Hitler came into power in Germany in 1933. It was the Nazi (Nahtsi) party, headed by Adolph Hitler, which prepared a war plan against Russia, but Second World War broke out in 1939.
Italy, Japan and Turkey supported Germany as an axis power. This war continued till 1945 and innumerable people were killed without really any reason.
This horrible plan was worked out by the military general staff and was codified as “Operation Barbarosa”. Finally, this plan was approved and signed by Hitler on December 18, 1940. On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, availing the full advantages of the Nazi military machine with 190 Division. The enormous invasion army had two years of battle experience in operations in Europe. It had taken only 19 days to seize Holland and Belgium. One after another, the German aggressors enslaved the countries of Europe.
The Germans wanted to capture the Russia industrial and agricultural regions and to undermine its military and industrial potential. Confident of the rapid achievements of their goals in Russia, the Nazi leaders chalked out their future plan for acquiring world dominance.
The invasion of German forces stirred up the entire Soviet people and soon they formed the people’s volunteer corps against the Germans. In 1941, the people’s volunteer corps gave the front 24 divisions with more than two million soldiers. This sudden attack displaced and disturbed the Russians and during the most difficult months of the war, the people of Russia suffered a lot. The Carpet-bombing continued but the Russians showed unequal struggle against the Germans.
The retreating Soviet forces suffered heavy causalities and the Soviet Union lost strategic economic regions. When the German troops reached Smolensk, they were met by new Soviet armies, which had moved up from the rear. The battle of Smolensk marked the beginning of the downfall of the German supremacy. German Field Marshal Von Bock, Commander of ‘group centre’ lost more than one thousand of his best soldiers at Smolensk.
In the Leningrad direction, the Russians resisted the Fascist troops and the unprecedented defense of Leningrad lasted 900 days. During this period, the population of the city suffered a lot. The blockade continued with bombardment by the Germans but the Russian faced the situation with patience. About 46000 bombs were dropped on Railway junctions, bridges and echelons. But the heavy causalities suffered by the Nazi troops forced the German command to reduce the offensive front and to move to defensive in a number of sectors.
Capturing Moscow was the dream of Hitler, so the German Army concentrated on that. Almost 80 divisions, more than one million soldiers, 14,500 guns and motors, and 1,700 tanks made up the strike force hurled against Moscow. This operation was called ‘Typhoon’. Field Marshal Von Bock, the conqueror of the Paris, was assigned the task of capturing Moscow.
After the capture of Minsk and Smolensk, the Germans were hopeful of getting Moscow, so much so that the Japanese ambassador in Berlin was assured by Hitler that Moscow would fall by October 12, 1941. The Nazi generals promised their exhausted soldiers a long rest in the comforts of Moscow apartments.
The Soviet troops ascribed great significance to this battle. They fought with unprecedented heroism for every foot of land and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. There was no retreat. The Nazis were hurled back to the initial point of the offensive with losses of up to 500,000
During December 1941, a major shift in the balance of forces on the front was achieved. The myth of the invincibility of the Nazi army had been buried in the snows of Moscow. The battle of Moscow exerted a broad impact on the entire course of war. The brave Russians pushed the Germans far in the west. By the end of February 1942, the Soviet forces had advanced about 400 kilometers to the west and completely liberated Moscow, Tula regions and many distracts of Leningrad.
The defeat of the Nazi Germans near Moscow disrupted the plans for a lightening war. The Soviet victory improved the morale of the Soviet army and gave the troops a boost of confidence in the final victory over the enemy. By the close of 1943, there were 250 thousand people’s solders fighting the enemy. The Soviet army intensified its blows against the enemy with every passing day. In the first two months of 1944, the Nazis were hurled back from Leningrad and liberation of Soviet Estonia began. By the autumn of 1944, the allies had liberated France, Belgium, Luxembourg and part of Holland.
During the later half of April 1945, the Soviet army began its last offensive. The forces of the Allies successfully advanced into the heart of Germany from the west. By April 25, Berlin had been totally surrounded by units of the first Ukrainian and Byelorussia fronts. On May 2, after the resistance the Berlin garrison surrendered and the banner of victory was flying high over Reichstag. The Second World War did not end with the defeat of Hitler’s Germany. The imperialist war unleashed by Japanese militarism continued to rage in the Far East. Soviet Union declared war against Japan. In a short time the Soviet forces smashed Japan’s land force. This predetermined the rapid capitulation of militarist Japan. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered.
Most of the East and Central Europe was liberated from the German grip. It was unbelievable that the German forces, which were once almost in the heart of Moscow, were forced back and the Russian force reached the heart of Germany. It shows the passions, strategy, dedication and bravery of the Russians.
In the bipolar world, the countries of the world were divided into two groups. Yet they were safe and protected. With the disappearance of bipolarism, the world is facing horrible situations, as in Afghanistan and Iraq. This clearly indicates that bipolarity is the safety valve for the nations of the world.
