows, drills into the brain, bites into every nerve. Now a bomb is released from under the belly, the plane comes out of its dive, and the bomb, equipped with sirens, rushes towards the ground, ending the terrifying howl with a thunderous explosion. Meanwhile, the next one falls into a dive, with the same roar. Comes out of a dive so low that you can see the pilot's face. Having been bombed, everyone fits into the tail of the chain in order to dive again when it comes to his turn in this devilish carousel. the main task attacks - sow panic, suppress mentally. The Soviet soldier got used to everything, and also adapted to the attacks of the Yu-87. A good, securely dug gap and - let the sirens buzz in the sky, let the bombs lie nearby, as long as there is not a direct hit.

We drove in the pouring rain to Osveya to look for the headquarters of the 112th division. We stopped in Sebezh. Sebezh and Bigosovo were once border points with bourgeois Latvia.

At the military telephone center in Sebezh we were told that in the morning the Germans bombed Idritsa. According to unverified information - however, there was little verified information these days - Lelyushenko's tank brigade is fighting in the Idritsa area. Let's take down our tanks in battle! How many times have we filmed the formidable armadas of our tanks marching across Red Square?

After the end of the war, I returned to Moscow from Berlin by car. On the outskirts of the roads on the way from Brest to Minsk, I saw many of our T-26s, which had been stationed there since the first days of the fascist invasion.

I remember being struck by the brightness of the green paint. As if freshly painted, they stood there for four years, growing into the ground, paralyzed by the enemy. The paint passed the test. And the armor on tanks, which were a formidable weapon in Spain in 1937, turned out to be vulnerable in 1941. Then the mighty T-34s were just beginning to roll off the production lines, crushing the Nazis near Moscow, in Stalingrad, in the fields of Belarus, Ukraine, East Prussia, and in Berlin.

July 9, 1941, 18th day of the war Situation at the front: Army Group “South”: The 11th Army is gradually drawing up its forces to the Dniester and is preparing to cross it in the Mogilev-Podolsk region. The balance of forces is as follows: in front of the front of the 30th Army Corps (five German and three

July 10, 1941, 19th day of the war, the Finns are advancing. 00.13 – The Commander-in-Chief called me by phone. The Fuhrer contacted him once again and expressed extreme concern that the tank divisions would be sent to Kyiv and suffer useless losses (in Kyiv - 35% of the population are Jews; all bridges for us

July 11, 1941, 20th day of the war Situation at the front: Army Group South: Russian attacks on the right flank of Schobert's army (11th Army) apparently caused a significant weakening of the Romanian formations. The command of the 11th Army reports that it considers these formations incapable of

July 14, 1941, 23rd day of the war Situation at the front: Army Group “South”: The enemy launched a very strong counterattack against the northern flank of the army group in the Zvyagel area, and in some areas he even managed to advance. This attack forced us to bring the 25th into battle.

July 15, 1941, 24th day of the war Situation at the front: Army Group South: The 11th Army has driven back the enemy on its right flank, but it still continues to resist south of the Dniester. The 17th Army wedged itself into Stalin's line. The enemy is undertaking fierce

July 24, 1941, 33rd day of the war Situation at the front: Army Group South: The situation at the front of the 11th and 16th Panzer Divisions is deteriorating. These divisions are too weak to hold back the onslaught of large enemy forces retreating in front of the front of Schwedler's group and the 17th Army. Strengthening them through

July 25, 1941, 34th day of the war Situation at the front: At the front of Army Group “South”: Some advance of our troops was noted on the northern flank and in the area south of Kyiv. On the southern flank of the 1st Panzer Group the situation continues to remain somewhat tense. All in all

July 26, 1941, 35th day of the war Situation at the front: Army Group South: The enemy again found a way to withdraw his troops from the threat of the emerging encirclement. These, on the one hand, are fierce counterattacks against our forward detachments of the 17th Army, and on the other hand, a large

July 27, 1941, 36th day of the war Situation at the front: Heavy thunderstorms broke out at the front of Army Group South. All movement froze. You can only try to move the tank wedge aimed at Uman further south in order to intercept railway and highways

July 28, 1941, 37th day of the war. Situation at the front: There were no significant changes. OKH sent an order to the headquarters of Army Group South, requiring the offensive of the 1st Panzer Group not in the southeast, but in a southern direction - to Uman. On the front of Army Group Center, the Russian

July 30, 1941, 39th day of the war Situation at the front: At the front of Army Group South, the results of the long-term grinding of Russian troops operating in Ukraine are gradually beginning to show. The enemy retreats. Despite this, due to the low activity of the Romanians and given the presence

July 31, 1941, 40th day of the war Situation at the front: Army Group “South”: The lack of new information about the location of fresh enemy forces identified by our reconnaissance in the area south of the 11th Army makes us think that they are in the same area. result of successful

July 2, 1941 Eleventh day of the war. Diary entry: “Torrential rain in the morning. I think I have the flu, it's ruining everything. In Sebezh they found out that Idritsa had just been bombed. We are going to Osveya. On the way, the artillery major asked me to tell you that he had moved the guns to the line west of the road. To whom

July 4, 1941 Thirteenth day of the war. A signalman from the 385th regiment, a young political instructor with two “cubes” in his buttonholes, came for us when it was still dark. Having loaded ourselves with film and taken our cameras, we followed him. We had to go far. Kopyak is not one of those commanders who, with his staff

