The day of the German offensive. German attack
June 21, 1941, 13:00. German troops receive the code signal "Dortmund", confirming that the invasion will begin the next day.
Commander of the 2nd Tank Group of Army Group Center Heinz Guderian writes in his diary: “Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they did not suspect anything about our intentions. In the courtyard of the Brest fortress, which was visible from our observation points, they were changing the guards to the sounds of an orchestra. The coastal fortifications along the Western Bug were not occupied by Russian troops."21:00. Soldiers of the 90th border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained a German serviceman who crossed the border Bug River by swimming. The defector was sent to the detachment headquarters in the city of Vladimir-Volynsky.
23:00. German minelayers stationed in Finnish ports began to mine the exit from the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, Finnish submarines began laying mines off the coast of Estonia.
June 22, 1941, 0:30. The defector was taken to Vladimir-Volynsky. During interrogation, the soldier identified himself Alfred Liskov, soldiers of the 221st Regiment of the 15th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht. He said that at dawn on June 22, the German army would go on the offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German border. The information was transferred to higher command.
At the same time, the transmission of Directive No. 1 of the People's Commissariat of Defense for parts of the western military districts began from Moscow. “During June 22-23, 1941, a surprise attack by the Germans is possible on the fronts of LVO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO. An attack may begin with provocative actions,” the directive said. “The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications.”
The units were ordered to be put on combat readiness, to secretly occupy firing points of fortified areas on the state border, and to disperse aircraft to field airfields.
Bring the directive to military units before the start of hostilities fails, as a result of which the measures specified in it are not carried out.
Mobilization. Columns of fighters are moving to the front. Photo: RIA Novosti
“I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory”
1:00. The commandants of the sections of the 90th border detachment report to the head of the detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “nothing suspicious was noticed on the adjacent side, everything is calm.”
3:05 . A group of 14 German Ju-88 bombers drops 28 magnetic mines near the Kronstadt roadstead.
3:07. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to the Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov: “The fleet’s air surveillance, warning and communications system reports the approach from the sea large quantity unknown aircraft; The fleet is in full combat readiness."
3:10. The NKGB for the Lviv region transmits by telephone message to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR the information obtained during the interrogation of the defector Alfred Liskov.
From the memoirs of the chief of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, I heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant’s office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken...”3:30. Chief of Staff of the Western District General Klimovsky reports on enemy air raids on the cities of Belarus: Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi and others.
3:33. The chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reports on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine, including Kyiv.
3:40. Commander of the Baltic Military District General Kuznetsov reports on enemy air raids on Riga, Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas and other cities.
“The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled."
3:42. Chief of the General Staff Zhukov is calling Stalin and reports the start of hostilities by Germany. Stalin orders Tymoshenko and Zhukov arrive at the Kremlin, where an emergency meeting of the Politburo is convened.
3:45. The 1st border outpost of the 86th August border detachment was attacked by an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group. Outpost personnel under command Alexandra Sivacheva, having entered into battle, destroys the attackers.
4:00. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to Zhukov: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled. But there is destruction in Sevastopol.”4:05. The outposts of the 86th August Border Detachment, including the 1st Border Outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev, come under heavy artillery fire, after which the German offensive begins. Border guards, deprived of communication with the command, engage in battle with superior enemy forces.
4:10. The Western and Baltic special military districts report the beginning of hostilities by German troops on the ground.
4:15. The Nazis open massive artillery fire on Brest Fortress. As a result, warehouses were destroyed, communications were disrupted, and there were a large number of dead and wounded.
4:25. The 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division begins an attack on the Brest Fortress.
Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Residents of the capital on June 22, 1941, during the radio announcement of a government message about a treacherous attack fascist Germany on Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti
“Protecting not individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe”
4:30. A meeting of Politburo members begins in the Kremlin. Stalin expresses doubt that what happened is the beginning of a war and does not exclude the possibility of a German provocation. People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko and Zhukov insist: this is war.
4:55. In the Brest Fortress, the Nazis manage to capture almost half of the territory. Further progress was stopped by a sudden counterattack by the Red Army.
5:00. German Ambassador to the USSR Count von Schulenburg presented to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov“Note from the German Foreign Office to the Soviet Government,” which states: “The German Government cannot remain indifferent to the serious threat on the eastern border, therefore the Fuehrer has ordered the German Armed Forces to ward off this threat by all means.” An hour after the actual start of hostilities, Germany de jure declares war on the Soviet Union.
5:30. On German radio, the Reich Minister of Propaganda Goebbels reads out the appeal Adolf Hitler to the German people in connection with the start of the war against the Soviet Union: “Now the hour has come when it is necessary to speak out against this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow... At the moment, a military action of the greatest extent and volume is taking place, what the world has ever seen... The task of this front is no longer to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and thereby save everyone.”7:00. Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs Ribbentrop begins a press conference at which he announces the beginning of hostilities against the USSR: “The German army has invaded the territory of Bolshevik Russia!”
“The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?”
7:15. Stalin approves a directive to repel the attack of Nazi Germany: “The troops with all their might and means attack enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border.” Transfer of “directive No. 2” due to saboteurs’ disruption of communication lines in western districts. Moscow does not have a clear picture of what is happening in the combat zone.
9:30. It was decided that at noon, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov would address the Soviet people in connection with the outbreak of war.
10:00. From the speaker's memories Yuri Levitan: “They’re calling from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they’re calling from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why aren’t you transmitting anything on the radio?” “Enemy planes are over Kiev.” A woman’s crying, excitement: “Is it really war?..” However, no official messages are transmitted until 12:00 Moscow time on June 22.
10:30. From a report from the headquarters of the 45th German division about the battles on the territory of the Brest Fortress: “The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles. Enemy sniper fire resulted in heavy casualties among officers and non-commissioned officers."11:00. The Baltic, Western and Kiev special military districts were transformed into the North-Western, Western and South-Western fronts.
