🌟 On August 14, 1942, outstanding Soviet snipers Natalia Kovshova and Maria Polivanova died heroically during a ferocious battle against the Nazis near Sutoki, a village in the Novgorod Region.
The two formed their legendary tandem immediately after the Great Patriotic War broke out.
🔻 Working in the aircraft manufacturing sector, both dreamed of entering a university. They volunteered for the front, even though they had an exemption and could have left Moscow as evacuees.
🔻 Natalia and Maria took part in building defense lines in Moscow’s suburbs. In the meantime, they worked on creating a sniper unit. The two killed dozens of Nazi troops. By the spring of 1942, they had gained much battle experience, and were also training new recruits.
🔻 Forced out of their strongholds north of the Robya River on August 14, the Nazi invaders sought to recover lost ground by launching one fierce counterattack after another. The 528th Rifle Regiment sniper unit was sent to counter the adversary, and Natalia Kovshova and Maria Polivanova were part of it. They were successfully repelling the enemy attack but the Nazis manages to bring in reinforcement.
🔻 The Germans killed almost the entire unit, including its commander, during one of their attacks. This is when Natalia stepped forward to take command of the unit, and decided to wage the battle until the bitter end.
⚔️ Then came the moment when only Kovshova and Polivanova were able to resist the enemy. The two women fired back at the Germans until they ran out of bullets. They decided to let the enemy approach them and then used grenades to blow themselves up along with the Nazi soldiers.
🕯 Natalia and Maria were just 21 and 19 years old, respectively.
🌟 On February 14, 1943, the two posthumously received Hero of the Soviet Union titles.
#Victory79 #WWII #RussianHistory #SovietHistory
The two formed their legendary tandem immediately after the Great Patriotic War broke out.
🔻 Working in the aircraft manufacturing sector, both dreamed of entering a university. They volunteered for the front, even though they had an exemption and could have left Moscow as evacuees.
🔻 Natalia and Maria took part in building defense lines in Moscow’s suburbs. In the meantime, they worked on creating a sniper unit. The two killed dozens of Nazi troops. By the spring of 1942, they had gained much battle experience, and were also training new recruits.
🔻 Forced out of their strongholds north of the Robya River on August 14, the Nazi invaders sought to recover lost ground by launching one fierce counterattack after another. The 528th Rifle Regiment sniper unit was sent to counter the adversary, and Natalia Kovshova and Maria Polivanova were part of it. They were successfully repelling the enemy attack but the Nazis manages to bring in reinforcement.
🔻 The Germans killed almost the entire unit, including its commander, during one of their attacks. This is when Natalia stepped forward to take command of the unit, and decided to wage the battle until the bitter end.
⚔️ Then came the moment when only Kovshova and Polivanova were able to resist the enemy. The two women fired back at the Germans until they ran out of bullets. They decided to let the enemy approach them and then used grenades to blow themselves up along with the Nazi soldiers.
🕯 Natalia and Maria were just 21 and 19 years old, respectively.
🌟 On February 14, 1943, the two posthumously received Hero of the Soviet Union titles.
#Victory79 #WWII #RussianHistory #SovietHistory
📆 79 years since the liberation of Korea by Soviet troops from Japanese colonial occupation
Korea remained under Japan’s colonial rule for 35 years after its annexation in 1910, with the Japanese colonial administration conducting a policy of forced assimilation and seeking to root out the Korean language and culture.
In November 1943, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China agreed in Cairo to deprive Japan of all its conquered territories. In July 1945, at the Potsdam Conference, the USSR, the United States, and Great Britain demanded that Japan surrender unconditionally and called for restoring Korea as a sovereign state.
⚔️ On August 9, 1945, the Soviet Union joined the war against Japan by launching a military campaign against the Kwantung Army in Manchuria and Korea in keeping with its commitments to the Allies. The 25th Army of the Red Army’s 1st Far Eastern Front, supported by Korea’s national liberation movement, fought against nine formidable Japanese divisions on the Korean Peninsula.
⚔️ On August 14, the main phase in the USSR’s Manchurian operation came to an end. It was on this day that Emperor Hirohito of Japan recorded a radio message announcing Japan’s unconditional surrender. Broadcast in Korea on August 15, this message caused jubilation all around the peninsula.
🇰🇷🇰🇵 Today, this day is a state holiday in both the DPRK and the Republic of Korea.
☝️ To streamline the capitulation of the Japanese army, the Soviet Union and the United States divided the peninsula into two spheres of influence along the 38th parallel, with the USSR in charge of the territories to the north of it, and the US to the south. The American troops completed their deployment in their southern section after the hostilities were over and the signing by Japan of its capitulation act.
🕯 Twelve thousand Soviet soldiers and officers fell while waging a courageous struggle for the freedom and independence of the Korean people.
#WWII #WW2 #Victory79
Korea remained under Japan’s colonial rule for 35 years after its annexation in 1910, with the Japanese colonial administration conducting a policy of forced assimilation and seeking to root out the Korean language and culture.
