The main stages of the Second World War briefly. Beginning of World War II

On September 1, 1939, the armed forces of Germany and Slovakia invaded Poland. At the same time, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fired on the fortifications of the Polish Westerplatte peninsula. Since Poland was in an alliance with England, France and Germany, this was regarded as a declaration of war by Hitler.

On September 1, 1939, general conscription. The conscription age was lowered from 21 to 19, and in some cases to 18. This quickly increased the size of the army to 5 million people. The USSR began to prepare for war.

Hitler justified the need to attack Poland with the Gleiwitz incident, carefully avoiding "" and fearing the outbreak of military action against England and France. He promised the Polish people guarantees of immunity and expressed his intention only to actively defend against “Polish aggression.”

The Gleiwitz Incident was a provocation on the part of the Third Reich to create a pretext for an armed conflict: SS officers dressed in Polish military uniforms carried out a series of attacks on the border of Poland and Germany. Pre-killed concentration camp prisoners who were taken directly to the scene of events were used as those killed during the attack.

Until the last moment, Hitler hoped that Poland's allies would not stand up for it and Poland would be transferred to Germany in the same way as the Sudetenland was transferred to Czechoslovakia in 1938.

England and France declare war on Germany

Despite the Fuhrer's hopes, on September 3, 1945, England, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany. Within a short period of time they were joined by Canada, Newfoundland, the Union of South Africa and Nepal. The USA and Japan declared neutrality.

The British ambassador, who arrived at the Reich Chancellery on September 3, 1939 and delivered an ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of troops from Poland, shocked Hitler. But the war had already begun, the Fuhrer did not want to leave behind diplomatically what had been won by arms, and the offensive of German troops on Polish soil continued.

Despite the declared war, Western Front Anglo-French troops did not take any active actions in the period from September 3 to 10, with the exception of military operations at sea. This inaction allowed Germany to completely destroy Poland's armed forces in just 7 days, leaving only minor pockets of resistance. But they too will be completely eliminated by October 6, 1939. It was on this day that Germany announced the end of the existence of the Polish state and government.

USSR participation at the beginning of World War II

According to the secret additional protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, the spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, including in Poland, were clearly demarcated between the USSR and Germany. Therefore, on September 16, 1939, the Soviet Union introduced its troops into Polish territory and occupied lands that later became part of the USSR’s zone of influence and became part of the Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR and Lithuania.

Despite the fact that the USSR and Poland did not declare war on each other, many historians consider the fact that Soviet troops entered Polish territory in 1939 as the date of the USSR’s entry into the Second World War. world war.

On October 6, Hitler proposed convening a peace conference between the world's major powers to resolve the Polish issue. England and France set a condition: either Germany withdraws troops from Poland and the Czech Republic and grants them independence, or there will be no conference. The leadership of the Third Reich rejected this ultimatum and the conference did not take place.

Commanders

Strengths of the parties

The Second World War(September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) - the war of two world military-political coalitions, which became biggest war in the history of mankind. 61 states out of 73 existing at that time participated in it (80% of the population globe). The fighting took place on the territory of three continents and in the waters of four oceans.

Naval warfare in World War II

Participants

The number of countries involved varied throughout the war. Some of them were actively involved in military operations, others helped their allies with food supplies, and many participated in the war only in name.

The anti-Hitler coalition included: the USSR, British Empire, USA, Poland, France and other countries.

On the other hand, the Axis countries and their allies participated in the war: Germany, Italy, Japan, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries.

Prerequisites for the war

The preconditions for the war stem from the so-called Versailles-Washington system - the balance of power that emerged after the First World War. The main winners (France, Great Britain, USA) were unable to do new system sustainable world order. Moreover, Britain and France were counting on a new war to strengthen their positions as colonial powers and weaken their competitors (Germany and Japan). Germany was limited in participation in international affairs, the creation of a full-fledged army and was subject to indemnity. With the decline in the standard of living in Germany, political forces with revanchist ideas, led by A. Hitler, came to power.

The German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fires at Polish positions

1939 campaign

Capture of Poland

World War II began on September 1, 1939 with a surprise German attack on Poland. The Polish naval forces did not have large surface ships, were not ready for war with Germany and were quickly defeated. Three Polish destroyers left for England before the start of the war, German aircraft sank a destroyer and a minelayer Gryf .

