In the heroic chronicle of the Great Patriotic War, 1945 rightfully occupies a special, honorable place. Its first months were marked by the successful conduct of a number of major operations of the Red Army in Central and South-Eastern Europe, which ended with the complete liberation of Poland, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia from the Nazi invaders. This was the year when Soviet soldiers, having brought liberation to the German people from Hitler's tyranny, hoisted the victorious Red Banner over the defeated Reichstag. It was the year when the forces of fascism and militarism were defeated and capitulated, when peace came, which all honest people on earth had been waiting for with such hope and impatience during the long and difficult years of the brutal war.

There is an extensive and diverse literature on the events of 1945 in the USSR. It is presented as separate volumes and sections of large collective works on general problems of war1, and in the form of a series of special monographic studies 2, pamphlets 3, memoirs 4, scientific articles 5, documentary collections 6 . However

1 See, for example: History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Vol. 5. Moscow, 1963; History of the USSR from ancient times to the present day. Vol. X. Moscow, 1973; Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Moscow, 1976; History of the Second World War 1939-1945. Vol. 10. M. 1979; Samsonov A.M. Krakh fascistskoy agressii 1939-1945. M. 1980; Vtoroi mirovoi voina. Brief History, Moscow, 1984.

2 Vorob'ev F. D., Parotkin I. V., Shimansky A. N. The Last Storm. (The Berlin Operation of 1945), Moscow 1970; May 9, 1945, Moscow 1970; The liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War, Moscow 1974; The Soviet Union and the Struggle of the peoples of Central and South - Eastern Europe for Freedom and Independence 1941-1945, Moscow 1978; and others.

3 Sboychakov M. I., Chervyakov V. G. Znamya Pobedy nad reikhstagom [The Banner of Victory over the Reichstag], Moscow, 1960; Matronov P. S. Za zlata Pragu, Moscow, 1965; Sipols V. Ya., Chelyshev I. A. Krymskaya konferentsiya [Crimean Conference]. 1945. M. 1984; et al.

4 The Assault on Berlin, Moscow, 1948; Neustroev S. A. The path to the Reichstag, Moscow, 1961; Konev I. S. Forty-fifth, Moscow, 1966; Hetman A. L. Tanks go to Berlin, Moscow, 1973; Moskalenko K. S. In the South-western direction. Book 2. 1943-1945. Moscow, 1973; Shtemenko S. M. General Staff during the war. Book 2. Moscow, 1973; Lelyushenko D. D. Moscow-Stalingrad-Berlin-Prague. Moscow, 1975; Shatilov V. M. Znamya nad reichstagom. Moscow, 1975; Bagramyan I. H. So we went to Victory. Moscow, 1977; Chuikov V. I. From Stalingrad to Berlin. Moscow, 1980; Merzhanov M. I. So it was M. 1983; Zhukov G. K. Memoirs and reflections. Ed. 5-E. Kn. 3. M. 1983; et al.

5 Krupchenko I. Tank armies in the Berlin operation. - Military-historical Journal, 1960, N 7; Ivanov S. On the Vienna route. - Ibid., 1969, N 6; Kozlov L. From the Vistula to the Oder. - Ibid., 1970, N 1; Rokitsky A. From Budapest to Vienna. - Ibid., 1975, N 4; Chernyaev V. Some features of military art in the Berlin operation. - Ibid.; and others.

6 Messages of the Soviet Information Bureau. Book 8. Moscow, 1945; Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War. Vol. III. Moscow, 1947; Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the United States and Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Ed. 2-e. Tt. I-II. Moscow, 1976 (hereinafter - Correspondence); The Last Assault, Moscow, 1965; Teheran-Yalta-Potsdam, Moscow, 1971; and others.

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this does not mean that all the military-operational, foreign policy, socio-economic and other aspects of such an eventful final military year are covered with sufficient completeness and depth. So far, for example, there are no fundamental studies directly devoted to the Vistula-Oder, East Prussian, East Pomeranian, and Prague operations. Coverage of the armed struggle on the Soviet-German front is often conducted in isolation from military operations on the Western Front.

When reading individual works, one gets the impression that the last months of the war were for the Red Army "easy walk", continuous victories with "little blood". Meanwhile, as Marshal of the Soviet Union I. H. Bagramyan noted, among all the more than 1,400 days and nights of the Great Patriotic War, there was "not a single 'easy' day, even the very last day in the war with Nazi Germany was infinitely dangerous, immensely difficult. I remember this day, "the marshal wrote," it was held at the front, which I happened to command, under the roar of guns and the crackle of machine-gun bursts; on Victory Day, when there was rejoicing throughout the country, we were still fighting with the half-killed Hitlerites pinned to the sea. " 7 The authors of this article aim to give a general picture of the events of the winter and spring of victorious 1945 on the basis of the achievements of modern historiography, drawing on documentary sources and press data.

1,290 days of brutal and bloody war remained behind the shoulders of the Soviet people by January 1, 1945. 128 days separated him from the desired Victory. By this time, the Soviet-German front line with a total length of 2,200 km passed through the territory of the Latvian and Lithuanian SSR, East Prussia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia. The rapid wave of the liberation struggle reached the fascist lair. The hour of reckoning was approaching. "We warmly welcome the new year, 1945. There is no doubt that it is destined to be a historic year. We expect from him a victorious end to the war with Hitler's Germany and the beginning of a new, long era of peace. To reach peace, humanity has to go through a relatively small section of the way, but this is a difficult section, " Pravda wrote on the first day of the new year, 1945.

And indeed, although the battle against fascism was coming to an end, there were still heavy battles to be fought. Despite the major defeats suffered in 1944, the enemy was not yet completely broken. On the Eastern Front on January 1, 1945, there were 185 enemy divisions and 21 brigades. Together with the Hungarian formations, Hitler's Germany had here 3.7 million people, 56.2 thousand guns and mortars, 8.1 thousand tanks and assault guns, 4.1 thousand aircraft. In the West, only 74 Wehrmacht divisions opposed the Allied forces at that time .