In November 1943, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China agreed in Cairo to deprive Japan of all its conquered territories. In July 1945, at the Potsdam Conference, the USSR, the United States, and Great Britain demanded that Japan surrender unconditionally and called for restoring Korea as a sovereign state.
⚔️ On August 9, 1945, the Soviet Union joined the war against Japan by launching a military campaign against the Kwantung Army in Manchuria and Korea in keeping with its commitments to the Allies. The 25th Army of the Red Army’s 1st Far Eastern Front, supported by Korea’s national liberation movement, fought against nine formidable Japanese divisions on the Korean Peninsula.
⚔️ On August 14, the main phase in the USSR’s Manchurian operation came to an end. It was on this day that Emperor Hirohito of Japan recorded a radio message announcing Japan’s unconditional surrender. Broadcast in Korea on August 15, this message caused jubilation all around the peninsula.
🇰🇷🇰🇵 Today, this day is a state holiday in both the DPRK and the Republic of Korea.
☝️ To streamline the capitulation of the Japanese army, the Soviet Union and the United States divided the peninsula into two spheres of influence along the 38th parallel, with the USSR in charge of the territories to the north of it, and the US to the south. The American troops completed their deployment in their southern section after the hostilities were over and the signing by Japan of its capitulation act.
🕯 Twelve thousand Soviet soldiers and officers fell while waging a courageous struggle for the freedom and independence of the Korean people.
#WWII #WW2 #Victory79
📆 #OTD, the non-aggression treaty between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, often referred to as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, was signed in Moscow in 1939.
Soviet leadership, after Hitler came to power, made every effort to stop the aggressor and set up a system of collective security in Europe.
👉 These endeavors were blocked by the leading Western powers, Great Britain and France, which eventually found themselves trapped in their own schemes. The Munich Agreement signed by the heads of government of Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy in September 1938 became the most glaring example of the “policy of appeasement” of Hitler by Western countries. By signing it, the European leaders “greenlighted” the annexation of parts of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, in an obvious attempt – on a larger scale – to channel German aggression to the East.
☝️ In fact, the Soviet Union became the last to conclude a treaty with Germany after Poland (1934), Great Britain (1935, 1938), France (1938), Italy (1939), Denmark (1939), Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (1939).
🔻 The conclusion of the Pact was a severe necessity for the Soviet Union after the final failure of negotiations with the British and the French, a lifesaver within the aggravating international situation.
🔻The decision was taken in an extremely short period of time, when the futility of Moscow’s calls for an effective anti-Hitler coalition was fully revealed. The USSR also could not risk a war on two fronts, given that clashes with Japan were already ongoing in the Far East and there was no guarantee that they would escalate into a large-scale confrontation.
❗️ Therefore, the Soviet decision was primarily dictated by a need to ensure national security and any parallels between the USSR and Germany in starting WWII are simply cooked up.
#WWII #SovietHistory #RussianHistory #MolotovRibbentropPact
Soviet leadership, after Hitler came to power, made every effort to stop the aggressor and set up a system of collective security in Europe.
👉 These endeavors were blocked by the leading Western powers, Great Britain and France, which eventually found themselves trapped in their own schemes. The Munich Agreement signed by the heads of government of Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy in September 1938 became the most glaring example of the “policy of appeasement” of Hitler by Western countries. By signing it, the European leaders “greenlighted” the annexation of parts of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, in an obvious attempt – on a larger scale – to channel German aggression to the East.
☝️ In fact, the Soviet Union became the last to conclude a treaty with Germany after Poland (1934), Great Britain (1935, 1938), France (1938), Italy (1939), Denmark (1939), Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (1939).
🔻 The conclusion of the Pact was a severe necessity for the Soviet Union after the final failure of negotiations with the British and the French, a lifesaver within the aggravating international situation.
🔻The decision was taken in an extremely short period of time, when the futility of Moscow’s calls for an effective anti-Hitler coalition was fully revealed. The USSR also could not risk a war on two fronts, given that clashes with Japan were already ongoing in the Far East and there was no guarantee that they would escalate into a large-scale confrontation.
❗️ Therefore, the Soviet decision was primarily dictated by a need to ensure national security and any parallels between the USSR and Germany in starting WWII are simply cooked up.
#WWII #SovietHistory #RussianHistory #MolotovRibbentropPact
🌟 #OTD 80 years ago, the capital of Soviet Moldavia Kishinev was liberated from Nazi occupation by the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
⚔️ On the night of 23 August 1944, Soviet troops completed the encirclement of the enemy’s grouping of 18 divisions near Kishinev. On the next day, 24 August 1944, the troops of the 5th Shock Army led by General N.Berzarin broke into the city and purged it.
🔻 Сommander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, General F.Tolbukhin, issued an ultimatum to the 3rd Romanian Army and the 9th German infantry division calling on the enemy to surrender. On the 24th and the 25th August 1944, Romanian and German soldiers ceased their resistance.
