Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
📅 #OTD in 1944, Soviet forces launched Operation Bagration, one of the largest and most successful military operations in history. In two months, they liberated the Belarusian SSR, part of the Lithuanian and Latvian SSRs and eastern Poland.
🔻 By the summer of 1944, the Red Army had succeeded in pushing German forces back from Leningrad, liberating Crimea and Ukraine and reaching the border with Romania. However, enemy forces continued to occupy the territory of Belarus. A salient controlled by the Wehrmacht’s Army Group Centre was established there. During the three-year occupation, Nazi troops had burned hundreds of local communities and killed over 2 million prisoners of war and civilians.
🔻 The Soviet forces simultaneously breached the defensive positions of the Wehrmacht’s Army Group Centre in six sectors, encircled and defeated the Vitebsk and Bobruisk formations, as well as the Orsha and Mogilyov formations. They launched several powerful strikes towards Minsk, entered Poland and approached the borders of East Prussia.
🔻 As a result of this operation, Soviet forces routed the Army Group Centre, one of the most powerful enemy formations. They crossed three large rivers, the Berezina, the Niemen and the Vistula, and seized vital bridgeheads on their western banks. They liberated Belarus, part of the Baltic republics, eastern Poland and opened the road to Berlin. The front was pushed back 550 to 600 km to the west.
🎖 Soviet soldiers displayed mass heroism and impressive fighting prowess, while liberating Belarus. Over 1,500 members of various Soviet ethnicities were made Heroes of the Soviet Union.
#Victory78 #WeRemember
🔻 By the summer of 1944, the Red Army had succeeded in pushing German forces back from Leningrad, liberating Crimea and Ukraine and reaching the border with Romania. However, enemy forces continued to occupy the territory of Belarus. A salient controlled by the Wehrmacht’s Army Group Centre was established there. During the three-year occupation, Nazi troops had burned hundreds of local communities and killed over 2 million prisoners of war and civilians.
🔻 The Soviet forces simultaneously breached the defensive positions of the Wehrmacht’s Army Group Centre in six sectors, encircled and defeated the Vitebsk and Bobruisk formations, as well as the Orsha and Mogilyov formations. They launched several powerful strikes towards Minsk, entered Poland and approached the borders of East Prussia.
🔻 As a result of this operation, Soviet forces routed the Army Group Centre, one of the most powerful enemy formations. They crossed three large rivers, the Berezina, the Niemen and the Vistula, and seized vital bridgeheads on their western banks. They liberated Belarus, part of the Baltic republics, eastern Poland and opened the road to Berlin. The front was pushed back 550 to 600 km to the west.
🎖 Soviet soldiers displayed mass heroism and impressive fighting prowess, while liberating Belarus. Over 1,500 members of various Soviet ethnicities were made Heroes of the Soviet Union.
#Victory78 #WeRemember
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🗓 On August 1, Russia marks the Day of Remembrance for Russian Soldiers who fell in World War I. On this day in 1914, Germany declared war on the Russian Empire.
Thus, our country joined the then largest and bloodiest armed conflict in history launched to redivide colonies, spheres of influence & markets.
⚔️ The war was waged by two coalitions: the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire & Bulgaria) and the Entente powers (Russia, France, Britain).
Russia was an active participant in military action which unfolded during WWI. Russian forces fought courageously and heroically on all parts of the Eastern Front.
☝️ #InterestingFact: One of the symbols of the Russian soldiers’ selflessness was the Battle of Osowiec Fortress. The advancing German forces used chemical weapons to eliminate a major part of the Russian garrison. Despite severe gas poisoning & heavy losses, the remaining defenders of the fortress rose in a bayonet attack & forced the enemy to flee. This episode went down in history as the Attack of the Dead Men.
Many Russian historians believe that the tide of the war was turned by the famous Brusilov Offensive on the Southwestern Front, which pushed Austria-Hungary to the brink of collapse & forced Germany to redeploy considerable forces from Verdun in France to the “Russian theatre of war.” The Second Reich lost the strategic initiative, and the course of the war was changed in favour of the Allies.
🕯 The heroism of Russian soldiers & officers can hardly be overstated. In that war, Russia lost over 2 million lives on the frontlines.
People in Russia have not forgotten their heroic compatriots who perished in the conflict. A memorial park complex to the heroes of the the World War I opened in 2004 at the former Bratsky (Fraternal) Cemetery in Moscow & a monument to the heroes of the World War I was unveiled in the city’s Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora in 2014. Overall, there are 20 monuments and memorials to WWI heroes in Russia & other countries.
👉 Read more
#WeRemember
Thus, our country joined the then largest and bloodiest armed conflict in history launched to redivide colonies, spheres of influence & markets.
⚔️ The war was waged by two coalitions: the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire & Bulgaria) and the Entente powers (Russia, France, Britain).
Russia was an active participant in military action which unfolded during WWI. Russian forces fought courageously and heroically on all parts of the Eastern Front.
