Radio speech by the Deputy Chairman of the Council
People's Commissars of the USSR and People's Commissar
Foreign Affairs comrade. V.M. MOLOTOV
June 22, 1941.

CITIZENS AND CITIZENS OF THE SOVIET UNION!

The Soviet government and its head, Comrade. Stalin instructed me to make the following statement:

Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without presenting any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed our cities - Zhitomir, Kiev - from their planes , Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Enemy aircraft raids and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory.

Construction of a Soviet anti-tank ditch in the Smolensk region.

This unheard of attack on our country is a treachery unparalleled in the history of civilized nations. The attack on our country was carried out despite the fact that a non-aggression treaty was concluded between the USSR and Germany and the Soviet government fulfilled all the terms of this treaty in all good faith. The attack on our country was carried out despite the fact that during the entire period of validity of this treaty the German government was never able to make a single claim against the USSR for the implementation of the treaty. All responsibility for this predatory attack on the Soviet Union falls entirely on the Germans fascist rulers.

Crashed Soviet planes. 1941

After the attack, the German ambassador in Moscow, Schulenburg, at 5:30 a.m. made me, as the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, a statement on behalf of his government that the German government had decided to go to war against the USSR in connection with the concentration of Red Army units in the eastern German border.

German soldiers approach newly destroyed Soviet BT-2 tanks.

In response to this, on behalf of the Soviet government, I stated that until the last minute the German government did not make any claims against the Soviet government, that Germany carried out an attack on the USSR, despite the peace-loving position of the Soviet Union, and that thereby fascist Germany is the attacker side.

Destroyed Soviet tanks.

On behalf of the government of the Soviet Union, I must also state that at no point did our troops and our aviation allow the border to be violated, and therefore the statement made by Romanian radio this morning that Soviet aviation allegedly fired at Romanian airfields is a complete lie and provocation. The entire today’s declaration by Hitler, who is trying to retroactively concoct incriminating material about the Soviet Union’s non-compliance with the Soviet-German Pact, is the same lie and provocation.

Soviet girl volunteers are sent to the front. Summer 1941.

Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given our troops an order to repulse the bandit attack and expel German troops from the territory of our homeland. This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose suffering we well understand, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French, Czechs, Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples .

June 22, 1941 near the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav. At that time, the San River was the border between German-occupied Poland and the USSR.

The Government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and the brave falcons of Soviet aviation will honorably fulfill their duty to their homeland, to the Soviet people, and will deal a crushing blow to the aggressor.

The first Soviet prisoners of war, under the supervision of German soldiers, head west along the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav.

This is not the first time our people have had to deal with an attacking, arrogant enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon’s campaign in Russia with a Patriotic War and Napoleon was defeated and came to his collapse. The same will happen to the arrogant Hitler, who has announced a new campaign against our country. The Red Army and all our people will again wage a victorious patriotic war for their homeland, for honor, for freedom.

Nazi troops are fighting near the walls of the Brest Fortress 1941

The Government of the Soviet Union expresses its firm confidence that the entire population of our country, all workers, peasants and intellectuals, men and women, will treat their duties and their work with due consciousness. Our entire people must now be united and united as never before. Each of us must demand from ourselves and from others discipline, organization, and dedication worthy of a true Soviet patriot in order to provide all the needs of the Red Army, Navy and Air Force to ensure victory over the enemy.

A machine-gun crew of German rangers fires from an MG-34 machine gun. Summer 1941, Army Group North. In the background, the crew is covering the StuG III self-propelled gun.

The government calls on you, citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally your 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.

Red Army soldiers on the battlefield near Kiev 1941

Plan, Barbarossa,

Fuhrer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces

National Defense Department
No. 33408/40. Sov. secret.

Fuhrer Headquarters

12/18/40

9 copies

9th copy
DIRECTIVE No. 21

The German armed forces must be prepared to defeat Soviet Russia in a short campaign even before the war against England is over. (Variant "Barbarossa").

Ground forces must use for this purpose all units at their disposal, with the exception of those necessary to protect the occupied territories from any surprises.

Colonel General Richthofen in a group of officers discussing the situation 1941

The task of the air force is to release such forces to support the ground forces in the eastern campaign so that ground operations can be counted on to be completed quickly while at the same time limiting the destruction of the eastern regions of Germany by enemy aircraft to a minimum. However, this concentration of Air Force efforts in the East must be limited by the requirement that all theaters of combat and areas where our military industry is located are reliably protected from enemy air raids and offensive actions against England and especially against its sea communications do not weaken at all.

Soldiers of a battery of naval heavy artillery under the command of Denninburg, participating in the defense of Odessa, at a gun in 1941.

The main efforts of the navy should also, of course, be concentrated against England during the eastern campaign.

If necessary, I will give the order for the strategic deployment of the Armed Forces against the Soviet Union eight weeks before the scheduled start of operations.

Participants in the defense of the city of Odessa build barricades

Preparations that require a longer time, since they have not yet begun, should begin now and be completed by May 15, 1941.

It must be of decisive importance that our intentions to attack are not recognized.

Preparatory activities of the highest command authorities should be carried out based on the following basic provisions.
General idea

The main forces of the Russian ground forces located in Western Russia must be destroyed in bold operations through deep, rapid extension of tank wedges. The retreat of combat-ready enemy troops into the wide expanses of Russian territory must be prevented.

German General Kruger in the vicinity of Leningrad

By rapid pursuit a line must be reached from which the Russian air force will not be able to carry out raids on Imperial German territory.

The ultimate goal of the operation is to create a barrier against Asian Russia along the common line Volga, Arkhangelsk. Thus, if necessary, the last industrial area remaining with the Russians in the Urals can be paralyzed with the help of aviation.

During these operations, the Russian Baltic Fleet will quickly lose its bases and will thus be unable to continue the fight.

Effective actions of the Russian air force must be prevented by our powerful strikes at the very beginning of operations.

Workers of the Kirov plant go to the front

Allies and their missions
In the war against Soviet Russia on the flanks of our front, we can count on the active participation of Romania and Finland.

The Supreme Command of the Armed Forces will, at the appropriate time, agree and determine in what form the armed forces of both countries will be subordinated to the German command upon entry into the war.
The task of Romania will be to support with selected troops the advance of the southern flank of the German troops, at least at the beginning of the operation, to pin down the enemy where German forces will not operate, and otherwise to carry out auxiliary service in the rear areas.
Finland must cover the concentration and deployment of a separate German northern group of forces (part of the 21st group), coming from Norway. The Finnish army will conduct combat operations together with these troops.

A battery fires at the enemy on the outskirts of Moscow

In addition, Finland will be responsible for the capture of the Hanko Peninsula.
It should be considered possible that by the beginning of the operation, Swedish railways and highways will be made available for use by the German group of forces intended for operations in the North.
Carrying out operations

A) Ground forces. (According to operational plans reported to me).

The theater of military operations is divided by the Pripyat swamps into northern and southern parts. The direction of the main attack should be prepared north of the Pripyat marshes. Two army groups should be concentrated here.

The southern of these groups, which is the center of the general front, has the task of attacking with especially strong tank and motorized formations from the Warsaw area and north of it and splitting the enemy forces in Belarus. In this way, the prerequisites will be created for the rotation of powerful units of mobile troops to the north in order to, in cooperation with the Northern Army Group, advancing from East Prussia in the general direction of Leningrad, destroy the enemy forces operating in the Baltic states. Only after completing this urgent task, which should be followed by the capture of Leningrad and Kronstadt, should operations begin to capture Moscow, an important center of communications and military industry.

Soviet prisoners of war in a transit camp

And only the unexpectedly rapid collapse of the Russian resistance could justify the formulation and implementation of these two tasks simultaneously.

The most important task of the 21st Group also during the Eastern Campaign remains the defense of Norway.

The forces available in addition to this (the mountain corps) should be used in the North primarily for the defense of the Petsamo region and its ore mines, as well as the Arctic Ocean route. Then these forces must, together with Finnish troops, advance to the Murmansk railway in order to disrupt the supply of the Murmansk region via land communications.

Whether such an operation will be carried out by German troops (2-3 divisions) from the Rovaniemi area and south of it depends on Sweden’s willingness to put its railways at our disposal for transporting troops.

Soviet prisoners of war harnessed to a plow (From trophy photographs confiscated from captured and killed Wehrmacht soldiers)

The main forces of the Finnish army will be tasked with pinning down as much as possible in accordance with the advance of the German northern flank by attacking to the west or on both sides of Lake Ladoga.

a larger number of Russian troops, as well as capture the Hanko Peninsula.

The army group operating south of the Pripyat Marshes must, through concentric attacks, with its main forces on the flanks, destroy the Russian troops located in Ukraine, even before the latter reach the Dnieper.

A German general inspects a captured Soviet anti-tank gun

For this purpose, the main blow is delivered from the Lublin region in the general direction of Kyiv. At the same time, troops located in Romania cross the river. The rod is in the lower reaches and carries out deep coverage of the enemy. The Romanian army will have the task of shackling the Russian forces located inside the pincers being formed.

At the end of the battles to the south and north of the Pripyat swamps, during the pursuit the following tasks should be ensured:

In the south - timely occupy the militarily and economically important Donetsk basin.

A group of German soldiers near a pile of Soviet canned food captured as a trophy

In the north - quickly reach Moscow. The capture of this city means a decisive success both politically and economically, not to mention the fact that the Russians will lose their most important railway junction.

B) Air Force. Their task will be to, as far as possible, impede and reduce the effectiveness of counteraction by the Russian air force and support the ground forces in their operations in decisive directions.

This will be necessary primarily on the front of the central army group and on the main direction of the southern army group.

Russian railways and communications routes, depending on their importance for the operation, should be cut or disabled through the capture of important objects closest to the combat area (river crossings) by bold actions of airborne troops.

German machine gunners and machine gunner. Behind the back of the second crew number is a replaceable barrel in a case. Narva, 1941

In order to concentrate all forces to fight against enemy aircraft and to directly support ground forces, raids on military industrial facilities should not be carried out during the operation. Such raids, and primarily against the Urals, will become the order of the day only after the completion of maneuver operations.

