THE SECOND WORLD WAR. WAR STARTS IN EUROPE 1939-1940
Capture of Poland. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland without declaring war. Two days later, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Two Germanic military air fleet bombed the already weak Polish air force at the airfields even before the Polish planes were able to take off. After that, German aircraft launched strikes on Largest cities and military installations of Poland, destroying bridges, supply points on railways, transport hubs and power plants. The significant in numbers of the Polish armed forces were defeated in fact before they had time to take up combat positions. In 30 days, the resistance was almost broken. The last unprecedentedly brutal act of the Polish campaign was the prolonged bombing of Warsaw, where thousands of refugees had gathered. When the German armies closed the ring beyond Warsaw and their victory was not in doubt, Soviet troops entered Poland on September 17. The Poles did not try to resist this; Soviet troops halted, occupying a line on the border with East Prussia and stretching south along the Bug River, and then west of Lvov, including Galicia. Thus, German and Soviet troops reached the border stipulated in the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and confirmed by subsequent decisions of the governments of both countries. On September 28, Germany agreed to recognize new borders between the Soviet Union and the territory it had conquered. On October 5, after the fall of Warsaw, Hitler announced the annexation of Western Poland (Silesia) by Germany, where 10 million Poles lived, and the establishment of a "protectorate" over the central regions of the country. The USSR held a plebiscite in the territories it occupied and, announcing its positive result, annexed it to the USSR on November 1-2 Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, which were part of Eastern Poland, with a population of 12 million - mostly Belarusians, Ukrainians and Jews.
Reaction from Great Britain and France. During the Polish campaign, Great Britain and France did not provide effective assistance to their ally. The British army was just beginning to advance to the continent, where it was to take positions in Flanders along the western protrusion of the Maginot Line. By the end of October, 4 divisions of the expeditionary corps were expected to arrive from England. The French army defended the Maginot Line - a continuous belt of permanent fortifications with barbed wire and anti-tank traps. For several weeks, French forces attacked the German forward fortifications in the Saar, but these attempts were of purely symbolic significance. The "Strange War" dragged on throughout the winter of 1939-1940.
The Soviet Union attacked Finland. Even before the final partition of Poland, the USSR took steps to strengthen its positions in the Baltic States. After 1918, when the Brest-Litovsk Treaty was concluded, the Soviet leadership did not accept the loss of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Following the partition of Poland, the USSR in late September - early October 1939 forced these three countries to sign non-aggression pacts; in August 1940, Red Army units entered their territory. Finland turned out to be more intractable, even when in October 1939 Moscow demanded that its government conclude a treaty of friendship and cede strategically important Finnish territories on the Karelian Isthmus, adjacent to Leningrad from the north, to the USSR. The USSR also demanded that Finland provide him with free access to the polar village of Pechenga, near which the ice-free port of Liinakhamari is located, and agree to the lease of naval bases located on the Finnish coast along Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland. On November 30, the USSR began military operations with the bombing of Helsinki. Finland had a well-trained army of 330,000. At first it seemed that this was quite enough, given the weak concentration of Red Army units in the region. By December 12, attempts by Soviet troops to bypass from the south in the area of Lake Ladoga the powerful defensive line of Mannerheim, which covered the approaches to Finland from Leningrad, were unsuccessful, and the attacking troops were repulsed with heavy losses for them. A week later, in the battles at Salla, the Finnish ski division bypassed and practically destroyed the second Soviet grouping. At the same time, Soviet forward units invaded the country in a different direction with the aim of striking at the most vulnerable targets in Finland. On December 21, at the Battle of Suomussalmi, these forces were driven back by the 2nd Finnish Corps. The Finnish successes showed the weakness of the military leadership of the Red Army. After the failure of the offensive in January, the fighting was suspended, but the Soviet troops, regrouping, launched a new offensive on February 11, which determined the outcome of the war. Step by step, at the cost of heavy losses on both sides, the Mannerheim line was broken. On March 13, 1940, the USSR and Finland, with the mediation of Germany, signed an armistice agreement. Under its terms, Moscow received the entire Karelian Isthmus, the fortified Vyborg (Viipuri), as well as a long narrow strip of territory north of Lake Ladoga. The naval base on the Hanko Peninsula was leased to Moscow for a period of 30 years. The Soviet Union pushed back its border in the Pechenga area.
Fall of Norway and Denmark. The next act of aggression by Germany was unexpected. In Norway there was a strong pro-Nazi party headed by W. Quisling; he made several trips to Berlin to convince Hitler that unless a coup d'état took place in Norway, Britain would occupy its coast. Germany's decision to occupy Norway was also influenced by the attempts of Britain and France to provide assistance to Finland. On February 16, 1940, the British destroyer Kossak entered the coastal waters of Norway to seize the German transport Altmark, which was carrying British prisoners of war. Hitler decided that Norway was cooperating with England and used the incident as a pretext to invade Norway. At a March 8 war cabinet meeting, Churchill outlined a plan to defend Norway, adhering to the principle of "show of force in order to avoid its use." The Allies planned to mine Norwegian waters on April 5, and then land troops in Narvik, Trondheim, Bergen and Stavanger on April 8. But for a number of reasons, the operation was postponed, and the Nazis were ahead of the Allies. In the early morning of April 9, German troops disembarked from warships near the major ports of Norway in the strip from Oslo to Narvik and captured them without much effort. Aviation joined the swift actions of the amphibious assault, which in general ensured the success of the campaign, although only 25 thousand ground forces took part in it. Norwegian batteries sank the German cruiser Blucher. During the operation, the Germans lost 3 cruisers, 10 destroyers, 4 submarines, an artillery training ship and 10 small ships. The Allies lost 1 aircraft carrier, 2 cruisers, 1 patrol ship and 6 destroyers. The government moved from Oslo to the central part of the country. As for the Norwegian army, the country had 25 thousand poorly armed and poorly trained soldiers. On April 14 in the north near Narvik and on April 17 in Namsus and Ondalsnes in central Norway, a French-British amphibious assault force landed. The last two operations were of a purely reconnaissance nature. The Allies managed to take Narvik in early June, but incessant air raids from Trondheim, occupied by the Germans, forced them to leave the city. From 3 to 8 June, the Allied forces were evacuated, and on 8 June the Norwegian army surrendered. Simultaneously with the attack on Norway (April 9), Denmark was subjected to aggression, it was occupied without resistance, and the country's government surrendered.
