After the failure in the battle near Moscow, the Wehrmacht changed its war plan and set a strategic goal to capture the Lower Volga and the Caucasus, seize the southern oil regions and rich grain regions of the Don and Kuban, cut off the Caucasus from the center of the country and create conditions for ending the war in their favor.
The fighting began on the outskirts of Stalingrad in July 1942. Unable to hold back the onslaught of the enemy, the Soviet troops gradually retreated to the city. In September, the main battles unfolded already on the streets of Stalingrad. But at the cost of the incredible efforts of the Red Army, by winter it was possible to first stop the German offensive, and then go on the counteroffensive. As a result of successful hostilities, the southern grouping of enemy troops was surrounded. His attempts to break through the ring were unsuccessful. On February 2, 1943, the Germans announced their surrender. 300 thousand German soldiers and officers surrendered, including the commander of the 6th army of the enemy, General Paulus.
Fearing a new encirclement, the Nazis hastily withdrew their troops from the North Caucasus they had captured.
The victory in the Battle of Stalingrad had a huge impact on the further course of the war.
1) The battle is one of the most important events of the Second World War and, along with the Battle of Kursk, became a turning point in the course of hostilities, after which the German troops finally lost their strategic initiative. For the Soviet Union, the victory in Stalingrad was the beginning of the liberation of the country and all of Europe from fascism.
2) Colossal damage was inflicted on the German army. In this battle, Germany lost more manpower than in all previous Soviet-German battles combined.
The Battle of Stalingrad is the bloodiest battle in the history of mankind. According to rough estimates, the total losses of both sides in this battle exceed two million people. For Germany, the damage in manpower was so great that until the end of the war she was not able to fully compensate for it.
3) No less catastrophic were the losses of the enemy in tanks and other military equipment.
After the defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, the German command decided to launch a major offensive in order to regain the lost strategic initiative. For the offensive, the enemy chose the so-called Kursk salient.
The Germans were going to use the surprise factor and launch an offensive on July 5 at 3 o'clock in the morning. But Soviet intelligence managed to find out about the plans of the enemy, and the military leadership of the USSR decided to stun the enemy in his own way - a surprise factor. A few minutes before the start of the German offensive, 19 thousand Soviet guns suddenly came to life. They dealt a crushing artillery blow to the positions of the Nazis. For the Germans, this was a big surprise. They received not only a powerful psychological blow, but also suffered serious losses. The Nazis, having put into action all their reserves, were able to launch the planned offensive only a few hours later. But the plan of attack had already been thwarted. They were able to advance only 30-35 km.
On July 12, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive. On this day, the largest tank battle in world history took place near the village of Prokhorovka, in which 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns took part. This day was a turning point in the Battle of Kursk. Under the onslaught of Soviet troops, the Germans were forced to go on the defensive. But they were unable to resist the pressure. The Battle of Kursk ended with a crushing victory for Russian weapons.
In this battle, the Germans lost half a million soldiers, 1,500 tanks, and more than 3,500 aircraft.
Completion of the liberation of the territory of the USSR
On March 26, 1944, Soviet troops reached the state border of the USSR. Having liberated the Right-Bank Ukraine, the Red Army proceeded to liquidate the enemy grouping in the Crimea. The Nazi command sought to keep the peninsula at any cost. The offensive of our troops began on April 8, 1944. After the liberation of the Kerch Peninsula and Simferopol on May 5, the assault on Sevastopol began. Particularly stubborn battles were fought on Sapun Mountain. After a five-day assault on May 9, the city of Russian glory was liberated.
In the summer of 1944, in accordance with the plans of the Soviet command, the Red Army delivered the main blow in Belarus. Through it lay the shortest route to the border of Germany. The operation, codenamed "Bagration", in which more than 160 Soviet divisions took part, began on June 23 and came as a complete surprise to the enemy. On July 3, Minsk was liberated, and another ring of encirclement was closed to the east of it, in which more than a million soldiers and officers of the Nazi army turned out to be.
