Location of German troops June 22, 1941. The day the war began
22nd of June. An ordinary Sunday day. More than 200 million citizens are planning how to spend their day off: going on a visit, taking their children to the zoo, some are in a hurry to go to football, others are on a date. Soon they will become heroes and victims of war, killed and wounded, soldiers and refugees, blockade survivors and concentration camp prisoners, partisans, prisoners of war, orphans, and disabled people. Winners and veterans of the Great Patriotic War. But none of them knows about it yet.
In 1941 Soviet Union stood quite firmly on its feet - industrialization and collectivization bore fruit, industry was developing - out of ten tractors produced in the world, four were Soviet-made. The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station and Magnitka have been built, the army is being re-equipped - the famous T-34 tank, Yak-1, MIG-3 fighters, Il-2 attack aircraft, Pe-2 bomber have already entered service with the Red Army. The situation in the world is turbulent, but the Soviet people are confident that “the armor is strong and our tanks are fast.” In addition, two years ago, after three-hour negotiations in Moscow, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov and the German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop signed a non-aggression pact for a period of 10 years.
After the abnormally cold winter of 1940–1941. A rather warm summer has arrived in Moscow. There are amusement rides in Gorky Park, and football matches are held at the Dynamo Stadium. The Mosfilm film studio is preparing the main premiere for the summer of 1941 - they have just completed editing of the lyrical comedy "Hearts of Four", which will be released only in 1945. Starring the favorite of Joseph Stalin and all Soviet moviegoers, actress Valentina Serova.
June, 1941 Astrakhan. Near the village of Lineiny
1941 Astrakhan. On the Caspian Sea
July 1, 1940. Scene from the film “My Love” directed by Vladimir Korsh-Sablin. In the center is actress Lidiya Smirnova as Shurochka
April, 1941 A peasant welcomes the first Soviet tractor
July 12, 1940 Residents of Uzbekistan work on the construction of a section of the Great Fergana Canal
August 9, 1940 Belorussian SSR. Collective farmers of the village of Tonezh, Turov district, Polesie region, on a walk after a hard day
May 05, 1941 Kliment Voroshilov, Mikhail Kalinin, Anastas Mikoyan, Andrei Andreev, Alexander Shcherbakov, Georgy Malenkov, Semyon Timoshenko, Georgy Zhukov, Andrei Eremenko, Semyon Budyonny, Nikolai Bulganin, Lazar Kaganovich and others at the presidium of the ceremonial meeting dedicated to the graduation commanders who graduated from military academies. Joseph Stalin speaking
June 1, 1940 Civil defense classes in the village of Dikanka. Ukraine, Poltava region
In the spring and summer of 1941, Soviet military exercises began to be held increasingly on the western borders of the USSR. War is already in full swing in Europe. Rumors reach the Soviet leadership that Germany could attack at any moment. But such messages are often ignored, since the non-aggression pact was signed only recently.
August 20, 1940 Villagers talk with tank crews during military exercises
"Higher, higher and higher
We strive for the flight of our birds,
And every propeller breathes
Peace of our borders."
Soviet song, better known as "March of the Aviators"
June 1, 1941. Suspended under the wing of a TB-3 aircraft is an I-16 fighter, under the wing of which is a high-explosive bomb weighing 250 kg
September 28, 1939 People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop shake hands after signing the joint Soviet-German Treaty “On Friendship and Borders”
Field Marshal W. Keitel, Colonel General W. von Brauchitsch, A. Hitler, Colonel General F. Halder (from left to right in the foreground) near the table with a map during a meeting of the General Staff. In 1940, Adolf Hitler signed Prime Directive 21, codenamed Barbarossa.
On June 17, 1941, V. N. Merkulov sent an intelligence message received by the NKGB of the USSR from Berlin to I. V. Stalin and V. M. Molotov:
“A source working at the headquarters of the German air force reports:
1. All German military measures to prepare an armed uprising against the USSR are completely completed, and a strike can be expected at any time.
2. In the circles of the aviation headquarters, the TASS message of June 6 was perceived very ironically. They emphasize that this statement cannot have any significance...”
There is a resolution (regarding point 2): “To Comrade Merkulov. You can send your “source” from the headquarters of the German aviation to the fucking mother. This is not a “source”, but a disinformer. I. Stalin"
July 1, 1940 Marshal Semyon Timoshenko (right), Army General Georgy Zhukov (left) and Army General Kirill Meretskov (2nd left) during exercises in the 99th Infantry Division of the Kyiv Special military district
June 21, 21:00
At the Sokal commandant's office, a German soldier, Corporal Alfred Liskoff, was detained after swimming across the Bug River.
From the testimony of the head of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky:“Due to the fact that the translators in the detachment are weak, I called a teacher from the city German language... and Liskof again repeated the same thing, that is, that the Germans were preparing to attack the USSR at dawn on June 22, 1941 ... Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, he heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant's office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately started calling the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken.”
21:30
In Moscow, a conversation took place between the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov and the German Ambassador Schulenburg. Molotov protested against numerous violations of the USSR border by German planes. Schulenburg avoided answering.
From the memoirs of Corporal Hans Teuchler:“At 10 p.m. we were lined up and the Fuhrer’s order was read out. Finally they told us straight out why we were here. Not at all for a rush to Persia to punish the British with the permission of the Russians. And not in order to lull the vigilance of the British, and then quickly transfer troops to the English Channel and land in England. No. We, soldiers of the Great Reich, are facing a war with the Soviet Union itself. But there is no force that could restrain the movement of our armies. For the Russians this will be a real war, for us it will be just Victory. We will pray for her."
June 22, 00:30
Directive No. 1 was sent to the districts, containing an order to secretly occupy firing points on the border, not to succumb to provocations and to put troops on combat readiness.
From memories German general Heinz Guderian:“On the fateful day of June 22 at 2:10 am I went to command post groups...
At 3:15 a.m. our artillery preparation began.
At 3 hours 40 minutes - the first raid of our dive bombers.
At 4:15 a.m. the crossing of the Bug began.”
03:07
The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Oktyabrsky, called the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army Georgy Zhukov and said that he was approaching from the sea a large number of unknown aircraft; the fleet is in full combat readiness. The admiral suggested meeting them with naval air defense fire. He was given the instruction: “Go ahead and report to your people’s commissar.”
03:30
The Chief of Staff of the Western District, Major General Vladimir Klimovskikh, reported on a German air raid on the cities of Belarus. Three minutes later, the chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reported on an air raid on Ukrainian cities. At 03:40, the commander of the Baltic district, General Kuznetsov, announced a raid on Kaunas and other cities.
From the memoirs of I. I. Geibo, deputy regiment commander of the 46th IAP, Western Military District:“...I felt a chill in my chest. In front of me are four twin-engine bombers with black crosses on the wings. I even bit my lip. But these are “Junkers”! German Ju-88 bombers! What to do?.. Another thought arose: “Today is Sunday, and the Germans don’t have training flights on Sundays.” So it's war? Yes, war!
03:40
People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko asks Zhukov to report to Stalin about the start of hostilities. Stalin responded by ordering all Politburo members to gather in the Kremlin. At this time, Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovich, Bobruisk, Volkovysk, Kiev, Zhitomir, Sevastopol, Riga, Vindava, Libava, Siauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius and many other cities were bombed.
From the memoirs of Alevtina Kotik, born in 1925. (Lithuania):“I woke up from hitting my head on the bed - the ground was shaking from falling bombs. I ran to my parents. Dad said: “The war has begun. We need to get out of here!” We didn’t know who the war started with, we didn’t think about it, it was just very scary. Dad was a military man, and therefore he was able to call a car for us, which took us to the train station. They only took clothes with them. All furniture and household utensils remained. First we traveled on a freight train. I remember how my mother covered my brother and me with her body, then we moved into passenger train. We learned that there was a war with Germany around 12 noon from people we met. Near the city of Siauliai we saw a large number of wounded, stretchers, and doctors.”
At the same time, the Bialystok-Minsk battle began, as a result of which the main forces of the Soviet Western Front were surrounded and defeated. German troops captured a significant part of Belarus and advanced to a depth of over 300 km. On the part of the Soviet Union in the Bialystok and Minsk “cauldrons”, 11 rifle, 2 cavalry, 6 tank and 4 motorized divisions were destroyed, 3 corps commanders and 2 division commanders were killed, 2 corps commanders and 6 division commanders, another 1 corps commander and 2 commanders were captured divisions were missing.
04:10
The Western and Baltic special districts reported the start of hostilities by German troops on land.
04:12
German bombers appeared over Sevastopol. The enemy raid was repulsed, and an attempt to strike the ships was thwarted, but residential buildings and warehouses in the city were damaged.
From the memoirs of Sevastopol resident Anatoly Marsanov:“I was only five years old then... The only thing that remains in my memory: on the night of June 22, parachutes appeared in the sky. It became light, I remember, the whole city was illuminated, everyone was running, so joyful... They shouted: “Parachuters! Paratroopers!”... They don’t know that these are mines. And they gasped - one in the bay, the other below us on the street, so many people were killed!”
