Topic: “Reasons for the failure of the plan for a lightning war with Finland”
Target abstract: explain why the lightning war plan of the Soviet General Staff failed in the Winter War of 1939-1940.
Abstract problems: It is very difficult to conduct an accurate analysis of the war of 1939-1940 due to the presence of Soviet propaganda in Russian publications and excessive sympathy for the Finns in foreign literature. Only recently have relatively reliable information and declassified archives emerged.
abstract objectives:
study literature on the preparation and beginning of military operations of the Soviet-Finnish campaign.
to figure out, why did the small Finnish army manage to resist the superior Red Army?
Explain, what were the main reasons for the huge losses of the USSR.
Literature
Beginning of the war
War plans
Soviet command
Finnish command
Soviet army
Finnish army
Mannerheim Line as the main defensive line
Literature
Shirokorad A. B. Northern wars of Russia
Baryshnikov V.N. From a cool peace to a winter war: Finland’s Eastern policy in the 1930s
"M. I. Semiryaga. Secrets of Stalin's diplomacy. 1941-1945". Publishing house "Higher School", Moscow, 1992.
“Finnish granites, centuries-old granites.” Peaceful discussion about the “winter war”, with the participation of M. Semiryagi, V. Baryshnikov, the Ambassador of Finland to Russia and others. © 1995 Rodina magazine
Meltyukhov M.I. “Stalin’s missed chance. The Soviet Union and the struggle for Europe: 1939-1941"
Mannerheim K. G. Memoirs. - M.: Vagrius, 1999
Milan Gnezda. "Finland in the Second World War" (in English)
Alexander Tvardovsky “Two Lines”, Library of Selected Lyrics. Moscow, “Young Guard”, 1964 - a poem dedicated to the memory of Soviet soldiers who died during the war
The Diplomacy of the Winter War: An Account of the Russo-Finnish War, 1939-1940 (Hardcover) by Max Jakobson, ISBN 0-674-20950-8.
V. E. Bystrov. Soviet commanders and military leaders, 1988
History of the Second World War 1939-1945. Military Publishing House, 1974
Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Olma-Press, 2005
Beginning of the war
In the early morning of November 30, 1939, the Soviet-Finnish border exploded with artillery cannonade, under the cover of which Red Army units crossed the border and launched an offensive deep into Finnish territory. The reason for this war was the dissatisfaction of the Soviet Union and General Secretary Stalin personally with the USSR’s “request” to give up a small territory of Finland in order to move the border away from Leningrad (a large industrial and political center) by at least 70 km. In exchange, a larger territory was offered, but less profitable. After lengthy negotiations, the Finnish government did not change its decision. The pretext was the shelling of the Russian settlement of Maynila, set up by NKVD officers. This campaign was not only one of the bloodiest for the USSR, but also had negative results in foreign policy - a war almost started against the Soviet Union across the entire European continent (both British and German divisions were transferred to the combat zone. The USSR was excluded from the League of Nations.
Perhaps the only positive was that the Red Army learned the bitter lessons of this war, which made it possible to more effectively resist subsequent fascist aggression.
Balance of forces at the beginning of the war
|
Finnish army |
Red Army |
Ratio | |
|
Divisions, settlement |
14 |
24 |
1:1,7 |
|
Personnel |
265 000 |
425 640 |
1:1,6 |
|
Guns and mortars |
534 |
2 876 |
1:5,4 |
|
Tanks |
26 |
2 289 |
1:88 |
|
Aircraft |
270 |
2 446 |
1:9,1 |
The Finnish army entered the war poorly armed - the list below indicates how many days of the war the supplies in the warehouses lasted:
Cartridges for rifles, machine guns and machine guns for - 2.5 months
Shells for mortars, field guns and howitzers - 1 month
Fuels and lubricants - for 2 months
Aviation gasoline - for 1 month
Plans and preparations for war
“Let's start today... We will just raise our voices a little, and the Finns will only have to obey. If they persist, we will fire only one shot, and the Finns will immediately raise their hands and surrender” (Stalin’s speech in the Kremlin on the eve of the war).
The Soviet command envisaged a direct breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line and further advancement deep into Finnish territory to the capital of Finland, Helsinki. The command envisioned a quick, lightning-fast war with “little bloodshed”; they wanted to crush the enemy with numerical and qualitative superiority. Most of the General Staff, including Stalin, supported this war plan. Only B.M. really looked at things. Shaposhnikov, who understood the possible consequences of such an ill-conceived plan. He advocated more thorough preparation for combat operations and a more detailed study of the enemy. For this point of view, Shaposhnikov almost lost his post, but later it was for this point of view that he was appointed commander of the General Staff and Marshal of the Soviet Union.
The Finnish plan was thought out much more sensibly and carefully. From the very moment of the formation of the state, all military force was aimed at defending the southern borders from the USSR. The entire south of the country was dotted with defensive structures, the main defensive line being the Mannerheim Line. Most of the Finnish fleet and coastal guns were located on Lake Ladoga. There were no defensive lines in the swampy areas, but special detachments of partisans were being trained, which in small groups were ideally trained to conduct combat operations in such areas. From the border areas, people were resettled inland; in these areas, roads were also deliberately destroyed and the terrain was swamped to impede the movement of equipment and large infantry units.
In foreign policy, the Finns established friendly relations with their closest neighbors and Western European countries. A military alliance was concluded with Estonia; airfields were built in the country to receive British, American and German cargo and to base Allied aircraft there.
So, one of the most important reasons for the large losses of the USSR in the winter war was the self-confidence and carelessness in the actions of the Soviet General Staff, which led to senseless deaths where they could have been avoided. The Finnish command, on the contrary, was ideally prepared for war in terms of tactics and strategy for a long war, in which the emphasis was placed precisely on depleting the advancing enemy forces, rather than gaining strategic superiority.
Soviet command
General Staff of the Red Army: K.E. Voroshilov, S.K. Timoshenko, B.M. Shaposhnikov
K.E. Voroshilov
K.E. Voroshilov worked at a metallurgical plant before the revolution. He took part in popular protests, for which he was arrested many times. His military career actually began in November 1917, when he was appointed commissar of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee. In the same year, he organized the first Lugansk detachment, which defended Kharkov from German-Austrian troops.
In the years Civil War- Commander of the Tsaritsyn group of forces, deputy commander and member of the Military Council of the Southern Front, commander of the 10th Army, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, commander of the Kharkov Military District, commander of the 14th Army and the internal Ukrainian Front. After the death of M. V. Frunze, Voroshilov headed the military department of the USSR.
In 1940, after the end of the war, Timoshenko was replaced in his post by personal order of Stalin.
S.K. Tymoshenko
Tymoshenko graduated from a rural school. In 1915 he was drafted into the army. He took part in the First World War, fighting on the Western Front as a machine gunner. In the Red Army since 1918. Commanded a platoon or squadron. In August 1918, at the head of a cavalry regiment, he participated in the defense of Tsaritsyn, from November 1918 - commander of a cavalry brigade (from June 1919 - in the corps of S. M. Budyonny). Member of the RCP(b) since 1919. In November 1919 - August 1920 commander of the 6th, from August 1920 to October 1921 - 4th Cavalry Division of the 1st Cavalry Army. He was wounded five times, but did not leave the line. For military exploits during the Civil War, he was awarded three Orders of the Red Banner and an Honorary Revolutionary Weapon.
He graduated from the Higher Military Academic Courses in 1922 and 1927, and the courses for single commanders at the N. G. Tolmachev Military-Political Academy in 1930. Commanded the 3rd and 6th Cavalry Corps. From August 1933 - deputy commander of the Belorussian troops, from September 1935 of the Kyiv Military District. From June 1937, commander of the troops of the North Caucasus, from September 1937 - of the Kharkov, from February 1938 - of the Kyiv Special Military District.
So, Tymoshenko had sufficient combat experience, but had less power compared to Voroshilov, who received his rank more for party activities than for military operations.
B.M. Shaposhnikov
In 1901-1903 B. M. Shaposhnikov studied at the Moscow Alekseevsky Military School, from which he graduated in the 1st category and was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. He began serving in the 1st Turkestan Rifle Battalion in Tashkent.
In 1907-1910 studied at the Academy of the General Staff (Imperial Nicholas Military Academy). Promoted to staff captain. After graduating from the academy, he continued his service in Tashkent, where he served until 1912.
From August 1914 he participated in the First World War as an adjutant at the headquarters of the 14th Cavalry Division , showed good knowledge of tactics, showed personal courage. In September 1917, B. M. Shaposhnikov was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed commander of the Mingrelian Grenadier Regiment.
The Winter War became the peak of his career, when it turned out that he was the only one of the entire General Staff who was right about Finland.
The commander-in-chief of the Finnish army was Carl Gustav Mannerheim. This officer had enormous combat experience: from 1887-1917, Mannerheim served in the Russian army, starting his service as a cornet and ending with the rank of lieutenant general, that is, he commanded an entire division. On the side of the Russian army, he participated in the Russo-Japanese War, an expedition to China, and led a garrison in Poland.