☝️ #InterestingFact: One of the symbols of the Russian soldiers’ selflessness was the Battle of Osowiec Fortress. The advancing German forces used chemical weapons to eliminate a major part of the Russian garrison. Despite severe gas poisoning & heavy losses, the remaining defenders of the fortress rose in a bayonet attack & forced the enemy to flee. This episode went down in history as the Attack of the Dead Men.
Many Russian historians believe that the tide of the war was turned by the famous Brusilov Offensive on the Southwestern Front, which pushed Austria-Hungary to the brink of collapse & forced Germany to redeploy considerable forces from Verdun in France to the “Russian theatre of war.” The Second Reich lost the strategic initiative, and the course of the war was changed in favour of the Allies.
🕯 The heroism of Russian soldiers & officers can hardly be overstated. In that war, Russia lost over 2 million lives on the frontlines.
People in Russia have not forgotten their heroic compatriots who perished in the conflict. A memorial park complex to the heroes of the the World War I opened in 2004 at the former Bratsky (Fraternal) Cemetery in Moscow & a monument to the heroes of the World War I was unveiled in the city’s Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora in 2014. Overall, there are 20 monuments and memorials to WWI heroes in Russia & other countries.
👉 Read more
#WeRemember
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
📆 On August 23, 1942, the German Nazi invaders subjected Stalingrad to massive aerial bombardment for the first time. This unprecedentedly powerful and cruel attack destroyed almost half of the city but did not break the spirit of its heroic defenders.
Luftwaffe pilots made up to 2,000 sorties in a single day. The carpet-bombing was intended to erase the city from the face of the Earth, barbarically destroying the Palace of Sports, the city library, schools, universities and hundreds of residential buildings. Spilled oil burned on the surface of the Volga River.
✍️ Excerpt from the memoirs of Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrey Yeryomenko: “During the bombing, pillars of fire and smoke soared upwards in different places without interruption. Immense columns of flame rose to the skies near oil depots. Streams of burning oil and gasoline rushed into the Volga River. <...> The screech of bombs flying from above mixed with the roar of explosions, the grinding and clanging of collapsing buildings and the crackling of the raging inferno. The dying moaned; women and children wept hysterically, calling for help.”
🕯 By the evening, most of Stalingrad lay in ruins. From 40,000 to 90,000 people were killed and about 50,000 wounded in a single day.
Despite the scale of destruction, the Nazi invaders failed to break the resistance of the defenders of Stalingrad. The heroic defence of the city lasted for several months and went down in history as a symbol of the courage and unbending will of Soviet soldiers. The Battle of Stalingrad ended in February 1943 with the rout of the Wehrmacht’s elite forces and marked a turning point in the history of the Great Patriotic War.
#Victory78 #WeRemember
Luftwaffe pilots made up to 2,000 sorties in a single day. The carpet-bombing was intended to erase the city from the face of the Earth, barbarically destroying the Palace of Sports, the city library, schools, universities and hundreds of residential buildings. Spilled oil burned on the surface of the Volga River.
✍️ Excerpt from the memoirs of Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrey Yeryomenko: “During the bombing, pillars of fire and smoke soared upwards in different places without interruption. Immense columns of flame rose to the skies near oil depots. Streams of burning oil and gasoline rushed into the Volga River. <...> The screech of bombs flying from above mixed with the roar of explosions, the grinding and clanging of collapsing buildings and the crackling of the raging inferno. The dying moaned; women and children wept hysterically, calling for help.”
🕯 By the evening, most of Stalingrad lay in ruins. From 40,000 to 90,000 people were killed and about 50,000 wounded in a single day.
Despite the scale of destruction, the Nazi invaders failed to break the resistance of the defenders of Stalingrad. The heroic defence of the city lasted for several months and went down in history as a symbol of the courage and unbending will of Soviet soldiers. The Battle of Stalingrad ended in February 1943 with the rout of the Wehrmacht’s elite forces and marked a turning point in the history of the Great Patriotic War.
#Victory78 #WeRemember
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎖 September 9 marks the Day of Remembrance of Russian Soldiers who Fell during the Defence of Sevastopol and in the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Today, we pay tribute to those who gave their lives 170 years ago while defending the city of Russian naval glory.
The Crimean War started as a conflict between Russia and Turkey. In an effort to preserve its influence in the Balkan region, the Ottoman Empire requested assistance from the United Kingdom and France. Thus, yet another Russo-Turkish war escalated into a large-scale confrontation between Russia and a coalition of European states.
The main events during the conflict unfolded in 1854-1855 on the south-western Crimean coast where #Sevastopol, Russia’s main naval base, was located. The city’s heroic defence lasted 349 days, from September 25, 1854 until September 9, 1855.
The port’s defenders displayed genuine bravery while repelling regular enemy assaults and making daring raids. Eduard Totleben, a brilliant Russian military engineer famous for his fortifications, was gravely wounded in the besieged city. Famed admiral Pavel Nakhimov died a hero’s death during the defence of Sevastopol.
When the enemy eventually entered Sevastopol, they found nothing but ruins. All surviving Russian ships were scuttled and remaining strongholds blown up. On March 30, 1856, the warring parties signed the Peace Treaty of Paris, which returned Sevastopol and other Crimean cities to Russia in exchange for the territories seized by Russian forces in Türkiye.