The beginning of the capture of Western Europe by Germany. With the German invasion of Norway and Denmark, the "strange war" ended. Hitler's intention to invade Western Europe became clear. On May 10, 1940, W. Churchill, Minister of the Navy, replaced N. Chamberlain as Prime Minister. The positions of the allies were very vulnerable due to the insecurity of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, through which german troops could strike at France. Fearing irritation from the Nazi government, neutral Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg rejected offers of cooperation with France and Great Britain and did not even dare to take effective measures to organize self-defense, although the governments of these states already had irrefutable evidence of the impending aggression from Germany. The armies of the three countries were in a state of semi-readiness and only demonstrated their presence at the borders, in the places of concentration of German units. Thus, by May 10, 1940, when Germany launched an invasion of their territory, with a view to a further attack on France, they did not have a common plan for a joint defense. Germany attacked these countries without warning, without resorting to any preliminary diplomatic procedure. Planning the next seizure, Germany concentrated large military forces on this sector: 136 divisions, including 10 tank and 6 motorized, 2580 tanks, 3824 aircraft, 7378 field guns. Allied forces numbered 111 divisions on the northeastern front, approx. 3100 tanks, 1648 French and 1837 British aircraft. The French army mobilized 97 divisions; 49 of them held the defense on the Maginot Line. Armored units numbered about the same as the German ones, but many French vehicles were outdated. All military formations and positions occupied by the army, except for the Maginot Line, were poorly equipped with anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. The British Expeditionary Force in France consisted of 12 divisions, three of which were still in preparation. The Belgians mobilized 23 divisions, 12 of which were on the defensive at the Albert Canal. The Netherlands, which did not have heavy combat vehicles at all, were able to put 8 divisions on the line of defense. The German command, with a series of disinformation actions, supported the confidence in the allied generals that the Germans would repeat the "Schlieffen plan" of 1914, when their armies with their right wing attacked the left flank of the French defense through the Netherlands and Belgium. This time, German troops struck the main blow in the center of the Western Front through the rugged terrain in the Ardennes mountains - with the aim of crossing the Maas River and reaching the sea - and broke through the Allied defenses where the Germans were least expected.
Fall of the Netherlands. In the early morning of May 10, 1940, the then capital of the country, The Hague, and its main port, Rotterdam, were attacked by airborne forces. In general, only 16 thousand people were employed in the operation. At the same time, on the eastern border of the Netherlands, which was at a distance of 160 km, infantry forces launched an offensive in three directions. On May 14, after a massive bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch army surrendered, and the government moved to London.
Attack on Belgium. After the fall of the Netherlands, the German airborne forces had to break open the Belgian castle in order to facilitate the advance of the 6th Army under the command of General W. von Reichenau. The Dutch blew up the bridges over the Meuse near Maastricht, which somewhat slowed down the advance of the Germans. As soon as this direction was blocked, the troops swiftly deployed in the direction of Belgium. The Belgian army abandoned its fortified border lines and retreated to the west, where it was planned to join the Franco-British forces already heading for the Dil River. Before joining on this line, the Allies withdrew to the defensive line beyond the Scheldt. The 6th German Army continued its advance towards Brussels almost unhindered. Meanwhile, General Geppner's German Panzer Corps was confronted with French lungs mechanized divisions near Annu and Gembloux; the next day, German tanks carried out a successful maneuver against the defending tank units and pushed them back to the Dil River. Then the German tanks were transferred to the Sedan area. The French armored units did not move in the same direction for the general engagement, but remained in Belgium, since the high command mistakenly believed that the German Panzer Corps was still near Gembloux and posed here the main threat of the invasion of France. Almost all the mobile units of the Allies have already been drawn into the battle for Belgium. They included a British expeditionary force of 350 thousand people, as well as two French armies with a total strength of approx. 1 million military personnel. The 9th French Army under the command of General A. Corap held the most vulnerable section of the border with France, adjacent to the southeastern Belgian salient. Leaving a poorly disguised and weakly defended sector under Sedan, Corap directed his main forces towards Namur. When they were already on the march, the main power of the German army, bypassing their right flank, fell upon France. Its target turned out to be precisely the positions that the French general had just left.
