22 June 1941 Year - the beginning of the Great Patriotic War

On June 22, 1941 at 4 am, without declaring war, fascist Germany and its allies attacked the Soviet Union. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War fell not just on Sunday. It was the church holiday of all saints, in the land of the Russian she who.

Parts of the Red Army were attacked by German troops throughout the border. Bombarders were subjected to Riga, Window, Libava, Schauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius, Grodno, Lida, Volkovysk, Brest, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Zhytomyr, Kiev, Sevastopol and many other cities, railway junctions, airfields, USSR naval databases The artillery shelling of border fortifications and distlocation areas of Soviet troops near the border from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathians were carried out. The Great Patriotic War began.

Then no one knew that in the history of mankind she would be included as the most bloody. No one guessed that the Soviet people would go through inhuman tests, pass and defeat. Raise the world from fascism, showing everyone that the spirit of the Red Army soldier is not given to break the invaders. Nobody could assume that the names of the city-heroes will be known to the world that Stalingrad will become a symbol of the persistence of our people, Leningrad - a symbol of courage, Brest - a symbol of courage. What, on a par with warriors, the land from the fascist plague of the heroic will protect the old men, women and children.

1418 days and nights of the war.

Over 26 million human lives ...

These photos unites one thing: they are made in the first hours and the days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic.

On the eve of the war

Soviet border guards in the dosor. The photo is interested in the fact that it was made for the newspaper on one of the removal on the Western border of the USSR on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the war.

Next German aviation

The first hit the border guards and fighters of cover parts. They not only defended, but also passed into counterattacks. A whole month in the rear of the Germans fought a garrison of the Brest Fortress. Even after the enemy managed to master the fortress, its separate defenders continued to resist. The last one was captured by the Germans in the summer of 1942.

The picture was made on 06/24/1941.

For the first 8 hours of war, the Soviet aviation lost 1200 aircraft, of which about 900 were lost on earth (66 airfields were bombarded). The greatest losses of the Western Special Military District - 738 aircraft (528 on Earth). Having learned about such losses, the head of the District Air Force General Major Copets I.I. Shot.

On the morning of June 22, the Moscow radio passed the usual Sundays and peaceful music. Soviet citizens learned about the beginning of the war only at noon, when Vyacheslav Molotov spoke on the radio. He said: "Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without presenting any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring the war, German troops attacked our country."

Poster 1941.

On the same day, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the mobilization of the military-rich 1905-1918 births on the territory of all military districts was published. Hundreds of thousands of men and women received the agenda, were in the military registration and enlistment office, and then they went to the front at the front.

The mobilization capabilities of the Soviet system, multiplied during the Great Patriotic War for Patriotism and the sacrifice of the people, played an important role in organizing energies, especially at the initial stage of war. Call "Everything for the front, everything for victory!" Was perceived by all the people. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens voluntarily went to the existing army. Over the week since the beginning of the war, over 5 million people were mobilized.

The line between the world and the war was invisible, and the change of reality people perceived not immediately. It seemed to many that this is just some kind of masquerade, misunderstanding and soon everything will be resolved.

Stubborn resistance Fascist troops met in battles near Minsk, Smolensk, Vladimir-Volynsky, Mamolemb, Lutsk, Dubno, Rivne, Mogilev, etc.And yet, in the first three weeks of the war, the troops of the Red Army left Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, a significant part of Ukraine and Moldova. Six days after the start of the war, Pal Minsk. The German army has advanced in various directions from 350 to 600 km. The Red Army lost almost 800 thousand people.

The turning point in the perception of the residents of the Soviet Union of the War, of course, became August 14 . It was then that the whole country suddenly learned that the Germans occupied Smolensk . It really was thunder among the clear sky. While the battles went "somewhere there, in the West," and the city flashed in the reports, the location of which many could imagine with great difficulty, it seemed that all the same, the war was still far away. Smolensk is not just the name of the city, this word meant a lot. First, it is already more than 400 km from the border, secondly, only 360 km to Moscow. And thirdly, in contrast to all sorts of wine, Grodno and Molodechno, Smolensk is an ancient purely Russian city.

The resistance of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 disrupted Hitler's plans. The fascists failed to quickly take any Moscow nor Leningrad, and since September the long defense of Leningrad begins. In Polar, the Soviet troops in cooperation with the Northern Fleet defended Murmansk and the main database of the fleet - polar. Although in Ukraine in October - November, the opponent seized Donbass, she mastered Rostov, broke into the Crimea, nevertheless, and here his troops were sought by the defense of Sevastopol. The connections of the Army Group "South" could not through the Kerch Strait to reach the rear of the Soviet troops remaining in the lower reaches of Don.

Minsk 1941. Execution of Soviet prisoners of war

September 30th within operations "Typhoon" Germans began general attack on Moscow . Its beginning was unfavorable for Soviet troops. Pali Bryansk and Vyazma. October 10, the commander of the Western Front was appointed G.K. Zhukov. October 19, Moscow was declared in siege. In bloody fights, the Red Army still managed to stop the enemy. Strengthening the "Center" armies group, the German command in mid-November resumed an offensive to Moscow. Overcoming the resistance of the Western, Kalinin and right wing of the South-Western fronts, the strike groups of the enemy went around the city from the north and south and by the end of the month they went to the Moscow-Volga channel (25-30 km from the capital), approached Kashira. On this, German offensive choked. The explosion group of the Army Center "Center" was forced to go to defense, which also contributed to the successful offensive operations of the Soviet troops near Tikhvin (November 10 - December 30) and Rostov (November 17 - December 2). December 6 began counteroffensive red army As a result of which the enemy was discarded from Moscow at 100 - 250 km. Kaluga, Kalinin (Tver), Maloyaroslavets, etc. were liberated.

On guard of Moscow sky. Autumn 1941

The victory near Moscow had a huge strategic and moral and political importance, since she was the first since the beginning of the war.The immediate threat to Moscow was liquidated.

Although as a result of the summer-autumn campaign, our army moved to 850 - 1200 km deep into the country, and in the hands of the aggressor, the most important economic areas were the plans of Blitzkrieg. The Nazi leadership was before the inevitable prospect of a protracted war. The victory near Moscow has also changed the placement of forces in the international arena. The Soviet Union began to look at how the decisive factor of the Second World War. Japan was forced to refrain from the attack on the USSR.

In the winter of the Red Army, there was an offensive on other fronts. However, consolidated success failed primarily due to spraying forces and means at the front of a huge length.

During the offensive of German troops in May 1942, in 10 days, the Crimean Front was defeated on the Kerch Peninsula. May 15 I had to leave Kerch, and July 4, 1942 After stubborn defense fell Sevastopol. The enemy completely mastered the Crimea. In July - August, Rostov, Stavropol and Novorossiysk were captured. Stubborn battles were conducted in the central part of the Caucasian ridge.

Hundreds of thousands of our compatriots turned out to be more than 14 thousand concentration camps, prisons, ghetto scattered throughout Europe. Infectious figures testify about the scale of tragedy: only in the territory of Russia, the fascist invaders shot, stroke in gas chambers, burned, hung 1,7 million. Man (including 600 thousand children). In total, about 5 million Soviet citizens died in concentration camps.

But, despite the stubborn battles, the fascists failed to solve their main task - to break through in the Transcaucasus to master the oil reserves Baku. At the end of September, the offensive of the fascist troops in the Caucasus was stopped.

To deterrence the enemy Natius in the Eastern direction, the Stalingrad Front was created under the command of Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko. On July 17, 1942, an opponent under the command of General Background Paulus inflicted a powerful blow to the Stalingrad Front. In August, the fascists in stubborn battles broke through the Volga. Since the beginning of September 1942, the heroic defense of Stalingrad began. The battles were literally for each place of the Earth, for each house. Both sides carried colossal losses. By mid-November, the fascists were forced to stop the offensive. The heroic resistance of the Soviet troops made it possible to create favorable conditions for the transition of them into a counteroffensive under Stalingrad and thereby putting the start of the indigenous transference during the war.

By November 1942, almost 40% of the population was in German occupation. The regions captured by the Germans submitted to the military and civil administration. In Germany, a special ministry was established in the case of occupied regions headed by A. Rosenberg. Political supervision was provided by the SS and Police services. In places, the invaders have formed the so-called self-government - urban and district councils, the posts were introduced in the villages. Persons dissatisfied with the Soviet authorities were involved in cooperation. All residents of the occupied territories, not looking at age, were obliged to work. In addition, they participated in the construction of roads and defensive structures, they were forced to neutralize the mine fields. The civilian population, mainly youth, was also sent for forced work to Germany, where they were called "Ostarabeiter" and used as cheap labor. In total during the war years, 6 million people were hijacked. More than 6.5 million people were destroyed from hunger and epidemics in the occupied territory, more than 11 million Soviet citizens were shot in camps and at the place of residence.

November 19, 1942 Soviet troops switched to counteroffensive under Stalingrad (Operation "Uranus"). The structures of the Red Army were surrounded by 22 divisions and 160 separate parts of the Wehrmacht (about 330 thousand people). The Hitler's command has formed a group of the Don Army as part of 30 divisions and tried to break through the environment. However, this attempt was not crowned with success. In December, our troops, defeating this grouping, began an offensive on Rostov (Saturn Operation). By the beginning of February 1943, our troops eliminated the grouping of the fascist troops that were in the ring. 91 thousand people led by the commander of the 6th German army of General - Field Marshal von Paulus, headed by the commander of the 6th German army. Behind 6.5 months of the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943) Germany and its allies lost up to 1.5 million people, as well as a huge amount of technology. The military power of fascist Germany was significantly undermined.

The defeat near Stalingrad caused a deep political crisis in Germany. Three-day mourning was announced in it. Fell the fighting spirit of German soldiers, the affected moods covered the broad layers of the population, which less believed to the Führer.

The victory of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad marked the beginning of a native fired during World War II. The strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Soviet Armed Forces.

In January-February 1943, the Red Army is offensive on all fronts. In the Caucasian direction, Soviet troops advanced by the summer of 1943 by 500 - 600 km. In January 1943, Leningrad blocade was broken.

The command of the Wehrmacht planned in the summer of 1943 Conduct a large strategic offensive operation in the Kursk Region (Operation "Citadel") , defeat the Soviet troops here, and then strike into the rear of the South-Western Front (Operation "Panther") and subsequently, developing success, to re-establish a threat to Moscow. To this end, up to 50 divisions, including 19 tank and motorized, and other parts are only over 900 thousand people, were concentrated in the Kursk Arc area. This group was opposed by the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts, who had 1.3 million people. During the battle, the largest tank battle of the Second World War took place during the Battle of the Kursk Dug.

From July 5, 1943, a massive offensive of Soviet troops began. Within 5 - 7 days, our troops, stubbornly defending it, stopped the enemy, stunned by 10 - 35 km behind the front line, and moved to counteroffensive. It started July 12 in the area of \u200b\u200bProkhorovka where the oncoming tank battle in the history of wars occurred (with the participation of up to 1,200 tanks on both sides). In August 1943, our troops mastered the eagle and Belgorod. In honor of this victory in Moscow for the first time, the salute of the 12th artillery volley was produced. Continuing the offensive, our troops caused a crushing defeat.

In September, left-bank Ukraine and Donbass were liberated. On November 6, the compounds of the 1st Ukrainian Front entered Kiev.

Throwing the enemy by 200 - 300 km from Moscow, the Soviet troops began to liberate Belarus. From that moment on, our command kept the strategic initiative until the end of the war. From November 1942 to December 1943, the Soviet Army has advanced to the West by 500 - 1300 km, freeing about 50% of the territory occupied by the opponent. 218 divisions of the enemy were defeated. During this period, the Enemy's big damage was caused by partisan compounds, in the ranks of which up to 250 thousand people fought.

Significant success of the Soviet troops in 1943, the diplomatic and military-political cooperation of the USSR, the United States and the UK was activated. On November 28 - December 1, 1943, the Tehran Conference "Big Three" with the participation of I. Stalin (USSR), W. Churchill (United Kingdom) and F. Roosevelt (USA) took place.The leaders of the leading powers of the antihytler coalition identified the deadlines for the opening of the second front in Europe (an arrangement Overlord was scheduled for May 1944).

Tehran Conference "Big Troika" with the participation of I. Stalin (USSR), W. Churchill (United Kingdom) and F. Roosevelt (USA).

In the spring of 1944, he was cleared of the enemy of the Crimea.

At these favorable conditions, Western allies, after two-year training, opened the second front in Europe in the north of France. June 6, 1944 United Anglo-American Force (General D.Aizenhuer), who had over 2.8 million people, up to 11 thousand combat aircraft, over 12 thousand combat and 41 thousand transport ships, crossing the strait of La Mans and Pa-De- Kale, began the largest over the war years asphant Norman surgery (Overlord) and in August joined Paris.

Continuing to develop a strategic initiative, Soviet troops in the summer of 1944 launched a powerful offensive in Karelia (June 10 - August 9), Belarus (June 23 - August 29), in Western Ukraine (July 13 - 29) and Moldova (20 - 29 August).

In the course Belarusian operation (code name "Bagration") the group of army "Center" was defeated, the Soviet troops liberated Belarus, Latvia, part of Lithuania, the eastern part of Poland and went to the border with East Prussia.

The victories of the Soviet troops in the southern direction in the autumn of 1944 helped Bulgarian, Hungarian, Yugoslav and Czechoslovak nations in their liberation from fascism.