Mannerheim gained his greatest combat experience during the First World War (he also took part on the side of the Russian Empire). He proved himself to be one of the best officers in the Russian army. He defeated the outnumbered Austrian forces in the city of Krasnik (defensive-offensive operation), broke out of encirclement with his division in 1914, took the city of Janow, ensured a successful crossing of the San River, held the city of Chernivtsi and carried out many other successful military operations, for which During the war, he received the St. George Cross, 4th degree, the Golden Arms of St. George, and the Order of St. Svyatoslav, 1st degree.
During the revolution of 1917, he defended the independence of Finland from the Bolsheviks and helped the White Guard in the fight against the Red Army. After the revolution, he also remained true to his principles and recognized the Bolsheviks as his main enemies.
After the revolution and before the Finnish War, Mannerheim devoted his life to preparing Finland for the inevitable war with the USSR.
As a politician, he improved relations with all European countries, primarily hoping for help from England, France, Germany and even the USA. In relations with the USSR, he did everything to delay the war, but did not make concessions. In fact, he was not only the commander-in-chief, but also managed the country's foreign and domestic policy, although he officially became president only towards the end of the Second World War.
As commander-in-chief, he reformed the army according to the country's industrial capabilities. Realizing that the only advantage of his army could only be strategy, he appointed only the most successful commanders, and the appointments did not depend on the relationship of these people with Mannerheim or other factors. Mannerheim personally took part in most strategic decisions (even minor ones). By the beginning of the war, in fact, he had the greatest knowledge of defensive warfare in the world. Carl Gustav studied the construction of defensive fortifications in China (“scattered” small well-fortified structures), in France (Maginot Line), in Germany and other countries.
So, Mannerheim was not only an experienced commander, he was also very influential, despite his failure in the presidential elections. This gave him virtually no restrictions in his actions (unlike Soviet commanders, who were very limited in their actions).
Despite the defeat in the Soviet-Finnish war, Mannerheim received universal popular recognition and became a national hero.
It is safe to say that one of the most important reasons for the large losses of the USSR in the Northern War was the actions of the experienced and influential Finnish commander-in-chief, Carl Gustav Mannerheim.
In the winter war, the USSR involved 24 rifle divisions (about 1,000,000 soldiers), 3,000 tanks, and 3,800 aircraft.
The average Soviet rifle division consisted of 14.5 - 15 thousand soldiers. These were 14,000 riflemen and 419 machine gunners. The division included about 200 heavy machine guns, 32 anti-aircraft stationary machine guns, about 30 mortars and about 70 heavy long-range and light anti-tank guns. Motorized divisions were also equipped with equipment for transporting guns, ammunition and people, but the vast majority of divisions still used manpower for this purpose (about 300 horses). Commissars were assigned to each rifle unit - distinguished party members who were supposed to monitor the implementation of the orders of the General Staff, prevent the arbitrariness of commanders and raise the morale of the soldiers. In reality, the commissars only prevented division commanders and lower-ranking officers from acting more effectively.
The main weapon of the Red Army was the Mosin rifle - a weapon of the late 19th century. Although the rifle was indeed reliable, its combat qualities were at a very low level. While most armies in the world (not excluding the Finnish one) were switching to automatic carbines, the military industry of the USSR was in full swing arming the army with “reliable” and “more than once proven indispensable” Mosin rifles.
Aviation was represented mainly by TB-3 tactical bombers. The plane by that time was already outdated, but nevertheless effective. The small concentration of air defense and the enemy’s lack of a large number of their own fighters made it possible to use these tactical bombers quite effectively. But even here there were problems - both the pilots and the Air Force command did not have sufficient experience and ability to use military aviation, the General Staff considered the development of Air Force doctrines a waste of time and money. The result was a lack of coordination of air strikes, which led to a huge number inaccurate strikes and air force losses where they could have been avoided. There is much more to prove successful application"Mitchels" and "Flying Fortresses" by the Americans in the Pacific War under similar conditions against the Japanese (although there they were opposed by sometimes superior Japanese "Zero" fighters in numbers and even quality).
The basis of the country's tank armament were light tanks of the BT series ("high-speed tanks") - in fact, they were used in the winter war and constituted the striking power of the Red Army. On the one hand, Russian tanks were some of the best in the world at that time and, according to the calculations of the Soviet command, they were the ones who were supposed to break through the Mannerheim Line. However, this was initially a failed plan - even without Finnish fortifications, the area for the use of tanks was very, very unfavorable. Many vehicles did not even reach the front - they sank in swamps, overturned in ravines, got stuck in the mud, the engines stalled at fifty degrees below zero, the tracks broke every minute... At the same time, the crew of the vehicle had to “fight” for the vehicle to the last - those who abandoned the tank were court-martialed as deserters and traitors. The cabins were not prepared for frost, so with the engines turned off, the crews froze right at the combat post, and the tank itself most often fell into the hands of the Finns and could later be used against the Red Army.
Moreover, tankers were forbidden to even camouflage their tanks, that is, in a snowy landscape, Soviet tanks were green. The ban was due to ideological considerations - the Red Army is the strongest in the world, it needs to hide.
So, the Red Army, having a numerical and sometimes even qualitative advantage, was absolutely not prepared for war. Moreover, in such a situation, the created multiple numerical advantage was only worse for the attackers. Many factors were not taken into account, the main one
of which - weather. Fanaticism imposed on soldiers and commanders instead of fortitude created new problems.
On the Finnish side, almost the entire army was involved in the war. This is from 14 infantry divisions (that is, 265 thousand soldiers), only 30 tanks and 130 aircraft. That is, the Finns were inferior in infantry by 4 times, in aircraft by 29 times, and in tanks by 100 times. The Finns also had fewer guns, and these were mainly light mortars. Finland had enough supplies for an effective war for two months...
The Finnish division had much less equipment compared to the Soviet one. These were 11 - 11.5 thousand soldiers. As in the USSR army, riflemen predominated (11 thousand rifles). The Finns used modifications of the famous Berdanka rifle, created in 1870 in the USA. There were also fewer machine gunners in the division - about a hundred. The main advantage of the Finnish division over the Soviet one was its elite fighters armed with automatic rifles (250 units). There were about 30-50 guns of various calibers, about 12 mortars.
The Finnish army was inferior in almost all respects. Their tactics and ability to use absolutely everything against the enemy amazed tacticians all over the world.
The Finns used not only their own advantages, but also even the advantages of the enemy. Numerical superiority turned against the USSR on the well-thought-out defensive lines of the Finns, technical superiority resulted in a large number of non-combat losses in areas swamped by the Finns.
The Finns fought a guerrilla war, and these were not civilians, but specially trained sabotage squads(analogous to the American Rangers), whose goal is to inflict the greatest damage on the enemy in his rear. The saboteurs disabled tanks and even planes at bases, intercepted convoys with ammunition and fuel, killed staff commanders, blew up bridges and warehouses, and simply destroyed enemy personnel. The partisans moved on skis; after striking, they retreated in an orderly manner.
Winter War is also known for its snipers. Hiding in a tree or other convenient position, the Finnish sniper waited for hours for the enemy. When an enemy convoy, patrol, or simply a group of opponents was detected, he fired two or three accurate shots at a great distance, and then changed position or quickly skied into the forest, where after a snowfall it was almost impossible to find him...
Finnish artillerymen are also known for their actions. Using light artillery (mortars), they could quickly shoot ammunition onto the heads of opponents and change position before they were discovered. Although Finland had fewer artillery pieces, their artillery was more effective than the Soviet one. According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, if the Soviet artillerymen could not even approximately determine the location of the Finnish guns, then the Finns hit the Russian batteries with the third shot - “The first shell was undershot, the second shell was overshoot, the third shell exactly covered our gun.” This is explained by the adjustment of the fire of Finnish guns by Finnish gunners, under whose supervision most of the positions were Soviet troops.
The Mannerheim Line is a complex of defensive structures on the Karelian Isthmus, created to defend Finland from Soviet aggression. The length of the line is about 135 km, width (depth) from 45 to 90 km.
Construction of the line began in 1918 and continued until 1939. The first project involved the construction of a relatively small defensive line to defend a railway line. However, it was decided to increase the scale of the project and extend the line to almost the entire border with the USSR.
The creation of the line was led by the German colonel Baron von Barndestein and directly by Karl Gustav Mannerheim himself. 300,000 marks were allocated for construction; Finnish and German sappers, as well as Soviet prisoners of war, worked.
In fact, only Mannerheim was involved in the main construction planning, and there were relatively few German sappers. For the marshal, something else was important - these events improved relations between Finland and Germany and worsened relations between Germans and Russians. This increased the chances that in the future Germany would act on the side of the Finns against the USSR.
As already mentioned, Mannerheim studied many defensive lines around the world and had enormous knowledge on the construction of defensive lines. And although the concentration of guns, trenches, bunkers and bunkers was much less than, for example, on Maginot, the line was no less effective - the emphasis was on the depth of defense and the tactical location of firing points.