🕯 The Russian Army lost over 522,000 officers and soldiers during the Crimean War, including 102,000 during the defence of Sevastopol.
Red Army soldiers repeated the heroic feat of the city’s defenders less than 100 years later during the second defence of Sevastopol in 1941-1942. “Legendary Sevastopol, unassailable for enemies” retained its combat glory through the ages and remains a living monument to the valour and bravery of its defenders.
#WeRemember
The Crimean War started as a conflict between Russia and Turkey. In an effort to preserve its influence in the Balkan region, the Ottoman Empire requested assistance from the United Kingdom and France. Thus, yet another Russo-Turkish war escalated into a large-scale confrontation between Russia and a coalition of European states.
The main events during the conflict unfolded in 1854-1855 on the south-western Crimean coast where #Sevastopol, Russia’s main naval base, was located. The city’s heroic defence lasted 349 days, from September 25, 1854 until September 9, 1855.
The port’s defenders displayed genuine bravery while repelling regular enemy assaults and making daring raids. Eduard Totleben, a brilliant Russian military engineer famous for his fortifications, was gravely wounded in the besieged city. Famed admiral Pavel Nakhimov died a hero’s death during the defence of Sevastopol.
When the enemy eventually entered Sevastopol, they found nothing but ruins. All surviving Russian ships were scuttled and remaining strongholds blown up. On March 30, 1856, the warring parties signed the Peace Treaty of Paris, which returned Sevastopol and other Crimean cities to Russia in exchange for the territories seized by Russian forces in Türkiye.
🕯 The Russian Army lost over 522,000 officers and soldiers during the Crimean War, including 102,000 during the defence of Sevastopol.
Red Army soldiers repeated the heroic feat of the city’s defenders less than 100 years later during the second defence of Sevastopol in 1941-1942. “Legendary Sevastopol, unassailable for enemies” retained its combat glory through the ages and remains a living monument to the valour and bravery of its defenders.
#WeRemember
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🗓 #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 along with Red Army soldiers. No other capital in the world resisted Hitler so fiercely.
By the end of September 1941, the Nazi forces invaded the Baltics, Byelorussia, Moldavia and a substantial part of Ukraine, besieged Leningrad and approached Moscow. Given the strategic and political importance of the Soviet capital, Hitler threw major forces to assault it: 1.8 million people, 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 dispelled the myth of the Third Reich’s invincibility, thwarted the Nazi blitzkrieg plans, and stopped the Japanese government from joining the war on Germany’s side. This was Hitler’s first major defeat in World War II.
#BattleOfMoscow #WeRemember
By the end of September 1941, the Nazi forces invaded the Baltics, Byelorussia, Moldavia and a substantial part of Ukraine, besieged Leningrad and approached Moscow. Given the strategic and political importance of the Soviet capital, Hitler threw major forces to assault it: 1.8 million people, 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 dispelled the myth of the Third Reich’s invincibility, thwarted the Nazi blitzkrieg plans, and stopped the Japanese government from joining the war on Germany’s side. This was Hitler’s first major defeat in World War II.
#BattleOfMoscow #WeRemember
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
✈️ In late November 1942, the USSR and France signed an agreement on forming the legendary Normandie-Niemen air squadron. It became a symbol of Soviet-French camaraderie and the most famous foreign military unit fighting on Soviet territory during WWII.
• By the time the squadron was formed, two thirds of France had been occupied. However, small Resistance groups wanted to continue fighting Hitler. In March 1942 they suggested sending a group of French pilots and air mechanics to the USSR to participate in combat activities.
• The Normandie-Niemen air squadron was made up of the best pilots of the 1st Fighter Group in the Free French Air Force, deployed in Lebanon at the time. The formation was initially called Normandie in honour of the French northwestern province occupied by the Germans. The squadron added Niemen to its name after a successful operation on the Nieman river during the liberation of Lithuania.
• It included 14 French pilots, 58 French mechanics and 17 Soviet mechanics. The Soviet government provided the squadron with Yakovlev-1 (Yak-1) and later Yak-3 and Yak-9 fighter planes which were subsequently donated to France.
• The French aces were part of the Soviet Air Force in 1943-1945, and fought in many landmark battles from the Kursk Bulge to Koenigsberg. In total, the squadron’s pilots made over 5,000 sorties and shot down 273 German planes. Four of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Upon returning home, the formation continued to exist bearing its former name. Unfortunately, today the fighters of the Normandie-Niemen air regiment are cynically used on NATO's eastern flank in the Baltic States, where they are practising tasks to "contain" Russia. In our country, however, we remember the heroism of the French aces and appreciate their contribution to our common victory.
Learn more
#WeRemember #WeWereAllies
• By the time the squadron was formed, two thirds of France had been occupied. However, small Resistance groups wanted to continue fighting Hitler. In March 1942 they suggested sending a group of French pilots and air mechanics to the USSR to participate in combat activities.
• The Normandie-Niemen air squadron was made up of the best pilots of the 1st Fighter Group in the Free French Air Force, deployed in Lebanon at the time. The formation was initially called Normandie in honour of the French northwestern province occupied by the Germans. The squadron added Niemen to its name after a successful operation on the Nieman river during the liberation of Lithuania.