On July 17, in Moscow, 57,000 German soldiers and officers taken prisoner in Belarus were escorted along the Garden Ring, escorted by a convoy. The offensive of the Soviet troops in Belarus developed into a general strategic offensive from the Baltic to the Carpathians, which continued until the end of August. As a result of the Belarusian operation, one of the strongest German groups, the Army Group Center, was destroyed.
Realizing the doom of Nazi Germany, a group of senior German officers organized in July 1944 a conspiracy against Hitler, the purpose of which was to conclude a truce with the Western powers in order to continue the war in the East. On July 20, another unsuccessful attempt was made on Hitler. The Fuhrer miraculously survived. The main participants in the conspiracy were arrested, while 5 thousand people were executed, including 56 generals and one field marshal.
In September 1944, negotiations on a truce with the USSR and England, begun in March at the initiative of Finland, were completed. Under the terms of the signed agreement, the Soviet-Finnish border of 1940 was restored, in addition, Finland undertook to disarm the Nazi troops stationed on its territory.
Simultaneously with the Belarusian operation, offensive operations were carried out to liberate Ukraine, Moldova (Iasi-Chisinau) and the Baltic republics.
Germany was ready to do everything to keep the strategically important Baltic States, so the fighting on its territory continued from July to mid-October. Only on October 13, 1944, Soviet troops entered the capital of Latvia, Riga. In the deep autumn of 1944, the Red Army cleared the Murmansk region of invaders and liberated ice-free ports in the Barents Sea.
As a result of offensive operations in 1944, the entire territory of the USSR was liberated from fascist invaders. The state border of the USSR along its entire length was completely restored.
Battle for the Caucasus. In the summer of 1942, a catastrophic situation for the Red Army developed in the North Caucasus. After the fall of Rostov-on-Don, the road for the Germans to the south was open, since there were no fortifications on this sector of the front. As a result, despite the fierce resistance of the Soviet troops, in just a few days the enemy troops reached the Caucasus Range. Their goal was the oil of Maykop, Grozny and Baku, as well as the capture of Transcaucasia. Hitler declared that without Caucasian oil he would not be able to continue the war.
But, having mobilized all the possibilities and forces, the Red Army managed to stop the enemy.
The defeat of German troops near Stalingrad. By the autumn of 1942, the balance of power on the Soviet-German front gradually began to change in favor of the Red Army. By this time, the enemy had suffered huge losses in the Stalingrad and North Caucasian directions and was forced to go on the defensive.
The Soviet command sought to achieve a final turning point in the situation in its favor. The Stalingrad Front was chosen as the direction of the main attack. The plan for the defeat of the Germans near Stalingrad (it was developed by the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief G.K. Zhukov and the Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky) received the code name "Uranus". He proposed using the forces of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts to strike at the Germans in converging directions with the aim of encircling them in the interfluve of the Volga and Don and completely defeating them. To carry out this plan, a double superiority over the enemy was ensured.
On November 19, 1942, Soviet artillery dealt a powerful blow to the enemy, after which a tank attack began. On the fifth day of fierce fighting, the troops of the two fronts joined in the area of the city of Kalach. As a result, the 6th and 4th tank armies of the Germans were surrounded. The total number of encircled enemy soldiers and officers was 330 thousand people. Attempts by the Germans to get out of the encirclement were unsuccessful. On February 2, 1943, the encircled enemy group capitulated. Its commander, Field Marshal Paulus himself, was also captured.
In total, near Stalingrad, the Germans lost 800 thousand people, 2 thousand tanks and assault guns, 3 thousand aircraft.
The victory of the Red Army near Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of not only the Great Patriotic War, but the entire Second World War. The strategic initiative finally passed to our army.
Beginning of liberation. The victory at Stalingrad was the beginning of the mass expulsion of the enemy from Soviet soil. Fearing a new encirclement, the Germans hastily withdrew their troops from the North Caucasus.
January 18, 1943 i. search of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts managed to partially break through the blockade of Lepit Rada. In February 1943, the liberation of the eastern Donbass began. At the same time, as a result of a powerful offensive by the troops of the Voronezh Front on the Upper Don, three enemy armies were defeated and the Kursk Bulge was formed, deeply wedged into German positions. It was here that both sides planned to launch the summer campaign.