🕯 During the 3 years of Kishinev’s occupation, some 20.000 residents were murdered. In the Kishinev ghetto 9.000 – 13.000 prisoners were kept. When the Red Army entered Kishinev, only 6 survivors were found in ghetto.
#WWII #Victory79 #WeRemember
⚔️ On the night of 23 August 1944, Soviet troops completed the encirclement of the enemy’s grouping of 18 divisions near Kishinev. On the next day, 24 August 1944, the troops of the 5th Shock Army led by General N.Berzarin broke into the city and purged it.
🔻 Сommander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, General F.Tolbukhin, issued an ultimatum to the 3rd Romanian Army and the 9th German infantry division calling on the enemy to surrender. On the 24th and the 25th August 1944, Romanian and German soldiers ceased their resistance.
🕯 During the 3 years of Kishinev’s occupation, some 20.000 residents were murdered. In the Kishinev ghetto 9.000 – 13.000 prisoners were kept. When the Red Army entered Kishinev, only 6 survivors were found in ghetto.
#WWII #Victory79 #WeRemember
📆 81 years ago the Battle of the Dnieper began – one of the major campaigns of #WW2, consisting of several operations.
It involved over 4 million men from both sides with the frontline stretched for 750 km.
⚔️ As a result of the 4-months battle, almost entire left-bank Ukraine was recovered from Nazi invaders.
Considerable Red Army forces crossed the Dnieper – one of the largest European rivers – in a short time period to create several strategic lodgements on the western bank.
🌟 In November 1943, Soviet troops liberated the capital of Ukraine Kiev which was of great political and spiritual significance. Regaining of important industrial regions of Ukraine let USSR increase military production.
☝️ The Battle of the Dnieper laid bare the fact that complete liberation of Ukraine and Red Army’s access to the borders with Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia was just a matter of time.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
It involved over 4 million men from both sides with the frontline stretched for 750 km.
⚔️ As a result of the 4-months battle, almost entire left-bank Ukraine was recovered from Nazi invaders.
Considerable Red Army forces crossed the Dnieper – one of the largest European rivers – in a short time period to create several strategic lodgements on the western bank.
🌟 In November 1943, Soviet troops liberated the capital of Ukraine Kiev which was of great political and spiritual significance. Regaining of important industrial regions of Ukraine let USSR increase military production.
☝️ The Battle of the Dnieper laid bare the fact that complete liberation of Ukraine and Red Army’s access to the borders with Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia was just a matter of time.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
🌟 Today marks 79 years since the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed, marking the end of World War II
⚔️ 🇯🇵 In view of the total defeat of the Kwantung army during the Manchurian strategic offensive, Emperor Hirohito announced on the radio rescript of surrender on 15 August 1945 following which the Japanese soldiers started to surrender to the Red Army.
The ceremony of signing of the agreement was held aboard the US battleship “Missouri” with participation of representatives of the Allied nations. For the Soviet Union the document was signed by Lieutenant General K.Derevyanko.
#Victory79 #WWII
⚔️ 🇯🇵 In view of the total defeat of the Kwantung army during the Manchurian strategic offensive, Emperor Hirohito announced on the radio rescript of surrender on 15 August 1945 following which the Japanese soldiers started to surrender to the Red Army.
The ceremony of signing of the agreement was held aboard the US battleship “Missouri” with participation of representatives of the Allied nations. For the Soviet Union the document was signed by Lieutenant General K.Derevyanko.
#Victory79 #WWII
📆 80 years ago (1944) the Baltic Offensive of the Red Army during #WWII was commenced which lasted for 71 days
This region was vital to the Nazi war machine, linking it with Scandinavia via which Germany received important strategic support materials. The Baltic States supplied Germany with food, and Estonia also delivered oil products.
⚔️ The fight for the Baltic region was protracted and extremely fierce. Up to a quarter of all Nazi forces on the Soviet-German front took part in it.
As a result of the Red Army’s Baltic offensive, the Nazi Army Group North was pushed out of almost the entire region and lost its ground-based communications with East Prussia. Of 59 Nazi divisions, 26 were routed and three were completely destroyed.
☝️ With the loss of the Baltic region, Germany was deprived of an advantageous strategic area that gave its fleet freedom of action in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. It also lost an important industrial, raw materials and food base.
🌟 The Red Army created conditions for developing its onslaught during the 1945 East-Prussian offensive.
#Victory79 #WW2 #WeRemember
This region was vital to the Nazi war machine, linking it with Scandinavia via which Germany received important strategic support materials. The Baltic States supplied Germany with food, and Estonia also delivered oil products.
⚔️ The fight for the Baltic region was protracted and extremely fierce. Up to a quarter of all Nazi forces on the Soviet-German front took part in it.
As a result of the Red Army’s Baltic offensive, the Nazi Army Group North was pushed out of almost the entire region and lost its ground-based communications with East Prussia. Of 59 Nazi divisions, 26 were routed and three were completely destroyed.