“The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours"
12:00. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov reads out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union: “Today at 4 o’clock in the morning, without making any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed us with their planes attacked our cities - Zhitomir, Kyiv, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Raids by enemy planes and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory... Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repel the bandit attack and expel German troops from the territory of our homeland... The government calls on you, citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally our ranks even more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader, Comrade Stalin.
Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours" .
12:30. Advanced German units break into the Belarusian city of Grodno.
13:00.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issues a decree “On the mobilization of those liable for military service...”
“Based on Article 49, paragraph “o” of the USSR Constitution, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces mobilization on the territory of the military districts - Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kyiv special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North -Caucasian and Transcaucasian.
13:30. Chief of the General Staff General Zhukov flies to Kyiv as a representative of the newly created Headquarters of the Main Command on the Southwestern Front.
Photo: RIA Novosti
14:00. The Brest Fortress is completely surrounded by German troops. Soviet units blocked in the citadel continue to offer fierce resistance.
14:05. Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano states: “In view of the current situation, due to the fact that Germany declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and as a member of the Tripartite Pact, also declares war on the Soviet Union from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory.”
14:10. The 1st border outpost of Alexander Sivachev has been fighting for more than 10 hours. The border guards, who had only small arms and grenades, destroyed up to 60 Nazis and burned three tanks. The wounded commander of the outpost continued to command the battle.
15:00. From the notes of the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal von Bock: “The question of whether the Russians are carrying out a systematic withdrawal remains open. There is now plenty of evidence both for and against this.
What is surprising is that nowhere is any significant work of their artillery visible. Heavy artillery fire is conducted only in the northwest of Grodno, where the VIII Army Corps is advancing. Apparently, our air force has an overwhelming superiority over Russian aviation.”Of the 485 border posts attacked, not a single one withdrew without orders.
16:00. After a 12-hour battle, the Nazis took the positions of the 1st border outpost. This became possible only after all the border guards who defended it died. The head of the outpost, Alexander Sivachev, was posthumously awarded the order Patriotic War I degree.
The feat of the outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev was one of hundreds committed by border guards in the first hours and days of the war. On June 22, 1941, the state border of the USSR from the Barents to the Black Sea was guarded by 666 border outposts, 485 of which were attacked on the very first day of the war. Not one of the 485 outposts attacked on June 22 withdrew without orders.
Hitler's command allotted 20 minutes to break the resistance of the border guards. 257 Soviet border posts held their defense from several hours to one day. More than one day - 20, more than two days - 16, more than three days - 20, more than four and five days - 43, from seven to nine days - 4, more than eleven days - 51, more than twelve days - 55, more than 15 days - 51 outpost. Forty-five outposts fought for up to two months.
Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The workers of Leningrad listen to a message about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti
Of the 19,600 border guards who met the Nazis on June 22 in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, more than 16,000 died in the first days of the war.
17:00. Hitler's units manage to occupy the southwestern part of the Brest Fortress, the northeast remained under the control of Soviet troops. Stubborn battles for the fortress will continue for weeks.
“The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland”
18:00. The Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow and Kolomna, addresses the believers with a message: “Fascist robbers attacked our homeland. Trampling all kinds of agreements and promises, they suddenly fell upon us, and now the blood of peaceful citizens is already irrigating our native land... Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not abandon her people even now... The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland.”
19:00. From the notes of the Chief of the General Staff ground forces Wehrmacht Colonel General Franz Halder: “All armies, except the 11th Army of Army Group South in Romania, went on the offensive according to plan. The offensive of our troops, apparently, came as a complete tactical surprise to the enemy along the entire front. Border bridges across the Bug and other rivers were everywhere captured by our troops without a fight and in complete safety. The complete surprise of our offensive for the enemy is evidenced by the fact that the units were taken by surprise in a barracks arrangement, the planes were stationed at airfields, covered with tarpaulins, and the advanced units, suddenly attacked by our troops, asked the command about what to do... The Air Force command reported, that today 850 enemy aircraft have been destroyed, including entire squadrons of bombers, which, having taken off without fighter cover, were attacked by our fighters and destroyed.”20:00. Directive No. 3 of the People's Commissariat of Defense was approved, prescribing Soviet troops go on a counteroffensive with the task of defeating Nazi troops on the territory of the USSR with further advance into enemy territory. The directive ordered the capture of the Polish city of Lublin by the end of June 24.
Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. June 22, 1941 Nurses provide assistance to the first wounded after a Nazi air raid near Chisinau. Photo: RIA Novosti
“We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can.”
21:00. Summary of the Red Army High Command for June 22: “At dawn on June 22, 1941, regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced units of the field troops of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristinopol directions did the enemy manage to achieve minor tactical successes and occupy the towns of Kalwaria, Stoyanuv and Tsekhanovets (the first two are 15 km and the last 10 km from the border).
Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and populated areas, but everywhere they met decisive resistance from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy aircraft.”
23:00. Message from the Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill to the British people in connection with the German attack on the USSR: “At 4 o'clock this morning Hitler attacked Russia. All his usual formalities of treachery were observed with scrupulous precision... suddenly, without a declaration of war, even without an ultimatum, German bombs fell from the sky onto Russian cities, German troops violated Russian borders, and within an hour later ambassador Germany, who just the day before generously lavished his assurances of friendship and almost alliance on the Russians, paid a visit to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and declared that Russia and Germany are in a state of war...
No one has been more staunchly opposed to communism over the past 25 years than I have been. I will not take back a single word that was said about him. But all this pales in comparison to the spectacle unfolding now.The past, with its crimes, follies and tragedies, recedes. I see Russian soldiers as they stand on the border of their native land and guard the fields that their fathers have plowed since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes; their mothers and wives pray—oh, yes, because at such a time everyone prays for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, patron, their protectors...