Invasion of France. To break through to France, 86 German divisions concentrated in a narrow corridor on the border with Luxembourg. There were three tank corps under the command of General P. von Kleist. The advance of these forces, which began on the morning of May 10, 1940, resembled a race rather than a military operation. In two days, the advancing troops covered a distance of 122 km through the territory of the Ardennes Mountains and reached the Meuse. On the morning of May 13, the infantry moved to the river bank. At about noon, bombers appeared over Sedan, shooting and bombing the French defenses. The few French defenders were completely demoralized. In the middle of the day, the German infantry crossed the river in boats and rafts; by midnight, the corps of engineers had finished building the bridge between Sedan and Saint-Menge. At night, tank units crossed the river and took a deep foothold in the southern part of the city. Infantry divisions advanced to the captured lines behind the tanks. So, with one blow, almost without resistance, the fate of the battle for France was decided. All the events that followed - the advance of tanks to the sea, the defeat of the Allies in Belgium, the evacuation from Dunkirk, the surrender of France - were just the consequences of this operation by the German Army Group "A".
Battle of Flanders. Panzer group Kleist made a rush from the Sedan bridgehead to ports in the English Channel. The 3rd French Panzer Division entered the battle south of Sedan, but itself was hit from the flank and was defeated. The 4th Panzer Division, under the command of General de Gaulle, launched a counterattack, but was driven back. Of the two remaining French armored divisions, one found itself in a difficult position due to lack of fuel, the other lost its combat power, being dismembered into small units for combat escort. Thus, the main offensive force of Germany - tank troops - did not meet active resistance, and on May 20, its forward units reached the coast near Abbeville. By that time, German mechanized columns, turning north along the coast, cut off Boulogne and Calais, and on May 22 one of the task forces reached the Ayr - Saint Omer Canal 32 km from Dunkirk, the only remaining port that still connected the British expeditionary forces with homeland. On May 16, the commander-in-chief of the French forces, General M. Gamelin, was replaced by General Weygand. Overly optimistic about the situation, he ordered General Gort to strike from the north on the enemy's flank in cooperation with French troops, which were ordered to advance from the south. However, the French offensive stalled, while on the left flank of the British army, the Belgians retreated under the onslaught of the Germans. On May 25, Gort, under his own responsibility, decided to immediately stop the offensive in the southern direction, and with the two divisions intended for this, to fill the widening gap between the left flank and the Belgians. Thus - according to the official English historiography - he saved british army... On May 28, the Belgian army surrendered, while the British continued their retreat to Dunkirk with battles. After the breakthrough, German tank forces threatened Dunkirk from the west; On May 23, by order of General Rundstedt, commander of Army Group A, they stopped at the Bethune - Saint Omer - Gravelin line. This order was later attributed to Hitler and became the subject of much discussion, however, as evidenced by the operational documents of the German army, Hitler only approved the actions of Rundstedt on May 24, who decided to save the armored formations already battered in battles for a final blow to France. Rundstedt decided that he had done his part, believing that the British forces would be surrounded and pinned to the sea, and the Luftwaffe (air force) would not allow them to use the sea route for rescue. But as a result of fierce battles and at the cost of heavy losses, the British nevertheless managed to carry out the evacuation of the allied forces, called the "Dunkirk miracle". By the morning of June 4, approx. 215 thousand British, as well as 123 thousand French and Belgian troops landed on the coast of Great Britain. The total losses of Great Britain during the operation amounted to 69.6 thousand people. The defeat of the broken left flank of the French army ended after the Dunkirk operation with the surrender of the encircled military units. As a result, France lost 30 divisions, including armored ones. For the construction of a new defense line with a length of 240 km - from central France to the English Channel - only 49 divisions remained at the disposal of General Weygand.
The surrender of France. Germany gave the French no time to breathe. On June 5, German forces curtailed their final operations in Flanders and struck south and southwest of the Somme. German tank divisions advanced rapidly, winning one victory after another over the French, defenseless against tank attacks. The defensive lines north of Paris were crushed, and the French army was finally defeated and demoralized. The French made no attempt to defend Paris and, in order to save the city from bombing, surrendered it on June 14 without a fight. The fate of France was effectively sealed. On June 10, when Germany's victory was no longer in doubt, Italy declared war on France and attacked her along the entire border. For a while, the French managed to hold their positions. On June 10, the French government moved from Paris to Tours, from where it soon moved to Bordeaux. German troops entered Paris, while continuing to push the French army back to the Loire. On June 11, French Prime Minister P. Reynaud appealed to British Prime Minister Churchill with a request to release France from mutual obligations, according to which neither side had the right to conclude a separate peace without the consent of an ally. On June 14, German Army Group C attacked the Maginot Line in a narrow sector of the front south of Saarbrücken and broke through the French defenses. On June 16, recognizing the inability of the ally to fulfill its obligations, Great Britain agreed to free France from them, provided that its navy would not be transferred to Hitler. Great Britain's attempt to induce France to continue the war in the African theater of operations also failed. On June 16, most of the French government voted for an armistice. Reynaud resigned and was replaced by Marshal Pétain. On June 17, he requested an armistice from Hitler. On June 22, 1940, a peace treaty was signed in a railway carriage in the same Compiegne forest, where in 1918 Marshal Foch received a German military delegation who had come to ask for peace. Two thirds of French territory was occupied. Nominally independent, France became a de facto Axis satellite state. Germany benefited more from the partial occupation of France than from its complete capture. The Germans held the industrial north and occupied the entire north and west coast of France, making it the main base for the fight against Great Britain. The Italians received only what they managed to capture before June 24, when the act of surrender of France was signed. The naval base at Toulon was to remain neutral. All French naval vessels were ordered to arrive at their home ports, where they were disarmed. The new French government settled in Vichy; Pétain became the head of state. Official France surrendered to the mercy of the winner, but the symbol of resistance remained outside the country - General de Gaulle, who at the end of June 1940 created in London the Committee "Free (since June 1942 - Fighting) France".
