In what year did World War 2 end? General history. Africa and the Balkans

From the beginning of 1944, the Soviet army launched a powerful offensive on all fronts. By autumn, most of the territory of the Soviet Union was cleared of occupiers, and the war was moved outside our country.

The Hitler bloc began to rapidly fall apart. On August 23, 1944, the fascist regime in Romania fell, and on September 9, an uprising broke out in Bulgaria. On September 19, an armistice was signed with Finland.

Germany's position deteriorated further after the second front was opened in Normandy (France) on June 6, 1944. Allied troops pushed back the Germans from Italy, Greece, and Slovakia. Things were also going well in the Pacific Ocean. In August 1944, the Americans, after stubborn fighting, captured the Mariana Islands. From an air base located on these islands, American bombers could bomb Japan, whose situation then sharply deteriorated.

All this posed the problem of post-war settlement in full force. In the fall of 1944, at a conference in Dumbarton Oaks (USA), the preparation of the Charter of a new international peacekeeping organization, the UN, was largely completed. A little earlier, at the Bretton Woods conference, issues related to the creation of an international monetary system were discussed. There it was decided to form two of the most important international financial institutions - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), on which the entire post-war monetary and financial system rested. The United States began to play a key role in these organizations, skillfully using them to strengthen its influence in world affairs.

The main thing at the final stage of the war was to achieve a speedy victory. In the spring of 1944, the war was transferred to the territory of the Reich itself. On April 13, Soviet troops took Vienna, and on April 24, the battle for Berlin began. On April 30, A. Hitler committed suicide, and on May 2, the Berlin garrison capitulated. On the night of May 8-9, 1945, the Germans were forced to sign an act of complete and unconditional surrender of Germany. The war in Europe is over.

The war in the Pacific was also drawing to a close. But the Japanese high military command was not going to put up with the steadily approaching disaster. However, by the spring of 1945, the strategic initiative passed to the side of Japan's opponents. In June, after heavy fighting, the Americans took the island of Okinawa, located in close proximity to the main territory of Japan. The ring around Japan was getting tighter and tighter. The outcome of the war was no longer in doubt.

Its ending was marked by one extremely important event: on August 6, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. On August 9, the Americans repeated their attack, the target of which was the city of Nagasaki. On the same day, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

During it, an exceptionally aggressive group of states that openly claimed to redivide the world and unify it in their own image and likeness was completely defeated. A serious regrouping of forces also occurred in the camp of the winners. The position of Great Britain, especially France, has noticeably weakened. China began to be considered one of the leading countries, but until the civil war there ended, it could only nominally be considered a great power. Throughout Europe and Asia, the positions of left-wing forces have noticeably strengthened, whose authority, thanks to their active participation in the Resistance movement, has increased noticeably, and, conversely, representatives of right-wing conservative circles, stained by their collaboration with the fascists, have been pushed to the margins of the political process.

Finally, not just two great powers, but two superpowers appeared in the world - the USA and the USSR. The equal power of these two giants, on the one hand, and the complete discrepancy between the value systems that they represented, on the other, inevitably predetermined their sharp clash in the post-war world, and it was precisely this that right up to the turn of the 1980-1990s. became the core of the development of the entire system of international relations.

Most of the population of our country believes that the war ended on May 9, 1945, but in reality on this day we celebrate the surrender of Germany. The war continued for another 4 months.

On September 3, 1945, the day after the surrender of the Japanese Empire, Victory Day over Japan was established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. However, for a long time this holiday was practically ignored in the official calendar of significant dates.
The Instrument of Surrender of the Empire of Japan was signed on September 2, 1945 at 9:02 am Tokyo time on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On the Japanese side, the document was signed by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chief of the General Staff. Representatives of the Allied Powers were Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur, American Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the British Pacific Fleet Bruce Fraser, Soviet General Kuzma Nikolaevich Derevyanko, Kuomintang General Su Yong-chang, French General J. Leclerc, Australian General T. Blamey, Dutch Admiral K. Halfrich, New Zealand Air Vice-Marshal L. Isit and Canadian Colonel N. Moore-Cosgrave.

This document put an end to the Second World War, which, according to Western and Soviet historiography, began on September 1, 1939 with the attack of the Third Reich on Poland.

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The most significant war in human history lasted six years and covered the territories of 40 countries in Eurasia and Africa, as well as all four ocean theaters of military operations (the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans). 61 states were drawn into the global conflict, and the total number of human resources plunged into the war was over 1.7 billion people.

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Chinese version of the start of World War II

The plot of the Great Wall of China is interesting because it, in fact, protected China only by the very fact of its presence. In reality, the Great Wall of China never fought. All the times when the Wall was captured by nomads, they broke through it without a fight.