The beginning of the struggle at sea

Actions on communications in the Atlantic Ocean

IN initial period During the war, the German command hoped to solve the problem of fighting on sea communications, using surface raiders as the main striking force. Submarines and aircraft were assigned a supporting role. They had to force the British to carry out transportation in convoys, which would facilitate the actions of surface raiders. The British intended to use the convoy method as the main method of protecting shipping from submarines, and to use the long-range blockade as the main method of combating surface raiders, based on the experience of the First World War. To this end, at the beginning of the war, the British established sea patrols in the English Channel and in the Shetland Islands - Norway region. But these actions were ineffective - surface raiders, and even more so German submarines, actively operated on communications - the allies and neutral countries lost 221 merchant ships with a total tonnage of 755 thousand tons by the end of the year.

German merchant ships had instructions about the start of the war and tried to reach the ports of Germany or friendly countries; about 40 ships were sunk by their crews, and only 19 ships fell into enemy hands at the beginning of the war.

Actions in the North Sea

With the beginning of the war, large-scale laying of minefields in the North Sea began, which constrained active operations in it until the end of the war. Both sides mined the approaches to their coasts with wide protective belts of dozens of minefields. German destroyers also laid minefields off the coast of England.

German submarine raid U-47 at Scapa Flow, during which she sank an English battleship HMS Royal Oak showed the weakness of the entire anti-submarine defense of the English fleet.

Capture of Norway and Denmark

1940 campaign

Occupation of Denmark and Norway

In April - May 1940, German troops carried out Operation Weserubung, during which they captured Denmark and Norway. With the support and cover of large aviation forces, 1 battleship, 6 cruisers, 14 destroyers and other ships, a total of up to 10 thousand people were landed in Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik. The operation was unexpected for the British, who got involved belatedly. The British fleet destroyed German destroyers in Battles 10 and 13 in Narvik. On May 24, the Allied command ordered the evacuation of Northern Norway, which was carried out from June 4 to 8. During the evacuation on June 9, German battleships sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and 2 destroyers. In total, during the operation the Germans lost a heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 10 destroyers, 8 submarines and other ships, the Allies lost an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, 7 destroyers, 6 submarines.

Actions in the Mediterranean. 1940-1941

Actions in the Mediterranean

Military operations in the Mediterranean theater began after Italy declared war on England and France on June 10, 1940. The combat operations of the Italian fleet began with the laying of minefields in the Strait of Tunis and on the approaches to their bases, with the deployment of submarines, as well as with air raids on Malta.

The first major naval battle between the Italian Navy and the British Navy there was a battle at Punta Stilo (in English sources also known as the Battle of Calabria. The collision occurred on July 9, 1940 near the southeastern tip Apennine Peninsula. As a result of the battle, neither side suffered losses. But Italy had 1 battleship, 1 heavy cruiser and 1 destroyer damaged. And the British have 1 light cruiser and 2 destroyers.

French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir

Surrender of France

On June 22, France capitulated. Despite the terms of surrender, the Vichy government did not intend to give up the fleet to Germany. Distrusting the French, the British government launched Operation Catapult to capture French ships located in different bases. In Porsmouth and Plymouth, 2 battleships, 2 destroyers, 5 submarines were captured; ships in Alexandria and Martinique were disarmed. In Mers el-Kebir and Dakar, where the French resisted, the British sank the battleship Bretagne and damaged three more battleships. From the captured ships, the Free French fleet was organized; in the meantime, the Vichy government broke off relations with Great Britain.

Actions in the Atlantic in 1940-1941.

After the surrender of the Netherlands on May 14, the German ground troops Allied troops were pinned to the sea. From May 26 to June 4, 1940, during Operation Dynamo, 338 thousand Allied troops were evacuated from the French coast in the Dunkirk area to Britain. At the same time, the Allied fleet suffered heavy losses from German aviation - about 300 ships and vessels were killed.

In 1940, German boats ceased to operate under the rules of prize law and switched to unrestricted submarine warfare. After the capture of Norway and western regions France expanded its basing system for German boats. After Italy entered the war, 27 Italian boats began to be based in Bordeaux. The Germans gradually moved from the actions of single boats to the actions of groups of boats with curtains that blocked the ocean area.

German auxiliary cruisers successfully operated on ocean communications - by the end of 1940, 6 cruisers captured and destroyed 54 ships with a displacement of 366,644 tons.

1941 campaign

Actions in the Mediterranean in 1941

Actions in the Mediterranean

In May 1941 German troops captured o. Crete. The British Navy, which was waiting for enemy ships near the island, lost 3 cruisers, 6 destroyers, and more than 20 other ships and transports from German air attacks; 3 battleships, an aircraft carrier, 6 cruisers, and 7 destroyers were damaged.