July 6, 1941 Fifteenth day of the war. Near the village of Volyntsy they removed sappers building a bridge, heard artillery fire, found a battery of heavy 152-mm guns from the shots, removed the battery and the firing cannons. And when the enemy spotted the battery and opened a methodical attack on it

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mobilization. Columns of fighters are moving to the front. Moscow, June 23, 1941. Anatoly Garanin/RIA Novosti

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 22, 1945 meeting of the Normandy-Niemen regiment at Le Bourget airfield (France). From left to right: engineer-captain Nikolai Filippov, major Pierre Matras, engineer-major Sergei Agavelyan, captain De Saint-Marceau Gaston and others. Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. RIA Novosti/RIA Novosti

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

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

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

06/22/1941 Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The workers of Leningrad listen to a message about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Boris Losin/RIA Novosti

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

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

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

06/22/1941 Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. June 22, 1941 Nurses provide assistance to the first wounded after a Nazi air raid near Chisinau. Georgy Zelma/RIA Novosti

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

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

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

76 years ago, on the night of June 21-22, 1941, fighting broke out along almost the entire western border of the Soviet Union. The Red Army suffered heavy losses, but nevertheless fought battles in the border areas, which eventually made it possible to mobilize the army, as well as to evacuate industry and property.

The first day of the war did not become the bloodiest or the most significant in the series that followed it - everything was still just beginning, and there were four years of battles ahead. However, it was June 22, 1941 that became a watershed that forever changed the fate of tens of millions Soviet people. How did the events of that day develop?

22.06, 03:55–03:57

22.06, 04:30–05:00

22.06, 06:40–07:00

22.06, 08:30–09:00

22.06, 12:00–13:00

22.06, 14:00–16:00

03:45, Baltic Sea. The death of the ship "Gaisma"

Returning from laying mines, four German boats intercepted the Soviet steamer Gaisma off the southeastern coast of Gotland. The ship was traveling from Riga to Lubeck with a cargo of timber. Without any warning, the ship was fired upon and then sunk by two torpedoes. Radio operator Stepan Savitsky managed to broadcast a radiogram at the last moment at 4:15: “Torpedoed. "Gaisma" is sinking. Farewell". His radiogram saved several other Soviet ships.

The blast wave threw most of the crew overboard. The sailors who found themselves in the water were shot by the Germans with machine guns. Six people died, two were captured. The remaining 24 crew members reached the Latvian coast by boat 14 hours later, where they buried Captain N.G., who had died from his wounds. Duve.

German torpedo boats of the 3rd flotilla moored alongside the mother ship Adolf Lüderitz, Finland, 1941. It was the boats of this flotilla, S 59 and S 60, that sank the steamer Gaisma.

The air battle of June 22 was one of the most intense in the history of war. The symbol of the first day of the Great Patriotic War was the attacks of German aircraft on Soviet airfields. Recalls the former pilot of the 165th Fighter Aviation Regiment, later Hero of the Soviet Union, Sergei Dmitrievich Gorelov: “Three regiments – about 200 aircraft – were concentrated at the Lvov airfield. And just on my birthday, at three o’clock in the morning, they started bombing us. We all jumped up, ran to the airfield, and there... Almost all the planes were destroyed or damaged. My I-16 was no exception. When I approached him, it seemed to me that he, askew, with a broken left wing, seemed to be looking at me and asking: “Where are you going? Why the hell are you sleeping?

“Sleeping airfields” that turned into gasoline fires in the very first few minutes of the war are, in fact, just an established cliche. Of course, there were also such cases - for example, the 66th attack air regiment in the Lvov region simultaneously lost 34 aircraft, more than half of the 63 aircraft of the air regiment. However, a much more common scheme was to warn about a raid by ground services, lift the duty unit into the air and fight, successful or unsuccessful. Thus, at 04:55 in the morning in the Dubno area, fighter pilot of the 46th IAP Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov shot down a German Heinkel-111 bomber with a ramming attack after expending its ammunition.

A line of I-153 Chaika fighters destroyed on June 22 at Alytus airfield. In the newly formed 236th IAP, to which they belonged, due to a shortage of flight personnel, there was no one to take them into the air.

This was a large-scale Luftwaffe operation, the goal of which was achieved through successive attacks on the same targets. Success for the attackers often came not from the first, but from the third or even fifth strike on airfields, when Soviet duty units found themselves in the process of refueling or reloading weapons. The main problem of the Soviet Air Force was the lack of airfield maneuver, that is, the ability to fly to another site, since in the spring of 1941, the construction of concrete runways began at many airfields in the border districts, and the air regiments were forced to remain on the same sites where they met the war. What happened next was a matter of technology - a conveyor belt of air strikes against the same targets brought success to the Luftwaffe, if not on June 22, then a day or two later.

USSR border. Artillery preparation begins, lasting 20–30 minutes along the entire border

From the memoirs of German tank officer Oscar Munzel: “Powerful artillery fire from heavy guns breaks up wisps of fog. Here and there beyond the Bug, shell explosions are heard. At 03:15 Berlin time the infantry begins its offensive. For the enemy it turned out to be a complete surprise, and he offers almost no resistance... The crossing of the Bug is proceeding flawlessly.”

German infantry is preparing to cross the Bug in rubber boats.

There was no time to withdraw troops from the Brest Fortress before the start of hostilities. The withdrawal took three hours, and in fact it didn’t even have time to start. The fortress became a mousetrap for the units located in it. Already in the first minutes of the war, a hail of artillery shells and volleys of rocket launchers fell upon it.

