June 22, 1941 the beginning of the Patriotic War. The Day of Memory and Sorrow is the day of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. "Defending not individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe"
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How it was: what Hitler really faced on June 22, 1941 (part 1)
22-06-2016, 08:44
June 22, 1941 at 4 o'clock in the morning, Germany treacherously, without declaring war, attacked Soviet Union and, starting to bomb our cities with peacefully sleeping children, she immediately announced herself as a criminal force that did not have a human face. The most bloody war in the entire history of the existence of the Russian state began.
Our fight with Europe was deadly. On June 22, 1941, German troops launched an offensive against the USSR in three directions: east (Army Group Center) to Moscow, southeast (Army Group South) to Kyiv and northeast (Army Group North) to Leningrad . In addition, the German army "Norway" was advancing in the direction of Murmansk.
Together with the German armies, the armies of Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland and volunteer formations from Croatia, Slovakia, Spain, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and other European countries advanced on the USSR.
On June 22, 1941, 5.5 million soldiers and officers of Nazi Germany and its satellites crossed the border of the USSR and invaded our land, but in terms of the number of troops, the armed forces of Germany alone exceeded the Armed Forces of the USSR by 1.6 times, namely: 8.5 million people in the Wehrmacht and a little over 5 million people in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. Together with the Allied armies, Germany had at least 11 million trained, armed soldiers and officers on June 22, 1941, and could very quickly make up for the losses of its army and strengthen its troops.
And if the number of only German troops exceeded the number of Soviet troops by 1.6 times, then together with the troops of the European allies it exceeded the number of Soviet troops by at least 2.2 times. Such a monstrously huge force opposed the Red Army.
The industry of Europe united by it worked for Germany with a population of about 400 million people, which was almost 2 times the population of the USSR, which had 195 million people.
At the beginning of the war, the Red Army, compared with the troops of Germany and its allies that attacked the USSR, had 19,800 units more guns and mortars, 86 units more warships of the main classes, and the Red Army outnumbered the attacking enemy in the number of machine guns. Weapon, guns of all calibers and mortars in terms of combat characteristics not only were not inferior, but in many cases even surpassed German weapons.
As for the armored forces and aviation, our army had them in numbers that far exceeded the number of units of this equipment that the enemy had at the beginning of the war. But the bulk of our tanks and aircraft compared to the German ones were weapons of the "old generation", obsolete. Tanks for the most part were only with bulletproof armor. A considerable percentage were also defective aircraft and tanks to be written off.
At the same time, it should be noted that before the start of the war, the Red Army received 595 KB heavy tanks and 1,225 T-34 medium tanks, as well as 3,719 new types of aircraft: Yak-1, LaGG-3, MiG-3 fighters, Il- 4 (DB-ZF), Pe-8 (TB-7), Pe-2, Il-2 attack aircraft. Basically, we designed and produced the specified new, expensive and science-intensive equipment in the period from the beginning of 1939 to the middle of 1941, that is, for the most part during the validity of the non-aggression pact concluded in 1939 - the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact".
It was the presence of a large number of weapons that allowed us to survive and win. For, despite the huge losses of weapons in the initial period of the war, we still had a sufficient amount of weapons to resist during the retreat and for the offensive near Moscow.
It must be said that in 1941 the German army did not have equipment similar to our heavy KB tanks, armored attack aircraft IL-2 and rocket artillery, such as BM-13 ("Katyusha"), capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than eight kilometers.
Due to the poor work of Soviet intelligence, our army did not know the direction of the main attacks planned by the enemy. Therefore, the Germans had the opportunity to create a multiple superiority of military forces in the breakthrough areas and break through our defenses.
The capabilities of Soviet intelligence are greatly exaggerated in order to diminish military merits and technical advances USSR. Our troops retreated under the onslaught of superior enemy forces. Parts of the Red Army had to either withdraw quickly to avoid encirclement, or fight in encirclement. And it was not so easy to withdraw the troops, because in many cases the mobility of the German mechanized formations that had broken through our defenses exceeded the mobility of our troops.
Of course, not all groupings of Soviet troops were capable of mobile German formations. The main part of the German infantry advanced on foot, as our troops basically retreated, which allowed many units of the Red Army to retreat to new lines of defense.
The encircled covering troops held back the advance of the Nazi hordes to the last opportunity, and the units retreating in battles, uniting with the troops of the 2nd echelon, significantly slowed down the advance of the German armies.
In order to stop the German armies that had broken through the border, large reserves were needed, equipped with mobile formations that could quickly approach the breakthrough site and push the enemy back. We did not have such reserves, since the country had no economic opportunities to maintain an 11 millionth army in peacetime.
It is unfair to blame the government of the USSR for such a development of events. Despite the desperate resistance to industrialization on the part of certain forces within the country, our government and our people have done everything they could to create and equip an army. It was impossible to do more in the time allotted to the Soviet Union.
Our intelligence, of course, was not up to par. But it's only in the movies that scouts get drawings of aircraft and atomic bombs. AT real life such drawings will take far from one railway car. Our intelligence did not have the opportunity to receive the Barbarossa plan in 1941. But even knowing the direction of the main blows, we would have to retreat before the monstrous force of the enemy. But in this case we would have less losses.
According to all theoretical calculations, the USSR should have lost this war, but we won it, because we knew how to work and fight like no one else on earth. Hitler conquered Europe, except for Poland, in an effort to unite and subordinate to the will of Germany. And he sought to exterminate us both in battles, and the civilian population, and our prisoners of war. About the war against the USSR, Hitler said: "We are talking about a war of extermination."
But everything did not go as planned for Hitler: the Russians left more than half of the troops far from the border, announced mobilization after the start of the war, as a result of which they had people to recruit new divisions, took military factories to the East, did not lose heart, but fought steadfastly for every inch of land. The German General Staff was horrified by Germany's losses in men and equipment.
The losses of our retreating army in 1941, of course, were greater than the German ones. The German army created a new organizational structure, including tanks, motorized infantry, artillery, engineering units and communications units, which made it possible not only to break through the enemy’s defenses, but also to develop it in depth, breaking away from the bulk of its troops for tens of kilometers. The proportions of all military branches were carefully calculated by the Germans and tested in battles in Europe. With such a structure, tank formations became a strategic means of struggle.
We needed time to create such troops from newly manufactured equipment. In the summer of 1941, we had neither the experience of creating and using such formations, nor the number of trucks needed to transport infantry. Created on the eve of the war, our mechanized corps were much less perfect than the German ones.