In total, during the winter offensive, the Red Army managed to defeat more than a hundred enemy divisions.
The Battle of Kursk. A series of military defeats greatly bled the German army. Hitler ordered the start of a "total" (general) mobilization, during which another 2 million soldiers and officers were drafted into the army. German divisions from European countries were also transferred to the Eastern Front, where there was still no second front. In total, up to 50 enemy divisions were concentrated near Kursk. Tank armies were armed with new types of equipment - tanks "Tiger" and "Panther", assault guns "Ferdinand". The German plan of operation ("Citadel") provided for the encirclement of Soviet troops and their destruction by German troops from the north and south.
The Soviet command, at the suggestion of G.K. Zhukov, decided to switch to active defense in order, after exhausting the enemy, to bring down on him the entire force of the main and reserve troops. Moreover, for this operation, the Headquarters ensured a significant superiority over the enemy in manpower and equipment.
The Germans were going to use the element of surprise again. It was supposed to start the offensive on July 5 at 3 o'clock in the morning with strong artillery preparation. However, Soviet intelligence accurately determined the day and hour of the start of the offensive, after which the commander of the Central Front, K. K. Rokossovsky, decided on a preemptive strike. A few minutes before the start of the German offensive, almost 19,000 Soviet guns dealt a crushing blow to the places where the prepared German troops were concentrated. As a result, the enemy suffered heavy losses and was able to launch an offensive only a few hours later, and with all his reserves put into action. The Germans were able to advance only 30 - 35 km.
On July 12, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive. On the same day, the largest oncoming tank battle in world history took place near the village of Prokhorovka, in which 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns took part. In the course of the entire Battle of Kursk, a turning point came on that day. The Germans were forced to go on the defensive.
Going on the offensive, the Red Army liberated Belgorod and Orel on August 5. By order of Stalin, the first victorious salute in the history of the Great Patriotic War was fired in Moscow.
In the Battle of Kursk, the Germans lost 500 thousand soldiers and officers, 1.5 thousand tanks, 3.7 thousand aircraft. The blow of the advancing Soviet troops was so strong that in a short time it was possible to liberate Kharkov, Donbass, the Taman Peninsula, Bryansk, Smolensk from the enemy.
From mid-September, an unprecedented battle for the Dnieper began. On its steep right bank, the Germans erected a fortification system (“Eastern Wall”), which, in their opinion, made it impregnable. Hitler said with pathos that "the Dnieper would rather flow back than the Russians would overcome it."
However, the Eastern Wall could not stop the Soviet soldier - on November 6, Kyiv was liberated, and the Dnieper was forced in most directions. For the heroism shown in forcing this barrier, 2438 soldiers who were the first to enter the right bank of the Dnieper were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
At the same time, a significant grouping of German troops was "locked" in the Crimea.
The radical change in the course of the war was fixed.
Tehran Conference. The success of the Red Army in the common enemy’s realm was supplemented by the landing of allied Anglo-American troops in Italy at the end of July 1943. However, the Soviet leadership was waiting for the fulfillment of the Allies’ main promise - the landing of their troops in France, which would significantly speed up the victory over Germany. In November - December 1943, a meeting of the leaders of the USSR, the USA and England ("the big three") took place in Tehran. Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed on the opening of a second front in Europe in May - June 1944, on the creation of the United Nations after the war, on the post-war world order, on the fate of Germany after its military defeat, etc. The USSR promised to enter the war against Japan after the end of the war in Europe.
The results of the second period of the war. From the beginning of the counter-offensive of the Red Army near Stalingrad and until the end of 1943, Germany lost more than 2.2 million people, 3.5 thousand tanks, about 7 thousand aircraft. Only in the summer - autumn of 1943, the Germans lost more than half of all their troops on the Eastern Front.
The German army was on the verge of a military disaster.
By the end of 1943, Soviet troops had liberated almost half of all territories occupied by the enemy.
However, the enemy was still too strong to consider the war already over. There was still a serious and long struggle ahead, but its outcome was in many respects already a foregone conclusion.
