The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War in historical order: names, table

A significant component of the Second World War, the Great Patriotic War, played a prominent and decisive role in the end of one of the bloodiest international conflicts of the 20th century.

Periodization of the Second World War

The five-year confrontation that took place on the territory of the republics that were part of the Soviet Union, historians are divided into three periods.

1. Period I (22.06.1941-18.11.1942) includes the transition of the USSR to military races, the failure of Hitler's initial plan for a "blitzkrieg", as well as the creation of conditions for a turnaround in the course of military operations in favor of the Coalition countries.
2. Period II (19.11.1942 - the end of 1943) is connected with a radical change in the military conflict.
3. Period III (January 1944 - May 9, 1945) - a devastating defeat of the German fascist troops, their expulsion from the Soviet territories, the liberation of the countries of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe by the Red Army.

How it all began

The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War were briefly and in detail described more than once. About them will be discussed in this article.

Germany's unexpected and swift attack on Poland, and then on other European countries, led to the fact that by 1941 the fascists, together with the allies, had seized vast territories. Poland was defeated, and Norway, Denmark, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium - are occupied. France could resist only 40 days, after which it was also captured. The Fascists also inflicted a major defeat on the British Expeditionary Force, after which they entered the territory of the Balkans. The main obstacle in the way of Germany was the Red Army, and the largest battles of the Great Patriotic War proved that the power and unbreakable spirit of the Soviet people defending the freedom of their homeland is one of the decisive factors in the successful struggle against the enemy.

The Barbarossa Plan

In the plans of the German command of the USSR was just a pawn, which was quickly and easily eliminated, thanks to the so-called lightning war, the principles of which were set out in the "Barbarossa plan."

Its development was conducted under the leadership of General Friedrich Paulus. According to this plan, Soviet troops were to be defeated in a short time by Germany and its allies, and the European part of the territory of the Soviet Union was captured. Further, complete devastation and destruction of the USSR was assumed.

The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War, in a historical order presented, vividly testify on whose side the advantage was at the beginning of the confrontation and how eventually it ended.

The ambitious plan of the Germans assumed that within five months they would be able to capture the key cities of the USSR and reach the Arkhangelsk-Volga-Astrakhan line. The war against the USSR was to be completed by the fall of 1941. Adolf Hitler counted on this. On his orders, the oriental forces concentrated the impressive forces of Germany and the Allied countries. What major battles of the Great Patriotic War did they have to endure in order to finally be convinced of the impossibility of establishing world domination of Germany?

It was supposed that the blow would be inflicted in three directions in order to quickly defeat the enemy standing on the way to world domination:

• Central (line Minsk-Moscow);
• Southern (Ukraine and the Black Sea coast);
• North-West (the Baltic countries and Leningrad).

The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War: the struggle for the capital

The operation to capture Moscow was codenamed "Typhoon". It began in September 1941.

Implementation of the plan to seize the capital of the USSR was entrusted to Army Group Center, led by General Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. The enemy surpassed the Red Army not only in the number of soldiers (1.2 times), but also in armament (more than 2 times). And yet, the great battles of the Great Patriotic War soon proved that it no longer means more.

The fight against the Germans in this direction was conducted by the troops of the South-Western, North-Western, Western and Reserve Fronts. In addition, partisans and militiamen took an active part in hostilities.

The beginning of confrontation

In October, the main line of Soviet defense was broken in the central direction: the fascists seized Vyazma and Bryansk. The second line, which passed near Mozhaisk, managed to delay the offensive for a short time. In October 1941, the head of the Western Front became Georgy Zhukov, who declared the siege of Moscow.

By the end of October, fighting took place just 100 kilometers from the capital.

However, numerous military operations and major battles of the Great Patriotic War, carried out during the defense of the city, did not allow the Germans to seize Moscow.

A turning point in the course of the battle

Already in November 1941 the last attempts of the fascists to conquer Moscow were prevented. The advantage was found in the Soviet Army, thus ensuring the possibility of a counter-offensive.

The German command attributed the reasons for the failure to autumn weather and mudslides. The biggest battles of the Great Patriotic War shook the confidence of the Germans in their own invincibility. Enraged by failure, the Führer ordered to capture the capital before the winter cold, and on November 15, the fascists once again tried to launch the offensive. Despite the huge losses, the German troops managed to get through to the city.

However, their further advance was prevented, and the last attempts of the fascists to break through to Moscow ended in failure.

The end of 1941 was marked by the offensive of the Red Army against enemy troops. In early January 1942, it covered the entire front line. The troops of the invaders were repelled by 200-250 kilometers. As a result of a successful operation, Soviet soldiers liberated the Ryazan, Tula, Moscow regions, as well as some areas of the Orel, Smolensk, Kalinin regions. During the confrontation, Germany lost a large amount of equipment, including about 2500 firearms and 1,300 tanks.

The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War, in particular the battle for Moscow, proved that victory over the enemy is possible, despite its military and technical superiority.

Interesting facts about the battle for Moscow

One of the most important battles of the war of the Soviets against the countries of the Triple Alliance - the battle for Moscow, was a brilliant embodiment of the plan to disrupt the blitzkrieg. To what ways did Soviet soldiers resort to prevent the capture of the capital by the enemy.