We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can. We must call on all our friends and allies in all parts of the world to pursue a similar course and pursue it as steadfastly and steadily as we will, to the very end.”
June 22 came to an end. There were still 1417 days ahead terrible war in the history of mankind.
Every year, on the eve of a terrible and tragic date for our people - June 22, I ask myself again and again how could this happen? How a country that was preparing for war and had perhaps the strongest army at that time suffered a crushing defeat, 4 million Red Army soldiers surrendered and were captured, and the people were on the verge of extermination. Who is to blame for this? Stalin? Quite acceptable, but is he the only one? Maybe someone else is involved in this, maybe someone else's wrong actions are hiding another White spot stories about World War II? Let's try to figure it out. A year before the war 1940 Summer. World War II has been raging for almost a year. Hitler and the Germany he led are reaching unprecedented heights. France was defeated, and with this victory almost all of continental Europe was at the feet of the Nazis. The Wehrmacht begins to prepare for war with England. On July 16, 1940, Hitler signed Directive No. 16 on the preparation of an operation to land troops in Great Britain, codenamed “Sea Lion”. Not a word about the war with the USSR. Hitler does not need a war with the Soviet Union. Hitler is not suicidal. And he read the great strategists of Germany's past: Clausewitz and Bismarck. They bequeathed to the Germans that they should never fight with Russia. A war with Russia is suicide: this is a huge territory that cannot be occupied by any armies, it is impenetrable swamps and forests, a cruel winter with wild frosts. And this is an army of millions; plus Stalin's industrialization gives this army the latest tanks, planes and artillery. This is a people who have never recognized foreign invaders, their own - yes, foreign - no. To decide on a war with Russia, you must either have a huge, strong, professional army with a militarized economy subordinate to it, or be suicidal with a guarantee of failure. As for the first, it has long been no secret total troops of Germany and the USSR. These figures are even given in history textbooks. Before the attack on the USSR, Hitler had about 3,500 tanks, about 4,000 aircraft, 190 divisions, and this number included all divisions (motorized, tank, and infantry). What about the other side? Comparing the German Wehrmacht and the USSR before the war, in all reference books, textbooks and books I always observed one detail, perhaps unnoticed by other researchers. Leading German forces, researchers give all the troops concentrated near the border with the USSR. This is the overwhelming number of the entire Wehrmacht, besides this, Germany only has occupation forces in the occupied countries of Europe. When citing Soviet forces, only Western Military District, KOVO and PribVO (Western, Kiev and Baltic military districts) are given. But this is not the entire Soviet army. But it still turns out that Germany is several times inferior in number even to these districts. And if you compare the Wehrmacht with the entire Red Army? Only a madman could attack such a colossus as the USSR. Or someone who had no choice but to launch a self-defeating attack. This is exactly what happened on June 22, 1941. Who and by what unjustified actions forced Hitler to take this step, which ultimately destroyed him and the Third Reich? Unjustified appetites of the aggressor The USSR, acting as a real aggressor, seized foreign territories and occupied independent states. There is nothing strange in this; this is how any aggressors, both past and present, acted and act. In 1940, the Baltic countries were subjected to aggression: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - two originally historical regions of Romania. What changes, what happens after these seizures on the political map of the world? First. The borders of the Reich and the USSR touch, that is, now “only a spark is needed for fire.” And this spark is struck by one of our military leaders - Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. Second. The oil fields of Romania are just a stone's throw away - 180 kilometers. This is a direct threat to the Reich. Without oil, the Wehrmacht war machine will stop. Third. With the occupation of the Baltic states, a direct threat arose to the most important supply artery of the Reich - the transport of iron ore from Luleå (Sweden) across the Baltic Sea. And without iron ore, Germany, naturally, would also not be able to fight successfully - this is the most important resource. The “Romanian oil” aspect is especially important. After Stalin’s step and the execution of this step, G.K. Zhukov, among other things, the USSR had the following problems: Romania, having become an ally of Hitler, spoiled relations with the USSR (what else, when territory is taken away from you?), the front with Germany increased by 800 kilometers, plus another springboard for Hitler to attack THE USSR. The worst thing is that Stalin scared Hitler. It was Zhukov’s seizure of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina that excited the Fuhrer and the German military command. There is a direct threat to the oil fields of Romania. From this moment on, a strike against the USSR begins to be developed. Alternatives to June 22 Although history doesn’t like the subjunctive mood, it’s still “what would have happened if?” Germany is going to fight with British Empire and is preparing for the most difficult landing on Foggy Albion. All this is known, but could Zhukov change anything? It is quite possible that Stalin could listen to the voice of Georgy Konstantinovich and resolve military issues with him. In the summer of 1940 there were several alternatives. Let's look at them. First. Don’t stop after striking Bessarabia, but move on and capture all of Romania. Hitler, who had concentrated his army along the Atlantic coast, would not have been able to successfully thwart Zhukov. Ten divisions in Poland and Slovakia do not count. With the capture of all of Romania, the oil fields of Ploesti leave the hands of Germany - and this puts the Reich in a dependent position. Synthetic fuel is not a solution: there is not enough of it, it is of poor quality and very expensive. Second. Zhukov could have recommended that Stalin wait a little until the Reich got bogged down in a war with England. After all, landing on the island of Albion is a very risky and complex undertaking, and even if everything goes well, then even then Stalin and Zhukov will have a very favorable moment for an attack - the very moment when the German army ends up on this island - and for a successful operation it would take about 80-85% of the Wehrmacht. But what happened happened. The Red Army, having captured Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, stopped. Yes, you will say that Stalin did not set the task for Zhukov to crush Romania in the summer of 1940. But Zhukov could have tried, if he had been a strategist, as our directors and writers portray him, to suggest to Stalin an almost win-win option. Didn't tell me. He was afraid or did not understand the strategy of waging war. “As a result of the successful development of offensive operations of the Central, Southern and Southwestern fronts, the Red Army occupied the cities of Brussels, Amsterdam, Bruges and others during the liberation campaign. In the direction of Vienna, Salzburg, Strasbourg, enemy troops in numbers were surrounded and surrendered...” This is, or almost so, the words of military reports from the front, when the Red Army would subjugate Europe. But do we need this?