THE SECOND WORLD WAR. WAR CONFLICT GROWS 1940-1942
On June 28, 1940, the USSR turned to Romania, which had previously received "guarantees" from France and Great Britain, and demanded the separation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina from it. Romania complied with this demand, and then turned to Germany for help, but was refused. In early September, under pressure from Hitler, Romania agreed to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary, and Southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria. At the same time, Germany pursued the goal of drawing Hungary and Bulgaria into the camp of the Axis states, which she succeeded in doing. In the middle of 1940, the USSR also annexed the three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which corresponded to a secret agreement with Germany (an additional protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact). On the Far East Japan benefited from the defeat of France by demanding and receiving from her special concessions in French Indochina. Thus, Japan took the first step in the planned advance towards British Malaya. Disguised as inspectors who allegedly monitored the cessation of arms smuggling to China, the Japanese military infiltrated Indochina and set up their strongholds there. To pacify Japan, Great Britain closed the Burmese road that supplied the Chinese government with military supplies in Chongqing. All these events pushed Japan on September 27, 1940 to join the Berlin-Rome axis as a full-fledged military partner. At the same time, in relation to the USSR, she adhered to a non-aggression strategy. Immediately after the surrender of France, a loud alarm sounded for the first time in the United States. Measures were taken of a legislative and practical nature to organize the defense of the Western Hemisphere. The United States also warned all European powers to maintain the status quo with respect to colonial possessions in the Americas. This primarily concerned Martinique, where a significant part of the French naval forces was accumulated. Portugal has become the center of intelligence activity in Western Europe, especially Lisbon - the hub of air communications between Great Britain, the United States and the Vichy government. German troops were stationed on the borders of Spain, and Madrid was covered by a network of German military missions; at the same time, Spain provided all possible assistance to the Axis powers, trying not to lose the status of a neutral state. After the defeat of France, England took decisive action to ensure its own security. In early July 1940, the British captured French ships anchored in Portsmouth and Plymouth; in Oran they attacked and neutralized the French fleet; in Alexandria, the French admiral Godefroy was forced to intern the ships and hand them over safe and sound. On July 8, the battleship Richelieu was torpedoed and damaged in Dakar. Great Britain averted the threat from the sea, but things were not so successful on land. Apart from the water barrier, the islands turned out to be practically unprotected. For the defense of its territory, England had only air and anti-aircraft forces. The army returned from Dunkirk without weapons and vehicles. On the whole island, there were only about 500 guns of all types and less than 200 obsolete tanks. Great Britain has asked the United States to provide assistance with weapons and ammunition. Rifles, machine guns, artillery pieces and other types of weapons were sent to England. These weapons began arriving in mid-July; at the same time, the first local self-defense detachments from the civilian population were formed.
Battle of England. One of the most strategically important events of the war was the Battle of England, during which Great Britain was able to repel air attacks from Germany. The air raids formed the initial phase of the planned Operation Sea Lion, which was to culminate in a German invasion of the British Isles across the English Channel. The command of the German army insisted on an invasion along a wide front; the command of the naval forces of the Third Reich argued that it would be able to ensure the landing and effective support only in a narrow area. In any case, the Royal Air Force should have been defeated at the initial stage. The head of the Luftwaffe, Reichsmarschall G. Goering, was convinced that the will of the British to resist could only be broken by air attacks. On August 8, 1940, Luftwaffe bombers launched intensive strikes against coastal fortifications in England and the anchorages of ships; this phase of the offensive lasted ten days. On August 12-13, German aircraft made the first massive raids on British airfields and bombarded them for 16 days. Since September 7, London has become the main target of unceasing raids for two months. However, by October, the German command was convinced that it was impossible to defeat England with the help of aviation alone. The British Air Force numbered 704 aircraft (including 620 fighters), with another 289 in reserve. Against them, Germany fielded two air fleets, which included 2,200 aircraft, including 1,200 bombers. Sometimes the attacks involved 500 or more aircraft. During three months of unceasing raids in London alone, 12,696 people were killed by bombs. In one month - September - more than 10 thousand bombs were dropped on the capital. 1103 German aircraft were shot down from August to October; losses of the British during this period amounted to 642 vehicles.
Expedition to Dakar. In mid-September, the British Marines made a swift rush to the port of Dakar in order to land on the coast of the "Free French" units under the command of General de Gaulle and create an operational base there for moving deep into Africa. The French naval forces, subordinate to the Vichy government, arrived at the port before the expedition, so the expedition encountered resistance.
