This is my first post, so I apologize if anything is wrong.
I decided to consider some moments of the Great Patriotic War. I think there will be many more articles dedicated to the holiday. The topic I decided to touch upon is overused… not to say how. But still, I decided to remember what I heard, saw and read, and put it together.
Preventive war
The German attack is a preventive measure to prevent the USSR from invading Western Europe.
Let’s remember the game War Front: Turning Point. The Cold War between Germany and the United States ends as Soviet troops begin to march across Europe. “What nonsense!“I decided at the beginning. And then I thought… Germany occupies all of Europe. This plays into Stalin’s hands. He understood who stood for the transformation of Germany, downtrodden after 1918, into a powerful power. According to Stalin’s plans, the Reich was supposed to capture England and move into Asia. So the German troops would be stretched thin, and uprisings would break out in the occupied territories. We get a colossus with feet of clay. And these legs would have been broken by the Soviet army, which would have become not an aggressor, but a liberator of all oppressed Europe.
Of course, War Front is a crapshoot, but as they say, there is some truth in every joke, despite the distortion of everything and everyone. Ultimately, Hitler had to understand that the Union could strike at the most inopportune moment. At least the Red Army was preparing for war. But only for an offensive war, and not as a non-defensive one (they weren’t even allowed to think about that).
Regarding the alliance of the USA, Great Britain and Germany. Such a balance of power could have taken place. After all, the war was started with the goal of weakening the USSR and, at the same time, Germany. And then Albion and America would dictate their terms to them. And when the Red Army drove the Nazis into their lair, the question arose about providing assistance to Germany from Britain and the USA. There is a book by Sergei Anisimov “Encore”. A similar state of affairs plays out there.
Germany’s capture of Russia would have a positive impact on the Russian people
Why Germany attacked the USSR is clear to everyone. This is both racial politics and the need for resources, and the Reich could not just keep someone who could attack it at its borders. But Hitler, his own generals, kept him from such actions. Only chance intervened in everything. The Germans occupied Yugoslavia without encountering much resistance. The Yugoslavs hoped that if they surrendered, the Germans would treat them more gently. Only after this Hitler decided that all Slavs are cowards. And the warriors among them are useless. So already at this stage we couldn’t expect any good from the invaders.
What would happen if Germany captured the entire territory of the USSR?
There will be more Slavs than Germans. Consequently, the Germans would not have been able to dissolve in themselves. Blue-eyed and blond-haired children would have been taken to Germany (this is actually what happened) for assimilation. The rest would be driven into concentration camps or sent to the mines.
And don’t forget what the Nazis did to those who ended up in concentration camps. The fat was melted down into soap, the skin was used for gloves, and the hair was used for wigs.
“The weather was beautiful, which the Russians for some reason dubbed Indian summer. They called their women women, but why the warm days of October were called their summer, un-Lebbel could not understand. The teachers at school were right: Russians are a stupid and inconsistent people. In the life of this strange people, two incompatible things played an important role – vodka and women. At least all the stories that un-Lebbel heard about Russians concerned vodka and women. And fights. The Russians considered themselves skilled fighters, although un-Lebbel could easily kill a dozen attackers in hand-to-hand combat if they were Russian. However, among them there were unique specimens possessing bear-like strength and snake-like agility. Once, while on leave, un-Lebbel and his comrades had to assist the civil authorities in apprehending a violent Russian. Hans still did not understand whether this Russian was an urban partisan, of whom, however, there were fewer and fewer every year, or whether he simply came into conflict with the auxiliary police over a drunken shop. But the fact remains that before Hans and five comrades from the team managed to subdue the violent Russian, he killed six civilians, and two of un-Lebbel’s comrades also had to be sent to the hospital with broken arms and a concussion. Nevertheless, such people were rare among Russians, and there were few sober ones among them – vodka for Russians was sold in every store and even in street kiosks and cost mere pfennigs.”.
"Half-Breed" Sergei Sinyakin
Stalin is shocked
The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR was a blow for Stalin. As they said in one program: “Stalin was a Georgian. And he got used to living according to the laws of the mountaineers. Therefore, Hitler’s betrayal came as a real shock to him.”. Joseph Vissarionovich fell into depression and spent several days at his dacha. Therefore, it was not he who addressed the people, speaking about the beginning of the war.