☝️ With the loss of the Baltic region, Germany was deprived of an advantageous strategic area that gave its fleet freedom of action in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. It also lost an important industrial, raw materials and food base.
🌟 The Red Army created conditions for developing its onslaught during the 1945 East-Prussian offensive.
#Victory79 #WW2 #WeRemember
🌟 85 years ago, on 17 September 1939, the Red Army entered Poland which was under attack by Nazi Germany
Despite the Polish army’s resistance, German troops reached Warsaw already in a week after the attack (1st of September), while military and political leaders of Poland had fled to Romania. Western allies of Poland – Great Britain and France – failed to fulfill their treaty obligations and remained idle.
☝️ It was only when it became absolutely clear that Great Britain and France were not going to help their ally and the Wehrmacht could swiftly occupy entire Poland and thus appear on the approaches to Minsk that the Soviet Union decided to send in, on the morning of September 17, Red Army units into the so-called Eastern Borderlines (Kresy), which nowadays form part of the territories of Belorussia, Ukraine and Lithuania.
❗️Obviously, there was no alternative.
Otherwise, USSR would have to enter the inevitable war with the Nazis from very disadvantageous strategic positions, while millions of people of different nationalities, including the Jews living near Brest and Grodno, Przemyśl, Lvov and Wilno, would be left to die at the hands of the Nazis and their local accomplices – anti-Semites and radical nationalists.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
Despite the Polish army’s resistance, German troops reached Warsaw already in a week after the attack (1st of September), while military and political leaders of Poland had fled to Romania. Western allies of Poland – Great Britain and France – failed to fulfill their treaty obligations and remained idle.
☝️ It was only when it became absolutely clear that Great Britain and France were not going to help their ally and the Wehrmacht could swiftly occupy entire Poland and thus appear on the approaches to Minsk that the Soviet Union decided to send in, on the morning of September 17, Red Army units into the so-called Eastern Borderlines (Kresy), which nowadays form part of the territories of Belorussia, Ukraine and Lithuania.
❗️Obviously, there was no alternative.
Otherwise, USSR would have to enter the inevitable war with the Nazis from very disadvantageous strategic positions, while millions of people of different nationalities, including the Jews living near Brest and Grodno, Przemyśl, Lvov and Wilno, would be left to die at the hands of the Nazis and their local accomplices – anti-Semites and radical nationalists.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
📆 81 years ago, on 23 September 1943, the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania began marking the final phase of Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Baltic region.
▪️ During 23-24 September, over 10.000 Jews were sorted and put on the train by German soldiers with the help of Lithuanian auxiliaries.
▪️ The majority of the Jews were sent to the Vaivara concentration camp in Estonia, killed in the forest of Paneriai, or sent to the death camps in German-occupied Poland.
☝️ Throughout the period of German occupation, local collaborators participated actively in punitive actions against Jewish population. Nevertheless, present-day Lithuanian policy is aimed at rehabilitation of WW2 criminals and minimizing their role in the genocide of the Jewish nation.
❗️ Lithuanian authorities resist to recognize the scope to which Lithuanians collaborated with the Nazis, whereas Nazi collaborators and war criminals are further glorified for their anti-Soviet resistance.
#StopNazism #Victory79 #WWII #WW2 #WeRemember
▪️ During 23-24 September, over 10.000 Jews were sorted and put on the train by German soldiers with the help of Lithuanian auxiliaries.
▪️ The majority of the Jews were sent to the Vaivara concentration camp in Estonia, killed in the forest of Paneriai, or sent to the death camps in German-occupied Poland.
☝️ Throughout the period of German occupation, local collaborators participated actively in punitive actions against Jewish population. Nevertheless, present-day Lithuanian policy is aimed at rehabilitation of WW2 criminals and minimizing their role in the genocide of the Jewish nation.
❗️ Lithuanian authorities resist to recognize the scope to which Lithuanians collaborated with the Nazis, whereas Nazi collaborators and war criminals are further glorified for their anti-Soviet resistance.
#StopNazism #Victory79 #WWII #WW2 #WeRemember
🌟 81 years ago, #OTD in 1943, Smolensk was liberated from Nazis as part of the Smolensk Strategic Offensive codenamed “Suvorov”
The operation was carried out by the troops of the Soviet Western Front supported by partisan units.
⚔️ The enemy put up strong resistance trying to hold an important transport junction and besides the town where Army Group “Centre” headquarters were located from the Autumn of 1941. But the Red Army’s pincer attack from the south and front strikes from the northeast decided the town’s fate. On 25 September 1943 a red banner was hoisted over the hotel “Smolensk”.
▪️ Smolensk was under Nazi occupation over two years - from 16 July 1941 till 25 September 1943.
🕯 During that period 135.000 of 157.000 Smolensk residents were exterminated by Nazi punitive forces. 870 of 900 industrial enterprises in Smolensk region were destroyed.
⚔️ With the liberation of Smolensk, a bridgehead was created for further offensive in Belorussia within “Bagration” operation of 1944.