***** EDITOR'S COMMENT What was the reason for the defeats of the Red Army in the initial period of the war? In Soviet times, they usually sought an explanation in the surprise of the attack, in Germany's superiority in military strength (which in fact did not exist), in the incompleteness of the country's transition to war (which also did not happen). The “partial loss of command and control” was briefly mentioned, which is a misconception, since in this case we are talking about the partial preservation of command and control. This is the opinion of famous Russian historians Yu.T. Temirov and A.S. Donets in the book “War” (M., “EXMO”, 2005). They call the main reason for the defeats of 1941 the completely incompetent command and control of troops on the part of the Chief of the General Staff G.K. Zhukov, as well as the general inability of the command staff of the Red Army to fight. The mediocrity of Zhukov and the commanders of the Red Army was caused by the authoritarianism of the System itself, which deprived the commanders of initiative and forced them to follow the stupid orders of the communists, and by repressions in the army in the pre-war period, and by the extremely weak and poor quality training command staff. The authors of the book compare the time frame for training specialists and commanders in the German army and in the Soviet army: the Germans, on average, spent 5-10 times more time on this training, and in some cases 30 times more. But the decisive role in the defeat of the Red Army was played by Zhukov’s mediocrity as a commander; he fought “not with skill, but with numbers,” made completely ridiculous tactical decisions, destroyed thousands of tanks and millions of soldiers. As a result, Zhukov was punished and removed from his post, Stalin was going to shoot him for his mistakes, but he was hardly dissuaded (Zhukov himself hid this in his memoirs, explaining his removal from the post of Chief of the General Staff by the fact that he allegedly had a fight with Stalin - this is another lie of a narcissist “commander”) But even today Russian historians cannot tell the whole truth about the war. The glaring fact is that 4 million Soviet soldiers surrendered to the 3.5 million German army in just six months of the war, and about a million more were repressed during this period for their unwillingness to fight (in total there were 5.5 million in the Red Army on June 21, 1941 . Human). The most important reason defeats - the reluctance of the army to fight for Stalin, for the hateful power of the commissars. This has never happened in history when entire units of the Red Army surrendered to the enemy, having tied up their commissars. Moreover, out of 4 million soldiers and officers who surrendered, about 1.5 million began to fight on the side of the enemy (including the million-strong Russian People's Liberation Army of General Vlasov). There could be ten, a hundred traitors. But not one and a half million! These are no longer traitors, this is a Civil War. The people, tired of the bloody communist junta, were waiting for liberation. But the tragedy was that Hitler was not a “liberator” at all, he was a conqueror. And when the people realized this, the whole course of the war immediately changed. Therefore, after all main reason defeats at the beginning of the war - the pre-war Bolshevik yoke, which did not allow people to understand at all the meaning of protecting such an ugly and rotten state as the USSR from the enemy. It is curious that today at all events in connection with the events of 1941 (on the “Stalin Line”, etc.) the idea is conveyed that “they died, but did not give up.” “Soviet-trained” historians claim the same thing in their articles. But what about the fact that during 6 months of the war, out of a 5.5 million-person army, 4 million surrendered to the Germans, about a million more were repressed for their unwillingness to fight (600 more than a thousand as of October in Beria’s certificate, of which about 30 thousand were shot as of October), and only about 500 thousand soldiers and officers from the pre-war Red Army were killed or wounded in hostilities? Naked statistics show that they just SURRENDERED, and did not die - EVERYONE SURRENDERED: about 80% of the pre-war composition of the Red Army surrendered to the Germans! Let the Red Army surrender for political reasons, and many historians call it the “Act Civil War", and not betrayal. But there was the crappy power of the USSR - and it had its own people: things are different. The Red Army actually betrayed its people, which it was supposed to protect, which fed and clothed it, which trained it, which gave it the best military equipment in the world - while living from hand to mouth . Even the fact that 4 million Soviet prisoners of war were in the rear of the advancing 3.5 million enemy army seems absurd: they could well have dispersed the puny guards and seized power behind German lines, thereby carrying out an operation to encircle the entire advancing German army. But instead, for weeks they walked in an endless column to the West in front of the windows of the Belarusians - dreaming of Hitler’s imminent victory and a new life without the Bolsheviks. That is, not so much in German captivity, but in captivity of one’s own illusions. This is precisely the tragedy, and it is hushed up in every possible way even today, because the behavior of 4 million surrendered Red Army soldiers must somehow be explained - and it is difficult to explain. It is much easier to call them “heroes,” although Stalin considered them traitors (80% of his army!). And it’s even easier to continue the odious lie that “they died, but did not give up.” And the truth is that in the Land of Slaves, which was Stalin’s USSR, the army can only consist of slaves. And such an Army of slaves cannot fight, even having the best technology in the world, because it does not understand the purpose of this: a slave will never be a patriot of his slavery. As a result, Hitler simply took advantage of this situation. Among other things, a huge gift awaited him: he started the war with 3.5 thousand antediluvian tanks, and in the first weeks of the war, the surrendered units of the Red Army gave him another 6.5 thousand new tanks, among which a significant part were KV and T-34. They became the striking force of the Wehrmacht in the attack on Smolensk, Moscow and Leningrad, acquiring the indices “KV(r)” and “T-34(r)”. Another paradox initial stage The war is that all of conquered Europe gave Hitler only 3.5 thousand tanks to attack the USSR, and the surrendered Red Army added another 6.5 thousand, bringing the number of tanks in Hitler’s army in July 1941 to 10 thousand! And this is kept silent (the number of tanks the Germans had in July-October 1941 is hidden), although without this fact it is difficult to understand how with 3.5 thousand tanks it is possible to defeat an army that has 27 thousand tanks, including the invincible KV and T-34... Sergey GRIGORIEV, Vitebsk “Secret Research”
Attack of Hitler's Germany on the USSR began at 4 a.m. on June 22, 1941, when German military aircraft launched the first strikes on a number of Soviet cities and strategic military and infrastructure facilities. By attacking the USSR, Germany unilaterally broke the non-aggression pact between the countries, concluded two years earlier for a period of 10 years.