Defender of the Brest Fortress Ivan Dolotov recalls: “On the night of June 22, 1941, about half of the regiment was on the territory of the fortress. A large team was on the night shift at the construction of a bunker at Fort Berg. Regimental school in the camp. As a result of a sudden hurricane attack by artillery and aviation, catastrophic destruction of the barracks and other buildings occurred in the fortress. There were many killed and wounded, stone buildings and the ground were burning. On a combat alert, the unit on duty, Lieutenant Korotkov, lined up the available personnel in the corridor and ordered: take up defensive positions at the windows of the first floor of the barracks...”

Everything that was outside the strong casemates was swept away by fire. Artillery and vehicles in open parks instantly became a pile of twisted iron. Next to the guns at the hitching posts stood the horses of the artillery and mortar units. The unfortunate animals were already killed by shrapnel in the first hours of the war. All exits from the citadel of the fortress were cluttered with broken equipment.

Due to the fact that parts of two Soviet divisions were unable to leave the Brest Fortress, they were unable to take up defensive positions on the border. On both sides of Brest, bypassing the fortress, units of Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Group invaded the territory of the USSR.

As for the assault on the fortress itself, the German command seriously miscalculated in assessing the strength of its walls. Later, in his report on the assault, the commander of the 45th Infantry Division, General Schlipper, admitted: “The plan for the artillery attack was not designed so much for actual action as rather entirely for surprise.”

In other words, Soviet soldiers and they wanted to frighten the commanders. This became one of the first miscalculations of the German command in the war with the USSR. The soldiers stationed in the casemates of the fortress survived a barrage of artillery fire. When German infantry entered the fortress, they were met with counterattacks and machine gun and rifle fire from all sides. For the first time during the war with the USSR, the German commander gave the order to retreat. A group of Germans who broke into the citadel found themselves surrounded and blocked in the club - a former church. Instead of a quick capture within a few hours, the battles for the Brest Fortress turned into a multi-day epic for the Germans with constant losses.

USSR border. German infantry goes on the offensive

Border guard Anatoly Loginov recalls: “When the war started, I was on duty at the outpost. At about 2-3 o'clock, heavy bombers, Junkers, passed to the east at high altitude. Around four the artillery opened fire. She shot for about ten minutes. The head of the outpost asks:

- Well, sergeant major? War or provocation?

- War.

- Well, then take the right flag with the soldiers. We will fight.

Soon the infantry came, I won’t say en masse. We had good weapons: two heavy machine guns, SVT automatic rifles and one PPD machine gun. We fought until about five o'clock, the guys launched a counterattack 3-4 times. At 5 o’clock, an order came from the commandant’s office with a messenger to abandon the state border and join the regular units of the Red Army.”

The Red Army machine gunners fought to the last.

Berlin. Meeting of USSR Ambassador Vladimir Dekanozov with German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop. The minister handed the ambassador a note that actually announced the start of war

The translator of the USSR Ambassador in Berlin, Vladimir Dekanozov, Valentin Berezhkov recalled:

“Suddenly at 5 a.m. Moscow time... the phone rang. An unfamiliar voice announced that Reich Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop was waiting for Soviet representatives in his office at the Foreign Office on Wilhelmstrasse.

Having driven out onto Wilhelmstrasse, from a distance we saw a crowd near the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although it was already dawn, the entrance with a cast-iron canopy was brightly illuminated by floodlights. Photographers, cameramen, and journalists were bustling around. The official jumped out of the car first and opened the door wide. We went out, blinded by the light of Jupiters and the flashes of magnesium lamps. An alarming thought flashed through my head - is this really war? There was no other way to explain such a pandemonium on Wilhelmstrasse, especially at night...

When we came close to the desk, Ribbentrop stood up, silently nodded his head, extended his hand and invited us to follow him to the opposite corner of the room at the round table. Ribbentrop had a swollen crimson face and dull, as if frozen, inflamed eyes. He walked ahead of us, head down and staggering a little. “Is he drunk?” – flashed through my head.

After we sat down at the round table and Ribbentrop began to speak, my assumption was confirmed. He apparently really drank heavily.

Stumbling over almost every word, he began to explain rather confusingly that the German government had information regarding the increased concentration of Soviet troops on the German border. Ignoring the fact that over the past weeks the Soviet embassy, on behalf of Moscow, has repeatedly drawn the attention of the German side to flagrant cases of violation of the border of the Soviet Union by German soldiers and aircraft, Ribbentrop stated that Soviet soldiers violated the German border and invaded German territory, although there were no such facts in there was no reality."

This is what the building of the German Foreign Office looked like at Wilhelmstrasse 76

Moscow. Meeting between People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov and German Ambassador to Moscow Schulenburg. The Ambassador handed over a note from the German government

On the night of June 22, a telegram arrived from Berlin, which ordered Schulenburg to immediately go to Molotov and declare that the movements of Soviet troops on the German border had assumed such a scale that the Reich government could not ignore. It therefore decided to take appropriate countermeasures. The telegram emphasized that the ambassador should not enter into any discussions with Molotov.

On the morning of June 22, the USSR Foreign Minister saw the German Ambassador for the second time in a few hours, but the situation had changed dramatically during this time.