In January 1945, the soldiers of the Red Army were preparing for the final strikes on the enemy. The Soviet command planned to defeat the enemy in East Prussia, between the Vistula and the Oder, liberate Poland and open the way to Berlin. On the southern wing of the front, the troops were assigned the task of completing the elimination of the Budapest group and preparing for the rush to Vienna. Without the reserve Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the Red Army had on the Soviet-German front 6.7 million people, 107.3 thousand guns and mortars, 12.1 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 14.7 thousand combat units-

7 Baghramyan I. Kh.Slovo k chitatelu [Word to the reader]. In: Kumanev G. A. 1941-1943. Brief history, documents, photographs, Moscow, 1983, p. 7.

8 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945]. Vol. 10, pp. 37, 40, 41.

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exit planes. Soviet troops had a 1.8 - fold superiority over the enemy in manpower, 1.9 - fold superiority in guns and mortars, 1.5-fold superiority in tanks and self - propelled artillery assault guns, and 3.6 - fold superiority in combat aircraft .9
The beginning of the offensive was scheduled for January 20, 1945. However, unforeseen circumstances forced to change this deadline. As early as December 16, 1944, the Wehrmacht shock group unexpectedly launched a counteroffensive on the Western Front, in the Ardennes, against the Anglo-American troops. Breaking through the weakest part of the Allied front, it managed to advance up to 100 km to the west in ten days, creating a real threat of coverage from the flank and rear of two American, British and Canadian armies. "Along all the roads leading to the west," wrote the American journalist R. Ingersoll, "the Americans ran headlong." 10 "Several hundred American guns and trucks," said B. Wallace, a participant in those dramatic events, " were captured by the Germans unharmed and thousands of boxes of ammunition were turned against us from our own tanks. own guns " 11 . Alarmed, the Anglo-American command hastily transferred significant forces to the breakthrough area, which forced the Nazis to suspend their advance to the west.

However, on New Year's Eve, as a follow - up to the December operation, a new Wehrmacht offensive began, this time south of the Ardennes-in Alsace (Vosges). It was codenamed "North Wind". At a meeting held in Adlerhorst on the eve of the operation, Hitler stated:: "Our second offensive has a clear goal: to destroy the enemy's forces. This isn't about prestige. And the capture of territory is not the main goal. The task is exclusively to destroy, to annihilate, the enemy forces. " 12 The enemy really had far-reaching goals. According to General G. Guderian, Hitler "hoped to gain time in order to destroy the hopes of his opponents for a complete victory, to force them to abandon the demands for unconditional surrender and to persuade them to conclude an agreed peace" 13 .

On the morning of January 1, more than 1 thousand German aircraft launched a sudden massive attack on Allied airfields along the entire front-from Holland to the Saarland. German aviation reigned supreme in the air. 260 Anglo-American aircraft were destroyed 14 . On the same day, the commander of the Allied expeditionary forces in Europe, General D. Eisenhower, gave the order: the troops of the 6th Army Group to leave North Alsace and withdraw to the Vosges 15 . The German offensive in Alsace continued to develop successfully. Anglo-American troops were rolling back, throwing military equipment on the mountain roads. By January 5, Wehrmacht units had crossed the Rhine, going 30 km deep in the direction of Strasbourg. The front of the American troops was broken through. "We may yet lose this war," the commander of the US 3rd Army, General D. Patton, wrote anxiously in his diary at this time .16 January 5 choked

9 Ibid., p. 38.

10 Ingersoll R. Top secret, Moscow, 1947, p. 329.

11 Cit. by: Krasnaya Zvezda, 10. I. 1985.

12 Dashichev V. I. Bankruptcy of the strategy of German fascism. The dock. i m-ly. Vol. 2. Moscow, 1973, p. 566.

13 Guderian G. Memoirs of a Soldier, Moscow, 1957, p. 369.

14 Sovetskaya voennaya entsiklopediya [Soviet Military Encyclopedia], vol. 1, Moscow, 1976, p. 232.

15 Pogue F. The Supreme Command, Moscow, 1959, p. 414.

16 Patton G. S. War as I Knewit. Boston. 1947, p. 213.

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the US 1st Army's counteroffensive launched two days ago. The situation was becoming critical 17 .

On January 6, 1945, British Prime Minister W. Churchill sent an urgent message to Stalin asking for immediate help. "I would be grateful," he wrote, " if you could let me know if we can count on a major Russian offensive on the Vistula Front or elsewhere during January... I consider it urgent." In a reply message sent on January 7, J. V. Stalin announced that the Soviet command would do everything "that it is possible to do in order to render assistance to our glorious Allied troops." 18
On January 12, after heavy artillery preparation, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front went on the offensive, which made a breakthrough at the Sandomierz bridgehead. Thus, the Vistula-Oder strategic operation began eight days ahead of schedule in extremely unfavorable weather conditions for aviation, although preparations for it were not yet fully completed. "The eight days that were taken from us, in truth, were extremely necessary for us," recalled the former commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev. "But this necessary time was taken from us in order to help the allies." 19 In mid-January, units of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts launched an offensive from bridgeheads on the western bank of the Vistula River, and to the south - formations of the right wing of the 4th Ukrainian Front. On the 1,200-kilometer front from East Prussia to the Carpathian Mountains, the Red Army launched the most ambitious winter offensive of the war years. Its main goal was to defeat the enemy group defending on the territory of Poland and covering the vital centers of Germany, go to the Oder, seize bridgeheads here and provide favorable conditions for delivering a decisive blow to Berlin.

In the days leading up to the Soviet offensive, the Nazis were preparing for a second attack on the Allied armies: the 6th SS Panzer Army was regrouped and aimed at Dinant-Givet. But there was no blow. Already on January 14, Hitler gave the order to begin the transfer of the main force of the Wehrmacht in the Ardennes-the 6th SS Panzer Army to the Soviet-German front. It was soon followed by General Manteuffel's 5th Panzer Army. Only from January 15 to 31, 8 German divisions were transferred to the east, including 4 tank and motorized divisions. They consisted of 800 tanks and 20 assault guns . All this greatly eased the situation of the Allies in the Ardennes, allowing them to go on the offensive and restore the situation on the Western Front by the end of January.