☝️ The whole world witnessed courage and commitment of Soviet soldiers whereas the Western allies realized, the Red Army would reach the Atlantic ocean unless they open the Second Front in Europe.
#WWII #WW2 #WeRemember #Victory79
The operation was carried out by the troops of the Soviet Western Front supported by partisan units.
⚔️ The enemy put up strong resistance trying to hold an important transport junction and besides the town where Army Group “Centre” headquarters were located from the Autumn of 1941. But the Red Army’s pincer attack from the south and front strikes from the northeast decided the town’s fate. On 25 September 1943 a red banner was hoisted over the hotel “Smolensk”.
▪️ Smolensk was under Nazi occupation over two years - from 16 July 1941 till 25 September 1943.
🕯 During that period 135.000 of 157.000 Smolensk residents were exterminated by Nazi punitive forces. 870 of 900 industrial enterprises in Smolensk region were destroyed.
⚔️ With the liberation of Smolensk, a bridgehead was created for further offensive in Belorussia within “Bagration” operation of 1944.
☝️ The whole world witnessed courage and commitment of Soviet soldiers whereas the Western allies realized, the Red Army would reach the Atlantic ocean unless they open the Second Front in Europe.
#WWII #WW2 #WeRemember #Victory79
📆 #OTD 80 years ago the East Carpathian Offensive of the Red Army and the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps against German-Hungarian forces during #WW2 finished
▫️ In summer of 1944, Soviet troops reached the foothills of the Carpathians and encountered enemy’s defence-in-depth.
The Red Army units were exhausted during the battles of the western Ukraine. Soviet command thoroughly prepared further operations, given the mountainous terrain and Nazi fortification system.
⚔️ In the meantime, Slovak national uprising against the country’s fascist government began in late August 1944. The leadership of the uprising appealed to the Soviet Union for help.
☝️ In order to support the people of Slovakia, the Stavka decided to attack immediately directly across the Carpathians.
⚠️ As a result of the operation, Soviet troops concluded the liberation of Ukraine and gained control over the Dukla Pass in eastern Slovakia creating bridgehead for the liberation of Czechoslovakia in May 1945.
However, the Red Army couldn’t break through to the Slovak rebel forces and the uprising was suppressed by Nazis.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
▫️ In summer of 1944, Soviet troops reached the foothills of the Carpathians and encountered enemy’s defence-in-depth.
The Red Army units were exhausted during the battles of the western Ukraine. Soviet command thoroughly prepared further operations, given the mountainous terrain and Nazi fortification system.
⚔️ In the meantime, Slovak national uprising against the country’s fascist government began in late August 1944. The leadership of the uprising appealed to the Soviet Union for help.
☝️ In order to support the people of Slovakia, the Stavka decided to attack immediately directly across the Carpathians.
⚠️ As a result of the operation, Soviet troops concluded the liberation of Ukraine and gained control over the Dukla Pass in eastern Slovakia creating bridgehead for the liberation of Czechoslovakia in May 1945.
However, the Red Army couldn’t break through to the Slovak rebel forces and the uprising was suppressed by Nazis.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
📆 80 years ago, on 29 October 1944, the Budapest Offensive was launched by the Red Army during #WW2, aimed at defeating Nazi forces in Hungary and forcing the country out of the war.
Hitler was determined to hold the Hungarian capital at any cost. He attached great importance to Nagykanizsa oil-producing area claiming he would rather surrender Berlin than lose Hungarian oil and Austria.
⚔️ Already by 2 November 1944, having crossed the Danube, Soviet troops approached Budapest. The Red Army successfully repelled a series of Nazi counterattacks at Balaton lake and encircled the city on 26 December 1944.
☝️ Soviet ultimatum to surrender in order to prevent bloodshed was ignored, with Soviet negotiators killed, which left the Red Army no other choice but assault.
⚔️ The takeover of Budapest entailed heavy fighting. The Red Army used a minimum of tanks engaging assault units supported by artillery instead. By 13 February 1944, persistent battles culminated with the capture of the city garrison led by General Karl-Pfeffer Wildenbruch.
🌟 During the Budapest Offensive the Red Army defeated 56 enemy’s divisions with 188.000 soldiers and officers taken prisoners-of-war.
Some 70.000 Jewish prisoners were freed from the Budapest Ghetto. The whole southern flank of the Soviet-German front collapsed forcing Nazis to redeploy additional troops to the south.
The Red Army’s way to Prague and Vienna was opened.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
Hitler was determined to hold the Hungarian capital at any cost. He attached great importance to Nagykanizsa oil-producing area claiming he would rather surrender Berlin than lose Hungarian oil and Austria.
⚔️ Already by 2 November 1944, having crossed the Danube, Soviet troops approached Budapest. The Red Army successfully repelled a series of Nazi counterattacks at Balaton lake and encircled the city on 26 December 1944.
☝️ Soviet ultimatum to surrender in order to prevent bloodshed was ignored, with Soviet negotiators killed, which left the Red Army no other choice but assault.