04:15
The defense of the Brest Fortress began. With their first attack, at 04:55, the Germans occupied almost half of the fortress.
From the memoirs of the defender of the Brest Fortress Pyotr Kotelnikov, born in 1929:“In the morning we were awakened by a strong blow. It broke through the roof. I was stunned. I saw the wounded and killed and realized: this is no longer a training exercise, but a war. Most of the soldiers in our barracks died in the first seconds. I followed the adults and rushed to arms, but they didn’t give me a rifle. Then I, along with one of the Red Army soldiers, rushed to put out the fire in the clothing warehouse. Then he and the soldiers moved to the basements of the barracks of the neighboring 333rd Infantry Regiment... We helped the wounded, carried them ammunition, food, water. Through the western wing they made their way to the river at night to get water, and returned back.”
05:00
Moscow time, Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop summoned Soviet diplomats to his office. When they arrived, he informed them about the beginning of the war. The last thing he said to the ambassadors was: “Tell Moscow that I was against the attack.” After this, the telephones in the embassy did not work, and the building itself was surrounded by SS detachments.
5:30
Schulenburg officially informed Molotov about the start of the war between Germany and the USSR, reading a note: “Bolshevik Moscow is ready to strike in the back of National Socialist Germany, which is fighting for existence. The German government cannot remain indifferent to the serious threat on its eastern border. Therefore, the Fuhrer gave the order to the German armed forces by all means and means to avert this threat..."
From Molotov's memoirs:“The advisor to the German ambassador, Hilger, shed tears when he handed over the note.”
From Hilger's memoirs:“He gave vent to his indignation by declaring that Germany had attacked a country with which it had a non-aggression pact. This has no precedent in history. The reason given by the German side is an empty pretext... Molotov concluded his angry speech with the words: “We have not given any grounds for this.”
07:15
Directive No. 2 was issued, ordering the USSR troops to destroy enemy forces in areas of border violation, destroy enemy aircraft, and also “bomb Koenigsberg and Memel” (modern Kaliningrad and Klaipeda). The USSR Air Force was allowed to enter “the depth of German territory up to 100–150 km.” At the same time, the first counterattack of Soviet troops took place near the Lithuanian town of Alytus.
09:00
At 7:00 Berlin time, Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels read on the radio Adolf Hitler’s appeal to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against the Soviet Union: “...Today I have decided again to put the fate and future of the German Reich and our people in our hands soldier. May the Lord help us in this struggle!”
09:30
The Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Mikhail Kalinin, signed a number of decrees, including the decree on the introduction of martial law, on the formation of the Headquarters of the Main Command, on military tribunals and on general mobilization, to which all those liable for military service from 1905 to 1918 were subject to birth.
10:00
German bombers raided Kyiv and its suburbs. A railway station, the Bolshevik plant, an aircraft plant, power plants, military airfields, and residential buildings were bombed. According to official data, 25 people died as a result of the bombing; according to unofficial data, there were many more casualties. However, peaceful life continued in the capital of Ukraine for several more days. Only the opening of the stadium, scheduled for June 22, was canceled; on that day, the football match Dynamo (Kyiv) - CSKA was supposed to take place here.
12:15
Molotov gave a speech on the radio about the beginning of the war, where he for the first time called it patriotic. Also in this speech, for the first time, the phrase that became the main slogan of the war was heard: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".
From Molotov's address:“This unheard-of attack on our country is a treachery unparalleled in the history of civilized peoples... This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intelligentsia, whose suffering we well understand, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French and Czechs , Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples... This is not the first time our people have to deal with an attacking arrogant enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon’s campaign in Russia with a Patriotic War and Napoleon was defeated and came to his collapse. The same will happen to the arrogant Hitler, who announced a new campaign against our country. The Red Army and all our people will once again wage a victorious patriotic war for the Motherland, for honor, for freedom.”
Workers of Leningrad listen to the message about the attack fascist Germany to the Soviet Union
From the memoirs of Dmitry Savelyev, Novokuznetsk: “We gathered at the poles with loudspeakers. We listened carefully to Molotov’s speech. Many felt a certain sense of wariness. After this, the streets began to empty, and after a while food disappeared from the stores. They weren’t bought up - the supply was just reduced... People were not afraid, but rather focused, doing everything the government told them.”
After some time, the text of Molotov’s speech was repeated by the famous announcer Yuri Levitan. Thanks to his soulful voice and the fact that Levitan read the front-line reports of the Soviet Information Bureau throughout the war, there is an opinion that he was the first to read the message about the beginning of the war on the radio. Even Marshals Zhukov and Rokossovsky thought so, as they wrote about in their memoirs.
Moscow. Announcer Yuri Levitan during filming in the studio
From the memoirs of speaker Yuri Levitan:"When early morning We, the announcers, were called to the radio, and the calls had already begun to ring out. They call from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they call from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why don’t you broadcast anything on the radio?”, “Enemy planes are over Kiev.” A woman’s crying, excitement - “is it really war”?.. And then I remember - I turned on the microphone. In all cases, I remember that I was worried only internally, only internally worried. But here, when I said the word “Moscow speaks,” I feel that I can’t speak further - there’s a lump stuck in my throat. They are already knocking from the control room - “Why are you silent? Continue!” He clenched his fists and continued: “Citizens and women of the Soviet Union...”
Stalin addressed the Soviet people only on July 3, 12 days after the start of the war. Historians are still arguing why he remained silent for so long. Here is how Vyacheslav Molotov explained this fact:“Why me and not Stalin? He didn't want to go first. There needs to be a clearer picture, what tone and what approach... He said that he would wait a few days and speak when the situation on the fronts became clearer.”
And here is what Marshal Zhukov wrote about this:"AND. V. Stalin was a strong-willed man and, as they say, “not one of the cowardly dozen.” I saw him confused only once. It was at dawn on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked our country. During the first day, he could not truly pull himself together and firmly direct events. The shock produced on J.V. Stalin by the enemy’s attack was so strong that the sound of his voice even lowered, and his orders for organizing armed struggle did not always correspond to the prevailing situation.”
From Stalin's radio speech on July 3, 1941:“The war with Nazi Germany cannot be considered an ordinary war... Our war for the freedom of our Fatherland will merge with the struggle of the peoples of Europe and America for their independence, for democratic freedoms.”
12:30
At the same time, German troops entered Grodno. A few minutes later, the bombing of Minsk, Kyiv, Sevastopol and other cities began again.
From the memoirs of Ninel Karpova, born in 1931. (Kharovsk, Vologda region):“We listened to the message about the beginning of the war from the loudspeaker at the House of Defense. There were a lot of people crowding there. I wasn’t upset, on the contrary, I was proud: my father will defend the Motherland... In general, people were not afraid. Yes, the women, of course, were upset and cried. But there was no panic. Everyone was confident that we would quickly defeat the Germans. The men said: “Yes, the Germans will flee from us!”
Recruitment centers have opened at military registration and enlistment offices. In Moscow, Leningrad and other cities there were queues.
From the memoirs of Dina Belykh, born in 1936. (Kushva, Sverdlovsk region):“All the men were immediately called up, including my dad. Dad hugged mom, they both cried, kissed... I remember how I grabbed him by the tarpaulin boots and shouted: “Dad, don’t leave! They will kill you there, they will kill you!” When he got on the train, my mother took me in her arms, we were both sobbing, she whispered through her tears: “Wave to dad...” What the hell, I was sobbing so much, I couldn’t move my hand. We never saw him, our breadwinner, again.”
Calculations and experience of the mobilization carried out showed that in order to transfer the army and navy to war time 4.9 million people needed to be drafted. However, when mobilization was announced, conscripts of 14 ages were called up, the total number of which was about 10 million people, that is, almost 5.1 million people more than what was required.
The first day of mobilization into the Red Army. Volunteers at the Oktyabrsky military registration and enlistment office
The conscription of such a mass of people was not caused by military necessity and introduced disorganization into the national economy and anxiety among the masses. Without realizing this, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.I. Kulik proposed to the government to additionally call up older people (born 1895 - 1904), the total number of which was 6.8 million people.
13:15
To capture the Brest Fortress, the Germans brought into action new forces of the 133rd Infantry Regiment on the Southern and Western Islands, but this “brought no changes in the situation.” The Brest Fortress continued to hold its defense. Fritz Schlieper's 45th Infantry Division was sent to this section of the front. It was decided that the Brest Fortress would be taken only by infantry - without tanks. No more than eight hours were allotted to capture the fortress.
From a report to the headquarters of the 45th Infantry Division by Fritz Schlieper:“The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the Citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35–40 tanks and armored vehicles. The fire of Russian snipers led to heavy losses among officers and non-commissioned officers."
14:30
Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano said Soviet ambassador in Rome Gorelkin that Italy declared war on the USSR “from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory.”
From Ciano's diaries:“He perceives my message with rather great indifference, but this is in his character. The message is very short, without unnecessary words. The conversation lasted two minutes.”
15:00
The pilots of the German bombers reported that they had nothing left to bomb; all airfields, barracks and concentrations of armored vehicles had been destroyed.