During January, the troops of the 3rd and 2nd Belorussian Fronts, in cooperation with the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, broke through the heavily fortified enemy defenses in East Prussia and surrounded a large group of his troops. By the end of the month, a significant part of these forces was destroyed, although the enemy resisted here with particular ferocity. On January 17, 1945, Warsaw was liberated, and soldiers of the 1st Army of the Polish Army selflessly fought for it together with Red Army units. February 3 troops of the 1st Belorussian

17 For more information, see: Zaitsev I. Ardennes (offensive of the German-fascist troops on the Western Front in December 1944-January 1945). - Military Historical Journal, 1965, N 10; Sokolov A.M. Soviet-German Front and military actions in the West (December 1944-January 1945) Voprosy istorii, 1985, No. 1.

18 Perepiskaia [Correspondence], Vol. I, pp. 348-349.

19 Konev I. S. Uk. soch., p. 15.

20 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945].

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and the 1st Ukrainian fronts reached the Oder, completely cleared the right bank of the river from the enemy and captured bridgeheads on the left bank. The Vistula-Oder operation ended. Hitler's troops suffered huge losses: 35 divisions were destroyed, 25-lost 50-70% of their composition 21 . "It is impossible to describe everything that happened between the Vistula and the Oder in the first months of 1945," noted Nazi General F. Mellenthin. "Europe hasn't known anything like this since the fall of the Roman Empire."22 . Formations of the Red Army with the participation of the 1st Army of the Polish Army and partisans liberated a significant part of Poland and entered the territory of Germany.

The Red Army tirelessly advanced to the west, liberating more and more territories from Hitler's invaders. The general situation of the Fascist troops became increasingly hopeless. By the beginning of February, in addition to the enemy group blocked in Courland, Army Group North was also isolated from the main forces of the Wehrmacht. The enemy units defeated during the January battles were hurriedly retreating to the southern part of Pomerania and beyond the Oder. Almost all the reserves of the Hitlerite command were used up. Nevertheless, it took feverish measures to stop the advance of the Red Army. The main efforts were directed at strengthening the Oder lines and preparing flank attacks from Eastern Pomerania and Silesia against Soviet troops entering German territory.

Under these conditions, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army decided: without weakening preparations for the offensive in the Berlin and Dresden directions, to carry out the defeat of the enemy's Eastern Pomeranian group by the forces of the 2nd and 1st Belorussian Fronts and reach the lower Oder River. During the fierce fighting in Eastern Pomerania, the Soviet troops and the 1st Army of the Polish Army managed to achieve serious results. A large enemy group was defeated, the Danzig-Gdynia fortified area was broken through.

The East Pomeranian operation of the Red Army thwarted the plans of the Hitler command to launch a flank attack on the Soviet troops who had reached the Oder. In February - March 1945, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front conducted the Lower Silesian and Upper Silesian offensive operations. As a result, the enemy army Group Center suffered a major defeat. Soviet troops defeated 28 and destroyed 5 enemy divisions, breaking the powerful line of its defense on the Oder 23 . As a result of the February-March offensive of the Red Army, Nazi Germany lost important military-industrial and agricultural areas, and its armed forces suffered heavy losses. Favorable conditions were created for a decisive Soviet offensive in the Berlin direction.

On the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, Soviet soldiers successfully repelled enemy counterattacks in Hungary and, completing the elimination of the Budapest garrison, were preparing for an offensive in the Vienna direction.

In the west, Anglo-American forces were completing a regrouping of forces for a rush to the Rhine line and the subsequent capture of the Ruhr industrial area.

By the time the Red Army units were preparing for the final decisive offensive from the Oder - Neisse line to the Nazi citadel, a number of urgent political problems were brewing. Outcome of the war

21 Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Brief History, Moscow, 1970, p. 466.

22 Mellenthin F. Tank battles of 1939-1945, Moscow, 1957, p. 280.

23 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945].

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it was already a foregone conclusion, and due to the approaching peace, the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition faced many questions of primary importance, which were to be considered at a new meeting of the heads of government of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain. The meeting place of the "Big Three" was determined to be Yalta.

Before the Crimea conference, the Western Allies met in Malta. The Joint Chiefs of Staff were to consider the main issues of American and British strategy in Europe. The dilemma was discussed; "The Balkans or North-Western Europe?" Conference in Malta, which lasted from January 30 to February 1, in the words of the English historian J. R. R. Tolkien. Ehrman's book revealed "a serious divergence of views between the British and Americans" and "the debate was the most heated in the history of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."24 The United States, which had pushed for the Eisenhower plan, prevailed as the most powerful partner. Churchill's" Balkan version " was not adopted. But both the supporters of the American plan and the adherents of the English plan agreed on one thing: the time factor "became crucial in view of the Russian offensive."25 The report of the Joint Chiefs of Staff meetings indicated possible dates for the end of the war in Europe. The optimal date was July 1, but the Allies considered the end of the war on December 31, 1945 to be the most likely.

Crimean Conference with the participation of the leaders of the three allied powers - the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR I. V. Stalin, the President of the United States of America F. V. Putin. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill-worked from 4 to 11 February. The Allies agreed on military plans for the final defeat of Nazi Germany and determined its future. At the same time, there were some disagreements and heated discussions. The delegations of the United States and England supported the dismemberment of Germany into several small states, but this proposal was not accepted .26 The heads of state agreed on measures that would create conditions for Germany to become a single peace-loving democratic state. These conditions presupposed the dissolution of the Fascist Party, the Wehrmacht, the General Staff, and the liquidation of the military industry. In a statement announcing the results of the conference, it said: "Our unwavering goal is to destroy German militarism and Nazism and to ensure that Germany will never again be able to disrupt the peace of the world... Only when Nazism and militarism are eradicated will there be hope for a decent existence for the German people and a place for them in the community of nations. " 27
At the initiative of the Soviet delegation, the Allies considered the question of reparations from Germany. The U.S.S.R. was interested in the aggressors making up for at least some of the enormous damage they had caused. The Soviet delegation proposed to set the total amount of reparations from Germany at $ 20 billion. In kind, of which $ 10 billion went to the Soviet Union. 28 However, even these modest figures provoked sharp opposition from Churchill. He did not want reparations to weaken Germany, which he needed as a counterweight to the increased power of the USSR. The result was a sharp controversy between the Soviet delegation and Churchill.

24 Erman J. Big strategy. October 1944-August 1945. Moscow, 1958, p. 96.

25 Cit. by: Kulish V. M. The second front. Operations in Western Europe in 1944-1945, Moscow, 1960, p. 322.

26 See. Sovetskiy Soyuz na mezhdunarodnykh konferentsii periodoi Velikoi Otechestvennoy voiny 1941-1945 gg. [The Soviet Union at international Conferences of the Great Patriotic War period 1941-1945].