Sometimes neglect to guard the Wall and “weariness with the world,” and sometimes direct betrayal of military leaders and “a donkey loaded with gold,” opened the way into the interior of the country from its northern borders.

The last (and, perhaps, only) time the Wall fought... from January to May 1933. It was then that Japanese militarists and troops of the Manchurian state of Manchukuo, dependent on Japan, broke through the Wall from Manchuria into China.

The Wall itself lasted exactly two months back in 1933 - from the end of March to May 20, 1933. Well, the date itself, January 1, 1933, when a small Japanese garrison at the easternmost outpost of the Great Wall of China, in Shanhaiguan, staged a small “incident” with gunfire and grenade explosions, may well claim to be the date of the beginning of the Second World War. After all, then the logic of the historical process will be quite clear: the Second World War began exactly where it ended - in the Far East.

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Lieutenant General, one of the few generals awarded all three orders named after the outstanding commanders Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky. Knight of the Order of Lenin and the Red Banner of Battle. He was also awarded the American Order of Merit.

In 1936-38. Captain Derevianko carried out a secret operation to supply weapons to the Chinese troops fighting the Japanese, for which he received the Order of Lenin, awarded to him in the Kremlin personally by the All-Union elder M.I. Kalinin.

During the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940), volunteer Major K. Derevianko was the head of the headquarters of the Separate Special Ski Brigade. It was a reconnaissance and sabotage unit, formed mainly from students of the Leningrad Institute of Physical Education. Lesgafta. Derevianko himself was involved not only in planning. When the ski squad of Master of Sports V. Myagkov (posthumously Hero of the Soviet Union) was ambushed by the White Finns and was defeated, Derevianko, at the head of another squad, carried out the wounded and dead. During the Finnish War, Derevianko was awarded the Order of the Red Star and, outside the line, became a colonel.

In January-March 1941, he carried out a special assignment in East Prussia, and from June 27, 1941, he headed the intelligence department of the headquarters of the North-Western Front. In this capacity, in August 1941, he carried out a raid behind the German troops, during which about two thousand captured Red Army soldiers were freed from the concentration camp near Staraya Russa, many of them joined the front forces.

During the war, Derevianko was chief of staff of several armies (53rd, 57th, 4th Guards). Participated in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the Dnieper. Made a significant contribution to the successful completion of the Korsun-Shevchenko operation. His headquarters organized the defeat of the enemy in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. Participated in the liberation of Budapest and Vienna.

On May 4, 1942, Derevianko was appointed chief of staff of the 53rd Army of the North-Western Front and awarded the Order of the Red Star. At the same time, he was given the rank of general (according to the proposal of the front commander N.F. Vatutin and the deputy chief of the general staff A.M. Vasilevsky). On April 19, 1945, he was already a lieutenant general.

General Derevianko ended the war in the West as chief of staff of the 4th Guards Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. For some time he represented the USSR in the Federal Council for Austria. In connection with the upcoming war with Japan, he was transferred to the Far East to a similar post in the 35th Army. But in August (in Chita) he received the order to leave the train and come to the headquarters of the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Vasilevsky. There he was presented with a telegram from Stalin and Chief of the General Staff Antonov about his appointment as a representative of the High Command of Soviet Forces in the Far East at MacArthur's headquarters.

On August 25, Derevyanko flew from Vladivostok to the Philippines, where the headquarters of the American armed forces in the Pacific was stationed in Manila. Already in Manila on August 27, Derevianko received a telegram with instructions to reassign the Supreme High Command to the Headquarters and the authority to sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan on behalf of the Soviet Supreme High Command. On August 30, together with MacArthur and representatives of the allied countries, Derevyanko arrived in Japan, and on September 2, 1945, he took part in the ceremony of signing the act of surrender.

After this, on behalf of the country's leadership, at great risk to his health, the general visited the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were subjected to American atomic bombing, several times. Having drawn up a detailed report on what he saw, he, together with an album of photographs, presented it to the General Staff, and then personally to Stalin during the report on September 30, 1945.

Subsequently, Derevianko was appointed representative of the USSR in the Allied Council for Japan, created in December 1945, headquartered in Tokyo (the chairman of which was appointed commander-in-chief of the Allied occupation forces, General MacArthur).

The Union Council ended its presence with the conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951. K.N. Derevianko was transferred to Moscow, where he worked at the military academy as the head of the department of armed forces of foreign states, and then as the head of the information department of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff.

As a result of nuclear radiation received during a visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, K. Derevianko’s health seriously deteriorated, and after a long and serious illness, he died of cancer on December 30, 1954.