From the memoirs of Air Marshal, Hero of the Soviet Union G.V. Zimina:“On June 22, 1941, large groups of fascist bombers attacked 66 of our airfields, where the main aviation forces of the western border districts were based. First of all, the airfields on which aviation regiments armed with aircraft of new designs were based were subjected to air strikes... As a result of attacks on airfields and in fierce air battles, the enemy managed to destroy up to 1,200 aircraft, including 800 at the airfields.”
16:30
Stalin left the Kremlin for the Near Dacha. Even members of the Politburo are not allowed to see the leader until the end of the day.
From the memoirs of Politburo member Nikita Khrushchev:
“Beria said the following: when the war began, members of the Politburo gathered at Stalin’s place. I don’t know if it was everyone or just a certain group that most often gathered at Stalin’s. Stalin was morally completely depressed and made the following statement: “The war has begun, it is developing catastrophically. Lenin left us a proletarian Soviet state, and we screwed it up.” That's literally how I put it.
“I,” he said, “resign from leadership,” and left. He left, got into the car and drove to a nearby dacha.”
Some historians, citing the recollections of other participants in the events, claim that this conversation took place a day later. But the fact that in the first days of the war Stalin was confused and did not know how to act is confirmed by many witnesses.
18:30
The commander of the 4th Army, Ludwig Kübler, gives the order to “withdraw his own forces” from the Brest Fortress. This is one of the first orders for the retreat of German troops.
19:00
The commander of Army Group Center, General Fedor von Bock, gives the order to stop the executions of Soviet prisoners of war. After that, they were kept in fields hastily fenced with barbed wire. This is how the first prisoner of war camps appeared.
From the notes of SS Brigadeführer G. Keppler, commander of the Der Fuhrer regiment from the SS division Das Reich:“Rich trophies and a large number of prisoners were in the hands of our regiment, among whom there were many civilians, even women and girls, the Russians forced them to defend themselves with weapons in their hands, and they fought bravely together with the Red Army.”
23:00
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a radio address in which he stated that England “will provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help it can.”
Speech by Winston Churchill on BBC radio:“Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than me. I won't take back a single word I said about him. But all this pales in comparison to the spectacle now unfolding. The past with its crimes, follies and tragedies disappears... I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial... I see how the vile Nazi war machine is approaching all this.”
23:50
The Main Military Council of the Red Army sent out Directive No. 3, ordering counterattacks on enemy groups on June 23.
Text: Information center of the Kommersant Publishing House, Tatyana Mishanina, Artem Galustyan
Video: Dmitry Shelkovnikov, Alexey Koshel
Photo: TASS, RIA Novosti, Ogonyok, Dmitry Kuchev
Design, programming and layout: Anton Zhukov, Alexey Shabrov
Kim Voronin
Commissioning Editor: Artem Galustyan
In the absence of a land front in Europe, the German leadership decided to defeat the Soviet Union during a short-term campaign in the summer - autumn of 1941. To achieve this goal, the most combat-ready part of the German armed forces was deployed on the border with the USSR 1 .
Wehrmacht
For Operation Barbarossa, out of the 4 army group headquarters available in the Wehrmacht, 3 were deployed (North, Center and South) (75%), out of 13 field army headquarters - 8 (61.5%), out of 46 army corps headquarters - 34 (73.9%), of 12 motorized corps - 11 (91.7%). In total, 73.5% of the total number of divisions available in the Wehrmacht was allocated for the Eastern campaign. Most of the troops had combat experience gained in previous military campaigns. Thus, out of 155 divisions in military operations in Europe in 1939-1941. 127 (81.9%) participated, and the remaining 28 were partially staffed by personnel who also had combat experience. In any case, these were the most combat-ready units of the Wehrmacht (see table 1). The German Air Force deployed 60.8% of flying units, 16.9% of air defense troops and over 48% of signal troops and other units to support Operation Barbarossa.
German satellites
Together with Germany, its allies were preparing for war with the USSR: Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Italy, which allocated the following forces to wage the war (see table 2). In addition, Croatia contributed 56 aircraft and up to 1.6 thousand people. By June 22, 1941, there were no Slovak and Italian troops on the border, which arrived later. Consequently, the German Allied forces deployed there included 767,100 men, 37 crew divisions, 5,502 guns and mortars, 306 tanks and 886 aircraft.
In total, the forces of Germany and its allies are Eastern Front numbered 4,329.5 thousand people, 166 crew divisions, 42,601 guns and mortars, 4,364 tanks, assault and self-propelled guns and 4,795 aircraft (of which 51 were at the disposal of the Air Force High Command and together with 8.5 thousand personnel Air force is not taken into account in further calculations). 
Red Army
The armed forces of the Soviet Union, in the context of the outbreak of war in Europe, continued to increase and by the summer of 1941 they were the largest army in the world (see table 3). 56.1% of the ground forces and 59.6% of the air force units were stationed in the five western border districts. In addition, from May 1941, the concentration of 70 divisions of the second strategic echelon from internal military districts and the Far East began in the Western Theater of Operations (TVD). By June 22, 16 divisions (10 rifle, 4 tank and 2 motorized), which numbered 201,691 people, 2,746 guns and 1,763 tanks, had arrived in the western districts.
The grouping of Soviet troops in the Western theater of operations was quite powerful. The general balance of forces by the morning of June 22, 1941 is presented in Table 4, judging by the data of which the enemy surpassed the Red Army only in the number of personnel, because its troops were mobilized.
Mandatory clarifications
Although the above data gives a general idea of the strength of the opposing factions, it should be borne in mind that the Wehrmacht completed its strategic concentration and deployment in the theater of operations, while in the Red Army this process was in full swing. How figuratively A.V. described this situation. Shubin, “a dense body was moving from West to East at high speed. From the East, a more massive, but looser block was slowly moving forward, the mass of which was increasing, but not at a fast enough pace” 2. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the balance of forces at two more levels. Firstly, this is the balance of forces of the parties in various strategic directions on a district (front) - army group scale, and secondly, on individual operational directions in the border zone on an army - army scale. Moreover, in the first case, only ground forces and air forces are taken into account, and for the Soviet side, border troops, artillery and naval aviation are also taken into account, but without information on the personnel of the fleet and internal troops NKVD. In the second case, only ground forces are taken into account for both sides.
Northwest
In the North-Western direction, the troops of the German Army Group North and the Baltic Special Military District (PribOVO) opposed each other. The Wehrmacht had a fairly significant superiority in manpower and some in artillery, but was inferior in tanks and aircraft. However, it should be taken into account that only 8 Soviet divisions were located directly in the 50 km border strip, and another 10 were located 50-100 km from the border. As a result, in the direction of the main attack, Army Group North troops managed to achieve a more favorable balance of forces (see Table 5).
Western direction
In the Western direction, the troops of the German Army Group Center and the Western Special Military District (ZapOVO) with part of the forces of the 11th Army of the PribOVO opposed each other. For the German command, this direction was the main one in Operation Barbarossa, and therefore Army Group Center was the strongest on the entire front. 40% of all German divisions deployed from the Barents to the Black Sea were concentrated here (including 50% motorized and 52.9% tank) and the largest Luftwaffe air fleet (43.8% aircraft). In the offensive zone of Army Group Center in the immediate vicinity of the border there were only 15 Soviet divisions, and 14 were located 50-100 km from it. In addition, troops of the 22nd Army from the Ural Military District were concentrated on the territory of the district in the Polotsk region, from which they arrived at the site by June 22, 1941 3 rifle divisions, and 21st Mechanized Corps from the Moscow Military District - with a total strength of 72,016 people, 1,241 guns and mortars and 692 tanks. As a result, the ZAPOVO troops maintained at peacetime levels were inferior to the enemy only in personnel, but superior to him in tanks, aircraft and slightly in artillery. However, unlike the troops of Army Group Center, they did not complete their concentration, which made it possible to defeat them piecemeal.
Army Group Center was supposed to carry out a double envelopment of the Zapovovo troops located in the Bialystok ledge with a strike from Suwalki and Brest to Minsk, so the main forces of the army group were deployed on the flanks. The main blow was struck from the south (from Brest). The 3rd Wehrmacht tank group was deployed on the northern flank (Suwalki), which was opposed by units of the 11th Army of the PribOVO. Troops of the 43rd Army Corps of the 4th German Army and the 2nd Tank Group were deployed in the zone of the Soviet 4th Army. In these areas the enemy was able to achieve significant superiority (see Table 6).
Southwest
In the South-Western direction, Army Group "South", which united German, Romanian, Hungarian and Croatian troops, was opposed by parts of the Kyiv Special and Odessa Military Districts (KOVO and OdVO). The Soviet group in the South-Western direction was the strongest on the entire front, since it was it that was supposed to deliver the main blow to the enemy. However, even here the Soviet troops did not complete their concentration and deployment. Thus, in KOVO there were only 16 divisions in the immediate vicinity of the border, and 14 were located 50-100 km from it. In the OdVO there were 9 divisions in the 50-km border strip, and 6 were located in the 50-100-km strip. In addition, troops of the 16th and 19th armies arrived on the territory of the districts, from which by June 22, 10 divisions (7 rifle, 2 tank and 1 motorized) with a total number of 129,675 people, 1,505 guns and mortars and 1,071 tanks were concentrated. Even without being staffed according to wartime levels, the Soviet troops were superior to the enemy group, which had only some superiority in manpower, but was significantly inferior in tanks, aircraft and somewhat less in artillery. But in the direction of the main attack of Army Group South, where the Soviet 5th Army was opposed by parts of the German 6th Army and the 1st Panzer Group, the enemy managed to achieve a better balance of forces for themselves (see Table 7).