Active actions on Japanese communications put the Japanese economy in a difficult situation, the implementation of the shipbuilding program was disrupted, and the transportation of strategic raw materials and troops was complicated. In addition to submarines, surface forces of the US Navy, and primarily TF-58 (TF-38), also actively participated in the battle on communications. In terms of the number of Japanese transports sunk, aircraft carrier forces ranked second after submarines. Only in the period 10 - 16 October, aircraft carrier groups of the 38th formation, having attacked naval bases, ports and airfields in the Taiwan region, Philippines, destroyed about 600 aircraft on the ground and in the air, sank 34 transports and several auxiliary ships.

Landing in France

Landing in France

On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord began (Normandy landing operation). Under the cover of massive air strikes and naval artillery fire, an amphibious landing of 156 thousand people was carried out. The operation was supported by a fleet of 6 thousand military and landing ships and transport vessels.

The German navy offered almost no resistance to the landing. The Allies suffered the main losses from mines - 43 ships were blown up by them. During the second half of 1944, in the landing area off the coast of England and in the English Channel, 60 Allied transports were lost as a result of the actions of German submarines, torpedo boats, and mines.

German submarine sinks transport

Actions in the Atlantic Ocean

German troops began to retreat under pressure from the landing Allied troops. As a result, the German Navy lost its bases on the Atlantic coast by the end of the year. On September 18, Allied units entered Brest, and on September 25, troops occupied Boulogne. Also in September, the Belgian ports of Ostend and Antwerp were liberated. By the end of the year fighting stopped in the ocean.

In 1944, the Allies were able to ensure almost complete security of communications. To protect communications, they at that time had 118 escort aircraft carriers, 1,400 destroyers, frigates and sloops, and about 3,000 other patrol ships. Coastal PLO aviation consisted of 1,700 aircraft and 520 flying boats. Total losses in the allied and neutral tonnage in the Atlantic as a result of the actions of submarines in the second half of 1944, there were only 58 ships with a total tonnage of 270 thousand gross tons. The Germans lost 98 boats at sea alone during this period.

Submarines

Signing of the Japanese surrender

Actions in the Pacific

Possessing an overwhelming superiority in forces, the American armed forces in intense battles in 1945 they broke stubborn resistance Japanese troops and captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. For landing operations, the United States attracted huge forces, so the fleet off the coast of Okinawa consisted of 1,600 ships. During all the days of fighting off Okinawa, 368 Allied ships were damaged, and another 36 (including 15 landing ships and 12 destroyers) were sunk. The Japanese had 16 ships sunk, including the battleship Yamato.

In 1945, American air raids on Japanese bases and coastal installations became systematic, with attacks carried out by both shore-based naval aviation and strategic aviation and carrier strike formations. In March - July 1945, American aircraft, as a result of massive attacks, sank or damaged all large Japanese surface ships.

On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan. From August 12 to August 20, 1945, the Pacific Fleet carried out a series of landings that captured the ports of Korea. On August 18, the Kuril landing operation was launched, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands.

September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship USS Missouri The act of surrender of Japan was signed, ending World War II.

Results of the war

The Second World War had a huge impact on the destinies of mankind. 72 states (80% of the world's population) took part in it; military operations were carried out on the territory of 40 states. The total human losses reached 60-65 million people, of which 27 million people were killed at the fronts.

The war ended with the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition. As a result of the war, the role of Western Europe in global politics. The USSR and the USA became the main powers in the world. Great Britain and France, despite the victory, were significantly weakened. The war showed the inability of them and other Western European countries to maintain huge colonial empires. Europe was divided into two camps: Western capitalist and Eastern socialist. Relations between the two blocs deteriorated sharply. A couple of years after the end of the war, the Cold War began.

History of world wars. - M: Tsentrpoligraf, 2011. - 384 p. -

The beginning of the war was the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, and Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, but did not provide practical support to Poland. Poland was defeated within three weeks. The 9-month inaction of the Allies on the Western Front allowed Germany to prepare for aggression against the countries of Western Europe.

In April-May 1940, Nazi troops occupied Denmark and Norway, and on May 10 invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and then through their territories into France.

Second stage of world war began on June 22, 1941, with the German attack on the Soviet Union. Together with Germany, Hungary, Romania, Finland, and Italy performed. The Red Army, retreating under the pressure of superior forces, exhausted the enemy. Defeat of the enemy in the Battle of Moscow 1941-1942. meant the plan was thwarted. lightning war " In the summer of 1941, the formation began anti-Hitler coalition led by the USSR, Great Britain and the USA.