Prerequisites and preparation for the attack
In mid-1939, the USSR changed the course of its foreign policy: the collapse of the idea of “collective security” and the deadlock in negotiations with Great Britain and France forced Moscow to move closer to Nazi Germany. On August 23, the head of the German Foreign Ministry, J. von Ribbentrop, arrived in Moscow. On the same day, the parties signed a Non-Aggression Pact for a period of ten years, and in addition to it, a secret protocol that stipulated the delimitation of the spheres of interests of both states in Eastern Europe. Eight days after the treaty was signed, Germany attacked Poland and World War II began.
The rapid victories of German troops in Europe caused concern in Moscow. The first deterioration in Soviet-German relations occurred in August-September 1940, and was caused by Germany providing foreign policy guarantees to Romania after it was forced to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the USSR (this was stipulated in the secret protocol). In September, Germany sent troops to Finland. By this time, the German command had been developing a plan for a lightning war (“blitzkrieg”) against the Soviet Union for more than a month.
In the spring of 1941, relations between Moscow and Berlin deteriorated sharply again: not even a day had passed since the signing of the Soviet-Yugoslav friendship treaty when German troops invaded Yugoslavia. The USSR did not react to this, as well as to the attack on Greece. After the defeat of Greece and Yugoslavia, German troops began to concentrate near the borders of the USSR. Since the spring of 1941, Moscow received information from various sources about the threat of an attack from Germany. Thus, at the end of March, a letter to Stalin warning that the Germans were transferring tank divisions from Romania to southern Poland was sent by British Prime Minister W. Churchill. A number of Soviet intelligence officers and diplomats reported on Germany's intention to attack the USSR - Schulze-Boysen and Harnack from Germany, R. Sorge from Japan. However, some of their colleagues reported the opposite, so Moscow was in no hurry to draw conclusions. According to G.K. Zhukov, Stalin was confident that Hitler would not fight on two fronts and would not start a war with the USSR until the end of the war in the West. His point of view was shared by the head of the intelligence department, General F.I. Golikov: on March 20, 1941, he presented Stalin with a report in which he concluded that all data about the inevitability of the imminent outbreak of the Soviet-German war “must be regarded as disinformation coming from the British and even, maybe German intelligence."
In the face of the growing threat of conflict, Stalin took formal leadership of the government: on May 6, 1941, he took over as chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. The day before, he spoke in the Kremlin at a reception in honor of graduates of military academies, in particular, saying that it was time for the country to move “from defense to offense.” On May 15, 1941, People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko and the newly appointed Chief of the General Staff G.K. Zhukov presented Stalin with “Considerations on the strategic deployment plan armed forces Soviet Union in case of war with Germany and its allies." It was assumed that the Red Army would strike the enemy at a time when the enemy armies were in the process of deployment. According to Zhukov, Stalin did not even want to hear about a preventive strike on German troops. Fearing a provocation that could give Germany a pretext for attack, Stalin forbade opening fire on German reconnaissance aircraft, which had been increasingly crossing the Soviet border since the spring of 1941. He was convinced that, by exercising extreme caution, the USSR would avoid war or at least delay it until a more favorable moment.
On June 14, 1941, by order of the Soviet government, TASS published a statement in which it was stated that rumors about Germany’s intention to break the non-aggression pact and start a war against the USSR were devoid of any basis, and the transfer of German troops from the Balkans to eastern Germany was probably associated with other motives . On June 17, 1941, Stalin was informed that Soviet intelligence officer Schulze-Boysen, an employee of the German aviation headquarters, said: “All German military measures to prepare an armed attack against the USSR are completely completed, and a strike can be expected at any time.” The Soviet leader imposed a resolution in which he called Schulze-Boysen a disinformer and advised him to be sent to hell.
On the evening of June 21, 1941, a message was received in Moscow: a sergeant major of the German army, a convinced communist, crossed the Soviet-Romanian border at the risk of his life and reported that the offensive would begin in the morning. The information was urgently transferred to Stalin, and he gathered the military and members of the Politburo. People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko and Chief of the General Staff G.K. Zhukov, according to the latter, asked Stalin to accept a directive to put troops on combat readiness, but he doubted it, suggesting that the Germans could have planted the defector officer on purpose in order to provoke a conflict. Instead of the directive proposed by Tymoshenko and Zhukov, the head of state ordered another, short directive, indicating that the attack could begin with a provocation of German units. On June 22 at 0:30 am this order was transmitted to the military districts. At three o'clock in the morning everyone gathered at Stalin's left.
Start of hostilities
Early in the morning of June 22, 1941, German aviation destroyed a significant part of Soviet aviation with a surprise attack on airfields. western districts. The bombing of Kyiv, Riga, Smolensk, Murmansk, Sevastopol and many other cities began. In a declaration read out on the radio that day, Hitler said that Moscow allegedly “treacherously violated” the treaty of friendship with Germany because it concentrated troops against it and violated German borders. Therefore, the Führer said, he decided “to oppose the Judeo-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and their assistants, as well as the Jews from the Moscow Bolshevik center” in the name of “the cause of peace” and “the security of Europe.”