⚔️ The takeover of Budapest entailed heavy fighting. The Red Army used a minimum of tanks engaging assault units supported by artillery instead. By 13 February 1944, persistent battles culminated with the capture of the city garrison led by General Karl-Pfeffer Wildenbruch.
🌟 During the Budapest Offensive the Red Army defeated 56 enemy’s divisions with 188.000 soldiers and officers taken prisoners-of-war.
Some 70.000 Jewish prisoners were freed from the Budapest Ghetto. The whole southern flank of the Soviet-German front collapsed forcing Nazis to redeploy additional troops to the south.
The Red Army’s way to Prague and Vienna was opened.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
📆 #OTD in 1941, the Battle of Moscow commenced – one of the biggest battles in the history of the Great Patriotic War.
Ordinary Muscovites and students of military schools stood up to defend the city alongside Red Army soldiers. No other capital resisted Hitler's advance so fiercely.
⚔️ Nazi Germany and its allies planned to defeat the USSR in accordance with the Barbarossa Plan, which aimed to inflict a crushing defeat on the Red Army within a few months using blitzkrieg tactics. According to Barbarossa Plan, Moscow was to be captured by the 40th day after the invasion, with three to four months allotted for the complete elimination of resistance in the occupied Soviet territories.
▪️ By the end of September 1941, the Nazi forces occupied the Baltics, Belarus, Moldavia and a substantial part of Soviet Ukraine, besieged Leningrad and approached Moscow.
☝️ Given the strategic and political importance of the Soviet capital, Hitler committed significant forces to assault: 1.8 million troops, 1,700 tanks, and around 1,000 aircraft.
▪️ Under those circumstances, the State Defence Committee declared a state of siege in Moscow and adjacent areas that had not been captured by the enemy. Intense preparations for street fighting began, and the most important government and industrial facilities were mined.
❌ Hitler’s plan envisaged the capture of Moscow within the first three to four months and the complete destruction of its population. The selfless resistance of the Red Army units, militia and cadets prevented these plans from coming to life. The Soviet forces held back around twenty German divisions in fierce battles that raged for two weeks, which made it possible to reinforce the defence line and move the reserves to Moscow.
In early December, when the Wehrmacht forces were largely depleted, the Red Army was able to launch a counteroffensive, rout the assault units of the Army Group Centre and remove the threat hanging over the capital.
❗️ The success of the Soviet forces in the Battle of Moscow shattered the myth of the Third Reich’s invincibility, foiled Nazi blitzkrieg plans, and deterred the Japanese government, which was already preparing troops to invade the Soviet Union, from joining the war on Germany’s side. This marked Hitler’s first major defeat in World War II.
#BattleOfMoscow #WeRemember #Victory79 #WWII #WW2
Ordinary Muscovites and students of military schools stood up to defend the city alongside Red Army soldiers. No other capital resisted Hitler's advance so fiercely.
⚔️ Nazi Germany and its allies planned to defeat the USSR in accordance with the Barbarossa Plan, which aimed to inflict a crushing defeat on the Red Army within a few months using blitzkrieg tactics. According to Barbarossa Plan, Moscow was to be captured by the 40th day after the invasion, with three to four months allotted for the complete elimination of resistance in the occupied Soviet territories.
▪️ By the end of September 1941, the Nazi forces occupied the Baltics, Belarus, Moldavia and a substantial part of Soviet Ukraine, besieged Leningrad and approached Moscow.
☝️ Given the strategic and political importance of the Soviet capital, Hitler committed significant forces to assault: 1.8 million troops, 1,700 tanks, and around 1,000 aircraft.
▪️ Under those circumstances, the State Defence Committee declared a state of siege in Moscow and adjacent areas that had not been captured by the enemy. Intense preparations for street fighting began, and the most important government and industrial facilities were mined.
❌ Hitler’s plan envisaged the capture of Moscow within the first three to four months and the complete destruction of its population. The selfless resistance of the Red Army units, militia and cadets prevented these plans from coming to life. The Soviet forces held back around twenty German divisions in fierce battles that raged for two weeks, which made it possible to reinforce the defence line and move the reserves to Moscow.
In early December, when the Wehrmacht forces were largely depleted, the Red Army was able to launch a counteroffensive, rout the assault units of the Army Group Centre and remove the threat hanging over the capital.
❗️ The success of the Soviet forces in the Battle of Moscow shattered the myth of the Third Reich’s invincibility, foiled Nazi blitzkrieg plans, and deterred the Japanese government, which was already preparing troops to invade the Soviet Union, from joining the war on Germany’s side. This marked Hitler’s first major defeat in World War II.
#BattleOfMoscow #WeRemember #Victory79 #WWII #WW2
#OTD in 1942, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was formed, a nationalist & collaborationist organization controlled by Nazi Germany.
⬛🟥 The UPA is remembered alongside Gestapo for mass murders of Polish, Jewish and Ukrainian population. Dozens of thousands people, predominantly civilians, perished at the hands of UPA militants as evidenced by numerous remaining documents.