Thus, near Stalingrad began, and after the Battle of Kursk ended a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and the entire Second World War.
DOCUMENT
Repeat questions 1. 2. 3. 4. What conclusions were drawn by Stalin after the victory near Moscow? What is the content of the Stavka order No. 130? What strategic miscalculation was made by the Headquarters in determining the main blow of the fascist troops in the summer of 1942? Name two major battles in May-July 1942 in which Soviet troops suffered heavy losses.
Review questions 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. What is the main content of the Headquarters Order No. 227? What is a "guard squad"? What is "occupied territory"? What is Plan Ost? What order was established in the occupied territories? Why did the Nazis set up concentration camps?
Repeat questions 11. 12. 13. 14. Who is General Vlasov? What army did he command? In what territories was the partisan movement formed? What is the name of the head of the Headquarters of the partisan movement. Name the largest partisan operations.
Assignments to paragraph 31, paragraph 1 Page. 225 - how did the mood of the Soviet people change in the first years of the war? n Page Document 226 - How did Stalin assess the outbreak of the war? What was unusual about his conversion? n
A radical turning point is the transfer of the strategic initiative to the Soviet troops, the creation of prerequisites for a transition to a counteroffensive.
The ratio of the economic potentials of Germany and the USSR By the beginning of 1941, Germany surpassed the USSR by 1.5 times; n Until the autumn of 1941 - the occupation of Soviet territory: where 42% of the population lived, more than 40% of electricity was produced, 35% of industrial. production, smelted 70% of iron, 60% of steel, 63% of coal was mined. n By the fall of 1941, Germany outnumbered the USSR by 3-4 times. n
Directions for restructuring the economy on a war footing 1. 2. 3. Evacuation of enterprises, people and valuables from the front-line zone to the east (by the end of 1941, 2.5 thousand enterprises and 12 million people were moved to the east) In Krasnoyarsk - a combine plant. The transition of civil sector enterprises to the production of military products (GAZ + Krasnoye Sormovo = T 34 tanks). Accelerated construction of new facilities that replaced those lost in the first months of the war.
The results of the restructuring of the economy By the end of 1941, it was possible to stop the decline in industrial production caused by the loss of territories and the bombing. n By mid-1942, to ensure a steady increase in military production. n The output of military products in terms of volume exceeded the level of Germany. n
Education and science during the war years (p. 228) 1. 2. 3. 4. In what regions of the country was schooling interrupted? To which regions of the country were the main scientific centers moved? What are the scientific centers created during the war years? Name the scientists who worked in the field of aerodynamics?
Cultural figures - to the front (p. 228) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Name the works of Soviet poets who sang the courage of the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad. Name the author of the poem "Vasily Terkin" What is a "front theater"? To which region were the country's film studios evacuated? Name the popular songwriters during the war years.
Homework for 8.05 Paragraph 31, get ready for work. n Section 32 point 1, 2, 3 n
On August 23, 1942, at 16:18, a massive bombardment of Stalingrad began with the forces of the German 4th Air Fleet. During the day, 2,000 sorties were made. The city was destroyed by 90%, more than 40 thousand civilians died that day.
Correlation of forces Forces and means Red Army Germany and its allies Personnel (thousand people) 1134.8 1011.5 Number of tanks 1560 675 Number of guns and mortars 14934 10290 Number of aircraft 1916 1219
Counteroffensive near Stalingrad - operation "Uranus" Operation "Uranus" - the code name of the Stalingrad strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops during the Great Patriotic War (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943). The counteroffensive of the troops of three fronts: Southwestern (gen. N. F. Vatutin), Stalingrad (gen. A. I. Eremenko) and Don (gen. K. K. Rokossovsky), with the aim of encircling and destroying the enemy group of troops in the area city of Stalingrad.