But this story was invented by Khrushchev to debunk the cult of Stalin. In fact, the leader of the peoples was sitting in his office and conferring with the command. Proof: log of visits to Stalin’s office. And the fact that he wasn’t the one speaking was due to his, let’s say, modesty. He didn’t like public speaking. And if he spoke, then the people, most likely, would only be more frightened, considering that things were very bad.
Without the help of the allies, the USSR would not have survived / The USSR would have won without the help of the allies
Lack of confidence in one’s own abilities or mischief?
The defenders of the Brest Fortress held https://playcozacasino.co.uk/withdrawal/ the defense for more than a month. It took the Germans so much time to capture all of Poland (if the invasion began on September 1, and the last units of the Polish army capitulated on October 6).
Blitzkrieg failed even before the Battle of Moscow. Hitler’s plans were thwarted near Smolensk. Thanks to this event, the Japanese did not dare to attack the USSR. And Soviet aviation already bombed Berlin in August 1941.
What about coalition allied countries?? They opened a second front. But when? 1943 in Italy and in 1944 landed in Normandy (it is often forgotten that in addition to the Americans, the British, French and Canadians landed). The Allies began such full-scale actions, seeing the successes of the Red Army and fearing the capture of Europe no longer by the fascists, but by the communists. Of course, the British distracted the Germans’ attention to their colonies, and the Americans occupied the Japanese. But perhaps this is not the main thing. The main thing is the agreement on arms supplies to the USSR,
American aircraft arrived in the USSR under Lend-Lease. Pokryshkin flew the P-39 Airacobra. Soldiers and civilians ate American stew, nicknamed "Second Front". The famous BM-13 (“Katyusha”) was based on the Studebaker platform. Along with Soviet tanks, American tanks destroyed Wehrmacht armored vehicles. And we can’t forget about moral support.
So the question is not: “Would we be able to win??" Question: "At what cost? Would they be able to reach Berlin after expelling the invaders from the territory of the USSR??»
"Not a step back!»
Order No. 227, known as "Not a Step Back"!", is often perceived as one of the reasons for the failures of the Red Army. Meanwhile, everyone was waiting for this order. He said that the command and the government monitor the situation, morale, discipline and, so to speak, do not let anyone down.
In Call of Duty, in the first mission for the USSR, there is a moment with a commissar shooting everyone who retreats. In reality, the barrier detachments did not organize such meat grinders. In general, there are a lot of myths about penal battalions. I recently learned that there is even a myth about women’s penal battalions (I saw a documentary about penal battalions in fits and starts the other day, but due to the fact that I was preparing for an exam, I didn’t remember the name of the program and when exactly it was shown).
Those who were captured by Germans were not sent to penal battalions. They were usually given some kind of "probation" (usually related to intelligence, making them double agents), after which they were no longer picked on. In general, most of the Soviet prisoners of war who sided with the Nazis fled to their own people at the first opportunity.
The weapons of the Allied countries and Germany were superior to the Soviet ones / Soviet weapons were perfect
You can compare weapons for a very, very long time. In the end, it is not the one who has the best weapons who wins, but the one who uses the weapons better. So let’s consider only some points related to the arsenals of the parties.
In terms of small arms, we can talk about a certain balance between the parties. When they talk about a Soviet soldier, I think many people imagine him with a PPSh in his hands (in Red Alert 2, Soviet soldiers did not part with him even in the 70s). In Call of Duty 2, for the sake of balance, the PPSh-41, due to its high rate of fire and 71-round magazine, was inferior in terms of lethality to the MP-40. In reality, the PPSh was more powerful than the MP-40. It was inferior to the Thompson with 40 caliber. But the PPSh-41 had many shortcomings. It was heavy and had a high ammo consumption. And for each machine there were only two magazines. The clips from one PPSh-41 did not fit into another PPSh. The more successful PPS-42 is not so famous. This machine gun was lighter than the MP-40, had a decent firing range and a not so large clip (besides, there were no problems with the “uniqueness” of the magazines). The downside is the lack of ability to shoot single. But Soviet intelligence officers loved this machine gun and called it the best machine gun of World War II.