Situation in the North
The most favorable situation for the Red Army was on the front of the Leningrad Military District (LMD), where it was opposed by Finnish troops and units of the German Army “Norway”. In the Far North, the troops of the Soviet 14th Army were opposed by German units of the Norway Mountain Infantry Corps and the 36th Army Corps, and here the enemy had superiority in manpower and insignificant artillery (see Table 8). True, it should be taken into account that since military operations on the Soviet-Finnish border began in late June - early July 1941, both sides were building up their forces, and the data provided do not reflect the number of troops of the parties at the beginning of hostilities.
Results
Thus, the German command, having deployed the main part of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front, was unable to achieve overwhelming superiority not only in the zone of the entire future front, but also in the zones of individual army groups. However, the Red Army was not mobilized and did not complete the process of strategic concentration and deployment. As a result, parts of the first echelon of covering troops were significantly inferior to the enemy, whose troops were deployed directly near the border. This arrangement of the Soviet troops made it possible to destroy them piecemeal. In the directions of the main attacks of the army groups, the German command managed to create a superiority over the Red Army troops, which was close to overwhelming. The most favorable balance of forces developed for the Wehrmacht in the zone of Army Group Center, since it was in this direction that the main blow of the entire Eastern Campaign was delivered. In other directions, even in the zones of the covering armies, Soviet superiority in tanks affected. The general balance of forces allowed the Soviet command to prevent enemy superiority even in the directions of its main attacks. But in reality the opposite happened.
Since the Soviet military-political leadership did not correctly assess the degree of threat of a German attack, the Red Army, having begun strategic concentration and deployment in the Western theater of operations in May 1941, which was supposed to be completed by July 15, 1941, was taken by surprise on June 22 and did not had neither offensive nor defensive grouping. The Soviet troops were not mobilized, did not have deployed rear structures, and were only completing the creation of command and control bodies in the theater of operations. On the front from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathians, out of 77 divisions of the Red Army’s covering troops in the first hours of the war, only 38 incompletely mobilized divisions could repel the enemy, of which only a few managed to occupy equipped positions on the border. The remaining troops were either in places of permanent deployment, or in camps, or on the march. If we take into account that the enemy immediately launched 103 divisions on the offensive, it is clear that an organized entry into the battle and the creation of a continuous front of Soviet troops was extremely difficult. Having forestalled the Soviet troops in strategic deployment, creating powerful operational groupings of their fully combat-ready forces in selected areas of the main attack, the German command created favorable conditions for seizing the strategic initiative and successfully conducting the first offensive operations.
Notes
1. For more details, see: Meltyukhov M.I. Stalin's missed chance. Scramble for Europe 1939-1941 (Documents, facts, judgments). 3rd ed., corrected. and additional M., 2008. pp. 354-363.
2. Shubin A.V. The world is on the edge of the abyss. From global crisis to world war. 1929-1941. M., 2004. P. 496.
The first and most difficult day of the Great Patriotic War
The implementation of Hitler's Barbarossa plan began at dawn on June 22, 1941. It was at this time that the Wehrmacht troops concentrated on the USSR border received the order to begin the invasion.
That first day of the war began unusually early not only for the troops of the western border military districts, but also for the Soviet people living in the border regions of the USSR. At dawn, hundreds of German bombers invaded Soviet airspace. They bombed airfields, troop locations in the western border districts, railway junctions, communication lines and other important facilities, as well as large cities in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova.
At the same time, Wehrmacht troops concentrated along the entire length of the State Border of the USSR opened hurricane artillery fire on border outposts, fortified areas, as well as formations and units of the Red Army stationed in the immediate vicinity. After artillery and aviation training, they crossed the State Border of the USSR over a huge distance - from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.
The Great Patriotic War began - the most difficult of all wars ever experienced by Russia and its people.
Germany and its allies (Finland, Romania and Hungary)
a powerful group was deployed for the war against the Soviet Union,
numbering 190 divisions, 5.5 million people, over 47 thousand guns and mortars,
about 4,300 tanks and assault guns, 4,200 aircraft.
They were united in three army groups - “North”, “Center” and “South”,
which were intended to strike in the directions of Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv.
The immediate strategic goal of the German military leadership was the defeat of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, Belarus and Right Bank Ukraine.
The main attacks of the Wehrmacht were aimed at Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv. The efforts of one of the army groups were concentrated in each direction.
The troops of Army Group North, deployed in East Prussia, advanced on Leningrad. They were supposed to destroy Soviet troops in the Baltic states, capture ports on the Baltic Sea and the North-Western regions of the USSR. In cooperation with this group of armies, a little later the German Army “Norway” and the Karelian Army of the Finns were to act with the task of capturing Murmansk. The enemy group directly operating in the Baltic direction was opposed by the troops of the Baltic Special Military District under the command of General F.I. Kuznetsov, and in the Murmansk sector the troops of the Leningrad Military District, which was headed by General M.M. Popov.
In the main Moscow direction, troops of Army Group Center operated, which were supposed to defeat Soviet troops in Belarus and develop an offensive to the East. In this direction, cover of the State Border of the USSR was carried out by troops of the Western Special Military District under the command of General D.G. Pavlova.
Army Group South, deployed from Wlodawa to the mouth of the Danube, struck in the general direction of Kyiv. This grouping of enemy troops was opposed by the forces of the Kyiv Special Military District, commanded by General M.P. Kirponos and the Odessa Military District under the command of General Ya.T. Cherevichenko.
In Moscow, the first reports of the invasion came from border guards. “Offensive along the entire front. Border guard units are fighting... - the command of the Bialystok border section reported to the Main Directorate of Border Troops, - The Germans are advancing in Kretinga... Bialystok.” At the same time, the General Staff received similar information from the western border districts. At about 4 o'clock in the morning his superior, General G.K. Zhukov reported to I.V. Stalin about what happened.
Only an hour and a half after the invasion of Wehrmacht troops on Soviet territory, the German Ambassador to the USSR F. Schulenburg arrived to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov, and gave him an official note from his government, which stated: “In view of the further intolerable threat, due to the massive concentration ... of the armed forces of the Red Army. The German government considers itself forced to immediately take military countermeasures." However, even after receiving an official document from the German embassy, I.V. Stalin could not fully believe that this was war. He demanded from the People's Commissar of Defense Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko and the boss General Staff General G.K. Zhukov, so that they would immediately figure out whether this was a provocation of the German generals, and ordered the troops to give orders to the border before special instructions don't cross.
The whole country learned about the German attack only at 12 noon, when the Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M., addressed the people on behalf of the government on the radio. Molotov. The address ended with the words that became the slogan of the Soviet people in the fight against the invaders: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".
Already after the speech of V.M. Molotov, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a number of decrees aimed at mobilizing all the forces of the state to repel an attack, as well as to ensure security within the country public order and state security:
- “On the announcement of mobilization on the territory of 14 military districts from June 23”;
- “On the introduction of martial law in certain areas of the USSR.”
Crowding around loudspeakers installed on the streets and industrial enterprises, people listened to Molotov’s speech, afraid to miss a word. At first, almost none of them doubted that the Red Army would need only a few weeks to defeat the enemy “with little blood, a mighty blow.” The tragedy of the situation was not fully realized by the military-political leadership of the country due to the lack of objective information from the front.
Only by the end of this day did it become clear to the head of the Soviet government that military actions on the western borders of the USSR were by no means a large-scale military provocation of Germany, but the beginning of a war - the most terrible and cruel. “At dawn on June 22, 1941, regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea,” the population of the country was informed in the first report of the Red Army High Command, “and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon... after fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristynopol directions the enemy managed to achieve minor tactical successes...”
Already in this report from the front, to some extent, all the drama of the first border battles and battles, most severe in their intensity and consequences, was visible. But then, on the first day of the war, no one could even imagine what inhuman trials would fall on the shoulders of everyone Soviet man not only at the front, but also in the rear.
German population at the beginning new war I learned from Hitler’s address to the people, which at 5:30 minutes was read out on Berlin radio by Propaganda Minister J. Goebbels. Judging by this appeal, the political leadership of Germany sought not only to justify the aggression in the eyes of the world community, but also to attract Western powers to participate in the anti-Soviet war and thereby deprive the USSR of possible allies. However, both the leaders of the leading powers and the majority of sober-minded European politicians clearly understood that the Nazis’ statements were just a propaganda trick with the help of which they hoped to justify the next act of their aggressive aspirations.
