Wehrmacht small arms. Wehrmacht small arms in WWII

Defeat in the West. The defeat of Hitler's troops on the Western Front

In his book, Milton Shulman provides an opportunity to look at the events of World War II through the eyes of the enemy. Analyzes the reasons for the victories and defeats of the German army from the fall of France to the Battle of Berlin. Based on numerous documents, he studies Germany's military mistakes, as well as the role of Hitler and his General Staff in the rise and fall of the Third Reich.

From the Kharkov disaster to the Stalingrad triumph, from the Rzhev meat grinder to the breaking of the Leningrad blockade - this book allows you to take a fresh look at the decisive battles of the war, revealing the background of the events and restoring the true history of the turning point year of the Great Patriotic War.

New tourist routes have opened in the region, which have already been appreciated by federal tour operators, and tourists are mastering a new type of transport - the tourist express. The Moscow region has made a real breakthrough in the field of tourism. Oksana Kosareva, Minister of Culture of the Moscow Region, talks about how the outgoing year will be remembered and what events in the cultural sphere of the Moscow region can be expected in the future.

This year in the Moscow region passed under the sign of an anniversary - it was on the borders of the Moscow region in the fall-winter of 1941 that the myth of the invincibility of the German army was dispelled and Hitler’s “quick war” plan finally failed. 75 years ago, the defeat of fascist troops near Moscow became a decisive turning point in the course of the war and the entire world history.

Exhibitions, film screenings, meetings with veterans of the Great Patriotic War, commemorative events dedicated to the memorable date took place in almost all museums, cultural centers, and libraries in the region. The culmination of the anniversary year was a large-scale event near the village of Dubosekovo in the Volokolamsk region.

Details are in the report from the scene. The outgoing Year of Russian Cinema will be remembered for its high-profile premiere, also associated with the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow. The film “Panfilov’s 28” is called a truly popular film - the creators of the film collected over 34 million rubles in voluntary donations from more than 35 thousand people, setting a world record for crowdfunding in cinema.

Read about how the film was received in Volokolamsk, actually at the scene of the events, in the latest issue of the Horizons of Culture magazine.

NKVD and SMERSH against Abwehr and RSHA

The first military shock during the Second World War in the fall and winter of 1941 near Moscow forced the Abwehr and the RSHA to look for new forms of waging an “invisible war”: reconnaissance and sabotage groups, with the help of aviation, began to be deployed not only to the front-line, but also to the deep regions of the USSR.

The Soviet side countered the enemy’s attempts with a noticeably improved rear security system: SMERSH began to occupy a leading position in matters of military counterintelligence. The final period in the “secret war” occurred at the end of 1944 - 1945.

When Hitler's special services sought to stop the advance of Soviet troops at any cost by strengthening contacts with various collaborators and nationalist organizations. At the same time, units of the “Waffen SS Jagdverband”, “popular resistance” with the participation of the Volssturm and the Nazi underground, called “Werewolf” (“Werewolves”), were organized.

Despite the two-fold numerical superiority (two Nazi divisions against our rifle brigade), it took the enemy a month and a half to break the resistance of the Soviet troops - and this was at the height of the Battle of Leningrad, when the Wehrmacht threw its last reserves into battle, every battalion counted, the fate of the city was hanging by a thread and two divisions could decide the outcome of the assault... Is it true that the defenders of Moonsund, who stood to the death in the deep German rear, saved Leningrad? Did you know that it was from these islands that our long-range aviation bombed Berlin for the first time in August 1941 (although Goering swore that “not a single bomb would ever fall on the capital of the Reich”)? Should we believe the German reports on the results of the battles for Moonsund, which stated that “the Russian soldier fights stubbornly and bravely, but the command, as elsewhere, turns out to be incompetent”? And was it possible to evacuate the Moonsund garrison to avoid excessive losses?

The author talks about methods of recruitment, ideological processing and training of recruits conscripted into parts of the Wehrmacht or SS troops. Considers the reasons that forced them to fight on the side of Nazi Germany. The book is supplied with maps and photographs.

Occupation of Europe. Military diary of the Chief of the General Staff. 1939-1941

The military diary of the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Nazi Germany contains daily service notes of Franz Halder, covering the period from 1939 to 1941. Detailed information about the Norwegian Campaign, the occupation of Poland, Belgium and France.

This play was the first work to expose the betrayal of the Allies - prominent American figures at the time of the surrender of Nazi Germany, who were striving to take advantage of the fruits of our victory with the greatest benefit - to seize all the equipment of the German division, opening the way for the German group to the territory occupied by their troops.