The Mannerheim Line consisted of several defensive lines. Even before the zone of destruction of the Finnish guns, stones were placed and barbed wire was strung. Barbed wire hampered the advance of infantry, and rocks impeded the advance of tanks. The principle of operation was simple and ingenious - the tank ran over one cobblestone with one caterpillar track, and the other remained on the ground. As a result, the tank either lost its tracks or completely overturned. The only tank capable of crossing such a line due to its rather high landing, the BT-5, had too weak armor, so it was most likely shot at from anti-tank guns in front. The first line was bunkers located in a checkerboard pattern and connected by trenches (this made it possible to supply ammunition and reinforcements where needed). It was difficult to distinguish the bunkers from an ordinary hill or hillock - due to the age of construction, natural camouflage arose at the firing points. Two bunkers - in the west and east - were located on the front flank, and the central firing point was on the rear flank. As a result, the entire territory ahead was within the radius of machine gun fire from at least one of the machine guns, and if the attack was in the center, then the enemy would even fall under crossfire. Moreover, this arrangement did not allow the enemy to penetrate deep into the defense - suppose a company broke through the first line and destroyed the central firing point on the rear flank, and immediately came under fire from flanking machine guns. The fighters found themselves under heavy fire and were cut off from their own, so they could no longer receive ammunition or reinforcements...
If tanks broke forward, they immediately came under heavy fire from the second line - anti-tank guns. The anti-tank guns were followed by anti-aircraft guns and long-range artillery, and then again by anti-personnel positions, etc. All the lines had pillboxes and bunkers. And if the bunkers were abandoned or occupied again (depending on whether there was an attack or not), then the concrete pillboxes were the permanent residence of the Finnish fighters. They lived there for months and years, had all the conditions for this, even a warehouse with food and ammunition. There was also radio communication with headquarters, machine gun nests and anti-tank rifle nests. The pillbox itself was practically invulnerable even to heavy guns; it could only be taken by infantry, inevitably with heavy losses.
Page 1
|
|
First World War was fought on almost a dozen fronts in different parts of the globe. The main fronts were the Western, where German troops fought against British, French and Belgian troops, and the Eastern, where Russian troops confronted the combined forces of the Austro-Hungarian and German armies. The human, raw material and food resources of the Entente countries significantly exceeded those of the Central Powers, so the chances of Germany and Austria-Hungary to win a war on two fronts were slim. The German command understood this and therefore relied on a “lightning war.” The military action plan, developed by the Chief of the German General Staff von Schlieffen, proceeded from the fact that Russia would need at least a month and a half to concentrate its troops. During this time, it was planned to defeat France and force it to surrender. Then it was planned to transfer all German troops against Russia. According to the Schlieffen Plan, the war was supposed to end in 2 months. But these calculations did not come true. Already in the first days of the war, the German command faced fierce resistance from the Belgians, who stubbornly defended the fortresses of Maubeuge and Antwerp. French troops, reinforced by English units, although they were retreating to Paris, also fought steadfastly, breaking the plans of the German generals. Russia rushed to the aid of France already in the first days of the war. Two Russian armies, not having time to fully deploy their forces, launched an attack on East Prussia in mid-August. Almost simultaneously, Russia launched a major offensive against the Austro-Hungarian troops in Galicia. In order to contain the Russian offensive, the German command was forced to transfer two army corps from the Western Front to the East and thereby abandon attempts to deeply cover the French capital, provided for by the Schlieffen Plan. In the Battle of the Marne River on September 3-10, 1914, Anglo-French troops stopped the German advance on Paris and even managed to launch a counteroffensive for a short time. One and a half million people took part in this battle. Losses on both sides amounted to almost 600 thousand killed and wounded. The result of the Battle of the Marne was the final failure of the “lightning war” plans. Weakened German army began to dig into the trenches. The Western Front, stretching from the Channel to the Swiss border, stabilized by the end of 1914. Both sides began building earthen and concrete fortifications. The wide strip in front of the trenches was mined and covered with thick rows of barbed wire. The war on the Western Front turned from a maneuver to a positional one. Advance of Russian troops in East Prussia ended unsuccessfully, they were defeated and partially destroyed in the Masurian swamps. The offensive of the Russian army under the Command of General Brusilov in Galicia and Bukovina, on the contrary, threw back the Austro-Hungarian units to the Carpathians. By the end of 1914, there was also a respite on the Military front. The warring parties switched to a long trench war.
On September 5, the high command of the German armed forces issued order No. 35 to prepare an attack on Moscow. It was planned to be applied after the implementation of the main previous steps. Blitz operations in Ukraine were of particular importance in Hitler's plans. Only after their successful completion at the end of September and beginning of October was it planned to move on to the most important thing - the attack on Moscow. It is no coincidence that in the summer of 1941 the Nazis concentrated their main forces on the southern front.
Careful preparation for a strike on the capital
According to Hitler’s initial assumptions, the capital of the USSR was supposed to fall in September, but subsequently no one chose to return to the goals loudly proclaimed at the beginning. Indeed, according to some of the most optimistic forecasts, Moscow was planned to be captured during July. In the second half of September, on the occasion of the three-month anniversary of the opening of the Eastern Front, the successes of the German army and its allies were actively recalled everywhere. However, the real situation at the front was by no means rosy. September was coming to an end, and the Wehrmacht soldiers never marched through the streets of Leningrad or the streets of Moscow. The July directives on a breakthrough through Rostov to the Caucasus and the Volga were not implemented either. Despite the initially rapid advance, the Nazis failed to break the spirit and combat effectiveness of the Red Army, and they failed to win the sympathy of the majority of the Soviet people. As it soon turned out, the estimates of the Red Army's reserves for further battles were also extremely erroneous. The sixth of September was a very important day in Hitler's Wolf's Lair. It was then that the adjutant handed Hitler a folder with order number 35. This was a detailed plan for further actions against Soviet army, which was supposed to finally and irrevocably decide the outcome of the war on the Eastern Front in favor of Hitler’s army. Already on the same day, the commanders received orders to prepare for an operation against the army of General Timoshenko. Only after the defeat of the main part of the Soviet army was Army Group Center supposed to begin pursuing the retreating Soviet troops in the direction of Moscow. In preparation for the decisive clash, all aspects were worked out to the smallest detail, including plans for the delivery of ammunition, ammunition, transport, provisions and the formation of new divisions. All the necessary tasks included a precise time plan for the strike on Moscow to be a real success. On the detailed map of the Eastern Front in Hitler's bunker, all events were marked with all the appropriate signs: the concentration of troops, their advance, the current situation, a review of reserves and expected new attacks as part of planned operations. Already at the beginning of September, Hitler also discussed among his closest associates the next plans for the occupied territory of the USSR. Then he literally said the following: “When settling Russian territories with peasants of the Reich, they must live in the best, most beautiful houses. German institutions should be located in the most beautiful buildings, Reich Commissioners - in palaces. Around the cities at a distance of 30 - 40 kilometers there will be comfortable villages connected to each other by excellent roads. Next there will be a different world in which we will let the Russians live the way they want. The main thing is that we will control them. In the event of a revolution, it is enough to drop a few bombs on their cities, and everything will be fine. What India is for England, the eastern territories will be for us. We will send Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, and Dutch to Siberia to help. We will carry out the planned racial policy. We will no longer allow a single German to leave Europe for England. We will not drain the swamps, but will take only the best land. We will set up extensive military training grounds in the marshy areas.”
Tremendous power at work
For the main attack on Moscow, Hitler attracted 1.6 million people and the most modern technology. A large-scale attack on the Soviet capital began on October 2, 1941. Subsequently, Soviet generals stated that on some days the advance of enemy forces was so rapid that even the General Staff did not believe it. At first glance, the situation on the central sector of the front was developing very favorably for the Wehrmacht. Already on the third of October Oryol was captured. A day later, Soviet units were surrounded near Bryansk. Over the next two days Yukhnov was busy. During this period, Hitler waited every day for Soviet surrender, but it never happened. In mid-October, the Wehrmacht reached the Moscow defense zone. However, each subsequent day proved that progress was slowing down. On the one hand, there was the influence of the weather, and on the other hand, there was also a deterioration in the supply of the advancing troops. On October 24, reports came from the front that part of German troops is located just 60 kilometers from Moscow. Off-road progress became increasingly difficult, and the number of soldiers who fell ill due to the cold and insufficient uniforms and food grew. So the Nazis were forced to quickly build underground bunkers to escape harsh weather and fire from Soviet positions. At the end of October, Marshal von Bock decided to launch the final offensive on the first day of November in order to enter Moscow on the seventh of November - the day of an important Soviet public holiday. However supreme command did not give the necessary consent, but on the contrary, ordered no offensive actions to be taken in the near future.