Africa and the Balkans. At the beginning of 1940, the British command in the Middle East had 36,000 soldiers in Egypt, 9,000 in the Sudan, 5,500 in Kenya, 1,475 in British Somalia, 2,500 in Aden, 27,500 in Palestine, and 800 in Cyprus, under General A. Wavell. They were opposed by 215 thousand Italians in Libya under the command of Marshal I. Balbo and 200 thousand in Italian East Africa under the command of the Duke of Aosta. With the fall of France, both Italian armies were given a free hand and directed their military power to British garrisons in the Middle East. The Duke of Aosta swiftly crossed Somalia and invaded Sudan and Kenya. During the British air raid on Tobruk, Balbo was killed, and his place was taken by Marshal R. Gratsiani. On September 13, he launched an offensive against Egypt. Moving towards Sidi Barrani - now only 120 km separated the Italians from the line of the British defense in Mersa Matruh - Graziani stopped at the beginning of October and built a fortified camp, as well as a chain of forts along communications with Libya. On October 20, Wavell ordered the commander of the troops in Egypt, General G. Wilson, to prepare a counterattack. For no apparent reason and without coordinating his actions with Berlin, Mussolini declared war on Greece. In this regard, the British in Egypt had to postpone the counteroffensive, as they had to send a garrison to Crete and send three air squadrons to help the Greeks. On October 28, 5 Italian columns, in the vanguard of which were armored units, from the territory of Albania, occupied by Italy in 1939, attacked the defensive positions of Greece. Soon, the Italians began to suffer one defeat after another. The Greeks advanced 25-60 km into Albania, after which the war took on a positional character. In Egypt, the British troops under the command of Major General R.O "Connor, numbering 31 thousand soldiers with 120 guns and 275 tanks, struck a lightning strike on the Italian bridgehead in Sidi Barrani on December 9. The Italians did not have time to recover, as they were surrounded. and having covered 800 km in 62 days, the British armored units completed the rout of the Italian forces. This extremely daring and successful operation ended on February 9, 1941, when the British forces established themselves near Western Cyrenaica. England still held the vital Mediterranean line of communication of the British Empire. American policy of land- Lisa was still in its infancy and had not yet become a significant source of supplies, and the attempts to hold Egypt were an almost unbearable burden on the British naval and air forces. Malta was subjected to frequent aerial bombardments, although Italy refrained from invading the island. On November 11, British naval aviation attacked the Italian fleet from the air and disabled half of its ships for 6 months. As a result, the British fleet received several greater freedom action in the Mediterranean. On the other hand, however, German submarines and the Air Force inflicted heavy losses on the British fleet; a month they sank many ships with a total displacement of 350 thousand tons. A week before the successful British attack at Sidi Barrani, Wavell ordered to launch an offensive in the opposite direction to eliminate the forces of the Duke of Aosta in East Africa. An army of 30,000 moved against the Italian garrisons in Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia, while O'Connor's small forces continued to push the Italian units back to Cyrenaica. In four months the task was completed. final victory in East Africa, British forces in the north of the continent were in dire straits. The failures of the Italians in Africa and Greece prompted Germany to take a series of decisive actions. In February 1941, the German expeditionary corps Africa, which had arrived from Italy, landed in Tripoli under the command of Lieutenant General E. Rommel. It consisted only of reinforced tank division and auxiliary parts. German forces were clearly targeting the poorly equipped outposts of the British defense line, which stretched across eastern Libya (Cyrenaica). This plan had a double purpose: Germany supported the Italian ally and launched an independent invasion of the Mediterranean. The Hitlerite command demanded permission from Bulgaria and Yugoslavia to place German bases in these countries. On March 1, 1941, the corresponding agreements were signed by Bulgaria, and the next day the Wehrmacht troops entered the Bulgarian territory. The Yugoslav government intended to sign a similar agreement with Germany, but this was prevented by the outbreak of the uprising. Up to this point, the UK has provided little assistance to Greece. Now the London government felt the need to take more serious steps in the Balkans, not limited to supporting the Greeks in the war with Italy. The British wanted to strengthen Yugoslavia, so that, if possible, discourage Germany from further advancement. When the landed Afrika Korps created a clear threat to British positions in North Africa, 74 thousand British troops were already ready to be sent on ships to Greece. On March 31, 1941, Rommel struck in Libya. The British began a retreat, which, due to tactical miscalculations, ended in flight. The retreating British forces, almost devoid of tanks, withdrew from the Egyptian border and established a line of defense on the Al-Sallum-Bardia line. By that time, German plans for Africa and the Balkans had changed, and the task of invading the USSR came to the fore. The forces intended to support the Afrika Korps were transferred to the borders of the Soviet Union, so Rommel suspended his advance towards Alexandria and the Nile. On March 25, 1941, Yugoslavia signed a protocol on joining the 1940 Berlin Pact. On March 27, General Dusan Simovic carried out a coup d'etat and rejected an alliance with Germany, which worsened the position of the Axis powers in the Balkans. It was aggravated by the unsuccessful outcome of the naval battle at Matapan, when the English fleet under the command of Admiral E. Cunningham sank 6 Italian warships. At this time, the German 12th Army stationed in Bulgaria under the command of Field Marshal V.List was preparing to invade the USSR. A British Expeditionary Force, which had just arrived in Greece, occupied the lines west of the Vardar Valley. They consisted of combat-ready units under the command of General Wilson, the number of which was 57 thousand people.