Victories of the Red Army in Battle of Stalingrad(August 1942 - early February 1943) and in Battle of Kursk(July 1943) led to the loss of the strategic initiative by the German command. In the occupied European countries expanded Resistance movement, has reached enormous proportions partisan movement in USSR.

On Tehran Conference the heads of the three powers of the anti-Hitler coalition (late November 1943) recognized the paramount importance of the opening second front in Western Europe.

In 1944, the Red Army liberated almost the entire territory of the Soviet Union. Only on June 6, 1944, the Western allies landed in France, thus opening a second front in Europe, and in September 1944, with the support of the French Resistance forces, they cleared the entire territory of the country from the occupiers. Soviet troops in mid-1944, the liberation of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe began, which, with the participation of the patriotic forces of these countries, was completed in the spring of 1945. In April 1945 allied forces Northern Italy was liberated and areas of Western Germany were occupied.

On Crimean Conference(February 1945) plans for the final defeat were agreed upon fascist Germany, as well as principles post-war structure peace.

The American Air Force dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9), which was not caused by military necessity. On August 8, 1945, the USSR, in accordance with the obligations assumed at the Crimean Conference, declared war and on August 9 began military operations against Japan. After the Red Army defeated the Japanese armed forces in Northeast China Japan signed on September 2, 1945 act of unconditional surrender. These events ended the Second World War.

72 states were involved in the Second World War. As a result of the war, the USSR received a vast security zone in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, there was a decisive change in the balance of forces in the international arena in favor of the USSR and its new allies, then called the countries of people's democracy, where communist or parties close to them came to power. A period of division of the world into capitalist and socialist systems began, which lasted for several decades. One of the consequences of World War II was the beginning of the collapse of the colonial system.

reasons for the start of World War II

1. territorial disputes that arose as a result of the redistribution of Europe by England, France and allied states. After the breakup Russian Empire as a result of its withdrawal from hostilities and the revolution that took place in it, as well as due to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 9 new states immediately appeared on the world map. Their boundaries were not yet clearly defined, and in many cases disputes were fought over literally every inch of land. In addition, countries that had lost part of their territories sought to return them, but the winners, who annexed new lands, were hardly ready to part with them. The centuries-old history of Europe did not know the best way resolution of any, including territorial disputes, except military operations, and the outbreak of the Second World War became inevitable;

2. colonial disputes. It is worth mentioning here not only that the losing countries, having lost their colonies, which provided the treasury with a constant influx of funds, certainly dreamed of their return, but also that within the colonies there was growing liberation movement. Tired of being under the yoke of one or another colonialist, the inhabitants sought to get rid of any subordination, and in many cases this also inevitably led to the outbreak of armed clashes;

3. rivalry between leading powers. It is difficult to admit that Germany, erased from world history after its defeat, did not dream of taking revenge. Deprived of the opportunity to have its own army (except for the volunteer army, the number of which could not exceed 100 thousand soldiers with light weapons), Germany, accustomed to the role of one of the leading world empires, could not come to terms with the loss of its dominance. The beginning of World War II in this aspect was only a matter of time;

4. dictatorial regimes. A sharp increase in their number in the second third of the 20th century created additional preconditions for the outbreak of violent conflicts. Paying great attention to the development of the army and weapons, first as a means of suppressing possible internal unrest, and then as a way to conquer new lands, European and Eastern dictators with all their might brought the start of World War II closer;

5. existence of the USSR. The role of the new socialist state, which arose on the ruins of the Russian Empire, as an irritant for the United States and Europe cannot be overestimated. Fast development Communist movements in a number of capitalist powers against the backdrop of the existence of such a clear example of victorious socialism could not but inspire fear, and an attempt to wipe the USSR from the face of the earth would inevitably be made.

Results of World War II:

1) The total human losses reached 60-65 million people, of which 27 million people were killed at the fronts, many of them citizens of the USSR. China, Germany, Japan and Poland also suffered heavy human losses.

2) Military expenses and military losses amounted to 4 trillion dollars. Material costs reached 60-70% of the national income of the warring states.

3) As a result of the war, the role of Western Europe in global politics weakened. The USSR and the USA became the main powers in the world. Great Britain and France, despite the victory, were significantly weakened. The war showed the inability of them and other Western European countries to maintain huge colonial empires.

4) One of the main results of World War II was the creation of the UN on the basis of the Anti-Fascist Coalition that emerged during the war to prevent world wars in the future.