From the report of the German 51st Assault Engineer Battalion: “The Russian soldiers put up an outstanding resistance, surrendering only when they were wounded and fighting to the last. Individual elements The Russian fortified line was exceptionally good in terms of material and weapons. The concrete was mostly a mixture of granite, cement and iron, which was very strong and could withstand heavy artillery fire.”

The fortifications that had just been built on the new border and their garrisons, following the border guards, stood up to defend the country. Their stubborn resistance held back the enemy's onslaught. The fortified areas inflicted the first significant losses on the Germans. The commander of the German 28th Infantry Division, in a report on the battles in the Sopotskin area in Belarus, wrote: “In the fortification area from Sopotskino and north... we're talking about first of all, about the enemy, who firmly decided to hold on at all costs and did so... Only with the help of powerful demolition means was it possible to destroy one bunker after another... The division’s means were not enough to capture numerous structures.”

German sappers move forward to blow up a Soviet bunker.

Even the unoccupied and uncombat-ready bunkers in the Baltics forced the Germans to spend time on artillery training on concrete boxes in formwork. Only after this did the infantrymen cautiously approach them. However, the insufficient number of troops in the border armies did not allow them to take up a strong defense along the line of fortifications on the state border. The bunkers held back the onslaught of the German armies, but could not stop it for more than a few hours. German heavy artillery and sappers broke through corridors in the defense of fortified areas. Columns of tanks and motorized infantry broke through them into the territory of the USSR.

Tallinn. The command of the Baltic Fleet received a radiogram from People's Commissar N.K. Kuznetsov with an order to begin the measures provided for in the cover plan. The fleet began mine laying

Minelayer "Marty" - a participant in the first Soviet mine laying of the Great Patriotic War in the Baltic.

The first raids of Soviet bombers on enemy territory. Aircraft of the 7th Mixed Air Division bomb troop concentrations in the Tilsit area

Crashed SB bomber. It was this aircraft that was the main vehicle of the Soviet bomber aviation at the beginning of the war - unfortunately, it was extremely vulnerable, both due to obsolescence and due to improper use.

Moscow. Following the official declaration of war, Directive No. 2 was sent to the troops

"1. The troops are to attack enemy forces with all their might and means and destroy them in areas where they have violated the Soviet border.

2. Using reconnaissance and combat aircraft to establish the concentration areas of enemy aircraft and the grouping of their ground forces.

Using powerful strikes from bomber and attack aircraft, destroy aircraft at enemy airfields and bomb groups of his ground forces. Air strikes should be carried out to a depth of 100–150 km on German territory.”

The crew of the Soviet BT tank, 1941. There is calm and determination on their faces.

Bombing of airfields in the capital of Ukraine Kyiv

Nikolai Dupak, a film actor who was filming in Kyiv in 1941, recalls: “On Saturday I was reading and re-reading something - I went to bed late and woke up from gunfire. I go out onto the balcony, a man also comes out of the next room: “What is that?” - “Yes, there may be maneuvers of the Kyiv Military District.” As soon as he said this, and suddenly, maybe a hundred meters away, a plane with a swastika turns around and goes to bomb the bridge over the Dnieper. It was around 7 am...”

Not all of the first Luftwaffe raids took place with impunity - as for this Junkers Ju-88.

Lithuania. The motorized brigade of the German 7th Panzer Division reached Kalvaria

Soldiers of the 7th tank division Wehrmacht marching on Lithuanian land, summer 1941

Lithuania. The Germans bring mechanized troops into battle in the directions of Taurage, Siauliai; Kybartai, Kaunas and Kalvaria, Alytus

Soviet T-28 tanks abandoned by the crews in the Alytus area. In conditions of retreat, the slightest malfunction meant the loss of equipment.

Lithuania. The infantry of the 291st Wehrmacht division occupied Palanga

As long as the offensive is progressing well, you can be favorable towards the prisoners. Interrogation of an unknown Soviet pilot, everyone is in a good mood.

Brest is captured, resistance is offered only by soldiers in the Brest Fortress and in the railway station building

A German infantryman in the Brest Fortress on the banks of the Bug, in front is the ring barracks of its citadel. You can see how serious the artillery and mortar fire was, destroying almost all the vegetation.

Moscow. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov reads an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union on the radio

Soviet people greeted the news of the start of the war in different ways.

Dmitry Bulgakov recalls: “I lived in the village of Skorodnoye, Bolshesoldatsky district, Kursk region. It was pouring rain that day. I was sitting at home, and suddenly I saw my friend and like-minded person Seryozha running through the mud. He and I were very worried that we wouldn’t be able to get to the war - Khalkhin Gol and the Finnish War ended without us. Successful... Runs: “War!” We ran to the club in the rain and through the mud. And there people gather, a rally. There were no visitors from the area, only local assets - a bookkeeper, an accountant. Speakers: “We will smash them! This and that”... And when the Germans arrived, they were collecting eggs for them... The mood was like this - it’s a pity that we won’t get there, because they will quickly be defeated, and again we won’t get anything.”

Sofia Fatkulina: “When the war began, it was such a terrible picture! Horses galloped into all the villages and reported that the war had begun. At the age of conscription I went to the military registration and enlistment office. On the Volga, those leaving for the front were loaded onto ships. You know, everyone stood on the shore, and the whole Volga was crying.”

Announcement of the start of war.