So, during the confrontation, soldiers of the Red Army launched huge, 35-meter, balloons into the sky. The purpose of such actions was to reduce the sighting accuracy of German bombers. These troops advanced to a height of 3-4 kilometers and, being there, significantly hampered the work of enemy aviation.

More than seven million people took part in the battle for the capital. Therefore, it is considered one of the largest.

A notable role in the battle for Moscow was played by Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, who led the 16th Army. In the autumn of 1941, his troops blocked the Volokolamsk and Leningrad Highways, preventing the enemy from breaking through to the city. The defense in this sector lasted two weeks: the locks of the Istra Reservoir were blown up, and approaches to the capital were also mined.

Another interesting fact in the history of the legendary battle: in the middle of October 1941 the Moscow metro was closed. It was the only day in the history of the Moscow metro when it did not work. The panic caused by this event, entailed the so-called outcome of the inhabitants - the city was emptied, looters began to work. The situation saved the order to take decisive measures against fugitives and marauders, according to which even the execution of violators was allowed. This fact stopped the mass flight of people from Moscow and stopped the panic.

The Battle of Stalingrad

The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War took place on the outskirts of the key cities of the country. One of the most important confrontations was the battle for Stalingrad, which swept the segment from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943.

The goal of the Germans in this direction was a breakthrough to the south of the USSR, where numerous enterprises of the metallurgical and defense industries were located, as well as the main food reserves.

Formation of the Stalingrad Front

In the course of the offensive by the troops of the fascists and their allies, Soviet troops experienced considerable losses in the battles for Kharkov; The South-Western Front was defeated; The divisions and regiments of the Red Army were scattered, and the absence of fortified positions and open steppes gave the Germans virtually free access to the Caucasus.

Such, it would seem, hopeless situation of the Soviet Union instilled in Hitler confidence in a speedy success. On his orders, the army "South" divided into 2 parts - the purpose of part "A" was to seize the North Caucasus, and part "B" - Stalingrad, where the Volga flowed - the main water artery of the country.

In a short period Rostov-on-Don was taken, and the Germans moved to Stalingrad. Because of the fact that in this direction were immediately 2 armies, a huge cork was formed. As a result, one of the armies was ordered to return to the Caucasus. This delay delayed the offensive for a whole week.

In July 1942, the united Stalingrad Front was formed, the purpose of which was to protect the city from the enemy and organize defense. The whole complexity of the problem was that the newly formed units did not yet have the experience of interaction, there was not enough ammunition, and there were no defensive structures.

Soviet troops were superior to Germany in terms of the number of people, but they were inferior to them almost twice in technique and armament, which were sorely lacking.

The desperate struggle of the Red Army postponed the enemy's entrance to Stalingrad, but in September the fighting moved from the outlying areas to the city limits. At the end of August, the Germans subjected Stalingrad to destruction, first arranging a bombardment, and then dropping bombs and incendiary bombs on it.

Operation "Ring"

Residents of the city fought for every meter of the earth. The result of a multi-month confrontation was a turning point in the battle: in January 1943, the operation "Ring", which lasted 23 days, started.

Its result was the defeat of the enemy, the destruction of his armies and the surrender of the surviving troops on February 2. This success was a real breakthrough in the course of military operations, shook Germany's position and questioned its influence on other states. He gave Soviet people hope for a future victory.

The Battle of Kursk

The defeat of the troops of Germany and its allies at Stalingrad gave impetus to Hitler, in order to avoid centrifugal tendencies within the union of the countries of the Triple Pact, decided to carry out a major operation on the offensive against the Red Army, code-named Citadel. The battle began on July 5 of the same year. The Germans deployed new tanks that did not frighten the Soviet troops, which gave them effective resistance. By July 7, both armies had lost a huge number of people and equipment, and the tank battle at Dodgers led to the loss of a large number of Germans and machines. This turned out to be a significant factor for the weakening of the fascists in the northern section of the Kursk salient.

Record tank battle

On July 8, the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War began near Prokhorovka. Participation in it took about 1200 combat vehicles. The confrontation lasted for several days. The culmination came on July 12, when two tank fights took place near Prokhorovka, which ended in a draw. Despite the fact that none of the parties took the decisive initiative, the German offensive was halted, and on July 17 the defensive phase of the battle moved to the offensive. Its result was that the Nazis were thrown back to the south of the Kursk Bulge, to their original positions. In August, Belgorod and the Eagle were liberated.

What major battle ended the Great Patriotic War? This battle was the confrontation on the Kursk Bulge, the decisive chord of which was the liberation of Kharkov on August 23, It was this event that ended the series of major battles in the territory of the USSR and marked the beginning of the liberation of Europe by Soviet soldiers.

Great battles of the Great Patriotic War: table

For a better understanding of the course of the war, especially with regard to its most significant battles, there is a table reflecting the periodicity of what is happening.

Battle for Moscow	30.09.1941-20.04.1942
Leningrad blockade	09/08/1941-27/01/1944
The Battle of Rzhev	01/08/1942 - 03/31/1943
The Battle of Stalingrad	07/17/1942-02/02/1943
The Battle for the Caucasus	07/25/1942-09/10/1943
The Battle for Kursk	07/05/1943-23.08.1943

The major battles of the Great Patriotic War, whose names are known today to people of any age, have become indisputable evidence of the strength of the spirit and will of the Soviet people, which prevented the establishment of fascist power not only in the territory of the USSR, but throughout the world.