Allies of Germany in the Second World War. The most aggressive countries in world history A turning point on the Eastern Front

Can you immediately name the countries with which our country fought the most? Surprisingly, we now have no particular conflicts with the countries at the top of this list. But with the countries with which we are, as it were, in cold war For a long time now, they have never fought directly.

Sweden

We fought a lot with the Swedes. To be precise, these are 10 wars. True, we have had quite normal relations with the Swedes for about two centuries, but now it’s generally scary to think that the Swedes were our enemies.

However, back in the 12th century, Sweden and the Novgorod Republic fought for a sphere of influence in the Baltic states. Long time the struggle took place for Western Karelia. With varied success. Many famous Russian tsars had conflicts with the Swedes: Ivan III, Ivan IV, Fyodor I and Alexei Mikhailovich.

It was Peter I who radically changed the balance of power, as you may have guessed. It was after the defeat in the Northern War that Sweden lost its power, and Russia, on the contrary, strengthened its status as a great military power. There were several more attempts to take revenge on the part of Sweden (Russian-Swedish wars of 1741-1743, 1788-1790, 1808-1809), but they ended in nothing. As a result, Sweden lost more than a third of its territory in wars with Russia and ceased to be considered a powerful power. And since then, we actually have nothing to share.

Probably, if you ask any person on the street with whom we fought the most, he will name Turkey. And he will be right. 12 wars in 351 years. And small intervals of thaw were replaced by new aggravations in relations. And even quite recently there was a situation with a Russian military plane being shot down, but, thank God, this did not lead to the 13th war.

There were enough reasons for bloody wars - the Northern Black Sea region, the Northern Caucasus, the Southern Caucasus, the right of navigation on the Black Sea and its straits, the rights of Christians in the territory Ottoman Empire.

It is officially believed that Russia won seven wars, and Turkey only two. The rest of the battles are status quo. But the Crimean War, in which Russia was not formally defeated by Turkey, is the most painful in the history of the Russian-Turkish wars. But again, the wars between Russia and Turkey (Ottoman Empire) led to Turkey losing its military power, but Russia did not.

It is interesting that the USSR, despite all this rich history confrontations with Turkey, provided this country with all possible support. It is enough to remember what kind of friend Kemal Ataturk was considered to be for the Union. Post-Soviet Russia also had good relations with Turkey until recently.

Another eternal rival. 10 wars with Poland, this is according to minimum scenarios. Starting with the Kyiv campaign of Boleslaw I and ending with the Polish campaign of the Red Army in 1939. Perhaps it is with Poland that the most hostile relations remain. It is precisely that same invasion of Poland in 1939 that is still a stumbling block in relations between the two countries. For some time Poland was part Russian Empire, but never put up with this state of affairs. Polish lands passed from one jurisdiction to another, but there was a hostile attitude towards Russians among the Poles, and, to be honest, sometimes still exists. Although now we have nothing to share.

We fought with the French four times, but in a fairly short period.

There were three major wars with Germany, two of them world wars.

Russia and the USSR went to war with Japan four times.

There were military conflicts with China three times.

It turns out that it is with these countries that we are historically enemies. But now I have either good or normal relations with all of them. It’s interesting that in all kinds of polls, Russians consider the United States to be Russia’s enemy, although we have never had a war with them. Yes, we fought indirectly, but there were never direct clashes. Yes, and with England ( popular expression“The Englishwoman shits”) we encountered in battles insofar as: during the Napoleonic wars of 1807-1812. and the Crimean War. In fact, there never was a one-on-one war.

Despite the fact that the history of Russia is an almost constant history of wars, I hope that there will be no more battles with any countries. We need to live together.

World history can be thought of as the history of wars. They were fought for geopolitical interests, often the aggressor countries ignored the principles of international law and existing peace treaties.

Ancient Rome

“They call killing and plundering the false word “dominion,” and when they turn the country into a desert, they call it peace.” This is how the British leader Calgacus characterized the Romans in Tacitus’s work “Agricola”.