27 Ibid., pp. 265-266.

28 Sipols V. Ya., Chelyshev I. A. Uk. soch., p. 36.

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The heads of Government of the three great Powers paid great attention to the Polish issue. The subject of their discussion was both the future borders of Poland and the composition of the Polish government. The joint statement of the heads of delegations on the results of the Crimean Conference reaffirmed "the common desire to see a stronger, free, independent and democratic Poland" 29 . The Conference decided on the need for the establishment of the United Nations in order to ensure peace and security of peoples. The Allies also adopted the Declaration on a liberated Europe, which established the right of peoples freed from fascism to establish democratic institutions of their own choice.

In the interests of the security of the Far Eastern borders and the speedy end of World War II, the USSR, in an agreement signed on February 11, confirmed its commitment, made at the Tehran Conference, to move against Japan 2 to 3 months after the German surrender and the end of the war in Europe .30 The governments of the United States and Britain were interested in the direct participation of the Soviet Union in the war against the Japanese aggressors. As early as September 27, 1944, Churchill wrote to Stalin: "I sincerely wish, and I know that the President also wishes, Soviet intervention in the Japanese War, as you promised in Teheran, as soon as the German army is defeated and destroyed." 31 The extreme interest of the US military circles in the entry of the USSR into the war in the Far East was mentioned in the memorandum of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff to President Roosevelt dated January 23, 194532 .

The Crimean Conference marked a new stage in further strengthening cooperation between the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in the fight against the common enemy. However, despite the decisions taken by the conference, and after it, fascist diplomacy and reactionary imperialist circles in the United States and Britain continued to struggle behind the scenes in the hope of splitting the anti-Hitler coalition. The enduring significance of the decisions of the Crimean Conference is that they are built not on sand, but on the basis of the realities that existed at the end of the war. History has confirmed their strength and vitality.

During the Crimean Conference, the Allied offensive on the Rhine began. However, it soon stopped abruptly. The reason for this was the increase to 1-1.5 m of the water level in the Ruhr River due to the explosion of the locks by the retreating enemy. "Fearing that the crossing of the river would not end in failure, both armies decided to wait until the water receded," American General O. Bradley noted .33 The Western Allies ' inaction lasted until February 23. Later, in his memoirs, the former supreme commander of the Allied expeditionary forces in Europe, D. Eisenhower, wrote that neither he nor British Field Marshal B. Montgomery "thought it wise to wait until the water level in the Ruhr dropped" 34. Nevertheless, the pause in the offensive actions of the Allies was prolonged. "There was a lull along the entire front from Nijmegen to the island of Seeland," the Soviet journalist D. Kraminov, who was on the Western Front at that time, testified. - Staffs posted Soviet Information Bureau reports on the fighting on the Eastern Front, operatives painted maps with bold arrows; for the first time, dotted lines appeared, linking-

29 Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War, vol. III, p. 106.

30 Teheran-Yalta-Potsdam, pp. 154-155.

31 Perepiskaia [Correspondence], Vol. I, p. 306.

32 See Sipols V. Ya., Chelyshev I. A. Uk. soch., p. 59.

33 Bradley O. Zapiski soldata [Notes of a Soldier], Moscow, 1957, p. 538.

34 Eisenhower D. Krestovyi pokhod v Evropu [The Crusade to Europe]. Moscow, 1980, p. 427.

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there are two allied fronts. The command measured the rapidly closing distance between them. And yet the Western Front stubbornly stood still: the Germans actually fought only on one, the Eastern Front. " 35 Here, they fiercely defended every defensive position, often leaving behind a dead zone.

During February-March 1945, the Red Army soldiers mostly completed the destruction of enemy forces in East Prussia, liberated all of Poland, a significant part of Hungary, and deeply penetrated the territory of Germany. On April 6, after careful preparation, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front launched an assault on Konigsberg. The enemy resisted fiercely, throwing in counterattacks. But the Soviet soldiers were steadily advancing, and the encirclement around the enemy garrison was inexorably shrinking. Our infantry and tanks were greatly assisted by aviation. In just one day - on April 8 - Soviet pilots made more than 6 thousand sorties. They delivered devastating blows to the defending enemy. Its long-standing, deeply echeloned strips, fortified forts and reinforced concrete firing points were reduced to piles of rubble.

On April 9, the assault on Konigsberg was completed. The Nazis lost here about 134 thousand soldiers and officers, including 42 thousand killed and up to 92 thousand prisoners. "The Russians outnumbered us and gained the upper hand," said the captured Hitler commandant of Konigsberg, Gen. O. Lasch. " They managed to secretly concentrate such a large number of artillery and aircraft, the massive use of which destroyed the fortress's fortifications and demoralized the soldiers and officers... It was impossible to imagine that such a fortress as Konigsberg would fall so quickly. The Russian command designed and executed this operation well. " 36 This victory made it possible to destroy the last part of the East Prussian group, squeezed on the Zemland Peninsula. An important role in the successful development of events in East Prussia was played by the fighting that unfolded in Courland, where the formations of the 1st, 2nd Baltic, and then Leningrad fronts held down a large group of Nazis. Soviet soldiers consistently broke through the powerful enemy defenses here, destroying the enemy's manpower and equipment, not allowing him to transfer units and formations from here to other sections of the Soviet - German front.

The defeat of the German-Fascist troops in East Prussia was of great military and political significance. As a result of the fall of the East Prussian bastion, the most important strategic bridgehead of the Third Reich was eliminated. The Red Army continued its offensive, achieving more and more successes. Back on April 4, as a result of the rapid actions of Soviet troops and partisans, Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, was liberated. On the same day, the fascist occupation regime throughout Hungary came to an end. Having driven out the invaders from here, the Red Army soldiers turned their efforts to the liberation of Austria and its capital Vienna. The enemy put up a strong resistance here. But, despite this, its defenses were breached, and on April 6, the advanced formations of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts from the north and south broke into the outskirts of Vienna. Seven days later, the Austrian capital was completely liberated from the invaders.