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About the signing procedure

Lieutenant General Derevyanko arrived in Manila on August 27, 1945. Representatives from the USA, Great Britain, China, Canada, Australia, France, Holland and New Zealand have already gathered here. Having met Douglas MacArthur, Derevianko learned that all these people in uniforms and civilian clothes had arrived here to participate in the signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Japan. The Soviet representative did not have such powers. I had to urgently contact Moscow. On the same day, Derevianko received a coded message stating that he was entrusted with signing the said act on behalf of the USSR, and in addition, it was reported that from now on he would become directly subordinate to the Supreme Headquarters and should contact Moscow, bypassing Vasilevsky’s headquarters.

Communicating with fellow allies, Kuzma Nikolaevich found out that many of them consider the new US President Harry Truman to be a “slippery” politician. It was rumored that in Potsdam he spoke one thing, but directed his generals towards another: to end the war in the Pacific without Russia. Derevianko learned that Truman had sent a directive to Admiral Nimitz (it was August 13) with the order to occupy the port of Dairen (Dalny) before the Russians entered there. However, Soviet landings from the air and sea turned out to be so powerful that the Americans had to practice a “reverse move.”

Perhaps their ardor was cooled by the words of General Parker, whom Soviet paratroopers freed from captivity after capturing the camp in Mukden: “Russian soldiers were messengers from heaven for us. If it weren’t for these guys, we would still be in a Japanese dungeon.”

Japanese emissaries soon arrived in Manila to receive instructions from MacArthur regarding the details of the surrender. Soviet representatives immediately arrived at the headquarters of the American general. Derevianko demanded that MacArthur openly share information. And on the same day, Kuzma Nikolaevich had a headquarters report, which stated that the 11th US Airborne Division had already been delivered by transport aircraft to the Tokyo area. This was the beginning of the American occupation of Japan.

On August 30, Douglas MacArthur invited General Derevyanko and other representatives of the Allied countries onto his plane to fly to Japan. The Grand Hotel in Yokohama had rooms ready for representatives of all delegations. The signing of the historic act ending the Second World War was scheduled for September 2, 1945.

At 8.50 a.m., a boat carrying Japanese emissaries approached the starboard side of the American battleship Missouri.

here MacArthur delivers his opening remarks with a stern expression on his face;

The whole ceremony took 20 minutes. MacArthur addressed the allies: “Let us pray that peace will now be restored and that God will preserve it forever. This ends the procedure.” And MacArthur went to the battleship commander’s salon, inviting all the delegates to go there. Kuzma Nikolaevich proclaimed a toast to the Soviet people, who did so much for victory in the Second World War. Everyone drank while standing.

The second, most terrible world war in the history of mankind ended 70 years ago, on September 2, 1945 at 10 o'clock Tokyo time (14 Moscow time), when the Allies aboard the battleship Missouri accepted the Act of Surrender of Japan.

On the same day, but a little later, Stalin made an Address to the Soviet people and solemnly congratulated them on this. Therefore, today we, remembering this world Victory as a whole well, will still, first of all, remember how, how and why this War ended for us, for the Soviet Union. What absolutely must be done, because, after all, it was carried out by us, despite all its hardships, for 4 years on the European front alone against Nazi Germany.

And this could happen only because the country’s leadership paid great attention to its security and on April 13, 1941. In the Kremlin, the People's Commissar V. Molotov and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Matsuoka signed a Neutrality Pact. What was then extremely important for the USSR, because in the event of possible future military actions for the next five years, at least, it got rid of a war on two fronts. And so important that Stalin - for the first and last time! - I personally came to the station to see off the foreign minister. The train was delayed for an hour, and according to Molotov, he and Stalin got the Japanese so drunk and sang “The Reeds Made a Noisy” with him that he, barely standing on his feet, was almost literally carried into the carriage. And knowing that the German ambassador Schulenburg was among the mourners, Stalin defiantly hugged Matsuoka, declaring: “You are an Asian, and I am an Asian. If we stand together, all of Asia's problems can be solved." Such a “farewell” was worth the fact that Japan never began to fight with us, and Matsuoka later paid heavily at home, not being inducted into the new Cabinet of Ministers in July.

But all this was back in 1941, and in Victory 1945, defeated Berlin was already behind, and at the Yalta and Potsdam Conference it was firmly stated that with Japan, “the only great power that still stands for the continuation of the war,” it was necessary finish. End together, and on July 26, 1945, in Potsdam, the corresponding ultimatum Declaration of three countries was adopted: the USA, England and China, strictly ordering Japan's unconditional surrender, demilitarization and democratization. The Soviet Union did not sign it at that time, because, firstly, according to the Pact of April 13, it was not officially at war with Japan. And secondly, to please the United States, which still sought, if possible, to remove the USSR from solving the problems of the Far East and Japan, the preparation of this document took place without the participation of the Soviet side. However, on July 28, at a meeting in the imperial palace, Japanese ministers of war forced Prime Minister Suzuki to issue a statement refusing to accept the Potsdam Declaration and for “successfully ending the war.” The situation was little changed by the atomic bombings of the United States: August 6 - Hiroshima and August 9 - Nagasaki, which claimed the lives of 102 thousand people; In total, 503 thousand inhabitants died and suffered. Japan did not capitulate, and only the obligatory and early entry into the war of the USSR could force it to do so.