The descendants of Romulus indeed sometimes treated the enslaved peoples cruelly. For example, after the capture of the capital of the sworn enemies - Carthage (146 BC) - the city was razed to the ground, the inhabitants were sold into slavery, and the entire soil was sprinkled with salt so that nothing else would grow there.

In the Roman Forum stood the ancient temple of Janus, the doors of which were traditionally kept open in times of war and closed in times of peace.

During the 482 years of the Roman Republic, this sanctuary was briefly closed only twice. For the first time it was closed for a long time only under the first emperor, Octavian Augustus, at the beginning of our era. By that time, the state, which began with a small policy on the Tiber, had captured the territory of the entire Mediterranean.

Mongol Empire

At the peak of its power, the Genghisid Empire covered 38 million square meters. kilometers - only one and a half times less than the entire area of ​​​​Eurasia. Moreover, the colossal expansion - from several Mongolian uluses to the basins of four oceans - took about 50 years: an unprecedented event in human history.

Contemporaries were struck not by the bloodthirstiness of the nomads (which hardly stood out against the background of the mores of the era), but by the rationality, the “rationality” of their cruelty.

So, in 1232, after the conquest of the North Chinese Jin Empire, a certain Mongol nobleman suggested that Ogedei Khan kill all its inhabitants and destroy all cities. For what? So that the country is overgrown with grass on which horses can graze - the basis of Karakorum strength.

Chinese officials, fortunately, managed to dissuade the khan from such an idea, promising numerous riches that could be obtained by exploiting the settled population. However, during the years of the war with the Mongols, the number of residents of the Jin state really decreased monstrously: from 45 to 5 million people.

British Empire

The sun literally never set on the British Empire, for the simple reason that its colonies were located in all time zones of the Earth. British scientists have calculated that British troops (pardon the pun) have invaded almost every existing state.

As Stuart Laycock writes, the territories of 171 of the 193 states that are members of the UN today were ever subjected to Anglo-Saxon aggression.

In addition to armed interventions, in the struggle for geopolitical dominance, London has never disdained “black” methods, preferring to act with the wrong hands. For example, most historians believe that the conspiracy to assassinate Paul I in March 1801 was prepared with the active participation of the English Ambassador Whitworth in order to prevent the emerging rapprochement between Russia and Napoleonic France.

Germany

The German ruling class, brought up on the ideas of German nationalism, is guilty of the most terrible disasters of the 20th century: the First and Second World Massacres, which resulted in the death of approximately one hundred million people.

German advances were often accompanied by senseless cruelty. For example, in 1941, during the Battle of Moscow, miners of the SS Reich division blew up the Resurrection Cathedral of the New Jerusalem Monastery (this crime, along with mass genocide, appeared at the Nuremberg Tribunal).

USA

In 2004, the Congressional Research Service attempted to determine the total number of military conflicts in which the United States has ever been involved. If we add to these calculations recent events (like Operation Serval in 2013, when the American Air Force assisted France during the war in Mali), we get an astronomical figure of 261 acts of “aggression” (or, depending on our sympathies, "Defense of Democracy") around the world.

That is, on average, since independence in 1776, the United States has shot or bombed someone outside its borders every year.

Of course, not all such precedents are comparable in scale to the Vietnam War, where in seven years the “stars and stripes” lost more than 60 thousand of their citizens in killed alone. Most of a terrifying list of local “missions”. Like Operation Praying Mantis on April 18, 1988, when the Americans captured a pair of Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf, losing an attack helicopter with two pilots.

Cuba alone was invaded by West Point graduates half a dozen times (1822, 1898, 1906, 1912, 1917, 1961), and abandoned similar operations at the last moment at least twice (1933, 1959).

Russia?

Let's be honest: yes, in the history of Russia there have been cases when our country acted as an aggressor. For example, the Livonian War, which ultimately ended in failure. However, for every offensive campaign of the Russian army there were 8 defensive ones. We repelled the bloody invasions of the Pechenegs, Polovtsy, Mongols, Horde, Swedes, Poles, Turks, French, Germans... With horrific casualties, on our own territory.