35 Kraminov D. Second Front, Moscow, 1948, p. 90.

36 Cit. In: History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945, vol. 5, p. 176. As Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky noted, " Hitler could not come to terms with the loss of the city, which he declared to be the best German fortress in the entire history of Germany and "an absolutely impregnable bastion of the German spirit," and in impotent rage he sentenced Lasch to death in absentia " (Vasilevsky A.M. Business of all life, Moscow 1975, p. 508).

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Although the war against Nazi Germany was nearing its end, it still required the Soviet people to mobilize all their resources and exert a great deal of effort. Based on the advantages of the socialist mode of production, it was necessary to further develop the main branches of the well-coordinated military economy of the U.S.S.R., continue to produce the most important types of military products to the required extent, significantly expand the front of reconstruction work, and prepare and organize a mass transfer of the military economy to peaceful rails. At the final stage of the war, the development of industry, agriculture and transport, as before, were in the center of attention of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b), the State Defense Committee, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, local party and state bodies that solved organizational, economic, technical and personnel problems.

On March 25, 1945, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution on the state plan for the restoration and development of the national economy for 1945. In the field of military production, it provided for the full provision of the Red Army's needs for military equipment, clothing and food, although in general the share of production of military items in the gross output of industry was decreasing 37 . An important role was assigned in the plan for the gradual transfer of the military economy to peaceful tracks, the accelerated restoration and development of heavy industry, ensuring the further revival of the national economy in the liberated areas, and improving the material and cultural living conditions of the workers. Although military expenditures continued to occupy a significant place, nevertheless, in comparison with 1944. they decreased by 9.3% (from 52.2% to 42.9% of all expenditures of the Soviet state) .38
Taking into account the new tasks that faced the country at the end of the war, the Communist Party took care to further increase the creative activity of home front workers, who further expanded the All-Union Socialist competition. Only at the enterprises of ferrous metallurgy, coal, automobile, automotive and military industries, more than 90% of workers participated in it. The number of Komsomol youth brigades that showed samples of shock labor during the competition has significantly increased. In the military industry alone, in January 1945, there were about 16,000 such brigades - twice as many as in 1943,39 .

At the beginning of 1945, thanks to the organizational work of the party and the heroic efforts of oil workers, there were shifts in oil production. But the miners achieved particularly noticeable results. More than half of them began to exceed the production standards. Many miners made extensive use of the experience of well-known coal mining masters P. K. Podzharov, L. T. Golokolosov, P. A. Velichko, E. E. Devyatkin, V. R. Semykin, Ya. A. Tristichev, M. S. Grishutina, N. P. Kuzmenko and others. In the first six months of 1945, miners gave the country 5.6 million more coal than in the second half of 1944. The energy, metallurgical and iron ore industries continued to develop at an accelerated pace. At the beginning of the year, the first stage of the Bogoslovskaya combined heat and power plant in the Northern Urals was given an industrial current, and the construction of the Chelyabinsk and Krasnogorsk thermal power plants was completed. At the same time, new blast furnaces in Magnitogorsk and Nizhny Tagil were put into operation, and the firstborn of ferrous metallurgy was created in Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan. At full capacity-

37 Decisions of the Party and Government on economic issues, vol. 3, Moscow, 1968, pp. 229-231.

38 World War II. Brief history, p. 489.

39 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945]. Vol. 10, pp. 410-411.

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One of the largest steel plants in the country, Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant40, has recently started operating. In the mining, iron ore, tank and other industries, hundreds of workers have mastered the advanced methods of A. I. Semivolos, D. F. Bosoy, I. P. Yankin, E. P. Agarkov, N. I. Feoktistov, B. Aimukhanov, I. I. Stadnik, I. M. Kobzar and others.

As before, the selfless struggle to meet the needs of the front and rear was waged by rural workers. Together with collective farmers and state farm workers, 22,450 youth tractor teams, numbering 278,000 tractor drivers and female tractor drivers, entered the All-Union Socialist Competition for excellent spring sowing and achieving a high harvest .41 Agriculture continued to emerge from the difficult situation that had developed by the middle of the war. The gross output of agricultural production also began to grow. To a large extent, this was due to the strengthening of its material, technical and repair base. In February 1945, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a decree "On the development of rural electrification", which provided for the creation of small collective and inter-collective power plants and the connection of collective farms to district, factory and municipal power grids. 42 In the last years of the war, the capacity of rural electrical installations reached the pre-war level of 43 . For the first time during the war years, the agricultural sector has expanded its fleet of tractors and trucks. The supply of mineral fertilizers, harrows, plows, seed drills, reapers, and threshing machines has also improved. The new equipment was sent primarily to the areas of the country affected by the enemy invasion. The state plan for spring sowing was fulfilled by the collective farms, and the state farms even exceeded 44 .

Large and complex tasks were solved from the beginning of 1945 by Soviet transport, especially railway transport, which carried out a huge amount of military and national economic transportation. Additional measures taken by the party and the Government to streamline the transport network helped to increase the attention of local party and Soviet authorities to this important industry in order to provide it with specific and urgent assistance. This gave positive results. In March, the state loading plan was fulfilled by rail by 102.5%, and in April - by 107.3% 45 . The intensity of movement of military trains has significantly increased. If in February, an average of 2,155 wagons arrived in the areas of concentration of troops per day, then in March-already 3,344 wagons .46
The strengthening and development of the Soviet rear was facilitated by the accelerated pace of economic revival in the regions of the USSR affected by the fascist invasion. By the end of the war, 7.5 thousand large industrial enterprises were put back into operation here, including 13 blast furnaces and 49 open-hearth furnaces, 29 rolling mills, 1077 coal mines, etc. In total, about a third of the industrial enterprises that had operated before the war had come into operation on the territory of the USSR liberated from the enemy , 47 which significantly strengthened the country's military and economic potential.

40 Ibid., p. 411.

41 Komsomol Members in figures and facts, Moscow, 1949, p. 58.

42 Decisions of the Party and Government on economic issues, vol. 3, pp. 224-229.

43 The Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, p. 569.

44 Istoriya Velikoy Otechestvennoy voyny Sovetskogo Soyuza 1941-1945 [History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945].

45 Kumanev G. A. Na sluzhbe fronta i tyla [In the service of the front and rear]. Railway transport of the USSR on the eve and during the Great Patriotic War of 1938-1945. Moscow, 1976, pp. 325-326.