❗The UPA is responsible for the Volyn Massacre of 1943-1945 – mass murders of the population of Polish ethnicity in Western Ukraine during which some 50,000 – 60,000 Poles were shot, burnt and beheaded.
In the present-day Ukraine, the date of foundation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army is established as a state holiday – Defender of Ukraine Day, while the UPA leaders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich are praised as national heroes. This is all you need to know about the current political regime in Ukraine.
#WW2 #WWII #InconvenientTruth #WeRemember
⬛🟥 The UPA is remembered alongside Gestapo for mass murders of Polish, Jewish and Ukrainian population. Dozens of thousands people, predominantly civilians, perished at the hands of UPA militants as evidenced by numerous remaining documents.
❗The UPA is responsible for the Volyn Massacre of 1943-1945 – mass murders of the population of Polish ethnicity in Western Ukraine during which some 50,000 – 60,000 Poles were shot, burnt and beheaded.
In the present-day Ukraine, the date of foundation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army is established as a state holiday – Defender of Ukraine Day, while the UPA leaders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich are praised as national heroes. This is all you need to know about the current political regime in Ukraine.
#WW2 #WWII #InconvenientTruth #WeRemember
📆 #OTD 80 years ago the Red Army troops and the National Liberation Army of #Yugoslavia liberated Belgrade from Nazis during the #Belgrade Strategic Offensive.
In September 1944, USSR and Yugoslavia agreed on the entry of Soviet troops in Belgrade and joint actions against Hitlerites.
⚔️ As part of the operation, in October 1944 allied forces breached enemy’s defence in Serbian Carpathians, encircled and defeated the main forces of the German Army Group “Serbia”.
🌟 On 20 October 1944, liberation of north-eastern & eastern parts of Yugoslavia as well as the capital itself was completed.
❗️ Enemy's losses amounted up to 45000 dead & captured prisoners-of-war. The success of the offensive made it possible for the Liberation Army to purge the rest Yugoslavia from the Nazis on its own.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
In September 1944, USSR and Yugoslavia agreed on the entry of Soviet troops in Belgrade and joint actions against Hitlerites.
⚔️ As part of the operation, in October 1944 allied forces breached enemy’s defence in Serbian Carpathians, encircled and defeated the main forces of the German Army Group “Serbia”.
🌟 On 20 October 1944, liberation of north-eastern & eastern parts of Yugoslavia as well as the capital itself was completed.
❗️ Enemy's losses amounted up to 45000 dead & captured prisoners-of-war. The success of the offensive made it possible for the Liberation Army to purge the rest Yugoslavia from the Nazis on its own.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
📆 81 years ago, during World War II, Nazis liquidated the Minsk Ghetto, one of the largest in German-occupied Belorussia housing some 100,000 Jews
The ghetto was created soon after the capture of Minsk in June 1941.
▪️Essentially, three camps were created in Minsk: the “big” ghetto encompassing 39 streets and lanes, the “small” one in the area of the Molotov Plant and the so-called “Sonderghetto” where Jews from other European countries were placed.
▪️The Minsk Ghetto was notable for its large scale resistance organization, which cooperated closely with Soviet partisans.
▪️On 21 October 1943, all the residents of the Minsk Ghetto were executed. There were only 13 survivors who hid in a house cellar and were freed after the liberation of Minsk by the Red Army in July 1944.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #NeverForget
The ghetto was created soon after the capture of Minsk in June 1941.
▪️Essentially, three camps were created in Minsk: the “big” ghetto encompassing 39 streets and lanes, the “small” one in the area of the Molotov Plant and the so-called “Sonderghetto” where Jews from other European countries were placed.
▪️The Minsk Ghetto was notable for its large scale resistance organization, which cooperated closely with Soviet partisans.
▪️On 21 October 1943, all the residents of the Minsk Ghetto were executed. There were only 13 survivors who hid in a house cellar and were freed after the liberation of Minsk by the Red Army in July 1944.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #NeverForget
📆 80 years ago, on 29 October 1944, the Budapest Offensive was launched by the Red Army during #WW2, aimed at defeating #Nazi forces in Hungary and forcing the country out of the war.
Hitler was determined to hold the Hungarian capital at any cost. He attached great importance to Nagykanizsa oil-producing area claiming he would rather surrender Berlin than lose Hungarian oil and Austria.
⚔️ Already by 2 November 1944, having crossed the Danube, Soviet troops approached Budapest. The Red Army successfully repelled a series of Nazi counterattacks at Balaton lake and encircled the city on 26 December 1944.
Soviet ultimatum to surrender in order to prevent bloodshed was ignored, with Soviet negotiators killed, which left the Red Army no other choice but assault.
⚔️ The takeover of Budapest entailed heavy fighting. The Red Army used a minimum of tanks engaging assault units supported by artillery instead. By 13 February 1944, persistent battles culminated with the capture of the city garrison led by General Karl-Pfeffer Wildenbruch.