B) Navy. In the war against Soviet Russia, he will have the task, while ensuring the defense of his coast, to prevent the enemy’s navy from breaking through from the Baltic Sea. Considering that after reaching Leningrad, the Russian Baltic Fleet will lose its last stronghold and find itself in a hopeless position, major naval operations should be avoided until this point.

Destroyed Soviet airfield. District of Minsk.

After the neutralization of the Russian fleet, the task will be to ensure complete freedom of maritime communications in the Baltic Sea, in particular the supply by sea of ​​the northern flank of the ground forces (mine sweeping).
All orders that will be given by the Commanders-in-Chief on the basis of this directive must clearly proceed from the fact that we are talking about precautionary measures in case Russia changes its present position towards us.

Column of German troops. Ukraine, July 1941.

The number of officers involved in initial preparations should be as limited as possible. The remaining employees, whose involvement is necessary, should be involved in the work as late as possible and become familiar only with those particular aspects of training that are necessary for the performance of official duties of each of them individually.

Otherwise, there is a danger of serious political and military complications arising as a result of the disclosure of our preparations, the dates of which have not yet been set.
I expect oral reports from the Commanders-in-Chief on their future intentions based on this directive.

The dead Soviet soldiers, as well as civilians - women and children. Bodies dumped in a roadside ditch like household trash; Dense columns of German troops are calmly moving past along the road.

Report to me about the planned preparatory activities of all types of armed forces and the progress of their implementation through the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces.

Signed: Hitler

Correct: captain (signature)

Supreme Command of the Armed Forces
Operational management headquarters.
National Defense Division (Quartermaster IV)
No. 44125/41. Sov. secret. Fuhrer Headquarters
13.3.41
Base. Directive of the headquarters of the operational leadership (country defense department/1) No. 33408/40 dated 12/18/40 Sov. secret.

Refugees in the Pskov region.

TROOPS CONCENTRATION DIRECTIVE

(plan "Barbarossa")
General tasks.

Should Russia change her present attitude towards Germany, extensive preparatory measures should be taken as a precaution to enable Soviet Russia to be defeated in a short-lived campaign before the war against England is over.

German soldiers in a street battle in the Baltic states.

Operations must be carried out in such a way that, through a deep penetration of tank troops, the entire mass of Russian troops located in Western Russia is destroyed.

At the same time, it is necessary to prevent the possibility of the retreat of combat-ready Russian troops into the vast interior regions of the country.
Enemy position.

Dead Soviet tank crews and tank landing soldiers at the gates of the border outpost. Tank – T-26.

It should be considered most likely that the Russians, using field fortifications reinforced in certain areas on the new and old state borders, as well as numerous water barriers convenient for defense, will enter the battle in large formations west of the Dnieper and Western Dvina rivers. The Russian command will attach particular importance to maintaining its air and naval bases in the Baltic provinces for as long as possible and maintaining its southern flank adjacent to the Black Sea through the use of large forces.

If operations south and north of the Pripyat marshes develop unfavorably, the Russians will try to stop the German offensive along the line of the Dnieper and Western Dvina rivers.

German collection point for Soviet captured equipment and weapons. On the left are Soviet 45mm anti-tank guns, then a large number of Maxim heavy machine guns and DP-27 light machine guns, on the right are 82mm mortars. Summer 1941.

Already when eliminating German breakthroughs, as well as during possible attempts to withdraw endangered troops to the Dnieper and Western Dvina line, one should take into account the possibility of offensive actions by large Russian formations using tanks.

The enemy grouping is given in detail in Appendix Za-g and the certificate “Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” dated January 1, 1941.
The idea.

Damaged T-26.

The first intention of the main command of the ground forces, in accordance with the above task, is to split the front of the main forces of the Russian army, concentrated in the western part of Russia, with quick and deep strikes of powerful mobile groups north and south of the Pripyat swamps and, using this breakthrough, to destroy the disunited groups enemy troops.

South of the Pripyat marshes, Army Group "South" under the command of Field Marshal Rundstedt, using a swift strike from powerful tank formations from the Lublin region, cuts off Soviet troops located in Galicia and Western Ukraine from their communications on the Dnieper, seizes crossings across the river. The Dnieper is in the Kyiv region and to the south of it and thus provides freedom of maneuver to solve subsequent tasks in cooperation with troops operating to the north, or to carry out new tasks in the south of Russia.

Tank Pz.Kpfw.38(t) from the German 7th Panzer Division on the march. A burning Soviet tank is visible on the left.

North of the Pripyat marshes Army Group Center advances under the command of Field Marshal von Bock. Having brought powerful tank formations into battle, it makes a breakthrough from the Warsaw and Suwalki area in the direction of Smolensk; then turns the tank troops to the north and, together with Army Group North (Field Marshal von Leeb), advancing from East Prussia in the general direction of Leningrad, destroys the Soviet troops located in the Baltic states. Then the troops of Army Group North and the mobile forces of Army Group Center, together with the Finnish army and German troops sent from Norway for this purpose, finally deprive the enemy of the last defensive capabilities in the northern part of Russia. As a result of these operations, freedom of maneuver will be ensured to carry out subsequent tasks in cooperation with German troops advancing in southern Russia.

A German column passes an abandoned Soviet artillery park.

In the event of a sudden and complete defeat of Russian forces in the north of Russia, the turn of troops to the north disappears and the question of an immediate attack on Moscow may arise.

The start of the offensive will be given with a single order along the entire front from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea (day “B”, time - “U”).

A damaged German armored personnel carrier in the Smolensk region. August 1941

The basis for conducting combat operations in this operation can be the principles that proved themselves in the Polish campaign. At the same time, however, it should be taken into account that, along with concentrating forces on the directions of the main attacks, it is necessary to attack the enemy also on other sectors of the front.

Only in this way will it be possible to prevent the timely withdrawal of combat-ready enemy forces and destroy them west of the Dnieper-Zap line. Dvina To an even greater extent than hitherto, one should expect the impact of enemy aircraft on ground forces, especially since the German air forces will not be fully involved in operations against Russia. Troops must also be prepared for the possibility that the enemy may use chemical agents.
Tasks of army groups and armies:

The German light tank Pz.Kpfw destroyed by Soviet artillery. II Ausf. C.

A) Army Group South advances with its reinforced left flank in the general direction of Kyiv, with mobile units ahead. The general task is to destroy Soviet troops in Galicia and Western Ukraine further west of the river. Dnieper and timely capture crossings on the Dnieper in the Kyiv area and to the south, thereby creating the preconditions for continuing operations east of the Dnieper. The offensive should be prepared and carried out in such a way that mobile troops were concentrated for a strike from the Lublin area in the direction of Kyiv.

Soviet refugees walk past an abandoned BT-7A tank.

In accordance with this general task, the army and tank group, guided by direct instructions from the command of Army Group South, must ensure the implementation of the following tasks:

The 11th Army provides cover for Romanian territory against Soviet invasion, keeping in mind Romania's vital importance to the war effort. During the offensive of the troops of Army Group South, the 11th Army pins down the enemy forces opposing it, creating the false impression of a strategic deployment of large forces, and, as the further situation develops, by delivering a number of strikes in cooperation with aviation against the retreating enemy troops, it prevents the organized withdrawal of the Soviet troops for the Dniester.

The takeoff of German Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers from a field airfield in the USSR.

The 1st Tank Group, in cooperation with the troops of the 17th and 6th armies, breaks through the defenses of enemy troops concentrated near the border between Rava-Russkaya and Kovel and, moving through Berdichev, Zhitomir, promptly reaches the river. Dnieper in the Kyiv region and to the south. Subsequently, without wasting time, according to the instructions of the command of Army Group "South", it continues its offensive along the Dnieper in a south-eastern direction in order to prevent withdrawal across the river. Dnieper enemy group operating in Western Ukraine, and destroy it with a blow from the rear.

German infantry passes by broken Soviet vehicles.

The 17th Army breaks through enemy defenses on the border northwest of Lvov. Quickly advancing with her strong left flank, she pushes the enemy back in a southeast direction and destroys him. Subsequently, this army, using the successful advance of the troops of the tank group, immediately enters the Vinnitsa, Berdichev region and, depending on the situation, continues the offensive in a southern or southeastern direction.

Red Army soldiers surrender to SS soldiers.

The 6th Army, in cooperation with formations of the 1st Tank Group, breaks through the enemy front in the area of ​​​​the city of Lutsk and, covering the northern flank of the army group from possible attacks from the Pripyat swamps, if possible, with its main forces, with maximum speed, follows to Zhitomir troops of the tank group. The army troops must be ready, on instructions from the command of the army group, to turn their main forces to the southeast, west of the river. Dnieper, in order to, in cooperation with the tank group, prevent the retreat of the enemy group operating in Western Ukraine beyond the Dnieper and destroy it.

A rally at the Leningrad Kirov plant about the beginning of the war.

b) Army Group Center, concentrating its main forces on the flanks, splits the enemy forces in Belarus. Mobile formations advancing south and north of Minsk timely connect in the Smolensk region and thus create the preconditions for the interaction of large forces of mobile forces with the troops of Army Group North in order to destroy enemy forces located in the Baltic states and in the Leningrad region.

As part of this task, according to the instructions of the command of Army Group Center, tank groups and armies perform the following tasks:

Battle on the streets of the city of Nemirov (Lvov region, Ukraine) on June 24, 1941, destroyed German SIG 33 guns of the 13th company of the 211th infantry regiment of the 71st infantry division are visible in the background.

The 2nd Tank Group, interacting with the 4th Army, breaks through enemy border fortifications in the Kobrin area and to the north and, quickly advancing to Slutsk and Minsk, in cooperation with the 3rd Tank Group advancing to the area north of Minsk, creates the preconditions for destruction enemy troops located between Bialystok and Minsk. Its further task: in close cooperation with the 3rd Panzer Group, to capture the terrain in the Smolensk region and south of it as quickly as possible, to prevent the concentration of enemy forces in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, thereby preserving Army Group Center freedom of action to carry out subsequent tasks.

Artillerymen of the 29th motorized division of the Wehrmacht from an ambush shot Soviet tanks on the side with a 50-mm PaK 38 cannon. The closest one, on the left, is the T-34 tank. Belarus, 1941.