As a result of the hostilities of 1944, the State Border of the USSR, treacherously disturbed by Germany in June 1941, was restored throughout Barentshev to the Black Sea. The fascists were expelled from Romania, Bulgaria, from most areas of Poland and Hungary. In these countries, the proper regimes were overthrown, patriotic forces came to power. The Soviet army entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.

While the block of fascist states was collapsed, the antihytler coalition was streaked, as evidenced by the success of the Crimean (Yalta) conference of the heads of the USSR, the United States and the United Kingdom (from 4 to 11 February 1945).

But still a decisive role in the defeat of the enemy at the final stage was played by the Soviet Union. Thanks to the titanic efforts of the entire people, the technical equipment and armament of the army and the USSR fleet by the beginning of 1945 reached the highest level. In January - early April 1945, as a result of a powerful strategic offensive on the entire Soviet-German front forces of ten fronts, the Soviet army resolutely defeated the main forces of the enemy. During the East Prussian, Visol-Oder, West Carpathian and Completion of Budapest operations, Soviet troops created conditions for further strikes in Pomerania and Silesia, and then for the attack on Berlin. Almost all Poland and Czechoslovakia were liberated, the whole territory of Hungary.

Taking the capital of the Third Reich and the final defeat of fascism was carried out during Berlin Operations (April 16 - May 8, 1945).

April 30 in the Reichskancellery bunker Hitler committed suicide .

On the morning of May 1, over Reichstag Sergeants M.A. Egorov and M.V. Cantarium was driving a red banner as a symbol of victory to the Soviet people. On May 2, Soviet troops fully mastered the city. Attempts by the New German Government, which on May 1, 1945 after suicide A. Hitler was headed by Gross - Admiral K. Denitz, to achieve a separate world with the United States and the UK failed.

May 9, 1945 at 0 h. 43 min. In the suburb of Berlin, Karlshorst was signed an act on the unconditional surrender of the Armed Forces of Fascist Germany. From the Soviet side, this historical document signed the hero of war, Marshal G.K. Zhukov, from Germany - Feldmarshal Kaitel. On the same day, the remnants of the last major grouping of the enemy were defeated in Czechoslovakia in the Prague area. City Liberation Day - May 9 - became the day of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. The news of the victory with lightning speed was separated worldwide. The Soviet people, who suffered the greatest losses, met her in nationwide. Truly, there was a great holiday "with tears in the eyes."

In Moscow on Victory Day, a festive salute from a thousand guns was produced.

Great Patriotic War 1941-1945

Material prepared Sergey Shalyak

DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
June 22, 1941. ... Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without the presentation of any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring the war, the German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and subjected to the bombing of their aircraft our cities - Zhytomyr, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others…
The Red Army and all of our people will again behave a victorious Patriotic War for their homeland, for honor, for freedom ...
Our business is right. The enemy will be broken. Victory will be ours.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on mobilizing military service
... Mobilization is subject to military-bred, born from 1905 to 1918 inclusive. The first day of mobilization is considered June 23, 1941 ...
Moscow Kremlin. June 22, 1941.

"Each soldier had the first fight. He, this first fight, - for life. And in anticipation of him, truth comes, the insight, the highest knowledge of himself and his mission on earth. When I saw the dead - and enemies, and our fighters, the skids of the corpses - I no longer wanted to fight. Never..."

Night from 21 to 22 June 1941. Darkness. Fog. Silence. But silence is anxious. Border guards are carefully listened. On the opposite bank of the Bug, Hitler's troops finish recent preparations. Thousands of guns are bred, bombs are suspended to airplanes, fuel tanks are fired. The time "x" is approaching - 3.15 (4.15 Moscow time) ... roar. Explosions. Smoke fires. Screams of wounded, crying women and children. Moan of the earth itself ...

Chronicle of the Day.

21.06.41 - 22.06.41.

On 21 hours of Saturday, June 21, the soldiers of the 90th border detachment of the Social Comfusion (Ukraine, the modern Lviv region) was detained by the German soldier, the climb crossed by the Bug River.

Head of the 90th frontier Major M.S. Bychkovsky subsequently reported:

"On June 21 at 21.00, a soldier who fled from the German army, Liskov Alfred, was detained at the site of the Sokalsk Command. Since there was no translator in the commandation, I ordered the commandant of the site to captain the Bershad cargo car to deliver a soldier in Vladimir to the headquarters of the detachment.

At 0.30 June 22, 1941, the soldier arrived in Vladimir-Volynsk. Through the translator at about 1 another night, the Liskov soldiers showed that on June 22 at dawn, the Germans should move the border. I immediately reported to the responsible duty headquarters of the troops to the Maslovsky Commissioner. At the same time, he reported personally by the commander of the 5th Army, Major Major Potapov, who took suspiciously to my report without taking it into account.

I personally firmly was also not convinced of the truthfulness of the message of Liskov's soldier, but still called the commandants of the plots and ordered to strengthen the protection of the State Government, to set specially hearing to r. Bug and in case of crossing the Germans across the river, destroy them with fire. At the same time, he ordered if something suspicious was noticed (a movement of any congenial side), to immediately report to me personally. I was all the time in the headquarters.

The commandants of the plots at 1.00 June 22 reported to me that nothing suspicious on the adjacent side was not selected, everything is calm ... "(" War Mechanisms "with reference to the RGU, f. 32880, on. 5, d. 279, l. 2. Copy).

Despite doubts about the reliability of information transferred by the German soldier, and skeptical attitude towards it from the commander of the 5th Army, it was promptly transferred to "up".

From the telephone program of the ISNGB in the Lviv region in the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR.

"On June 22, 1941, at 3:10 minutes, the NKGB in the Lviv region, the following message was published on the telephone in the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR:" The German Efreitor turned out to be the following: the surname of his Liskov Alfred Germanovich, 30 years old, worker, car furniture factory G. Kolberg (Bavaria), where he left his wife, child, mother and father.

The corporal served in the 221th Sapper Regiment of the 15th Division. The regiment is located in the village of Celese, which is 5 km north of the Sokal. In the army is intended from stock in 1939

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

In the evening, his commander of the company Lieutenant Schulz gave an order and said that tonight after an artillery training, the transition of the Bug on the rafts, boats and pontoons would begin. As a supporter of Soviet power, learning about it, decided to run to us and report. " ("History in documents" with reference to "1941 documents." Soviet archives. "Izvestia CPSU Central Committee", 1990, No. 4. ").

G. Zhukov recalls: "At about 24 hours on June 21, the Commander of the Kiev District M. P. Kirponos, who was on his team point in Ternopil, reported on the RF in our parts, another German soldier appeared - the 222nd Infantry Regiment 74- in the infantry division. He swam the river, appeared to the border guards and said that at 4 o'clock the German troops will be transferred to the offensive. M. P. Kirponosu was ordered to transfer the directive to the troops on bringing them into combat readiness ... ".

However, time was no longer left. Molded above the head of the 90th frontier, M.S.bychkovsky so continues his testimony:

"... in view of the fact that translators in the detachment are weak, I called from the city of the German teacher, who perfectly owning the German language, and the licks again repeated the same thing, that is, the Germans are preparing to step up on the USSR at dawn on June 22, 1941 called Himself a communist and stated that he had arrived specifically warn on a personal initiative.

Without completing the interrogation of the soldier, heard a strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandanttry). I realized that these Germans opened fire in our territory, which was confirmed by the interrogated soldier. Immediately began to call the commandant, but the connection was broken ... "(Cyt. Ist.) The Great Patriotic War began.

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

Was there a German attack on the USSR completely unexpected? What made generals, General Staff and Defense People's Commissariat in the first hours of war? There is a version that the beginning of the war tritely slept - both in the border parts and in Moscow. With the message about the bombardment of Soviet cities and the transition of fascist troops in the offensive in the capital arose confusion and panic.

This is how the events of this night recalls G. Khukov: "On the night of June 22, 1941, all employees of the General Staff and the Drug Defense were ordered to remain in their places. It was necessary to transfer the Directive as soon as possible in the district to bring the border troops in combat readiness. At this time, I and the Commissar of Defense went continuous negotiations with commander of the districts and headquarters, who reported to us about the reinforced noise on the other side of the border. They received this information from the border guards and the best parts of the cover. Everything said that German troops are moving closer By border. "

The first message about the beginning of the war was enrolled in the General Staff at 3 hours 07 minutes on June 22, 1941.

Zhukov writes: "At 3 o'clock 07 minutes later, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet Fleet Oktyabrsky and said:" The Department Department of the fleet reports about the approach by the sea of \u200b\u200ba large number of unknown aircraft; the fleet is in full combat readiness. I ask for instructions "

"At 4 o'clock I spoke again with F.S. Oktyabrsky. He reported a calm tone: "The enemy falling off. Attempting for ships for ships. But the city has destruction "".

As can be seen from these lines, the Black Sea Fleet The beginning of the war did not catch the surprise. The airline was removed.

Next, calls came one by one:

03.30: The head of the Western district headquarters, General Klimovsky reported on the tax of enemy aviation on the city of Belarus.

03:33 Chief of Staff of the Kiev District, General Purrian reported on aviation raids on the cities of Ukraine.

03:40 Commander of the Baltic District General Kuznetsov and reported on the tax on Kaunas and other cities.

03:40 People's Commissar of Defense S. K. Tymoshenko ordered the head of the General Staff G. K. Zhukov to call Stalin to the "near Dacha" and report on the start of hostilities. Having heard Zhukov, Stalin ordered:

Come from Tymoshenko to the Kremlin. Tell the Sekrebyshev so that he caused all members of the Politburo.

04.10 Western and Baltic special districts reported on the start of the hostilities of the German troops in the land plots.

At 4:30 minutes, members of the Politburo, Tymoshenko Defense People's Commissar and Head of Zhukov, gathered in the Kremlin. Stalin asked to urgently contact the German Embassy.

The embassy was reported that Ambassador Count von Schulenburg asks him to accept it for an urgent message. Molotov went to the meeting with Schulenberg. Returning to the office he said:

The German government declared war on us.

At 7:5th 15 minutes I. V. Stalin signed the Directive of the USSR armed forces on the reflection of Hitler's aggression.

At 9:30 minutes, I. V. Stalin, in the presence of S. K. Tymoshenko and G. K. Zhukova edited and signed a decree on the conduct of mobilization and introducing a military situation in the European part of the country, as well as on the formation of a headset rate and a number of other documents .

On the morning of June 22, it was decided that at 12 o'clock with the statement of the Soviet government to the peoples of the Soviet Union on the radio, V. M. Molotov will contact.

"I. V. Stalin," I remembers the beetles, - being seriously ill, it is clear, I could not speak with the appeal to the Soviet people. He, together with Molotov, was a statement. "

"At about 13 o'clock I called I. V. Stalin," writes Zhukov in his memoirs, "and said:

Our front team commander does not have sufficient experience in the leadership of the military actions of the troops and, apparently, somewhat confused. Politburo decided to send you to the South-West Front as a representative of the headset rate. On the Western Front send Shaposhnikov and Kulik. I called them to myself and gave the relevant instructions. You need to fly immediately to Kiev and from there with Khrushchev to go to the headquarters of the front to Ternopil.

I asked:

And who will lead to the general headquarters in such a complex setting?
I. V. Stalin replied:

Leave Vatutin for yourself.

Do not lose time, we will manage to somehow.

I called home so that I was not waiting for me, and after 40 minutes was already in the air. Then I remembered that I did not eat anything from yesterday. The pilots who hurt me with strong tea with sandwiches "(chronology was composed of memories of G.K. Zhukov).

05:30. Hitler announces the beginning of the war from the USSR

On June 22, 1941 at 5:30 am, Reichs Minister Dr. Goebbels in a special transfer of Greadherman Radio read the appeal of Adolf Hitler to the German people in connection with the beginning of the war against the Soviet Union.

"... Today, there are 160 Russian divisions on our border, they said, in particular, in circulation. - In recent weeks there are continuous violations of this border, not only our, but also in the Far North and in Romania. Russian pilots are amused by those It is careless to fly this border, as if they want to show us that they already feel the masters of this territory. On the night of June 17-18, the Russian patrols again invaded the territory of the Reich and were ousted only after a long shootout. But now it has come an hour when necessary Against this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warstores of war and also Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik Center in Moscow.

German people! At the moment, the greatest advantage of the troops on its length and volume, which only saw the world. In the Union with Finnish comrades, there are fighters of the winner with Narvika near the Arctic Ocean. German divisions under the team of the conqueror of Norway protect together with the Finnish heroes of the struggle for freedom under the command of their marching Finnish land. From Eastern Prussia to the Carpathians, the connections of the German Eastern Front are deployed. On the shores of the rod and in the lower reaches of the Danube to the Black Sea coast, Romanian and German soldiers are combined under the command of the head of state by Antonescu.

The task of this front is no longer the protection of individual countries, but ensuring the safety of Europe and thereby salvation of all.

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

Battles around the front

Fascist troops switched to the offensive throughout the front. Not everywhere attack developed at the scenario's conceived German general. The Black Sea Fleet beat the airline. In the south, in the north Wehrmacht failed to receive an overwhelming advantage. There are heavy positioning battles.

The Army Group "North" stumbled upon the fierce resistance of Soviet tank workers near the city of Alitus. The capture of the crossing through Neman was critically important for the upcoming German forces. Here, parts of the 3rd tank group of fascists stumbled upon organized resistance of the 5th tank division.