The British were the first to react. Already in the evening of the same day, British Prime Minister W. Churchill made a statement about support for the USSR in the war with Nazi Germany. He clearly formulated the purpose of British policy in the war and guaranteed a tough and consistent position for his country:
“We have only one unchanging goal. We are determined to destroy Hitler and all traces of the Nazi regime..."
He concluded his speech with promises to “provide all the help we can to Russia and the Russian people.”
The speech of the British Prime Minister had a huge resonance throughout the world. All the dots had been placed: England had clearly defined its attitude towards the Soviet Union, which had been subjected to aggression. To clarify the positions of many other states of the world, primarily the countries of the British Commonwealth, which are accustomed to traditionally rely on the opinion of London, Churchill’s speech was of fundamental importance. In a certain sense, it also influenced the position of the United States of America. True, the events taking place in Europe had little impact on the Americans. After all, they were on the sidelines of the world war. Nevertheless, on the morning of June 23, Acting Secretary of State S. Welles, on the instructions of President F. Roosevelt, made an official statement about providing assistance to the USSR. The next day, Roosevelt himself, at a press conference in the White House, said that the United States would provide all possible assistance to the USSR in its fight against Germany, but noted that it was not yet known what form it would take.
And yet, at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Western powers talked more about supporting the USSR than actually helping it. The reasons for this slowness are obvious. The temptation to strengthen one’s own positions was very great - to take advantage of the mutual weakening and exhaustion of the two irreconcilable enemies of Germany and the Soviet Union. And there was not much confidence that the Red Army would survive the battle with the seemingly invincible Wehrmacht. Indeed, already on June 22, the strike groups of German troops achieved tangible success in all directions, due to the decisive concentration by his command in the first strategic echelon of more than 80% of all forces intended for the eastern campaign - 130 divisions, 8 brigades, 3350 tanks, about 38 thousand. guns and mortars and about 5 thousand aircraft.
A blow of such force came as a complete surprise to all troops in the western border districts. They were not prepared for such a development of events. The Soviet border guards, who were the first to stand in the way of the German troops, did not expect this blow either. The enemy hoped to crush the border outposts in a short time, but he failed. The border guards fought to the death.
In extremely unfavorable conditions we had to start fighting formations and cover units of the western border districts. Not brought into combat readiness in advance, they were unable to adequately repel the enemy. At half past two on the night of June 22, the headquarters of the border military districts received a directive from the People's Commissar of Defense No. 1 that on June 22 or 23, an attack on the country by the German armed forces was possible. But this document did not give permission to put into effect the plan for covering the state border in full, since it only ordered “not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications...”.
The insufficiently specific content of the order given raised many questions among commanders of all levels, and most importantly, it hindered their initiative. Thus, the directive of the Baltic Special Military District indicated to the 8th and 11th armies:
“During the night of June 22, covertly occupy the defense of the main zone... Do not issue live ammunition and shells... In the event of provocative actions by the Germans, do not open fire.”
At 2 hours 25 minutes, similar instructions to the armies were given by the military council and the Western Special Military District.
Army headquarters, having received district directives a few minutes before the start of the war, communicated this order to subordinate formations and units until 5–6 o’clock in the morning. Therefore, only a few of them were put on alert in a timely manner. The combat alarm signal for most of them was the first explosions of enemy artillery shells and aerial bombs. The commanders of the 3rd and 4th armies of the Western Special Military District managed to give only some preliminary orders to the commanders of the formations. At the headquarters of the 10th Army, the directive was received after the outbreak of hostilities. There were several reasons. On the night of June 22, throughout the entire border zone, as a result of the actions of enemy sabotage groups, wire communications at the army-corps-division link were significantly disrupted. The lack of pre-developed documents on covert command and control of troops, the low provision of headquarters with radio equipment, as well as radio fear led to the fact that they practically did not use this type of communication.
Former chief of staff of the 11th Army of the Northwestern Front, General I.T. Shlemin noted:
“On the afternoon of June 22, wire and radio communications with the district were interrupted. It was impossible to find the district... The district headquarters, receiving encrypted telegrams from the army by radio, believed that the encrypted messages were coming from the enemy, and, fearing to give away their plans and their location, decided not to respond to the army’s requests.”
As a result of the first massive enemy air strikes on troop locations, a large number of communications and transport facilities were destroyed. Already in the first hours of the war, the commander of the 3rd Army, General V.I. Kuznetsov reported to the headquarters of the Western Front:
“Wired communication with units has been disrupted; radio communication has not been established for up to 8 hours.”
A similar situation was observed at the headquarters of the 14th Mechanized Corps. Later, his commander, General S.I. Oborin also reported to the headquarters of the Western Front:
“70% of the communications battalion was killed on June 22, 1941 in the morning, during the bombing of the city of Kobrin. The headquarters of the 14th mechanized corps remained at 20% of the staff.”
Without accurate information from the troops about the development of events, commanders and staffs were unable to assess the seriousness of the situation. The People's Commissar of Defense's directive No. 1 “not to succumb to any provocations” was still in effect, which limited the decisive actions of the commanders of formations and units of the covering armies. Thus, the commander of the 3rd Army reported to the headquarters of the Western Front:
“Enemy aircraft are bombing Grodno, I’m waiting for orders from General Pavlov... artillery and machine gun fire from the Germans... I’m waiting for instructions.”
Almost the same thing was noted by the commander of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 8th Army of the North-Western Front, General M.S. Shumilov: “The war began at 4.00... I immediately reported to the commander of the 8th Army... I received the order: “Do not open fire, do not succumb to provocation.” But the troops returned fire without orders.
The commanders of most formations and units acted similarly in other areas covering the state border of the western border districts. Orders from above came much later. Thus, the Military Council of the Western Front sent a directive to the commanders of the 3rd, 4th and 10th armies only at 5:25 a.m.: “In view of the massive military actions that have emerged from the Germans, I order: to raise troops and act in a combat manner.”
Army aviation suffered difficult losses from enemy air strikes, most of them destroyed at airfields. 66 airfields, where the most combat-ready aviation regiments of the western border districts were stationed, were subjected to massive raids. Thus, in the 10th mixed aviation division of the 4th Army of the Western Front, more than 70% of the aircraft of the attack and fighter aviation regiments were destroyed at airfields in the Vysokoye and Pruzhany areas. By 3 p.m., only five or six aircraft remained in the 7th Mixed Aviation Division of the 8th Army of the Northwestern Front, the rest were destroyed. As a result, Soviet aviation lost over 1,200 aircraft that day.
From the very first hours of the war, the enemy, taking advantage of the almost complete absence of anti-aircraft weapons in military air defense units, secured complete air supremacy. Commander of the 3rd Mechanized Corps, General A.V. Kurkin, in one of his reports to the commander of the 8th Army of the North-Western Front, noted:
“...there is no our aviation. The enemy is bombing all the time.”
The troops of the western border military districts, alerted, tried to go to their cover areas, but, having no information about the situation, not knowing what was happening on the border, while still on the march, they were subjected to attacks by German aviation and its ground troops. Even before they came into contact with the enemy, they suffered huge losses. On this occasion, the commander of the 3rd Panzer Group, General G. Goth, indicated in the reporting document:
“There were no signs of purposeful and planned control of the enemy forces as a whole. Direct command and control of troops was characterized by inactivity and sketchiness... Not a single Soviet military commander made an independent decision to destroy crossings and bridges.”
In such a situation, 7 hours 15 minutes, the headquarters of the North-Western, Western and South-Western Fronts received the directive of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 2, in which the commander of the front troops was given the task: “with all forces and means, attack enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border."
However, under the current conditions, this order of the People's Commissar was impossible to implement. Already at 8 o'clock in the morning, the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal F. Bock, reported to the Wehrmacht command:
“The offensive continues successfully. Along the entire offensive front, the enemy is still offering little resistance... the enemy is taken by surprise in all sectors.”
A few documents testify to the complexity of the first day of the war. Thus, the commander of the Northwestern Front, General F.I. Kuznetsov reported to Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko:
“Large forces of tanks and motorized units are breaking through to Druskeniki. 128th Infantry Division for the most part surrounded, there is no exact information about its condition... I can’t create a group to eliminate the breakthrough. Please help."
Head of the Operations Directorate of the Western Front, General I.I. Semenov reported to the General Staff: “There is rifle, machine gun and artillery fire along the entire border... We have no wired communications with the armies.”
Some formations and units of the front were already fighting in the encirclement during these first hours, and it was not possible to establish contact with them. From the commander of the 3rd Army, General V.I. Kuznetsov, the headquarters of the Western Front received only three combat reports from the beginning of the war until 10 a.m. From the commander of the 10th Army, General K.D. Golubev received only one message during the same time, and the commander of the 4th Army, General A.A. Korobkov was able to send his first combat report only at 6:40 am.
Nevertheless, commanders of all levels and in these difficult conditions withdrew their subordinate formations and units to their cover areas. Thus, in the Western Front zone, out of ten formations of the first echelon of the 3rd, 10th and 4th armies, three rifle divisions still managed to reach their operational areas. In the zone of the Southwestern Front, the advanced units of the 62nd and 87th were the first to reach the state border rifle divisions 26th Army.