• It included 14 French pilots, 58 French mechanics and 17 Soviet mechanics. The Soviet government provided the squadron with Yakovlev-1 (Yak-1) and later Yak-3 and Yak-9 fighter planes which were subsequently donated to France.
• The French aces were part of the Soviet Air Force in 1943-1945, and fought in many landmark battles from the Kursk Bulge to Koenigsberg. In total, the squadron’s pilots made over 5,000 sorties and shot down 273 German planes. Four of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Upon returning home, the formation continued to exist bearing its former name. Unfortunately, today the fighters of the Normandie-Niemen air regiment are cynically used on NATO's eastern flank in the Baltic States, where they are practising tasks to "contain" Russia. In our country, however, we remember the heroism of the French aces and appreciate their contribution to our common victory.
Learn more
#WeRemember #WeWereAllies
📆 80 years ago, #OTD in 1943 the Tehran Conference codenamed “Eureka” kicked off, the first meeting of the “Big Three” leaders Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during WW2.
📍 The conference was held in the Embassy of USSR in Persia.
☝️ The most notable outcome of the Conference was the agreement on opening a second front in western Europe against Nazi Germany in May 1944.
🤝 At the same time USSR would launch another major offensive on the Eastern Front that would divert German troops away from the Allied campaign in northern France.
❗️Joseph Stalin agreed in principle that the Soviet Union would declare war against Japan following an Allied victory over Germany.
👉 At Tehran, the three Allied leaders also discussed important issues of the post-war period concerning future Polish borders, fate of the Baltic republics, and formation of the United Nations organization.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #Victory78 #UN78 #TehranConference
📍 The conference was held in the Embassy of USSR in Persia.
☝️ The most notable outcome of the Conference was the agreement on opening a second front in western Europe against Nazi Germany in May 1944.
🤝 At the same time USSR would launch another major offensive on the Eastern Front that would divert German troops away from the Allied campaign in northern France.
❗️Joseph Stalin agreed in principle that the Soviet Union would declare war against Japan following an Allied victory over Germany.
👉 At Tehran, the three Allied leaders also discussed important issues of the post-war period concerning future Polish borders, fate of the Baltic republics, and formation of the United Nations organization.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #Victory78 #UN78 #TehranConference
🌟 On January 12, 1943, the Red Army forces launched an offensive that was later codenamed Iskra (Spark).
The goal of the operation was to break the siege of Russia’s city of Leningrad.
⚔️ At 9.30 am on January 12, two thousand Soviet weapons opened fired on Nazi positions. Soviet artillery of the Leningrad Front shelled the left bank of the Neva River for two hours and twenty minutes. After the barrage, soldiers of four first-echelon divisions launched an attack across the frozen river. Light tanks and armoured vehicles supported the infantry.
By late January, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts dissected the Wehrmacht’s defences with powerful strikes from both sides and pushed the enemy 12 kilometres back from Lake Ladoga.
❗️The Germans lost about 30,000 killed, wounded and missing.
☝️ Although the siege of Leningrad was completely lifted only on January 27, 1944, Operation Iskra made it possible to partially unblock the city, considerably improving conditions of living for the besieged people.
🌟 Before that, the famous Road of Life across the ice of Lake Ladoga was the city’s only connection to the mainland.
#WWII #Victory78 #WeRemember #SiegeOfLeningrad
The goal of the operation was to break the siege of Russia’s city of Leningrad.
⚔️ At 9.30 am on January 12, two thousand Soviet weapons opened fired on Nazi positions. Soviet artillery of the Leningrad Front shelled the left bank of the Neva River for two hours and twenty minutes. After the barrage, soldiers of four first-echelon divisions launched an attack across the frozen river. Light tanks and armoured vehicles supported the infantry.
By late January, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts dissected the Wehrmacht’s defences with powerful strikes from both sides and pushed the enemy 12 kilometres back from Lake Ladoga.
❗️The Germans lost about 30,000 killed, wounded and missing.
☝️ Although the siege of Leningrad was completely lifted only on January 27, 1944, Operation Iskra made it possible to partially unblock the city, considerably improving conditions of living for the besieged people.
🌟 Before that, the famous Road of Life across the ice of Lake Ladoga was the city’s only connection to the mainland.
#WWII #Victory78 #WeRemember #SiegeOfLeningrad
🌟 79 years ago, #OTD in 1945, Warsaw was liberated by Soviet troops of the 1st Belorussian front and the 1st Polish Army as part of the Warsaw-Poznan operation within the Vistula-Oder Strategic Offensive during WW2.
The city had remained under Nazi occupation for over 5 years.
⚔️ As a result of the “Bagration” offensive in Belarus, the Red Army approached Warsaw in July 1944. But the Soviet command had no plans to take the capital of Poland right away as the main strike against Nazis was delivered south of the city.
👉 As commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front Marshal K.Rokossovsky recalled, the Red Army had been unable to gain Warsaw at that time, because it would have taken time to bring reinforcements and prepare troops, to pull up rear units etc.