The General Staff of Germany gave the plan of attack on the USSR the name "Barbarossa" after the German emperor of terrifying cruelty. On June 29, 1941, Hitler declared: "In four weeks we will be in Moscow, and it will be plowed up."
Not a single German general spoke in his forecasts about the capture of Moscow later than August. For everyone, August was the deadline for the capture of Moscow, and October - the territory of the USSR to the Urals along the line Arkhangelsk - Astrakhan.
The US military believed that Germany would be occupied in the war with the Russians from one to three months, and the British military - from three to six weeks. They made such predictions, because they knew well the force of the blow that Germany brought down on the USSR. How long we will hold out in the war with Germany, the West estimated by itself.
The German government was so sure of a quick victory that it did not even consider it necessary to spend money on warm winter uniforms for the army.
Enemy troops advanced from the Barents to the Black Seas on a front stretching over 2,000 thousand kilometers.
Germany counted on a blitzkrieg, that is, a lightning strike against our armed forces and their destruction as a result of this lightning strike. The location of 57% of Soviet troops in the 2nd and 3rd echelons initially contributed to the disruption of the Germans' calculation for a blitzkrieg. And in combination with the resilience of our troops in the 1st defense echelon, it completely disrupted the German calculation for a blitzkrieg.
And what kind of blitzkrieg can we talk about if the Germans in the summer of 1941 could not even destroy our aircraft. From the first day of the war, the Luftwaffe paid a huge price for the desire to destroy our aircraft on the airfields and in the air.
People's Commissar aviation industry USSR from 1940 to 1946, A. I. Shakhurin wrote: “During the period from June 22 to July 5, 1941, the German Air Force lost 807 aircraft of all types, and from July 6 to July 19 another 477 aircraft. A third of the German air force that they had before attacking our country."
Thus, only for the first month of fighting in the period from 22.06. By July 19, 1941, Germany lost 1284 aircraft, and in less than five months of fighting - 5180 aircraft. Surprisingly, only a few people in the whole of large Russia know today about our glorious victories in the most unfortunate period of the war for us.
So who and with what weapons destroyed these 1284 Luftwaffe aircraft in the first month of the war? These aircraft were destroyed by our pilots and anti-aircraft gunners in the same way that our artillerymen destroyed enemy tanks, because the Red Army had anti-tank guns, aircraft and anti-aircraft guns.
And in October 1941, the Red Army had enough weapons to hold the front. At this time, the defense of Moscow was carried out at the limit of human strength. Only Soviet, Russian people could fight like that. I. V. Stalin deserves a good word, back in July 1941 he organized the construction of concrete pillboxes, bunkers, anti-tank barriers and other protective military construction structures, fortified areas (Urov) on the outskirts of Moscow, who managed to provide weapons, ammunition, food and uniforms fighting army.
The Germans were stopped near Moscow, first of all, because even in the autumn of 1941, our men fighting the enemy had weapons to shoot down planes, burn tanks and mix enemy infantry with the ground.
On November 29, 1941, our troops liberated Rostov-on-Don in the south, and Tikhvin was liberated in the north on December 9. Having pinned down the southern and northern groupings of German troops, our command created favorable conditions for the offensive of the Red Army near Moscow.
It was not the Siberian divisions that made it possible for our troops to go on the offensive near Moscow, but the reserve armies created by the Stavka and brought up to Moscow before our troops went on the offensive. A. M. Vasilevsky recalled: “A major event was the completion of the preparation of regular and extraordinary reserve formations. At the turn of Vytegra - Rybinsk - Gorky - Saratov - Stalingrad - Astrakhan, a new strategic line was being created for the Red Army. Here, on the basis of the decision of the GKO, adopted on October 5, ten reserve armies were formed. Creating them throughout the entire battle of Moscow was one of the main and daily concerns of the Central Committee of the Party, the State Defense Committee and the Headquarters. We, the leaders of the General Staff, daily, when reporting to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the situation on the fronts, reported in detail on the progress in the creation of these formations. It can be said without exaggeration: in the outcome of the Battle of Moscow, the fact that the party and the Soviet people promptly formed, armed, trained and deployed new armies under the capital was of decisive importance.
The battle near Moscow can be divided into two parts: defensive from September 30 to December 5, 1941 and offensive from December 5 to April 20, 1942.
And if in June 1941 German troops suddenly attacked us, then in December 1941 near Moscow our Soviet troops suddenly attacked the Germans. Despite the deep snow and frost, our army successfully advanced. Panic broke out in the German army. Only the intervention of Hitler prevented the complete defeat of the German troops.
The monstrous force of Europe, faced with the Russian force, could not overcome us and, under the blows of the Soviet troops, fled back to the West. In 1941, our great-grandfathers and grandfathers defended the right to life and, meeting the New Year 1942, proclaimed toasts to the Victory.
In 1942, our troops continued to advance. The Moscow and Tula regions, many areas of the Kalinin, Smolensk, Ryazan and Oryol regions. Losses in manpower only of the Army Group Center, which until recently stood near Moscow for the period from January 1 to March 30, 1942, amounted to over 333 thousand people.
But the enemy was still strong. By May 1942, the fascist German army had 6.2 million people and weapons superior to the Red Army. Our army numbered 5.1 million people. without air defense troops and the Navy.
Thus, in the summer of 1942, against our ground forces, Germany and its allies had 1.1 million more soldiers and officers. Germany and its allies maintained superiority in the number of troops from the first day of the war until 1943. In the summer of 1942, 217 enemy divisions and 20 enemy brigades operated on the Soviet-German front, that is, about 80% of all German ground forces.
In connection with this circumstance, the Headquarters did not transfer troops from the Western to the South-Western direction. This decision was correct, as was the decision to deploy strategic reserves in the area of Tula, Voronezh, Stalingrad and Saratov.
Most of our forces and means were concentrated not in the south-western, but in the western direction. Ultimately, this distribution of forces led to the defeat of the German, or rather European, army, and in this regard, it is inappropriate to talk about the incorrect distribution of our troops by the summer of 1942. It was thanks to this distribution of troops that we were able in November to gather forces near Stalingrad sufficient to defeat the enemy, and were able to replenish our troops in defensive battles.
In the summer of 1942, we could not hold the defense for a long time against the German troops, which were superior to us in forces and means, and were forced to retreat under the threat of encirclement.