Alexey Maksimenko: “I met the war in Kuibyshev on the way to my place of service. The train stopped. I went out onto the platform, took a mug of beer, I saw that people had gathered at the loudspeaker, listening: “War!” Women are baptized. I didn’t finish my glass of beer and quickly got on the train so as not to miss it. Something like this: “There’s a war there, and you’re drinking beer here.” I got into the carriage, and there was only talk about the war: “How can this be?!” We have a friendship treaty with the Germans?! Why did they start?!” The older ones say: “Of course they promised, but look - they have already captured half of Europe, and now it’s our turn. There were bourgeois states there, they occupied them, but we have a communist regime - all the more so it’s like a bone in their throat. Now it will be difficult for us to fight them.” There was an understanding that something terrible had happened, but at that time, being 18 years old, I was not able to appreciate the tragedy and complexity of the situation.”

Maryana Milutina recalls: “I was in my third year of 1st Medical Institute. That day we had an exam in physiology, which I did not know. When I heard on the radio that the war had started, I thought: “How good, maybe they’ll give me at least a C!” So my first feeling was a feeling of relief.”

Olympics Polyakova writes in her diary: “...Is our liberation really approaching? Whatever the Germans are, they won’t be worse than ours. And what do we care about the Germans? We will live without them. The Germans will win - there is no doubt. Forgive me Lord! I am not an enemy of my people, my homeland... But we must face the truth: we all, all of Russia, passionately desire victory for the enemy, whatever he may be.”

Sobering up will come in just six months, when Polyakova finds herself in the hungry and cold occupied Gatchina. Three years later, in the spring of 1945 near Munich, according to her friend Vera Pirozhkova, “...she has already stated that all Germans should be put in a concentration camp. I asked again: “Everyone?” She thought for a second and answered firmly: “Everyone.”.

On the faces of Muscovites there is a whole gamut of feelings.

Valentin Rychkov recalls: “The adults greeted the war with tears in their eyes, with concern, and upset. They ran to each other, whispered, exchanged opinions, and realized that a terrible disaster was approaching. And we, the youth, are enthusiastic and militant. We gathered in the city garden on the dance floor, but there was no talk of any dancing. We all split into two groups. One group of “military specialists” argued that in 2–3 weeks there would be nothing left of the Nazis. The second, more sedate group said: “No, not 2-3 weeks, but 2-3 months - and we will have ours.” complete victory, will defeat the fascists." What added excitement to this was an unusual phenomenon. At this time in the west there was not the usual “sunset like a sunset”, but a crimson-red-bloody one! They also said: “It was our Red Army that attacked the Germans with all its firepower, as can be seen even in Siberia!” And I... Now I don’t know for what reason, but then I stood and thought: “What are they talking about?” My friend Romashko, who is still alive and can confirm, asks: “And you, Valka, why are you standing and not speaking your opinion?” And I say literally the following: “No, guys, our victory will take at least 2-3 years.” What a fuss has started here! How could I not be insulted! How they weren’t accused! I kept thinking, if only I wouldn’t get punched in the face for such a forecast. But it turned out that, although I was closer to the truth, I was very, very wrong..."

An optimistic mood was characteristic of the majority of young patriots, brought up by “victorious” films, like “If Tomorrow is War,” literary works writers like Nikolai Shpanov and massive propaganda, who assured that “We will beat the enemy on his territory”. The organizational and instructional department of the personnel management of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks reported: “The mobilization is taking place in an organized manner, in accordance with the plans. The mood of those mobilized is cheerful and confident... a large number of applications are received for enrollment in the ranks of the Red Army... There are many facts when girls ask to go to the front... rallies in factories and factories, on collective farms and institutions are held with great patriotic enthusiasm ".

Unlike the youth, who perceived what was happening almost as a holiday, the older generation, who remembered the First World War and the Civil War, did not feel much enthusiasm and habitually began to prepare for long-term hardships. In the very first hours of the war, queues grew in shops and markets. People bought salt, matches, soap, sugar and other food and essential goods. Many took savings from savings banks and tried to cash in domestic loan bonds. “We rushed to the store. People were running through the streets, buying everything they had in stores, but there was nothing left for us, there were only assorted sets, we bought five boxes and returned home.”, - recalls Nikolai Obrynba.

Rome, Italy. Italian Foreign Minister Ciano di Cortelazzo reads the Italian government's declaration of war to USSR Ambassador Gorelkin

Due to the fact that Germany declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and a member Triple Alliance, also declared war on the Soviet Union from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory - that is, from 05:30 on the morning of June 22. The exchange of embassies between the government of Italy and the government of the Soviet Union had to be settled through intermediaries.

For the Italians, entering the war against the USSR turned out to be a disastrous gamble. In the photo, the commander of the Italian Expeditionary Force, General Giovanni Messe, inspects his soldiers.

Western Belarus. The German 18th Panzer Division engages the Soviet 30th Panzer Division of the 14th Mechanized Corps. The first tank battle on the Soviet-German front

Late series T-26 tanks left by the crews in the city of Kobrin from the 14th Mechanized Corps.

Lithuania. The Germans are drawn into street battles for the city of Taurage in Lithuania

Lieutenant General V.F. recalls Zotov: “At 4:00 on June 22, we were awakened by the explosions of artillery shells... The explosion of the first shells set fire to the house where the headquarters of the 125th Infantry Division was located... The city was shelled by hurricane fire from enemy artillery. Knowing that the buildings in the city were mostly wooden, the enemy fired mainly with incendiary shells, as a result of which the city was on fire 15–20 minutes after the start of the artillery shelling.”