46 History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Vol. 5, p. 398.

47 World War II. A brief history, pp. 491-492.

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Having reached its highest level in 1944, military production continued to be the main pillar of the military economy in the first months of 1945. In the workshops, design bureaus, laboratories of factories, and scientific institutions, an intense struggle continued to increase the output and improve the quality of military products. In the tank and artillery industry, the production of modern models of military equipment and weapons was continuously mastered, created by employees of military factories and design bureaus headed by N. L. Dukhov, Zh. Ya. Kotin, A. A. Morozov, L. S. Troyanov, V. G. Grabin, F. F. Petrov, P. M. Goryunov, G. S. Shpagin, V. A. Morozov. Degtyarev and others. Teams of aircraft designers S. A. Lavochkin, S. V. Ilyushin, V. Ya. Klimov, A. N. Tupolev, A. S. Yakovlev, A. I. Mikoyan, A.D. Shvetsov and others continued to work on improving the aircraft in service and creating new ones. Scientific and technical discoveries of prominent Soviet scientists were introduced into production: S. I. Vavilov, I. V. Kurchatov, N. N. Semyonov, A. A. Mikulin, A. P. Aleksandrov, A. F. Ioffe, A. I. Berg, A. N. Nesmeyanov, M. V. Keldysh, S. P. Korolev, I. P. Bardin, P. L. Kropotkin. Kapitsa, N. D. Zelinsky and others.

From the very beginning of 1945, the production of the most important military equipment was at a level that fully met the needs of the front; During the first quarter, home front workers produced 11,196 guns and mortars (excluding air guns and guns for tanks and self-propelled guns), 7,561 tanks and self-propelled guns, 8,650 combat aircraft, a huge amount of ammunition and other types of military products48 . The Soviet Armed Forces had sufficient resources to completely defeat the Nazi invaders.

The success of the Red Army at the front contributed to the deployment of the offensive of the troops of the Western allies of the USSR. By mid-April, their advanced units had reached the Elbe. And although, as was stipulated at the conference in Yalta, Berlin was not part of the zone of operations of the Anglo-American troops, the ruling circles of the United States and Great Britain began to develop a plan to seize the capital of the Fascist Reich. The main proponent of this idea was Churchill, who hatched the idea of creating an" anti-communist barrier " in Europe with the participation of Germany. On April 1, 1945, he wrote to Roosevelt: "The Russian armies will undoubtedly capture all of Austria and enter Vienna. If they take Berlin as well, won't they get the exaggerated impression that they have made an overwhelming contribution to our overall victory?.. Therefore, I believe that from a political point of view, we should move as far east as possible in Germany, and that in the event that Berlin is within our reach, we should certainly take it. " 49 Churchill also wrote to Eisenhower about this: "I attach even more importance to joining Berlin - a possibility that is quite likely... I think it is extremely important that we meet the Russians as far east as possible. " 50
According to the documents, Eisenhower was also in favor of the fact that the combined Allied forces led by him were the first to enter Berlin. As early as September 15, 1944, in a letter to Field Marshal Montgomery, he noted:: "It is clear that Berlin is the main target. In my opinion, the fact that we have to focus all our energy and strength in order to make a quick dash to Berlin will not cause any doubts."51. On April 14, 1945, in a report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff

48 History of the Second World War 1939-1945, vol. 10, map No. 17.

49 Churchill W. The Second World War. Vol. VI. Lnd. 1954, p. 407.

50 Ibid., p. 331.

51 The Memoirs of Field-Marshal the Viscont Montgomery of Alamein. Lnd. 1958, p. 331.

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The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Allied expeditionary Forces once again stressed that it would be highly desirable to strike in the direction of Berlin 52 .

However, the current strategic situation has negated all these far-reaching intentions of our Western allies. It was obvious that the Soviet Armed Forces, whose advanced formations were then only 50-60 km from Berlin, had immeasurably great opportunities to be the first to seize the German capital. Eisenhower realized the impossibility of this plan before many others, which was reflected in his order of April 2. Nevertheless, just in case, the panzer divisions of the US 9th Army were assigned the task of "advancing as quickly as possible to the east - to Berlin." 53 Later, in his memoirs, Eisenhower tried to deny the hidden intentions of the Anglo-American allies to capture Berlin, and at the same time to whitewash their actions .54
Thus, in April 1945, the Soviet Armed Forces were faced with the task of delivering the final decisive blow to the German - Fascist troops and hoisting the Banner of Victory over Berlin. "Throughout the war," recalled Marshal Zhukov, " I had to be a direct participant in many major and important offensive operations, but the upcoming Battle for Berlin was a special, incomparable operation. The troops of the front had to break through a continuous layered zone of powerful defensive lines, starting from the Oder itself and ending with a heavily fortified Berlin. It was necessary to defeat the largest group of German-Fascist troops on the outskirts of Berlin and take the capital of Nazi Germany, for which the enemy would certainly fight to the death. " 55
In the last days of the Hitler clique's existence, the brutal nature of fascism was once again exposed. In their agony, the Fascist rulers were ready to sacrifice the entire German people and their future. In the order issued by the Fascist command on March 9, 1945, on preparations for the defense of the imperial capital, it was stated: "Defend the capital to the last man and to the last patron... The troops will have to fight this fight with fanaticism and imagination... with guile, using pre-prepared ones... improvised means on the ground, in the air and underground"56 . Hastily put together battles-

52 See Erman J. Uk. op., p. 150.

53 Cit. by: Kulish V. M. Uk. soch., p. 378.

64 "The natural target beyond the Ruhr," Eisenhower wrote, " was Berlin, the symbol of remaining German power. Its capture was important both psychologically and politically. But, in my opinion, it was neither the logical nor the most desirable target for the troops of the Western Allies. When we were on the Rhine in the last week of March, Berlin was three hundred miles away. On the way to it, two hundred miles from our front, lay the River Elbe, which was a considerable natural obstacle. Russian forces were firmly entrenched on the Oder, seizing a bridgehead on the west bank of the river, just thirty miles from Berlin. The capabilities of our rear services to provide troops, including the ability to deliver up to 2 thousand tons of cargo daily to the front by means of transport aviation, made it possible to provide the advancing lead columns through Germany. But if we were to throw in a sufficient force to cross the Elbe for the sole purpose of capturing Berlin, the following complications would arise. First, the Russians would probably have surrounded Berlin long before we got there. Second, supplying a large group at such a distance from the main supply bases located west of the Rhine would lead to a practical disconnection of troops from combat operations in all other sectors of the front. I considered it more than unwise to make such a decision: it was just a stupid decision" (Eisenhower D. UK. soch., pp. 449-450).