⚔️ New operation of the Red Army in Poland was to be started on 20 January 1945. But in early January, due to the allies’ failure in Ardennes, Churchill asked Stalin for an urgent offensive on the Eastern front in order to divert Nazi forces. Willing to support the allies, USSR started the Vistula-Oder Offensive a week earlier.
☝️ On 17 January, the city was taken by combined efforts of Soviet 47th and 61st armies and the 1st Polish Army led by S.Poplawski. By 5 p.m. the organized resistance of the German Warsaw garrison was broken down and Soviet-Polish forces went on purging the city.
💬 Participants in these events recalled that on the streets of Warsaw they saw only ashes and ruins covered with snow. Locals were drained and dressed almost in rags.
🕯Of 1.310.000 pre-war population, there were only 162.000 left in the Polish capital.
#WWII #Nazism #WeRemember
The city had remained under Nazi occupation for over 5 years.
⚔️ As a result of the “Bagration” offensive in Belarus, the Red Army approached Warsaw in July 1944. But the Soviet command had no plans to take the capital of Poland right away as the main strike against Nazis was delivered south of the city.
👉 As commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front Marshal K.Rokossovsky recalled, the Red Army had been unable to gain Warsaw at that time, because it would have taken time to bring reinforcements and prepare troops, to pull up rear units etc.
⚔️ New operation of the Red Army in Poland was to be started on 20 January 1945. But in early January, due to the allies’ failure in Ardennes, Churchill asked Stalin for an urgent offensive on the Eastern front in order to divert Nazi forces. Willing to support the allies, USSR started the Vistula-Oder Offensive a week earlier.
☝️ On 17 January, the city was taken by combined efforts of Soviet 47th and 61st armies and the 1st Polish Army led by S.Poplawski. By 5 p.m. the organized resistance of the German Warsaw garrison was broken down and Soviet-Polish forces went on purging the city.
💬 Participants in these events recalled that on the streets of Warsaw they saw only ashes and ruins covered with snow. Locals were drained and dressed almost in rags.
🕯Of 1.310.000 pre-war population, there were only 162.000 left in the Polish capital.
#WWII #Nazism #WeRemember
Russia commemorates the Day of Military Honour marking the 80th anniversary of the lifting of the Siege of Leningrad.
🌟 #OTD in 1944, during the “January Thunder” operation against the 18th German army, the Soviet Leningrad Front crushed the Peterhof-Strelnya Nazi formation pushing the enemy back from the city by 60-100 km and completed the lifting of the siege in cooperation with the troops of the Volkhov Front.
🕯 Since 8 September 1941, Leningrad had been under siege which lasted 872 days, with the only connection to the outer world provided by the Road of Life across lake Ladoga. During the siege, over 1 million Leningrad residents were starved to death.
❌ Hitler’s intention regarding the city of Leningrad was to utterly destroy it together with its population. According to a directive sent to Army Group “North” in September 1941, “Following the city's encirclement, requests for surrender negotiations shall be denied, since the problem of relocating and feeding the population cannot and should not be solved by us. In this war for our very existence, we can have no interest in maintaining even a part of this very large urban population.”
☝️ The Red Army made as many as 4 unsuccessful attempts to break the enemy’s circle – in September 1941, October 1941, January 1942 and August-September 1942. January 1943, when the Battle of Stalingrad distracted major Nazi forces, became the pivotal moment.
🌟 Soviet troops broke the siege during “Iskra” operation opening a land corridor 8-10 km wide which allowed more supplies to reach the city until the siege was completely lifted 1 year later.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #SiegeofLeningrad #Nazi #USSR #Soviet
🌟 #OTD in 1944, during the “January Thunder” operation against the 18th German army, the Soviet Leningrad Front crushed the Peterhof-Strelnya Nazi formation pushing the enemy back from the city by 60-100 km and completed the lifting of the siege in cooperation with the troops of the Volkhov Front.
🕯 Since 8 September 1941, Leningrad had been under siege which lasted 872 days, with the only connection to the outer world provided by the Road of Life across lake Ladoga. During the siege, over 1 million Leningrad residents were starved to death.
❌ Hitler’s intention regarding the city of Leningrad was to utterly destroy it together with its population. According to a directive sent to Army Group “North” in September 1941, “Following the city's encirclement, requests for surrender negotiations shall be denied, since the problem of relocating and feeding the population cannot and should not be solved by us. In this war for our very existence, we can have no interest in maintaining even a part of this very large urban population.”
☝️ The Red Army made as many as 4 unsuccessful attempts to break the enemy’s circle – in September 1941, October 1941, January 1942 and August-September 1942. January 1943, when the Battle of Stalingrad distracted major Nazi forces, became the pivotal moment.
🌟 Soviet troops broke the siege during “Iskra” operation opening a land corridor 8-10 km wide which allowed more supplies to reach the city until the siege was completely lifted 1 year later.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #SiegeofLeningrad #Nazi #USSR #Soviet
🕯 Today marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day established by the United Nations General Assembly.