The offensive was carried out according to the previously developed Barbarossa plan. As in previous military campaigns, the Germans hoped to use the tactics of “lightning war” (“blitzkrieg”): the defeat of the USSR was supposed to take only eight to ten weeks and be completed before Germany ended the war with Great Britain. Planning to end the war before winter, the German command did not even bother to prepare winter uniforms. German armies consisting of three groups were supposed to attack Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv, having previously encircled and destroyed enemy troops in the western part of the USSR. The army groups were led by experienced military leaders: Army Group North was commanded by Field Marshal von Leeb, Army Group Center by Field Marshal von Bock, Army Group South by Field Marshal von Rundstedt. Each army group was assigned its own air fleet and tank army; the Center group had two of them. The ultimate goal of Operation Barbarossa was to reach the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line. The Germans hoped to paralyze the work of industrial enterprises located east of this line - in the Urals, Kazakhstan and Siberia - with the help of air strikes.
Giving instructions High Command armed forces, Hitler emphasized that the war with the USSR should become a “conflict of two worldviews.” He demanded a “war of destruction”: “the carriers of the state political idea and political leaders” were ordered not to be captured and shot on the spot, which was contrary to the norms international law. Anyone who offered resistance was ordered to be shot.
By the time the war began, Soviet borders 190 divisions of Germany and its allies were concentrated, of which 153 were German. They included more than 90% of the armored forces of the German army. The total number of armed forces of Germany and its allies intended to attack the USSR was 5.5 million people. They had at their disposal more than 47 thousand guns and mortars, 4,300 tanks and assault guns, and about 6 thousand combat aircraft. They were opposed by the forces of five Soviet border military districts (at the beginning of the war they were deployed on five fronts). In total, there were over 4.8 million people in the Red Army, who had 76.5 thousand guns and mortars, 22.6 thousand tanks, and approximately 20 thousand aircraft. However, in the border districts of the above there were only 2.9 million soldiers, 32.9 thousand guns and mortars, 14.2 thousand tanks and more than 9 thousand aircraft.
After 4 o'clock in the morning, Stalin was awakened by a phone call from Zhukov - he said that the war with Germany had begun. At 4:30 am, Tymoshenko and Zhukov again met with the head of state. Meanwhile, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov, on Stalin's instructions, went to a meeting with the German Ambassador V. von der Schulenburg. Until Molotov returned, Stalin refused to order counterattacks against enemy units. The conversation between Molotov and Schulenburg began at 5:30 am. On instructions from the German government, the ambassador read out a note with the following content: “In view of the further intolerable threat created for the German eastern border as a result of the massive concentration and training of all armed forces of the Red Army, the German government considers itself forced to take military countermeasures.” The head of the NKID tried in vain to dispute what the ambassador said and convince him of the innocence of the USSR. Already at 5 hours 45 minutes, Molotov was in Stalin’s office along with L. P. Beria, L. Z. Mehlis, as well as Timoshenko and Zhukov. Stalin agreed to give a directive to destroy the enemy, but emphasized that Soviet units should not violate the German border anywhere. At 7:15 a.m. the corresponding directive was sent to the troops.
Stalin's entourage believed that it was he who should speak on the radio with an appeal to the population, but he refused, and Molotov did it instead. In his address, the head of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs announced the beginning of the war, noted that German aggression was to blame, and expressed confidence in the victory of the USSR. At the end of his speech, he uttered the famous words: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours!" In order to prevent possible doubts and rumors about the silence of Stalin himself, Molotov added several references to him in the original text of the address.
On the evening of June 22, British Prime Minister W. Churchill spoke on the radio. He stated that in the current situation, his anti-communist views are receding into the background, and the West must provide “Russia and the Russian people” with all the help it can. On June 24, F. Roosevelt, President of the United States, made a similar statement in support of the USSR.
Retreat of the Red Army
In total, on the first day of the war alone, the USSR lost at least 1,200 aircraft (according to German data - more than 1.5 thousand). Many nodes and lines of communication were rendered unusable - because of this, the General Staff lost contact with the troops. Due to the inability to fulfill the demands of the center, the commander of the aviation of the Western Front, I. I. Kopets, shot himself. On June 22, at 21:15, the General Staff sent a new directive to the troops with instructions to immediately launch a counteroffensive, “disregarding the border,” to encircle and destroy the main enemy forces within two days and to capture the areas of the cities of Suwalki and Lublin by the end of June 24. But the Soviet units failed not only to go on the offensive, but also to create a continuous defensive front. The Germans had a tactical advantage on all fronts. Despite the enormous efforts and sacrifices and the colossal enthusiasm of the soldiers, the Soviet troops failed to stop the enemy’s advance. Already on June 28, the Germans entered Minsk. Due to the loss of communication and panic at the fronts, the army became almost uncontrollable.
Stalin was in a state of shock for the first 10 days of the war. He often interfered in the course of events, summoning Tymoshenko and Zhukov to the Kremlin several times. On June 28, after the surrender of Minsk, the head of state went to his dacha and for three days - from June 28 to 30 - stayed there continuously, not answering calls and not inviting anyone to his place. Only on the third day his closest associates came to him and persuaded him to return to work. On July 1, Stalin arrived in the Kremlin and on the same day became the head of the newly formed State Committee defense (GKO) - an emergency governing body that received full power in the state. In addition to Stalin, the GKO included V. M. Molotov, K. E. Voroshilov, G. M. Malenkov, L. P. Beria. Later, the composition of the committee changed several times. Ten days later, Stalin also headed the Supreme Command Headquarters.