5) Europe was divided into two camps: Western capitalist and Eastern socialist

• The shortest introduction to the reasons, occasion and nature of World War II
• About Brief

1. Echoes of the previous conflict

• Video

A study of history allows us to briefly divide the causes of World War II into several points. The most significant among them are territorial and colonial disputes between states, a strong revanchist mood in Germany and the fear of the spread of communism in European countries. But to find out in more detail what the causes of the war are, read below.

SHORTEST causes and nature of the Second World War in the table

Main economic and political causes of the conflict

• The main prerequisite for the beginning World War II, many historians believe results of the first world armed conflict.
• It was the peace treaty signed in the suburbs of Paris that ended the First World War, as well as the new Versailles-Washington world order that put defeated and the newly created countries are in a virtually powerless position.
• IN to a greater extent this, of course, affected Germany, which lost a number of its territories, had to abandon its own combat-ready armed forces and the development of its own weapons system and military industry.
• Recognized by the world community as guilty of instigating the war, the German state, against the backdrop of a depleted economy, had to pay huge reparations to the affected countries.
• All this could not help but oppress not only the German government, but also the people, who considered the peace treaty signed in France to be unfair.
• This, in turn, led to a strong desire to correct this injustice and take revenge.
• Territorial and colonial disputes of this period also trace their history back to the armed confrontation of 1914-18.
• Finding themselves in the camp of the winners, Great Britain, France and other member countries of the Entente divided the European continent, taking into account only their needs and interests.
• However defeated countries and the small new states formed as a result of the collapse of some empires often did not agree with Anglo-French opinion.
• Not in the best possible way This was also the case with the colonies.
• Also, it was the situation that developed in many European countries after the end of the first world armed confrontation that made it possible for new dictators to come to power. First, the dictatorship strengthened the country's army to suppress internal unrest, and then the time came for external aggression.
• Thus, in Germany, people's dissatisfaction with the low standard of living and the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles allowed Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists to come to power.

Fear of the spread of communism and “conciliatory” policies

• The Soviet state, formed during the first world conflict, did not allow many European politicians to sleep peacefully, ready to do anything to prevent the spread of socialism in European countries.
• Therefore, countering the spread of communism can be considered second item on the list of reasons for the outbreak of World War II.
• By and large, this is what allowed the Nazis to come to power in some countries, in particular in Germany.
• Also rejection Soviet Union It was also significant that England and France, which had severely limited the German state, subsequently not only agreed to significantly weaken the restrictions, but also turned a blind eye to a number of violations of the Versailles Treaty by the defeated side.
• Thus, they did not react to the annexation of the Austrian state to Germany, they remained silent, seeing the build-up of military capabilities in the Weimar Republic.
• And the accession of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to the German state was completely approved by the Munich Treaty, concluded between the British and French governments on the one hand, and Germany and Italy on the other.
• All this and much more was done in the hope that the aggression of the Third Reich would be directed specifically against Soviet Russia.
• Got worried European politicians only when Hitler’s Germany began to expand its annexation, without asking any of them and without taking into account anyone’s opinion. But by that time it was too late - the plan new war was already drawn up and began to be systematically implemented.
• In parallel with the Third Reich, fascist Italy also intensified its aggressive foreign policy activities. In 1935-36, Italian troops invaded Ethiopia. These actions were condemned by the international community, and the Italian side was even expelled from the League of Nations. In addition, economic sanctions were imposed on the state. However, this did not prevent Italy from retaining the Ethiopian territories and annexing them to its colonies. Also, the imposed sanctions contributed to the strengthening of Italian-German relations. Having refused to support the sanctions policy towards the Italian state, the Weimar Republic, on the contrary, increasingly supplied the necessary raw materials there.

Video

The Second World War was the bloodiest and most brutal military conflict in the entire history of mankind and the only one in which nuclear weapons were used. 61 states took part in it. The dates of the beginning and end of this war, September 1, 1939 - 1945, September 2, are among the most significant for the entire civilized world.

The causes of the Second World War were the imbalance of power in the world and the problems provoked by the results of the First World War, in particular territorial disputes. The winners of the First World War, the USA, England, and France, concluded the Treaty of Versailles on conditions that were most unfavorable and humiliating for the losing countries, Turkey and Germany, which provoked an increase in tension in the world. At the same time, adopted in the late 1930s by England and France, the policy of appeasing the aggressor made it possible for Germany to sharply increase its military potential, which accelerated the Nazis’ transition to active military action.

