Great cities of the Great Patriotic War. Cities-heroes of the Great Patriotic War

At the very beginning of May, all the thoughts and thoughts of millions of people in the territory of the former USSR are turned towards a great date, on May 9. This day we will never forget, since they marked the end of the most bloody war of our time. It took the lives of many of our fellow citizens, separated millions of families and brought so much grief that the living participants of those events can not remember this time without tears.

Many heroes were forgotten. We probably will not know where their last fight was. There are also those whose names will forever remain on the monuments and in the hearts. Among the heroes are not only people, but also the great cities of the Great Patriotic War, which in those terrible years stood firm under the most severe onslaught of the Hitlerites, or for many months resisted their pressure.

What it is?

This is a high rank, which was given to twelve cities of the USSR, famous for their history of protection. On their territory there are monuments and steles, which are always called to remind townspeople of the unprecedented heroic deed of their people.

It should be remembered that the cities-heroes of the Great Patriotic War, whose photos and names are in the article, paid off for their high rank with great blood, as they received it for the unprecedented courage of defenders in defense in the most difficult years.

St. Petersburg (Leningrad)

The title was awarded on May 8, 1965

At the very beginning of the autumn, the Germans were able to completely block the supply of the city from the land. The blockade of Leningrad began, which continued for almost 872 long, hungry days. Almost all the inhabitants of the city are heroes of the Great Patriotic War. The photo "Leningrad in the blockade" still leads to horror and mortal longing even for seasoned war veterans of local wars, let alone talking about direct participants in those events.

The courage of its inhabitants was unparalleled: in absolutely inhuman conditions they not only fought the invaders, but even managed to arrange the release of weapons, which was immediately used in the front line, literally behind the corps of factories. To date, it is estimated that about one and a half million people died of starvation and disease.

Only 3% fell with weapons in their hands. The rest did famine. Today every schoolboy knows that the only way to escape was the "Road of Life", which passed through the ice of Lake Ladoga frosting for the winter. However, in the summer time transportations by water transport were carried out, but their volumes were not so great. It really was the way of Life, because on this route the city managed to leave 1.5 million people, among whom were mainly children, women and the elderly. It was finally possible to lift the blockade of the city only in 1944.

What do you imagine when pronouncing the phrase "cities-heroes of the Great Patriotic War"? Photos, monuments on the ground fighting and much more. But only blockade from these words can even cry, as they have before their eyes a different, terrible pictures of those years.

In memory of those terrible days, seven monuments were erected, as well as 112 commemorative pillars all along the Road of Life. The central monument of the composition is the monument "The Broken Ring", which symbolizes the final breakthrough of the blockade and the liberation of Leningrad. Of course, all the great cities of the Great Patriotic War are worthy of respect, but the victim of the Leningraders should always be remembered.

Odessa

The title was also conferred in May 1965.

Odessa became one of the first cities that found themselves on the path of the fascist invaders. By August 1941, despite the unparalleled courage of her defenders, she was completely blocked. Only the way remained by the sea, protected by the many ships of the Black Sea Fleet. On the part of the sea, not only a huge amount of food arrived, but also weapons that allowed them to fight off enemy advancing troops.

In order to defend itself more effectively from all the growing attacks of the Germans, a whole fortified area was created. The inhabitants of the city managed to produce in the most difficult conditions the simplest armored vehicles and flamethrowers, which immediately fell into the hands of fighters. Defenders of Odessa had to leave the city, but they left, not broken and not subjugated: afterwards many of them were formed from them, and they defended the Crimea with the same courage and courage from the Nazis.

Currently, the monument, which is dedicated to the events of those days, is set in the park named after Taras Shevchenko. More precisely, this is a whole memorial complex "Alley of Glory", which forever captures for descendants the exploit of their great ancestors. In general, all the great cities of the Great Patriotic War have such memorable places.

Sevastopol

The title was conferred in the same period as the above cities.

Crimea always had the most important strategic importance for the country, as it was through its territory that it ran the shortest path to the oil fields of the Caucasus. It is not surprising that from the very first days of the war the Wehrmacht command gave its legions a simple order: by all means, in the shortest possible time, seize and clean Sevastopol. The Soviet command had no illusions about this either: in the Crimea there was a significant part of the aircraft that could not be left to the enemy to be torn to pieces. It was necessary to protect the city for as long as possible.

At the same time, the best detachments were thrown at the defense, which at one time counteracted the enemy in Odessa. They also formed the core of the partisan movement, whose members were active in the whole territory of the Crimean peninsula. Unfortunately, in July of the following year the city still had to be abandoned.

However, the Germans did not feel very confident in the captured city, as their forces were constantly fluttering the partisans. Sevastopol was completely liberated in May 1944. The medal "For the defense of Sevastopol" has always been considered in the ranks of the Red Army elite, since the exploits of those who defended this ancient monument of the military glory of Russia and the USSR were great.