To rectify the situation, Stalin ordered to send Marshals B.M. Shaposhnikov and G.I. Kulik to the Western Front, but the former fell ill, and the latter himself was surrounded and had difficulty getting out, disguised as a peasant. Stalin decided to shift responsibility for failures on the fronts to the local military command. The commander of the Western Front, Army General D. G. Pavlov, and several other military leaders were arrested and sent to a military tribunal. They were accused of an “anti-Soviet conspiracy”, of deliberately “opening the front to Germany”, and then of cowardice and alarmism, after which they were shot. In 1956, they were all rehabilitated.
By the beginning of July 1941, the armies of Germany and its allies occupied most of the Baltic states, Western Ukraine and Belarus, and approached Smolensk and Kyiv. Army Group Center advanced the deepest into Soviet territory. The German command and Hitler believed that the main enemy forces had been defeated and the end of the war was near. Now Hitler was wondering how to quickly complete the defeat of the USSR: continue to advance on Moscow or encircle Soviet troops in Ukraine or Leningrad.
The version of Hitler's "preventive strike"
In the early 1990s, V. B. Rezun, a former Soviet intelligence officer who fled to the West, published several books under the pseudonym Viktor Suvorov, in which he claimed that Moscow planned to be the first to strike Germany, and Hitler, having started the war, only forestalled an attack by Soviet troops. Rezun was later supported by some Russian historians. However, an analysis of all available sources shows that if Stalin was going to strike first, then it would be more favorable situation. At the end of June and beginning of July 1941, he sought to delay the war with Germany and was not ready for an offensive.
In 1939, planning an attack on Poland and anticipating the possible entry into the war on its side of Great Britain and France, the leadership of the Third Reich decided to protect itself from the east - in August a Non-Aggression Treaty was concluded between Germany and the USSR, dividing the spheres of interests of the parties in Eastern Europe. On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. On September 17, the Soviet Union sent troops into Western Ukraine and Western Belarus and later annexed these territories. A common border appeared between Germany and the USSR. In 1940, Germany captured Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and defeated France. The victories of the Wehrmacht raised hopes in Berlin for a quick end to the war with England, which would allow Germany to devote all its strength to defeating the USSR. However, Germany failed to force Britain to make peace. The war continued.
The decision to war with the USSR and the general plan for the future campaign were announced by Hitler at a meeting with the high military command on July 31, 1940, shortly after the victory over France. The Fuhrer planned to liquidate the Soviet Union by the end of 1941.
The leading place in planning Germany's war against the USSR was taken by the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces (OKH), headed by its chief, Colonel General F. Halder. Along with the General Staff of the Ground Forces, an active role in planning the “eastern campaign” was played by the headquarters of the operational leadership of the Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces (OKW), headed by General A. Jodl, who received instructions directly from Hitler.
On December 18, 1940, Hitler signed Directive No. 21 of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht, which received the code name “Barbarossa Option” and became the main guiding document in the war against the USSR. The German armed forces were tasked with “defeating Soviet Russia during one short-term campaign,” for which it was planned to use all ground forces with the exception of those performing occupation functions in Europe, as well as approximately two-thirds of the air force and a small part of the navy. Rapid operations with deep and rapid advance of tank wedges German army was supposed to destroy the Soviet troops located in the western part of the USSR and prevent the withdrawal of combat-ready units into the interior of the country. Subsequently, quickly pursuing the enemy, German troops had to reach a line from where Soviet aviation would not be able to carry out raids on the Third Reich. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to reach the Arkhangelsk-Volga-Astrakhan line.
The immediate strategic goal of the war against the USSR was the defeat and destruction of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, Belarus and Right-Bank Ukraine. It was assumed that during these operations the Wehrmacht would reach Kyiv with fortifications east of the Dnieper, Smolensk and the area south and west of Lake Ilmen. The further goal was to timely occupy the militarily and economically important Donetsk coal basin, and in the north to quickly reach Moscow. The directive required operations to capture Moscow to begin only after the destruction of Soviet troops in the Baltic states and the capture of Leningrad and Kronstadt. The task of the German Air Force was to disrupt the opposition of Soviet aviation and support its own ground forces in decisive directions. The naval forces were required to ensure the defense of their coast, preventing a breakthrough Soviet fleet from the Baltic Sea.
The invasion was scheduled to begin on May 15, 1941. The estimated duration of the main hostilities was 4-5 months according to plan.
With the completion of the development of the general plan for Germany's war against the USSR, operational-strategic planning was transferred to the headquarters of the branches of the armed forces and formations of troops, where more specific plans were developed, tasks for the troops were clarified and detailed, and measures were determined to prepare the armed forces, the economy, and the future theater of military operations for war. actions.
The German leadership proceeded from the need to ensure the defeat of Soviet troops along the entire front line. As a result of the planned grandiose “border battle,” the USSR should have had nothing left except 30-40 reserve divisions. This goal was supposed to be achieved by an offensive along the entire front. The Moscow and Kiev directions were recognized as the main operational lines. They were provided by army groups “Center” (48 divisions were concentrated on a 500 km front) and “South” (40 German divisions and significant Allied forces were concentrated on a 1250 km front). Army Group North (29 divisions on a 290 km front) had the task of securing the northern flank of Group Center, capturing the Baltic states and establishing contact with Finnish troops. Total number divisions of the first strategic echelon, taking into account the Finnish, Hungarian and Romanian troops, amounted to 157 divisions, of which 17 tank and 13 motorized, and 18 brigades.
On the eighth day, German troops were supposed to reach the line Kaunas - Baranovichi - Lviv - Mogilev-Podolsky. On the twentieth day of the war, they were supposed to capture territory and reach the line: Dnieper (to the area south of Kyiv) - Mozyr - Rogachev - Orsha - Vitebsk - Velikie Luki - south of Pskov - south of Pärnu. This was followed by a pause of twenty days, during which it was planned to concentrate and regroup formations, rest the troops and prepare a new supply base. On the fortieth day of the war, the second phase of the offensive was to begin. During it, it was planned to capture Moscow, Leningrad and Donbass.