When the German Army Group Center launched an offensive on the defensive lines near Rzhev and Vyazma on October 2, the goal was to capture Moscow by October 12 (this deadline has changed more than once since the beginning of Hitler’s eastern campaign). To achieve this goal, the Germans brought in almost half the divisions from the entire Eastern Front, 75% of tanks and more than a thousand aircraft. This was a truly enormous force, and it was clear that Hitler had put everything on one card and was really going to take the Soviet capital at any cost. After three days of fierce fighting, German forces still managed to break through the defenses on both sides of Vyazma, but the Germans encountered more resistance than expected. Kaluga was taken on October 12, Kalinin fell two days later, and Maloyaroslavets fell four days later. The very next day a state of siege was declared in Moscow. The diplomatic corps and government were ordered to evacuate to Kuibyshev. The General Staff and Politburo remained reduced in strength in Moscow. Large factories that worked for defense, scientific and cultural institutes were also taken away. On the approaches to Moscow, barricades and anti-tank fortifications were built at a rapid pace. The German attack was stopped on October 22 near Mtsensk, but the very next day it resumed in the northwest of the city and advanced towards Tula. But the Nazis failed to take it. The last German success of this period was the capture of Volokolamsk. Further off-road advance against fortified defenses became impossible. The fascist high command became more and more nervous every day. The majority of German generals did not hide their opinion that in the current situation the Fuhrer's orders for a further offensive were impossible to carry out. Thus, at the end of October, the first battle for Moscow practically ends. Despite the fact that in the middle of the month the situation was developing more than favorably for the Wehrmacht, and was taking a critical turn for the defenders of Moscow, the German troops failed to achieve their goal. After the war, Marshal Zhukov said that the most critical situation was in the period from October 6 to October 13.
Vain expectation of Soviet surrender
In Germany, mainly during October, optimism reigned. Fascist propaganda reported more and more successes on the Eastern Front. People were told that the USSR was teetering on the brink of an inevitable catastrophe, and that Stalin would soon capitulate. On October 2, in a daily address addressed to German soldiers on the Eastern Front, Hitler declared: “In just a few weeks, the three largest industrial areas of the Bolsheviks will be completely in our hands. We have finally created all the conditions for a powerful final blow that will destroy the enemy before the onset of winter. All the preparation that could have been done has already been completed. This time we carried it out systematically, step by step, to put the enemy in a position in which we could deal a fatal blow to him. Today begins the final, great and decisive battle of this year.” Just a day later, Hitler again addressed his soldiers with these words: “Forty-eight hours ago new operations of gigantic proportions began. They will lead to the destruction of our enemy in the east. The enemy has already been completely defeated, and he will never regain his strength.” German authorities increasingly talked about the final defeat of the USSR. The imperial press chief Dietrich did not lag behind, and on October 9 he stated the following verbatim: “Gentlemen, any decision of the German High Command is always implemented, no matter what the resistance. The new successes of German weapons prove that the outcome of the military campaign to the east is already predetermined. In the military sense of the word, Soviet Russia was already defeated. You cannot blame me for ever giving you erroneous information. Therefore, today I vouch with my good name for the veracity of this news.” Just on October 9, all Nazi radio stations and newspapers reported that the war in the east was almost over. On that day, Hitler also confidently declared that although the German troops still faced quite difficult battles, the peak had already been overcome, and the war in the east would be crowned with victory, which would soon become obvious. However, in the following days the opposite happened, and Hitler soon had to regret his words. In the weeks that followed, events no longer developed favorably for the German forces. Lack of preparation for harsh winter conditions and underestimation of Soviet combat capability and reserves played a fatal role for the Nazis. As early as October 10, the main Nazi newspaper published an article on the front page entitled “The Great Hour Has Come! The outcome of the war in the east is predetermined! " At the same time, the Soviet press conveyed completely different information. For example, on October 8, Red Star published an editorial in which the German offensive was called a last desperate attempt. Allegedly, Hitler threw all the forces he had at her, including outdated and small tanks that fell into the hands of the Germans after the capture of Belgium, Holland and France. The article also stated that the Soviet soldier must destroy these tanks at any cost, be they old or new, large or small. All the old armored vehicles from all over Europe, which have long been scrapped, are now sent to fight the Soviet Union.
Context
The Battle of Moscow: How Hitler Almost Defeated Stalin
Newsweek 09/05/2007What decided the outcome of the Battle of Moscow in 1941
Die Welt 12/14/2013Archives: The Germans suffered huge losses in the Battle of Moscow
The Times 12/22/2011The Forgotten Battle of Moscow
Kaleva 05/12/2005On October 13, news about the capture of Moscow and Stalin’s request for a truce spread around Germany. Film magazines competed to see who could best tell about the approaching victory over the USSR. Despite the unfavorable weather and ubiquitous mud, German troops are rapidly advancing towards Moscow, and its residents can already hear the noise of the approaching front. However, October, which started so well for the Nazis, was not marked by the declared successes, and therefore the victorious fanfare gradually quietly disappeared from the press and radio. In addition, in October the cold made itself known with certainty. There were frosts at night, and during the day the soil turned into an impassable mess. Back in mid-October, the situation for the Wehrmacht was quite favorable, but the advance began to noticeably stall until it finally stopped. The desire of the German generals to walk along Red Square on November 7 turned out to be too bold and far from reality.
Second Battle of Moscow
But the Nazis were not going to give up their goals so easily. Already at the beginning of November, they began a new regrouping of forces for another, as they themselves believed, this time the final striking blow on Moscow. In mid-November, Army Group Center prepared 73 divisions (14 tank divisions). Hitler's generals planned to surround the city from the north and south and defeat the Soviet forces west of Moscow. A new attack on the capital began on November 15. On November 19, the Germans captured the important city of Istra, and four days later - Klin and Solnechnogorsk. Stalinogorsk was occupied on November 20. But in this extremely difficult situation in Moscow there was no defeatist mood. On November 6, a ceremonial meeting of the Moscow Council was held in the lobby of the Moscow metro. Stalin acknowledged the Soviet defeats, but at the same time recalled the failure of Hitler's plans for a lightning war. Stalin attributed the military defeats, first of all, to an insufficient number of aircraft and tanks, and this in a situation where there was no second front. Territorial conquests, according to Stalin, are due to the fact that the Germans managed to capture the industrial bases of some European countries, primarily Belgium, France, Holland and Czechoslovakia. According to Hitler at a speech in the Reichstag on April 29, 1939, having occupied Czechoslovakia, Germany received 1582 aircraft, 469 tanks, 501 anti-aircraft guns, 2175 guns of various calibers, 115 thousand rifles, 3 million artillery shells, 43 thousand machine guns, a billion infantry ammunition and other military materials: engineering, fastening, measuring devices, many cars, spotlights and other things. On November 7, on the day of an important public holiday, a parade took place on Red Square. Soldiers in winter uniforms and tanks, as well as other equipment, were buried in the snow. The units went from the parade straight to their combat positions.
November 17 was an important milestone in the battle for Moscow. Then Hitler’s favorite General Guderian received information that soldiers from Siberia had appeared at the Uzlovaya station, and that transport trains were bringing in new Soviet reinforcements along the Ryazan-Kolomna branch. According to other information, the German 112th Division retreated, and the number of soldiers with frostbite, unable to fight, was growing. The soldiers of this division were seized by panic, which spread along part of the front right up to Bogoroditsk. Mass desertion became a big warning for the German troops and their command. This was a clear signal that the German infantry was exhausted. However, the German command still did not take these signals seriously. After all, on the approaches to Moscow, the Germans still occupied a dangerous position. On November 28, they took the bridge near Yakhroma and made their way to the eastern bank of the Moscow-Volga canal. Long and incredibly brutal battles broke out for the key city - Tula. At the end of November, some German generals already understood the seriousness of the situation in which their forces found themselves in front of Moscow and in other parts of the front. Characteristic, for example, are the words of General Halder: “Field Marshal von Bock personally leads the battle of Moscow from his mobile command post. His energy propels the troops forward by all means... The troops have almost exhausted their strength. Von Bock compares this battle with the Battle of the Marne." First of all, the lack of winter equipment, according to the Germans, played a tragic role. Von Bock also asked to send the 12th division from the reserve, since there were no longer enough forces to encircle Moscow.
The last German offensive began on the second of December. Some German commanders firmly believed in success and the capture of Moscow. The fighting then took place in a situation where there was a lot of snow everywhere and there were severe frosts. By noon that day, several German units reached the Moscow suburb of Khimki, near the Sheremetyevo airfield that subsequently appeared. But they never managed to advance further. So with my own eyes Only German prisoners of war were able to see the Kremlin. On the fourth of December, General Guderian's units again approached Tula and began to make their way to the Moscow River, but in the end, due to a lack of ammunition, they had to retreat with heavy losses. This was the very last German offensive near Moscow. A noticeable retreat soon followed on almost all sectors of the front near Moscow. All this was accompanied by further major losses, including in equipment that the Nazis did not have time to take out during the retreat. On the night of December 5-6, Guderian, on his own responsibility, led his units into retreat. He bases his decision on extremely unfavorable climatic conditions and the exhaustion of the offensive capabilities of neighboring units. At the same time, for the same reasons, two armored units located 35 kilometers north of Moscow are abandoning the planned offensive.