To permanently memorialize the descendants of these days, a monument was erected on Sapun Mountain. This place was the key to the city, the most important defensive position, on which a huge number of Soviet and German soldiers were killed. However, the same can be characterized by all other cities-heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Volgograd (Stalingrad)

The title was also awarded on May 8, 1965. When the terrible Stalingrad battle took place, during which the Soviet army was able to break the ridge to the Nazi troops, it was this city that was the battlefield. For 200 days there was an uninterrupted, bloody battle for every meter of city space, each house was turned into an impregnable fortress.

In the month that the Germans took to capture Poland in due time, the Germans were able to capture a couple of streets in Stalingrad, bearing terrible losses at the same time. The burning of the battles was terrible, both sides successfully and universally used snipers.

On the famous Mamayev Kurgan there is a monumental complex to the "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad", at the very top of which stands a gigantic monument to Motherland, which will always be a symbol of love and devotion of our people to their homeland. In our article there are not only the cities-heroes of the Great Patriotic War: pictures and photos of monuments will help you feel all the monumentality of those places.

Kiev

The order on conferring the rank was also signed on May 8, 1965. It should be noted that at present the new Ukrainian authorities have "canceled" it. However, they did not defend Kiev, they did not release them. So, too, "orders to abolish the status of a hero city" should not be published either.

The defensive operation lasted exactly 70 days. The time of the occupation of the city by the German troops dragged on for 2.5 years. During this time, the Germans and their nationalist hangers-on had time to "work" a lot: mass Jews were shot, a concentration camp for Soviet prisoners of war was organized, in which thousands of our soldiers were killed.

Many monuments of history and architecture were destroyed, many priceless exhibits from museums disappeared without a trace. Of course, many residents of Kiev participated in the partisan movement, with all their might tried to protect their native city from the arbitrariness of the Hitlerites. But only after the hardest winter battles of 1943, he was completely freed from the forces of the German troops. It should be noted that both hero cities of Ukraine (the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945) were almost completely destroyed, and they had to be restored for a very long time.

As in Volgograd, there is a monument "Motherland".

Fortress in Brest

A legendary monument to the courage and valor of Soviet soldiers. The title was also conferred only in May 1965. We have already mentioned many heroic cities of the Great Patriotic War: you can get a list of them by simply glancing over the subtitles of the article. But Brest is a very special place, which can be talked about for a very long time.

Many people know about the defense of this fortress from the poignant and terrible book of Boris Vasilyev. But from the book we do not understand what people felt and expected, who knew perfectly well about the impossibility of salvation, who lost their comrades and loved ones every hour. For all this they did not even think about surrendering to the enemy. The battle in Brest is the first in the history of that war, and one of the most significant.

This is completely unsurprising. The German troops planned to take the city on the move, and then continue the march to the East with a "victorious march". They brutally miscalculated. For several days a group of Soviet soldiers desperately defended even approaches to the fortress, not allowing the Germans to go to its limits. Violent skirmishes did not stop even at night.

Soldiers, terribly tired, dying of thirst and hunger, until the last second resisted the enemy. "I'm dying, but I'm not giving up" - this famous inscription on one of the walls of the Fortress fully shows the real mood of our fighters in that terrible, last battle. The Germans finally captured the fortress when there were no survivors of its defenders, but they did not feel themselves victorious: while the European countries submitted to the German army in a couple of weeks, some kind of pathetic fortress, only on the incredible courage and heroism of its defenders , Could hold out for a couple of months.

The whole fortress was recognized as an eternal memorial in 1971. On its territory, the Eternal Flame always burns , always paying a debt to the memory of the fallen soldiers of the Soviet army.

Moscow

As in all previous cases, the title was awarded in May 1965. Virtually everyone knows the hero-cities of the Great Patriotic War in one way or another. Photo "Moscow, the parade of 1941" is also familiar to many. It was from here that fresh troops were sent into a counterattack, it was here that the command headquarters of the Red Army was located.

It is not surprising that from the very beginning of the war the capture of the USSR capital was the prerogative of the German command, and therefore the best troops were used for this purpose. The "Barbarosa" plan provided for the conquest of the city in the first three months of the war. But only Kiev, Leningrad and Smolensk have put on a so ambitious plans a fat cross, postponing the start of the operation to take the city for six months. At the approaches to Moscow, the Germans appeared only in the middle of autumn, when the first serious colds were already beginning.

Our command imposed a war on them for exhaustion. Up until December of that year, the defense of Moscow continued, in which numerous volunteer units participated.

Several times the situation became critical. It seemed that the Germans were about to achieve their goal, and Hitler was already preparing to roll a luxurious feast in the Kremlin. But on December 5th our troops moved to the first effective counteroffensive, as a result of which the Germans were thrown from the city limits by 200 kilometers at once.

In memory of those events in front of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, a memorial to the Unknown Soldier was installed. It must be said that such a monument can be safely installed by all the heroic cities of the Great Patriotic War, photos of which are in our article.