It was not yet possible to compensate for the missing number of artillery, aviation and other types of weapons, since the evacuated enterprises were just beginning to operate at full capacity, and the military industry of Europe still surpassed the military industry of the Soviet Union.
German troops continued their offensive along the western (right) bank of the Don and sought, by all means, to reach the large bend of the river. Soviet troops retreated to natural lines where they could gain a foothold.
By mid-July, the enemy captured Valuiki, Rossosh, Boguchar, Kantemirovka, Millerovo. Before him opened the eastern road - to Stalingrad and the south - to the Caucasus.
The battle of Stalingrad is divided into two periods: defensive from July 17 to November 18 and offensive, culminating in the liquidation of a huge enemy group, from November 19, 1942 to February 02, 1943.
The defensive operation began on the distant approaches to Stalingrad. From July 17, the forward detachments of the 62nd and 64th armies offered fierce resistance to the enemy at the turn of the Chir and Tsymla rivers for 6 days.
The troops of Germany and its allies could not take Stalingrad.
The offensive of our troops began on November 19, 1942. The troops of the Southwestern and Don Fronts went on the offensive. This day went down in our history as Artillery Day. On November 20, 1942, the troops of the Stalingrad Front went on the offensive. On November 23, the troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts united in the Kalach-on-Don, Sovetsky area, closing the encirclement of German troops. The Headquarters and our General Staff calculated everything very well, tying Paulus's army hand and foot with a great distance from our advancing troops, the 62nd Army, located in Stalingrad, and the offensive of the troops of the Don Front.
New Year's Eve 1943, our courageous soldiers and officers met, as well as new year's eve 1942 winners.
A huge contribution to the organization of the victory at Stalingrad was made by the Headquarters and the General Staff, headed by A. M. Vasilevsky.
During the Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted 200 days and nights, Germany and its allies lost ¼ of the forces operating at that time on the Soviet-German front. “The total losses of enemy troops in the region of the Don, Volga, Stalingrad amounted to 1.5 million people, up to 3500 tanks and assault guns, 12 thousand guns and mortars, up to 3 thousand aircraft and a large number of other equipment. Such losses of forces and means had a catastrophic effect on the general strategic situation and shook the entire military machine of Nazi Germany to its foundations, ”wrote G.K. Zhukov.
During the two winter months of 1942-1943, the defeated German army was driven back to the positions from which it had begun the offensive in the summer of 1942. This great victory for our troops gave additional strength to both the fighters and the home front workers.
The troops of Germany and their allies were also defeated near Leningrad. On January 18, 1943, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts united, the ring of the blockade of Leningrad was broken.
A narrow corridor 8-11 kilometers wide adjacent to the southern coast Lake Ladoga, was cleared of the enemy and connected Leningrad with the country. Long-distance trains began to run from Leningrad to Vladivostok.
Hitler was going to take Leningrad in 4 weeks by July 21, 1941 and send the liberated troops to storm Moscow, but he could not take the city by January 1944 either. Hitler ordered proposals for the surrender of the city German troops not to accept and wipe the city off the face of the earth, but in fact, the German divisions stationed near Leningrad were wiped off the face of the earth by the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts. Hitler declared that Leningrad would be the first major city, captured by the Germans in the Soviet Union and spared no effort to capture it, but did not take into account that he was fighting not in Europe, but in Soviet Russia. I did not take into account the courage of the Leningraders and the strength of our weapons.
The victorious conclusion of the Battle of Stalingrad and the breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad became possible not only thanks to the stamina and courage of the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army, the ingenuity of our soldiers and the knowledge of our military leaders, but, above all, thanks to the heroic work of the rear.
Day of memory and sorrow in 2019 is celebrated on June 22. This is a memorable date in Russia. The holiday is timed to the date of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (WWII). In 2019, it is officially held in the Russian Federation for the 24th time. The first persons of the state, war veterans, relatives of fallen soldiers, people who are not indifferent to the events of the war, youth and charitable organizations take part in the commemorative events.
The purpose of the holiday is to honor the heroism of the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War.
history of the holiday
The Day of Remembrance and Sorrow was established by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation B. Yeltsin dated June 8, 1996 No. 857. Before that, June 22 was declared the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of the Fatherland, according to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation of July 13, 1992. In 2007, the Day of Memory and Sorrow became a memorable date in Russia.
The date of the holiday is timed to the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. On June 22, 1941, at 4 o'clock in the morning, Nazi troops invaded the territory of the USSR.
Holiday traditions
On the Day of Memory and Sorrow in Russia, state flags are flown at half mast. Wreath-laying ceremonies are held at the memorials of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Minutes of silence are announced. The President of the Russian Federation lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
Memorial services are held in the temples for those who died during the Second World War.
The all-Russian patriotic action “Memory watch. Eternal flame". Participants light the Candle of Memory to pay tribute to the heroism of the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. The campaigns “A candle of memory on June 22 - a candle of memory on my window”, “Line of memory” are taking place. On the eve of the holiday, the action "Train of memory" is held. The train with WWII veterans and youth organizations follows the Moscow-Minsk-Brest route. On June 22, train passengers take part in the requiem rally “Let's bow to those great years” in the Brest Fortress. They light candles from eternal flame and lower them into the river Bug.
Charitable foundations raise money to help combatants. Thematic history lessons are held in schools. Young people meet with war veterans.
Exhibitions are organized military equipment. Military song concerts are organized. Open-air cinemas broadcast films about the war. TV channels and radio stations remove entertainment programs from the air.
- As a result of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR lost 26.6 million people. 4-5 million were captured by the Nazis.
“On June 21 at 21.00, a soldier who had fled from the German army, Alfred Liskov, was detained at the Sokal commandant's office. Since there was no interpreter at the commandant's office, I ordered the commandant of the section, Captain Bershadsky, to deliver the soldier in the city of Vladimir to the detachment headquarters by truck.
At 0.30 on June 22, 1941, the soldier arrived in the city of Vladimir-Volynsk. Through an interpreter, at about 1 a.m., soldier Liskov testified that on June 22, at dawn, the Germans should cross the border. I immediately reported this to the responsible officer on duty at the headquarters of the troops, Brigadier Commissar Maslovsky. At the same time, I personally informed the commander of the 5th Army, Major General Potapov, by telephone, who was suspicious of my message, not taking it into account.