Members of the anti-Hitler bloc were the USSR, USA, France, England, China (Chiang Kai-shek), Greece, Yugoslavia, Mexico, etc. On the German side, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, China (Wang Jingwei), Thailand, Finland, Iraq, etc. participated in World War II. Many states that took part in the Second World War did not take action on the fronts, but helped by supplying food, medicine and other necessary resources.

Researchers identify the following main stages of the Second World War.

The first stage from September 1, 1939 to June 21, 1941. The period of the European blitzkrieg of Germany and the Allies.

Second stage June 22, 1941 - approximately mid-November 1942. Attack on the USSR and the subsequent failure of the Barbarossa plan.

The third stage, the second half of November 1942 - the end of 1943. A radical turning point in the war and Germany’s loss of strategic initiative.

At the end of 1943, at the Tehran Conference, in which Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill took part, a decision was made to open a second front. The fourth stage lasted from the end of 1943 to May 9, 1945. It was marked by the capture of Berlin and unconditional surrender

Germany. Fifth stage May 10, 1945 – September 2, 1945. At this time, fighting takes place only in Southeast Asia and Far East

The Second World War began on September 1, 1939. On this day, the Wehrmacht suddenly began aggression against Poland. Despite the reciprocal declaration of war by France, Great Britain and some other countries, no real assistance was provided to Poland. Already on September 28, Poland was captured. A peace treaty between Germany and the USSR was concluded on the same day. Having thus received a reliable rear, Germany begins active preparations for war with France, which capitulated already in 1940, on June 22. Nazi Germany begins large-scale preparations for war on the eastern front with the USSR. Plan Barbarossa was approved already in 1940, on December 18. The Soviet senior leadership received reports of an impending attack, but fearing to provoke Germany, and believing that the attack would be carried out at a later date, deliberately did not lead to combat readiness border parts.

In the chronology of the Second World War, the most important period is the period of June 22, 1941-1945, May 9, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. On the eve of World War II, the USSR was an actively developing state. As the threat of conflict with Germany increased over time, defense and heavy industry and science developed primarily in the country. Closed design bureaus were created, whose activities were aimed at developing the latest weapons. At all enterprises and collective farms, discipline was tightened as much as possible. In the 30s, more than 80% of the officers of the Red Army were repressed. In order to make up for the losses, a network of military schools and academies has been created. But there was not enough time for full training of personnel.

The main battles of World War II, which were of great importance for the history of the USSR, are:

The Battle of Moscow September 30, 1941 – April 20, 1942, which became the first victory of the Red Army;

The Battle of Stalingrad July 17, 1942 – February 2, 1943, which marked a radical turning point in the war;

Battle of Kursk July 5 – August 23, 1943, during which the largest tank battle of World War II took place near the village of Prokhorovka;

The Battle of Berlin - which led to the surrender of Germany.

But events important for the course of World War II took place not only on the fronts of the USSR. Among the operations carried out by the Allies, it is worth especially noting: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which caused the United States to enter World War II; opening of the second front and landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944; the use of nuclear weapons on August 6 and 9, 1945 to strike Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The end date of World War II was September 2, 1945. Japan signed the act of surrender only after the defeat of the Kwantung Army by Soviet troops. The battles of World War II, according to rough estimates, claimed 65 million people on both sides. The Soviet Union suffered the greatest losses in World War II - 27 million citizens of the country died. It was he who took the brunt of the blow. This figure is also approximate and, according to some researchers, underestimated. It was the stubborn resistance of the Red Army that became the main cause of the defeat of the Reich.

The results of World War II horrified everyone. Military actions have brought the very existence of civilization to the brink. During the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, fascist ideology was condemned, and many war criminals were punished. In order to prevent similar possibilities of a new world war in the future, at the Yalta Conference in 1945 it was decided to create the United Nations Organization (UN), which still exists today. The results of the nuclear bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the signing of pacts on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and a ban on their production and use. It must be said that the consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still felt today.

The economic consequences of World War II were also serious. For Western European countries it turned into a real economic disaster. The influence of Western European countries has decreased significantly. At the same time, the United States managed to maintain and strengthen its position.

The significance of World War II for the Soviet Union is enormous. The defeat of the Nazis determined the future history of the country. Based on the conclusions following the defeat of Germany peace treaties, The USSR noticeably expanded its borders. At the same time, the totalitarian system was strengthened in the Union. Communist regimes were established in some European countries. Victory in the war did not save the USSR from the mass repressions that followed in the 50s