In this regard, on August 8, the next meeting of the Supreme Military Council on the leadership of the war was canceled, because the Japanese Ambassador to Moscow Sato reported that on that day he was invited to a reception with Molotov, and everyone was waiting for important messages from Moscow. At 17 o'clock such a meeting took place, and the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, on behalf of the Soviet government, handed over a Statement for transmission to the Japanese government, which stated that Japan's rejection of the demands of the three powers for unconditional surrender forced the USSR to join the Potsdam Declaration, and from August 9 it considers itself in state of war with Japan. This was done immediately, and in the early morning of August 9, Soviet troops simultaneously launched powerful attacks on the enemy from three directions at once. From Transbaikalia - Transbaikal Front (commander - Marshal R. Malinovsky). Amur region - 1st Far Eastern Front (commander - Marshal K. Meretskov). And the 2nd Far Eastern (commander - Army General M. Purkaev). And the general leadership of all Soviet armed forces numbering 1 million 747 thousand was entrusted to the Marshal of the Soviet Union

A. Vasilevsky.

The reaction in the highest leadership circles of Japan to this followed immediately, and already on the morning of August 9, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Togo visited Prime Minister Suzuki and declared the need to end the war, because the entry of the USSR into the war deprived Japan of the slightest hope for its continuation and success. The Prime Minister agreed with him and at an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council, which began at noon in the bomb shelter of the imperial palace and lasted (with short breaks) until two in the morning, after fierce debate - at the proposal of Suzuki and Togo, supported by Emperor Hirohito - it was decided to adopt the Potsdam Declaration. On the morning of August 10, Togo met with the Soviet Ambassador in Tokyo Ya. Malik and made a statement accepting the Declaration, and similar statements were made through Sweden to the governments of the United States, England and China. Why on August 11, the governments of the USSR, USA, England and China, through the Swiss government, conveyed a demand to the emperor to give orders for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces, stop resistance and surrender their weapons.

However, the struggle between the “parties” of peace and war in the top Japanese leadership continued for several more days, until finally, on the morning of August 14, at a joint meeting of the Supreme Council and the Cabinet of Ministers, agreement was reached on the unconditional surrender of Japan. And the decisive factor for its successful adoption was the powerful offensive of the Soviet troops, who, with their lightning-fast and continuous strikes on land, at sea, in the mountains and desert, within 6 days, dismembered and defeated the 750,000-strong Kwantung Army, advancing 300 kilometers deep into the territory of Manchuria. They destroyed parts of the Japanese troops in Northwestern China and landed troops in North Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. And at 23:00 on the 14th, a corresponding telegram was sent through the Swiss government to the Allied Powers.

However, on the night of the 15th, the most fanatical military, led by Minister of War Anami, launched an armed rebellion, the purpose of which was to prevent surrender. They broke into the imperial palace in order to find tapes recording the emperor’s speech, which outlined the Decree to end the war (they did not find them), they wanted to detain and destroy Prime Minister Suzuki (they burned only his house, the prime minister disappeared), to arrest other ministers who supported peace, they intended raise the entire army. But it was not possible to do what was planned, and by the morning the putsch was suppressed. The soldiers were asked to lay down their arms, and their leaders - to commit hara-kiri, which they, led by Minister Anami, did near the imperial palace. And at noon on the 15th, all of Japan literally froze and froze at the radios: Emperor Hirohito announced surrender and gave the order to the armed forces to end the war. However, he did not mention a word about atomic bombs, and called the offensive of the Soviet troops the main reason for the end of the war. It would seem that’s all... Politicians in the USA and England still consider August 14 and 15 to be the last days of the war, “Days of Victory over Japan.” And for them, this was actually the case, because Japan ceased all military actions against the American-British troops, allowing the allies in the Philippines and Manila to immediately begin preparatory work to organize the signing of the Instrument of Surrender. And for its adoption, by agreement between the USSR, the USA and England, 65-year-old General Douglas MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Far East.