strikes from Bulgaria simultaneously against Yugoslavia and Greece. The tactics of the Germans turned out to be successful - the transition of German troops through Yugoslavia to central Greece was carried out at the speed of a march. Three weeks later, both countries capitulated. 43,000 British soldiers were evacuated, but, as in Dunkirk, they lost all their heavy weapons. On April 27, 1941, the Germans entered Athens. Another blow followed. With a lightning-fast operation from May 20 to June 2, carried out exclusively by the air and airborne forces, Germany captured the island of Crete. There were 42.5 thousand soldiers, of which 27.5 thousand were British, mostly unarmed, since they were evacuated from Greece. Against them, the Germans threw an aviation corps, 1 parachute and 1 mountain rifle divisions, ferried on planes and gliders. On the seventh day of the battle, the defenders of the island realized that there was no way to keep it, and it was decided to evacuate them. A total of 14,580 soldiers were sent to Egypt. On 23-24 May, the British fleet suffered heavy losses from German air raids and left for Alexandria. Simultaneously with the events in Crete, the situation in the Middle East escalated. For several months, German agents engaged in subversive activities in the Iraqi oil fields and in April 1941 provoked the Arabs to revolt against British rule. At the same time, Germany demanded the provision of bases in Syria, and the collaborationist government in Vichy showed a willingness to comply with this demand. After defeats in Libya, Greece and Crete, the loss of the Middle East was extremely dangerous for the Allies. But the victories of the British troops in Eritrea made it possible to clear the Red Sea of the Italians, thereby the British opened the way through which it was possible to transfer additional forces from the UK and supplies from the United States, even if routes through the Mediterranean were completely blocked. The road of life now ran in this direction. In addition, Great Britain was much more active than before, striving for rapprochement with Turkey. An English motorized group moved from Palestine to Iraq, and by June 1 the British had suppressed the uprising. On June 8, ahead of Germany, British troops and parts of the Free French invaded Syria from Palestine, but were soon stopped by the Vichy. From Iraq, a British motorized group moved to their aid, which for the second time had to cover a distance of 640 km, and attacked Syria from the east. On June 21, the allies took Damascus. But that success faded into the background before an event that happened the next day and overshadowed everything else. On June 22, 1941, German armies invaded the USSR. Germany's attack on the Soviet Union. The Barbarossa plan. Hitler always considered his main goal to be the seizure of vast lands of the USSR for German colonization. On December 18, 1941, it approved the directive number 21, the so-called. plan "Barbarossa", which set the German army the following task: before the end of the war with England to defeat The Soviet Union in a fleeting military campaign
1945 - 2010After World War II in all developed countries
West formed and developed the system of mining and metallurgy. (
State monopoly capitalism -
"A form of monopoly capitalism for which
is characterized by the combination of the strength of the capitalist
monopolies with the power of the state ")
The United States has strengthened its economic and military
power.
Government intervention in
economy (development of state military
industry, the nationalization of a number of enterprises and
industries, construction of infrastructure facilities,
credit and tax policy
Western Europe after World War II
In the 50s. there is an economic recovery("economic miracle" in Italy, Germany, etc.).
There is a change in the structure of the economy,
related to scientific and technological revolution. Integration
processes (ECSC - 1951, Treaty of Rome 1957).
The rise of the economy was facilitated by the creation
Bretton Woods monetary system (1944) and
implementation of the "Marshall plan" (1948 - 1952).
A "consumer society" is being created. Is happening
"white collar revolution".
Western Europe after World War II
There is a recovery in political lifedemocratic institutions. Strengthening democratization
society is taking place on the wave of the anti-fascist Resistance.
All political parties (with rare exceptions) are in favor of
reforms.
Reborn under the flag of religious ideology
conservative parties (CDU / CSU in Germany, CDU in Italy, etc.).
Liberal parties are less influential, but from their position
the alignment of political forces (Italy, France, etc.) depended.
There is a strengthening of the positions of the communist, social democratic parties, socialist, labor
parties (Italy, France, Belgium, Finland, UK
and etc.). England in the 2nd half of the 20th century
Queen Elizabeth
II
Great Britain
Great Britain -"United
Kingdom ") - island
state in the northwest of Europe.
Great Britain is one of
major states
Europe, nuclear power,
permanent member of the Council
UN Security.
Heiress to the British
empire, the largest
states in history,
existed in the XIX -
early XX century. After World War II, to power from
Labor Party came
Clement Attlee
(1945-1951)
Political activity:
1. Nationalization of industries
economy (transport, banks,
power plants)
2. Development of the national
health, education
3. Granting independence
India, Ceylon, Palestine, Jordan
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill(1951-1955)
Came to power from the party
conservatives. One of
masterminds of the campaign
unleashing the "cold
war ". Carried out a policy
denationalization
industry,
transport. Under him England
acquired a nuclear
with arms (1952)
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher(1979-1990)
Leader of the Conservative Party,
Prime Minister
Thatcherism:
1. Promotion of private
entrepreneurship
2.. Tax reduction
3. Restriction of the state
economic intervention
4. Reducing costs in
social sphere
John Major
Successor of M. Thatcherin 1990 became
conservative John
Major (19901997). He saved
the main
directions
socio-economic
policy of the "iron
lady".
Tony Blair
After defeatelection conservatives
1997 to the leadership
country came Labor
led by Anthony Blair
(1997-2006).
Political activity:
1. established bodies
self-government in
Scotland and Wales
2.changed the system
country leadership
David Cameron
David CameronDavid William Donald
́ Heron- British
Cam
politician, leader
Conservative Party,
acting Prime Minister of the United
Kingdoms.
France
France (- state inWestern Europe. Motto
Republic - "Freedom,
Equality, Brotherhood ", her
principle - board
people, people and for
people. Capital - city
Paris.