I personally was also not firmly convinced of the veracity of the message of soldier Liskov, but nevertheless called the commandants of the districts and ordered to strengthen the protection of the state border, to put up special listeners to the river. Bug and in the event of the Germans crossing the river, destroy them with fire. At the same time, he ordered that if anything suspicious was noticed (any movement on the adjacent side), immediately report to me personally. I was at headquarters all the time.
The commandants of the districts at 1.00 on June 22 reported to me that nothing suspicious was seen on the adjacent side, everything is calm ... "("Mechanisms of War" with reference to the RGVA, f. 32880, on. 5, d. 279, l. 2. Copy).
Despite doubts about the reliability of the information transmitted by the German soldier, and the skeptical attitude towards it on the part of the commander of the 5th Army, it was promptly transferred "upstairs".
From the telephone message of the UNKGB in the Lvov region to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR.
" On June 22, 1941, at 3:10 a.m., the UNKGB in the Lvov region transmitted the following message by telephone to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR: “A German corporal who crossed the border in the Sokal region testified as follows: his surname is Liskov Alfred Germanovich, 30 years old, worker, carpenter of a furniture factory in Kolberg (Bavaria), where he left his wife, child, mother and father.
The corporal served in the 221st sapper regiment of the 15th division. The regiment is located in the village of Tselenzha, which is 5 km north of Sokal. He was drafted into the army from the reserve in 1939.
He considers himself a communist, is a member of the Union of Red Soldiers, says that life in Germany is very hard for soldiers and workers.
Before evening, his company commander, Lieutenant Schultz, gave the order and announced that tonight, after artillery preparation, their unit would begin crossing the Bug on rafts, boats and pontoons. As a supporter of the Soviet government, having learned about this, he decided to run to us and tell us.("History in documents" with reference to "1941. Documents". Soviet archives. "News of the Central Committee of the CPSU", 1990, No. 4. ").
G.K. Zhukov recalls: “At about 24 hours on June 21, the commander of the Kyiv district, M.P. Kirponos, who was at his command post in Ternopil, reported via HF [...] another German soldier appeared in our units - 222- th infantry regiment 74th Infantry Division. He swam across the river, appeared to the border guards and said that at 4 o'clock the German troops would go on the offensive. M.P. Kirponos was ordered to quickly transmit the directive to the troops on bringing them to combat readiness ... ".
However, there was no time left. The above-mentioned head of the 90th border detachment, M.S. Bychkovsky, continues his testimony as follows:
"... In view of the fact that the translators in the detachment are weak, I called a German teacher from the city, who is fluent in German, and Liskov repeated the same thing again, that is, that the Germans were preparing to attack the USSR at dawn on June 22, 1941. He called himself a communist and stated that he had come specifically to warn on his personal initiative.
Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, he heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant's office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken ... "(cit. source) The Great Patriotic War began.
03:00 - 13:00, General Staff - Kremlin. First hours of the war
Was the German attack on the USSR completely unexpected? What did the generals, the General Staff and the People's Commissariat of Defense do in the first hours of the war? There is a version that the beginning of the war was banally overslept - both in the border units and in Moscow. With the news of the bombardment of Soviet cities and the transition of the fascist troops to the offensive, confusion and panic arose in the capital.
Here is how G.K. Zhukov recalls the events of that night: “On the night of June 22, 1941, all employees of the General Staff and the People's Commissariat of Defense were ordered to remain in their places. It was necessary to transfer to the districts as soon as possible a directive on bringing the border troops on combat readiness. At this time, the people's commissar of defense and I were in continuous negotiations with the commanders of the districts and the chiefs of staff, who reported to us about the increasing noise on the other side of the border.They received this information from the border guards and forward units of the cover.Everything indicated that the German troops were moving closer to the border."
The first message about the beginning of the war was received by the General Staff at 03:07 on June 22, 1941.
Zhukov writes: “At 03:07, the Black Sea Fleet Commander F.S. Oktyabrsky called me on HF and said: “The VNOS [air surveillance, warning and communications] system of the fleet reports on the approach from the sea of a large number of unknown aircraft; the fleet is in full combat readiness, I ask for instructions" [...]
“At 4 o’clock I again spoke with F.S. Oktyabrsky. He reported in a calm tone: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to hit the ships was thwarted. But there is destruction in the city.”
As can be seen from these lines, the beginning of the war did not take the Black Sea Fleet by surprise. The air raid was repulsed.
03.30: Chief of Staff of the Western District, General Klimovskikh, reported on an enemy air raid on the cities of Belarus.
03:33 The chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reported on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine.
03:40: Commander of the Baltic District General Kuznetsov and reported on the raid on Kaunas and other cities.
03:40: People's Commissar of Defense S. K. Timoshenko ordered the Chief of the General Staff G. K. Zhukov to call Stalin at the "Near Dacha" and report on the start of hostilities. After listening to Zhukov, Stalin ordered:
Come with Tymoshenko to the Kremlin. Tell Poskrebyshev to call all the members of the Politburo.
04.10: The Western and Baltic special districts reported the start of hostilities by German troops in the land sectors.
At 4:30 am, members of the Politburo, People's Commissar for Defense Tymoshenko, and Chief of the General Staff Zhukov gathered in the Kremlin. Stalin asked to urgently contact the German embassy.
The embassy said that Ambassador Count von Schulenburg asked to receive him for an urgent message. Molotov went to meet Schulenberg. Returning to the office, he said:
The German government has declared war on us.
At 07:15, JV Stalin signed a directive to the Armed Forces of the USSR on the repulse of Hitler's aggression.
At 9:30 a.m., I. V. Stalin, in the presence of S. K. Timoshenko and G. K. Zhukov, edited and signed a decree on mobilization and the imposition of martial law in the European part of the country, as well as on the formation of the Headquarters of the High Command and a number of other documents .
On the morning of June 22, it was decided that at 12 o'clock V. M. Molotov would address the peoples of the Soviet Union with the Statement of the Soviet Government by radio.
“JV Stalin,” recalls Zhukov, “being seriously ill, of course, could not make an appeal to the Soviet people. He, together with Molotov, drafted a statement.”
“At about 1 pm I.V. Stalin called me,” writes Zhukov in his memoirs, “and said:
Our front commanders do not have sufficient experience in directing the combat operations of troops and, apparently, are somewhat confused. The Politburo has decided to send you to the Southwestern Front as a representative of the Headquarters of the High Command. We will send Shaposhnikov and Kulik to the Western Front. I called them to my place and gave the appropriate instructions. You need to fly immediately to Kyiv and from there, together with Khrushchev, go to the front headquarters in Ternopil.