“...From now on, a girl with a bag full of gold can travel around the state from end to end without losing either honor or values,” such an aphorism sounded about both the Roman and Mongol empires. Can this be considered a reward for the years of wars that accompanied their expansion?

The deadliest war, 65 million killed and wounded, 62 participating states - any article about World War II will begin with these facts. But they are unlikely to talk about countries that were able to maintain neutrality during the years of this conflict.

Spain

General Franco won the civil war largely thanks to the support of the Axis: from 1936 to 1939, tens of thousands of Italian and German soldiers fought side by side with the Phalangists, and they were covered from the air by the Luftwaffe Condor Legion, which “distinguished itself” by bombing Guernica. It is not surprising that before the new all-European massacre, the Fuhrer asked the caudillo to repay his debts, especially since the English army was located on the Iberian Peninsula military base Gibraltar, which controlled the strait of the same name, and therefore the entire Mediterranean.

However, in the global confrontation, the one with the stronger economy wins. And Francisco Franco, who soberly assessed the strength of his opponents (for almost half of the world’s population lived in the USA, the British Empire and the USSR alone at that time), made the right decision to focus on restoring the tormented civil war Spain.

The Frankists limited themselves to only sending the volunteer “Blue Division” to the Eastern Front, which was successfully multiplied by zero by Soviet troops on the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, simultaneously solving another problem of the caudillo - saving him from his own rabid Nazis, in comparison with which even the right-wing Phalangists were a model of moderation .

Portugal

Portugal remained one of the last European countries to retain extensive colonial possessions - Angola and Mozambique - until the 1970s. African soil gave untold riches, for example, strategically important tungsten, which the Pyreneans sold at a high price to both sides (at least at the initial stage of the war).

In the event of joining any of the opposing alliances, the consequences are easy to calculate: yesterday you were counting trade profits, and today your opponents are enthusiastically starting to sink your transport ships that provide communication between the metropolis and the colonies (or even completely occupy the latter), despite the fact that there is no large army Unfortunately, the noble dons do not have a fleet to protect the sea communications on which the life of the country depends.

In addition, the Portuguese dictator António de Salazar remembered the lessons of history, when in 1806, during the Napoleonic Wars, Lisbon was captured and ravaged first by the French, and two years later by the British troops, so that the small nation did not have to turn into an arena for a clash of great powers again no desire.

Of course, during World War II, life on the Iberian Peninsula, the agricultural periphery of Europe, was not at all easy. However, the hero-narrator of the already mentioned “Nights in Lisbon” was struck by the pre-war carelessness of this city, with the bright lights of working restaurants and casinos.

Switzerland

The Swiss Guard is the oldest (surviving) military unit in the world, guarding the Pope himself since 1506. Highlanders, even from the European Alps, have always been considered natural warriors, and the system of army training for Helvetian citizens ensured excellent possession of weapons by almost every adult resident of the canton. Victory over such a neighbor, where every mountain valley became a natural fortress, according to the calculations of the German headquarters, could only be achieved with an unacceptable level of Wehrmacht losses.

Actually, the forty-year conquest of the Caucasus by Russia, as well as the three bloody Anglo-Afghan wars, showed that complete control over mountainous territories requires years, if not decades, of armed presence in conditions of constant guerrilla warfare - which the strategists of the OKW (German General Staff) could not ignore.

However, there is also a conspiracy theory about the refusal to seize Switzerland (after all, for example, Hitler trampled on the neutrality of the Benelux countries without hesitation): as you know, Zurich is not only chocolate, but also banks where gold was allegedly stored by both the Nazis and the British who financed them. Saxon elites, not at all interested in undermining the world financial system due to an attack on one of its centers.