Broke the resistance of Soviet tank workers managed only to dive bombers. The 5th tank division did not have an air cover, under the threat of destruction of the live strength and the match began to move away.

Bombers dive to Soviet tanks until noon on June 23. The division lost almost all armored vehicles and, in fact, ceased to exist. However, on the first day of the war, Tankists did not leave the line and stopped promoting the fascist troops deep into the country.

The main blow of German troops fell on Belarus. Here the Brest Fortress rose on the path of the fascists. In the first seconds of the war, Grad Bomb fell into the city, the bombardment followed the squall fire of artillery. After that, parts of the 45th Infantry Division went to the attack.

The hurricane fire of the fascists found the defenders of the fortress by surprise. However, the garrison, whose number was 7-8 thousand people, provided fierce resistance to the coming German parts.

By the middle of the day, on June 22, the Brest Fortress was completely surrounded. A part of the garrison managed to escape from the "boiler", the part was blocked and continued to resist.

By the evening of the first day of the war, the Nazis managed to master the southwestern part of the city of the fortress, the North-East was under the control of the Soviet troops. The foci of resistance and on the territories controlled by the fascists are preserved.

Despite the complete environment and the overwhelming superiority in people and technology, the fascists could not break the resistance of the defenders of the Brest Fortress. The clashes continued here until November 1941.

Battle for domination in the air

From the first minutes of the war, the USSR Air Force entered a fierce battle with opponent's aviation. The attack was sudden, some of the aircraft did not have time to rise from the airfields and was destroyed on earth. The Belarusian Military District accepted the greatest hit. The 74th assault airport, which was based in Pruzhani, was attacked at about 4 am by Messershati. The regiment did not have air defense agents, the aircraft were not dispersed, as a result of which the enemy aviation threw the technique as at the landfill.

A completely different situation was formed in the 33rd fighter airlock. Here, the pilots entered the battle for another 3.30 am, when the Brest of Lieutenant Moochalov's Brest knocked a German plane. Here, as describes the battle of the 33rd JEAP, the site aviation encyclopedia "Corner of the sky" (Article A.Gulyas):

"Soon at the airfield of the shelf, about 20 HE-111 under the cover of a small group BF-109.B was only one squadron, which took off and entered into battle. Soon the other three squadrons joined it, which returned from the patrols of the Brest -Cobrin district. . In battle, the enemy lost 5 aircraft. Two non-111 destroyed L-T Gudimov. He won the last victory at 5.20 in the morning, putting a German bomber. Double-time the regiment successfully intercepted the large groups of "Heinkels" on distant approaches to the airfield. After another interception returned Already on the last liters of the fuel and-16, the regiment was attacked by "Messerschmitts". It was no longer able to take off for the rescue. The airfield was exposed to continuous storming. By 10 o'clock in the morning, no capable of climbing the aircraft remains in the regiment ... ".

123 Fighter airlock, the airfield of which was located at the town of Namen, as well as the 74th assault carrier did not have an anti-aircraft cover. However, his pilots from the first minutes of the war were in the air:

"By 5.00 in the morning, B.N. Surin already had a personal victory - he knocked up in-109. In the fourth battlely, being seriously wounded, he brought his" seagull "on the airfield, but could not plan it. Obviously, he died in a cabin when aligning ... Boris Nikolayevich Surin spent 4 battle, personally hit 3 German aircraft. But it did not become a record. The best sniper of the day was the young pilot Ivan Kalabushkin: at dawn, he destroyed two JU-88, closer to noon - non-111, and on Sunset by the victims of his yerc "Seagulls" two BF-109! .. "- reports the aviation encyclopedia.

"About eight in the morning, four fighters, piloted by Kny M.P. Khaaev, L-Tami G. Zhidov, P.S. Ryabtsev and Nazarov, flew against the eight" Messerschmittov-109 ". Taking the Machine in the" ticks " , the Germans knocked her. Having reversed the comrade, Mozhaev knocked one of the fascist. Zhids set fire to the second. After spending the ammunition, the ripples tagged the third enemy. Thus, in this battle, the enemy lost 3 cars, and we are alone. For 10 hours of pilots of the 123rd JEAP led Heavy battles, performing 10 -14 and even 17 combat departures. Techniques, working under the enemy's fire, ensured the readiness of the aircraft. During the day, the regiment hit about 30 (according to another data more than 20) an opponent aircraft, losing their 9 of their in the air. "

Unfortunately, in the absence of communication and reigning confusion, timely delivery of ammunition and fuel was not organized. Combat vehicles fought to the last drop of gasoline and the last cartridge. After that, dead was dried onto the flight field and became easy prey of the fascists.

The total losses of Soviet aircraft on the first day of the war amounted to 1160 aircraft.

12:00. Speech on Radio V.M. Molotova

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

"Citizens and Citizens of the Soviet Union!

The Soviet government and his head of Comrade Stalin instructed me to make the following statement:

Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without presenting any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring the war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and subjected to bombing from their aircraft our cities - Zhytomyr, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas And some others, more than two hundred people were killed and injured. The raids of enemy aircraft and the artillery shelling were also committed from the Romanian and Finnish territory.

This unprecedented attack on our country is unparalleled in the history of civilized peoples of treachery. The attack on our country was made, despite the fact that the nonsense agreement was concluded between the USSR and Germany and the Soviet government with all the good faith fulfilled all the conditions of this contract. The attack on our country is committed, despite the fact that for all the time the actions of this contract, the German government never could have submitted a single claim to the Soviet Union to fulfill the contract. All responsibility for this robber attack on the Soviet Union entirely falls on the German fascist rulers.

Already after the attack, the German ambassador in Moscow, Schulenburg, at 5:30 minutes after 30 minutes, made me how the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs, a statement on behalf of his Government that the German government decided to speak with his war against the Soviet Union in connection with the concentration of the units of the Red Army Eastern German border.

In response to this, I was stated on behalf of the Soviet government that until the last minute, the German government did not comply with any complaints about the Soviet government that Germany attacked the Soviet Union, despite the peaceful position of the Soviet Union, and thereby fascist Germany is an attacker .

On behalf of the Government of the Soviet Union, I should also state that in any paragraph our troops and our aviation did not allow the border violations and therefore the statement made by the Romanian Radio statement made this morning, which allegedly Soviet aviation fired Romanian airfields, is a solid lies and provocation. The entire lies and provocation is the entire Guitler Declaration trying to compare the indictment about non-compliance with the Soviet Union of the Soviet-German Covenant to the Soviet Union.

Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already been committed, the Soviet government provides orders to our troops - to beat off the robbery attack and expel the German troops from our homeland.

This war is imposed on us by the German people, not German workers, peasants and intelligentsia, the suffering of which we understand well, but by clicking the bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany, enslaved French, Chekhov, Polyakov, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other nations .

The Government of the Soviet Union expresses unshakable confidence that our valiant army and fleet and bold falcons of Soviet aviation will fulfill the debt to the homeland, before the Soviet people, and will apply a crushing strike by the aggressor.
Not the first time to our people have to deal with the attacking of the accurate enemy. At one time, on the campaign of Napoleon to Russia, our people responded to the Patriotic War and Napoleon suffered a defeat, came to his collapse. The same will be with the accusatory Hitler, who announced a new campaign against our country, the Red Army and all of our people will again behave a victorious Patriotic War for their homeland, for honor, freedom.

The Government of the Soviet Union expresses firm confidence that the entire population of our country, all workers, peasants and intelligentsia, men and women will take appreciates to their duties, to their work. All our people now have to be solid and one, more than ever. Each of us must demand from themselves and from other disciplines, organizations, dedication worthy of this Soviet Patriot to ensure all the needs of the Red Army, Fleet and Aviation to provide victory over the enemy.

The government encourages you, citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union, even more closely to rally their ranks around our glorious Bolshevik party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader of the Comrade Stalin.

Our business is right. The enemy will be broken. Victory will be ours".

The first atrocities of the fascists

The first case of the atrocities of the German army on the territory of the Soviet Union falls on the first day of the war. On June 22, 1941, fascists, the coming, broke into the village of Albing Klaipeda district of Lithuania.

Soldiers robbed and burned all at home. Residents - 42 people - drove into the barn and locked. During the day, on June 22, the fascists killed several people - scored to death or shot.

Already the next morning the planned destruction of people began. Groups of peasants were removed from the barn and coolly shot. At the beginning of all men, then the turn reached women and children. Attempting to run to the forest was shot in the back.

In 1972, a memorial ensemble was created by the victims of fascism.

The first summary of the Great Patriotic War

Summary of the Chief Command of the Red Army
for 22.vi. - 1941.

With a dawn on June 22, 1941, regular troops of the German army attacked our border parts at the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and drove on them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced parts of the field troops of the Red Army. After the fierce battles, the enemy was removed with big losses. Only in the Grodno and Krisopolian directions, the enemy managed to achieve minor tactical success and take the location of Calvory, standing and Ceghanovets (the first two 15 km. And last 10 km from the border).

Aviation of the enemy attacked a number of our airfields and settlements, but everywhere I met a decisive rebuff of our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, who caused the big losses to the enemy. We are shot down 65 opponent aircraft. From RIA Novosti funds

23:00 (GMT). Speech by Winston Churchill on BBC Radio Station

United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill June 22 at 23:00 Greenwich made a statement in connection with the aggression of fascist Germany against the Soviet Union.

"... the Nazi regime is inherent in the worst features of communism, in particular, he said on the BBC radio station." He has no leaders and principles, besides the greed and striving for racial domination. In his cruelty and violent aggressiveness, he surpasses all forms of human. For the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than me. I will not take back not a single word that I said about him. But all this is pale before the spectacle deployed now. The past with his crimes, madness and tragedies disappears.

I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of your native land guarding the fields that their fathers were processed from time immemorial.

I see them guarding your homes where their mother and wives pray - yes, because there are times when everything is praying, about the safety of their loved ones, about the return of their breadwinner, their defender and supports.

I see tens of thousands of Russian villages, where the means to existence with such luck are broken by the Earth, but where there are original human joys, where the girls are laughing and playing.

I see how the vile Nazi military car is coming to all this, with its silent, embarrassing spurs of Prussian officers, with its skilled agents, just pacified and tens of dozens of countries.

I also see a gray dilated obedient mass of the fierce Gunnskaya soldier, impending like clouds of crawling locust.

I see the German bombers and fighters in the sky with still unemployed scars from the Russian Academy of Sciences, inflicted by the British, who renew what they found, as they seem to be easier and loyal prey.

For all these noise and thunder, I see a bunch of villains, which are planning, organize and bring this avalanche of disasters to humanity ... I have to declare the decision of His Majesty's government, and I am confident that the great dominions will agree with this decision, for we will agree with this decision. Must speak immediately, without a single delay day. I have to make a statement, but can you doubt what our policy will be?

We have only one-only unchanged goal. We are determined to destroy Hitler and all traces of the Nazi regime. Nothing can dismiss us from this, nothing. We will never negotiate, we will never join the negotiations with Hitler or with someone from his hacks. We will fight with him on land, we will fight him to the sea, we will fight him in the air, while with God's help, do not relieve the Earth from the very shadow of him and do not free the peoples from his yoke. Anyone or state fighting against Nazism will receive our help. Anyone or state that goes with Hitler, our enemies ...

Such is our policy, this is our statement. From here it follows that we will have Russia and the Russian people all the assistance as they can ... "

So the Great Patriotic War began.

The first 4 hours of the Great Patriotic War.

For the first time on the events of the first day of the war, it is described directly at the places of major fighting. In the film a lot of new, unknown viewer of information. For example, that the first Soviet city was repulsed from the Germans on June 23, 1941! On cruel battles in the region of Vladimir-Volynsky, about the feat of the garrisons of Soviet fortifications, that the Soviet Air Force was not destroyed, as the almost official myth also says, as well as other little-known pages of the war.

The beginning of the Great Patriotic War

Get up, the country is huge,
Get up for the death fight
With fascist power dark,
With a curse of the Horde!

This song on the poems of Lebedev-Kumacha and the music of Alexandrov on the fifth day of the war fell the whole country.

And the war began at dawn on June 22, 1941. Fascist Germany treacherously, without the announcement of war attacked the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Her aviation inflicted massive blows on airfields, railway sites, naval bases, housing places of military units and many cities to depth 250-300 km from the border.

Here it is necessary to remember that the Soviet Union in 1941 was going to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Great October Revolution.

For these 24 years, our country has achieved a lot. Automobile plants in Moscow, Gorky, Yaroslavl were built. Tractor plants appeared in Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kharkov, Chelyabinsk. They could all make tanks. Our aviation put worldwide records for flight ranges. The Soviet state could confront any other state, but it was difficult for us to fight with all of Europe.

Fascist Germany and its satellites focused against the Soviet Union large contingents of troops - 190 divisions (including 19 tanks and 14 motorized) and a large number of combat technology: about 4,300 tanks and assault guns, 47.2 thousand guns and mortars, 4980 combat aircraft And over 190 warships. And all this power was thrown on our country. From the ice of the Arctic Ice to the Black Sea of \u200b\u200bWar fell fire Firefish, ruin of the city and burned the village, the peaceful residents burned.

According to the plan "Barbarossa", Germany wanted to defeat the Soviet Union for six weeks. At the same time, the main forces of the Red Army were supposed to be destroyed, without allowing their depths to the depths of the country. But the plans of the fascist command from the very beginning of the war broke the courage and heroism of our army and the entire people.