However, the troops of the Baltic District managed to occupy their assigned defense zones even before the war.

Soon German tanks and motorized infantry in armored personnel carriers approached the burning city. The highway bridge over the Jura River was blown up, but the railway bridge fell into the hands of the attackers intact. The battle for Taurage resulted in intense street fighting. The combat log of the German 1st Panzer Division that stormed the city emphasized: "The enemy fights stubbornly and fiercely".

German motorcyclists at the entrance to Taurage (German: Taurogen)

Until late at night in Taurage there were battles for every house and every crossroads. Only by midnight the Soviet units defending the city were pushed back to the northeastern outskirts. German Colonel Ritgen, who served at that time in the 6th Panzer Division advancing in the same direction, recalled: “Enemy resistance in our sector turned out to be much stronger than expected. Our path was blocked by six anti-tank ditches, covered by infantrymen and snipers perched in the trees. Fortunately for us, they did not have anti-tank guns or mines. Since no one surrendered, there were no prisoners."

The Soviet infantrymen defended themselves stubbornly and fiercely, but the forces were unequal. The 125th Rifle Division, stretched along the front, was immediately attacked by an entire German tank corps. By the night of June 22-23, the division was practically destroyed. The final finishing blow came at night. The division headquarters came under a sudden attack. A number of headquarters commanders were killed or went missing, and communications equipment was lost. To add insult to injury, the unit was decapitated. German tanks continued their advance along the highway to Siauliai.

Lithuania. A major success for the German 3rd Panzer Group: two bridges across the Neman near the city of Alytus were captured intact

The bridges across the Neman were prepared for explosion by the 4th Engineer Regiment of the Baltic Special District, but the bridges were not destroyed. It is possible that saboteurs from Brandenburg had a hand in this.

Capturing existing bridges intact and quickly building temporary ones is one of the components of the success of the German blitzkrieg. The photo shows an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun, the famous “akht-akht,” crossing the river.

As soon as the first German tanks reached the eastern bank of the river, they were met by fire from Soviet tanks. This was the first meeting of German tank crews with T-34 tanks. The T-34, stationed in a position next to the bridge, immediately knocked out a PzKpfw 38(t) that had crossed the river. Return fire from the 37 mm guns of the German tanks was ineffective. Participants in the battles recalled:

“The chief of staff, Major Belikov, ordered us to go to the western part of the city and find out what was burning there... A whole column of civilians was walking towards us from the city... The crowd moved apart in both directions and we drove at full speed. But when we passed, people from the crowd started shooting at us with machine guns and our motorcycle was knocked out in front of our barracks.

At about 11:30, they brought to the headquarters a wet woman who had swam across the Neman, who said that she had seen German tanks outside the city, but immediately the prosecutor shouted “provocation, spy,” and immediately shot her. 30 minutes later, near the bridge, the soldiers detained a man who was Lithuanian and told us in broken Russian that German tanks were already in the city, but the detective shot him too and called him a provocateur.

We approached our tank, knocked, and the hatch opened. We say that German tanks are on the road next to us, and the tank driver replies that he does not have armor-piercing shells. We approached another tank, there was a platoon commander who quickly ordered: follow me! and two or three tanks immediately turned out of the bushes, went straight at the German tanks - shooting at the German tanks as they went, and then came right up close - rammed them and threw them into a ditch (they destroyed half a dozen German tanks and did not lose a single one). And they rushed across the bridge to the west bank. But as soon as we crossed the bridge, we met a group of German tanks, one of which immediately caught fire, and then ours caught fire. Then I saw only fire, smoke, heard the roar of explosions and the clang of metal.”

Moscow. At a meeting with Stalin, a decision was made on mobilization according to an enhanced version, a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces on mobilization was prepared and signed

The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces mobilization on the territory of the following military districts: Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kiev special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North Caucasus and Transcaucasian. Those liable for military service who were born from 1905 to 1918 inclusive are subject to mobilization.

As of the morning of June 22, the Red Army de jure and de facto remained a peacetime army. The signal for preparations for mobilization was a government announcement on the radio at noon. Formalities followed a few hours later. The telegram announcing mobilization was signed by the People's Commissar of Defense on June 22, 1941 at 16:00 and submitted to the Central Telegraph of the Ministry of Communications at 16:40. In 26 minutes, the mobilization telegram was sent to all republican, regional, regional and district centers.

The first day of mobilization in Moscow - the queue at the Oktyabrsky district military registration and enlistment office

Why was mobilization not announced earlier? What happened during these few hours in the Kremlin and the General Staff? Sometimes they say that Stalin fell into prostration and fled to his dacha. Entries in the log of visits to the Kremlin office do not confirm this version. Already the first decisions made talk about hard work and analyzing the situation several steps ahead. According to the pre-war mobilization plan for the transfer of the army and navy to war time 4.9 million people needed to be drafted. However, when mobilization was actually announced, conscripts of 14 ages were called up at once, the total number of which was about 10 million people, i.e. almost 5.1 million people more than what was theoretically required. This suggests that the country's top leadership realized the scale of the disaster already in the middle of the day on June 22.

In fact, within a few hours after the start of the war, a plan was ready to lead the country and army out of the crisis situation. Conscription with a large reserve made it possible to form new divisions. It was these new formations, not provided for by pre-war plans, that became life-saving reserves. They appeared at the front at critical moments, preventing the crisis from developing into a disaster. The famous Panfilov division, the formations that saved Leningrad, Moscow, which delayed the fall of Kyiv - all of them were the brainchild of mobilization telegrams sent out on June 22. When planning Barbarossa, German staff officers greatly underestimated the ability of the USSR to rebuild the army after defeats in the first battles.