Sweden

In 1938, Life magazine ranked Sweden among the countries with the highest standard of living. Stockholm, having abandoned all-European expansion after numerous defeats from Russia in the 18th century, was not in the mood to trade oil for guns even now. True, in 1941-44, a company and a battalion of King Gustav’s subjects fought on the side of Finland against the USSR in different sectors of the front - but precisely as volunteers, whom His Majesty could not (or did not want?) interfere with - with a total number of about a thousand fighters. There were also small groups of Swedish Nazis in some SS units.

There is an opinion that Hitler did not attack Sweden supposedly for sentimental reasons, considering its inhabitants to be purebred Aryans. The real reasons for maintaining the neutrality of the Yellow Cross, of course, lay in the plane of economics and geopolitics. On all sides, the heart of Scandinavia was surrounded by territories controlled by the Reich: allied Finland, as well as occupied Norway and Denmark. Moreover, right up to defeat in Battle of Kursk Stockholm preferred not to quarrel with Berlin (for example, officially accepting Danish Jews who fled the Holocaust was allowed only in October 1943). So even at the end of the war, when Sweden stopped supplying Germany with scarce iron ore, in a strategic sense, the occupation of a neutral would not have changed anything, forcing it only to stretch the Wehrmacht’s communications.

Not knowing carpet bombing and property reparations, Stockholm met and spent the Second World War with the revival of many areas of the economy; for example, the future world famous company Ikea was founded in 1943.

Argentina

The German diaspora in the country of Pampa, as well as the size of the Abwehr station, were among the largest on the continent. The army, trained according to Prussian patterns, supported the Nazis; politicians and oligarchs, on the contrary, focused more on foreign trade partners - England and the USA (for example, in the late thirties, 3/4 of the famous Argentine beef was supplied to Britain).

Relations with Germany were also uneven. German spies operated almost openly in the country; During the Battle of the Atlantic, the Kriegsmarine sank several Argentine merchant ships. In the end, in 1944, as if hinting, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition recalled their ambassadors from Buenos Aires (having previously introduced a ban on the supply of weapons to Argentina); in neighboring Brazil General base not without the help of American advisers, he hatched plans to bomb his Spanish-speaking neighbors.

But even despite all this, the country declared war on Germany only on March 27, 1945, and then, of course, nominally. The honor of Argentina was saved only by a few hundred volunteers who fought in the ranks of the Anglo-Canadian Air Force.

Türkiye

One of the many reasons for the Second World War was the territorial claims that all (!) countries of the fascist bloc had against their neighbors. Turkey, despite its traditional orientation towards Germany, however, stood apart here due to the course taken by Ataturk to abandon imperial ambitions in favor of building a national state.

The Founding Father's comrade and second president of the country, İsmet İnönü, who headed the Republic after the death of Atatürk, could not help but take into account the obvious geopolitical alignments. Firstly, in August 1941, after the slightest threat of Iranian action on the side of the Axis, Soviet and British troops simultaneously entered the country from the north and south, taking control of the entire Iranian Plateau in three weeks. And although the Turkish army is incomparably stronger than the Persian one, there is no doubt that the anti-Hitler coalition, remembering the successful experience of the Russian-Ottoman wars, will not stop at a preemptive strike, and the Wehrmacht, 90% of which is already deployed on the Eastern Front, is unlikely to come to the rescue.

And secondly and most importantly, what is the point of fighting (see Ataturk’s quote) if you can make a lot of money by supplying scarce Erzurum chrome (without which tank armor cannot be made) to both warring parties?

In the end, when it became completely indecent to prevaricate, on February 23, 1945, under pressure from the allies, war on Germany was nevertheless declared, although without actual participation in hostilities. Over the previous 6 years, Turkey's population has increased from 17.5 to almost 19 million: along with neutral Spain, this is the best result among European countries.

When it comes to a global conflict, it is somehow strange to be interested in who fought in World War II, because it seems that everyone took part. But to obtain such status, every person on the planet does not have to be involved, and over the past years it is easy to forget who was on whose side in this conflict.