The 3rd Tank Group, in cooperation with the 9th Army, breaks through enemy border fortifications north of Grodno, rapidly advances to the area north of Minsk and, in cooperation with the 2nd Tank Group advancing from the southwest towards Minsk, creates the preconditions for the destruction of enemy forces located between Bialystok and Minsk. The subsequent task of the 3rd Panzer Group: working closely with the 2nd Panzer Group, to quickly reach the Vitebsk area and further north, to prevent the concentration of enemy forces in the upper Dvina area, thereby ensuring the army group freedom of action in carrying out subsequent tasks.

The first day of the war in Przemysl (today the Polish city of Przemysl) and the first invaders killed on Soviet soil (soldiers of the 101st Light Infantry Division). The city was occupied by German troops on June 22, but was liberated the next morning by Red Army units and border guards and held until June 27.

The 4th Army, delivering the main blow on both sides of Brest-Litovsk, crosses the river. Zap. Bug and thereby opens the way for the 2nd Tank Group to Minsk. The main forces are developing an offensive across the river. Shara at Slonim and further south, using the success of tank groups, in cooperation with the 9th Army, destroys enemy troops located between Bialystok and Minsk. Subsequently, this army follows the 2nd Tank Group, covering its left flank from the Pripyat swamps, and captures the crossing of the river. Berezina between Bobruisk and Berezino and crosses the river. The Dnieper near Mogilev and to the north.

Soldiers and officers of the Red Army surrender to German tank crews.

The 9th Army, in cooperation with the 3rd Tank Group, delivers the main blow with its northern wing to the enemy group located west and north of Grodno, using the success of the tank groups, rapidly advances in the direction of Lida, Vilnius and destroys the enemy forces together with the 4th Army, located between Bialystok and Minsk. Later, following the 3rd Panzer Group, it reaches the river. Zap. Dvina near Polotsk and southeast of it.

German soldiers next to a burning Soviet village.

c) Army Group North has the task of destroying enemy forces operating in the Baltic states and capturing ports on the Baltic Sea, including Leningrad and Kronstadt, depriving the Russian fleet of its bases. Issues of joint actions with powerful mobile forces advancing on Smolensk and subordinate to Army Group Center will be clarified in a timely manner and brought to the attention of the especially high command of the ground forces.

In accordance with this task, Army Group "North" breaks through the enemy's front and, delivering the main blow in the direction of Dvinsk, advances as quickly as possible with its reinforced right flank, throwing mobile troops forward to cross the river. Zap. Dvina, goes to the area northeast of Opochka in order to prevent the retreat of combat-ready Russian forces from the Baltic states to the east and create the preconditions for further successful advance to Leningrad.

Residents of Leningrad at the display window of LenTASS “Latest News” (Sotsialisticheskaya street, building 14 - “Pravda” printing house).

As part of this task, at the direction of the command of Army Group North, the 4th Panzer Group and armies perform the following tasks:

The 4th Tank Group, together with the 16th and 18th armies, breaks through the enemy front between the lake. Vishtynetskoye and dear Tilsit, Siauliai, are moving towards the West. Dvina to the Dvinsk region and further south and seizes a bridgehead on the eastern bank of the river. Zap. Dvina Subsequently, the 4th Panzer Group reaches the area northeast of Opochka as quickly as possible in order from here, depending on the situation, to continue the offensive in a northeastern or northern direction.

German equipment on the march near the city of Yartsevo, Smolensk region.

The 16th Army, in cooperation with the 4th Panzer Group, breaks through the front of the opposing enemy and, delivering the main blow on both sides of the Ebenrode-Kaunas road, with the rapid advance of its strong right flank behind the tank corps, reaches the northern bank of the river as quickly as possible. Zap. Dvina near Dvinsk and south of it. Subsequently, this army, following the 4th Panzer Group, quickly reaches the Opochka area.

Soviet tanks abandoned after the battles near Dubno, July 1941. In the background is a T-35 (model 1938). Two white stripes on the turret are the tactical insignia of the 67th Tank Regiment of the 34th Tank Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps KOVO. In the foreground is a light tank T-26 (model 1939) - from the same division. On June 22, 1941, the division had 7 KV, 38 T-35, 238 T-26 and 25 BT.

The 18th Army breaks through the front of the opposing enemy and, delivering the main blow along the Tilsit, Riga road and to the east, quickly crosses the river with its main forces. Zap. The Dvina near Plavinas and to the south, cuts off enemy units located southwest of Riga and destroys them. Subsequently, quickly moving towards the Pskov-Ostrov line, it prevents the withdrawal of Russian troops to the area south of Lake Peipus and, at the direction of the command of Army Group North, in cooperation with tanks in the area north of Lake Peipus, clears the territory of Estonia from the enemy.

Curious German soldiers inspect a damaged Soviet light tank BT-7. 1941 June.

In the direction of the main attacks of the Nazis, 257 Soviet border posts held the defense from several hours to one day. The remaining border posts held out from two days to two months. Of the 485 border posts attacked, not a single one withdrew without orders. The story of a day that changed the lives of tens of millions of people forever.

"They suspect nothing of our intentions"

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

The commander of the 2nd Panzer Group of Army Group Center, Heinz Guderian, writes in his diary: “Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they were unaware of 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 as Alfred Liskov, a soldier 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 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”

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 VNOS [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 head 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. The chief of staff of the Western District, General Klimovskikh, reports on an enemy air raid 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. The commander of the Baltic Military District, General Kuznetsov, reports on enemy air raids on Riga, Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas and other cities.

German soldiers cross the state border of the USSR.

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

3:42. Chief of the General Staff Zhukov calls Stalin and reports that Germany has begun hostilities. Stalin orders Timoshenko and Zhukov to 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. The outpost personnel under the command of Alexander Sivachev, entering the battle, destroy 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. 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.

“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. The German Ambassador to the USSR, Count von Schulenburg, presents the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Molotov, with a “Note from the German Foreign Ministry to the Soviet Government,” which states: “The German Government cannot remain indifferent to a serious threat on the eastern border, so the Fuhrer has given the order to the German Armed Forces by all means.” avert this threat." An hour after the actual start of hostilities, Germany de jure declares war on the Soviet Union.

5:30. On German radio, Reich Minister of Propaganda Goebbels reads Adolf Hitler’s appeal 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 Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow... At the 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 Foreign Minister Ribbentrop begins a press conference at which he announces the start 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, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov would address the Soviet people in connection with the outbreak of war.

10:00. From the memoirs of announcer Yuri Levitan: “They are calling from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they are calling from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why don’t you broadcast 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 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 predatory 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.

"Italy also declares war on the Soviet Union"

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. 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.

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 retreat 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 of the Patriotic War, 1st 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.

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”

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.

“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. Appeal from British Prime Minister 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 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...

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 1,417 days ahead of the worst war in human history.

VL / Articles / Interesting

How it happened: what Hitler actually faced on June 22, 1941 (part 1)

22-06-2016, 08:44

On June 22, 1941, at 4 o’clock in the morning, Germany treacherously, without declaring war, attacked the Soviet Union and, starting to bomb our cities with peacefully sleeping children, immediately declared itself as a criminal force that did not have a human face. The bloodiest war in the entire history of the Russian state began.

Our fight with Europe was deadly. On June 22, 1941, German troops launched an attack on the USSR in three directions: eastern (Army Group Center) towards Moscow, southeastern (Army Group South) towards Kiev and northeastern (Army Group North) towards Leningrad . In addition, the German Army “Norway” was advancing towards Murmansk.

Together with the German armies, the armies of Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland and volunteer formations from Croatia, Slovakia, Spain, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and other European countries attacked the USSR.

On June 22, 1941, 5.5 million soldiers and officers of Hitler’s Germany and its satellites crossed the border of the USSR and invaded our land, but in terms of the number of troops, the armed forces of Germany alone exceeded the Armed Forces of the USSR by 1.6 times, namely: 8.5 million people in the Wehrmacht and a little more than 5 million people in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. Together with the armies of the Allies, Germany on June 22, 1941 had at least 11 million trained, armed soldiers and officers and could very quickly make up for the losses of its army and strengthen its troops.

And if the number of German troops alone exceeded the number of Soviet troops by 1.6 times, then together with the troops of the European allies it exceeded the number of Soviet troops by at least 2.2 times. Such a monstrously huge force opposed the Red Army.

The industry of the Europe it united with a population of about 400 million people worked for Germany, which was almost 2 times the population of the USSR, which had 195 million people.

At the beginning of the war, compared to the German troops and its allies that attacked the USSR, the Red Army had 19,800 more guns and mortars, 86 more warships of the main classes, and the Red Army also outnumbered the attacking enemy in the number of machine guns. Small arms, guns of all calibers and mortars were not only not inferior in combat characteristics, but in many cases were superior to German weapons.

As for armored forces and aviation, our army had them in quantities that far exceeded the number of units of this equipment available to the enemy at the beginning of the war. But the bulk of our tanks and aircraft, compared to the German ones, were “old generation” weapons, morally obsolete. Most of the tanks had only bulletproof armor. A significant percentage were also faulty aircraft and tanks subject to write-off.

At the same time, it should be noted that before the start of the war, the Red Army received 595 units of KB heavy tanks and 1225 units of T-34 medium tanks, as well as 3719 new types of aircraft: Yak-1, LaGG-3, MiG-3 fighters, Il-3 bombers 4 (DB-ZF), Pe-8 (TB-7), Pe-2, Il-2 attack aircraft. Basically, we designed and produced the specified new, expensive and high-tech equipment in the period from the beginning of 1939 to the middle of 1941, that is, for the most part during the validity of the non-aggression treaty concluded in 1939 - the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

It was the presence of a large number of weapons that allowed us to survive and win. For despite the huge losses of weapons in the initial period of the war, we still had a sufficient amount of weapons to resist during the retreat and for the offensive near Moscow.

It must also be said that in 1941 the German army did not have equipment similar to our heavy KB tanks, IL-2 armored attack aircraft and rocket artillery such as the BM-13 (Katyusha), which could hit targets at a distance of more than eight kilometers.

Due to the poor performance of Soviet intelligence, our army did not know the direction of the main attacks planned by the enemy. Therefore, the Germans had the opportunity to create a multiple superiority of military forces in breakthrough areas and break through our defenses.