However, on August 17, the Japanese government resigned: Higashikuni became prime minister instead of Suzuki, and Shigemitsu became foreign minister instead of Togo. And as soon as the new prime minister had time to take office, a group of army officers armed with pistols and samurai swords arrived and, under threat of death, demanded that Higashikuni reverse the decision to surrender, threatening a new putsch. The prime minister refused, appointing a special delegation to coordinate the signing procedure, which arrived in Manila on August 19, and the new putsch, it would seem, failed. However, many army and navy officers throughout the country, refusing to obey the order to surrender, committed hara-kiri, kamikaze pilots made their deadly flights, and in the hands of such rabid fanatics, pathologically hating the Soviet Union, was the command of the Kwantung Army, led by Yamada. Why did its scattered parts, despite receiving the order to surrender and the mass surrender that began on August 19, continue to desperately resist until the beginning of September? During 23 days of such battles, Soviet troops surrounded and piecemeal destroyed all centers of resistance of the Kwantung Army, which lost 677 thousand people killed and wounded, and successfully completed the Sakhalin and Kuril operations.

Taking advantage of the situation of protracted battles against the Soviet troops, on August 26, formations of the US fleet consisting of 383 ships, accompanied by aircraft carriers with 1,300 aircraft on board, began advancing towards Tokyo Bay. On August 30, a massive landing of American occupation troops began near Tokyo and other places. MacArthur arrived with them from Manila to Tokyo, and so for the first time in history foreign troops landed on Japanese territory. All this brought closer the end of the war and the signing of the Act of Surrender, which was scheduled to happen on September 2. And on August 22, 41-year-old Lieutenant General Kuzma Nikolaevich Derevyanko was appointed to participate in the preparation and signing of the Act from the Soviet side. On August 25, he flew to Manila and on the same day introduced himself to General MacArthur, and on August 27, a telegram arrived from Headquarters, which stated that “By the authority of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Armed Forces,” Lieutenant General K. Derevianko was authorized to sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan . Why Derevianko? In the spring of 1945, after the liberation of Vienna, he was appointed Soviet representative in the Federal Council for Austria, where in a short time he gained enormous authority among the allies, showing himself to be tactful, intelligent, knowledgeable, and, at the same time, not retreating one iota in negotiations from Soviet positions by man. His activities were monitored by I. Stalin, who, based on the information received, determined his historical purpose for the son of a stonemason from the Ukrainian village of Kosenovka, Kyiv region. (Unfortunately, the general’s earthly journey was short-lived, and he, having barely celebrated his 50th birthday, died on December 30, 1954).

It was decided to sign the Act on board the American battleship Missouri, which was stationed in the roads of Tokyo Bay. This ship took part in many combat operations at sea and had a long combat history. On March 24, 1945, the battleship, being at the head of the squadron, approached the shores of Japan and with the power of all guns attacked the area north of the capital Tokyo, causing a lot of harm to the Japanese and causing them to passionately hate him. Seeking revenge, on April 11, a Japanese fighter with a kamikaze pilot was sent at her: the plane crashed, and the battleship received only minor damage. And then the historic day of September 2, 1945 arrived: the ceremony was scheduled for 10 o'clock Tokyo time (14 o'clock Moscow time). By this time, delegations of the victorious countries began to arrive on the Missouri, on which the flags of the Allied powers were flying, and the Soviet delegation included K. Derevianko, representatives of the military branches: Major General of Aviation N. Voronov and Rear Admiral A. Stetsenko, translator. The American sailors gave them a standing ovation, shouted greetings, and threw their sailor caps into the air. And in the middle of the upper armored deck, under a green cloth, there is a small table on which are huge sheets of the Instrument of Surrender in English and Japanese; two chairs opposite each other, and a microphone. And representatives of the delegations of the USSR, USA, England, France, China, Australia, Canada, Holland and New Zealand take their seats nearby.

And then, in deathly silence, members of the Japanese delegation appear on the deck, having gone to the battleship in deep secrecy and on a small boat, fearing assassination attempts by militaristic fanatics. In front is Foreign Minister Shigemitsu, Emperor Hirohito's chief envoy, with his head bowed and leaning on a stick (one leg is on a prosthesis). Behind him is the Chief of the General Staff, General Umezu, in a rumpled jacket, boots, without a samurai sword (they were not allowed to take it), and then 9 more people - 3 each from the ministries: foreign affairs, military and naval. After which the procedure at 10.30 begins with the “Five Minutes of Shame of Japan,” when the Japanese delegation, standing, had to withstand the stern, reproachful glances of all those present (it was not for nothing that Umezu categorically refused to go to the signing, threatening to commit hara-kiri). Then a brief word from MacArthur, emphasized by a casual gesture inviting the Japanese delegation to sign the Act, and, having removed his black top hat, Shigemitsu approaches the table. And, putting the stick aside, standing (even though there was a chair), he begins to sign, and his pale face becomes covered with sweat. Then, after some hesitation, Umezu also signs the document.