I asked:
And who will lead General Staff in such a difficult environment?
JV Stalin replied:
Leave Vatutin behind.
Don't waste your time, we'll get around here somehow.
I called home so that they would not wait for me, and after 40 minutes I was already in the air. I just remembered that I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. The pilots helped me out by treating me with strong tea and sandwiches. (the chronology is based on the memoirs of G.K. Zhukov).
05:30. Hitler announces the start of war with the USSR
On June 22, 1941, at 5:30 am, Reich Minister Dr. Goebbels, in a special broadcast on the Great German Radio, read out Adolf Hitler's appeal to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against the Soviet Union.
“...Today, 160 Russian divisions are stationed on our border,” the appeal said, in particular. “In recent weeks, there have been continuous violations of this border, not only ours, but also in the far north and in Romania. Russian pilots amuse themselves by who carelessly fly over this border, as if they want to show us that they already feel like masters of this territory.On the night of June 17-18, Russian patrols again invaded the territory of the Reich and were driven out only after a long skirmish.But now the hour has come when it is necessary to oppose this conspiracy of Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow.
German people! AT this moment carried out the greatest in its extent and scope of the performance of troops, which the world has ever seen. In alliance with the Finnish comrades are the fighters of the winner at Narvik near the Arctic Ocean. The German divisions under the command of the conqueror of Norway, together with the Finnish heroes of the struggle for freedom, under the command of their marshal, defend the Finnish land. Formations of the German eastern front were deployed from East Prussia to the Carpathians. On the banks of the Prut and in the lower reaches of the Danube to the Black Sea coast, Romanian and German soldiers united under the command of the head of state Antonescu.
The task of this front is no longer to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and thereby the salvation of all.
That is why I have decided today to once again place the fate and future of the German Reich and our people in the hands of our soldiers. May the Lord help us in this struggle!
Battles across the front
Fascist troops went on the offensive along the entire front. Not everywhere the attack developed according to the scenario conceived by the German General Staff. The Black Sea Fleet repelled an air raid. In the south, in the north, the Wehrmacht failed to gain an overwhelming advantage. Heavy positional battles ensued here.
Army Group "North" ran into fierce resistance from Soviet tankers near the city of Alytus. The capture of the crossing over the Neman was critical for the advancing German forces. Here, units of the 3rd Panzer Group of the Nazis stumbled upon the organized resistance of the 5th Panzer Division.
Only dive bombers managed to break the resistance of the Soviet tankers. 5th tank division did not have air cover, under the threat of destruction of manpower and equipment, it began to retreat.
The bombers swooped down on the Soviet tanks until noon on 23 June. The division lost almost all armored vehicles and, in fact, ceased to exist. However, on the first day of the war, the tankers did not leave the line and stopped the advance of the Nazi troops inland.
The main blow of the German troops fell on Belarus. Here the Brest Fortress stood in the way of the Nazis. In the first seconds of the war, a hail of bombs fell on the city, followed by heavy artillery fire. After that, units of the 45th Infantry Division went on the attack.
The hurricane fire of the Nazis caught the defenders of the fortress by surprise. However, the garrison, numbering 7-8 thousand people, put up fierce resistance to the advancing German units.
By the middle of the day on June 22, the Brest Fortress was completely surrounded. Part of the garrison managed to break out of the "cauldron", part was blocked and continued to resist.
By the evening of the first day of the war, the Nazis managed to capture the southwestern part of the fortress city, the northeast was under the control of Soviet troops. Pockets of resistance also remained in the territories controlled by the Nazis.
Despite the complete encirclement and overwhelming superiority in people and equipment, the Nazis failed to break the resistance of the defenders of the Brest Fortress. Skirmishes continued here until November 1941.
Battle for air supremacy
From the first minutes of the war, the USSR Air Force entered into a fierce battle with enemy aircraft. The attack was sudden, some of the aircraft did not have time to rise from the airfields and were destroyed on the ground. The Belarusian military district took the greatest blow. The 74th assault aviation regiment, which was based in Pruzhany, was attacked at about 4 am by Messerschmites. The regiment did not have air defense systems, the planes were not dispersed, as a result of which enemy aircraft smashed equipment as if on a training ground.
A completely different situation developed in the 33rd Fighter Aviation Regiment. Here the pilots entered the battle as early as 3.30 in the morning, when over Brest the link of Lieutenant Mochalov shot down a German plane. This is how the Aviation Encyclopedia website "Corner of the Sky" describes the battle of the 33rd IAP (article by A. Gulyas):
“Soon, about 20 He-111s flew into the airfield of the regiment under the cover of a small group of Bf-109s. At that time, there was only one squadron there, which took off and entered the battle. Soon the other three squadrons, returning from patrolling the Brest-Kobrin area, joined it. "In the battle the enemy lost 5 aircraft. Two Non-111s were destroyed by Lieutenant Gudimov. He won his last victory at 5.20 in the morning, ramming a German bomber. Twice more, the regiment successfully intercepted large groups of Heinkels on the distant approaches to the airfield. After another interception, the returning already on the last liters of fuel, the regiment's I-16s were attacked by Messerschmitts. No one could take off to help. The airfield was subjected to continuous attack for almost an hour. By 10 o'clock in the morning, not a single aircraft capable of taking off was left in the regiment ... ".
The 123rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, whose airfield was located near the town of Imenin, just like the 74th Attack Aviation Regiment, did not have anti-aircraft cover. However, its pilots were in the air from the first minutes of the war:
“By 5.00 am, B.N. Surin already had a personal victory - he shot down a Bf-109. On the fourth sortie, being seriously wounded, he brought his“ seagull ”to the airfield, but could no longer land. Obviously, he died in the cockpit while leveling ... Boris Nikolaevich Surin fought 4 fights, personally shot down 3 German aircraft. But it did not become a record. The best sniper of the day turned out to be a young pilot Ivan Kalabushkin: at dawn he destroyed two Ju-88s, closer to noon - He-111s, and at sunset two Bf-109s were sent as victims of his nimble "seagull"! .. "- reports the Aviation Encyclopedia.