Kerch

The title was awarded only on September 14, 1973. The city is known for the fact that right on it the front line passed as many as four (!) Times. At least 15 thousand people died, half of them were brutally shot in the Bagerovo ditch. Another 15 thousand Germans were hijacked for forced labor in Germany. From the city remained less than 15%. Almost all the more or less significant buildings were destroyed, and there were no whole buildings left. Only at the beginning of April 1944 Kerch was finally liberated from Hitler's invaders.

On the mountain with the beautiful name of Mithridates, in honor of those events, the Eternal Flame burns.

Novorossiysk

The title was also conferred in mid-September 1973. During the war, almost the entire city was captured by German troops. The goal of the Hitlerites was Georgia, the direct route to which was opened immediately after the capture of Novorossiysk.

Everyone understood that such an outcome would allow Hitler to gain a firm foothold in the Caucasus. Especially for counteraction to this, a powerful Novorossiysk fortified region was created, but by August 1942 there was very little left of it (no more than 20%). In February 1943, after 225 days of occupation, the Soviet soldiers managed to return the city.

Not surprisingly, the main monument was a memorial called the "Frontier of Defense." A stela of 40 meters long symbolizes that there will not be a single villain entering the gates of the city. The hero of the Great Patriotic War, the sniper Rubakho Philip Yakovlevich was also a native of the glorious Novorossiysk.

Minsk

Assigned to the title on June 26, 1974.

Just three days after the war began, the city was under German occupation. On its territory, the "hard-working" Germans created three ghettos at once, in which about 80,000 Jews were killed. In the very city of Minsk and the surrounding area, the Hitlerites killed at least 400,000 people. Only in June 1944 a large-scale liberation operation was finally launched. By the time the city was completely cleaned, only 80 buildings remained intact.

The most significant monument is the memorial of "Yama", which was dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust. By the way, it was the first monument on the territory of the whole USSR, on the surface of which there are inscriptions in Yiddish.

Tula

The title was awarded only on December 7, 1976.

The Soviet "smithy of weapons" was a laconic goal for the German command, and therefore it was by no means possible to allow the capture of the city. In addition, Tula covered the southern borders of Moscow, which made it even more important. Already in the fall of 1941, the local militia defended the most powerful attacks of the Germans with honor, the way to the Germans was reliably blocked.

When the Great Patriotic War broke out, the city of Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) was approximately in the same situation. Today, activists are trying to win this honorary title and to him. However, we will return to Tula.

The city and its surroundings suffered greatly. Almost all villages were burned, at least 360,000 civilians were killed. Even in conditions of a deaf siege, the Tula industry continued to produce machine guns, submachine guns and sniper rifles. By the way, it is on the local defensive lines that PPK, Korovin's submachine gun, whose author, for many years, was undeservedly forgotten by the Soviet authorities, proved itself superbly.

However, it is well remembered by the old-timers of the city. The hero of the Great Patriotic War was not completely forgotten.

In honor of those events around the city, numerous monuments of military glory are installed, and on the Victory Square a monument is erected in the form of a soldier and a worker, who rely on a rifle bayonet. All the cities-heroes of the Great Patriotic War are glorious in their exploits, but even with this backdrop, the Tula are distinguished by their unbroken will to win.

Murmansk

Only on May 6, 1985 the city was given such a high and important title.

Hitler's directive to his troops was simple and short: Murmansk was ordered to be destroyed immediately with the outbreak of the war, because through its ports many tons of cargo passed from the Allies. More than 800 massed air raids were carried out, about 186,000 powerful bombs were dropped on the city, but his defenders stood with honor in this hell. Many cities of the Great Patriotic War passed through bombing, but there were no such strong people anywhere.

Virtually all buildings were burned or severely damaged. A bad role was played by wooden buildings, along which fire spread with incredible speed. Only in the autumn of 1944 the threat to the city was completely eliminated. A monument was erected. But this was done only 30 years after the end of the Great Patriotic War, when the main hero cities of the Great Patriotic War had long been in the "lists of honor".

Smolensk

The title was also awarded on May 6, 1985, which is extremely strange, since the defenders of the city in the war years showed courage incommensurably greater than the same Kievites.

In July 1941, it seemed to the Hitlerites that the path to the heart of the country was completely open. The main goal was Moscow, and all those lying on the route of the German troops of the city were considered just "a nuisance". Already on June 15, the southern part of the city was occupied, and soon the rest of its districts fell under massive blows. But this was only the beginning, since the defenders of the city did not even think about giving up.

From the middle of July, the hardest fighting began, which lasted more than two months. Soviet troops suffered heavy losses, but the Hitlerites had no better either. In addition, civilians died peacefully: only one of the punishers destroyed more than 300 villages along with all their inhabitants.

It is estimated that approximately 600 thousand people died, but this figure is clearly too low, as more and more new mass graves search engines continue to find annually. There is a museum in the city where all the documents and testimonies that tell about the life of the city in those terrible years are collected.

So we listed all the great cities of the Great Patriotic War.