The heavy defeat of the Nazis near Moscow was the beginning of their disaster on the Eastern Front
On December 5, the offensive of the Soviet troops of the Kalinin Front, the Western Front and the right wing of the Southwestern Front began. In a counteroffensive that was unexpected for the Germans, the Soviet command managed to involve more than a million soldiers, more than a thousand aircraft, more than 800 tanks and more than 7,500 guns. Just recently, very self-confident German troops were forced to rapidly retreat from Moscow, Tikhvin and Taganrog. German forces were retreating along almost the entire length of the front. A parallel is often drawn with 1812 and the rapid retreat of Napoleon’s troops from Moscow and Russia in general. By December 20, the Nazis were forced to leave Klin, Kalinin and the Tula region. “Our attack on Moscow failed. We suffered a heavy defeat, the consequences of which, as it became clear in the following weeks, were fatal, and the obstinacy of the high command in distant East Prussia was to blame,” General Guderian later said. After this failure, Hitler himself took charge of military operations and changed command almost everywhere. Later, General Halder admitted that the defeat near Moscow was a disaster and, in fact, the beginning of a great tragedy in the east. In December 1941, General von Bock wrote the following in his diary: “Now I no longer doubt that the military operation near Moscow, in which I played, was probably the most important role, failed and marked a turn in the war in general.” German military historian Reinhard wrote: "Hitler's plans, and with them the prospect of winning the war, failed in October 1941, especially after the launch of the Russian counter-offensive near Moscow in December 1941." Ludwik Svoboda, who was in the USSR at that time and was preparing conditions there for training our soldiers, wrote in his personal diary: “The offensive of the Red Army along the entire front was very successful. It seems that the German army is facing disaster near Moscow. Its defeat depends on how strong Hitler's government is in the Reich. From the German army, undoubtedly, only remnants will return home.”
The offensive of the Soviet army continued successfully in December 1941 and January 1942, and during it many cities and villages were liberated. For example, Volokolamsk was liberated on December 20, Naro-Fominsk on December 26, Maloyaroslavets on January 2, and Borovsk on January 4. Rzhev was recaptured on January 7, 1942. In January 1942, Soviet forces were almost equal to the 183 divisions of the Germans and their satellites, but the Soviet army had an advantage in the number of tanks and aircraft. In the period from December 6 to January 10 alone, the losses of Hitler’s troops amounted to more than 300 thousand killed and wounded. The German troops faced serious difficulties that were not easy to disguise, because by the first of January 1942 they were short of about 340 thousand people. During the counteroffensive near Moscow, the Red Army recaptured more than 11,000 towns and villages northwest of the capital and advanced 400 kilometers in some areas. Territories the size of the former Czechoslovakia, with a population of approximately five million people, were liberated. The first significant turning point occurred in the war. Goebbels, who appealed to the population to donate winter clothing and skis to the Wehrmacht, was forced to admit that “millions of our soldiers, after a year of fierce fighting, stand face to face with an enemy who has a great numerical and material advantage.” Some parts of the uniform made from surrogate raw materials did not protect against the harsh Russian winter. The British fleet, which held a blockade of Germany for two years, undoubtedly made its contribution here, so the Germans did not have enough wool to sew high-quality clothes for the soldiers.
The Nazis retreating from Moscow left behind a huge desert. They did not disdain the barbaric seizure of valuables. Before retreating to Klin, they plundered Tchaikovsky’s house, in which they burned furniture and books of the famous composer. In Istra they burned the New Jerusalem Monastery. In Yasnaya Polyana, in Tolstoy's house, where Guderian's main headquarters was located, the museum was looted, and many objects were destroyed and burned.
After the start of a large-scale German offensive on Moscow in early October 1941, over the next two months the fate of the USSR capital hung in the balance. There were days when the Germans declared that their victory was very close, and that on the battlefield they were the masters of the situation. The whole world could more than once hear proclamations that the domes of the Kremlin can already be seen with good field binoculars. At certain moments, the Kremlin indeed seemed very close to the fascist invaders, but even then it was and will forever remain inaccessible to them. In mid-December 1941, the whole world learned about the German defeat near Moscow. This defeat lifted the spirits in our country. In the illegal newspaper Krasnoe Pravo, edited by Julius Fuček, the Christmas wish then was:
“Everyone will be delighted to receive a generous gift of peace and freedom under the Christmas tree on the Generous Evening, and Hitler on the Christmas tree.”
How did Czech television celebrate the anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War this year or the current anniversary of the Battle of Moscow? It did not disappoint this time either: from the fourth of September we are shown a 44-episode documentary film entitled “Heydrich. Last decision." I'm sure we have every right require that other important anniversaries related to the events of World War II receive adequate television time. The anniversary of the Battle of Moscow undoubtedly applies to them. But instead we continue to watch repeats of programs about the Wehrmacht or the “important” people of the Third Reich. True, this has long been very typical for Czech television.
Turning to international relations in the first decades of the 20th century, historians most often try to find an answer to the question: why did the world war begin? Let's consider events and phenomena that will help find out the reasons for its occurrence.
International relations at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century
The rapid industrial development of European countries and North America at that time pushed them to enter the wide world market, spread their economic and political influence in different parts Sveta.
The powers that already had colonial possessions sought in every possible way to expand them. Thus, France in the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries. increased the territory of its colonies more than 10 times. The clash of interests of individual European powers led to armed confrontation, as, for example, in Central Africa, where British and French colonialists competed. Great Britain also tried to strengthen its position in South Africa - in the Transvaal and the Orange Republic. The determined resistance of the descendants of European settlers living there - the Boers - led to Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902).
Guerrilla warfare of the Boers and the most brutal methods of warfare by British troops (up to the burning of peaceful settlements and the creation concentration camps, where thousands of prisoners died) showed the whole world the terrible face of war in the coming 20th century. Great Britain defeated the two Boer republics. But this inherently imperialist war was condemned by most European countries, as well as by democratic forces in Britain itself.
Completed by the beginning of the 20th century. The colonial division of the world did not bring calm to international relations. Countries that have noticeably advanced in industrial development (USA, Germany, Italy, Japan) are actively involved in the struggle for economic and political influence in the world. In some cases, they seized colonial territories from their owners by military means. This is what the United States did when it launched a war against Spain in 1898. In other cases, colonies were “bargained.” This was done, for example, by Germany in 1911. Having declared its intention to seize part of Morocco, it sent a warship to its shores. France, which had earlier penetrated Morocco, ceded part of its possessions in the Congo to Germany in exchange for recognition of its priority. The following document testifies to the decisiveness of Germany's colonialist intentions.
From Kaiser Wilhelm II's farewell message to the German troops heading to China in July 1900 to suppress the Yihetuan uprising:
"Before the re-emerging German Empire there are great tasks beyond the sea... And you... must teach the enemy a good lesson. When you meet an enemy, you must beat him! Give no quarter! Take no prisoners! Don't stand on ceremony with those who fall into your hands. Just as a thousand years ago the Huns, under their king Attila, glorified their name, which is still preserved in fairy tales and legends, so the name of the Germans, even a thousand years later, should evoke such feelings in China that never again would a single Chinese dare to look askance at the German!”
The increasing frequency of conflicts between great powers in different parts of the world caused concern not only in public opinion, but also among politicians themselves. In 1899, at the initiative of Russia, a peace conference was held in The Hague with the participation of representatives of 26 states. The second conference in The Hague (1907) was attended by 44 countries. At these meetings, conventions (agreements) were adopted that contained recommendations on the peaceful settlement of international disputes, limiting brutal forms of warfare (prohibition of the use of explosive bullets, toxic substances, etc.), reducing military spending and armed forces, humane treatment of prisoners, and also determined the rights and obligations of neutral states.
Discussion of the general problems of maintaining peace did not prevent the leading European powers from dealing with completely different issues: how to ensure the achievement of their own, not always peaceful, foreign policy goals. It was becoming increasingly difficult to do this alone, so each country looked for allies. Since the end of the 19th century. two international blocs began to take shape - the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Franco-Russian alliance, which outgrew at the beginning of the 20th century. in the Triple Entente of France, Russia, Great Britain - the Entente.
Dates, documents, events
Triple Alliance
1879 - secret agreement Germany and Austria-Hungary on joint defense against Russian attack.
1882 - Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy.
Franco-Russian alliance
1891-1892 - consultative pact and military convention between Russia and France.
Entente
1904 - agreement between Great Britain and France on the division of spheres of influence in Africa.
1906 - negotiations between Belgium, Great Britain and France on military cooperation.
1907 - agreement between Great Britain and Russia on the division of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet.
International conflicts of the early 20th century. were not limited to disputes over overseas territories. They also arose in Europe itself. In 1908-1909 The so-called Bosnian crisis occurred. Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was formally part of the Ottoman Empire. Serbia and Russia protested because they were in favor of granting independence to these territories. Austria-Hungary announced mobilization and began to concentrate troops on the border with Serbia. Austria-Hungary's actions received German support, which forced Russia and Serbia to accept the takeover.
Balkan Wars
Other states also sought to take advantage of the weakening of the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro formed the Balkan Union and in October 1912 attacked the empire in order to liberate territories inhabited by Slavs and Greeks from Turkish rule. In a short time, the Turkish army was defeated. But peace negotiations turned out to be difficult because the great powers were involved: the Entente countries supported the states of the Balkan Union, and Austria-Hungary and Germany supported the Turks. Under the peace treaty signed in May 1913, the Ottoman Empire lost almost all of its European territories. But less than a month later, the second Balkan War broke out - this time between the victors. Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece, trying to get its part of Macedonia liberated from Turkish rule. The war ended in August 1913 with the defeat of Bulgaria. It left behind unresolved interethnic and interstate contradictions. These were not only mutual territorial disputes between Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Romania. Austria-Hungary's dissatisfaction with the strengthening of Serbia as a possible center for the unification of the South Slavic peoples, some of which were in the possession of the Habsburg Empire, also grew.