21st, 5th Tank, 1st Guards, 17th and 2nd Air Armies Vatutin Nikolay Fedorovich 62nd, 64th, 57th, 8th Air, 51st Armies Eremenko Andrey Ivanovich 65th, 24th, 66th armies, 16th air army Rokossovsky Konstantinovich
Stalingrad was defended by the armies: 64th under the command of M.S. Shumilov 62nd under the command of V.I. Soviet Union
8th Italian Army 2nd Hungarian Army Army Group "Don" (commander - E. Manstein). It included the 6th Army, the 3rd Romanian Army, the Goth Army Group, the Hollidt Task Force. 3rd Romanian Army 4th Romanian Army Two Finnish volunteer units 6th Army - Commander General of Tank Forces Friedrich Paulus Army Group "B" (commander - M. Weichs). 2nd Army - Commanding General of Infantry Hans von Salmuth, Friedrich Paulus E. Manstein
November 19, 1942 On November 20, 1942, the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops began on November 19, 1942 after powerful artillery preparation by strikes from Yugo's army formations. Western and Don fronts. On November 20, the offensive began and the troops of the Stalingrad Front
Front line by the end of November Front line by the end of 1942 p. you ate 330. h
MAMAEV KURGAN n The battle on Mamaev Kurgan was of great strategic importance: from its top, the adjacent territory and the crossings across the Volga were clearly visible and shot through. n The Nazis stormed it 10-12 times a day, but, losing people and equipment, they could not capture the entire territory of the mound.
The battles for Mamaev Kurgan lasted 135 days In the area of Mamaev Kurgan in February 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad ended.
The mass heroism of our compatriots was shown in the Battle of Stalingrad. More than 300 Nazis were destroyed by Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev in street battles. Many fighters taught sniper art. Many times he had to engage in single combat with the Nazi snipers, and each time he emerged victorious. But Zaitsev was especially famous for the sniper duel with the head of the Berlin school of snipers, Major Koenings, who was sent to Stalingrad with a special task to intensify the sniper movement in the German troops. For well-aimed fire in Stalingrad, Vasily Zaitsev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. VASILY ZAITSEV
SIGNALER MATVEY PUTILOV When communication stopped on Mamaev Kurgan at the most intense moment of the battle, an ordinary signalman of the 308th Infantry Division Matvey Putilov went to eliminate the wire break. When restoring a damaged communication line, both hands were crushed by fragments of a mine. Losing consciousness, he tightly clamped the ends of the wire between his teeth. Communication has been restored. For this feat, Matvey was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War. His communications reel was handed over to the best signalmen of the 308th division.
Pavlov's House - a symbol of courage and heroism of the defenders of Stalingrad n n 4-storey building in the center of Stalingrad, the defense of which was headed by Sergeant Pavlov. From September 23 to November 25, the Nazis launched attacks several times a day. German losses during the assault exceeded their losses during the capture of Paris.
Results of the operation During the Stalingrad offensive operation, two German armies were destroyed, two Romanian and one Italian armies were defeated. 32 divisions and 3 brigades destroyed. The enemy lost more than 800 thousand people. The losses of the Soviet troops amounted to 485 thousand people. “Before the Battle of Stalingrad, history did not know a battle when such a large group of troops would have been surrounded and completely defeated. The defeat of the enemy on the Volga marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War as a whole, the expulsion of enemy troops from Soviet territory began. "- G.K. Zhukov.
On February 4, 1943, a rally of thousands of defenders and residents of Stalingrad took place in the wounded, mutilated beyond recognition city. After liberation, the city was in complete ruins. The scale of the destruction was so great that it was suggested that the city be rebuilt elsewhere, and the ruins left as a reminder to posterity of the horrors of war. Nevertheless, it was decided to rebuild the city almost anew. There were no dwellings, transport did not work, factories were destroyed, the land was crammed with unexploded mines, bombs and shells (which are found to this day). But the whole vast country came to the aid of the heroic city. Stalingrad was revived.
Eternal flame
By mid-autumn 1942, the situation on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War began to change dramatically: after trying to capture the Transcaucasian region, the fascist army suffered huge material and human losses.
Battle of Stalingrad
For the Soviet command was given the opportunity, taking advantage of the moment, to achieve a turning point in the course of the war in a positive direction for themselves. It was planned to deliver the main blow to the German army on the Stalingrad front. G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky were engaged in the development of a plan for the defeat of the Nazis near Stalingrad.