The capabilities of Soviet intelligence are greatly exaggerated in order to belittle the military merits and technical achievements of the USSR. Our troops were retreating under the pressure of superior enemy forces. Units of the Red Army had to either quickly retreat to avoid encirclement, or fight in encirclement. And it was not so easy to withdraw the troops, because in many cases the mobility of the German mechanized formations that broke through our defenses exceeded the mobility of our troops.

Of course, not all groups of Soviet troops were capable of mobile German formations. The bulk of the German infantry advanced on foot, just as our troops mostly retreated, which allowed many units of the Red Army to retreat to new lines of defense.

The encircled covering troops held back the advance of the Nazi hordes until the last possible opportunity, and the units retreating in the battles, joining forces with the 2nd echelon troops, significantly slowed down the advance of the German armies.

In order to stop the German armies that had broken through the border, large reserves were needed, equipped with mobile formations that could quickly approach the site of the breakthrough and push the enemy back. We did not have such reserves, since the country did not have the economic capacity to maintain an army of 11 million in peacetime.

It is unfair to blame the USSR government for this development of events. Despite the desperate resistance to industrialization from certain forces within the country, our government and our people did everything they could to create and arm the army. It was impossible to do more in the time available to the Soviet Union.

Our intelligence, of course, was not up to par. But it’s only in the movies that scouts get blueprints for airplanes and atomic bombs. In real life, such drawings will take up more than one railway car. Our intelligence did not have the opportunity to obtain the Barbarossa plan in 1941. But even knowing the direction of the main attacks, we would have to retreat before the monstrous force of the enemy. But in this case we would have fewer losses.

According to all theoretical calculations, the USSR should have lost this war, but we won it because we knew how to work and fight like no one else on earth. Hitler conquered Europe, except Poland, in an effort to unite and subordinate to the will of Germany. And he sought to exterminate us both in battles, both the civilian population and our prisoners of war. About the war against the USSR, Hitler said: “We are talking about a war of extermination.”

But everything didn’t go as planned for Hitler: the Russians left more than half of their troops far from the border, announced mobilization after the start of the war, as a result of which they had people to recruit new divisions, took military factories to the East, did not lose heart, but fought steadfastly for every inch of land. The German General Staff was horrified by Germany's losses in men and equipment.

The losses of our retreating army in 1941, of course, were greater than the German ones. The German army created a new organizational structure, including tanks, motorized infantry, artillery, engineering units and communications units, which made it possible not only to break through the enemy’s defenses, but also to develop it in depth, breaking away from the bulk of its troops by tens of kilometers. The proportions of all types of troops were carefully calculated by the Germans and tested in battles in Europe. With such a structure, tank formations became a strategic means of combat.

We needed time to create such troops from newly manufactured equipment. In the summer of 1941, we had neither the experience of creating and using such formations, nor the number of trucks needed to transport infantry. Our mechanized corps, created on the eve of the war, were significantly less advanced than the German ones.

The German General Staff assigned the name “Barbarossa” to the plan for an attack on the USSR, named after the German emperor of horrific cruelty. On June 29, 1941, Hitler declared: “In four weeks we will be in Moscow, and it will be plowed up.”

Not a single German general in his forecasts spoke about the capture of Moscow later than August. For everyone, August was the deadline for the capture of Moscow, and October - the territory of the USSR to the Urals along the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line.

The US military believed that Germany would be busy in the war with the Russians from one to three months, and the British military - from three to six weeks. They made such predictions because they knew well the force of the blow that Germany unleashed on the USSR. The West assessed how long we would last in the war with Germany.

The German government was so confident of a quick victory that it did not even consider it necessary to spend money on warm winter uniforms for the army.

Enemy troops were advancing from the Barents to the Black Seas on a front stretching over 2,000 thousand kilometers.

Germany was counting on a blitzkrieg, that is, a lightning strike on our armed forces and their destruction as a result of this lightning strike. The location of 57% of Soviet troops in the 2nd and 3rd echelons initially contributed to the disruption of the Germans' plan for the blitzkrieg. And in combination with the tenacity of our troops in the 1st echelon of defense, the German plan for a blitzkrieg was completely disrupted.

And what kind of blitzkrieg can we talk about if the Germans in the summer of 1941 could not even destroy our aviation. From the first day of the war, the Luftwaffe paid a huge price for their desire to destroy our aircraft at airfields and in the air.

People's Commissar of the Aviation Industry of the USSR from 1940 to 1946 A.I. Shakhurin wrote: “During the period from June 22 to July 5, 1941, the German Air Force lost 807 aircraft of all types, and during the period from July 6 to 19, another 477 aircraft. A third of the German air force that they had before the attack on our country was destroyed.”

Thus, only for the first month of fighting in the period from 22.06. By July 19, 1941, Germany lost 1284 aircraft, and in less than five months of fighting - 5180 aircraft. Surprisingly, only a few people in all of greater Russia know about such glorious victories of ours in the most unfortunate period of the war for us.

So who destroyed these 1,284 Luftwaffe aircraft in the first month of the war and with what weapons? These planes were destroyed by our pilots and anti-aircraft gunners in the same way as enemy tanks were destroyed by our artillerymen, because the Red Army had anti-tank guns, planes and anti-aircraft guns.

And in October 1941, the Red Army had enough weapons to hold the front. At this time, the defense of Moscow was carried out to the limit of human strength. Only Soviet, Russian people could fight like that. Deserves a kind word from I.V. Stalin, who back in July 1941 organized the construction of concrete pillboxes, bunkers, anti-tank barriers and other protective military construction structures, fortified areas (Urov) on the approaches to Moscow, who managed to provide weapons, ammunition, food and uniforms fighting army.

The Germans were stopped near Moscow, first of all, because even in the fall of 1941, our men fighting the enemy had weapons to shoot down planes, burn tanks and crush enemy infantry to the ground.

On November 29, 1941, our troops liberated Rostov-on-Don in the south, and Tikhvin in the north on December 9. Having pinned down the southern and northern groups of German troops in battle, our command created favorable conditions for the Red Army’s offensive near Moscow.

It was not the Siberian divisions that provided the opportunity for our troops to go on the offensive near Moscow, but the reserve armies created by Headquarters and brought to Moscow before our troops went on the offensive. A. M. Vasilevsky recalled: “A major event was the completion of the training of regular and extraordinary reserve formations. At the line Vytegra - Rybinsk - Gorky - Saratov - Stalingrad - Astrakhan, a new strategic line was created for the Red Army. Here, on the basis of the decision of the State Defense Committee, adopted on October 5, ten reserve armies were formed. Their creation throughout the Battle of Moscow was one of the main and daily concerns of the Party Central Committee, the State Defense Committee and Headquarters. We, the leaders of the General Staff, daily reported in detail on the progress of the creation of these formations when reporting to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the situation at the fronts. Without exaggeration, we can say: in the outcome of the Battle of Moscow, the decisive factor was that the party and the Soviet people promptly formed, armed, trained and deployed new armies to the capital.”

The Battle of Moscow can be divided into two parts: defensive from September 30 to December 5, 1941 and offensive from December 5 to April 20, 1942.

And if in June 1941 we were suddenly attacked by German troops, then in December 1941, near Moscow, our Soviet troops suddenly attacked the Germans. Despite the deep snow and frost, our army advanced successfully. The German army began to panic. Only Hitler's intervention prevented the complete defeat of the German troops.

The monstrous power of Europe, faced with Russian power, could not defeat us and, under the blows of Soviet troops, fled back to the West. In 1941, our great-grandfathers and grandfathers defended the right to life and, celebrating the New Year of 1942, proclaimed toasts to the Victory.

In 1942, our troops continued to advance. The Moscow and Tula regions, many areas of the Kalinin, Smolensk, Ryazan and Oryol regions were liberated. The manpower losses of Army Group Center alone, which had recently been stationed near Moscow for the period from January 1 to March 30, 1942, amounted to over 333 thousand people.

But the enemy was still strong. Already by May 1942, the Nazi army had 6.2 million people and weapons superior to the Red Army. Our army numbered 5.1 million people. without air defense troops and the Navy.

Thus, in the summer of 1942, against our ground forces, Germany and its allies had 1.1 million more soldiers and officers. Germany and its allies maintained superiority in troop numbers from the first day of the war until 1943. In the summer of 1942, 217 enemy divisions and 20 brigades were operating on the Soviet-German front, that is, about 80% of all German ground forces.

In connection with this circumstance, the Headquarters did not transfer troops from the Western to the Southwestern direction. This decision was correct, as was the decision to place strategic reserves in the area of ​​Tula, Voronezh, Stalingrad and Saratov.

Most of our forces and resources were concentrated not in the southwestern, but in the western direction. Ultimately, this distribution of forces led to the defeat of the German, or rather the European army, and in this regard it is inappropriate to talk about the incorrect distribution of our troops by the summer of 1942. It was thanks to this distribution of troops that in November we were able to gather forces at Stalingrad sufficient to defeat the enemy, and were able to replenish our troops when conducting defensive battles.

In the summer of 1942, against German troops superior to us in strength and means, we could not hold the defense for long in the direction of the main attack, and were forced to retreat under the threat of encirclement.

It was still impossible to compensate for the missing numbers with artillery, aviation and other types of weapons, since the evacuated enterprises were just beginning to operate at full capacity, and the military industry of Europe was still superior to the military industry of the Soviet Union.

German troops continued their offensive along the western (right) bank of the Don and sought, at all costs, to reach the large bend of the river. Soviet troops retreated to natural lines where they could gain a foothold.

By mid-July, the enemy captured Valuiki, Rossosh, Boguchar, Kantemirovka, and Millerovo. The eastern road to Stalingrad and the southern road to the Caucasus opened before him.

The Battle of Stalingrad is divided into two periods: defensive from July 17 to November 18 and offensive, which ended with the liquidation of a huge enemy group, from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943.

The defensive operation began on the distant approaches to Stalingrad. From July 17, the forward detachments of the 62nd and 64th armies offered fierce resistance to the enemy at the border of the Chir and Tsymla rivers for 6 days.

The troops of Germany and its allies were unable to take Stalingrad.

The offensive of our troops began on November 19, 1942. The troops of the Southwestern and Don Fronts went on the offensive. This day went down in our history as Artillery Day. On November 20, 1942, the troops of the Stalingrad Front went on the offensive. On November 23, troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts united in the area of ​​Kalach-on-Don, Sovetsky, closing the encirclement of German troops. The Headquarters and our General Staff calculated everything very well, tying Paulus’s army hand and foot at a great distance from our advancing troops, the 62nd Army located in Stalingrad, and the offensive of the Don Front troops.