Beginning of the war
On June 28, 1914, in the capital of Bosnia, the city of Sarajevo, a member of the Serbian terrorist organization Gavrilo Princip killed the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife.
June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia in Sarajevo Five minutes before the assassination attempt
Austria-Hungary accused Serbia of incitement, to which an ultimatum note was sent. Fulfillment of the requirements contained in it meant for Serbia the loss of its state dignity and consent to Austrian intervention in its affairs. Serbia was ready to fulfill all the conditions, except for one, the most humiliating for it (about the investigation by Austrian services on the territory of Serbia of the causes of the Sarajevo assassination attempt). However, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. Two weeks later, 8 European countries were involved in the war.
Dates and events
August 1 - Germany declared war on Russia.
August 2 - German troops occupied Luxembourg.
August 3 - Germany declared war on France, its troops moved towards France through Belgium.
August 4 - Great Britain entered the war against Germany.
August 6 - Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia.
August 11 - France entered the war against Austria-Hungary.
August 12 - Great Britain declared war on Austria-Hungary.
On August 23, 1914, Japan declared war on Germany and began to seize German possessions in China and the Pacific. In the fall of the same year, the Ottoman Empire entered the fight on the side of the Triple Alliance. The war went beyond the borders of Europe and turned into a global one.
States that entered the war, as a rule, explained their decision by “higher interests” - the desire to protect themselves and other countries from aggression, allied duty, etc. But the true goals of most participants in the conflict were to expand their territories or colonial possessions, increase influence in Europe and on other continents.
Austria-Hungary wanted to subjugate the growing Serbia and weaken Russia’s position in the Balkans. Germany sought to annex the border territories of France and Belgium, the Baltic states and other lands in Europe, as well as expand its colonial possessions at the expense of the English, French, and Belgian colonies. France resisted the onslaught of Germany and at least wanted to return Alsace and Lorraine captured from it in 1871. Britain fought to preserve its colonial empire and wanted to weaken Germany, which had gained strength. Russia defended its interests in the Balkans and the Black Sea and at the same time was not averse to annexing Galicia, which was part of Austria-Hungary.
Some exceptions were Serbia, which became the first victim of the attack, and Belgium, occupied by the Germans: they fought the war primarily to restore their independence, although they also had other interests.
War and Society
So, in the summer of 1914, the wheel of war rolled out of the hands of politicians and diplomats and invaded the lives of millions of people in dozens of countries in Europe and the world. How did people feel when they learned about the war? In what mood did the men go to the mobilization points? What did those who were not supposed to go to the front prepare for?
Official reports of the start of hostilities were accompanied by patriotic appeals and assurances of imminent victory.
French President R. Poincaré noted in his notes:
“The German declaration of war caused a magnificent outburst of patriotism in the nation. Never in its entire history has France been so beautiful as in these hours, which we were given to witness. The mobilization, which began on August 2, ended today, it took place with such discipline, in such order, with such calm, with such enthusiasm, which arouse the admiration of the government and military authorities... In England there is the same enthusiasm as in France; the royal family became the subject of repeated ovations; Patriotic demonstrations are everywhere. The Central Powers aroused against themselves the unanimous indignation of the French, English and Belgian peoples.”
A significant part of the population of the countries that entered the war was captured by nationalist sentiments. Attempts by pacifists and some socialists to raise their voices against the war were drowned out by a wave of jingoism. The leaders of the labor and socialist movements in Germany, Austria-Hungary, and France put forward slogans of “civil peace” in their countries and voted for war loans. The leaders of Austrian Social Democracy called on their supporters to “fight tsarism,” and the British socialists decided first of all to “fight against German imperialism.” The ideas of class struggle and international solidarity of workers were relegated to the background. This led to the collapse of the Second International. Only certain groups of Social Democrats (including the Russian Bolsheviks) condemned the outbreak of war as imperialist and called on workers to refuse support to their governments. But their voices were not heard. Armies of thousands went to war, hoping for victory.
Failure of Blitz War Plans
Although Austria-Hungary took the lead in declaring war, Germany immediately took the most decisive action. She sought to avoid a war on two fronts - against Russia in the east and France in the west. The plan of General A. von Schlieffen, developed before the war, provided first for the rapid defeat of France (in 40 days), and then for an active struggle against Russia. The German strike group, which invaded Belgian territory at the beginning of the war, approached the French border a little over two weeks later (later than planned, as the fierce resistance of the Belgians prevented it). By September 1914, German armies crossed the Marne River and approached the Verdun fortress. It was not possible to carry out the “blitzkrieg” (lightning war) plan. But France found itself in a very difficult situation. Paris was under threat of capture. The government left the capital and turned to Russia for help.
Despite the fact that the deployment and equipment of Russian troops had not been completed by this time (this is exactly what Schliefen was counting on in his plan), two Russian armies under the command of generals P.K. Rennenkampf and A.V. Samsonov were abandoned on the offensive in August in East Prussia (here they soon failed), and troops under the command of General N.I. Ivanov in September in Galicia (where they dealt a serious blow to the Austrian army). The offensive cost Russian troops heavy losses. But to stop him, Germany transferred several corps from France to the Eastern Front. This allowed the French command to gather forces and repel the onslaught of the Germans in a difficult battle on the Marne River in September 1914 (over 1.5 million people took part in the battle, losses on both sides amounted to almost 600 thousand killed and wounded).
The plan to quickly defeat France failed. Unable to get the better of each other, the opponents “sat into trenches” along a huge front line (600 km long) that crossed Europe from the North Sea coast to Switzerland. A protracted positional war ensued on the Western Front. By the end of 1914, a similar situation had developed on the Austro-Serbian front, where the Serbian army managed to liberate the territory of the country previously captured (in August - November) by Austrian troops.
During the period of relative calm at the fronts, diplomats became more active. Each of the warring factions sought to attract new allies into its ranks. Both sides negotiated with Italy, which declared its neutrality at the beginning of the war. Seeing the failures of the German and Austrian troops in carrying out the lightning war, Italy in the spring of 1915 joined the Entente.
On the fronts
Since the spring of 1915, the center of combat operations in Europe moved to the Eastern Front. The combined forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary carried out a successful offensive in Galicia, displacing Russian troops from there, and by the fall the army under the command of General P. von Hindenburg captured the Polish and Lithuanian territories that were part of the Russian Empire (including Warsaw).
Despite the difficult position of the Russian army, the French and British command was in no hurry to attack on their front. Military reports of the time included the proverbial phrase: “No change on the Western Front.” True, trench warfare was also a difficult test. The fight intensified, the number of victims steadily increased. In April 1915, on the Western Front near the Ypres River, the German army carried out its first gas attack. About 15 thousand people were poisoned, 5 thousand of them died, the rest remained disabled. That same year, the war at sea between Germany and Great Britain intensified. To blockade the British Isles, German submarines began to attack all ships going there. Over the course of a year, over 700 ships were sunk, including many civilian ships. Protests from the United States and other neutral countries forced the German command to abandon attacks on passenger ships for some time.
After the successes of the Austro-German forces on the Eastern Front in the fall of 1915, Bulgaria entered the war on their side. Soon, as a result of a joint offensive, the Allies occupied the territory of Serbia.
In 1916, believing that Russia was sufficiently weakened, the German command decided to launch a new blow to France. The goal of the German offensive launched in February was the French fortress of Verdun, the capture of which would open the way for the Germans to Paris. However, it was not possible to take the fortress.
This was explained by the fact that during the previous break in active operations on the Western Front, the British-French troops secured an advantage over the Germans of several dozen divisions. In addition, at the request of the French command, in March 1916, an offensive of Russian troops was launched near Lake Naroch and the city of Dvinsk, which diverted significant German forces.
Finally, in July 1916, a massive offensive of the British-French army began on the Western Front. Particularly heavy fighting took place on the Somme River. Here the French concentrated powerful artillery, creating a continuous barrage of fire. The British were the first to use tanks, which caused real panic among the German soldiers, although they were not yet able to turn the tide of the fighting.
The bloody battle, which lasted almost six months, in which both sides lost about 1 million 300 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, ended with a relatively small advance of British and French troops. Contemporaries called the battles of Verdun and the Somme “meat grinders.”
Even the inveterate politician R. Poincaré, who at the beginning of the war admired the patriotic upsurge of the French, now saw a different, terrible face of the war. He wrote:
“How much energy does this life of troops require every day, half underground, in trenches, in the rain and snow, in trenches destroyed by grenades and mines, in shelters without clean air and light, in parallel ditches, always subject to the destructive action of shells, in side passages , which can suddenly be cut off by enemy artillery, at forward posts, where the patrol can be caught every minute by an impending attack! How can we in the rear still know moments of deceptive calm, if there, at the front, people like us are doomed to this hell?