“At about eight in the morning, four fighters piloted by Mr. M.P. Mozhaev, L. G.N. Zhidov, P.S. Ryabtsev and Nazarov flew out against eight Messerschmitt-109s. Taking Zhidov’s car into the “pincers” ", the Germans knocked her out. Rescuing a comrade, Mozhaev shot down one fascist. Zhidov set fire to the second. Having used up ammunition, Ryabtsev rammed a third enemy. Thus, in this battle, the enemy lost 3 cars, and we lost one. For 10 hours, the pilots of the 123rd IAP were heavy fighting, making 10-14 and even 17 sorties. Technicians, working under enemy fire, ensured the readiness of aircraft. During the day, the regiment shot down about 30 (according to other sources, more than 20) enemy aircraft, losing 9 of its own in the air."
Unfortunately, in the absence of communication and the prevailing confusion, timely delivery of ammunition and fuel was not organized. Fighting vehicles fought to the last drop of gasoline and the last bullet. After that, they froze dead on the airfield and became easy prey for the Nazis.
The total losses of Soviet aircraft on the first day of the war amounted to 1160 aircraft.
12:00. Radio speech by V.M. Molotov
At noon on June 22, 1941, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov read out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union:
"CITIZENS AND CITIZENS OF THE SOVIET UNION!
The Soviet government and its head, Comrade Stalin, have instructed me to make the following statement:
Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without presenting any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed our cities - Zhitomir, Kyiv, Sevastopol, Kaunas from their aircraft. and some others, more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Enemy aircraft raids and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory.
This unheard-of attack on our country is treachery unparalleled in the history of civilized peoples. The attack on our country was carried out despite the fact that a non-aggression pact was concluded between the USSR and Germany and the Soviet government fulfilled all the conditions of this pact in all good faith. The attack on our country was carried out despite the fact that during the entire period of the validity of this treaty the German government could never make a single claim against the Soviet Union regarding the fulfillment of the treaty. The entire responsibility for this predatory attack on the Soviet Union falls entirely on the German fascist rulers.
Already after the attack, the German ambassador in Moscow, Schulenburg, at 5:30 in the morning, made a statement to me, as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of his government that the German government had decided to go to war against the Soviet Union in connection with the concentration of Red Army units near eastern German border.
In response to this, on behalf of the Soviet government, I stated that until the last minute the German government did not make any claims against the Soviet government, that Germany attacked the Soviet Union, despite the peace-loving position of the Soviet Union, and that thereby fascist Germany was the attacking side .
On behalf of the government of the Soviet Union, I must also state that at no point did our troops and our aviation allow the border to be violated, and therefore the statement made by the Romanian radio this morning that the Soviet aviation allegedly fired on Romanian airfields is a complete lie and provocation. Hitler's entire declaration today is just as much a lie and a provocation, trying to concoct, retroactively, accusatory material about the Soviet Union's non-compliance with the Soviet-German pact.
Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repulse the piratical attack and drive the German troops out of our homeland.
This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intelligentsia, whose sufferings we understand very well, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French, Czechs, Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples .
The Government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and brave falcons Soviet aviation they will honorably fulfill their duty to their homeland, to the Soviet people, and deal a crushing blow to the aggressor.
This is not the first time our people have had to deal with an attacking arrogant enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon's campaign in Russia with a Patriotic War, and Napoleon was defeated and came to his own collapse. The same will happen with the arrogant Hitler, who has announced a new campaign against our country, the Red Army and all our people will again wage a victorious patriotic war for the motherland, for honor, for freedom.
The Government of the Soviet Union expresses its firm conviction that the entire population of our country, all workers, peasants and intelligentsia, men and women, will treat their duties and their work with due conscience. All our people must now be united and united as never before. Each of us must demand from ourselves and others discipline, organization, selflessness, worthy of a true Soviet patriot, in order to provide for all the needs of the Red Army, fleet and aviation, in order to ensure victory over the enemy.
The government calls on you, citizens and women of the Soviet Union, to rally your ranks still more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader Comrade Stalin.
Our cause is right. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".
The first atrocities of the Nazis
The first case of atrocities by the German army on the territory of the Soviet Union falls on the first day of the war. On June 22, 1941, the Nazis, advancing, broke into the village of Albinga, Klaipeda region of Lithuania.
The soldiers robbed and burned all the houses. Residents - 42 people - were herded into a barn and locked up. During the day of June 22, the Nazis killed several people - they beat them to death or shot them.
The next morning, the systematic destruction of people began. Groups of peasants were taken out of the barn and shot in cold blood. First all the men, then the turn came to women and children. Those who tried to escape into the forest were shot in the back.
In 1972, a memorial ensemble for the victims of fascism was created near Ablinga.
The first summary of the Great Patriotic War
SUMMARY OF THE HIGH COMMAND OF THE RED ARMY
for 22.VI. - 1941
At dawn on June 22, 1941, the regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the BALTIC to the BLACK Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, the German troops met with the advanced units of the field troops of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the GRODNO and KRYSTYNOPOLS directions did the enemy manage to achieve minor tactical successes and occupy the towns of KALVARIYA, STOJANOW and TSEKHANOVEC (the first two at 15 km and the last at 10 km from the border).
Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and settlements, but everywhere met a decisive rebuff from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy planes. from RIA Novosti funds
23:00 (GMT). Winston Churchill's speech on BBC radio
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on June 22 at 23:00 GMT made a statement in connection with the aggression of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union.
"... The Nazi regime has the worst features of communism," in particular, he said on the air of the BBC radio station. no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than I have been in the past 25 years. I will not take back a single word I have said about it. But all this pales before the spectacle now unfolding. The past with its crimes, follies and tragedies disappears.
I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial.
I see them guarding their homes, where their mothers and wives pray - yes, for there are times when everyone prays - for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, their protector and support.
I see tens of thousands of Russian villages, where the means of subsistence are torn from the ground with such difficulty, but where there are primordial human joys, where girls laugh and children play.
I see how the vile Nazi war machine is approaching all this, with its dapper, rattling Prussian officers, with its skillful agents, who have just pacified and tied hand and foot a dozen countries.
I also see a gray, well-drilled, obedient mass of ferocious Hun soldiers advancing like swarms of creeping locusts.
I see German bombers and fighters in the sky, still scarred from the wounds inflicted on them by the British, rejoicing that they have found what they think is easier and surer prey.
Behind all this noise and thunder, I see a bunch of villains who are planning, organizing and bringing this avalanche of disasters to humanity ... I must announce the decision of His Majesty's Government, and I am sure that the great dominions will agree with this decision in due time, for we should speak out immediately, without a single day of delay. I have to make a statement, but can you doubt what our policy will be?