55 Zhukov G. K. Uk. soch., p. 217.

56 " Top secret! Only for command!". Strategy of Fascist Germany in the war against the USSR. Doc. Moscow, 1967, p. 572.

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Volkssturm units that conscripted old people and teenagers.

The Nazi armies defending Berlin numbered 1 million soldiers and officers, 10,400 guns and mortars, 1,500 tanks, self-propelled guns and assault guns, and 3,300 aircraft .57 By the beginning of the Berlin operation, thanks to the efforts of home front workers, the Red Army's superiority over the enemy in this sector of the Soviet-German front was very impressive and amounted to 4 times in artillery, 4.1 times in tanks and self-propelled guns, and 2.3 times in aviation. In order to deliver a decisive blow, the Soviet command concentrated a huge amount of military equipment: 41600 guns and mortars, 5250 tanks, self-propelled guns and assault guns, 7500 aircraft and many other equipment and armament58 .

The general plan of the operation was to quickly defeat the enemy army groups "Vistula" and "Center", defending Berlin, capture the German capital and, having reached the Elbe, join the Allied forces here. To carry out this task, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian (commander-Marshal of the Soviet Union K. K. Rokossovsky), 1st Belorussian (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov) and 1st Ukrainian (commander-Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev) fronts, Long - range Aviation, the Baltic Fleet, and the Dnieper Region were involved. a military flotilla and two armies of the Polish Army. The Berlin offensive began on April 16 and lasted until May 8. In the course of heavy, bloody battles, the troops of three fronts managed to achieve major successes.

With particular ferocity, the Nazis resisted in the main direction in the area of the Seelow Heights, where the soldiers of the 1st Belorussian Front were advancing, This natural line dominated the terrain, had steep slopes and was a serious obstacle on the way to Berlin. Front Commander G. K. Zhukov decided to introduce tank armies into the battle. Together with the soldiers of Gen. V. I. Chuikov's 8th Guards Army, the 1st and 2nd Guards tank armies of Generals M. E. Katukov and S. I. Bogdanov and other formations began to move steadily forward. By the end of the day on April 17, the enemy could not withstand the onslaught, and the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front completed the breakthrough of the Seyolovsky defensive line. Continuing the offensive, Red Army units completed the encirclement of the Berlin group on April 25. It had 300,000 soldiers and officers, 3,000 guns and mortars, 250 tanks and assault cannons .59 On the same day, in the area of the city of Torgau, soldiers of the 5th Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Elbe and established contact with the units of the 1st American Army that came here. Nazi Germany was divided into two parts.

To avoid senseless casualties, the Soviet command suggested that the encircled enemy troops capitulate. But Hitler's command continued to throw its troops into bloody battles on the streets of the capital. Hitler's order was plastered on the facades of Berlin houses, stating that anyone who weakened the resistance was a traitor and should be shot immediately. Colonel-General of Artillery Weidling was appointed commander of the Berlin garrison, but virtually all actions were directed by Hitler, who was hiding in the basement of the Reich chancellery in those days.

When the Nazi high command rejected the ultimatum of surrender, the Soviets launched an assault on Berlin. Within 10 days on

57 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945].

58 Ibid.

59 Ibid., p. 339.

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in the streets of the city, among the burning and destroyed buildings, in thick smoke mixed with dust, fierce battles were fought. Drugged by Nazi propaganda, trained in a spirit of blind obedience, Hitler's troops put up a stubborn resistance. Recognizing the futility of this struggle, Wehrmacht General E. Butlar was later forced to note: "In recent days, Hitler, seeing the inevitability of his death, openly threw off the mask, showing his real face, and with the cynicism of a sadist obsessed with the spirit of destruction, sacrificed people and material values in the senseless struggle for the crumbling regime." According to him, the battles for Berlin were fierce, "costing heavy losses not only to the Germans ,but also to the Russians." 60
Soviet soldiers, together with units of the 1st Army of the Polish Army, stormed one block after another, street after street, district after district, from several directions, making their way towards each other and to the city center, to the Reichstag. On the night of May 1, the banner of the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army-the Victory Banner - was hoisted over the defeated Reichstag. This task was performed by the scouts of the 756th rifle Regiment of the 150th Rifle Division M. A. Egorov and M. V. Kantaria, led by the deputy commander of the battalion for political affairs, Lieutenant A. P. Berest, 61 with the support of the company's machine gunners I. Ya. Syanov.

Hitler committed suicide. On May 2, by 15 o'clock, the resistance of the troops defending the city completely ceased, and by the end of the day the remnants of the Berlin garrison surrendered. During May 2, up to 135 thousand enemy soldiers and officers surrendered to the Soviet troops .62
As soon as the fighting in the German capital ended, measures were taken to restore its urban economy. The Soviet government allocated 6 million pood to the starving population of Berlin. flour and grain and a large number of other products from the reserves for the troops. Meanwhile, the fighting of the Wehrmacht against the Red Army was still going on. The government created after Hitler's death, headed by Karl Doenitz, tried to maneuver by entering into negotiations with the Anglo-American command and seeking the surrender of German troops only on the Western Front. When it became clear that the governments of the United States and Britain would not openly accept a unilateral separate surrender, Doenitz decided to carry it out in parts, trying to withdraw as many troops as possible to the West. On April 29, a document was signed on the surrender of the German fascist troops in Northern Italy. On May 4, they laid down their weapons in Holland, Northwest Germany, Schleswig-Holstein, and Denmark. This was followed by the surrender of a number of other Hitlerite units and formations on the Western Front.