In total, 14 divisions out of 57 planned first-echelon formations were withdrawn mainly on the flanks of the Soviet-German front to cover the border on June 22. They entered the battle on the move, defended in wide stripes, in single-echelon combat formations, sometimes on terrain that was not equipped in terms of engineering, moreover, without significant artillery support, without proper air cover and anti-aircraft weapons, and with a limited amount of ammunition. In this regard, they were forced to retreat with heavy losses.
By mid-day, the Wehrmacht strike groups managed to create a large gap on the adjacent flanks of the North-Western and Western Fronts, into which the 3rd Panzer Group of General G. Hoth rushed. Not knowing the true state of affairs, the commander of the Northwestern Front, General F.I. Kuznetsov, reported to the People's Commissar of Defense that the formations of the 11th Army continued to hold back the enemy, although in reality they were retreating hastily and disorganized with heavy losses.
Towards evening, the most dangerous situation developed in the Western Front. His command, which had not yet realized the threat of deep bilateral envelopment of the front forces by enemy tank formations, was more concerned about the situation on the northern front of the Bialystok bulge, where the enemy was rushing towards Grodno. He assessed the situation in the Brest direction as more or less stable. However, by the end of the day, formations and units of the 4th Army were thrown back 25–30 km from the border, and the enemy’s advanced tank units managed to advance even deeper - 60 km, and occupy Kobryn.
Without understanding the situation, the commander of the front troops, General D.G. At 5 p.m. Pavlov sent a report to the General Staff that essentially disoriented the country’s political and military leadership:
“During the day of June 22, 1941, units of the Western Front fought holding battles... offering stubborn resistance to superior enemy forces... Units of the 4th Army fought defensive battles, presumably at the line... Brest, Wlodawa.”
In reality, the troops of the Western Front continued to hastily retreat to the east in scattered groups.
Based on reports from the headquarters of the North-Western and Western Fronts, not fully understanding the actual situation, the People's Commissar of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff concluded that most of the fighting was taking place near the border. At that time, they were most concerned about the situation in the Grodno direction, where there was already deep coverage of the Bialystok bulge from the north. Due to misleading reports from the headquarters of the Western Front, the People's Commissar of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff clearly underestimated the powerful enemy group that was striking from the Brest area.
Trying to turn the tide of events and believing that there were quite enough forces for a retaliatory strike, the High Command at 21:15 sent directive No. 3 to the commanders of the forces of the North-Western, Western, South-Western and Southern fronts, which required powerful counterattacks against the invading groups enemy. However, while aiming them at the defeat of enemy groups that posed the greatest danger in each front, the General Staff did not take into account the difficulties that the front command would have in organizing and preparing attacks on the enemy within one night.
The real situation that developed by the end of the first day of the war on the entire Soviet-German front turned out to be much more complicated than the military-political leadership of the country knew. Therefore, the requirements of the High Command were no longer realistic, since they did not meet the rapidly changing situation.
And at this time, the position of the troops of the Western Front was becoming more and more critical: “The enemy, having bypassed the right flank of the army, is striking in the Lida direction ...,” the commander of the 3rd Army, General Kuznetsov, reported to the front headquarters, “we have no reserves, and we have to parry the attack.” nothing." By the end of the first day of the war, the troops of the North-Western, Western and South-Western Fronts, under the unrelenting pressure of the enemy, were forced to retreat, fighting rearguard battles.
The events of June 22 took place differently on the flanks of the Soviet-German front, where the enemy was not active or acted with limited forces. This allowed the Soviet troops, operating in a relatively calm environment, to advance to the border and occupy defensive lines according to cover plans.
In general, by the end of the first day of military operations in the western direction, an extremely difficult situation had developed for the Red Army. The enemy forestalled formations and covering units in occupying defensive zones and lines. By the end of the day, the advanced detachments of the German 2nd and 3rd tank groups had penetrated the defenses of the Soviet troops to a depth of 60 km. Thus, they began to cover the main forces of the Western Front from the north and south and created favorable conditions for their troops operating in other directions.
Thus ended the first day of the war. Under pressure from superior enemy forces, Soviet troops retreated into the interior of the country with heavy fighting. They still had a whole war ahead of them, which lasted 1418 days and nights. During the Great Patriotic War, undoubtedly, there were more fateful days for our country, but that first day will forever remain in the memory of the peoples of Russia.
June 21, 1941, 13:00. German troops receive the code signal "Dortmund", confirming that the invasion will begin the next day.
Commander of the 2nd Tank Group of Army Group Center Heinz Guderian writes in his diary: “Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they did not suspect anything about our intentions. In the courtyard of the Brest fortress, which was visible from our observation points, they were changing the guards to the sounds of an orchestra. The coastal fortifications along the Western Bug were not occupied by Russian troops."21:00. Soldiers of the 90th border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained a German serviceman who crossed the border Bug River by swimming. The defector was sent to the detachment headquarters in the city of Vladimir-Volynsky.
23:00. German minelayers stationed in Finnish ports began to mine the exit from the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, Finnish submarines began laying mines off the coast of Estonia.
June 22, 1941, 0:30. The defector was taken to Vladimir-Volynsky. During interrogation, the soldier identified himself Alfred Liskov, soldiers of the 221st Regiment of the 15th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht. He said that at dawn on June 22, the German army would go on the offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German border. The information was transferred to higher command.
At the same time, the transmission of Directive No. 1 of the People's Commissariat of Defense for parts of the western military districts began from Moscow. “During June 22-23, 1941, a surprise attack by the Germans is possible on the fronts of LVO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO. An attack may begin with provocative actions,” the directive said. “The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications.”
The units were ordered to be put on combat readiness, to secretly occupy firing points of fortified areas on the state border, and to disperse aircraft to field airfields.
It is not possible to convey the directive to military units before the start of hostilities, as a result of which the measures specified in it are not carried out.
Mobilization. Columns of fighters are moving to the front. Photo: RIA Novosti
“I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory”
1:00. The commandants of the sections of the 90th border detachment report to the head of the detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “nothing suspicious was noticed on the adjacent side, everything is calm.”
3:05 . A group of 14 German Ju-88 bombers drops 28 magnetic mines near the Kronstadt roadstead.
3:07. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to the Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov: “The fleet's air surveillance, warning and communications system reports the approach of a large number of unknown aircraft from the sea; The fleet is in full combat readiness."
3:10. The NKGB for the Lviv region transmits by telephone message to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR the information obtained during the interrogation of the defector Alfred Liskov.
From the memoirs of the chief of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, I heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant’s office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken...”3:30. Chief of Staff of the Western District General Klimovsky reports on enemy air raids on the cities of Belarus: Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi and others.
3:33. The chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reports on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine, including Kyiv.
3:40. Commander of the Baltic Military District General Kuznetsov reports on enemy air raids on Riga, Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas and other cities.
“The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled."
3:42. Chief of the General Staff Zhukov is calling Stalin and reports the start of hostilities by Germany. Stalin orders Tymoshenko and Zhukov arrive at the Kremlin, where an emergency meeting of the Politburo is convened.
3:45. The 1st border outpost of the 86th August border detachment was attacked by an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group. Outpost personnel under command Alexandra Sivacheva, having entered into battle, destroys the attackers.
4:00. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to Zhukov: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled. But there is destruction in Sevastopol.”4:05. The outposts of the 86th August Border Detachment, including the 1st Border Outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev, come under heavy artillery fire, after which the German offensive begins. Border guards, deprived of communication with the command, engage in battle with superior enemy forces.
4:10. The Western and Baltic special military districts report the beginning of hostilities by German troops on the ground.
4:15. The Nazis open massive artillery fire on the Brest Fortress. As a result, warehouses were destroyed, communications were disrupted, and there were a large number of dead and wounded.
4:25. The 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division begins an attack on the Brest Fortress.
Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Residents of the capital on June 22, 1941, during the radio announcement of a government message about the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti
“Protecting not individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe”
4:30. A meeting of Politburo members begins in the Kremlin. Stalin expresses doubt that what happened is the beginning of a war and does not exclude the possibility of a German provocation. People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko and Zhukov insist: this is war.
4:55. In the Brest Fortress, the Nazis manage to capture almost half of the territory. Further progress was stopped by a sudden counterattack by the Red Army.
5:00. German Ambassador to the USSR Count von Schulenburg presented to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov“Note from the German Foreign Office to the Soviet Government,” which states: “The German Government cannot remain indifferent to the serious threat on the eastern border, therefore the Fuehrer has ordered the German Armed Forces to ward off this threat by all means.” An hour after the actual start of hostilities, Germany de jure declares war on the Soviet Union.
5:30. On German radio, the Reich Minister of Propaganda Goebbels reads out the appeal Adolf Hitler to the German people in connection with the start of the war against the Soviet Union: “Now the hour has come when it is necessary to speak out against this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow... At the moment, a military action of the greatest extent and volume is taking place, what the world has ever seen... The task of this front is no longer to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and thereby save everyone.”7:00. Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs Ribbentrop begins a press conference at which he announces the beginning of hostilities against the USSR: “The German army has invaded the territory of Bolshevik Russia!”
“The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?”