The most interesting weapons of the Germans. There are infrared sights of the “Vampire” system (something similar was depicted in Mortyr 2093 – 1944), and rifles that shoot around corners, and guided projectiles and much, much more. But all these experimental guns, worthy of taking a place in the cabinets of Übersoldaten from Wolfenstein, did not have time to become widespread. Many of them were rejected. But quite a few technologies (the Hornet Go-229 aircraft or such a seemingly simple invention as wings slightly laid back) subsequently played a significant role in the development of military technologies.
In the game War Front: Turning Point, Soviet tanks are inferior to German and allied ones. But in reality, German medium tanks did not have high performance. It was difficult for them to resist the Soviets. There was a time when several KVs shot at a column of enemy armored vehicles, receiving only a few dents from the shells. About the T-34 is a separate conversation. A German artilleryman told how, after a direct hit, only a dent remained on the T-34’s armor, and the tank continued to push towards enemy positions.
The famous "Tigers" and "Panthers" were quite unreliable. During the Battle of Kursk, many tanks broke down even before the battle (some say that flying saucers are to blame for everything). Such a thing as the fact that large rollers covering each other negatively affected the characteristics of the tank. Well, the advantages of these tanks disappeared when our tankers began close combat. So the turret of the T-34 rotates faster than that of the Tiger.
The British only got good tanks towards the end of the war. Before that they used mainly American tanks. The USA supplied its tanks under Lend-Lease to the USSR. Our tankers appreciated this technique, although they noted its low maneuverability. But our pilots were especially happy about American aircraft. In addition to the fact that at the beginning of the war the USSR lost quite a few aircraft and now needed to make up for the losses, American aircraft also had impressive firepower.
We can say that the USSR had very good weapons. But after the first German attacks, a lot of equipment was destroyed and the situation is reminiscent of today: the weapons are excellent, but what good are they if there are only two of them in the whole country?? At the same time, the army did not have many necessary things at all. For example, the command did not pay enough attention to mountain riflemen, and at the time of the war they did not even have special glasses and did not have enough cats. The Germans initially did not have such problems. And, it is worth noting, at the beginning they won many battles, being inferior in number to Soviet troops.
But our command was gaining experience. It’s worth at least remembering the breakthrough of the front in Belarus – “Operation Bagration”. Ours reached the Germans where the command did not expect them (Hitler had information about a possible attack in that area, but did not attach much importance to them). When infantry and even tanks passed through the swamps. And in no case should we forget about ordinary Soviet soldiers.
It’s not just soldiers who fight in war. War is also a confrontation between propaganda machines.
At the beginning of the war in the USSR, propaganda was not given much importance. It was said that it was Hitler who forced the German people to go to war. That is, the old slogans were used that everything was to blame for the “oppressors”. Soviet soldiers often did not shoot first, thinking that if the enemy was a worker/peasant, then they could negotiate with him. But in the Union they understood by what rules the war for people’s minds is now going on. And the slogans “Kill the German” appeared!». Many said that this slogan (as well as order No. 277) were needed in the current conditions.
Of course, this slogan could be one of the reasons that Soviet soldiers tried to take revenge on the German population. "Kill the German!" must have been some kind of trigger. There is a film “Three days of Lieutenant Kravtsov”. There, one of the heroes reflects on what will happen when he gets to Berlin. “I won’t forgive you,” he says. And our soldiers had frequent breakdowns when they entered a German house and simply started shooting everything: furniture, walls, windows. Naturally, they were punished for this. And there were people who liked to shoot captured Germans. Of course, it’s easy to say that this is all bad and immoral. But if you imagine that some Germans, because of some incomprehensible and stupid ideals, are burning your village with all your relatives, then you don’t know how you will act when you meet the Germans. So perhaps it’s worth not reproaching those who went through the war for wanting to take revenge on the Germans. They should be respected for the fact that they behaved with dignity. Not like those they fought against.
As one historian said: “Kill the German!"This is a cry of despair".
The year has struck, the turn has come,
Today we are responsible
For Russia, for the people
And for everything in the world.
From Ivan to Thomas,
Dead or alive,
All of us together are us,
That people, Russia.
And because this is us,
I’ll tell you, brothers,
Us out of this mess
Nowhere to go.