France is nuclear
power and one of five
permanent members of the Council
UN Security. Since the 1950s
years France is
one of the states
involved in the creation
European Union. France in the 2nd half of the 20th century
"The smallest of the great powers and the greatest
among the small "- so called France after II
world war. In 1947 she agreed to accept
American aid under the Marshall Plan, and in 1949
joined NATO. Conducted a course on integration
Western Europe, the decolonization of their territories.
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle (1944-1946)Carried out the policy:
nationalization of industries
the economy
Development and adoption
new constitution
Proposed to create
a republic with a strong
the executive branch
IV republic in France
1. Economic recovery2. Accession to NATO (1949)
Cambodia, Morocco, Tunisia
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle (1958-1969)1. Adoption of a new constitution
(1958), institution V
republics
2. Development of nuclear weapons
(1960)
3. Modernization of the economy
4. Withdrawal from NATO
5. Rapprochement with the USSR
6. Provision
independence for African
colonies (1960)
IV republic in France
1. Economic recovery2. Accession to NATO (1949)
3. Course towards the integration of Western Europe
4. Granting independence to Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia, Morocco, Tunisia
5. The problematic issue with Algeria (1 million immigrants from
France did not want separation from the metropolis.
Supporters of "French Algeria" revolt
and demanded the return to power of de Gaulle
Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou (1969-1974)1. Decentralization
management
2. Empowerment
trade unions, social
legislation
3. Introduced continuous
professional
education
4. France is a member of the EU
(1973)
Francois Mitterrand
Francois Mitterrand(1981-1995)
1. Expansion
state
intervention in
the economy
2. Inflation - mode
Austerity
3. Moderate course for
development of market
regulation and
mixed economy
Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac(1995-2007)
1. Reduction
presidential term from
7 to 5 years old
2. Transition from franc to
Euro
3. Continuation of the course
European
integration
Francois Hollande
Francois Gerard GeorgesNicolas Hollande -
current president
France, political
and state
activist, first
Secretary
The socialist
Party of France
Germany
́ Oia - a state inHermann
Central Europe. Capital -
city of Berlin (seat
The Bundestag and the government,
some ministries
located in Bonn). Form
government - parliamentary
republic, form
state structure -
symmetrical federation16
autonomous lands.
Germany is a member
European Union and NATO,
included in the "Big Eight",
claims to be permanent
membership in the Security Council
UN.
Germany after the war
the territory of Germany was divided into 4 zones. Her managementcarried out by the CFM (Council of Foreign Ministers). In 1947
was signed a peace treaty with Germany, 1955 with Austria.
By decision of the Control Council, Germany must no longer
was to be a threat to the world. In Germany, it was necessary
spend:
1
2
3
DEMILITARIZATION and DENACIFICATION.
(disarmament and elimination of Nazism)
DEMOCRATIZATION.
DECARTELIZATION.
(destruction of cartels and monopolies) Zones of control in
Germany Controversy over the future of Germany grew more and more. USSR not
suited the Soviet plan for Germany, and the Soviet Union for the United States. Confrontation
led in 1949 to the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the West
and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the East. Thus in
Europe has 3 \ 2 of Germany, and if really, then three, since it turned out to be divided
and Berlin. Berlin
GDR
Bonn
FRG Reichstag five years after the war. BERLIN
GDR
GDR
West
Berlin
GDR The decisive role in the collapse of Germany was played by the introduction of Western
zone of the western mark, also joining the western zone to the plan
Marshall. The USSR's response was the introduction in the Eastern zone of its
currency. In August 1949 elections to the Bundestag / parliament /, 7
September 1949 in the Western Zone proclaimed the Federal Republic of Germany, Chancellor
became the leader of the CDU, Konrad Adenauer. In 1955 the FRG joined NATO.
GDR brand
Western brand
Federal Chancellor
Germany Konrad Adenauer,
1949-1963 The economists of the Federal Republic of Germany let the country's economy into free
swimming. This gave results. 50s, 60s are called
years of "German economic miracle". More than 55%
West Germans considered themselves to be middle class. This
spoiled only by the world economic crises.
West Berlin,
10 years after
war. A three-party system has developed in the FRG. Key role
played by the Christian Democratic Union / CDU / and
Social Democratic Party of Germany / SPD /,
which alternately changed, this “political
pendulum "is characteristic of capitalist countries in the twentieth century.
CDU, 1949-1969
K. Adenauer,
Chancellor of the CDU.
CDU, 2005 ...
SPD, 1969-1982
V. Brandt,
Chancellor of the SPD.
A. Merkel,
Chancellor of the CDU.
G. Kohl Chancellor
CDU.
SPD, 1998-2005
CDU, 19821998
G. Schroeder
chancellor of the SPD The pendulum was caused by an unstable economic
situation in Germany, the number of unemployed exceeded 3 million.
people With the coming to power of the SPD, Chancellor V. Brand went to
rapprochement with the GDR, USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland.
General Secretary L. Brezhnev and Chancellor V. Brandt.
Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
Willie Brandt. Coat of arms and flag of Germany
BONN is the capital of Germany.
Automotive giant FRGMERSEDES BENZ, 70s. After the formation of the GDR on October 7, 1949, power there passed into the hands
Socialist Unity Party of Germany / SED /, model
the construction of socialism becomes the Soviet model.
Nationalization, industrialization, collectivization begins.
A card system is introduced.
Coat of arms of the GDR
"Soviet"
town
Oriental
Berlin, capital
GDR. GDR flag
V festival of friendship of youth
USSR and GDR in Karl-Marxstadt, 1980.