On May 6, Doenitz sent Gen. D Eisenhower, Commander - in-Chief of the Anglo-American Expeditionary Force in Europe, to Reims. Yodeling. However, in Reims, only a preliminary protocol was signed on the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht, although the United States and Britain were quick to officially declare victory over Germany. Thanks to the firm position of the USSR, the proposal of the Soviet Government was adopted.-

60 Cit. by: World War II. 1939-1945, Moscow, 1957, p. 269.

61 In many publications devoted to the battle for Berlin, the name of Lieutenant A. P. Berest is not mentioned in the description of the storming of the Reichstag. Meanwhile, leading a group of submachine gunmen who stormed this building, he ensured the successful hoisting of the Victory Banner on the front of the Reichstag and, probably, only as a result of some accident, was not presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, A. P. Berest worked at the Rostselmash plant. On November 3, 1970, while returning from work, he tragically died while rescuing a child from under the wheels of a train (see Polezhaev V. The Heart of Alexey Berest. - Krasnaya Zvezda, 2. IV. 1972).

62 Vorob'ev F. D., Parotkin I. V., Shimansky A. N. Uk. soch., p. 370.

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The Government decided to sign the full act of surrender on 8 May in Berlin. The signing ceremony of the act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces was held in the Berlin suburb of Karlhorst in the former dining room of the German Military Engineering School. It started exactly at midnight on May 8 and ended at 0 o'clock. 43 min. Moscow time May 9, 1945 63 . The act of unconditional surrender was signed on behalf of the German High Command by Field Marshal W. Keitel, Admiral-General of the Fleet G. Friedeburg and Colonel-General of Aviation G. Stumpf, and on behalf of the victorious allied Powers-Marshal of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov, Chief Marshal of Aviation of Great Britain A. Tedder and witnesses - representative of the United States Gen. French delegation of General J.-M. de Lattre de Tassigny.

In accordance with this document, other surviving Nazi units also began to surrender. On the night of May 9, the Kurland group of the enemy, consisting of the 16th and 18th armies, laid down their weapons. On the morning of May 9, Wehrmacht units surrendered at the mouth of the Vistula and on the Baltic Spit. However, in the south, in Czechoslovakia, a group of German fascist troops under the command of Field Marshal F. Scherner still continued to resist. It held Prague, which was in danger of total destruction. Soviet troops came to the aid of the residents of the Czechoslovak capital. On May 9, they came out in a rapid rush to the walls of Prague, where the rebellious inhabitants fought heavy battles with the overwhelming forces of the invaders. On May 11, the enemy also stopped resisting and laid down their weapons. As part of the Soviet fronts, the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, the 2nd Army of the Polish Army, the 1st and 4th Romanian Armies participated in the Prague operation. During the operation, about 860 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were captured, 9,5 thousand guns and mortars, 1,8 thousand tanks and assault guns, over 1 thousand aircraft and many other military trophies were captured .64 The liberation of Czechoslovakia allowed the people of this country to gain freedom and embark on the path of democratic development.

Thus, under the powerful blows of the Red Army, which interacted with the troops of the United States of America, England, France, the patriotic forces of Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Albania and other countries, the bloody Hitler empire collapsed. At the insistence of the USSR, the Doenitz government was liquidated, and its members and Hitler's general staff were arrested. Later, together with other Nazi leaders, they were held accountable for their crimes before the International Court of Justice. On June 5, the victorious allied Powers signed a Declaration declaring Germany's defeat and assuming supreme power. The Governments of the U.S.S.R., the United States, Britain, and France have declared that they will implement any measures, "including the complete disarmament and demilitarization of Germany, that they deem necessary for future peace and security."65 The entire territory of Germany, in accordance with a special agreement, was divided into four occupation zones. So the capitulation of the Hitler Reich was legally formalized.

On May 24, the Soviet government hosted a reception in the Kremlin in honor of the commanders of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and exactly a month later, a historic Victory Day Parade was held on Red Square in Moscow. It was attended by combined regiments of fronts, fleets, as well as parts of the Moscow garrison and representatives of the Polish army. Marshal of the Soviet Union K. K. Rokossovsky commanded the parade.

63 Zhukov G. K. UK. soch., pp. 265-266; Merzhanov M. Uk. soch., pp. 218-224.

64 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945].

65 Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War, vol. III, p. 280.

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Parade Marshal of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov. Ten fronts sent their best soldiers to the Victory Parade. At the head of the combined regiments were front-line commanders, famous Soviet commanders and military leaders. At the end of the parade, 200 Soviet soldiers threw 200 banners of the defeated Nazi Wehrmacht at the foot of Lenin's Mausoleum. This symbolic act signified the invincibility of the world's first socialist state, the great feat of the people and their proven vanguard, the Leninist Party.

As noted in the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU "On the 40th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", " having inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy, 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. " 66
At a high price, the Soviet people won the long-awaited victory. At the final stage of the war in Europe in 1945, the Red Army was still confronted by large enemy forces. Moreover, from January 1 to the beginning of May, the Wehrmacht command transferred 42 infantry, 6 tank, 4 motorized and cavalry divisions, as well as 5 brigades for various purposes from the west to the Eastern Front .67 The most efficient divisions were relocated here, and the battles on the Soviet-German front were extremely fierce. They demanded from the Soviet Union a new strain of forces, new victims and losses. More than 1 million of our soldiers gave their lives in the battles in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe , 68 about 600 thousand of them died bravely on Polish soil, more than 280 thousand - during the liberation of Hungary and Czechoslovakia .69
But these sacrifices were not in vain. Imperialism has failed to destroy socialism and carry out other delusional plans. He was unable to maintain his former pre-war positions. The crushing defeat by the Red Army of the main forces of the fascist Wehrmacht created a favorable environment for the successful struggle of the working masses of the countries of Central and South - Eastern Europe for their national and social liberation. Thanks to the Soviet Union, the export of counter-revolution to these countries was prevented. The collapse of Hitler's Reich also predetermined the rapid defeat of militaristic Japan.

In modern conditions, when as a result of the policy of imperialism, primarily American, there has been a sharp aggravation of the international situation and there is a direct threat to the destruction of life on our planet, the prevention of an arms race in outer space and its cessation on Earth is of paramount importance for the fate of mankind. The memory of the war, in which nearly 50 million people fell, is both a stern warning and a lesson for the future. Current lovers of military adventures, new contenders for world domination should always remember that history severely punishes those who do not take into account its experience, neglect its lessons.

66 Pravda, 17. VI. 1984.

67 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945].

68 Ibid., p. 502.

69 Semiryaga M. I. Liberation mission of the Soviet Army during the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1984, pp. 42, 43, 45.

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