The first blow was delivered by Soviet artillery on November 19, 1942, then it was the turn of a tank attack. Fierce fighting lasted for five days. The Soviet troops managed to encircle 350 thousand enemy army. The German army lost 900 thousand. people, about 2 thousand tanks, 4 thousand aircraft.
The German General Field Marshal F. Pauls was taken prisoner. The victory in the Battle of Stalingrad marked a radical change in the Great Patriotic War and marked the beginning of the end of the power of the fascist invaders.
The beginning of the release
After the success of the Soviet army in the Battle of Stalingrad, the German armed forces began to gradually retreat. First of all, troops were withdrawn from the Caucasus, as the fascist invaders were afraid of a repetition of the Stalingrad scenario. In early January 1943, the siege of Leningrad was partially broken through by the fighters of the Leningrad Front.
There was still no connection with the city, but thanks to the newly formed "corridor", it was possible to transport food and medicine to the townspeople. From the beginning of February, Soviet troops began to make attempts to liberate Donbass.
For the strategically important region for both sides, the struggle continued until the summer. it was here that the famous Kursk Bulge was formed, which significantly undermined the fascist positions. During the winter period, the Red Army was able to destroy more than 100 enemy divisions, which was a real success compared to the previous two years of the war.
Conference in Tehran
In mid-July 1943, the Soviet armed forces received significant support as a result of the Anglo-American troops joining them. In November-December 1943, a meeting of the leaders of the USSR, the USA and England ("Big Three") took place in Tehran.
Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed on the opening of a second front in Europe in May-June 1944, on the creation of the United Nations after the war, on the basic principles of the post-war world order, on the fate of Germany after its final defeat, etc.
The Soviet Union undertook to oppose Japan after the end of hostilities in Europe. After a radical change in hostilities in 1942-1943. the political fate of the fascists was largely a foregone conclusion, although a very long bloody struggle lay ahead for the warring parties.
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Attention! The slide preview is for informational purposes only and may not represent the full extent of the presentation. If you are interested in this work, please download the full version.
Lesson type: combined.
Target: show the course of hostilities on the Soviet-German front in the summer of 1942 - autumn 1943, the heroism and courage of Soviet soldiers.
Tasks:
- educational: mastering by students of knowledge about the main events of a radical change during the Great Patriotic War and World War II, the place and role of the USSR in these events; the formation in students of a holistic view of the Great Patriotic War, the fate of the peoples of the USSR, the main stages, major events and major figures in Russian history.
- Educational: education of students in the spirit of patriotism, respect for their Fatherland, in accordance with the ideas of mutual understanding, tolerance and peace between people and nations, in the spirit of the democratic values of modern society.
- Educational: developing the ability of students to analyze the information contained in various sources about events and phenomena of the past and present, guided by the principle of historicism, in their dynamics, interconnection and interdependence.
Equipment:
- Cards:
- a) The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
- b) The counteroffensive of the Red Army near Stalingrad.
- multimedia presentation
- Handout
- Dates important to remember
DURING THE CLASSES
I. Survey
1. The German attack on the Soviet Union, the reasons for the failures of the Red Army in the first months of the war.
2. The battle for Moscow, its historical significance.
II. Assimilation of new material
Plan
1. Battle of Stalingrad and the battle for the Caucasus.
a) Plans of the German command for the summer-autumn of 1942. (slide 1).
b) The summer offensive of the German troops: students are shown footage from a documentary film
c) The battle for the Caucasus.
d) The defense of Stalingrad: shots from the film are shown (slide 2).
e) Preparation of the counter-offensive of the Soviet troops, encirclement and defeat of the Nazi troops near Stalingrad. The beginning of a radical change in the course of the war: shots from the film are shown (slide 3, 4).
2. Battle of Kursk.
a) The plans of the belligerents for the summer of 1943. The ratio of forces.
b) The beginning of the Battle of Kursk. Operation "Citadel" and its failure (slide 5, 6).
c) The counteroffensive of the Soviet army. Tank battle near Prokhorovka. The defeat of the German armies: shots from the film are shown (slide 7).
d) The general offensive of the Soviet troops, the completion of a radical change in the course of the war.