❗️During the Budapest Offensive the Red Army defeated 56 enemy’s divisions with 188.000 soldiers and officers taken prisoners-of-war.
Some 70.000 Jewish prisoners were freed from the Budapest Ghetto. The whole southern flank of the Soviet-German front collapsed forcing Nazis to redeploy additional troops to the south.
☝️ The Red Army’s way to Prague and Vienna was opened.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory80
Hitler was determined to hold the Hungarian capital at any cost. He attached great importance to Nagykanizsa oil-producing area claiming he would rather surrender Berlin than lose Hungarian oil and Austria.
⚔️ Already by 2 November 1944, having crossed the Danube, Soviet troops approached Budapest. The Red Army successfully repelled a series of Nazi counterattacks at Balaton lake and encircled the city on 26 December 1944.
Soviet ultimatum to surrender in order to prevent bloodshed was ignored, with Soviet negotiators killed, which left the Red Army no other choice but assault.
⚔️ The takeover of Budapest entailed heavy fighting. The Red Army used a minimum of tanks engaging assault units supported by artillery instead. By 13 February 1944, persistent battles culminated with the capture of the city garrison led by General Karl-Pfeffer Wildenbruch.
❗️During the Budapest Offensive the Red Army defeated 56 enemy’s divisions with 188.000 soldiers and officers taken prisoners-of-war.
Some 70.000 Jewish prisoners were freed from the Budapest Ghetto. The whole southern flank of the Soviet-German front collapsed forcing Nazis to redeploy additional troops to the south.
☝️ The Red Army’s way to Prague and Vienna was opened.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory80
🗓Today marks the Day of Military Honour of Russia. #OTD 83 years ago, the historic military parade was held on the Red Square in the face of the Nazis advance to Moscow, when the front line was only a few dozen kilometres away from the city.
The march involved some 28,500 servicemen, as well as 140 artillery pieces, 160 tanks, and 232 vehicles.
☝This event boosted the morale of Soviet soldiers throughout the Soviet Union. It showed the world how truly unbreakable the spirit of the Soviet people was. The participants of the parade went directly to the front after it.
⚔ A month later, the “invincible” Wehrmacht suffered its first major defeat, and Hitler’s ambitious blitzkrieg plan against the Soviet Union was thwarted.
#WW2 #WWII #Victory79
The march involved some 28,500 servicemen, as well as 140 artillery pieces, 160 tanks, and 232 vehicles.
☝This event boosted the morale of Soviet soldiers throughout the Soviet Union. It showed the world how truly unbreakable the spirit of the Soviet people was. The participants of the parade went directly to the front after it.
⚔ A month later, the “invincible” Wehrmacht suffered its first major defeat, and Hitler’s ambitious blitzkrieg plan against the Soviet Union was thwarted.
#WW2 #WWII #Victory79
📆 83 years ago, when #Nazi forces were in the close vicinity of #Moscow, a legendary fight at Dubosekovo railroad station took place which went down in history as the feat of the 28 Panfilov’s men.
On 16 Nov 1941, Nazis launched a new assault on the #Soviet capital expecting to bring the blitzkrieg to a victorious conclusion by the end of the year. In the morning that day, after a preliminary artillery shelling the Wehrmacht’s 2nd Tank Division attacked the units of the Red Army’s 316th Rifle Division led by Major General Ivan Panfilov.
The 4th and the 6th companies of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th regiment took the brunt of Nazi offensive. Having ran short of ammunition, both companies showed unparalleled courage against superior enemy’s forces and repelled several tank attacks with remaining grenades and Molotov cocktails. The Panfilov’s men withstood the Nazi onslaught for 4 hours while the reserves came to cover the capital.
☝️ During the battle, 18 German tanks were destroyed, but almost all Soviet defenders laid down their lives.
🌟 It was during the battle of Dubosekovo that the commander of the 4th company V.Klochkov said the legendary phrase “Russia is vast, yet there’s nowhere to retreat – Moscow is behind us”.
#WW2 #WWII #Victory79
On 16 Nov 1941, Nazis launched a new assault on the #Soviet capital expecting to bring the blitzkrieg to a victorious conclusion by the end of the year. In the morning that day, after a preliminary artillery shelling the Wehrmacht’s 2nd Tank Division attacked the units of the Red Army’s 316th Rifle Division led by Major General Ivan Panfilov.
The 4th and the 6th companies of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th regiment took the brunt of Nazi offensive. Having ran short of ammunition, both companies showed unparalleled courage against superior enemy’s forces and repelled several tank attacks with remaining grenades and Molotov cocktails. The Panfilov’s men withstood the Nazi onslaught for 4 hours while the reserves came to cover the capital.
☝️ During the battle, 18 German tanks were destroyed, but almost all Soviet defenders laid down their lives.
🌟 It was during the battle of Dubosekovo that the commander of the 4th company V.Klochkov said the legendary phrase “Russia is vast, yet there’s nowhere to retreat – Moscow is behind us”.
#WW2 #WWII #Victory79