On behalf of all the allied powers, the Act was first signed by General MacArthur, and then by representatives of other countries. From the USA - Commander-in-Chief of the American Fleet in the Pacific Ocean, Admiral Charles Nimitz; from Great Britain - Admiral B. Fraser; from France - General J. Leclerc; from China, General Su Yongchang (when he did this, the Japanese did not even raise their eyes or move, but suppressed anger still made its way through the motionless masks of their pale yellow faces). And when General MacArthur announced that a representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics would now sign the Act, the eyes of all those present, photographs and film cameras of almost five hundred correspondents from all countries of the world turned to our delegation. Trying to be calm, K. Derevianko walked up to the table, slowly sat down, took an automatic pen from his pocket and signed the document. Then the signatures were signed by representatives of Australia, Holland, New Zealand and Canada, the whole procedure lasted about 45 minutes and ended with a short speech by MacArthur, who declared that “peace has now been established throughout the world.” After which the general invited the allied delegations to Admiral Nimitz’s salon, the Japanese representatives remained alone on deck and Shigemitsu was handed a black folder with a copy of the signed Act for transmission to the emperor. The Japanese went down the ladder, boarded their boat and departed.

And in Moscow on the same day, September 2, 1945, I. Stalin delivered an Address to the Soviet people about the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II. And he, along with members of the Politburo and government, on September 30 received General K. Derevyanko, who arrived in the Kremlin with a report. The report was approved, the general's work in Japan received a positive assessment, and he was granted leave for the first time in many years. The Second World War was over, the victorious country was already living its new peaceful life.

Gennady TURETSKY

The first major defeat of the Wehrmacht was the defeat of the fascist German troops in the Battle of Moscow (1941-1942), during which the fascist “blitzkrieg” was finally thwarted and the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht was dispelled.

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a war against the United States with the attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 8, the USA, Great Britain and a number of other countries declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The entry of the United States and Japan into the war affected the balance of forces and increased the scale of the armed struggle.

In North Africa in November 1941 and in January-June 1942, military operations were carried out with varying success, then until the autumn of 1942 there was a lull. In the Atlantic, German submarines continued to cause great damage to the Allied fleets (by the fall of 1942, the tonnage of sunk ships, mainly in the Atlantic, amounted to over 14 million tons). In the Pacific Ocean, at the beginning of 1942, Japan occupied Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Burma, inflicted a major defeat on the British fleet in the Gulf of Thailand, the Anglo-American-Dutch fleet in the Javanese operation, and established supremacy at sea. The American Navy and Air Force, significantly strengthened by the summer of 1942, defeated the Japanese fleet in naval battles in the Coral Sea (May 7-8) and off Midway Island (June).

Third period of the war (November 19, 1942 - December 31, 1943) began with a counteroffensive by Soviet troops, which ended with the defeat of the 330,000-strong German group during the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943), which marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War and had a great influence on the further course of the entire Second World War. The mass expulsion of the enemy from the territory of the USSR began. The Battle of Kursk (1943) and the advance to the Dnieper completed a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War. The Battle of the Dnieper (1943) upset the enemy’s plans for waging a protracted war.

At the end of October 1942, when the Wehrmacht was fighting fierce battles on the Soviet-German front, Anglo-American troops intensified military operations in North Africa, conducting the El Alamein operation (1942) and the North African landing operation (1942). In the spring of 1943 they carried out the Tunisian operation. In July-August 1943, Anglo-American troops, taking advantage of the favorable situation (the main forces of the German troops took part in the Battle of Kursk), landed on the island of Sicily and took possession of it.

On July 25, 1943, the fascist regime in Italy collapsed, and on September 3, it concluded a truce with the Allies. Italy's withdrawal from the war marked the beginning of the collapse of the fascist bloc. On October 13, Italy declared war on Germany. Nazi troops occupied its territory. In September, the Allies landed in Italy, but were unable to break the defenses of the German troops and suspended active operations in December. In the Pacific and Asia, Japan sought to retain the territories captured in 1941-1942, without weakening the groups on the borders of the USSR. The Allies, having launched an offensive in the Pacific Ocean in the fall of 1942, captured the island of Guadalcanal (February 1943), landed on New Guinea, and liberated the Aleutian Islands.