🌟 OTD in 1945 the Red Army’s 1st Ukrainian Front troops led by Marshal I.Konev liberated “Auschwitz” prisoners putting an end to the largest death camp of the Third Reich and finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there.
▪️ Auschwitz was really a group of camps, designated I, II, and III. There were also 40 smaller “satellite” camps.
It was at Auschwitz II, at Birkenau, established in October 1941, that the SS created a complex, monstrously orchestrated killing ground: 300 prison barracks; four “bathhouses” in which prisoners were gassed; corpse cellars; and cremating ovens.
▪️Thousands of prisoners were also used for medical experiments overseen and performed by the camp doctor, Josef Mengele, the “Angel of Death.”
▪️The Nazis destroyed the majority of the documents, so the exact number of victims of the death camps is still unknown.
❗️According to the information about deportations, more than 1,5 million people died in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
☝️ Despite shameful attempts to re-write history in many states, including those that call themselves democracies, and the criminal war on monuments in Europe, the Holocaust, one of the most tragic events of the 20th century, will always remain in human history as an unprecedentedly atrocious attempt to translate the principles of a misanthropic ideology into action.
#WWII #WeRemember #Nazism #Nazi #NeverAgain
🌟 OTD in 1945 the Red Army’s 1st Ukrainian Front troops led by Marshal I.Konev liberated “Auschwitz” prisoners putting an end to the largest death camp of the Third Reich and finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there.
▪️ Auschwitz was really a group of camps, designated I, II, and III. There were also 40 smaller “satellite” camps.
It was at Auschwitz II, at Birkenau, established in October 1941, that the SS created a complex, monstrously orchestrated killing ground: 300 prison barracks; four “bathhouses” in which prisoners were gassed; corpse cellars; and cremating ovens.
▪️Thousands of prisoners were also used for medical experiments overseen and performed by the camp doctor, Josef Mengele, the “Angel of Death.”
▪️The Nazis destroyed the majority of the documents, so the exact number of victims of the death camps is still unknown.
❗️According to the information about deportations, more than 1,5 million people died in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
☝️ Despite shameful attempts to re-write history in many states, including those that call themselves democracies, and the criminal war on monuments in Europe, the Holocaust, one of the most tragic events of the 20th century, will always remain in human history as an unprecedentedly atrocious attempt to translate the principles of a misanthropic ideology into action.
#WWII #WeRemember #Nazism #Nazi #NeverAgain
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
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🗓 On January 27, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko took part in a ceremony for unveiling a memorial to the USSR civilians who fell victim of the Nazi genocide during the Great Patriotic War. The event is timed to the 80th Anniversary of breaking the Siege of Leningrad.
💬 President Putin: January 27 is one of the most important dates in our shared national history. On this day in 1944, Red Army soldiers completely lifted the Siege of Leningrad. A year later, in 1945, they liberated Auschwitz.
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For eight decades now, our pain for the victims, for the shattered destinies, and for everyone who endured incredible ordeals has not subsided. Our compassion is passed on from generation to generation and has #NoStatuteOfLimitation, just like the crimes of Hitler’s fanatics and their accomplices, those who cold-bloodedly planned and cruelly carried out the genocide of the Soviet people.
🕯 The massacres of unarmed and defenceless elderly people, women, children, and disabled were deliberate, systemic punitive acts.
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We are witnessing a disturbing trend where the outcomes of the Nuremberg trials, which unequivocally condemned Nazism, are being revised. Some countries not only rewrite history and exonerate the executioners: revanchists and neo-Nazis have embraced the Nazi ideology and methods.
• Tens of thousands of people in the Baltic states are labelled “subhuman,” stripped of basic rights and persecuted.
• The Kiev regime glorifies Hitler's followers and members of the SS and uses terror against dissenters. Barbaric shelling of peaceful cities and towns persists, and the killing of the elderly, women and children continues.
• Some European countries endorse Russophobia as a state policy.
❗️ We will do everything in our power to halt and eradicate Nazism.
The followers of Nazi executioners are doomed. Nothing can deter the desire of millions of people in Russia and across the planet for true freedom, justice, peace, and security.
#Victory79 #WeRemember
💬 President Putin: January 27 is one of the most important dates in our shared national history. On this day in 1944, Red Army soldiers completely lifted the Siege of Leningrad. A year later, in 1945, they liberated Auschwitz.
<...>
For eight decades now, our pain for the victims, for the shattered destinies, and for everyone who endured incredible ordeals has not subsided. Our compassion is passed on from generation to generation and has #NoStatuteOfLimitation, just like the crimes of Hitler’s fanatics and their accomplices, those who cold-bloodedly planned and cruelly carried out the genocide of the Soviet people.
🕯 The massacres of unarmed and defenceless elderly people, women, children, and disabled were deliberate, systemic punitive acts.
<...>
We are witnessing a disturbing trend where the outcomes of the Nuremberg trials, which unequivocally condemned Nazism, are being revised. Some countries not only rewrite history and exonerate the executioners: revanchists and neo-Nazis have embraced the Nazi ideology and methods.
• Tens of thousands of people in the Baltic states are labelled “subhuman,” stripped of basic rights and persecuted.