GDR
GDR
West
Berlin
GDR
GDR
East Berlincapital of the GDR All these measures caused massive discontent in the GDR. June 17, 1953
riots occurred in Berlin, Leipzig, Halle and others. suppressed
Soviet troops. The Germans continued to flee to the Western
Berlin. In 1961, the "Berlin Crisis" occurs, the result
was the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Berlin Wall The flight of the Germans from the GDR to the FRG
Building a wall
Wall
E. Honecker and
L. Brezhnev on
Berlin Wall. "Stagnation" in the USSR, caused stagnation in the GDR, it is associated with the name of the president
E. Honecker. The gap in the standard of living between the GDR and the FRG widened. V
late 80s. the crisis has reached a climax. On the wave of perestroika
The USSR did not support Honecker and on October 18, 1989 he went to
resignation, the "velvet revolution" began.
Honecker and Brezhnev on the stamp of the GDR
President of the GDR E. Honecker, 1979-1989 5.On 8 November 1989, it was announced that the checkpoint at
The Berlin Wall, this led to natural unrest and the fall
walls. On December 20, German Chancellor G. Kohl arrived in the GDR. An association
The German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany acquired a spontaneous character. After the elections on March 18
1990 in the GDR, on July 1, 1990 in the GDR, the Western Mark was introduced, finally
On October 3, 1990, the unification of Germany took place, in fact the GDR
became part of the FRG.
Fall of the Berlin Wall 8
November 1989
German Chancellor and
united Germany
G. Kohl, 1982-1998 5.On December 2, 1990, the first post-war all-German elections were held,
the victory was won by the CDU. September 12, 1990 USA, USSR, France and
Great Britain in Moscow signed an agreement on the final
settlement with respect to Germany.
After signing the contract 12
September 1990 Moscow. 5. After the unification in the former GDR, an accelerated
privatization, dozens of factories and factories are closed, thousands
Germans travel from east to west to work. Quantity
unemployed in Germany reaches 4 million people. This results in failure at
the 1998 elections of the CDU and the coming to power of the SPD. Government
G. Schroeder, tax cuts, education reform is underway,
assistance to youth.
German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder 1998-2005 5. During foreign policy there is a rapprochement between Germany and Russia. Germany
actively participates in NATO programs. In 1994 Russia withdraws
troops from Germany. In 2005, Schroeder also loses in the SPD elections
retires. Government for the first time in German history
occupied by a woman - Angela Merkel. She continues to fight
unemployment, conducts a moderate, soft foreign policy.
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel 2005-…
Italy after the second world war.
Italy
Italy - a state in the southEurope, in the middle of the Mediterranean.
Borders with France in the northwest (the length of the border is
488 km), with Switzerland (740 km) and
Austria (430 km) - in the north and from
Slovenia in the northeast (232
km). Also has internal
borders with the Vatican (3.2 km) and San Marino (39 km).
Occupies Apennine peninsula
, Padan Plain, southern
the slopes of the Alps, the islands of Sicily,
Sardinia and a number of small islands
The proclamation of the republic.
The Resistance Movement that played important role vliberation of Northern Italy from German troops, and
the removal of the dictator Mussolini from power were those
the reasons why Italy, being an aggressor and
ally of Germany, has not lost its
statehood. Italians were given the right
restoration of a democratic regime.
The question of the form of government was decided on
referendum on June 2, 1946. Italians spoke in favor
republic.
The elections made it possible to assess the positions of the main
political parties: Christian Democratic
party (CDP) received 35% of the vote, the socialist
party (ISP) - 20%, communist party(ICP) -
19%.
Thus, in Italy, a parliamentary
a republic with a multi-party system.
Centrism.
Feature of the Italian party-politicalsystem was dominant in
for almost half a century of the Christian Democratic Party. Oppositional left
the flank was represented by the communists and
socialists who since the movement
The resistances were allies until 1954.
On the far right flank took place
neo-fascists are a national legal party.
In 1960, Italy experienced a serious crisis. CDA
lost the support of a number of small parties and
tried to rely on the neo-fascists.
Prior to this incident, the CDP rejected alliances and with
left, and with the right flank of the party and political system.
This position was assessed as centrism.
Italian "economic miracle".
Italian economic miracle - periodrapid economic growth in Italy between
mid 1950s and mid 1970s, during
whom
the country's economy from the agro-industrial
turned into one of
most industrialized in the world and entered
number of world leaders.
Italy came out of the Second World War among
hardest hit and destroyed European
countries. is the modernization of the economy and its
development to the level of one of the largest economies
the world. The economic boom was driven by
foresight and economic savvy of Italian
entrepreneurs, as well as the discovery
deposits of methane and hydrocarbonates at Padansk
oh plain, which gave impetus to a new
the development of ferrous metallurgy. The rise of the Italian
the smelting of steel was also facilitated by the aid of the USA,
which turned out to be in accordance with the Marshall plan and
heading for the recovery of major industries
industry. The main purpose of these infusions
was the development of industrial sectors of the economy
to a level that would allow them to be
competitive in the Common
Market.
The beginning of European integration
1949 - Creation of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg)1951 - European Coal and Steel Community
1957 - creation of the EEC, or "Common Market"
1979 - creation of the European monetary system
1986 - Adoption of the Single European Act with the aim of
transition from the "Common Market" to a single co
free movement
1993 - creation of the EU
1997 - adoption of a single currency - the euro
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