First hit

The first to blow the enemy adopted border troops and divisions, located near the border. Along the Western border, we had more than 500 border making. The Hitler's command took to destroy the outpost no more than 30 minutes. But the outposts were fought and days, and weeks, and the Brest Fortress, located on the border when the Mukhavets River is shifted to the Bug River fought with the enemies more than a month. All this time, the defenders of the Brest Fortress were shoved by a whole German-fascist division. Most defenders of the fortress Palo in battles, part made their way to the partisans, part of the hard wounded, exhausted in captivity. The defense of the Brest Fortress is a vivid example of patriotism and mass heroism of Soviet soldiers. Among the defenders of the Brest Fortress, representatives of 30 nations and the nationalities of the Soviet Union were fought.

But, despite the heroic resistance, the cover troops could not delay the enemy in the cross-border zone. In order to preserve the strength, Soviet troops were forced to go to new frontiers.

German-fascist troops in a short time advanced in the north-western direction at 400-450 km, in Western 450-600 km, southwestern 300-350 km, seized the territory of Lithuania, Latvia, part of Estonia, a significant part of Ukraine, almost All Belarus, Moldova, invaded the Western regions of the Russian Federation, went to the long approaches to Leningrad, threatened Smolensk and Kiev. Above the Soviet Union hung a deadly danger.

Based on the current situation, the Soviet command at the end of June decided to transition to the entire Soviet-German front to strategic defense. Before the troops of the first strategic echelon, a task was set - to prepare in the directions of the main blows of the enemy the system of echelonized defensive strips and frontiers, relying on which by stubborn and active opposition to undermine the offensive power of the enemy, stop it and winning time to prepare a counteroffensive.

Feat of the army and the people

The treacherous attack of Hitler's Germany caused anger and indignation of the Soviet people. In a single impulse, he rose to protect his homeland. At rallies, hiding across the country, the Soviet people stigma branded fascist barbarians and swore severely to punish the broken conquerors. The military registration and enlistment offices were stormed by thousands of boys and girls, men and women - communists, Komsomol members and non-partisans. They demanded immediate sending to the front, filed an application with a request to send the enemy to the rear, in the partisan detachments.

The trouble that fell on the fatherland, as ever rallied all the people. All the people, the whole huge country rose to the death fear for the holy and right. Every day and on the front and the rear was measured by the answer: What did you do for the front for victory? The effort of the whole people - warriors, workers, collective farmers, intelligentsia, were subordinated to one goal - to defend their homeland from fascist barbarians. And for this he did not gentle his forces, nor life.

Special meaning and importance has gained the word - patriotism. It did not require any transfers nor explanations. The love of the Motherland was told in the heart of every Soviet man: whether he stood the fifth day in the workshop at the machine or walked to the taran of an enemy aircraft, whether his personal savings gave his personal savings into the defense or blood for the wounded fighters.

Already in the first days and weeks of the war in her chronicles, thousands of exploits were inscribed and the unlimited self-sacrifice of the brave Soviet soldiers. Then the names of the majority of these courageous people fought to the last cartridge were not yet known to the last drop of blood.

The results of these days and weeks, the most severe for the Soviet people and his warriors, have already indicated the first failures in the implementation of the Hitler's Plans for the Lightning War.

The enemy could not destroy the main forces of the Soviet army in border battles, as he expected. Resistance to our troops grew every day. And in the deep rear, reserves for the front were preparing an accelerated pace. It was incredibly difficult to form, arm and train new shelves, the division of the Soviet Army, but every day the front of fresh reserves were incredible to the front. He significantly exceeded the reserves of the enemy who arrived at the front to fill the losses incurred by him.

Hundreds of industrial enterprises were at that time on wheels - relocated from the threatened areas into the deep rear of the country. It took time to install equipment and commissioning in new places. The most active part of the working class and specialists of the existing enterprises went to the ranks of the Soviet army. Only a small part of skilled workers and specialists remained at the enterprises, without which it was impossible to begin a massive release of military products. Hundreds of thousands of women and adolescents came to the front.

But these difficulties were overcome during the shortest possible time. The release of weapons, military equipment, ammunition and diverse equipment for the defenders of the Motherland raised every day.

Mass working heroism showed workers of socialist agriculture. A huge number of tractors and car collective farms and state farms were transferred to the equipment of troops. In this sector of the economy, there are even fewer men than in industry and in transport. And women and teenagers became a decisive force on the village. It was them that they had to remove the harvest on huge sowing areas. Remove mostly manually. In the front-line areas, harvest was often made under the fire of the enemy. And, nevertheless, with the help of hundreds of thousands of citizens, students and schoolchildren, the workers of agriculture also coped with the most important task for the front and the whole country - laid such a number of food to state-owned fiction, without which there would be a successful warfare of war.

With all his progress, the war showed that the courage and heroism of the Soviet people turned out to be an intolerable force, which was able to prevent the hardest crime against humanity.

On June 22, 1941 at 4 o'clock in the morning, fascist Germany without declaring the war treacherously invaded the USSR. This attack ended the chain of aggressive actions of Hitler's Germany, which, thanks to the connivance and incitement of the Western powers, grossly violated elementary norms of international law, resorted to the robber seizures and monstrous atrocities in occupied countries.

In accordance with the Barbaross plan, the fascist offensive began on a wide front with several groups in various directions. Army was stationed in the north "Norway"coming to Murmansk and Kandalaksha; A group of army came from East Prussia to the Baltic States and Leningrad "North"; The most powerful grouping of armies "Center" It was aimed at split parts of the Red Army in Belarus, to master Vitebsk - Smolensky and take Moscow with the go; Army Group "South" It was focused from Lublin to the mouth of the Danube and led an offensive to Kiev - Donbass. The plans of the Nazis were reduced to the application of a sudden strike in these directions, the destruction of the border and military units, a breakthrough into a deep rear, the seizure of Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev and the most important industrial centers of the southern regions of the country.

The command of the German army extended to complete the war for 6-8 weeks.

In the offensive against the Soviet Union, 190 enemy divisions were thrown, about 5.5 million soldiers, up to 50 thousand guns and mortars, 4,300 tanks, almost 5 thousand aircraft and about 200 warships.

War began in exceptionally favorable conditions for Germany. Before attacking the USSR, Germany seized almost all Western Europe, whose economy worked on the fascists. Therefore, Germany had a powerful material and technical base.

The military products of Germany supplied 6,500 largest enterprises of Western European countries. More than 3 million foreign workers were involved in the military industry. In the Western European countries, fascists awarded a lot of weapons, military property, trucks, cars and steam locomotives. Germanic resources of Germany, its allies significantly exceeded the resources of the USSR. Germany fully mobilized his army, as well as the army of its allies. Most of the German army focused on the borders of the Soviet Union. In addition, imperialist Japan threatened with an attack from the East, which distracted a significant part of the Soviet Armed Forces for the defense of the country's eastern borders. In theses of the Central Committee of the CPSU "50 years of the Great October Socialist Revolution" An analysis of the causes of the temporary failures of the Red Army in the initial period of war is given. They are related to the fact that the Nazis used temporary advantages:

• militarization of the economy and the whole life of Germany;
• long-term preparation for the celestial war and more than two years of experience in conducting hostilities in the West;
• superiority in the arms and number of troops, concentrated in the border zones in advance.

Economic and military resources of almost all Western Europe were at their disposal. The allowed miscalculations in determining the possible deadlines for the attack of Hitler's Germany to our country and the associated omissions in preparation for the reflection of the first blows were played. There were reliable data on the concentration of German troops at the borders of the USSR and the preparation of Germany to attack our country. However, the troops of Western military districts were not given in a state of complete combat readiness.

All these reasons set the Soviet country into a difficult situation. However, the enormous difficulties of the initial period of war did not break the morale of the Red Army, did not lay the persistence of the Soviet people. From the first days of the attack, it became clear that the plan of the lightning war was collapsed. Having used to easy victories over Western countries, whose governments treacherously gave their people to the ripples of the occupiers, the fascists met stubborn resistance from the Soviet Armed Forces, border guards and the entire Soviet people. War lasted 1418 days. On the border courageously fought groups of border guards. The garrison of the Brest Fortress was covered with disadvantaged glory. The defense fortress was led by Captain I. N. Zubachev, the regimental commissioner E. M. Fomin, Major P. M. Gavrilov, and others. June 22, 1941 at 4 am 25 minutes, the fighter pilot I. Ivanov made the first ram. (In total during the war years, about 200 Taranians were committed). On June 26, the crew of Captain N. F. Gastello (A. A. Burdenyuk, G. N. Sneorobogted, A. A. Kalinin) - on a burning plane crashed into a column of enemy troops. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers from the first days of the war showed samples of courage and heroism.

Two months lanced Smolensk Battle. Here under Smolensk born soviet Guard. The battle in the area of \u200b\u200bSmolensk delayed the offensive of the enemy until mid-September 1941
During the Smolensk battle, the Red Army threw the plans of the enemy. The delay of enemy occurrence in the central direction was the first strategic success of the Soviet troops.

The communist party has become the leading and guiding power of the defense of the country and the preparation of the destruction of the Hitler's troops. From the first days of the war, the party was made emergency measures to organize the aggressor, a huge work was carried out on the restructuring of all work on a military manner, the transformation of the country into a single military camp.

"For warring war, I wrote V. I. Lenin," a strong organized rear is needed. The best army, the most devoted revolution, people will be immediately exterminated by the enemy, if they are not sufficiently armed, equipped with food, trained "(Lenin V.I. Full. Coll. Op., Vol. 35, p. 408).

These Lenin instructions were based on the organization of the fight against the enemy. On June 22, 1941, on behalf of the Soviet government, with a report on the "robbery" attack of fascist Germany and a call to combat the enemy, acted on Radio Peace of Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov. On the same day, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was adopted on the introduction of military situation in the European territory of the USSR, as well as a decree on the mobilization of a number of ages in 14 military districts. On June 23, the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and the Council of Sciences of the USSR adopted a decree on the tasks of party and Soviet organizations in the conditions of war. On June 24, the Evacuation Council was formed, and on June 27 by Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and SCA of the USSR "On the procedure for the export and placement of human contingents and valuable property", the procedure for evacuation of productive forces and the population to the eastern regions was determined. In the Directive of the Central Committee of the CCP (b) and SCSR of the USSR, from June 29, 1941, the party and Soviet organizations of the front-line regions were set forth the most important tasks for the mobilization of all forces and funds in the defeat of the enemy.

"... In the war imposed on us with fascist Germany," said this document, "the question of the life and death of the Soviet state decides, to be the peoples of the Soviet Union free or fall into enslave." The Central Committee and the Soviet government encouraged to realize the depth of danger, rebuild all the work on a military way, to organize comprehensive assistance to the front, to enlarge the production of weapons, ammunition, tanks, aircraft, with a forced departure of the Red Army to export all valuable property, and what can not be removed - destroy In the area occupied by the enemy, organize partisan detachments. On July 3, the main provisions of the Directive were set forth in the speech of I. V. Stalin on Radio. The directive determined the nature of war, the degree of threat and danger, the tasks of the transformation of the country into a single combat camp, the full strengthening of the armed forces, restructuring the work of the rear to the Military Pad, mobilizing all the forces to resist the enemy. On June 30, 1941, an emergency authority was created for the rapid mobilization of all forces and means of the country to rebuff and defeat the enemy State Defense Committee (GKO) headed by I. V. Stalin. In the hands of GKO, the entire fullness of power in the country, state, military and economic leadership was concentrated. He united the activities of all state and military institutions, party, trade union and Komsomol organizations.

In the context of the war, the restructuring of the entire economy was of paramount importance. At the end of June was approved "Mobilization People's Plan for III quarter of 1941", and on August 16 "Military Economic Plan for the IV quarter of 1941 and in 1942 by the districts of the Volga region, Urals, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia" Over the five months of 1941, over 1360 major military enterprises were relocated and about 10 million people were evacuated. Even on the recognition of bourgeois specialists evacuation industry In the second half of 1941 and the beginning of 1942 and its placement in the East should be attributed to the number of the most striking feats of the peoples of the Soviet Union during the war. The evacuated Kramatorsky plant was launched 12 days after arrival at the place, Zaporizhia - after 20. Already by the end of 1941, the Ural gave 62% cast iron and 50% of steel. In terms of wise and meaning, it was equal to the largest battles of wartime. Perestroika of the national economy on the military field was completed by mid-1942

The party conducted a large organizational work in the army. In accordance with the decision of the Central Committee of the CSP (b) the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on July 16, 1941 issued a decree "On the reorganization of the political propaganda bodies and the introduction of the Institute of Military Commissars". From July 16 in the army, and from July 20, at the Navy, the Institute of Military Commissars was introduced. For the second half of 1941, up to 1.5 million communists and more than 2 million Komsomolov residents were mobilized to the army (up to 40% of the entire composition of the party sent to the existing army). Venidaya party leaders L. I. Brezhnev, A. A. Zhdanov, A. S. Shcherbakov, M. A. Suslov and others were aimed at party work in the existing army.

On August 8, 1941, the Supreme Commander of All Armed Forces of the USSR was appointed I. V. Stalin. In order to concentrate all the functions of managing military actions, the Supreme Commander-in-chief rate was formed. Hundreds of thousands of Communists and Komsomol residents went to the front. About 300 thousand. The best representatives of the working class and the intelligentsia of Moscow and Leningrad entered into the ranks of the national militia.