Countries that adhere to neutrality

It’s easier to start with those who chose to remain neutral. There are as many as 12 such countries, but since the bulk are small African colonies, it is worth mentioning only “serious” players:

• Spain- contrary to popular belief, the regime, which sympathized with the Nazis and fascists, did not provide real assistance with regular troops;
• Sweden- was able to avoid involvement in military affairs, avoiding the fate of Finland and Norway;
• Ireland- refused to fight the Nazis for the stupidest reason, the country did not want to have anything to do with Great Britain;
• Portugal- adhered to the position of its eternal ally in the person of Spain;
• Switzerland- remained faithful to wait-and-see tactics and a policy of non-intervention.

There is no question of true neutrality - Spain formed a division of volunteers, and Sweden did not prevent its citizens from fighting on the side of Germany.

The trio of Portugal, Sweden and Spain actively traded with all sides of the conflict, sympathizing with the Germans. Switzerland was preparing to repel the attack Nazi army and developed a plan for conducting military operations on its territory.

Even Ireland did not enter the war only because of political convictions and even greater hatred of the British.

Germany's European allies

The following took part in the fighting on Hitler's side:

1. Third Reich;
2. Bulgaria;
3. Hungary;
4. Italy;
5. Finland;
6. Romania;
7. Slovakia;
8. Croatia.

Most of the Slavic countries on this list did not take part in the invasion of the territory of the Union. The same cannot be said about Hungary, whose formations were twice defeated by the Red Army. It's about about more than 100 thousand soldiers and officers.

The most impressive infantry corps belonged to Italy and Romania, which on our soil managed to become famous only due to the cruel treatment of the civilian population in the occupied territories. In the zone of Romanian occupation were Odessa and Nikolaev, together with the adjacent territories, where mass destruction took place Jewish population. Romania was defeated in 1944, the fascist regime of Italy was forced to withdraw from the war in 1943.

There is not much to say about the difficult relations with Finland since the 1940 war. The most “significant” contribution is closing the ring of the siege of Leningrad from the northern side. The Finns were defeated in 1944, as was Romania.

USSR and its allies in Europe

The Germans and their allies in Europe were opposed by:

• Britannia;
• THE USSR;
• France;
• Belgium;
• Poland;
• Czechoslovakia;
• Greece;
• Denmark;
• Netherlands;

Considering the losses suffered and the liberated territories, it would be incorrect not to include the Americans in this list. He took the brunt of the blow Soviet Union, along with Britain and France.

For each country, the war had its own form:

1. Great Britain tried to cope with constant enemy air raids in the first stage and missile attacks from continental Europe in the second;
2. The French army was defeated with amazing speed, and only the partisan movement made a significant contribution to the final result;
3. The Soviet Union suffered the greatest losses, the war consisted of massive battles, constant retreats and advances, and a struggle for every piece of land.

The Western Front opened by the United States helped accelerate the liberation of Europe from the Nazis and saved millions of lives of Soviet citizens.

War in the Pacific

Fought in the Pacific:

• Australia;
• Canada;
• THE USSR.

The Allies were opposed by Japan, with all its spheres of influence.

The Soviet Union entered this conflict at the final stage:

1. Provided the transfer of ground forces;
2. Defeated the remaining Japanese army on the mainland;
3. Contributed to the surrender of the Empire.

The Red Army soldiers, seasoned in battle, were able to defeat the entire Japanese group, deprived of supply routes, with minimal losses.

The main battles in previous years took place in the sky and on the water:

• Bombing of Japanese cities and military bases;
• Attacks on ship convoys;
• Sinking of battleships and aircraft carriers;
• Battle for the resource base;
• The use of a nuclear bomb on civilians.

Given the geographical and topographical features, there was no talk of any large-scale ground operations. All the tactics were:

1. In control of key islands;
2. Cutting off supply routes;
3. Enemy resource limitations;
4. Knocking out airfields and ship anchorages.

The chances of victory for the Japanese from the first day of the war were very slim. Despite the success due to surprise and the unwillingness of the Americans to lead fighting overseas.