Great Britain, London. Radio broadcast of a speech by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

« Today at 4 o'clock in the morning Hitler invaded Russia. The danger for Russia is our danger and the danger of the United States. The cause of every Russian fighting for his land and home is the common cause of free people and free peoples in any part globe. We will provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can.”

The future allies kept their word - after just over two months, supplies began to the USSR, which were later secured by the Lend-Lease agreement. The photo shows British Hurricane fighters near Murmansk, autumn 1941.

Moscow. Directive No. 3 was sent to the troops

June 22 began and ended with a directive from Moscow. This was already the third directive of the day. However, as before, the orders of the high command were late for the rapid development of events. Directive No. 3 remained in history thanks to the pronounced offensive spirit that permeated all its lines. So, it stated: “The armies of the Southwestern Front, firmly holding the state border with Hungary, with concentric attacks in the general direction of Lublin with the forces of the 5th and 6th Army... encircle and destroy the enemy group advancing on the Vladimir-Volynsky, Krystynopol front, and by the end of June 26, capture the Lublin region ».

For the troops who were unable to hold the state border, these words sounded mocking. However, there were reasons for this. Head of the Operations Department of the Southwestern Front, future Marshal I.Kh. Bagramyan recalled: “I couldn’t help but think that the optimism in the assessments in the document from the center was largely inspired by our rather cheerful reports.”.

Alas, in the confusion of the first days, for many Red Army soldiers, the war ended before it began. Those who surrender pass by a column of German equipment and German soldiers lying in a ditch.

Lithuania. The vanguards of the German 57th Tank Corps of the 3rd Panzer Group reached the village of Varenai (Lithuania), having advanced 70 km in a day

“On June 22, we opened the door without understanding what was behind it,”- this is how Hitler described the beginning of the war with the USSR. The significance of this day for the course of world history is enormous, but from a military point of view it was not special: the decisions taken on this day could not radically change the situation. The turning point occurred before the invasion, when the chance to deploy the Red Army on the western border was lost. This decided the fate of the border battle - it was lost even before the start of hostilities.

German soldiers crossing the border. The war was just beginning...

June 22 was by no means the bloodiest day in the history of the war. It would be a mistake to believe that the Germans, who achieved a strategic surprise attack, immediately destroyed large forces of the Red Army. On the first day of the war, no major encirclements had yet occurred.

A different picture emerged in the war in the air. The air battle on June 22, 1941 covered a large area at once, German fighter and bomber squadrons penetrated deep into rear areas special districts. Soviet naval bases were also hit. If the mining of exits from fleet bases was intended to intimidate, then attacks on airfields on June 22 became part of a multi-day operation to destroy the air forces of the western districts. She was the biggest success of the Germans. Most of The losses of Soviet aircraft occurred precisely on June 22.

The first day of the war, of course, was remembered by everyone who lived at that time, better than many others from the 1418 days of the Great Patriotic War, since it was the watershed that divided people’s lives into “before” and “after.” Konstantin Simonov, who was at the front from the first days, later wrote in the novel “The Living and the Dead”:

“Where they were now hurrying, the smoke of the burning village rose higher and higher. Riding ahead of Sintsov, battalion commander Ryabchenko either covered this smoke with himself, or when his horse stumbled and turned to the side, he opened it again. - Komarov, oh Komarov! - What? - Let me smoke! – What’s going on? “Yes, so, suddenly I wanted to...” Sintsov did not explain why he wanted to. And he wanted to because, now looking at this distant smoke ahead, he tried to force himself to get used to the difficult thought that, no matter how much they had left behind them, there was still a whole war ahead.

Wars have accompanied the entire history of mankind. Some were protracted and lasted for decades. Others walked only a few days, some even less than an hour.

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Yom Kippur War (18 days)

The war between the coalition of Arab countries and Israel was the fourth in a series of military conflicts in the Middle East involving the young Jewish state. The goal of the invaders was to return the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

The invasion was carefully prepared and began with an attack by the combined forces of Syria and Egypt during the Jewish religious holiday of Yom Kippur, that is, Judgment Day. On this day in Israel, Jewish believers pray and abstain from food for almost a day.

The military invasion came as a complete surprise to Israel, and for the first two days the advantage was on the side of the Arab coalition. A few days later, the pendulum swung towards Israel, and the country managed to stop the invaders.

The USSR declared support for the coalition and warned Israel of the most dire consequences that would await the country if the war continued. At this time, IDF troops were already standing next to Damascus and 100 km from Cairo. Israel was forced to withdraw its troops.

All hostilities took 18 days. Losses from the side israeli army The IDF accounted for about 3,000 dead, while the Arab coalition accounted for about 20,000.

Serbo-Bulgarian War (14 days)

In November 1885, the King of Serbia declared war on Bulgaria. The cause of the conflict was disputed territories - Bulgaria annexed the small Turkish province of Eastern Rumelia. The strengthening of Bulgaria threatened the influence of Austria-Hungary in the Balkans, and the empire made the Serbs a puppet to neutralize Bulgaria.

During two weeks of fighting, two and a half thousand people died on both sides of the conflict, and about nine thousand were wounded. Peace was signed in Bucharest on December 7, 1885. As a result of this peace, Bulgaria was declared the formal winner. There was no redistribution of borders, but the de facto unification of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia was recognized.