Our courageous soldiers and officers celebrated New Year's Eve 1943, just like New Year's Eve 1942, as victors.

A huge contribution to the organization of the victory at Stalingrad was made by the Headquarters and the General Staff, headed by A. M. Vasilevsky.

During the Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted 200 days and nights, Germany and its allies lost ¼ of the forces operating at that time on the Soviet-German front. “The total losses of enemy troops in the Don, Volga, and Stalingrad areas amounted to 1.5 million people, up to 3,500 tanks and assault guns, 12,000 guns and mortars, up to 3,000 aircraft and a large amount of other equipment. Such losses of forces and means had a catastrophic impact on the overall strategic situation and shook the entire military machine of Hitler’s Germany to the core,” wrote G. K. Zhukov.

Over the two winter months of 1942-1943, the defeated German army was thrown back to the positions from which it launched its offensive in the summer of 1942. This great victory of our troops gave additional strength to both the fighters and the home front workers.

The troops of Germany and their allies were defeated near Leningrad. On January 18, 1943, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts united, the ring of the blockade of Leningrad was broken.

A narrow corridor 8-11 kilometers wide, adjacent to the southern coast of Lake Ladoga, was cleared of the enemy and connected Leningrad with the country. Long-distance trains began running from Leningrad to Vladivostok.

Hitler was going to take Leningrad in 4 weeks by July 21, 1941 and send the liberated troops to storm Moscow, but he could not take the city by January 1944. Hitler ordered proposals to surrender the city to German troops not to be accepted and to wipe the city off the face of the earth, but in fact, the German divisions stationed near Leningrad were wiped off the face of the earth by the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts. Hitler stated that Leningrad would be the first large city captured by the Germans in the Soviet Union and spared no effort to capture it, but did not take into account that he was fighting not in Europe, but in Soviet Russia. I did not take into account the courage of the Leningraders and the strength of our weapons.

The victorious completion of the Battle of Stalingrad and the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad became possible not only thanks to the steadfastness and courage of the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army, the ingenuity of our soldiers and the knowledge of our military leaders, but, above all, thanks to the heroic work of the rear.

The first and most difficult day of the Great Patriotic War

The implementation of Hitler's Barbarossa plan began at dawn on June 22, 1941. It was at this time that the Wehrmacht troops concentrated on the USSR border received the order to begin the invasion.

That first day of the war began unusually early not only for the troops of the western border military districts, but also for the Soviet people living in the border regions of the USSR. At dawn, hundreds of German bombers invaded Soviet airspace. They bombed airfields, troop locations in the western border districts, railway junctions, communication lines and other important facilities, as well as large cities in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova.

At the same time, Wehrmacht troops concentrated along the entire length of the State Border of the USSR opened hurricane artillery fire on border outposts, fortified areas, as well as formations and units of the Red Army stationed in the immediate vicinity. After artillery and aviation training, they crossed the State Border of the USSR over a huge distance - from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

The Great Patriotic War began - the most difficult of all wars ever experienced by Russia and its people.

Germany and its allies (Finland, Romania and Hungary)

a powerful group was deployed for the war against the Soviet Union,

numbering 190 divisions, 5.5 million people, over 47 thousand guns and mortars,

about 4,300 tanks and assault guns, 4,200 aircraft.

They were united in three army groups - “North”, “Center” and “South”,

which were intended to strike in the directions of Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv.

The immediate strategic goal of the German military leadership was the defeat of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, Belarus and Right Bank Ukraine.

The main attacks of the Wehrmacht were aimed at Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv. The efforts of one of the army groups were concentrated in each direction.

The troops of Army Group North, deployed in East Prussia, advanced on Leningrad. They were supposed to destroy Soviet troops in the Baltic states, capture ports on the Baltic Sea and the North-Western regions of the USSR. In cooperation with this group of armies, a little later the German Army “Norway” and the Karelian Army of the Finns were to act with the task of capturing Murmansk. The enemy group directly operating in the Baltic direction was opposed by the troops of the Baltic Special Military District under the command of General F.I. Kuznetsov, and in the Murmansk sector the troops of the Leningrad Military District, which was headed by General M.M. Popov.

In the main Moscow direction, troops of Army Group Center operated, which were supposed to defeat Soviet troops in Belarus and develop an offensive to the East. In this direction, cover of the State Border of the USSR was carried out by troops of the Western Special Military District under the command of General D.G. Pavlova.

Army Group South, deployed from Wlodawa to the mouth of the Danube, struck in the general direction of Kyiv. This grouping of enemy troops was opposed by the forces of the Kyiv Special Military District, commanded by General M.P. Kirponos and the Odessa Military District under the command of General Ya.T. Cherevichenko.

In Moscow, the first reports of the invasion came from border guards. “Offensive along the entire front. Border guard units are fighting... - the command of the Bialystok border section reported to the Main Directorate of Border Troops, - The Germans are advancing in Kretinga... Bialystok.” At the same time, the General Staff received similar information from the western border districts. At about 4 o'clock in the morning his superior, General G.K. Zhukov reported to I.V. Stalin about what happened.

Only an hour and a half after the invasion of Wehrmacht troops on Soviet territory, the German Ambassador to the USSR F. Schulenburg arrived to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov, and gave him an official note from his government, which stated: “In view of the further intolerable threat, due to the massive concentration ... of the armed forces of the Red Army. The German government considers itself forced to immediately take military countermeasures." However, even after receiving an official document from the German embassy, ​​I.V. Stalin could not fully believe that this was war. He demanded from the People's Commissar of Defense Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko and Chief of the General Staff General G.K. Zhukov, so that they immediately figure out whether this was a provocation of the German generals, and ordered the troops to give orders not to cross the border until special instructions.

The whole country learned about the German attack only at 12 noon, when the Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M., addressed the people on behalf of the government on the radio. Molotov. The address ended with the words that became the slogan of the Soviet people in the fight against the invaders: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".

Already after the speech of V.M. Molotov, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a number of decrees aimed at mobilizing all the forces of the state to repel an attack, as well as to ensure public order and state security within the country:

• “On the announcement of mobilization on the territory of 14 military districts from June 23”;
• “On the introduction of martial law in certain areas of the USSR.”

Crowding around loudspeakers installed on the streets and industrial enterprises, people listened to Molotov’s speech, afraid to miss a word. At first, almost none of them doubted that the Red Army would need only a few weeks to defeat the enemy “with little blood, a mighty blow.” The tragedy of the situation was not fully realized by the military-political leadership of the country due to the lack of objective information from the front.

Only by the end of this day did it become clear to the head of the Soviet government that military actions on the western borders of the USSR were by no means a large-scale military provocation of Germany, but the beginning of a war - the most terrible and cruel. “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,” the population of the country was informed in the first report of the Red Army High Command, “and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon... after fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristynopol directions the enemy managed to achieve minor tactical successes...”

Already in this report from the front, to some extent, all the drama of the first border battles and battles, most severe in their intensity and consequences, was visible. But then, on the first day of the war, no one could even imagine what inhuman trials would fall on the shoulders of every Soviet person, not only at the front, but also in the rear.

The population of Germany learned about the beginning of a new war from Hitler’s address to the people, which at 5:30 minutes was read out on Berlin radio by Propaganda Minister J. Goebbels. Judging by this appeal, the political leadership of Germany sought not only to justify the aggression in the eyes of the world community, but also to attract Western powers to participate in the anti-Soviet war and thereby deprive the USSR of possible allies. However, both the leaders of the leading powers and the majority of sober-minded European politicians clearly understood that the Nazis’ statements were just a propaganda trick with the help of which they hoped to justify the next act of their aggressive aspirations.

The British were the first to react. Already in the evening of the same day, British Prime Minister W. Churchill made a statement about support for the USSR in the war with Nazi Germany. He clearly stated the purpose of British policy in the war and guaranteed a tough and consistent position for his country:

“We have only one unchanging goal. We are determined to destroy Hitler and all traces of the Nazi regime..."

He concluded his speech with promises to “provide all the help we can to Russia and the Russian people.”

The speech of the British Prime Minister had a huge resonance throughout the world. All the dots had been placed: England had clearly defined its attitude towards the Soviet Union, which had been subjected to aggression. To clarify the positions of many other states of the world, primarily the countries of the British Commonwealth, which are accustomed to traditionally rely on the opinion of London, Churchill’s speech was of fundamental importance. In a certain sense, it also influenced the position of the United States of America. True, the events taking place in Europe had little impact on the Americans. After all, they were on the sidelines of the world war. Nevertheless, on the morning of June 23, Acting Secretary of State S. Welles, on the instructions of President F. Roosevelt, made an official statement about providing assistance to the USSR. The next day, Roosevelt himself, at a press conference in the White House, said that the United States would provide all possible assistance to the USSR in its fight against Germany, but noted that it was not yet known what form it would take.

And yet, at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Western powers talked more about supporting the USSR than actually helping it. The reasons for this slowness are obvious. The temptation to strengthen one’s own positions was very great - to take advantage of the mutual weakening and exhaustion of the two irreconcilable enemies of Germany and the Soviet Union. And there was not much confidence that the Red Army would survive the battle with the seemingly invincible Wehrmacht. Indeed, already on June 22, the strike groups of German troops achieved tangible success in all directions, due to the decisive concentration by his command in the first strategic echelon of more than 80% of all forces intended for the eastern campaign - 130 divisions, 8 brigades, 3350 tanks, about 38 thousand. guns and mortars and about 5 thousand aircraft.

A blow of such force came as a complete surprise to all troops in the western border districts. They were not prepared for such a development of events. The Soviet border guards, who were the first to stand in the way of the German troops, did not expect this blow either. The enemy hoped to crush the border outposts in a short time, but he failed. The border guards fought to the death.

In extremely unfavorable conditions, the formations and covering units of the western border districts had to begin combat operations. Not brought into combat readiness in advance, they were unable to adequately repel the enemy. At half past two on the night of June 22, the headquarters of the border military districts received a directive from the People's Commissar of Defense No. 1 that on June 22 or 23, an attack on the country by the German armed forces was possible. But this document did not give permission to put into effect the plan for covering the state border in full, since it only ordered “not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications...”.