• The Kiev regime glorifies Hitler's followers and members of the SS and uses terror against dissenters. Barbaric shelling of peaceful cities and towns persists, and the killing of the elderly, women and children continues.
• Some European countries endorse Russophobia as a state policy.
❗️ We will do everything in our power to halt and eradicate Nazism.
The followers of Nazi executioners are doomed. Nothing can deter the desire of millions of people in Russia and across the planet for true freedom, justice, peace, and security.
#Victory79 #WeRemember
🌟 Today Russia marks the Day of Military Glory – the Day of defeat of Nazi troops in the Battle of Stalingrad.
81 years ago, the Wehrmacht’s northern grouping in Stalingrad surrendered to the Red Army (following 2 days after the southern group led by General Field Marshal F.Paulus had done the same).
❗️The Battle of Stalingrad became one of the largest and bloodiest battles ever involving up to 2,1 million participants from both USSR and Nazi allies (Germans, Italians, Romanians, Hungarians). Soviet victory marked the turning point in WW2 with USSR seizing strategic initiative from Nazis.
☝️ In comparison, the Battle of El Alamein in North Africa often portrayed by Western historians as having decided the outcome of WW2 involved 335.000 soldiers from both sides.
👉 The Wehrmacht’s losses at Stalingrad amounted to 900.000, at El Alamein – some 28.000.
✍️ An English journalist is said to have written once that in 28 days Hitler captured the whole of Poland and in Stalingrad during the same period managed to capture only one house.
France surrendered to the Nazis in 38 days, for which the defenders of Stalingrad gave them only one street.
#WWII #WeRemember #BattleOfStalingrad
81 years ago, the Wehrmacht’s northern grouping in Stalingrad surrendered to the Red Army (following 2 days after the southern group led by General Field Marshal F.Paulus had done the same).
❗️The Battle of Stalingrad became one of the largest and bloodiest battles ever involving up to 2,1 million participants from both USSR and Nazi allies (Germans, Italians, Romanians, Hungarians). Soviet victory marked the turning point in WW2 with USSR seizing strategic initiative from Nazis.
☝️ In comparison, the Battle of El Alamein in North Africa often portrayed by Western historians as having decided the outcome of WW2 involved 335.000 soldiers from both sides.
👉 The Wehrmacht’s losses at Stalingrad amounted to 900.000, at El Alamein – some 28.000.
✍️ An English journalist is said to have written once that in 28 days Hitler captured the whole of Poland and in Stalingrad during the same period managed to capture only one house.
France surrendered to the Nazis in 38 days, for which the defenders of Stalingrad gave them only one street.
#WWII #WeRemember #BattleOfStalingrad
📆 100 years ago, #OTD in 1924, Roza Shanina was born, legendary Soviet female solo sniper, one of the first female snipers to be awarded the Order of Glory.
🌟 Roza volunteered for the military having lost her brothers in the war. After graduating from Central Women’s Sniper Training School with honours she joined a female sniper platoon of the 184th Rifle Division in April 1944.
She was described as the “unseen terror of East Prussia” being credited with 59 confirmed kills in less than a year.
She hoped to go to university or devote herself to raising orphans after the war.
🕯 But on 28 January 1945, she sacrificed her life shielding a wounded officer with her body in Eastern Prussia. At that time, she was only 20.
#Victory79 #WeRemember
🌟 Roza volunteered for the military having lost her brothers in the war. After graduating from Central Women’s Sniper Training School with honours she joined a female sniper platoon of the 184th Rifle Division in April 1944.
She was described as the “unseen terror of East Prussia” being credited with 59 confirmed kills in less than a year.
She hoped to go to university or devote herself to raising orphans after the war.
🕯 But on 28 January 1945, she sacrificed her life shielding a wounded officer with her body in Eastern Prussia. At that time, she was only 20.
#Victory79 #WeRemember
📆 79 years ago, on 4 April 1945, Bratislava was liberated from the Nazis by Soviet troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and Romanian Army under command of Marshal Rodion Malinovsky during Bratislava-Brno Offensive.
The city was prepared for defense by the enemy, with eastern suburbs of Bratislava being the most fortified area. In order to prevent destructions in the city Marshal R.Malinovsky decided to go around it and attack from the northwest but fighting in the city couldn’t be entirely avoided. Street battles continued for two days before Bratislava was totally purged.
💫 Local population greeted the Red Army soldiers as their liberators. Dressed up citizens of Czechoslovak towns and villages left their houses to take part in spontaneous rallies and festivities honouring Soviet soldiers.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #USSR #Soviet #Russia #Slovakia #historyofRussia #historyofUSSR #militaryhistory #Czechoslovakia #Bratislava #Brno #rodionmalinovsky
The city was prepared for defense by the enemy, with eastern suburbs of Bratislava being the most fortified area. In order to prevent destructions in the city Marshal R.Malinovsky decided to go around it and attack from the northwest but fighting in the city couldn’t be entirely avoided. Street battles continued for two days before Bratislava was totally purged.