Significant events unfolded in 1916 on the Eastern Front. In June, Russian troops under the command of General A. A. Brusilov broke through the Austrian front to a depth of 70-120 km. The Austrian and German command hastily transferred 17 divisions from Italy and France to this front. Despite this, Russian troops occupied part of Galicia, Bukovina, and entered the Carpathians. Their further advance was suspended due to a lack of ammunition and isolation of the rear.
In August 1916, Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente. But by the end of the year, its army was defeated and the territory was occupied. As a result, the front line for the Russian army increased by another 500 km.
Rear position
The war required the warring countries to mobilize all human and material resources. The life of people in the rear was built according to the laws of war. Working hours at enterprises were increased. Restrictions were introduced on meetings, rallies, and strikes. There was censorship in the newspapers. The state strengthened not only political control over society. During the war years, its regulatory role in the economy grew noticeably. Government bodies distributed military orders and raw materials, and managed manufactured military products. Their alliance with the largest industrial and financial monopolies was taking shape.
People's daily lives have also changed. The work of young people who left to fight, strong men fell on the shoulders of old people, women and teenagers. They worked in military factories and cultivated the land in conditions that were immeasurably more difficult than before.
From the book “Home Front” by S. Pankhurst (the author is one of the leaders of the women’s movement in England):
“In July (1916) women who worked in aviation factories in London approached me. They covered airplane wings with camouflage paint for 15 shillings a week, working from 8 a.m. to half past six in the evening. They were often asked to work until 8 o'clock in the evening, and were paid for this overtime work as if it were regular work... According to them, constantly six or more of the thirty women working in the painting were forced to leave the workshop and lie down on the stones for half an hour and more before they could return to their workplace.”
In most of the countries at war, a system of strictly rationed distribution of food and essential goods on food cards was introduced. At the same time, standards were cut two to three times compared to the pre-war level of consumption. It was possible to purchase products in excess of the norm only on the “black market” for fabulous money. Only industrialists and speculators who got rich from military supplies could afford this. Most of the population was starving. In Germany, the winter of 1916/17 was called the “rutabaga” winter, as due to a poor potato harvest, rutabaga became a staple food. People also suffered from a lack of fuel. In Paris in the mentioned winter there were cases of death from cold. The prolongation of the war led to an ever greater deterioration of the situation in the rear.
The crisis is ripe. The final stage of the war
The war brought ever-increasing losses and suffering to the people. By the end of 1916, about 6 million people died on the fronts, and about 10 million were wounded. The cities and villages of Europe became places of battle. In the occupied territories, the civilian population was subjected to looting and violence. In the rear, both people and machines worked to their limits. The material and spiritual strength of the peoples was exhausted. Both politicians and the military already understood this. In December 1916, Germany and its allies proposed that the Entente countries begin peace negotiations, and representatives of several neutral states also spoke in favor of this. But each of the warring parties did not want to admit that they were losers and sought to dictate their own terms. Negotiations did not take place.
Meanwhile, in the countries at war themselves, dissatisfaction with the war and those who continued to wage it grew. The “civil peace” was falling apart. Since 1915, the strike struggle of workers intensified. At first they mainly demanded an increase in wages, which were constantly depreciating due to rising prices. Then anti-war slogans began to be heard more and more often. The ideas of the struggle against the imperialist war were put forward by revolutionary social democrats in Russia and Germany. On May 1, 1916, during a demonstration in Berlin, the leader of the left Social Democrats, Karl Liebknecht, made calls: “Down with the war!”, “Down with the government!” (for this he was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison).
In England, the strike movement of workers in 1915 was led by the so-called shop elders. They presented the workers' demands to the management and steadily achieved their fulfillment. Pacifist organizations launched active anti-war propaganda. The national question has also become more acute. In April 1916 there was an uprising in Ireland. Rebel troops led by socialist J. Connolly seized government buildings in Dublin and proclaimed Ireland an independent republic. The uprising was mercilessly suppressed, 15 of its leaders were executed.
An explosive situation has developed in Russia. Here the matter was not limited to the growth of strikes. The February Revolution of 1917 overthrew the autocracy. The Provisional Government intended to continue the war “until the victorious end.” But it did not retain power over either the army or the country. In October 1917, Soviet power was proclaimed. As for their international consequences, the most noticeable at that moment was Russia’s exit from the war. First, unrest in the army led to the collapse of the Eastern Front. And in March 1918, the Soviet government concluded the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany and its allies, under whose control vast territories remained in the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and the Caucasus. The impact of the Russian revolution on events in Europe and the world was not limited to this; it, as it became clear later, also affected the internal life of many countries.
Meanwhile the war continued. In April 1917, the United States of America declared war on Germany and then its allies. They were followed by several Latin American states, China and other countries. The Americans sent their troops to Europe. In 1918, after peace was concluded with Russia, the German command made several attempts to attack France, but to no avail. Having lost about 800 thousand people in battles, German troops retreated to their original lines. By the fall of 1918, the initiative in the conduct of hostilities passed to the Entente countries.
The question of ending the war was decided not only at the fronts. Anti-war protests and discontent grew in the countries at war. At demonstrations and rallies, slogans put forward by the Russian Bolsheviks were increasingly heard: “Down with war!”, “Peace without annexations and indemnities!” Workers' and soldiers' councils began to appear in different countries. French workers adopted resolutions that said: “From the spark lit in Petrograd, the light will light over the rest of the world enslaved by militarism.” In the army, battalions and regiments refused to go to the front line.
Germany and its allies, weakened by defeats at the fronts and internal difficulties, were forced to ask for peace.
On September 29, 1918, Bulgaria ceased hostilities. On October 5, the German government made a request for an armistice. On October 30, the Ottoman Empire signed a truce with the Entente. On November 3, Austria-Hungary capitulated, overwhelmed by the liberation movements of the peoples living in it.
On November 3, 1918, a sailors' uprising broke out in Germany in the city of Kiel, marking the beginning of the revolution. On November 9, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II was announced. On November 10, the Social Democratic government came to power.
On November 11, 1918, the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in France, Marshal F. Foch, dictated the terms of the truce to the German delegation in his headquarters carriage in the Compiegne Forest. Finally, the war ended, in which over 30 states took part (in terms of population, they accounted for more than half of the planet’s population), 10 million people were killed and 20 million were wounded. A difficult path to peace lay ahead.
References:
Aleksashkina L.N. / General history. XX - early XXI centuries.
Detailed solution to paragraph 5 on history for 9th grade students, authors L.N. Aleksashkina 2011
Questions and tasks:
1. Describe the features of international relations at the beginning of the 20th century. compared to the previous period. What was new about them? What was the explanation for this?
Features of international relations at the beginning of the twentieth century. became:
The desire of the powers that already had colonial possessions to expand them in every possible way;
The clash of interests of individual European powers led to armed confrontation (for example, British and French colonialists competed in Central Africa. Great Britain also tried to strengthen its position in South Africa - in the Transvaal and the Orange Republic, which led to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 - 1902 and etc.);
The USA, Germany, Italy, Japan are actively involved in the struggle for spheres of economic and political influence in the world. In some cases, they seized colonial territories from their owners by military means.
What's new at this stage is:
Holding the first conferences and adopting the first conventions on the peaceful settlement of international disputes, limiting brutal forms of warfare (prohibition of the use of explosive bullets, toxic substances, etc.), reducing military expenditures and armed forces, humane treatment of prisoners, and also defining the rights and responsibilities of neutrals states;
Creation of international blocs (Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and Triple Entente (Entente) - France, Russia, Great Britain.
The creation of international blocs was due to the fact that it was becoming increasingly difficult for Western countries to achieve their foreign policy goals, so each country was looking for allies.
2. How do you answer the question: who started the First World War? Give reasons for your point of view.
The First World War was unleashed by all colonial countries at the same time, since the reason for it was not the protection of the interests of weak peoples and themselves, but the desire to expand their territories or colonial possessions, to increase influence in Europe and on other continents.
Thus, Austria-Hungary wanted to subjugate the growing Serbia and weaken Russia’s position in the Balkans. Germany sought to annex the border territories of France and Belgium, the Baltic states and other lands in Europe, as well as expand its colonial possessions at the expense of the English, French, and Belgian colonies. France resisted the onslaught of Germany and at least wanted to return Alsace and Lorraine captured from it in 1871. Britain fought to preserve its colonial empire and wanted to weaken Germany, which had gained strength. Russia defended its interests in the Balkans and the Black Sea and at the same time was not averse to annexing Galicia, which was part of Austria-Hungary.
3. Explain the meaning of the concepts “causes of war” and “reason for war”, reveal their meaning using the example of the First World War.
The “reason for war” is the deep basis for the war, and the “cause for war” is the clue, the impetus for it.
In the First World War, the reason was the desire of developed Western countries to expand their territories or colonial possessions, to increase influence in Europe and on other continents. And the reason for the war was the murder in Sarajevo of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, by a member of the Serbian terrorist organization Gavrilo Princip.
4. War 1914 – 1918 started in Europe. Why did it become global?
Because along with the European countries, their colonies, which were located in all parts of the world, also entered the war. In addition, military operations were carried out not only in Europe, but also on other continents (Asia, Africa). As a result of the war, the participating countries lost more than 10 million soldiers and about 12 million civilians, about 55 million people were wounded.