The insufficiently specific content of the order given raised many questions among commanders of all levels, and most importantly, it hindered their initiative. Thus, the directive of the Baltic Special Military District indicated to the 8th and 11th armies:

“During the night of June 22, covertly occupy the defense of the main zone... Do not issue live ammunition and shells... In the event of provocative actions by the Germans, do not open fire.”

At 2 hours 25 minutes, similar instructions to the armies were given by the military council and the Western Special Military District.

Army headquarters, having received district directives a few minutes before the start of the war, communicated this order to subordinate formations and units until 5–6 o’clock in the morning. Therefore, only a few of them were put on alert in a timely manner. The combat alarm signal for most of them was the first explosions of enemy artillery shells and aerial bombs. The commanders of the 3rd and 4th armies of the Western Special Military District managed to give only some preliminary orders to the commanders of the formations. At the headquarters of the 10th Army, the directive was received after the outbreak of hostilities. There were several reasons. On the night of June 22, throughout the entire border zone, as a result of the actions of enemy sabotage groups, wire communications at the army-corps-division link were significantly disrupted. The lack of pre-developed documents on covert command and control of troops, the low provision of headquarters with radio equipment, as well as radio fear led to the fact that they practically did not use this type of communication.

Former chief of staff of the 11th Army of the Northwestern Front, General I.T. Shlemin noted:

“On the afternoon of June 22, wire and radio communications with the district were interrupted. It was impossible to find the district... The district headquarters, receiving encrypted telegrams from the army by radio, believed that the encrypted messages were coming from the enemy, and, fearing to give away their plans and their location, decided not to respond to the army’s requests.”

As a result of the first massive enemy air strikes on troop locations, a large number of communications and transport facilities were destroyed. Already in the first hours of the war, the commander of the 3rd Army, General V.I. Kuznetsov reported to the headquarters of the Western Front:

“Wired communication with units has been disrupted; radio communication has not been established for up to 8 hours.”

A similar situation was observed at the headquarters of the 14th Mechanized Corps. Later, his commander, General S.I. Oborin also reported to the headquarters of the Western Front:

“70% of the communications battalion was killed on June 22, 1941 in the morning, during the bombing of the city of Kobrin. The headquarters of the 14th mechanized corps remained at 20% of the staff.”

Without accurate information from the troops about the development of events, commanders and staffs were unable to assess the seriousness of the situation. The People's Commissar of Defense's directive No. 1 “not to succumb to any provocations” was still in effect, which limited the decisive actions of the commanders of formations and units of the covering armies. Thus, the commander of the 3rd Army reported to the headquarters of the Western Front:

“Enemy aircraft are bombing Grodno, I’m waiting for orders from General Pavlov... artillery and machine-gun fire from the Germans... I’m waiting for instructions.”

Almost the same thing was noted by the commander of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 8th Army of the Northwestern Front, General M.S. Shumilov: “The war began at 4.00... I immediately reported to the commander of the 8th Army... I received the order: “Do not open fire, do not succumb to provocation.” But the troops returned fire without orders.

The commanders of most formations and units acted similarly in other areas covering the state border of the western border districts. Orders from above came much later. Thus, the Military Council of the Western Front sent a directive to the commanders of the 3rd, 4th and 10th armies only at 5:25 a.m.: “In view of the massive military actions that have emerged from the Germans, I order: to raise troops and act in a combat manner.”

Army aviation suffered difficult losses from enemy air strikes, most of them destroyed at airfields. 66 airfields, where the most combat-ready aviation regiments of the western border districts were stationed, were subjected to massive raids. Thus, in the 10th mixed aviation division of the 4th Army of the Western Front, more than 70% of the aircraft of the attack and fighter aviation regiments were destroyed at airfields in the Vysokoye and Pruzhany areas. By 15:00, only five or six aircraft remained in the 7th Mixed Aviation Division of the 8th Army of the Northwestern Front, the rest were destroyed. As a result, Soviet aviation lost over 1,200 aircraft that day.

From the very first hours of the war, the enemy, taking advantage of the almost complete absence of anti-aircraft weapons in military air defense units, secured complete air supremacy. Commander of the 3rd Mechanized Corps, General A.V. Kurkin, in one of his reports to the commander of the 8th Army of the North-Western Front, noted:

“...there is no our aviation. The enemy is bombing all the time.”

The troops of the western border military districts, alerted, tried to go to their cover areas, but, having no information about the situation, not knowing what was happening on the border, while still on the march, they were subjected to attacks by German aviation and its ground troops. Even before they came into contact with the enemy, they suffered huge losses. On this occasion, the commander of the 3rd Panzer Group, General G. Goth, indicated in the reporting document:

“There were no signs of purposeful and planned control of the enemy forces as a whole. Direct command and control of troops was characterized by inactivity and sketchiness... Not a single Soviet military commander made an independent decision to destroy crossings and bridges.”

In such a situation, 7 hours 15 minutes, the headquarters of the North-Western, Western and South-Western Fronts received the directive of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 2, in which the commander of the front troops was given the task: “with all forces and means, attack enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border."

However, under the current conditions, this order of the People's Commissar was impossible to implement. Already at 8 o'clock in the morning, the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal F. Bock, reported to the Wehrmacht command:

“The offensive continues successfully. Along the entire offensive front, the enemy is still offering little resistance... the enemy is taken by surprise in all sectors.”

A few documents testify to the complexity of the first day of the war. Thus, the commander of the Northwestern Front, General F.I. Kuznetsov reported to Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko:

“Large forces of tanks and motorized units are breaking through to Druskeniki. The 128th Rifle Division is mostly surrounded, there is no exact information about its condition... I cannot create a group to eliminate the breakthrough. Please help."

Head of the Operations Directorate of the Western Front, General I.I. Semenov reported to the General Staff: “There is rifle, machine gun and artillery fire along the entire border... We have no wired communications with the armies.”

Some formations and units of the front were already fighting in the encirclement during these first hours, and it was not possible to establish contact with them. From the commander of the 3rd Army, General V.I. Kuznetsov, the headquarters of the Western Front received only three combat reports from the beginning of the war until 10 a.m. From the commander of the 10th Army, General K.D. Golubev received only one message during the same time, and the commander of the 4th Army, General A.A. Korobkov was able to send his first combat report only at 6:40 am.

Nevertheless, commanders of all levels and in these difficult conditions withdrew their subordinate formations and units to their cover areas. Thus, in the Western Front zone, out of ten formations of the first echelon of the 3rd, 10th and 4th armies, three rifle divisions still managed to reach their operational areas. In the Southwestern Front, the forward units of the 62nd and 87th Infantry Divisions of the 26th Army were the first to reach the state border.

In total, 14 divisions out of 57 planned first-echelon formations were withdrawn mainly on the flanks of the Soviet-German front to cover the border on June 22. They entered the battle on the move, defended in wide stripes, in single-echelon combat formations, sometimes on terrain that was not equipped in terms of engineering, moreover, without significant artillery support, without proper air cover and anti-aircraft weapons, and with a limited amount of ammunition. In this regard, they were forced to retreat with heavy losses.

By mid-day, the Wehrmacht strike groups managed to create a large gap on the adjacent flanks of the North-Western and Western Fronts, into which the 3rd Panzer Group of General G. Hoth rushed. Not knowing the true state of affairs, the commander of the Northwestern Front, General F.I. Kuznetsov, reported to the People's Commissar of Defense that the formations of the 11th Army continued to hold back the enemy, although in reality they were retreating hastily and disorganized with heavy losses.

Towards evening, the most dangerous situation developed in the Western Front. His command, which had not yet realized the threat of deep bilateral envelopment of the front forces by enemy tank formations, was more concerned about the situation on the northern front of the Bialystok bulge, where the enemy was rushing towards Grodno. He assessed the situation in the Brest direction as more or less stable. However, by the end of the day, formations and units of the 4th Army were thrown back 25–30 km from the border, and the enemy’s advanced tank units managed to advance even deeper - 60 km, and occupy Kobrin.

Without understanding the situation, the commander of the front troops, General D.G. At 5 p.m. Pavlov sent a report to the General Staff that essentially disoriented the country’s political and military leadership:

“During the day of June 22, 1941, units of the Western Front fought holding battles... offering stubborn resistance to superior enemy forces... Units of the 4th Army fought defensive battles, presumably at the line... Brest, Wlodawa.”

In reality, the troops of the Western Front continued to hastily retreat to the east in scattered groups.

Based on reports from the headquarters of the North-Western and Western Fronts, not fully understanding the actual situation, the People's Commissar of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff concluded that most of the fighting was taking place near the border. At that time, they were most concerned about the situation in the Grodno direction, where there was already deep coverage of the Bialystok bulge from the north. Due to misleading reports from the headquarters of the Western Front, the People's Commissar of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff clearly underestimated the powerful enemy group that was striking from the Brest area.

Trying to turn the tide of events and believing that there were quite enough forces for a retaliatory strike, the High Command at 21:15 sent directive No. 3 to the commanders of the forces of the North-Western, Western, South-Western and Southern fronts, which required powerful counterattacks against the invading groups enemy. However, while aiming them at the defeat of enemy groups that posed the greatest danger in each front, the General Staff did not take into account the difficulties that the front command would have in organizing and preparing attacks on the enemy within one night.

The real situation that developed by the end of the first day of the war on the entire Soviet-German front turned out to be much more complicated than the military-political leadership of the country knew. Therefore, the requirements of the High Command were no longer realistic, since they did not meet the rapidly changing situation.

And at this time, the position of the troops of the Western Front was becoming more and more critical: “The enemy, having bypassed the right flank of the army, is striking in the Lida direction ...,” the commander of the 3rd Army, General Kuznetsov, reported to the front headquarters, “we have no reserves, and we have to parry the attack.” nothing." By the end of the first day of the war, the troops of the North-Western, Western and South-Western Fronts, under the unrelenting pressure of the enemy, were forced to retreat, fighting rearguard battles.

The events of June 22 took place differently on the flanks of the Soviet-German front, where the enemy was not active or acted with limited forces. This allowed the Soviet troops, operating in a relatively calm environment, to advance to the border and occupy defensive lines according to cover plans.