Fourth period of the war (January 1, 1944 - May 9, 1945) began with a new offensive of the Red Army. As a result of the crushing blows of the Soviet troops, the Nazi invaders were expelled from the Soviet Union. During the subsequent offensive, the USSR Armed Forces carried out a liberation mission against European countries and, with the support of their peoples, played a decisive role in the liberation of Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria and other states. Anglo-American troops landed on June 6, 1944 in Normandy, opening a second front, and began an offensive in Germany. In February, the Crimean (Yalta) Conference (1945) of the leaders of the USSR, USA, and Great Britain took place, which examined issues of the post-war world order and the participation of the USSR in the war with Japan.

In the winter of 1944-1945, on the Western Front, Nazi troops defeated the Allied forces during the Ardennes Operation. To ease the position of the Allies in the Ardennes, at their request, the Red Army began its winter offensive ahead of schedule. Having restored the situation by the end of January, the Allied forces crossed the Rhine River during the Meuse-Rhine Operation (1945), and in April carried out the Ruhr Operation (1945), which ended in the encirclement and capture of a large enemy group. During the Northern Italian Operation (1945), the Allied forces, slowly moving north, with the help of Italian partisans, completely captured Italy in early May 1945. In the Pacific theater of operations, the Allies carried out operations to defeat the Japanese fleet, liberated a number of islands occupied by Japan, approached Japan directly and cut off its communications with the countries of Southeast Asia.

In April-May 1945, the Soviet Armed Forces defeated the last groupings of Nazi troops in the Berlin Operation (1945) and the Prague Operation (1945) and met with the Allied forces. The war in Europe is over. On May 8, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered. May 9, 1945 became Victory Day over Nazi Germany.

At the Berlin (Potsdam) Conference (1945), the USSR confirmed its agreement to enter the war with Japan. For political purposes, the United States carried out atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan and began military operations on August 9. During the Soviet-Japanese War (1945), Soviet troops, having defeated the Japanese Kwantung Army, eliminated the source of aggression in the Far East, liberated Northeast China, North Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, thereby accelerating the end of World War II. On September 2, Japan surrendered. The Second World War is over.

The Second World War was the largest military conflict in human history. It lasted 6 years, 110 million people were in the ranks of the Armed Forces. More than 55 million people died in World War II. The Soviet Union suffered the greatest casualties, losing 27 million people. Damage from direct destruction and destruction of material assets on the territory of the USSR amounted to almost 41% of all countries participating in the war.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Humanity constantly experiences armed conflicts of varying degrees of complexity. The 20th century was no exception. In our article we will talk about the “darkest” stage in the history of this century: World War II 1939-1945.

Prerequisites

The preconditions for this military conflict began to take shape long before the main events: back in 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was concluded, which consolidated the results of the First World War.

Let us list the key reasons that led to the new war:

• Germany's lack of ability to fulfill some of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles in full (payments to affected countries) and unwillingness to put up with military restrictions;
• Change of power in Germany: Nationalists, led by Adolf Hitler, skillfully exploited the discontent of the German population and the fears of world leaders about communist Russia. Their domestic policy was aimed at establishing a dictatorship and promoting the superiority of the Aryan race;
• External aggression by Germany, Italy, Japan, against which the major powers did not take active action, fearing open confrontation.

Rice. 1. Adolf Hitler.

Initial period

The Germans received military support from Slovakia.

Hitler did not accept the offer to resolve the conflict peacefully. 03.09 Great Britain and France announced the beginning of war with Germany.

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The USSR, which at that time was an ally of Germany, announced on September 16 that it had taken control of the western territories of Belarus and Ukraine, which were part of Poland.

On 06.10 the Polish army finally surrendered, and Hitler offered the British and French peace negotiations, which did not take place due to Germany’s refusal to withdraw troops from Polish territory.

Rice. 2. Invasion of Poland 1939.

The first period of the war (09.1939-06.1941) includes:

• Naval battles of the British and Germans in the Atlantic Ocean in favor of the latter (there were no active clashes between them on land);
• War of the USSR with Finland (11.1939-03.1940): victory of the Russian army, a peace treaty was concluded;
• Germany's seizure of Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium (04-05.1940);
• Italian occupation of the south of France, German seizure of the rest of the territory: a German-French truce was concluded, most of France remains occupied;
• The inclusion of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina into the USSR without military action (08.1940);
• England's refusal to make peace with Germany: as a result of air battles (07-10.1940), the British managed to defend the country;
• Battles of the Italians with the British and representatives of the French liberation movement for African lands (06.1940-04.1941): the advantage is on the side of the latter;
• Victory of Greece over the Italian invaders (11.1940, second attempt in March 1941);
• German capture of Yugoslavia, joint German-Spanish invasion of Greece (04.1941);
• German occupation of Crete (05.1941);
• Japanese capture of southeast China (1939-1941).

During the war years, the composition of the participants in the two opposing alliances changed, but the main ones were:

• Anti-Hitler coalition: Great Britain, France, USSR, USA, Netherlands, China, Greece, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico;
• Axis countries (Nazi bloc): Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania.