By this they wanted to deprive the Russians of their rightful trophies and preserve the German raiders for future wars. The conflict is not based on the beliefs and actions of individuals, but on the strictly thought-out policy of the reactionary circles of American imperialism, striving for world domination.

The foresight of the Soviet command, not only in the sense of military strategy, but also in the sense of politics and diplomacy, destroyed all the plans and intentions of the American allies and brought freedom and independence to the peoples of Europe on their banners. Central Academic Theater of the Soviet Army.

Radio show. Recorded in 1948. General Klimov, division commander - Daniil Sagal; Zhilin, chief of staff - Sergey Kulagin; Major Lagutin - Evgeniy Bykadorov; Kudrov, fighter - Konstantinov Peter; Nozhkin, fighter - Zeldin Vladimir; Good day, fighter - Nassonov Konstantin; Fokin, fighter - Gerasimov; Sokol, adjutant of Klimov - Chodrishvili; Zoya, field postal worker - Lyudmila Kasatkina; Alekseev, communications officer - Nikolay Pastukhov; Warne, commander of the American army - Polezhaev; General Willard, commander of the American division - Alexander Khovansky; Edgar, his nephew - Andrey Popov; Martin, Willard's chief of staff - Mark Pertsovsky; Stevens, Villard's adjutant - Fedor Savostyanov; Jim Pool, photo reporter -Shahet I.

; Ridzhi, commander of the sapper company - Yakov Khaletsky; Joe, a black man, Willard's driver - Anthony Khodursky; Moller, German general - Rumyantsev Georgy; Czechoslovakian announcer - Kamensky I.; The explanatory text is read by Mikhail Mayorov. Music - Khrennikov Tikhon.

In addition, the book contains a detailed description of all the major battles fought by Soviet troops; special attention is paid to the Battle of Stalingrad.

Details

The ISRAELI newspaper "Vesti" published sensational material about 150 thousand Jewish soldiers and officers who fought in Hitler's army.

The term "Mischlinge" in the Reich was used to describe people born from mixed marriages of Aryans with non-Aryans. The racial laws of 1935 distinguished between "Mischlinge" of the first degree (one of the parents is Jewish) and the second degree (grandparents are Jewish). Despite the legal "taint" of people with Jewish genes and despite the blatant propaganda, tens of thousands of "Mischling" lived quietly under the Nazis. They were routinely drafted into the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine, becoming not only soldiers, but also part of the generals at the level of commanders of regiments, divisions and armies.

Hundreds of "Mischlinge" were awarded Iron Crosses for their bravery. Twenty soldiers and officers of Jewish origin were awarded the highest military award of the Third Reich - the Knight's Cross. However, many Wehrmacht veterans complained that their superiors were reluctant to introduce them to orders and delayed promotion in rank, keeping in mind their Jewish ancestors.

For a long time, the Nazi press published a photograph of a blue-eyed blond man in a helmet. Under the photo it said: “The ideal German soldier.” This Aryan ideal was Wehrmacht fighter Werner Goldberg (with a Jewish dad).

Wehrmacht Major Robert Borchardt received the Knight's Cross for the tank breakthrough of the Soviet front in August 1941. He was then sent to Rommel's Afrika Korps. Near El Alamein he was captured by the British. In 1944 he was allowed to come to England to reunite with his Jewish father. In 1946, Borchardt returned to Germany, telling his Jewish dad: “Someone has to rebuild our country.” In 1983, shortly before his death, he told German schoolchildren: “Many Jews and half-Jews who fought for Germany in World War II believed that they should honestly defend their Fatherland by serving in the army.”

Colonel Walter Hollander, whose mother was Jewish, received Hitler's personal letter, in which the Fuhrer certified the Aryanity of this halachic Jew (Halakha is traditional Jewish legislation, according to which a Jew is considered to be born of a Jewish mother - K.K.). The same certificates of “German blood” were signed by Hitler for dozens of high-ranking officers of Jewish origin.

During the war, Hollander was awarded the Iron Cross of both degrees and a rare insignia - the Golden German Cross. In 1943, he received the Knight's Cross when his anti-tank brigade destroyed 21 Soviet tanks on the Kursk Bulge in one battle.

When he was given leave, he went to the Reich via Warsaw. It was there that he was shocked by the sight of the Jewish ghetto being destroyed. Hollander returned to the front broken. Personnel officers wrote in his personal file: “too independent and poorly controlled,” and canceled his promotion to the rank of general.