In general, by the end of the first day of military operations in the western direction, an extremely difficult situation had developed for the Red Army. The enemy forestalled formations and covering units in occupying defensive zones and lines. By the end of the day, the advanced detachments of the German 2nd and 3rd tank groups had penetrated the defenses of the Soviet troops to a depth of 60 km. Thus, they began to cover the main forces of the Western Front from the north and south and created favorable conditions for their troops operating in other directions.

Thus ended the first day of the war. Under pressure from superior enemy forces, Soviet troops retreated into the interior of the country with heavy fighting. They still had a whole war ahead of them, which lasted 1418 days and nights. During the Great Patriotic War, undoubtedly, there were more fateful days for our country, but that first day will forever remain in the memory of the peoples of Russia.

“On June 21 at 21.00, a soldier who fled from the German army, Alfred Liskov, was detained at the Sokal commandant’s office. Since there was no translator at the commandant’s office, I ordered the commandant of the site, Captain Bershadsky, to deliver the soldier to the detachment headquarters in Vladimir by truck.

At 0.30 on June 22, 1941, the soldier arrived in Vladimir-Volynsk. Through an interpreter, at approximately 1 o'clock in the morning, soldier Liskov indicated that on June 22 at dawn the Germans were to cross the border. I immediately reported this to the person on duty at the military headquarters, Brigade Commissar Maslovsky. At the same time, I personally informed the commander of the 5th Army, Major General Potapov, by telephone, who was suspicious of my message and did not take it into account.

I personally was also not firmly convinced of the veracity of soldier Liskov’s message, but nevertheless I called the commandants of the sections and ordered to strengthen the security of the state border, to post special listeners to the river. Bug and in the event of the Germans crossing the river, destroy them with fire. At the same time, he ordered that if anything suspicious is noticed (any movement on the adjacent side), immediately report to me personally. I was at headquarters all the time.

At 1.00 on June 22, the commandants of the sites reported to me that nothing suspicious had been noticed on the adjacent side, everything was calm..."(“Mechanisms of War” with reference to RGVA, f. 32880, on. 5, d. 279, l. 2. Copy).

Despite doubts about the reliability of the information transmitted by the German soldier, and the skepticism towards it on the part of the commander of the 5th Army, it was promptly transferred “to the top”.

From a telephone message from the UNKGB in the Lvov region to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR.

" On June 22, 1941, at 3:10 a.m., the NKGB for the Lviv region sent the following message by telephone to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR: “The German corporal who crossed the border in the Sokal region revealed the following: his name is Liskov Alfred Germanovich, 30 years old, worker, carpenter of a furniture factory in Kolberg (Bavaria), where he left his wife, child, mother and father.

The corporal served in the 221st Engineer Regiment of the 15th Division. The regiment is located in the village of Tselenzha, 5 km north of Sokal. He was drafted into the army from the reserves in 1939.

He considers himself a communist, is a member of the Union of Red Front Soldiers, and says that life in Germany is very difficult for soldiers and workers.

Before the evening, his company commander, Lieutenant Schultz, gave the order and stated that tonight, after artillery preparation, their unit would begin crossing the Bug on rafts, boats and pontoons. As a supporter of Soviet power, having learned about this, he decided to run to us and inform us.”(“History in documents” with reference to “1941. Documents”. Soviet archives. “Izvestia of the CPSU Central Committee”, 1990, No. 4.”).

G.K. Zhukov recalls: “At about 24 hours on June 21, the commander of the Kyiv district M.P. Kirponos, who was at his command post in Ternopil, reported on the HF [...] another German soldier appeared in our units - 222- th infantry regiment of the 74th Infantry Division. He swam across the river, appeared to the border guards and reported that at 4 o'clock the German troops would go on the offensive. M. P. Kirponos was ordered to quickly transmit the directive to the troops to put them on combat readiness... ".

However, there was no time left. The above-mentioned chief of the 90th border detachment, M.S. Bychkovsky, continues his testimony as follows:

“...Due to the fact that the translators in the detachment are weak, I called a German language teacher from the city, who speaks excellent German, and Liskov again repeated the same thing, that is, that the Germans were preparing to attack the USSR at dawn on June 22, 1941. Named himself a communist and stated that he had come specifically to warn on his own initiative.

Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, I heard heavy 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..."(cit. source) The Great Patriotic War began.

03:00 - 13:00, General Staff - Kremlin. The first hours of the war

Was Germany's attack on the USSR completely unexpected? What did the generals, the General Staff and the People's Commissariat of Defense do in the first hours of the war? There is a version that they simply slept through the beginning of the war - both in the border units and in Moscow. With the news of the bombing of Soviet cities and the fascist troops going on the offensive, confusion and panic arose in the capital.

This is how G.K. Zhukov recalls the events of that night: “On the night of June 22, 1941, all employees of the General Staff and the People’s Commissariat of Defense were ordered to remain in their places. It was necessary to transmit to the districts as quickly as possible a directive to bring border troops to combat readiness. At this time, the People's Commissar of Defense and I were in continuous negotiations with district commanders and chiefs of staff, who reported to us about the increasing noise on the other side of the border. They received this information from border guards and forward covering units. Everything indicated that German troops were moving closer to the border."

The first message about the start of the war arrived at the General Staff at 3:07 a.m. on June 22, 1941.

Zhukov writes: “At 3:07 a.m. the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, F.S. Oktyabrsky, called me on HF and said: “The fleet’s VNOS [air surveillance, warning and communications] system reports that a large number of unknown aircraft are approaching from the sea; the fleet is in full combat readiness. I ask for instructions" [...]

“At 4 o’clock I spoke with F.S. again. Oktyabrsky. He reported in a calm tone: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike the ships was foiled. But there is destruction in the city."

As can be seen from these lines, the start of the war did not take the Black Sea Fleet by surprise. The air raid was repulsed.

03.30: Chief of Staff of the Western District, General Klimovskikh, reported on an enemy air raid on the cities of Belarus.

03:33 The chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reported on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine.

03:40: The commander of the Baltic district, General Kuznetsov, reported on the raid on Kaunas and other cities.

03:40: People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko ordered Chief of the General Staff G.K. Zhukov to call Stalin at the “Near Dacha” and report on the start of hostilities. After listening to Zhukov, Stalin ordered:

Come with Tymoshenko to the Kremlin. Tell Poskrebyshev to call all members of the Politburo.

04.10: Western and Baltic special districts reported the beginning of hostilities of German troops on land sectors.

At 4:30 a.m., members of the Politburo, People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko and Chief of the General Staff Zhukov gathered in the Kremlin. Stalin asked to urgently contact the German embassy.

The embassy reported that Ambassador Count von Schulenburg requests to be received for an urgent message. Molotov went to meet with Schulenberg. Returning to the office he said:

The German government declared war on us.

At 7:15 a.m., J.V. Stalin signed a directive to the Armed Forces of the USSR on repelling Hitler’s aggression.

At 9:30 a.m., J.V. Stalin, in the presence of S.K. Timoshenko and G.K. Zhukov, edited and signed a decree on mobilization and the introduction of martial law in the European part of the country, as well as on the formation of the High Command Headquarters and a number of other documents .

On the morning of June 22, it was decided that at 12 o’clock V. M. Molotov would address the people of the Soviet Union by radio with a Statement of the Soviet Government.

“J.V. Stalin,” recalls Zhukov, “being seriously ill, of course, could not make an appeal to the Soviet people. He and Molotov drew up a statement.”

“At about 13 o’clock I.V. Stalin called me,” Zhukov writes in his memoirs, “and said:

Our front commanders do not have sufficient experience in directing the combat operations of troops and, apparently, are somewhat at a loss. The Politburo decided to send you to the Southwestern Front as a representative of the High Command Headquarters. We will send Shaposhnikov and Kulik to the Western Front. I called them to my place and gave appropriate instructions. You need to fly immediately to Kyiv and from there, together with Khrushchev, go to the front headquarters in Ternopil.

I asked:

And who will lead the General Staff in such a difficult situation?
J.V. Stalin replied:

Leave Vatutin in charge.

Don't waste time, we'll get by somehow.

I called home so that they wouldn’t wait for me, and 40 minutes later I was already in the air. Then I just remembered that I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. The pilots helped me out by treating me to strong tea and sandwiches." (chronology compiled from the memoirs of G.K. Zhukov).

05:30. Hitler announces the start of war with the USSR

On June 22, 1941, at 5:30 a.m., Reich Minister Dr. Goebbels, in a special broadcast of Greater German Radio, read out Adolf Hitler’s appeal to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against the Soviet Union.

“...Today there are 160 Russian divisions on our border,” the address said, in particular. “In recent weeks, there have been continuous violations of this border, not only ours, but also in the far north and in Romania. Russian pilots are amused by this that they carelessly fly over this border, as if they want to show us that they already feel like the masters of this territory. On the night of June 17-18, Russian patrols again invaded the territory of the Reich and were driven out only after a long firefight. But now the hour has come when it is necessary to oppose this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow.

German people! At the moment, the greatest troop movement in terms of length and volume that the world has ever seen is taking place. In alliance with their Finnish comrades are the victorious fighters at Narvik near the Arctic Ocean. German divisions under the command of the conqueror of Norway defend Finnish soil together with Finnish heroes of the struggle for freedom under the command of their marshal. Formations of the German Eastern Front were deployed from East Prussia to the Carpathians. On the banks of the Prut and in the lower reaches of the Danube to the Black Sea coast, Romanian and German soldiers unite under the command of the head of state Antonescu.

The task of this front is no longer to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and thereby save everyone.

Therefore, today I have decided to once again place the fate and future of the German Reich and our people in the hands of our soldiers. May the Lord help us in this struggle!"

Battles along the entire front

Fascist troops went on the offensive along the entire front. Not everywhere the attack developed according to the scenario conceived by the German General Staff. The Black Sea Fleet repelled the air raid. In the south and north, the Wehrmacht failed to gain an overwhelming advantage. Here heavy positional battles ensued.

Army Group North came across fierce resistance from Soviet tankers near the city of Alytus. Capturing the crossing of the Neman was critical for the advancing German forces. Here, units of the 3rd Tank Group of the Nazis stumbled upon organized resistance from the 5th Tank Division.

Only dive bombers managed to break the resistance of Soviet tankers. The 5th Panzer Division did not have air cover and, under the threat of destruction of manpower and materiel, began to retreat.