In connection with Hitler's decision to expand the scope of Operation Marita (attack on Greece), which required the involvement of additional forces, changes were made to the war plan against the USSR in mid-March 1941. The allocation of additional forces for the Balkan campaign required postponing the start of the operation to more late date. All preparatory measures, including the transfer of mobile formations necessary for the offensive in the first operational echelon, had to be completed by approximately June 22.
To attack the USSR, by June 22, 1941, four army groups were created. Taking into account the strategic reserve, the group for operations in the East consisted of 183 divisions. Army Group North (commanded by Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb) was deployed in East Prussia, on the front from Memel to Goldap. Army Group Center (commanded by Field Marshal Feodor von Bock) occupied the front from Gołdap to Wlodawa. Army Group South (commanded by Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt), under the operational subordination of the Romanian Ground Forces Command, occupied the front from Lublin to the mouth of the Danube.
In the USSR, on the basis of the military districts located on the western border, according to the decision of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on June 21, 1941, 4 fronts were created. On June 24, 1941, the Northern Front was created. According to a certificate compiled on the eve of the war by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, General Vatutin, there were a total of 303 divisions in the ground forces, of which 237 divisions were included in the group for operations in the West (of which 51 were tank and 25 motorized). The group for operations in the West was built into three strategic echelons.
The North-Western Front (commanded by Colonel General F.I. Kuznetsov) was created in the Baltic states. The Western Front (commanded by Army General D. G. Pavlov) was created in Belarus. The Southwestern Front (commanded by Colonel General M.P. Kirponos) was created in Western Ukraine. The Southern Front (commanded by Army General I.V. Tyulenev) was created in Moldova and Southern Ukraine. The Northern Front (commanded by Lieutenant General M. M. Popov) was created on the basis of the Leningrad Military District. The Baltic Fleet (commanded by Admiral V.F. Tributs) was stationed in the Baltic Sea. The Black Sea Fleet (commanded by Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky) was stationed in the Black Sea.
And the allies quickly struck several points at once, taking the Russian army by surprise. This day marked the beginning of a new period in the life of the USSR - the Great Patriotic War.
Prerequisites for the German attack on the USSR
After the defeat in World War I, the situation in Germany remained extremely unstable: the economy and industry collapsed, and a crisis occurred that the authorities could not solve. It was at this time that Hitler came to the government, whose main idea was to create a single nationally oriented state that would not only take revenge for losing the war, but would also subjugate the entire mainstream world to its order.
Following his own ideas, Hitler created a fascist state on German territory and in 1939 unleashed it by invading the Czech Republic and Poland and annexing them to Germany. During the war, Hitler's army rapidly advanced across Europe, seizing territories, but did not attack the USSR - a preliminary non-aggression pact was concluded.
Unfortunately, the USSR still remained a tasty morsel for Hitler. The opportunity to acquire territories and resources opened up the possibility for Germany to enter into open confrontation with the United States and assert its dominance over much of the world's landmass.
To attack the USSR, Plan Barbarossa was developed - a plan for a treacherous military assault that was to be carried out within two months. The implementation of the plan began on June 22 with the German invasion of the USSR.
Germany's goals
Germany's main goals were:
- ideological and military: Germany sought to destroy the USSR as a state, as well as to destroy the communist ideology, which it considered incorrect; Hitler sought to establish the hegemony of nationalist ideas throughout the world (the superiority of one race, one people over others);
- imperialist: as in many wars, Hitler’s goal was to seize power in the world and create a powerful empire to which all other states would be subordinate;
- economic: the capture of the USSR gave the German army unprecedented economic opportunities for further warfare;
- racist: Hitler sought to destroy all “wrong” races (in particular, Jews).
The first period of the war and the implementation of the Barbarossa plan
Although Hitler’s plans included a surprise attack, the command of the USSR army suspected what could happen, so as early as June 18, 1941, part of the army was put on alert, and the armed forces were pulled to the border in the places of the alleged attack. Unfortunately, the Soviet command had only vague information regarding the date of the attack, so by the time the fascist troops invaded, many military units did not have time to properly prepare to properly repel the attack.
At 4 am on June 22, 1941, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop handed the Soviet ambassador in Berlin a note declaring war, at the same time German troops launched an offensive against the Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Finland. Early in the morning, the German Ambassador arrived in the USSR for a meeting with People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov and made a statement saying that the Union had carried out subversive activities on German territory in order to establish Bolshevik power there, therefore Germany was breaking the non-aggression agreement and starting military operations .
On the same day, Italy, Romania, and then Slovakia declared official war on the USSR. At 12 noon, Molotov made an official address on the radio to the citizens of the USSR, announcing the German attack on the USSR and announcing the beginning. General mobilization began.
Causes and consequences of the German attack on the USSR
The Barbarossa plan could not be carried out, since the Soviet army put up good resistance, was better equipped than expected and generally fought the battle competently, taking into account territorial conditions. However, the first period of the war turned out to be a losing one for the USSR. Germany managed to conquer a significant part of the territories in the shortest possible time, including Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania. German troops advanced deep into the country, encircled Leningrad and began bombing Moscow.
The suddenness of the attack played a role. The Soviet army was inferior to the German one: the level of training of the soldiers was much lower, the military equipment was worse, and the leadership made a number of very serious mistakes in the early stages.
Germany's attack on the USSR resulted in a protracted war, which claimed many lives and actually collapsed the country's economy, which was not ready for large-scale military action. Nevertheless, in the middle of the war, Soviet troops managed to gain an advantage and launch a counteroffensive.