You can’t say here: I’m not me,
I don’t know anything,
You can’t prove that it’s yours
Today the house is on the edge.
It’s not a big deal for you
Think alone.
Bomb is a fool. Will hit
Foolishly straight to the point.
Forget yourself in war,
Remember the honor, however,
Get to work – chest to chest,
A fight means a fight.
And I won’t fail to admit,
I’ll give my assessment,
It’s not like in the old days, wall to wall.
It’s not like a fist here:
Let’s see whose heftiest – I would even say this:
It’s much worse here..
Well, what to judge about that – Everything is clear to the point.
It is necessary, brothers, to beat the German,
Don’t give a reprieve.
"Vasily Terkin. About war" Alexander Tvardovsky
"They want to destroy America!»
Such exclamations can be heard in various films and games. In Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, for example. German troops land in America and meet fierce resistance.
Everybody knows Henry Ford. But does everyone know that his portrait hung in Hitler’s office and he called Ford “American Fuhrer”? Ford was largely Hitler’s inspiration. Plus actively helped with the technological base. And not only him.
Even if you don’t count the columns of pro-fascists marching through the streets of New York, it’s enough to remember racial discrimination. Some of these moments can be seen in BioShock Infinite.
All Germans are evil / None of the Germans wanted to fight
“The Germans are an intelligent, educated and civilized people. How can they do this?“- this was probably one of the main questions among Soviet citizens.
The reasons for the war are clear. Humiliation after the First World War, revanchist sentiments, Hitler’s charisma (his speeches with waving his arms and screams look strange and even funny, but in fact they helped him quite well to win the hearts of citizens) and the help of, let’s say, countries that the USSR, to put it mildly, interfered with. But the actions of German soldiers themselves are sometimes impossible to understand.
Naturally, there were many German soldiers who were only thinking about how to quickly return to their homeland. Germans who did not understand why they had to kill people simply because they were a different people. I have heard more than once about smart and educated Germans who, if possible, even helped the Russians.
Unfortunately, now they like to whitewash everyone indiscriminately. But how many cases have there been of executions of not just civilians, but children (for example, the execution of refugees in the steppe near Stalingrad, when many children died). And the “hunt for people” of German pilots (they forced them to throw themselves to the ground and shot so as not to kill, but to seriously scare or injure). Well, I already mentioned the concentration camps.
Unfortunately, it was not even the Germans who were responsible for many of the bloody deeds, but our brothers – the Balts, Hungarians, Romanians and other Slavic peoples (well, the Germans are also not very distant relatives for us, if you think about it). For example, the atrocities of the 2nd Hungarian Army in Voronezh. But what’s even more terrible is that many atrocities were not even directed against Russians, but against Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians like them… And only because they were suspected of having connections with the communists and to curry favor with the invaders. The latter did not particularly favor any Slavic peoples. Of course, many of them were anti-fascists and fought on the side of the Red Army.
In general, if you look at the actions of Nazi Germany, you can see that many of the monstrous acts of the main bastards shown in movies and video games have already taken place in history. For example, they once said in Novosti that the Wehrmacht did not shy away from feeding its soldiers drugs. This is of course not Haze level yet, but the fact itself is important.
To summarize, we can say that despite all the hardships and adversities, our grandfathers and great-grandfathers stood with honor and victory rightfully belongs to them.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember who said: “If you are not proud of your history, then at least accept it.”. I don’t think there’s anything to argue about here.
Now we know in this world
There is no room for fatalism
His laws were broader
More complex than the movements of the planets
We can only know the probability
Only chance is complete sir
Of all the possible scenarios
He presents us with one
Among the many potential
There’s only one real way
And what happened
Can’t wash it off, can’t cross it out
But if they reproduced
Exactly old years
Then predict the next plot
We couldn’t even then
techno-opera “2032: Legend of the Unfulfilled Future”
I have always believed that the true reasons for Russia’s victories are not even in skilled gunsmiths, a large territory and huge human resources. It’s all derived from two things. The first is love for one’s native land. And secondly, as the main character of the film “Brother 2” (and before him Alexander Nevsky from the film of the same name) said: “Strength is in truth”. I would add that not just in truth, but in Truth.