Bombers dived at Soviet tanks before noon on June 23. The division lost almost all its armored vehicles and, in fact, ceased to exist. However, on the first day of the war, the tankers did not leave the line and stopped the advance of fascist troops deeper into the country.

The main blow of the German troops fell on Belarus. Here the Brest Fortress stood in the way of the Nazis. In the first seconds of the war, a hail of bombs fell on the city, followed by heavy artillery fire. After which units of the 45th Infantry Division went on the attack.

The hurricane fire of the Nazis took the defenders of the fortress by surprise. However, the garrison, numbering 7-8 thousand people, offered fierce resistance to the advancing German units.

By mid-day on June 22, the Brest Fortress was completely surrounded. Part of the garrison managed to escape from the “cauldron”; part was blocked and continued to resist.

By the evening of the first day of the war, the Nazis managed to capture the southwestern part of the fortress city, the northeast was under the control of Soviet troops. Foci of resistance remained in fascist-controlled territories.

Despite complete encirclement and overwhelming superiority in men and equipment, the Nazis were unable to break the resistance of the defenders of the Brest Fortress. Skirmishes continued here until November 1941.

The battle for air supremacy

From the first minutes of the war, the USSR Air Force entered into a fierce battle with enemy aircraft. The attack was sudden; some of the planes did not have time to take off from the airfields and were destroyed on the ground. The Belarusian Military District took the greatest blow. The 74th attack air regiment, which was based in Pruzhany, was attacked at about 4 a.m. by Messerschmitts. The regiment did not have air defense systems, the planes were not dispersed, as a result of which enemy aircraft destroyed the equipment as if at a training ground.

A completely different situation arose in the 33rd Fighter Aviation Regiment. Here the pilots entered the battle at 3.30 in the morning, when Lieutenant Mochalov’s flight shot down a German plane over Brest. This is how the Aviation Encyclopedia “Corner of the Sky” website describes the battle of the 33rd IAP (article by A. Gulyas):

“Soon about 20 He-111s flew into the regiment’s airfield under the cover of a small group of Bf-109s. At that time there was only one squadron there, which took off and entered into battle. Soon it was joined by the other three squadrons, returning from patrolling the Brest-Kobrin area . In the battle, the enemy lost 5 aircraft. Two He-111s were destroyed by Lieutenant Gudimov. He won his last victory at 5.20 am, by ramming a German bomber. Twice more, the regiment successfully intercepted large groups of Heinkels on the far approaches to the airfield. After another interception, those returning Already on the last liters of fuel, the regiment's I-16s were attacked by Messerschmitts. No one could take off to help. The airfield was subjected to continuous attack for almost an hour. By 10 o'clock in the morning there was not a single aircraft left in the regiment capable of taking off..."

The 123rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, whose airfield was located near the town of Imenin, just like the 74th Attack Aviation Regiment, did not have anti-aircraft cover. However, its pilots were in the air from the first minutes of the war:

“By 5.00 in the morning, B.N. Surin already had a personal victory - he shot down a Bf-109. On the fourth combat flight, being seriously wounded, he brought his Seagull to the airfield, but was unable to land. Apparently, he died in the cockpit during leveling ... Boris Nikolaevich Surin fought 4 battles, personally shot down 3 German planes. But this did not become a record. The best sniper of the day was the young pilot Ivan Kalabushkin: at dawn he destroyed two Ju-88s, closer to noon - a He-111, and At sunset, two Bf-109s fell victims to his nimble Seagulls!..” - reports the Aviation Encyclopedia.

“About eight in the morning, four fighters, piloted by Mr. M.P. Mozhaev, Lt. G.N. Zhidov, P.S. Ryabtsev and Nazarov, took off against eight Messerschmitt-109s. Taking Zhidov’s car in pincers , the Germans knocked it out. Helping out a comrade, Mozhaev shot down one fascist. Zhidov set fire to the second. Having used up the ammunition, Ryabtsev rammed the third enemy. Thus, in this battle the enemy lost 3 vehicles, and we lost one. For 10 hours, the pilots of the 123rd IAP fought "Heavy battles, performing 10 -14 and even 17 sorties. The technicians, working under enemy fire, ensured the readiness of the aircraft. During the day, the regiment shot down about 30 (according to other sources, more than 20) enemy aircraft, losing 9 of its own in the air."

Unfortunately, in the conditions of lack of communication and reigning confusion, the timely delivery of ammunition and fuel was not organized. The fighting vehicles fought until the last drop of gasoline and the last cartridge. After which they froze dead on the airfield and became easy prey for the Nazis.

The total losses of Soviet aircraft on the first day of the war amounted to 1,160 aircraft.

12:00. Radio speech by V.M. Molotov

At noon on June 22, 1941, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov read out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union:

"CITIZENS AND CITIZENS OF THE SOVIET UNION!

The Soviet government and its head, Comrade Stalin, instructed me to make the following statement:

Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without presenting any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed our cities from their planes - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Enemy aircraft raids and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory.

This unheard of attack on our country is a treachery unparalleled in the history of civilized nations. The attack on our country was carried out despite the fact that a non-aggression treaty was concluded between the USSR and Germany and the Soviet government fulfilled all the terms of this treaty in all good faith. The attack on our country was carried out despite the fact that during the entire duration of this treaty the German government could never make a single claim against the Soviet Union regarding the implementation of the treaty. All responsibility for this predatory attack on the Soviet Union falls entirely on the German fascist rulers.

After the attack, the German Ambassador in Moscow Schulenburg at 5:30 a.m. made me, as the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, a statement on behalf of his government that the German government had decided to go to war against the Soviet Union in connection with the concentration of Red Army units near eastern German border.

In response to this, on behalf of the Soviet government, I stated that until the last minute the German government did not make any claims against the Soviet government, that Germany carried out an attack on the Soviet Union, despite the peace-loving position of the Soviet Union, and that thereby fascist Germany is the attacking party .

On behalf of the government of the Soviet Union, I must also state that at no point did our troops and our aviation allow the border to be violated, and therefore the statement made by Romanian radio this morning that Soviet aviation allegedly fired at Romanian airfields is a complete lie and provocation. The entire today’s declaration by Hitler, who is trying to retroactively concoct incriminating material about the Soviet Union’s non-compliance with the Soviet-German Pact, is the same lie and provocation.

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.

This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose suffering we well understand, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French, Czechs, Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples .

The Government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and the brave falcons of Soviet aviation will honorably fulfill their duty to their homeland, to the Soviet people, and will deal a crushing blow to the aggressor.
This is not the first time our people have had to deal with an attacking, arrogant enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon’s campaign in Russia with a Patriotic War and Napoleon was defeated and came to his collapse. The same will happen to the arrogant Hitler, who announced a new campaign against our country. The Red Army and all our people will again wage a victorious patriotic war for their homeland, for honor, for freedom.

The Government of the Soviet Union expresses its firm confidence that the entire population of our country, all workers, peasants and intellectuals, men and women, will treat their duties and their work with due consciousness. Our entire people must now be united and united as never before. Each of us must demand from ourselves and from others discipline, organization, and dedication worthy of a true Soviet patriot in order to provide all the needs of the Red Army, Navy and Air Force to ensure victory over the enemy.

The government calls on you, citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally your 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".

The first atrocities of the Nazis

The first case of atrocities by the German army on the territory of the Soviet Union occurred on the first day of the war. On June 22, 1941, the Nazis, advancing, broke into the village of Albinga, Klaipeda region of Lithuania.

The soldiers robbed and burned all the houses. The residents - 42 people - were herded into a barn and locked. During the day of June 22, the Nazis killed several people - beaten to death or shot.

The very next morning, the systematic extermination of people began. Groups of peasants were taken out of the barn and shot in cold blood. First, all the men, then the turn came to women and children. Those who tried to escape into the forest were shot in the back.

In 1972, a memorial ensemble to the victims of fascism was created near Ablinga.

The first summary of the Great Patriotic War

SUMMARY OF THE RED ARMY CHIEF COMMAND
for 22.VI. - 1941

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 KRISTYNOPOLE directions did the enemy manage to achieve minor tactical successes and occupy the towns of KALVARIYA, STOYANOW and TSEKHANOWEC (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. from RIA Novosti funds

23:00 (GMT). Winston Churchill's speech on BBC radio

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a statement on June 22 at 23:00 GMT in connection with the aggression of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union.

“...The Nazi regime has the worst features of communism,” in particular, he said on BBC radio. “It has no foundations or principles other than greed and the desire for racial domination. In its cruelty and furious aggressiveness, it surpasses all forms of humankind.” depravity. Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than I. I will not take back a single word that I said about it. But all this pales before the spectacle that is now unfolding. The past with its crimes, follies and tragedies is disappearing.

I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial.

I see them guarding their homes, where their mothers and wives pray - yes, for there are times when everyone prays - for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, their protector and support.

I see tens of thousands of Russian villages, where livelihoods are torn from the ground with such difficulty, but where primordial human joys exist, where girls laugh and children play.

I see the vile Nazi war machine approaching all this with its dapper, spur-clanging Prussian officers, with its skilled agents who have just pacified and tied a dozen countries hand and foot.

I also see a gray, trained, obedient mass of fierce Hun soldiers, advancing like clouds of crawling locusts.

I see in the sky German bombers and fighters with still unhealed scars from the wounds inflicted on them by the British, rejoicing that they have found, as it seems to them, easier and more certain prey.

Behind all this noise and thunder, I see a bunch of villains who are planning, organizing and bringing this avalanche of disasters upon humanity... I must declare the decision of His Majesty's Government, and I am sure that the great dominions will agree with this decision in due time, for we must speak out immediately, without a single day of delay. I must make a statement, but can you doubt what our policy will be?

We have only one unchanging goal. We are determined to destroy Hitler and all traces of the Nazi regime. Nothing can turn us away from this, nothing. We will never come to an agreement, we will never enter into negotiations with Hitler or with anyone from his gang. We will fight him on land, we will fight him by sea, we will fight him in the air, until, with God's help, we have rid the earth of his very shadow and freed the nations from his yoke. Any person or state that fights against Nazism will receive our help. Any person or state that goes with Hitler is our enemy...

This is our policy, this is our statement. It follows that we will provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can..."