France and England went to war because of alliance agreements with Poland. In 1941, Germany attacked the USSR, Japan attacked the USA, thereby changing the balance of power of the warring parties.

Main events

Starting from the second period (06.1941-11.1942), the course of military operations is reflected in the chronological table:

date	Event
	Germany attacked the USSR. Beginning of the Great Patriotic War
	The Germans captured Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Belarus, part of Ukraine (Kyiv failed), Smolensk. Anglo-French troops liberate Lebanon, Syria, Ethiopia
August-September 1941	Anglo-Soviet troops occupy Iran
October 1941	Crimea (without Sevastopol), Kharkov, Donbass, Taganrog captured
December 1941	The Germans are losing the battle for Moscow. Japan attacks the American military base at Pearl Harbor and captures Hong Kong.
January-May 1942	Japan takes over Southeast Asia. German-Italian troops are pushing back the British in Libya. Anglo-African troops capture Madagascar. Defeat of Soviet troops near Kharkov
	The American fleet defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Midway Islands
	Sevastopol is lost. The Battle of Stalingrad began (until February 1943). Rostov captured
August-October 1942	The British liberate Egypt and part of Libya. The Germans captured Krasnodar, but lost to Soviet troops in the foothills of the Caucasus, near Novorossiysk. Variable success in the battles for Rzhev
November 1942	The British occupied the western part of Tunisia, the Germans - the eastern. Beginning of the third stage of the war (11.1942-06.1944)
November-December 1942	The second battle of Rzhev was lost by Soviet troops
	Americans defeat Japanese in the Battle of Guadalcanal
February 1943	Soviet victory at Stalingrad
February-May 1943	The British defeated German-Italian troops in Tunisia
July-August 1943	Defeat of the Germans in the Battle of Kursk. Victory of the Allied forces in Sicily. British and American aircraft bomb Germany
November 1943	Allied forces occupy the Japanese island of Tarawa
August-December 1943	A series of victories of Soviet troops in battles on the banks of the Dnieper. Left Bank Ukraine liberated
	The Anglo-American army captured southern Italy and liberated Rome
	The Germans retreated from Right Bank Ukraine
April-May 1944	Crimea liberated
	Allied landings in Normandy. The beginning of the fourth stage of the war (06.1944-05.1945). The Americans occupied the Mariana Islands
June-August 1944	Belarus, southern France, Paris recaptured
August-September 1944	Soviet troops recaptured Finland, Romania, Bulgaria
October 1944	The Japanese lost the naval battle of Leyte to the Americans.
September-November 1944	The Baltic states, part of Belgium, were liberated. Active bombing of Germany resumed
	The northeast of France has been liberated, the western border of Germany has been broken through. Soviet troops liberated Hungary
February-March 1945	West Germany was captured, the crossing of the Rhine began. The Soviet army liberates East Prussia, northern Poland
April 1945	The USSR launches an attack on Berlin. Anglo-Canadian-American troops defeated the Germans in the Ruhr region and met the Soviet army on the Elbe. Italy's last defense broken
	Allied troops captured the north and south of Germany, liberated Denmark and Austria; Americans crossed the Alps and joined the Allies in northern Italy
	Germany surrendered
	The liberation forces of Yugoslavia defeated the remnants of the German army in northern Slovenia
May-September 1945	Fifth final stage of the war
	Indonesia and Indochina recaptured from Japan
August-September 1945	Soviet-Japanese War: The Kwantung Army of Japan is defeated. US drops atomic bombs on Japanese cities (August 6, 9)
	Japan surrendered. End of the war

Rice. 3. Japan's surrender in 1945.

results

Let us summarize the main results of World War II:

• The war affected 62 countries to varying degrees. About 70 million people died. Tens of thousands of settlements were destroyed, of which 1,700 were in Russia alone;
• Germany and its allies were defeated: the seizure of countries and the spread of the Nazi regime stopped;
• World leaders have changed; they became the USSR and the USA. England and France have lost their former greatness;
• The borders of states have changed, new independent countries have emerged;
• War criminals convicted in Germany and Japan;
• The United Nations was created (10/24/1945);
• The military power of the main victorious countries increased.

Historians consider serious armed resistance of the USSR against Germany (Great Patriotic War 1941-1945), American supplies of military equipment (Lend-Lease), and the acquisition of air superiority by the aviation of the Western allies (England, France) as an important contribution to the victory over fascism.

What have we learned?

From the article we learned briefly about the Second World War. This information will help you easily answer questions about when World War II began (1939), who were the main participants in the hostilities, in what year it ended (1945) and with what result.

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