Meanwhile, the enemy stubbornly rushed to Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Odessa, Sevastopol and other essential industrial centers of the country. An important place in the plans of fascist Germany occupied the calculation of the international isolation of the USSR. However, from the first days of the war, an anti-Hitler coalition began to develop. On June 22, 1941, the Government of Great Britain announced the support of the USSR in the fight against fascism, and on July 12, he signed an agreement on joint actions against fascist Germany. On August 2, 1941, US President F. Roosevelt declared economic support for the Soviet Union. September 29, 1941 in Moscow gathered conference of representatives of the three powers (USSR, USA and England), which developed a plan for Anglo-American assistance in the fight against the enemy. The calculation of Hitler for international insulation of the USSR failed. On January 1, 1942, a declaration of 26 states was signed in Washington antihytler coalition On the use of all resources of these countries to fight against the German bloc. However, the allies were in no hurry with the implementation of effective assistance aimed at the defeat of fascism, seeking to weaken the warring parties.

By October, German-fascist invaders, despite the heroic resistance of our troops, managed to approach Moscow on three sides, while turning off the offensive on Don, in the Crimea, near Leningrad. Odessa and Sevastopol were harvested heroically. On September 30, 1941, the German command begins first, and in November - the second general attack on Moscow. The fascists managed to take Wedge, Yahroma, Naro-Fominsk, Istra and other cities of the Moscow region. Soviet troops led the heroic defense of the capital, showing samples of courage and heroism. In fierce battles, the rifle 316th division of General Panfilov was to death. A partisan movement unfolded in the rear of the enemy. Only near Moscow, about 10 thousand partisans fought. On December 5-6, 1941, Soviet troops were transferred to a counteroffensive near Moscow. At the same time, offensive operations on Western, Kalininsky and south-western fronts unfolded. The powerful offensive of the Soviet troops in the winter of 1941/42 was discarded the fascists in a number of places to 400 km from the capital and was their first major defeat in World War II.

Chief result Moscow battle It was that the strategic initiative was broken from the hands of the enemy and the plan of the lightning war was failed. The defeat of the Germans near Moscow was a decisive turn in the military actions of the Red Army and had a great influence on the entire further course of the war.

By the spring of 1942, the production of military products was established in the eastern regions of the country. By the middle of the year, most evacuated enterprises unfolded in new places. The translation of the country's economy to military rails was mainly completed. In the deep rear - in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Siberia, in the Urals - there were over 10 thousand industrial buildings.

Instead of the men who went to the front, women and young people came to the machines. Despite the very difficult domestic conditions, Soviet people worked selflessly, providing victory on the front. Worked on a half - two shifts to restore industry and supply the front with everything necessary. All-Union Socialist Competition, whose winners were awarded Red banner GK.. The workers of agriculture were organized in 1942. Superplant crops to the Defense Fund. The collective farm peasantry supplied the front and rear of food and industrial raw materials.

An exceptionally difficult situation in the temporary occupied regions of the country was. The fascists robbed the city and sat down, mocked over the civilian population. German officials who are supervised at work were appointed at the enterprises. The best lands were selected under the farms for German soldiers. In all occupied settlements, German garrisons were held at the expense of the population. However, the economic and social policy of the fascists, which they tried to conduct in the occupied territories, immediately suffered a failure. Soviet people brought up on the ideas of the Communist Party, believed in the victory of the Soviet country, were not amenable to Hitler's provocations and demagogy.

Winter offensive of the Red Army in 1941/42 It caused a powerful blow to fascist Germany, according to her military car, but the Hitler's army was still strong. Soviet troops led stubborn defensive battles.

In this situation, the National Fight of Soviet people in the rear of the enemy played a big role, especially partisan traffic.

Thousands of Soviet people went to the partisan detachments. The partisan war in Ukraine, in Belarus and Smolensk region, in Crimea and in a number of other places, widely unfolded. In cities and villages temporarily occupied by the enemy, underground party and Komsomol organizations operated. In accordance with the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) of July 18, 1941 "On the organization of the struggle in the rear of the German troops" 3,500 partisan detachments and groups, 32 underground committees, 805 public utilities and district participants, 5429 primary party organizations, 10 regional, 210 interdistrict city and 45 thousand primary Komsomol organizations were created. To coordinate the actions of partisan detachments and underground groups with the units of the Red Army by decision of the Central Committee of the CSP (b) on May 30, 1942, at the expense of the Supreme Command central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement. Headquarters in the leadership of the partisan movement were formed in Belarus, in Ukraine and in other republics and regions occupied by the enemy.

After the defeat near Moscow and the winter offensive of our troops, the Hitler's command was preparing a new major offensive with the aim of capturing all southern regions of the country (Crimea, the North Caucasus, Don) up to the Volga, the capture of Stalingrad and rejection of the Transcaucasus from the center of the country. This was an extremely serious threat to our country.

By the summer of 1942, an international situation was changed, characterized by the strengthening of the anti-Hitler coalition. In May - June 1942, agreements were concluded between the USSR, England and the United States on the Union in the war against Germany and the post-war collaboration. In particular, an agreement was reached on the opening in 1942 in Europe second Front against Germany, which would significantly speed up the defeat of fascism. But the allies in every way tightened his discovery. Using this, the fascist command moved the division from the Western Front to the Eastern. By the spring of 1942, the Hitler's army had 237 divisions, massive aircraft, tanks, artillery and other types of technology for a new offensive.

Intensified leningrad blockadeAlmost daily exposed to artillery shelling. The Kerch Strait was captured in May. On July 3, the Supreme Command gave an order to heroic defenders of Sevastopol to leave the city after 250 days defense, since it was not possible to keep the Crimea. As a result of the defeat of Soviet troops in the area of \u200b\u200bKharkov and Don, the enemy came to the Volga. Created in July Stalingrad Front accepted powerful blows of the enemy. Returning with heavy battles, our troops applied a huge opponent damage. In parallel, the fascist offensive in the North Caucasus, where Stavropol, Krasnodar, Maikop were occupied. In the area of \u200b\u200bMozdok, the onset of fascists was suspended.

The main battles unfolded on the Volga. The enemy was trying to master Stalingrad. The heroic defense of the city was one of the bright pages of the Patriotic War. Work class, women, old people, teenagers - the entire population rose to the defense of Stalingrad. Despite the deadly danger, the workers of the tractor plant were sent daily to the advanced positions of tanks. In September, fights for each street have unfolded in the city, for each house.

Today's lecture theme is a battle in the sky on June 22, 1941, the opposition of the Red Army and Luftwaffe. Today we will talk both directly about the battle and about the prehistory.

I want to note that in Soviet times this issue was given little attention in the literature. Special publications on this topic were not at all, and in some studies that covered the development of the Soviet Armed Forces and in particular the Air Force, several paragraphs were devoted to this problem or at best chapter.

Everything led to the fact that stereotypes were formed by the beginning of the 90s, a completely definite picture of this day and previous events, which can be characterized by such moments: the defeat of the Red Army Air Force was due to the suddenness of the German attack, as a rule, was also always added that More than 60 Soviet airfields were attacked by more than 1,200 aircraft. In almost all publications, it was added that the Luftwaffe had a numerical superiority over the Soviet Air Forces and that most of the Soviet aircraft were obsolete or technically faulty. Airplanes of new types, Yak-1, MiG-3, Lagg-3, PE-2, IL-2 was around 2 thousand. Luftwaffe, together with allies, all publications were given about 5 thousand aircraft, so they were superior to the RPC Air Force in the technical plan and numerically.

This information was nominated from the book in the book, and the variations were a bit. Basically, people who were interested in this topic could learn information from the memories of eyewitnesses or participants. By the beginning of the 90s, certain myths were formed. It had negative consequences: due to the so-called. "Freedom of the Words" appeared pseudoteoria, who tried to answer who was to blame. It turned out that in fact whether the generals betrayed, and this catastrophe occurred, whether de Soviet soldiers were not going to fight. In particular, such a theory put forward a well-known Mark Solonin, who devoted several books to this topic. In them, he is trying to prove that the alleged battle in the air did not occur, and the Russian pilots just fled, threw the technique and retreated far to the east. It started in the early 2000s. The first publication was called: "Where did Stalin's falcons flew away?". Briefly I would like to dispel doubts: with the enemy fought, as soon as they could, using all the forces and funds that were at that moment, simply the lack of documentary material made it possible to operate with unverified facts.

The first thing that is wrong is the same Solonin - that he is repelled from incorrect tasks. He could not even determine the composition of the grouping of the Soviet Air Force on June 22 in the Western border districts, since he did not have information about the real composition and dislocation of the Air Force in Western districts. And further, using operational reports, operational documentation, combat reports, makes incorrect conclusions. He believes that if, let's say, some regiment had 50 aircraft, and the next day it was said in a summary that there were 20 aircraft left, and 10 aircraft were written in the same operational summary, he says on this background: "And where Did the remaining cars? " And expresses some abstracts, absolutely not responding with reality, because the operational reports were very different from the reports of losses, and often what was written in the Morning Operational Summary, for example, on June 22, 1941, did not fit the fact that later In a few days, the superior command was given as a loss. That is, the man initially asked the wrong direction, then "posted" under its version of certain documents that do not meet the format of the study. Roughly speaking, he begins to talk about quantity, and in the end operates with operational documents, which did not have any relationship to this amount. Thus, a person incomprehensible conclusions and put forward crazy theories. The strangest thing is picked up by many on the Internet, and some kind of conspiracy discussion begins practically.

How were things really?

The state of the Red Army Air Force by the beginning of World War II, by September 1, 1939, by June 22, 1941, was far from optimal. Why? There were quite objective reasons. First, the geography of our country played against the Red Army, which implied the presence of a very powerful grouping in the Far East, including the Air Force, and in the Transcaucasus. The forces that the Soviet Union had to have at that time was impossible to transfer quickly. Let's say aviation from Central Russia to the Far East. There were no route flights, so the plane had to first disassemble, take the echelons. It took a long time, so the Soviet leadership was forced to keep very powerful groupings in the Far East and the Transcaucasia. That is, originally, the Soviet Union was required to have much more strength to have in peacetime, respectively, to produce more aircraft, produce more pilots, spend more resources, fuel, motors and so on.

The second aspect: The Soviet Union was only at the beginning of the 20s began industrialization. To develop this industry as an aircraft industry for 10-15 years - a very difficult task, if we consider that in Tsarist Russia, as such, no release, nor the development was made. Used purchased motors and aircraft designs. Although there were outstanding constructors, the Sikorsky is the same, but mostly what was used on the front - it was an allied technique, which, at best, was produced under license. In general, to overcome the problem of creating its own high-quality air industry and samples of technology by the beginning of World War II failed.

Card construction of operational airfields

Bright example: Luftwaffe by September 1 received several motors with capacity above 1000 hp Unfortunately, the Red Army Air Force did not have and lag almost for a whole period.

Thus, in technical terms, Soviet aircraft lost German. Another reason for this was the release of aluminum, which in the USSR was 3-4 times lagged behind German. Accordingly, the Germans could afford to build all-metal airplanes from Durala, which, naturally, easier, and the USSR was forced to build airplanes mixed structures, it is harder that in the presence of weak engines created a difficult situation.

The second question, which, as a rule, was not covered and not covered, is organizational and mobilization activities conducted from 1938 and at the beginning of the war. The Soviet Union, as is known, although fully and did not enter the war on September 1, but the preparation began to spend long. There was a "skew" towards quantitative parameters. For this there were causes, including the territory. They went along the path of more aircraft, pilots, compounds, parts, to the detriment of quality. Preparation of a flying composition, which was not in the 30s not at the height, completely fell to an unacceptable minimum in the 38-40s, and produced pilots, as a rule, the maximum that could master on battle plane - it takes off and landing . There were cases when the cadets produced were literally 20-30 flights on a combat aircraft. They even take off and hit almost no. At the beginning of 1939, the Red Army Air Force had about 150 aviation regiments, in 1940 she added another 100, in 1941 they began to form 100 more regiments. Thus, in the quantitative characteristics of the Red Army Air Force, there were perfect Armadas - 350 aviation regiments, 20 with more than thousands of combat aircraft, 23 thousand pilots in combat parts plus 7 thousand instructing pilots in military schools and 34 thousand simultaneously trained cadets. With such indicators, no matter how the quality of the preparation was discussed. This is another reason that events have been pretty tragically.

Many countries, the same Japan, have observed a return trend. They paid too much attention to the quality of the preparation of pilots and due to this very much lost in quantity. When, in 1942-44, the Americans knocked them the main mass of experienced pilots - probably everyone knows this story - it turned out that the Japanese simply there are simply no frames. Skotes and in that, and in the other side is not very good, and it was possible to find the golden middle of the Americans, and only due to the fact that they had the richest country. They had the opportunity to prepare good pilots in huge quantities and at the same time produce wonderful aircraft and motors.

In view of the so-called organizational and mobilization measures, the composition of personnel parts is strongly "drank". Even those parts that were formed in the 30s and were reformed in 1938 in the shelves, of which over the 40-41st years regularly took experienced pilots, commanders and sent them as a command formulation to newly formed parts. It led to negative consequences, because the personnel composition of the personnel parts was strongly weakened.