Third Indo-Pakistani War (13 days)

In 1971, India intervened in civil war, which was broadcast in Pakistan. Then Pakistan was divided into two parts, western and eastern. Residents of East Pakistan claimed independence, the situation there was difficult. Many refugees flooded India.

India was interested in weakening its longtime enemy, Pakistan, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the deployment of troops. In less than two weeks of fighting, Indian troops achieved their planned goals, East Pakistan received the status of an independent state (now called Bangladesh).

Six Day War

On June 6, 1967, one of the many Arab-Israeli conflicts in the Middle East began. It was called the Six Day War and became the most dramatic in modern history Middle East. Formally, Israel began the fighting, as it was the first to launch an air strike on Egypt.

However, even a month before this, the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser publicly called for the destruction of the Jews as a nation, and in total 7 states united against the small country.

Israel launched a powerful pre-emptive strike on Egyptian airfields and went on the offensive. In six days of confident attack, Israel occupied the entire Sinai peninsula, Judea and Samaria, Golan Heights and Gaza Strip. In addition, the territory of East Jerusalem with its shrines, including the Western Wall, was captured.

Israel lost 679 people killed, 61 tanks, 48 aircraft. The Arab side of the conflict lost about 70,000 people killed and a huge number military equipment.

Football war (6 days)

El Salvador and Honduras went to war after a qualifying match for the right to qualify for the World Cup. Neighbors and longtime rivals, residents of both countries were fueled by complex territorial relations. In the city of Tegucigalpa in Honduras, where the matches took place, there were riots and violent fights between fans of the two countries.

As a result, on July 14, 1969, the first military conflict occurred on the border of the two countries. In addition, countries shot down each other's planes, there were several bombings of both El Salvador and Honduras, and there were fierce ground battles. On July 18, the parties agreed to negotiations. By July 20, hostilities ceased.

Most of the victims in Football war- civilians

Both sides suffered greatly in the war, and the economies of El Salvador and Honduras suffered enormous damage. People died, the majority being civilians. Losses in this war have not been calculated; figures range from 2,000 to 6,000 total deaths on both sides.

Agasher War (6 days)

This conflict is also known as the “Christmas War”. The war broke out over a piece of border territory between two states, Mali and Burkina Faso. The Agasher strip, rich in natural gas and minerals, was needed by both states.

The dispute became acute when

At the end of 1974, the new leader of Burkina Faso decided to end the division important resources. On December 25, the Mali army launched an attack on Agasher. Burkina Faso troops began to counterattack, but suffered heavy losses.

It was possible to reach negotiations and stop the fire only on December 30th. The parties exchanged prisoners, counted the dead (in total there were about 300 people), but could not divide Agasher. A year later, the UN court decided to divide the disputed territory exactly in half.

Egyptian-Libyan War (4 days)

The conflict between Egypt and Libya in 1977 lasted only a few days and did not bring any changes - after the end of hostilities, both states remained “at their own”.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi initiated protest marches against Egypt's partnership with the United States and an attempt to establish dialogue with Israel. The action ended with the arrest of several Libyans in neighboring territories. The conflict quickly escalated into hostilities.

Over the course of four days, Libya and Egypt fought several tank and air battles, and two Egyptian divisions occupied the Libyan city of Musaid. Eventually the fighting ended and peace was established through the mediation of third parties. The borders of the states did not change and no fundamental agreements were reached.

Portuguese-Indian War (36 hours)

In historiography, this conflict is called the Indian annexation of Goa. The war was an action initiated by the Indian side. In mid-December, India carried out a massive military invasion of the Portuguese colony in the south of the Hindustan Peninsula.

Fighting lasted 2 days and was fought from three sides - the territory was bombed from the air, three Indian frigates defeated the small Portuguese fleet in Mormugan Bay, and several divisions invaded Goa on the ground.

Portugal still believes that India's actions were an attack; the other side of the conflict calls this operation a liberation operation. Portugal officially surrendered on December 19, 1961, one and a half days after the start of the war.

Anglo-Zanzibar War (38 minutes)

The invasion of imperial troops into the territory of the Zanzibar Sultanate was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest war in the history of mankind. Great Britain did not like the country's new ruler, who seized power after the death of his cousin.

The Empire demanded that powers be transferred to the English protégé Hamud bin Muhammad. There was a refusal, and early in the morning of August 27, 1896, the British squadron approached the shore of the island and began to wait. At 9.00 the ultimatum put forward by Britain expired: either the authorities surrender their powers, or the ships will begin to fire at the palace. The usurper, who captured the Sultan's residence with a small army, refused.

Two cruisers and three gunboats opened fire minute by minute after the deadline. The only ship of the Zanzibar fleet was sunk, the Sultan's palace turned into flaming ruins. The newly-minted Sultan of Zanzibar fled, and the country’s flag remained flying on the dilapidated palace. In the end, he was shot down by a British admiral. According to international standards, the fall of the flag means surrender.

The entire conflict lasted 38 minutes - from the first shot to the overturned flag. For African history This episode is considered not so much comical as deeply tragic - 570 people died in this micro-war, all of them were citizens of Zanzibar.

Unfortunately, the duration of the war has nothing to do with its bloodshed or how it will affect life within the country and around the world. War is always a tragedy that leaves an unhealed scar in the national culture.

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