To the 40th anniversary of the Great Victory Forty years ago, in January 1945, the final stage of the Second World War began in Europe, which led to the crushing defeat of the most reactionary strike force of imperialism - Hitler's fascism. "Having inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy," says the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the 40th anniversary of the Victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War, " the Soviet people and their Armed Forces, under the leadership of the Communist Party, defended the freedom and independence of the socialist Motherland, defended the cause of October. They made a decisive contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany and its allies, to the liberation of the peoples of Europe from fascist slavery, to the salvation of world civilization, and fulfilled their patriotic and international duty with honor. This is their greatest service to humanity. " 1At the final stage of the war, the main events, as before, unfolded on the Soviet - German front. It was here that the main forces of Nazi Germany were concentrated-185 divisions and 21 brigades (or more than 60% of all its troops), while the Western Allies were opposed by 108 divisions and brigades - 31 % 2 . Events on the Soviet-German front continued to have a huge impact on the planning and course of the armed struggle on the western front. The relationship between the Soviet-German front and the events in the West in late 1944 and early 1945, when the Allied command had to take measures to repel the counteroffensive of the German - Fascist troops and plan the final operations of 1945, has always been the focus of historians ' attention. In Soviet historiography, this problem is reflected in major works on the history of the Great Patriotic War and World War II , 3 which, along with describing military operations on the Soviet-German front, also show their impact on events in the West. Special studies of Soviet historians 4 consider and 1 Kommunist, 1984, No. 9, p. ... Read more