How many countries are involved in the conflict?

Exactly 62 countries. Not one more, not one less. There were so many participants in the Second World War. And this is out of 73 states that existed at that time.

This involvement is explained by:

• The crisis brewing in the world;
• Involvement of “big players” in their spheres of influence;
• The desire to solve economic and social problems by military means;
• The presence of numerous alliance agreements between the parties to the conflict.

You can list all of them, indicate the side and years of active action. But such a volume of information will not be remembered and the next day will not leave a trace behind. Therefore, it is easier to identify the main participants and explain their contribution to the disaster.

The results of World War II have long been summed up:

1. The culprits have been found;
2. War criminals punished;
3. Appropriate conclusions have been drawn;
4. “Memory organizations” were created;
5. Fascism and Nazism are prohibited in most countries;
6. Reparations and debts for the supply of equipment and weapons have been paid.

The main task is not repeat something like that .

Today, even schoolchildren know who fought in World War II and what consequences this conflict had for the world. But too many myths persist that need to be dispelled.

Video about the participants in the military conflict

This video very clearly demonstrates the entire chronology of the events of the Second World War, which countries took part in what:

On July 28, 1914, one of the most widespread conflicts in the history of the Earth began. 38 of the 59 states that existed at that time became participants in the First World War of 1914-1918. This war changed forever political map world and the course of human history.

Countries participating in the First World War

It is difficult for a modern person to imagine how many countries participated in the First World War. To do this, we will get to know all the participating countries, dividing them into opposing sides.

Rice. 1. Flag of the Entente.

Triple Alliance

• German Empire . During the war years, more than 13.25 million people were mobilized.
• Austria-Hungary . During the entire war, more than 7.8 million people were mobilized to fight for the emperor of the “patchwork empire”.
• Ottoman Empire . During the entire war, more than 3 million soldiers loyal to the Sultan stood up to defend the Sublime Porte.
• Bulgaria fielded more than 1.2 million of its soldiers and officers against the Entente.

Rice. 2. Countries of the Triple Alliance.

In total, the Triple Alliance mobilized more than 25 million bayonets and sabers, not counting the rear units.

Entente and its allies

• During the war years, the Russian Empire mobilized over 12 million people.
• The British Empire and France fielded approximately the same amount - more than 8.5 million soldiers each.
• Italy, which fled from the Triple Alliance to the Entente, fielded 5.6 million bayonets and sabers.
• The United States has mobilized more than 4.7 million soldiers since entering the war
• Romania was able to field more than 1.2 million people.
• The armies of other states had less than a million soldiers.

Rice. 3. Entente countries.

Although officially the Entente included only three countries (France, Russia, Britain), by the beginning of the war more than 12 states had gathered under its wing, and the term “Entente” began to be used for the entire coalition against the Triple Alliance.

Neutral countries

Throughout the war, there were states that could have taken part in the war, but avoided it. Thus, Albania, Luxembourg and Persia were officially neutral, although fighting took place on their territories. Argentina had several incidents with both sides of the conflict, but never entered the war on either side.

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In addition to these four countries, the following remained neutral from the beginning to the end of the war: Afghanistan, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Spain, Sweden, Tibet, Venezuela and which later became a traditional supporter of world peace wars Switzerland.

Chronology of entry into the war

As you know, after the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28 and Russia immediately declared mobilization, for which it received an ultimatum from Germany to stop it. On August 1, Germany declares war on Russia, and on August 3 on France. A day later, Berlin also entered the war with Belgium, and Britain with Germany.

On August 12, Britain and Austria-Hungary became enemies, and a day earlier France did the same. So the main participants in the First World War officially declared each other enemies.

British statesman Neville Chamberlain after Russian events 1917 said: “Russia has collapsed. One of the goals of the war has been achieved."

Throughout the four years of the war, more and more new states declared war on the Triple Alliance, trying to get their dividends from this war.

The last countries to enter the war against Germany were Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras and Romania, which entered the war from April 23 to November 10, 1918.

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