We have only one single unchanging goal. We are determined to destroy Hitler and all traces of the Nazi regime. Nothing can turn us away from it, nothing. We will never negotiate, we will never enter into negotiations with Hitler or with any of his gang. We will fight him on land, we will fight him at sea, we will fight him in the air until, with God's help, we rid the earth of his very shadow and free the peoples from his yoke. Any person or state that fights against Nazism will receive our help. Any person or state that goes with Hitler is our enemy...
This is our policy, this is our statement. It follows from this that we will give Russia and the Russian people all the help that we can ... "
Russian Federation June 22 is celebrated as the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow. In the calendar of mourning dates, it was under this name that June 22 was marked on the basis of decree No. 857 of the President of the Russian Federation (at that time Boris Yeltsin) dated June 8, 1996 - as the day of the invasion of Nazi troops into the territory of the Soviet Union.
The full text of the mentioned decree:
June 22, 1941 is one of the saddest dates in our history, the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. This day reminds us of all the dead, tortured in fascist captivity, who died in the rear from hunger and deprivation. We mourn for all those who, at the cost of their lives, fulfilled the sacred duty of defending the Motherland.
Paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, as well as the victims of all wars for the freedom and independence of our Fatherland, I decree:
1. Establish that June 22 is the Day of Memory and Sorrow.
On the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow throughout the country:
the State flags of the Russian Federation are flown at half mast; in cultural institutions, on television and radio, entertainment events and programs are canceled throughout the day.
And 75 years after the start of the Great Patriotic War, professional military historians cannot make an unambiguous conclusion about the losses that the Soviet Union suffered in the confrontation with numerous invaders who crossed the borders of the Fatherland. Data on combat losses at the front are often superimposed on reports of civilian casualties in Nazi-occupied territories. Total number losses in bloody war in the history of mankind, suffered by the Soviet Union from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945, more than 25 million people. These are the soldiers who fell on the battlefield and died of wounds in hospitals, these are civilians who faced the horror of Nazism from Brest to Stalingrad, from Murmansk and Leningrad to Sevastopol.
What is 25 million losses? These are tens of millions of new lives not born, these are millions of families destroyed by grief and put on the brink of existence, this is the colossal economic, humanitarian, social damage suffered by our entire vast country and all the peoples inhabiting it. What is 25 million losses? At least in part, this significance can be illustrated by the wonderful action "Immortal Regiment", which is held annually not only in Russia - thousands and thousands of floating signs with the faces of those who died in the battles for the Fatherland. Moreover, the action "Immortal Regiment" is not only memory and sorrow, it is, first of all, pride in the feat that our ancestors accomplished, and which we all should be worthy of.
Long time in Soviet history it was not customary to report that against the Soviet people, along with German armies Hungarian, Finnish, Slovak, French, Bulgarian, Italian, Romanian and other formations came to fight. Now the Russians are aware of the real price of the so-called “partnership”, when those who call themselves friends today are sometimes not ready to miss their chance to plunge a knife into the back tomorrow, hoping to tear off a tasty piece of Russia for themselves under any far-fetched pretext. That is why the phrase that Russia has only two allies - the army and the navy - has been one of the mottos of the existence of a sovereign Fatherland for more than a century.
Three years ago, on the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, June 22, 2013, the Federal Military memorial cemetery(FVMK). One of those who attended the opening ceremony of the facility was Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. From his speech at the time:
Today we are opening the Federal War Memorial Cemetery. This event of national importance is timed to coincide with the Day of Memory and Sorrow. June 22, 1941 is one of the most tragic dates in the history of the country. For centuries, Russia has perpetuated the memory of the defenders of the Motherland, who gave their lives for the freedom and independence of the state. This is our tribute to the fallen heroes. “The uniqueness of the FVMK is not so much in its scale, but in the fact that it is designed to become a place where the memory of outstanding citizens of our country who have special merits to the Fatherland will be preserved. I am sure this place will become sacred for Russians.
An eternal flame was lit at the Sorrow monument.
The eternal flame is one of the main symbols of the memory of the unprecedented feat that was accomplished by the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. But an even more significant symbol for all of us is our own realization that we are the descendants of a great generation of people who managed to defend the country with their courage and heroism. It is their blood that flows in our veins, and our memory of their Victory is the best gift to all living veterans and those who are no longer with us.
At 4 am on June 22, 1941, after massive artillery and aviation training, German troops crossed the border of the USSR, and at 05:30 Adolf Hitler announced the start of the Third Reich's war with the Soviet Union. Thus, the beginning of the Great Patriotic War - a tragedy, lasted 1418 days and nights.
The sacrifice made by the peoples of the USSR must forever remain in the memory of mankind. According to the statistics of 1998, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, the total irretrievable losses of the Red (Soviet) Army amounted to 11,944,100 people, including 6,885,000 people killed, missing, 4,559,000 captured. In total, the Soviet Union lost 26,600 000 citizens. Among the victims of the war, 13.7 million people are civilians, of which 7.4 million were deliberately exterminated by the invaders, 2.2 million died at work in Germany, and 4.1 million died of starvation during the occupation.
During the war years, 1710 cities, more than 70 thousand villages, 32 thousand plants and factories were destroyed in the USSR, 98 thousand collective farms were plundered.
It can be said without exaggeration that on June 22, 1941, an enemy horde invaded the territory of our country. In total, the German command allocated 4,050,000 people to attack the Soviet Union (3,300,000 in the ground and SS troops, 650,000 in the Air Force and about 100,000 in the Navy). Three German groups consisted of 155 calculated divisions, 43,812 guns and mortars, 4,215 tanks and assault guns, and 3,909 aircraft. In total, 101 infantry, 4 light infantry, 4 mountain infantry, 10 motorized, 19 tank, 1 cavalry, 9 security divisions and 5 divisions and 1 SS battle group, as well as 1 motorized brigade, 1 motorized infantry regiment and a consolidated SS formation were allocated for the Eastern Campaign - in total over 155 settlement divisions, numbering 3300 thousand people.
Realizing the seriousness of such a step as a war against the Soviet Union, Germany used almost all the reserves at its disposal. 92.8% of the units of the Reserve of the High Command of the Wehrmacht were deployed against the USSR, including all divisions and batteries of assault guns, 3 out of 4 battalions of flamethrower tanks, 11 out of 14 armored trains, 92.1% of cannon, mixed, mortar, howitzer divisions, railway batteries, batteries of tethered balloons, Karl installations, AIR battalions, battalions and regiments of chemical mortars, motorized reconnaissance, machine-gun, anti-aircraft battalions, anti-aircraft batteries, anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery battalions of the RGK, as well as 94.2% of sapper, bridge-building , construction, road construction, scooter battalions, degassing and road degassing detachments.