Let us turn to the preparation for war. Both Germany and the Soviet Union were preparing to conduct fighting in the air rather decisively. And the one, and the other parties assumed to conduct the first operations precisely on the conquest of domination in the air and were preparing to act on the airfields in the first place. However, approaches differed. The German Air Force approached this issue in more detail. An important factor here was that the Germans were conducted less orgery, less formated parts, retaining pre-war in very good personnel. Of course, they had losses in the campaign in the West, the campaigns of 1940, but in general the back remained. If the Germans have had a 23-fighter group by the beginning of World War II, then on June 22 they had about 40 fighter groups, i.e. The composition increased, but rustling. And the Soviet Air Force, which had 55 fighter regiments as of September 1, 1939, had already had about 150, and the number of personnel and equipment in them was more than that of Luftwaffe. The quality of preparation suffered because of this, but there were other reasons related to intelligence activities. Germans at one time created a powerful intelligence aircraft before the war, which included parts at all levels of subordination, ranging from the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht, which had eyes in the form of a specialized part, or rather, the compounds, the Ober-Rovel groups, which included as an intelligence aviation units And infrastructure, laboratories, airfields that allowed them to intelligence at the highest level. The Germans began preparation for combat actions against the Soviet Union immediately after the final approval of the Barbaross Plan, which was adopted in December 1940, respectively, the Germans began to prepare since the beginning of January. Airplanes were specially built, or rather, allegedly converted from existing samples: high-altitude engines were put on them, they received camouflage in the form of civil identification signs, all weapons were removed from them. In addition, several Yu-86 aircraft were constructed with hermocabines that allowed them to act from heights of 12-13 km. At that time, for interceptors, it was an extreme height, and effectively use the interceptor fighters was difficult. Plus played the role that no radar field over the Soviet-German border was not. The Soviet Union had several radar, but they were all in the area of \u200b\u200bLeningrad and Moscow, so the activities of German intelligence officers were absolutely unpunished. You can see the map, a real card from TsAMO, which gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe activities of German intelligence aircraft.

This is the area of \u200b\u200bEastern Prussia and Baltic States. One of the squadrons based in the Königsberg area, the 2nd squadron of the Ober-group of Rovel, carried out intelligence flights on the route: took off from the airfield Zeerappen on Königsberg, further over the Baltic Sea, came around in the area of \u200b\u200bLibava, further in the Riga area, were intelligent flights Over the entire territory of the Baltic States, Belarus and went to their territory in the Brest area, sat down at the airfield in the area of \u200b\u200bWarsaw, refused and performed the reverse intelligence flight along the same route in the opposite direction. Soviet VNSO posts, that is, observations and detection, very rarely fixed these flights, because they were produced at a high height. How many such flights are produced, unfortunately, we do not know. Soviet data speaks about 200 flights, but in fact they were much more. There are no German data, but there is actual confirmation of these German actions: the Germans at the time were able to extract almost all the main Soviet airfields, railway stations, clusters of troops. For example, aerial photograph made from German scout April 10, 1941.

Aerial photography. Kaunas, 10 Demredes 1941

On him Kaunas, the famous Kaunas fortress, airfield, is already visible, more precisely, the southern part of the airfield, in which the 15th Fighter Regiment of the 8th Mixed Division was based. Visible hangars, parking aircraft. The detailing of such pictures was awesome, everything is visible, including each aircraft. The players of the Luftwaffe, for which such tablets were preparing, had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with future goals. This activity was carried out every day, not stopping almost until June 22, until the moment of invasion, and we have some possibilities in retrospective see how the situation changed.

For example, here is a later picture made on June 9, the entire Kaunas airfield is already visible, including what we have seen in the previous picture - Angara 15 JEP, airplanes in three rows before hangars are, you can even recount every aircraft. In the northern part of the airfield of the 31st JEP, you can recalculate all the aircraft, plan approaches for bombing and with that, and on the other hand.

Aerophotus. June 9, 1941.

What could oppose the red army in terms of intelligence? Many noticed that recently there was a reservoir of publications devoted to the intelligence activities of various structures. She, of course, was very important, but, unfortunately, did not provide materials like Nemtsim. Here, by the way, the aircraft Yu-86 with the Hermokabina, civil registration signs are visible. This is the only car lost during these intelligence flights. Unique snapshot. The crew landed in the Rivne area - he refused the engines. The Germans managed to blow up the aircraft before they were captivated, but, nevertheless, Soviet experts managed to extract several remnants from cameras, including film, where it was seen that the Germans were photographed railway distillations in the Korosten region.

Downed Yu-86

Soviet Air Force could count on intelligence information, collected, as a rule, in the 30s, because reconnaissance permission was not received, at least before the beginning of June. There are several notes that chosen the heads of the Red Army Air Force - first levers, then Zhigarev who asked for Tymoshenko and Stalin to start exploration over the German territory, but until mid-June such a decision was not. Soviet pilots were forced to count on less relevant data that were collected in the 30s. According to some objects, they were quite high-quality - here, for example, the Königsberg plan is quite good, there are cardsteries, even some photographic materials, which are marked by the Devau airfield. But the bulk of the data was presented at approximately such schemes on which at best there were goal coordinates, a small description and the simplest scheme, which, of course, can be used as a visual manual, but it was almost impossible to find the airfield on it.

Soviet pilots were forced to act in such situations often at random. The difference in the intelligence was roughly understood, which the Germans and the Red Army Air Force had. According to the plans (we do not take political issues, the first one was going to step, who was not going), the Soviet plans of the cover of the Red Army should act aggressively, applying a number of shots in German airfields. But the problem was that due to the lack of current reconnaissance information, part of the strikes, even on these plans, would be carried out on empty airfields, where there were no fighting parts, and vice versa, those airfields where combat part were, according to plan were not to be attacked .

The Germans, respectively, could correct their plans until June 22 and have topical information, seeing the movement of the Red Army Air Force as it were in online. And when individual comrades doubt that the Germans had such successes on June 22, it was rather strange. Because, having information where it was necessary to strike, the Germans did not even need to spend their strength for this, only highlighting small groups of aircraft that applied accurate blows.

Interesting the aspect of technical preparation for combat actions. In Luftwaffe, conducted studies even after Polish, French events and especially during the "Battle of Britain". The tactics of action against the airfields of the enemy was worked out, which included both tactical techniques and the use of specialized ammunition. The purpose of the armament nomenclature was developed, which includes the fragmentation bombs, which should have become the know-how, an effective method for the destruction of aviation at airfields. This is a small SD-2 bomb, weighing 2.5 kg, the smallest bomb at that time, intended for the fighting. Next, it was in the SD-10 nomenclature, then the SD-50 bomb, fragant, and the last, SD-250, this is a very heavy bomb, but it was rarely applied. The main bombs that were used were precisely SD-2 and SD-50.

Aviation bombs SD-2 and SD-50

What was their advantage? German aircraft received holders for these bombs that allowed to hang a lot of their number. Suppose the usual fighter Messerschmita had the opportunity to suspend 96 such bombs. Despite the fact that the bomb is small at first glance, it had an effectiveness equal to 82 mm min, that is, very serious: the aircraft hit almost always took posed it. In addition, some of these ammunition was provided with hourly mechanisms, which made them even greater challenge for airfields. They could explode in an hour, two after they were reset.

This is how the aircraft from the second group of the fighter source, equipped with bombs looked in the field.

The real picture of June 41 in the area of \u200b\u200bSledgeVok. SD-2 suspension for a heavy fighter BF 110, he has under each wing under 48 bombs, a total load - 96 bombs. Also practiced the suspension 4 SD-50 bombs, which, in principle, is also effective. Please note that, for example, a typical Sat, the main bomber by 1941 in the Red Army Air Force, as a rule, was loading just from 6 bombs Fab-100, that is, the fighter Mi-109 was actually equivalent to Sat.

Interestingly video attack SD-2 bombs, which shows what airfields could sing them. These are the first shots, it is the SD-50 bombing, by the way. But SD-2 bombat. That is, even a small group of German fighters, equipped with such bombs, could with a high degree of confidence to guarantee the destruction of the match, which was not covered.

German bombers were also prepared for action on airfields. They, as a rule, carried (Junckers-88 and Dorne-17) on 360 such bombs, what we have now seen. A group of three aircraft could reset 1000 such bombs. In addition, even larger ammunition were used, mostly bombs SD-50. In the nomenclature of German bombers Yu-88 and Dorne-17, 20 such bombs could be suspended, without overload, and Heinkel-111 bomber could hang up without overload 32 such bombs. That is, the attack of Junckers-88 was equivalent to the attack of the Sat Group of 9 aircraft.

Accordingly, the Haykel-111 link could relieve almost 100 such bombs, and this is equivalent to the actions of the squadron of the DB-3 aircraft, which were suspended at 10 "acres". In addition, all German fighters at that time have already carried on cannon weapons, two guns or one, if we talk about Me-109 F. Soviet aircraft were armed in the main machine guns, there was a very small number of aircraft I-16 with cannon weapons, and Just went to the series of aircraft Yak-1.

An important factor was the enemy's organization itself. Luftwaffe is definitely a genus of troops in Germany, who submitted directly to Reichs Marshal and then Führer and had his own fully built structure. In addition to actually aviation parts, it was still a rear and anti-aircraft artillery, very powerful. The Air Force of the Red Army was not fully native of troops, it was rather a view that was subordinate to the ground forces. An interesting fact: until June 30, 1941 there was no position of the Commander of the Red Army Air Force, was the head of department. Commanders of the front Air Force reported directly to the commander of the fronts, and this played a negative role subsequently. In addition to mobilization and organizational events, Soviet Air Force in 1939-40. Moved to the territory of Western Ukraine, Western Belarus, the Baltic States, so they were forced to build a new network of airfields throughout the border. For example, this is part of the map of the construction of airfields in the Baltic States. Accordingly, the subordination system of the land forces made a very serious problem: the Soviet Air Force stretched throughout the front from Murmansk to the Black Sea with a thin layer. Part of the forces, because the construction of airfields was only conducted, the Red Army Air Force was forced to keep much east, about Meridian Smolensk-Kiev-Zaporizhia. It turned out that the air force was divided into at least two echelon removed from about 400-500 kilometers from each other. Parts located in the area of \u200b\u200bTallinn, Smolensk, Orsha, Mogileva, Kiev, Proskurovo, Krivoy Rog could not help the parts of the first echelon in the first battles. And the construction of aerodromes in the 39th, or in the 40th year was properly conducted. The 41st was the year when they tried to close these cutters. It began to build 800 operational airfields at once, in addition, such concreted typical bands began to build on 240 airfields, which also did not add optimism, because even a person who is not familiar with construction, it is clear that such a gigantic number of construction sites is simply impossible for six months Build.

Local location scheme at the airfield

Accordingly, here is one of the photos like redarmeys mounted a mesh under the fill of the concrete strip.

Laying the mesh under the fill of the concrete strip

Distribution of forces. In the Baltic States, the first aircraft building is located about Konigsberg to the border, and according to the Red Army Air Force, the 6th Division is located here, here is the 7th division, here the 8th, here is the 57th, and the fourth, for example, is already located In the area of \u200b\u200bTallinn, Tartu, and in such a construction, it cannot start the fighting. It can not be effective fighting, even bomber. That is, the Germans could use all the forces in the first strike, the Soviet Air Force - no. Moreover, even according to the cover plan, part of the forces still had to be located along the Western Dvina line, that is, at a distance somewhere 250 km from the border, and, accordingly, I can not imagine how they could participate in the border battle in such angle. This happened everywhere, not only in the Baltic States, throughout and the Western Front, and the South-Western, and the Air Force of the 9th Army in Moldova. The Soviet Air Force entered far from the optimal composition, having a division into several echelons. Even the first echelon was divided into two echelon along the border, and at a distance somewhere 250 km, and the third echelon was at a distance of 400-500 km from the border. Everyone knows the shittomatic data that the Luftwaffe had about 2.5 thousand combat aircraft somewhere, the Red Army Air Forces had somewhere 7.5 thousand combat aircraft in Western districts, but it is impossible to actually use most of the forces on the above reasons. In addition, the Red Army Air Force was in the deployment stage, and if the Germans could put all their 20 fighter groups in the optimal composition of June 22, then 69 fighter regiments presented in Western districts, the real combat value was represented by 24, 7 of which were in the second-third echelons. Use the notorious numerical advantage was simply impossible. The Soviet Air Force should have come into battle in parts, which gave the Germans a great opportunity to defeat them, which subsequently happened.

The preselection, unfortunately, is not so rainbow, but, nevertheless, it really was. Being in such a building, in such a state, with such forces and preparation, to win in the preliminary battle, I must say honestly, the Soviet Air Force did not have the slightest chance. They could only delay the inevitable defeat of the first echelon and wait for the approach of the second and third echelons to continue the battle of a more powerful composition.

Let's go to war. For example, the results of the first strike. The Western and North-West direction was planned at 4 am, that is, German aircraft were supposed to cross the Soviet-German border with the first volley offensive offensive, after 15-20 minutes they had a blow to advanced airfields. In the southwestern and southern direction it was an hour later, apparently, from light conditions.

Here is the kaunas airfield, the southern part of it. The very parking lots that we have seen in the first series are visible funnels from bombs. Not everything is, because a little bit had to trim the picture.

Kaunas. The result of bombing

People who say that it was impossible to destroy such a large number of aircraft on June 22, sin against truth, because it is confirmed by objective data from German control. Shooting on June 23, this is a photocontrol. And this is how it looked on the ground. This is the same parking, hangars, here are the three rows of planes. It can be seen that the second row is completely destroyed, the rear row is completely destroyed, but something more or less living remains in the first row. The shooting was conducted by these two aircraft, strictly speaking, too, burned down.