#WW2 #WWII #WeRemember #USSR #Soviet #Russia #Slovakia #historyofRussia #historyofUSSR #militaryhistory #Czechoslovakia #Bratislava #Brno #rodionmalinovsky
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📆 #OTD, on 5 April 1943, the Normandie-Niemen fighter squadron made up of French volunteers engaged in hostilities against Nazi Germany as part of Soviet Air Force.
It was General de Gaulle, commander of the French resistance, who hatched the idea to send French pilots to the Russian front. The initiative was approved by the Soviet government.
⚔️ Initially, the squadron consisted of 14 pilots and 47 mechanics in its ranks, but soon expanded and turned into a regiment.
🛩 French pilots completed more than 5,000 missions and shot down at least 273 German military aircrafts.
🌟 Out of the group’s initial makeup, only three pilots survived. Overall, about a hundred Frenchmen fought in the Normandie-Niemen regiment, 4 of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union – a rare honour for foreigners at that time.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
It was General de Gaulle, commander of the French resistance, who hatched the idea to send French pilots to the Russian front. The initiative was approved by the Soviet government.
⚔️ Initially, the squadron consisted of 14 pilots and 47 mechanics in its ranks, but soon expanded and turned into a regiment.
🛩 French pilots completed more than 5,000 missions and shot down at least 273 German military aircrafts.
🌟 Out of the group’s initial makeup, only three pilots survived. Overall, about a hundred Frenchmen fought in the Normandie-Niemen regiment, 4 of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union – a rare honour for foreigners at that time.
#WWII #WeRemember #Victory79
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
By July 1943, a significant part of Soviet territory was still under Nazi control, but the potential of the Third Reich war machine was already running out. Trying to regain the initiative, the Wehrmacht command developed a summer offensive plan, codenamed Operation Citadel. The Nazis intended to destroy the Voronezh and Central fronts and crush the Red Army tank reserves near Prokhorovka, a village in the Belgorod Region.
🔻 By the night of July 9, German troops succeeded in cutting into the Voronezh Front defences, but their further advance was curbed. The German command then decided to try and break the Soviet defence line by striking at Prokhorovka, to reach Kursk from the south-east. To disrupt the offensive, the Voronezh Front command launched a counterattack on July 12, which went down in history as the Battle of Prokhorovka.
On July 12, Germany’s 2nd SS Panzer Corps faced off against two Soviet forces, Alexey Zhadov’s 5th Guards Army and the 5th Guards Tank Army commanded by Pavel Rotmistrov in the vicinity of Prokhorovka. The battle was fought with varying success; both sides were forced to draw on reserves.
✍️ Soviet ace tanker Vasily Bryukhov recalled in his memoirs: “Strong explosions often made a tank just collapse, turn into a pile of metal in a matter of seconds. <...> The opponents were perfect matches for each other. They fought desperately, ferociously, with fierce abandon.”
In every instance of the battle, the Red Army soldiers demonstrated unparalleled courage and extraordinary fighting skill. Thanks to their decisive actions, the enemy exhausted offensive opportunities and on July 16, began to withdraw its troops to the initial positions held at the beginning of the Battle of Kursk. The Red Army seized the strategic initiative and held it for the rest of the war.
#Victory79 #WeRemember
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📆 80 years ago, #OTD in 1944, the city of Narva in Soviet Estonia was liberated from Nazi invaders as part of the Narva operation carried out by the forces of the Leningrad Front of the Red Army.
The city had remained under German occupation since August 1941.
⚔️ Soviet troops crossed the Narva river and seized bridgeheads on its banks as early as February 1944 during the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive. But the enemy offered stiff resistance and could stop Red Army’s further advance. Nazis moved up reinforcements including Estonian SS regiments and units of ‘Nordland’ division.
☝️ Both Soviet and Nazi command realized the importance of the Narva foothold which paved the way to the coast of the Gulf of Finland and the whole of the Baltic region, creating threat for the Axis ally Finland.
On 24 July 1944, following an artillery barrage, Soviet forces launched the offensive. Land troops were supported by the 13th Air Army. Soviet fighter aviation destroyed Wehrmacht’s artillery batteries and manpower, delivered strikes on communications facilities.
🌟 On 26 July 1944, Narva was liberated with Nazis driven back to Tannnenberg defensive line.
#Victory79 #WeRemember
The city had remained under German occupation since August 1941.
⚔️ Soviet troops crossed the Narva river and seized bridgeheads on its banks as early as February 1944 during the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive. But the enemy offered stiff resistance and could stop Red Army’s further advance. Nazis moved up reinforcements including Estonian SS regiments and units of ‘Nordland’ division.
☝️ Both Soviet and Nazi command realized the importance of the Narva foothold which paved the way to the coast of the Gulf of Finland and the whole of the Baltic region, creating threat for the Axis ally Finland.
On 24 July 1944, following an artillery barrage, Soviet forces launched the offensive. Land troops were supported by the 13th Air Army. Soviet fighter aviation destroyed Wehrmacht’s artillery batteries and manpower, delivered strikes on communications facilities.
🌟 On 26 July 1944, Narva was liberated with Nazis driven back to Tannnenberg defensive line.
#Victory79 #WeRemember