Thesis-main text
1. Battle of Stalingrad
By the beginning of the summer of 1942, Germany maintained a military-strategic advantage over the USSR. Nevertheless, Stalin insisted on a series of major offensive operations in order to achieve a turning point in the war. The Soviet command made a mistake in assessing the strategic plans of the Wehrmacht, assuming that its main forces would concentrate on the Moscow direction. Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht planned to strike in the southeast direction, then to the Caucasus, to the oil-bearing regions of Baku.
In obedience to the directives of the Headquarters, the Soviet troops in May 1942 reptiles went on the offensive in the Crimea and near Kharkov. It ended in a heavy defeat. In July, Sevastopol fell, the Donbass and important agricultural regions of Ukraine and southern Russia were occupied. The enemy went to the North Caucasus, seeking to seize rich oil fields, and at the same time launched an attack on Stalingrad in order to cut one of the key transport arteries of the USSR. From the first days of September, fierce street battles unfolded in Stalingrad.
The transfer of German troops near Stalingrad limited the possibility of developing their offensive in the Caucasus direction. By the end of September 1942, their offensive was suspended, and all further attempts to enter the Transcaucasus ended in failure.
Near Stalingrad, where the 6th army of General Paulus and the tank army of General Goth were bogged down in bloody battles, the Soviet command was preparing a counteroffensive that began on November 19, 1942 and ended on February 2, 1943 with the surrender of the German group of Paulus troops. The offensive also developed successfully in the southern direction, where it was possible to expel the enemy from the North Caucasus and most of the Donbass.
Thus, the Battle of Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War and the entire Second World War. The strategic initiative passed to the Red Army.
2. Battle of Kursk
Preparing for the summer campaign of 1943, Nazi strategists focused on the Kursk salient. This was the name of the protrusion of the front line facing the West. It was here that Hitler intended to take revenge for the defeat at Stalingrad. Two powerful tank wedges were supposed to break through the defenses of the Soviet troops at the base of the ledge, surround them and create a threat to Moscow.
The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, having received information from intelligence about the planned offensive in time, was well prepared for defense and response. When on July 5, 1943, the Wehrmacht attacked the Kursk Bulge, the Red Army managed to withstand it; on July 12, 1943, the Soviet troops launched a strategic offensive. It quickly deployed along a front of 2,000 kilometers. In August 1943, Orel, Belgorod, Kharkov were liberated, in September - Smolensk. At the same time, the forcing of the Dnieper began, in November, Soviet troops entered Kyiv, and by the end of the year they advanced far to the west.
The battle near Kursk and the subsequent offensive of the Soviet troops completed a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War.
Key dates to remember:
1. July-August 1942 - the defeat of the Red Army near Kharkov and in the Crimea, the exit of German troops to the Caucasus and the Volga.
2. September-November 1942, the defense of Stalingrad, fighting in the Caucasus direction.
3. November 19, 1942, the beginning of the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad.
4. On February 2, 1943, the liquidation of the German group of troops near Stalingrad, the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War.
5. July-August 1943 Battle of Kursk, the strategic offensive of the Soviet troops, the completion of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War.
III. Anchoring
To consolidate the new material, students are given cards with test tasks and the following questions are asked:
- What was the historical significance of the Battle of Stalingrad.
- Show on the map the directions of the main attacks of the German troops on the Kursk salient and the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops.
Test tasks
1. The battle of Stalingrad began
a) in December 1941
b) in August 1942
c) in February 1943
2. Completion of a radical change in the Great Patriotic War is associated with
a) Battle of Kursk
b) the battle of Stalingrad
c) the battle of Moscow
3. The largest tank battle in the Great Patriotic War took place during the battle
a) Kursk
b) Moscow
c) Stalingrad
4. The Battle of Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War, since
a) in the spring of 1943, the Second Front was opened
b) Nazi Germany suffered its first major defeat
c) the strategic initiative passed into the hands of the Red Army
At the end of the lesson, a general summary of the lesson is summed up, and marks are given. The slides are recorded on a CD and are included with this lesson.