Kaunas. The result of bombing

This gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe effectiveness of German strikes. In fact, on June 22, the RKKA Air Force faced with an incredibly strong enemy, persistent in achieving the Object Council, and there was no one chance to win this confrontation, at least the first operation.

These photos from the "Signal" magazine are the same group of aircraft, but from another angle. Here is a turn of this "signal." Here all photos from the Baltic states are Kaunas, Kedanya, Alitus, a visual German report on combat actions.

Magazine "Signal"

As for the very first moment: another negative factor was the fact that on the morning of June 22 there was no agreement with the military-political leadership, and a clear order was not given to the beginning of the fighting. In fact, surprise as such, because the troops of the Soviet border districts still began to rise on June 22 on the alarm, and in the Baltic States, another 19-20 numbers are dispersed where it was possible due to airfield construction, on field airfields And one squadron was constantly in readiness number two, that is, ready to take off for 5-10 minutes. But this completely normal condition was for some reason broken on the night of June 21-22, the infamous "Directive No. 1", which was transferred to the troops at around one hour on June 22. There were made such postulates that when attacking the battle, not to get involved in the opening of fire by the opponent's opponent's fire, do not open fire. It was very shot down the mood of Soviet commanders and pilots. In the films of the Soviet pore, they saw where, roughly speaking, Pavlov, commander of the Western Front or some more characters call Tymoshenko, the addict of defense, and they say: "Well, see the Germans attack." And they in response they say not to succumb to provocations, keep calm and so on. Instead of going to clearly and clearly tell the commanders, how to act, they were put in front of the choice: whether he was attacked, whether he would fight, or not lead, wait, maybe this is a provocation. And in the context of the Air Force, it played a negative role, because if the land forces on June 22 not everywhere in the battle joined, then the Air Force was entered into battle in almost full. This moment, when the first shot was not reflected, a completely negative effect on the future. Even Kaunas, crushed airfields that we saw - this was done during the first raid, although the Germans in this first tax did not put such a goal of destruction. They were more likely to have a targeting, mostly they set the task to conduct a deferment, once again clarify the goals. However, where they had excellent reconnaissance documents, they acted with powerful groups. Several airfields were defeated in the Baltic States, and our Air Force suffered serious losses. In Ukraine, in Belarus was the same situation. Even the very first blows were very effective. But I emphasize once again, it was not the main task, the main thing was the deferment. The next happens like this: some Soviet military leaders who were supplied to such a puzzle, decided it normally: for example, in the Baltic States, the Air Force of the Air Force was Alecia Ivanovich, Major General Aviation.

Ion A.I., Major General Aviation

Here he is still a community, in pre-war rank. He, most likely, received an order from the headquarters of the North-West Front of Clain to conduct hostilities, and in response to the first blow was raised (I, honestly, I do not know whether the work plan was introduced, but at least orders, Which were given to the connections, clearly corresponded to the cover plan), the bomber shelves were raised into the air, which went bombing German airfields and other goals. For example, a person, at that time, Captain, Krivtsov Mikhail Antonovich, he was the commander of the first Soviet squadron, which in the morning of June 22 dropped the bombs on Tilzit.

Krivtsov Mikhail Antonovich

There is an interesting fact associated with this person who, again, speaks of the role of personality: the directive in front of people was given a choice, and the most decisive commanders were strongly accepted, as, for example, ions, Cryptions, a number of other commanders, and others simply sat on Earth And they did not succumb to provocations, some shelves did not even fly into the air. And those that took off, complied with the order of the first fire not to open, and the German Air Force in the first tax is very small losses suffered because of this. Not only did the directive regulate these actions, and when the airplanes of the North-West Front were already on the approach to German airfields, bases, etc., from the People's Commissariat of Defense or from the General Staff, it's now difficult to say, I received a radio order to turn around, bombardment German territory do not produce. One squadron of the 46th Sbap returned from the combat course. But such people as Krivtsov showed a decisiveness, their own opinion and still dropped bombs, thanks to which the Germans received at least some kind of retaliatory hit at that moment. Further more.

They returned all the aircraft, allowed to act only before the border. At about 7 pm, the so-called "Directive number 2" was the so-called "Directive No. 2", which again did not allow to introduce an action plan, she spoke "interesting" language, put local tasks. There was a completely incomprehensible phrase bombed Koenigsberg and Memel - it is not clear what is said. The rest was allowed to shoot down the opponent's airplanes, act in the tail, that is, after hitting the aircraft of the enemy and bomb it, but she, unfortunately, entered the county by 9 am. What is 9 in the morning? The Germans performed the first series of shocks in 4-5 am, the next series was at 7-8 in the morning. The goal of the latter was not only a reconnaissance mussia, but also the destruction of aviation at the airfields. The second raid of German aircraft was focused on the matchmakers, improved, that is, German pilots have already visited once above the German airfields, they had no questions, they were clearly acted. Several regiments in Belarus were simply destroyed completely as a result of these nails. Really completely, they did not act at all. For example, the 113th and 16th bombarding shelves were completely destroyed, none of their plane after that did not participate in any actions. This is not a single case. When the directive reached, because of these morning stop orders, apparently, the comrades were a little on the platoon and were already afraid to produce some independent things, and they also called questions. Interesting fact: in the documents of the 125th high-speed bombarding regiment of the Western District, the division commander is persistently, a few hours after receiving the directive, trying to force the regiment commander to fly to the combat task, he in the end, somewhere in 11.45 agree to do this, and asks for He has a radiogram on board every 5 minutes, did the order not canceled. That's what people were brought to such nonsense. As a result, he had the last doubts disappeared when they in the air in 12 were listened to the speech of Molotov about the announcement of the war. Such actions before lunch, aviation was put into the role of the manager: whether we fight, whether we are not fighting. Many said and wrote that the connection was interrupted. Here are many parts whose relationship with the higher bosses was interrupted, as once and worked better, because, without communicating, they began to conduct fighting, without looking around at anyone, having decided on their own. Before the lunch, the Germans managed to perform three, if you take the Baltic States and the West Front, and two departures, if you take the South-West Front, according to our airfields. The effect was destroying.

Here, if you take a Tilzit, there were the results of the first departure of the nine of the 9th Lamb Mikhail Krivtsov, which the first was dropped at the Tilsit Bomb railway station.

Tilsit. The result of bombing

These are the results of SD-2 strikes at the Vilnius airfield. The burnt seagull is visible and, perhaps, her "killer", it can be seen that the pylon for SD-2 is suspended.

The result of shocks SD-2 at the Vilnius airfield

Accordingly, the Western Front was attacked by advanced airfields of three divisions, on which by 10.00, after the second tax, were completely defeated, for example, in the 10th division - 74 regiment, the 33rd regiment, 123rd shelves. In the 10th mixed division, 124 and 126th shelves were defeated. Really, the shelves remained: in a 33rd - not a single aircraft, in 74th - not a single aircraft, the 123rd JEAP was able to withdraw 13 fighters, the 126th IAP was able to withdraw 6 fighters, 124th - 1.

I have one interesting companion from Poland, who spoke and wrote several times: "Mikhail, it is impossible, only a nuclear strike ..." Here, everything was possible, these documents are confirmed, not German, these are the documents of the Red Army Air Force. LOSS. At the airfield, which was 50-60 aircraft, for 2-3 departures, the Germans could destroy almost all the technique. Well, of course, these were both destroyed and damaged machines. But a damaged aircraft, if you break through the car carrier or even the tires are stuck, you can't fix it soon.

The 13th SBAP was completely destroyed, the 16th chapter of the neighboring 11th division, heavily defeat received the 122th JEAP. Thus, by 10 am, the position was completely unbearable. There is such a telegram intercepted by the Germans, the commander from Bialystok, black, which almost open text asked for help. Ultimately, the only thing that was allowed to be a departure to the line of Pinsk-Baranovichi-Volkovysk-Lida, that is, kilometers per 100. And for 12 o'clock, these compounds are almost in full force, one fighter regiment was only left, redesigned to the second line. But here it came into force that the Red Army only unfolded, that is, there was no mobilization, so the rear services were in a state of peacetime, so to retreat and quickly translate the materials that were: bombs, the supply of fuel and securities, on the airfields of the second strip, for which Recommended, it was difficult. The airfields were in the process of construction, there were not even garrisons, and there were builders mainly, the parts that the construction of the runway was held. But even this waste did not guarantee anything: the Germans were bombarded by the Lida airfield in the afternoon, Pinsk. Interestingly, parts from Belostok speakers first moved to the Belostok district, they were chosen from there for 2-3 departures, and they also had to travel further after lunch. Moving to the second line, the guard shelves did not lead due to the lack of material resources and became passive witnesses. The same approximately the situation was in the Baltic States, but with the addition that the energetic commander of the Air Force tried to act in its plans all the time. He was one of the few leaders of the Red Army Air Force, who understood that it was necessary to fight for domination until the very end, but, unfortunately, on June 22, it did not allow him to certain circumstances. Why? I have already spoken, the subordination of the Air Force by the land forces, the land commander. In 8-9 o'clock in the morning, there were breakthroughs of German groups on Tauragu and at Alitus, so the commander of the front or head of the headquarters - it's hard to establish it, who really led to this, - I ordered an order to strike on these advanced tank wedges, respectively, all North-West Air Force The front was focused on fighting these parts. That is, German aircraft continued to attack the new Soviet airfields or repeat the attacks on the old ones, they acted throughout the day without stopping, albeit even small groups. The Soviet Air Force did not meet them in principle, acting on the motorized parts of the Wehrmacht.

The late reaction of the Western Front, what I described already, the commander of one of the regiments requested a radiogram to give him every 5 minutes on board, whether the departure was canceled. A little later, General Pavlov gave an order about active hostilities against the enemy, somewhere in 5.30. An order was issued on the actions in German airfields, but in 6-7 banned "amateurness", the Air Force stood for a few more hours under the hail of shocks. Boots of the Western Front Air Force are belated, but were. By the way, what is interesting, one of the regiments, the 125th Sbapa, as I said, attacked in the Suvalka ledge of the Berzhniki airfield. The nine attacked, bombed, even damaged one German plane and returned completely without loss. Another airfield was a Biala Podlaska, it was even later: from the 130th Sbap, too, one nine attacked, there are losses in Germans. The most interesting, Sat bombed from a height of 5 kilometers and nevertheless hit. According to German airfields, if there are objective, only two strikes were applied: one airfield in the Suvalksky protrusion, barriers, and one in the Biala Podlaska, it is in the Brest area, west.

Plan for the disposable part of the Air Force in the Baltic States

Despite these timid attacks, on June 22, the morning in the Baltic States and the meal in the area of \u200b\u200bSalkock and Brest, they were practical not effective (the loss of three aircraft cost nothing). However, the Germans have not used fighter aircraft after that in repeated attacks, but used it for the barrage and even produced an airfield maneuver, that is, the fighter shelves were transferred to their airfields so as not to be under the blow. This again says that the RKKA Airfield Airfield Airfields are acting in terms of covering the German airfield, we now understand, most airfields would attack empty, as there would be no German aircraft. Nevertheless, the actions themselves would attract German airplanes, respectively, did not give them the opportunity to attack Soviet airfields. And it happened: the shelves of the advanced Western Front were thrown away from the border before dinner on June 22, in the Baltic States the same process occurred after 2 hours. As soon as the departures were run out of German columns, most of the parts were moved to the Riga area, in the Daugavpils area, Mitava, that is, most airfields, and most of the airfields of the district were in a 20 km long, they were left and parts moved to distance 200- 250 km from the border. Accordingly, the advanced divisions of the Soviet troops, which still led to the battle borders, completely lost their support from the fighters. That is, if the bombers could still fly well with a bomb load, then fighters could not actually act from such a distance. The departure from the Baltic was asked before, and the commanders of all levels were asked about this, but there was a task to bomb the tank columns, and they still fulfilled these departures and only after that they were redesigned.

Approximately the same situation was in the Kiev Military District. The Germans also attacked throughout the period of the border actually advanced airfields, ranging from Covel to Lviv, along the border to Chernivtsi. The Germans had arrogance in confrontation with the Kiev Military District, having a limited amount of forces, even bomb Kiev. Neither Minsk was bombed on June 22, nor Riga bombed, but for some reason Kiev, although the Germans had very limited forces in the lane in the Kiev district. Kovbo himself had the most powerful Air Force, more than 2,000 aircraft, and most importantly, most of the fighter airlines of the Kiev district were precisely personnel, that is, they could resist German aircraft, which was done. The greatest losses of Luftwaffe suffered precisely in the lane of the Kiev Military District. For example, the 3rd group of the 51st bombarding squadron lost in the area of \u200b\u200bStanislav and Lviv, that is, they are 15 airplanes. 7 squadron of the 3rd group of the 55th squadron, which in the first departure 6 airplanes bombed the airfield in the Brody and Dubno area, from 6 flew planes 2 lost over the goal, 2 burned down (one fell in Soviet territory, one there landed on the airfield But burned), and two were damaged with the wounded arrows landed at the airfield in Klitentsy. That is, the Soviet Air Force also gave a fully defined answer in case the commanders have grabbed the determination to perform without the order from above. But, nevertheless, all the airfields were practically attacked, some airfields were simply defeated, for example, the airfield of the 62nd Shap Lysychic was attacked several times, and literally 50 aircraft were destroyed in the first departure. The Chernivtsi airfield was attacked twice, but even after the first combat departure, most of the 149th was destroyed. The next airfield was also attacked, most of the 247th JaP was destroyed, and the total losses somewhere reaching 100 aircraft.