The foreign invaders were opposed by the troops of the Red Army of the Western military districts, which numbered 3,088,160 people (2,718,674 in the Red Army, 215,878 in the Navy and 153,608 in the NKVD troops). The Red Army soldiers had at their disposal 57,041 guns and mortars, 13,924 tanks (of which 11,135 were operational) and 8,974 aircraft (of which 7,593 were operational). In addition, the aviation of the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea Fleets and the Pinsk military flotilla had 1769 aircraft (of which 1506 were operational).
These data show that the German command, having deployed the bulk of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front, was unable to achieve overwhelming superiority. In addition, the Wehrmacht did not have a clear qualitative superiority of technology, as well as its quantitative superiority. Why did the first days of the war turn into a disaster for the Red Army? One of the main reasons is the fact that the Wehrmacht troops concentrated for the attack on the USSR were in a deployed state and in full combat readiness, and the Red Army had just begun the concentration and deployment of troops in the West. This circumstance, coupled with the dominance of the Lufftwaffe in the air and the confusion of the leadership of the USSR in the first days of the war, allowed the German troops to smash the Red Army units in parts and on marches.
The Red Army soldiers and commanders everywhere showed mass heroism, however, without ammunition, fortifications, air and artillery cover, our troops were forced to retreat from the border, suffering millions of losses. The Wehrmacht in the first months of the war managed to practically bleed the cadre army of the USSR. Only our people could withstand such a blow. Almost no one in Washington and London doubted that the Soviet Union was doomed. The US ambassador in Moscow reported to Washington that the USSR would fall within a week. The Minister of War predicted that Moscow would fall within one - a maximum of three months. However, these predictions did not come true.
With stubborn resistance, not sparing their lives, the soldiers of the Red Army bled the advancing Wehrmacht, destroyed the plans of the German command. As an example of the heroism of the defenders of our country on June 22, one can cite the actions of the Libau border detachment. “On June 22, 1941, at 6 o’clock, the 25th outpost entered into battle with the enemy with a force of up to an infantry company supported by artillery. On June 22, 1941, by 13:40, outposts 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 of the 5th commandant's office were concentrated at the headquarters in Rucava. The command of the group was entrusted to the chief of staff of the detachment, Major Chernikov, the propaganda instructor of the battalion commissar Strelnikov. At 15:30 on June 22, 1941, enemy reconnaissance, consisting of 14 motorcyclists, passed to the rear, was completely destroyed. At 17:00, the commandant's office entered into battle with the main enemy forces. The battle continued until 20:00. The enemy's attempts to capture Cape Rucava were repulsed with heavy losses for him. At 20:00, Major Chernikov made a maneuver - he withdrew from the occupied line, retreated to the edge of the forest and began to bypass the enemy from the flank; left two disguised heavy machine guns on the spot under the leadership of the head of the 25th outpost, Lieutenant Zaporozhets. When the enemy column, up to the infantry battalion, approached the area where the heavy machine guns were located, Lieutenant Zaporozhets began to shoot the enemy point-blank. The enemy battalion was defeated, the remnants fled back, leaving up to 300 dead soldiers and officers, vehicles and motorcycles on the spot, ”reported the head of the troops for the protection of the military rear of the North-Western Front, Colonel Golovkov.
Objectively assessing the events of that terrible day, one cannot say that it was a disgrace to the Soviet people, since it was precisely the mistakes of the country's top military and political leadership that led to the bloody failures of the initial period of the war. With skillful leadership, the tragedy could have been avoided, as evidenced by the actions of the leadership of the Navy and Soviet sailors on the first day of the war. Recall that on the first day of the Great Patriotic War, the invaders did not sink a single Soviet ship. This is a direct merit of the People's Commissar of the Navy of the USSR and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Nikolai Kuznetsov, who even before the attack brought the fleet into state of combat readiness number one. "In the war diary Baltic Fleet written: "23 hours 37 minutes. Operational readiness No. 1 has been declared.” People were in place: the fleet had been on high alert since June 19. It took only two minutes for the actual preparation to repulse the enemy’s strike to begin, ”the admiral recalled in his memoirs“ On the Eve ”. The sailors of other fleets acted with the same speed.
“The first to take the blow was Sevastopol. Even though others entered the battle only an hour or two later, they already knew: the enemy attacked our Motherland, the war began! Sevastopol met the attack prepared... 3 hours 07 minutes. German planes approached Sevastopol stealthily, at low altitude. All of a sudden searchlights flared up, bright rays began to fumble across the sky. The anti-aircraft guns of coastal batteries and ships began to speak. Several planes caught fire and began to fall. Others hurried to drop their load. They had the task of blocking the ships in the bays of Sevastopol, preventing them from going to sea. The enemy did not succeed. Mines fell not on the fairway, but on the shore. Some hit the city and exploded there, destroying houses, causing fires and killing people. The mines were parachuted down, and many residents thought it was an airborne assault. In the dark, it was not surprising to mistake mines for soldiers. Unarmed Sevastopol residents, women and even children rushed to the landing site to grab the Nazis. But the mines exploded, and the number of victims grew. However, the raid was repulsed, and on June 22 Sevastopol met the dawn fully armed, bristling with guns that looked into the sky and into the sea, ”said Kuznetsov.
“... I still hoped that the government’s instructions on the first actions in the conditions of the outbreak of war were about to follow. There were no instructions.
I, on my own responsibility, ordered that the official notice of the beginning of the war and the repulsion of enemy attacks by all means be transmitted to the fleets, on the basis of this, the Military Council of the Baltic Fleet, for example, announced at 5:17 on June 22 in the fleet: “Germany has launched an attack on our bases and ports. By the force of arms, repel any attempt to attack the enemy, ”the commander noted in his memoirs.
If we summarize the events of those days, we can say that it was a tragedy. However, this is the heroism of the Soviet people, who managed to reverse the tragic beginning of the Great Patriotic War and defeat the Nazi hordes. On June 22, on the Day of Sorrow, let's remember those heroes who fought the enemy and, despite the defeats of the first days, brought Victory Day closer. Also, let's not forget that in those years representatives of all Soviet republics marched in the same ranks. So this Day of Sorrow is common for millions of people, even though they are now separated by borders.