5. *Imagine that you are living in one of the European countries in 1914 (select a country, your occupation, etc., using material from the previous paragraphs). How would you greet the news of the outbreak of war? What would guide you in doing so?
A look at the beginning of the war from the side of a French peasant.
The French peasant would have met the war extremely negatively, because war is always ruin. Firstly, the French government itself mobilizes strong men into the army, i.e. there will be no one to cultivate the land. Secondly, the French government will also significantly increase taxes for those villagers who do not participate in the war, since war requires large expenses. But the worst thing is that if military operations are carried out on French territory, then the lands may become unsuitable for agriculture, which means ruin and famine.
These are the thoughts that a peasant would be guided by, and not the patriotic ideas that were propagated “from above.”
6. What were the main reasons for the failure? German plan"lightning war" in the West?
The first blow to the “blitzkrieg” plan was made by the Belgians, who put up fierce resistance to the German troops, and thus delayed their attack on France. But the main reason for the failure of the German “blitzkrieg” plan was the opening of the eastern front. In August 1914, despite incomplete equipment, two Russian armies under the command of Generals P.K. Rennenkampf and A.V. Samsonov were thrown into an offensive in East Prussia (here they soon failed), and troops under the command of General N.I. Ivanov in September - in Galicia (where they dealt a serious blow to the Austrian army). The offensive cost Russian troops heavy losses. But to stop him, Germany transferred several corps from France to the Eastern Front. This allowed the French command to gather forces and repel the onslaught of the Germans in a difficult battle on the Marne River in September 1914 (over 1.5 million people took part in the battle, losses on both sides amounted to almost 600 thousand killed and wounded).
Thus, the plan to quickly defeat France failed.
7. Describe the role of the Eastern Front during the war in Europe. *Do you agree with the opinion of some historians that he played a supporting role in relation to the Western Front?
The role of the Eastern Front was extremely significant in the First World War. The performance of Russian troops pulled part of the forces of the German and Austrian armies away from France and forced the countries of the Triple Alliance to fight on 2 fronts. Subsequently, Russian troops repeatedly “saved” and helped the western front (for example, the Brusilov breakthrough in 1916, when France and England launched a massive offensive).
I do not agree with the opinion of historians about the auxiliary role of the Eastern Front in relation to the Western Front. Serious military operations took place in both the East and the West, and the importance of both directions was the same for the countries of the Triple Alliance.
During the military operations on the Eastern Front, four campaigns stand out.
Campaign of 1914 Russia launched a successful offensive in East Prussia. Germany was forced to transfer some troops from the Western Front, which allowed our allies to win the Battle of the Marne River and prevent the fall of Paris. Reinforced German units inflicted a heavy defeat on the 1st and 2nd Russian armies in East Prussia. On the Southwestern Front, the Russian army defeated the Austro-Hungarian troops and occupied all of Galicia.
Campaign of 1915 There was a positional struggle on the Western Front. Germany's spring-summer offensive on the Eastern Front ended in Russia's defeat. She lost Poland, part of the Baltic states, Western Belarus and Ukraine. However, Germany failed to bring Russia out of the war.
Campaign of 1916 Germany again directed the main blow against France. In February 1916 there were fierce battles near the Verdun fortress. To assist the allies, Russia launched an offensive on the Southwestern Front. Army of General A.A. Brusilova broke through the front and defeated the Austro-Hungarian troops. Once again, Germany was forced to transfer its units from the Western Front to save Austria-Hungary. The Russian offensive helped the defenders of Verdun. In 1916, Germany lost the strategic initiative.
Campaign of 1917 The February Revolution did not lead to Russia's withdrawal from the war. Two military operations in Galicia and Belarus ended in failure. German troops captured the city of Riga. The Russian army was demoralized. The country demanded an end to the war. In October the Bolsheviks came to power. Soviet Russia emerged from the First World War by concluding the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany and its allies in March 1918
8. Compare the situation in the rear of the warring countries at the beginning and at the final stage of the war. What were the changes? What consequences did they lead to?
At the beginning of the war, a significant part of the population of the countries that entered the war was captured by nationalist sentiments. Young people gladly mobilized into the army, and civilians took part in numerous demonstrations in support of the war. The leaders of the labor and socialist movements in Germany, Austria-Hungary, and France put forward slogans of “civil peace” in their countries and voted for war loans.
But the longer the war went on, the more the warring countries were required to mobilize human and material resources. The life of people in the rear was built according to the laws of war. Working hours at enterprises were increased. Restrictions were introduced on meetings, rallies, and strikes. There was censorship in the newspapers. The state strengthened not only political control over society. During the war years, its regulatory role in the economy grew noticeably. State bodies distributed military orders and raw materials, and disposed of manufactured military products. Their alliance with the largest industrial and financial monopolies was taking shape.
People's daily lives have also changed. The work of the young, strong men who left to fight fell on the shoulders of the elderly, women and teenagers. They worked in military factories in immeasurably more difficult conditions than before.
In most of the countries at war, a system of strictly rationed distribution of food and essential goods on food cards was introduced. At the same time, standards were cut two to three times compared to the pre-war level of consumption. It was possible to purchase products in excess of the norm only on the “black market” for fabulous money. Only industrialists and speculators who got rich from military supplies could afford this. Most of the population was starving. People also suffered from a lack of fuel. In Paris, there were cases of people dying from the cold. The prolongation of the war led to an ever greater deterioration of the situation in the rear.
9. Describe the forms and methods of warfare in 1914 – 1918. Express and justify your attitude towards them.
What was new in the conduct of the war of 1914–1918 was:
1. participation in the war of massive armies equipped with a variety of military equipment, which contributed to the development and improvement of methods of preparing and conducting combat and operations; military operations began to unfold over a large area and during the course of the war broke up into a number of separate battles, battles and maneuvers, united by a unity of plan and purpose.
2. The emergence of new technology caused changes in tactics, primarily in the forms of combat formations. Dense shooting targets were replaced by group formations of troops. The density of artillery increased sharply. She began to support the infantry attack with a fiery shaft. Aircraft and chemical warfare agents were widely used to suppress defenses. The main problem of offensive combat tactics was the need to ensure close interaction of all forces and means participating in the battle.
3. Improving the defense was expressed in increasing its depth by creating a system of positions and defensive lines. Resistance units and cut-off positions began to appear inside the strips, and reinforced concrete and metal defensive structures appeared.
4. During the war, new types of artillery equipment, mainly heavy guns, were developed and put into service. The use of aviation and tanks led to the creation of anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery. One of the main means of combat that appeared during the World War was tanks. They combined armor protection, firepower and relatively high mobility. During the war, the number of tanks increased sharply, and their combat capabilities increased.
5. The use of chemical agents, as well as tanks, was one of the attempts to find a means to facilitate the breakthrough of the positional front. During the war, the chemical agents themselves and the methods of their combat use were improved - from primitive gas release from cylinders to shelling from special gas launchers, mortars and artillery.
Thus, during the First World War, significant changes occurred in the forms and methods of warfare. They became more cruel and inhumane, aimed at mass destruction of people.
10. What do you think was the relationship between events at the front and in the rear? Give examples.
There was a direct relationship between events at the front and in the rear. The longer the war went on, the more the displeasure of the civilian population grew. In the occupied territories, the civilian population was subjected to looting and violence. In the rear, both people and machines worked to their limits. The material and spiritual strength of the peoples was exhausted.
With new defeats on the fronts, unrest and discontent arose among the civilian population of the countries. For example, as the war became more protracted, the strike struggle of workers intensified from 1915 onwards. Anti-war slogans began to be heard more and more often. The ideas of the struggle against the imperialist war were put forward by revolutionary social democrats in Russia and Germany. On May 1, 1916, during a demonstration in Berlin, the leader of the left Social Democrats, Karl Liebknecht, made calls: “Down with the war!”, “Down with the government!” In Russia, as a result of the offensive of German troops in 1917, an explosive situation developed. Here the matter was not limited to the growth of strikes. The February Revolution of 1917 overthrew the autocracy. The Provisional Government intended to continue the war “until the victorious end.”
11. Explain what consequences Russia’s withdrawal from the World War had.
Russia withdrew from World War I after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between the Soviet government and Germany. As a result, vast territories in the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and the Caucasus remained under the control of German troops. In addition, the Entente countries called the Brest Peace Treaty separate and considered Russia a traitor, since virtually all actions began to be carried out only on the Western Front.
12. How do you answer the question: who won the First World War and why?
Formally, during the war, the Entente countries won, and the countries of the Triple Alliance lost. But it seems to me that the actual winner of the war was the United States. The United States, following the Monroe Doctrine, which implied non-interference in the affairs of continental Europe, nevertheless decided to participate in the First World War in 1917. It was the intervention of the United States and the “fourteen points” of US President Woodrow Wilson that became the “last nail” in the “coffin” of Germany’s hopes for a positive outcome of the global confrontation. And the reason for this was the military power of the United States, untapped resources, as well as a timed strike that allowed the United States to stand on a par with countries that had been at war since 1914.
It should also be noted that during the war, the United States repeatedly issued loans to the Entente countries, as a result of which France and England became debtors to the United States.