7:15. Stalin approves a directive to repel the attack of Nazi Germany: “The troops with all their might and means attack enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border.” Transfer of “directive No. 2” due to saboteurs’ disruption of communication lines in the western districts. Moscow does not have a clear picture of what is happening in the combat zone.
9:30. It was decided that at noon, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov would address the Soviet people in connection with the outbreak of war.
10:00. From the speaker's memories Yuri Levitan: “They’re calling from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they’re calling from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?” “Enemy planes are over Kiev.” A woman’s crying, excitement: “Is it really war?..” However, no official messages are transmitted until 12:00 Moscow time on June 22.
10:30. From a report from the headquarters of the 45th German division about the battles on the territory of the Brest Fortress: “The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles. Enemy sniper fire resulted in heavy casualties among officers and non-commissioned officers."11:00. The Baltic, Western and Kiev special military districts were transformed into the North-Western, Western and South-Western fronts.
“The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours"
12:00. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov reads out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union: “Today at 4 o’clock in the morning, without making any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed us with their planes attacked our cities - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Raids by enemy planes and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory... Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repel the bandit attack and expel German troops from the territory of our homeland... The government calls on you, citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally our ranks even more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader, Comrade Stalin.
Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours" .
12:30. Advanced German units break into the Belarusian city of Grodno.
13:00.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issues a decree “On the mobilization of those liable for military service...”
“Based on Article 49, paragraph “o” of the USSR Constitution, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces mobilization on the territory of the military districts - Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kiev special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North -Caucasian and Transcaucasian.
13:30. Chief of the General Staff General Zhukov flies to Kyiv as a representative of the newly created Headquarters of the Main Command on the Southwestern Front.
Photo: RIA Novosti
14:00. The Brest Fortress is completely surrounded by German troops. Soviet units blocked in the citadel continue to offer fierce resistance.
14:05. Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano states: “In view of the current situation, due to the fact that Germany declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and as a member of the Tripartite Pact, also declares war on the Soviet Union from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory.”
14:10. The 1st border outpost of Alexander Sivachev has been fighting for more than 10 hours. The border guards, who had only small arms and grenades, destroyed up to 60 Nazis and burned three tanks. The wounded commander of the outpost continued to command the battle.
15:00. From the notes of the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal von Bock: “The question of whether the Russians are carrying out a systematic withdrawal remains open. There is now plenty of evidence both for and against this.
What is surprising is that nowhere is any significant work of their artillery visible. Heavy artillery fire is conducted only in the northwest of Grodno, where the VIII Army Corps is advancing. Apparently, our air force has an overwhelming superiority over Russian aviation."Of the 485 border posts attacked, not a single one withdrew without orders.
16:00. After a 12-hour battle, the Nazis took the positions of the 1st border outpost. This became possible only after all the border guards who defended it died. The head of the outpost, Alexander Sivachev, was posthumously awarded the order Patriotic War I degree.
The feat of the outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev was one of hundreds committed by border guards in the first hours and days of the war. On June 22, 1941, the state border of the USSR from the Barents to the Black Sea was guarded by 666 border outposts, 485 of which were attacked on the very first day of the war. Not one of the 485 outposts attacked on June 22 withdrew without orders.
Hitler's command allotted 20 minutes to break the resistance of the border guards. 257 Soviet border posts held their defense from several hours to one day. More than one day - 20, more than two days - 16, more than three days - 20, more than four and five days - 43, from seven to nine days - 4, more than eleven days - 51, more than twelve days - 55, more than 15 days - 51 outpost. Forty-five outposts fought for up to two months.
Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The workers of Leningrad listen to a message about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti
Of the 19,600 border guards who met the Nazis on June 22 in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, more than 16,000 died in the first days of the war.
17:00. Hitler's units manage to occupy the southwestern part of the Brest Fortress, the northeast remained under the control of Soviet troops. Stubborn battles for the fortress will continue for weeks.
“The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland”
18:00. The Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow and Kolomna, addresses the believers with a message: “Fascist robbers attacked our homeland. Trampling all kinds of agreements and promises, they suddenly fell upon us, and now the blood of peaceful citizens is already irrigating our native land... Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not abandon her people even now... The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland.”
19:00. From the notes of the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces, Colonel General Franz Halder: “All armies, except the 11th Army of Army Group South in Romania, went on the offensive according to plan. The offensive of our troops, apparently, came as a complete tactical surprise to the enemy along the entire front. Border bridges across the Bug and other rivers were everywhere captured by our troops without a fight and in complete safety. The complete surprise of our offensive for the enemy is evidenced by the fact that the units were taken by surprise in a barracks arrangement, the planes were stationed at airfields, covered with tarpaulins, and the advanced units, suddenly attacked by our troops, asked the command about what to do... The Air Force command reported, that today 850 enemy aircraft have been destroyed, including entire squadrons of bombers, which, having taken off without fighter cover, were attacked by our fighters and destroyed.”20:00. Directive No. 3 of the People's Commissariat of Defense was approved, ordering Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive with the task of defeating Hitler's troops on the territory of the USSR with further advance into enemy territory. The directive ordered the capture of the Polish city of Lublin by the end of June 24.
Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. June 22, 1941 Nurses provide assistance to the first wounded after a Nazi air raid near Chisinau. Photo: RIA Novosti
“We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can.”
21:00. Summary of the Red Army High Command for June 22: “At dawn on June 22, 1941, regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced units of the field troops of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristinopol directions did the enemy manage to achieve minor tactical successes and occupy the towns of Kalwaria, Stoyanuv and Tsekhanovets (the first two are 15 km and the last 10 km from the border).
Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and settlements, but everywhere it met decisive resistance from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy aircraft.”
23:00. Message from the Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill to the British people in connection with the German attack on the USSR: “At 4 o'clock this morning Hitler attacked Russia. All his usual formalities of treachery were observed with scrupulous precision... suddenly, without a declaration of war, even without an ultimatum, German bombs fell from the sky onto Russian cities, German troops violated Russian borders, and within an hour later ambassador Germany, who just the day before generously lavished his assurances of friendship and almost alliance on the Russians, paid a visit to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and declared that Russia and Germany are in a state of war...
No one has been more staunchly opposed to communism over the past 25 years than I have been. I will not take back a single word that was said about him. But all this pales in comparison to the spectacle unfolding now.The past, with its crimes, follies and tragedies, recedes. I see Russian soldiers as they stand on the border of their native land and guard the fields that their fathers have plowed since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes; their mothers and wives pray—oh, yes, because at such a time everyone prays for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, patron, their protectors...
We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can. We must call on all our friends and allies in all parts of the world to pursue a similar course and pursue it as steadfastly and steadily as we will, to the very end.”
June 22 came to an end. There were still 1,417 days ahead of the worst war in human history.
Original taken from sovietdetstvo on June 22, 1941
Here - German troops are crossing the border of the USSR. Reptiles. They will bring us countless amounts of grief and misfortune. But they themselves don’t yet know what they will get in full. This will not be France for them... Today I will remember my grandfather
These photographs have one thing in common: they were taken in the first hours and days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Source: http://www.lionblog.net/obszee/1146058318-22-iyunya-1941-goda.html
This is the beginning of the war.
Time taken: 06/22/1941
Soviet border guards on patrol. The photograph is interesting because it was taken for a newspaper at one of the outposts on the western border of the USSR on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the war.
Time taken: 06/20/1941
The first day of the war in Przemysl (today the Polish city of Przemysl) and the first invaders killed on Soviet soil (soldiers of the 101st Light Infantry Division). The city was occupied by German troops on June 22, but was liberated the next morning by Red Army units and border guards and held until June 27.
Time taken: 06/22/1941
June 22, 1941 near the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav. At that time, the San River was the border between German-occupied Poland and the USSR.
Time taken: 06/22/1941
The first Soviet prisoners of war, under the supervision of German soldiers, head west along the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav.
Time taken: 06/22/1941
After the failure of the surprise capture of the Brest Fortress, the Germans had to dig in. The photo was taken on the North or South Island.
Time taken: 06/22/1941
The battle of German shock units in the Brest area.
Time taken: June 1941
A column of Soviet prisoners crossed the San River along a sapper bridge. Among the prisoners, not only military men are noticeable, but also people in civilian clothes: the Germans detained and captured all men of military age so that they could not be recruited into the enemy army. Area of the city of Yaroslav, June 1941.
Time taken: June 1941
Sapper bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav, across which German troops are transported.
Time taken: June 1941
German soldiers are photographed on a Soviet T-34-76 tank, model 1940, abandoned in Lviv.
Filming location: Lvov, Ukraine, USSR
Shooting time: 30.06. 1941
German soldiers inspect a T-34-76 tank, model 1940, stuck in a field and abandoned.
Time taken: June 1941
Captured Soviet women soldiers in Nevel (now Nevelsk district of the Pskov region).
Time taken: 07/26/1941
German infantry passes by broken Soviet vehicles.
Time taken: June 1941
The Germans inspect Soviet T-34-76 tanks stuck in a water meadow. Floodplain of the Drut River, near Tolochin, Vitebsk region.