It has been such an opinion that in Moldova, through some incredible tricks, the community of the district managed to avoid defeat due to the fact that they were dispersed on operational airfields. I want to say that this is a myth. The fact is that the Germans had a division with Romanians somewhere on the Meridian of Chisinau, and, accordingly, the German 4th Aviakorpus, which was based in Romania, he acted on airfields in the Chernivts region. A little west of Chisinau was the airfield of the 55th JaP, Balti, was several times attacked on June 22, and also suffered large losses that did not affect the reports, which gave the opportunity to write the officers of this district in memoirs, to piano themselves that they did it . Although, in fact, if their opponents were not Romanians, and the Germans most likely, the fate of the District Air Force would also be sad.

In the Kiev Military District, the Soviet parts practically did not move on airfields, only some divisions were departed on June 22, including from Chernivtsi. Why did this happen? In fact, the strip from Covel to Stanislav (from the Ukrainian side) is a rather undeveloped strip, and there was a problem with the airfields. Therefore, the Germans had airfields rather far from the border, and our nearest airfields in the Lviv area were somewhere 100 kilometers from the border. Accordingly, German aircraft were forced to act in some places on the full range of actions and it was not possible to achieve a decisive success on all airfields to the bombing. They suffered great losses.

The command of the Air Force, apparently, did not even try to make some conclusions. In addition, according to some reports, the commander of the FRONT FRONT PTUUhin was removed from the leadership, and, apparently, did not even participate in combat planning on June 22. At least there is no serious combat register.

Distribution Distribution Scheme on Western Front

If you take the Baltintians and the West Front, which at least attempted to act in German airfields in response, then there was no 9th Army in the South Front, although reconnaissance activities were conducted. If someone read the MEMUAR Tryshankina, there he describes the intelligence to Romanian airfields somewhere at lunch on June 22, when he flew, reported command, and he was told: "Sorry, we will have other goals." And the Air Force of the 9th Army after dinner received an order to bomb crossings on the prude, and from the Air Force of the South-Western Front 2, the regiment received the task of bombing German tank parts, which forced the Bug and attacked Vladimir-Volynsky. That's all.

That is, on June 22, by 18 o'clock, the Soviet Airfields in the Baltic States and Belarus were knocked out on the rear line of airfields, no practically fighting after 18.00 was already already, and the only thing that could, to barrage, patrol over their own airfields, cover it. Luftwaffe his deposits on the airfields somewhere later finished, in the area of \u200b\u200b20 hours, but it was already "in terms of" when the German scouts found that bypass on the rear line and tried to improve the next day to continue the operation. The same thing is in the strip of the southwestern front, the southern front. The enemy fully controlled the sky over the advanced lines, the RPC Air Force practically did not participate in patrolling over the boundaries, advanced parts, and the only thing that was - a blow to the German troops, which were transported through the Bug in the region of Vladimir Volynsky.

The Germans by their actions on June 22, especially in the first half of the day, provided their domination in the lane of the North-West and Western fronts somewhere at a distance of 200-250 km from the border, knocking out completely Soviet parts from there. They have not yet defeated completely, but defeated, and the territory remained behind the opponent. In the strip of the south-western front, many parts were also bouncer from their airfields, not all, but very many. When on June 23, the leadership of the South-Western Front was resumed, almost all parts were redeployed on, deep into the territory, 50-100 km, that is, in the area of \u200b\u200bTernopol, Rivne. There was a situation where somewhere 200 km from the borders of Soviet airlines was not. For a fighter 200 km at the time, it's just to fly and return back, there is no time for the air combat. Parts that were along the border have already lost their finishes. Conclusion: Due to its unique preparation, its technical capabilities, perseverance in achieving the goals, a competent plan, tactically competent actions of the Luftwaffe, unfortunately, managed to apply on June 22, the defeat of the RPC Air Force.

Loading ammunition

What can be positive aspects? The first: there was no affected mood, despite the fact that many are now trying to create some kind of drapet pilots running out generals. All this is obvious nonsense. Part of the North-West Air Force, and part of the Western Front Air Force retreated, having strictly receiving orders, but if they had retreated before without an order, they could save part of the forces, part of the funds. Soviet pilots did, as I think, everything is possible. There are confirmed episodes 4 or even 5 shots. Enough fierce battles occurred over the entire front line. However, the Germans were not "whipping boys," they received a very serious experience in Western Europe, and besides, if they tried to avoid serious combat clashes. As an example, these are the actions of the 1st German bombarding squadron against the airfield Liepaja. The 148th Fighter Aviation Regiment was based. Germans per day, applying such a simple reception as an occasion from the sea, destroyed and damaged the aircraft of this shelf in the day. German fighters were not there at all. Some serious air fights were not carried out for the reason that the Germans came, bombed and in the dive of the sea left. On and-153, it was very problematic to catch up with Yu-88. This was, at one time, one of theories of Solonin, when he found an operational summary of the North-Western Front, where it was written that the loss of 14 aircraft per day, and in the morning of the 23rd in Riga, there were 27 regiment aircraft. And he says: "Where did you share 30 cars?". In fact, due to the inconsistency of operational documents at the headquarters of the front, only the very first operational summary of the regiment or combat report came to the headquarters. After that, the battles began for Liepaja, respectively, the headquarters of the regiment began to move towards Riga, try to move away. Apparently, the data was not transferred, so that the headquarters of the front only the first encryption reached, which 14 destroyed aircraft mentioned. Then there were still losses, and the last loss was in the area of \u200b\u200b8 pm, when the Germans, apparently, got, at that moment, when the aircraft refuel was made, and destroyed almost a squadron. But this again says that the Germans did not cease to act. They had the success of the morning, they did not cease to develop him and, that was characteristic, attacked even the goals that were already abandoned by the Soviet units. Some airfields, for example, Vilnius, Kaunas, there were no other combat vehicles, there were no rear services, there were airplanes on which there were no pilots, or they were faulty, old and were subject to transfers to other parts. However, the Germans continued to dragging until the evening, thus losing pilots that could from other airfields to move there and pick up the match, such an opportunity. Luftwaffe did not assembled on June 22 to finish the struggle for dominance in the air, and what they managed, they were happy to continue on June 23, and began even earlier, about 3 am.

Part of the Soviet commanders understood this perfectly. Alexey Ivanovich ions, for example, as soon as he was allowed the possibility as soon as they completed the battle with the German mechanized parts, he left the regiment on the Dvina line. Even before the appearance of Directive No. 3, which implied the Soviet attack on Lublin, he already gave an order from the morning on June 23 to act according to the cover plan. Like pilots, regiments, squadrons were trying to counteract all day, as they could, the enemy, and at the level of the Commanders of the Air Force, people who perfectly understood in the situation were understood and tried to adequately react. Unfortunately, the toolkit, which was then there, did not allow it to be fully made. That is, fighting with the Luftwaffe, which was at that moment, it was almost impossible. Another point: from the first blows could be secure, to a certain extent, anti-aircraft artillery. Why did this happen? The Red Army was in the stage of reorganization, most of the anti-aircraft parts in the territory of Western Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States were in the formation stage. Many people remember the Soviet films, especially when accusations are prosecuted and say: why were your anti-aircraft divisions somewhere at the landfill? The answer is obvious: the zenithors spent combat skimming, because for most of the redarmers these parts it was the first year of service, and they still had to train. Again, the Red Army was not unmobilized, so regular divisions of anti-aircraft gunners, which were on each airfield, were not enough that they were not equipped and instead of 9 machine guns had only 3, well, the tightened plants "Maxim", but also felt the lack of personnel And to introduce many machine guns to actions simply had no one. Unlike again the Germans. The Luftwaffe had a completely different organization, and the anti-aircraft parts were in submission at the Wehrmacht, and less, most of the anti-aircraft parts and anti-aircraft guns were precisely subordinate to the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe command could build an umbrella over the location that they considered fit. Accordingly, the anti-aircraft divisions of the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht were in a combatic condition for the beginning of the war, had a huge number of small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery. If in the Soviet Union, about 1.5 thousand small-caliber anti-aircraft guns 25 and 37 mm, which practically did not have time to learn in the troops, because they were mostly released at the end of the 40th beginning of the 41st And just started to enter the troops. In addition, there was a very big problem, because there were very little ammunition to these anti-aircraft guns. All the documents that we looked are 1 BC in the part, and there were no 37-mm shells in the warehouses of the districts at all, as 85 mm - to severe anti-aircraft guns.

What could be done from this and why he was not done? Probably, the defeat was morally hard, therefore there was no serious analysis. Some Commanders of the compounds wrote the hottest figures of the reports, but they could not climb the situation, respectively, everyone had their own opinion, no one had previously analyzed, did not collected, but reports on combat actions of the South-Western Front, North-Western and Western They were made: southwestern - in August 1941, the Western Front - in general at the beginning of the 42nd. By this time, there were no people in the headquarters of the Western Front, which participated in all these events, that is, the reports are half, to be honest, nothing. The situation was not analyzed, the conclusions were not even closely made, why it happened this annoying cruel defeat. The in the afternoon, in 42-43 the Soviet Air Force fell on the same rake. There are no examples when the offensive to German airfields could end here this is the effect like a Luftwaffe. Throw, for example, parts of the Luftavaff from these airfields and conquer domination in the air over some area, even if local. That is, neither the tool was created, it seems to me even, he was not created all the war, some kind of adequate tool, nor technically prepared bombs some specialized. This lecture was intended in many respects to say that the story does not teach anyone. The fact that conclusions could be made and effectively follow the fighting - unfortunately, was not analyzed, did not materialize in the conclusions, instructions. The Red Army later, unfortunately, almost the entire war fell on the same rake. And such a serious operation, similar to those led by Luftwaffe, is not even remembered. The events of the Kursk battle are often quoted, allegedly there was something, but recent studies show that preparatory items, when attempts were attempts to destroy, and there were akin to crash, for example, attempts on June 25, 1941 to choose Finnish aviation fighting. The same: the lack of serious targeted intelligence, specialized ammunition, strike tactics. The Germans must be given due: they continued this operation, expanded, that is, on June 23-24-25, they chose Soviet aviation in this lane, somewhere 200-250 km. It was the last line, because, as we saw, the configuration of the border was new, the airfields were mainly built on these attached territories. And after that, in fact, the Soviet Air Force there was a paradoxical situation, they were forced to retreat to the Pskov district, Smolensk, Mogileva, Proskurovo, Kiev, and so on. The retreat was irreversible, huge spaces were no longer covered, and the Germans could do anything there. Soviet aviation was no longer there. Literally on the 26th, it began to relocate on an even more rear line for 400-500 km from the border, and the battles, in general, were still conducted. Lviv took on June 30, the fights for Riga were 27-28-29 June, Minsk, respectively, they also know everything when the ring of the environment was closed in late June. They lost air support, and everything because of the actions of Luftwaffe. This is not related to the affected moods, with reluctance to fight, with the lack of combat spirit, patriotism. In no case. People in the field did everything they could. They beat to the last opportunity, having that technique, that preparation. Many died heroic death. Most of the heroes we do not even know - the same Krivtsov himself, who first dropped the bombs into the German territory. He died in the 44th commander of the regiment, he was not even a hero of the Soviet Union. The same ions - it, unfortunately, was arrested on June 24 in a large group of aviation commanders. Completely unique fate in humans. He was a pilot in the first world war, then all the steps of the military career were held, commanded a squadron, a brigade for a very long time, the Academy graduated, participated in the Finnish campaign by the head of the 14th Army Air Force, adequately acted in the border battle. This person had a clear focus, a clear understanding of the essence of the first operation and in general, many processes. His talent lay even in the field of knowledge, but in the field of military art. Nevertheless, he was arrested and February 42, he was shot with a large group of commanders, although I believe that this man was worthy of becoming a marshal aviation and the Commander of the Red Army Air Force.

In conclusion, maybe I will add a spoonful of honey to our unbearable history. The only place where the Soviet Airfields managed to defend their airfields, and the whole month is Moldova. Moldova acted Romanians who were completely not such professionals as their colleagues in the Luftwaffe, plus they did not have such tools like the Luftwaffe, that is, technical training, ammunition, intelligence and so on. The first departures of Romanians were akin to Soviet. The Romanian Air Force, allocated for hostilities, all rushed into the Bulgarian airfield, it in the area of \u200b\u200bIzmail, just one Soviet fighter regiment 67th was based, and all day Romanians tried to bomb this regiment, attack, and eventually lost more than a dozen aircraft, Really confirmed by shot down. At the same time, the regiment himself lost Mizere: in the air of one pilot with an airplane, 5 aircraft damaged and two more pilots injured. That is, the entire day the regiment was fighting from all Romanian Air Force, in fact, and did not give the slightest opportunities to descend to the Roman patrician at least to do something. That is, all the groups were scattered, broken, suffered losses with minimal losses of the Red Army. In many ways - the role of personality. The head of the regiment headquarters has developed tactics, this is confirmed in documents and memoirs - patrolling by large groups over the airfield. He constantly kept over the airfield of one or two squadrons fully equipped, they replaced each other, and only single groups of aircraft could break through to the airfield, completely randomly, which could slip between patrols. Here is a story. If the 4th Aviakorpus Luftwaffe was acted not in parts of the south-western front in the area of \u200b\u200bChernivtsi, and came to Chisinau, Odessa, I think the outcome would be different. And so it allowed the Soviet units in the area of \u200b\u200bIzmail, Chisinau, Odessa to make their post on the beginning of victory action.