Time taken: July 1941
The takeoff of German Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers from a field airfield in the USSR.
Time taken: summer 1941
Red Army soldiers surrender to SS soldiers.
Time taken: June 1941
The German light tank Pz.Kpfw destroyed by Soviet artillery. II Ausf. C.
German soldiers next to a burning Soviet village.
Time taken: June 1941
A German soldier during the battle in the Brest Fortress.
Time taken: June-July 1941
A rally at the Leningrad Kirov plant about the beginning of the war.
Time taken: June 1941
Filming location: Leningrad
Residents of Leningrad at the LenTASS window display “Latest News” (Sotsialisticheskaya street, building 14 - Pravda printing house).
Time taken: July 1941
Filming location: Leningrad
Aerial photograph of the Smolensk-1 airfield taken by German aerial reconnaissance. The airfield with hangars and runways is marked in the upper left part of the image. The image also shows other strategic objects: barracks (bottom left, marked “B”), large bridges, anti-aircraft artillery batteries (vertical line with a circle).
Time taken: 06/23/1941
Filming location: Smolensk
Red Army soldiers look at a destroyed German tank Pz 35(t) (LT vz.35) of Czech production from the 6th Tank Division of the Wehrmacht. Neighborhoods of the city of Raseiniai (Lithuanian SSR).
Time taken: June 1941
Soviet refugees walk past an abandoned BT-7A tank.
Time taken: June 1941
German soldiers examine a burning Soviet tank T-34-76 model 1940.
Time taken: June-August 1941
Germans on the march at the beginning of the invasion of the USSR.
Time taken: June 1941
Soviet field airfield captured by the Germans. An I-16 fighter can be seen shot or dismantled on the ground, a Po-2 biplane and another I-16 are in the background. A photo from a passing German car. Smolensk region, summer 1941.
Time taken: July 1941
Artillerymen of the 29th motorized division of the Wehrmacht from an ambush shot Soviet tanks on the side with a 50-mm PaK 38 cannon. The closest one, on the left, is a T-34 tank. Belarus, 1941.
Time taken: summer 1941
German soldiers ride along the street along destroyed houses on the outskirts of Smolensk.
Time taken: July 1941
Filming location: Smolensk
At the captured Minsk airfield, German soldiers examine an SB bomber (or its educational option USB, since the nose of the aircraft is slightly visible, different from the glass nose of the SB). Beginning of July 1941.
The I-15 and I-153 Chaika fighters are visible behind.
Time taken: July 1941
Soviet 203-mm howitzer B-4 (model 1931), captured by the Germans. The gun barrel, which was transported separately, is missing. 1941, presumably Belarus. German photo.
Time taken: 1941
The city of Demidov, Smolensk region in the first days of the occupation. July 1941.
Time taken: July 1941
Destroyed Soviet T-26 tank. On the turret, under the hatch cover, a burnt-out tanker is visible.
Time taken: summer 1941
Surrendering Soviet soldiers go to the rear of the Germans. Summer 1941. The photo was apparently taken from the back of a truck in a German convoy moving along the road.
Time taken: summer 1941
Many crashed Soviet aircraft: I-153 Chaika fighters (to the left). In the background are a U-2 and a twin-engine SB bomber. Minsk airfield captured by German troops (a German soldier in the foreground). Beginning of July 1941.
Time taken: July 1941
Many crashed Soviet Chaika I-153 fighters. Minsk airfield. Beginning of July 1941.
Time taken: July 1941
German collection point for Soviet captured equipment and weapons. On the left are Soviet 45mm anti-tank guns, then a large number of Maxim heavy machine guns and DP-27 light machine guns, on the right are 82mm mortars. Summer 1941.
Time taken: summer 1941
Dead Soviet soldiers near captured trenches. This is probably the very beginning of the war, the summer of 1941: the soldier in the foreground is wearing a pre-war SSh-36 helmet; later such helmets were extremely rare in the Red Army and were mainly used Far East. It is also clear that his belt has been removed - apparently the work of the German soldiers who captured these positions.
Time taken: summer 1941
A German soldier knocks on the house of local residents. The city of Yartsevo, Smolensk region, early July 1941.
Time taken: July 1941
The Germans inspect damaged Soviet light tanks. In the foreground is a BT-7, on the far left is a BT-5 (the characteristic wheelhouse of the tank driver), and in the center of the road is a T-26. Smolensk region, summer 1941
Time taken: summer 1941
Soviet artillery wagon with a gun. A shell or aerial bomb exploded right in front of the horses. Neighborhoods of the city of Yartsevo, Smolensk region. August 1941.
Time taken: summer 1941
The grave of a Soviet soldier. The inscription on the sign in German reads: “Here lies the unknown Russian soldier.” Perhaps the fallen soldier was buried by his own people, so at the bottom of the sign you can make out the word “Here...” in Russian. For some reason the Germans made the inscription in their own language. The photo is German, the location of the shooting is presumably the Smolensk region, August 1941.
Time taken: summer 1941
A German armored personnel carrier, German soldiers on it and local residents in Belarus.
Time taken: June 1941
Ukrainians welcome Germans in Western Ukraine.
Time taken: summer 1941
Advancing Wehrmacht units in Belarus. The photo was taken from a car window. June 1941
Time taken: June 1941
German soldiers in captured Soviet positions. A Soviet 45-mm cannon is visible in the foreground, followed by a Soviet T-34 tank of the 1940 model.
Time taken: 1941
German soldiers approach newly destroyed Soviet BT-2 tanks.
Time taken: June-July 1941
A smoke break for the crews of Stalinets tractor tractors. Photo dated summer 1941
Time taken: summer 1941
Soviet girl volunteers are sent to the front. Summer 1941.
Time taken: 1941
Soviet girl-private among prisoners of war.
Time taken: summer 1941
A machine-gun crew of German rangers fires from an MG-34 machine gun. Summer 1941, Army Group North. In the background, the crew is covering the StuG III self-propelled gun.
Time taken: summer 1941
A German column passes a village in the Smolensk region.
Time taken: July 1941
Wehrmacht soldiers watch a burning village. The territory of the USSR, the date of the photograph is approximately the summer of 1941.
Time taken: summer 1941
A Red Army soldier with a captured German light tank of Czech production LT vz.38 (designated Pz.Kpfw.38(t) in the Wehrmacht). About 600 of these tanks took part in military operations against the USSR, which were used in battles until mid-1942.
Time taken: summer 1941
SS soldiers near a destroyed bunker on the “Stalin Line.” The defensive structures located on the “old” (as of 1939) border of the USSR were mothballed, but after the invasion of German troops, some fortified areas were used by the Red Army for defense.
Time taken: 1941
Soviet railway station after the German bombing; a train with BT tanks stands on the tracks.
German columns pass by a cart with a Red Army soldier, which had previously come under fire.
Dead Soviet tank crews and tank landing soldiers at the gates of the border outpost. Tank - T-26.
Time taken: June 1941
Refugees in the Pskov region.
Time taken: July 1941
German soldiers finish off a wounded Soviet sniper.
Time taken: summer 1941
The dead Soviet soldiers, as well as civilians - women and children. Bodies dumped in a roadside ditch like household trash; Dense columns of German troops are calmly moving past along the road.
Time taken: summer 1941
A cart with the bodies of dead Red Army soldiers.
Soviet symbols in the captured city of Kobrin (Brest region, Belarus) - a T-26 tank and a monument to V.I. Lenin.
Time taken: summer 1941
Column of German troops. Ukraine, July 1941.
Time taken: July 1941
Red Army soldiers inspect a German Bf.109F2 fighter (from squadron 3/JG3) that was hit by anti-aircraft fire and made an emergency landing. West of Kyiv, July 1941
Time taken: July 1941
The banner of the 132nd battalion of NKVD convoy troops captured by the Germans. Photo from the personal album of one of the Wehrmacht soldiers.
"Brest Fortress. The defense was held for two months by border guards and the 132nd separate battalion of escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR. The city of Brest was hastily abandoned by Red Army units at 8:00 a.m. on June 22, 1941, after a battle with enemy infantry that had crossed the Bug River in boats. In Soviet times, everyone remembered the inscription of one of the defenders of the Brest Fortress: “I’m dying, but I’m not giving up!” Goodbye Motherland! 20.VII.41,” but few people knew that it was made on the wall of the barracks of the 132nd separate battalion of escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR.”
At dawn a slow river flows.
Sleep creeps in, trying to close the eyelids.
The fog washed away nearby haystacks...
I wish I could stop this moment forever!
Seconds fly into eternity like bullets,
While the shore is bleeding, the light of the rocket.
Another moment will pass - and the shell
It will plunge a sixth of the planet into war.
The outpost was raised by an explosion at the gate.
The click of heels on the washed steps.
A trail of dew. Coastal cliff.
Other people's oars foam our water.
An obedient hand will deliver the cartridge,
The three-ruler's rage will hit him in the shoulder.
...He took the fight, and for him the river
So it remained a border forever.
In victorious May the path ran from here,
Crowned with unfading fireworks,
And he was the first to make a leap into this distance
A soldier who fought for three minutes.