Who were the Wehrmacht's "Mischlinge": victims of anti-Semitic persecution or accomplices of the executioners?

Life often put them in absurd situations. One soldier with the Iron Cross on his chest came from the front to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp to visit his Jewish father there. The SS officer was shocked by this guest: “If it weren’t for the award on your uniform, you would quickly end up with me where your father is.”

And here is the story of a 76-year-old resident of Germany, one hundred percent Jewish. In 1940, he managed to escape from occupied France using forged documents. Under a new German name, he was drafted into the Waffen-SS - selected combat units. “If I served in the German army, and my mother died in Auschwitz, then who am I - a victim or one of the persecutors? - he often asks himself. - The Germans, feeling guilty for what they did, do not want to hear about us. The Jewish community also turns away from people like me. After all, our stories contradict everything that is commonly believed to be the Holocaust.”

In 1940, all officers with two Jewish grandparents were ordered to leave military service. Those who were tainted with Jewishness only by one of their grandfathers could remain in the army in ordinary positions.

But the reality was different: these orders were not carried out. Therefore, they were repeated once a year to no avail. There were frequent cases when German soldiers, driven by the laws of “front-line brotherhood,” hid “their Jews” without handing them over to the party and punitive authorities.

There are 1,200 known examples of "mischlinge" service in the Wehrmacht - soldiers and officers with immediate Jewish ancestors. A thousand of these front-line soldiers had 2,300 Jewish relatives killed - nephews, aunts, uncles, grandfathers, grandmothers, mothers and fathers.

In January 1944, the Wehrmacht personnel department prepared a secret list of 77 high-ranking officers and generals “mixed with the Jewish race or married to Jews.” All 77 had Hitler's personal certificates of "German blood". Among those listed are 23 colonels, 5 major generals, 8 lieutenant generals and two full generals.

This list could be supplemented by one of the sinister figures of the Nazi regime - Reinhard Heydrich, the Fuhrer's favorite and head of the RSHA, who controlled the Gestapo, criminal police, intelligence and counterintelligence. All his life (fortunately short) he struggled with rumors about his Jewish origin.

Heydrich was born in 1904 in Leipzig into the family of the director of the conservatory. Family history says that his grandmother married a Jew shortly after the birth of the father of the future RSHA chief. As a child, older boys beat Reinhard, calling him a Jew.

It was Heydrich who held the Wannsee Conference in January 1942 to discuss the “final solution to the Jewish question.” His report stated that the grandchildren of a Jew were treated as Germans and were not subject to reprisals. They say that one day, returning home drunk to smithereens at night, he turned on the light, saw his image in the mirror and shot him twice with a pistol with the words: “You vile Jew!”

A classic example of a “hidden Jew” in the elite of the Third Reich can be considered Air Field Marshal Erhard Milch. His father was a Jewish pharmacist.

Due to his Jewish origin, he was not accepted into the Kaiser's military schools, but the outbreak of the First World War gave him access to aviation. Milch ended up in the division of the famous Richthoffen, met young Goering and distinguished himself at headquarters, although he himself did not fly airplanes. In 1929, he became general director of Lufthansa, the national air carrier. The wind was already blowing towards the Nazis, and Milch provided free planes for the leaders of the NSDAP.

This service is not forgotten. Having come to power, the Nazis claim that Milch's mother did not have sex with her Jewish husband, and Erhard's true father is Baron von Beer. Goering laughed for a long time about this: “Yes, we made Milch a bastard, but an aristocratic bastard.” Another aphorism by Goering about Milch: “In my headquarters, I myself will decide who is Jewish and who is not!”

After the war, Milch served nine years in prison. Then, until the age of 80, he worked as a consultant for the Fiat and Thyssen concerns.

The vast majority of Wehrmacht veterans say that when they joined the army, they did not consider themselves Jews. These soldiers tried to refute Nazi race talk with their courage. Hitler's soldiers, with triple zeal at the front, proved that Jewish ancestors did not prevent them from being good German patriots and staunch warriors.

The German Wehrmacht became a symbol of the Second World War.

Consequences of Versailles

The Entente's victory over Germany culminated in the Treaty of Versailles, signed in Compiegne at the end of 1918. The incredibly difficult conditions of surrender were complemented by the demand for the actual liquidation of the army. The German Republic was allowed to have a small professional army, totaling one hundred thousand people, and an equally reduced naval force. The military structure created on the remains of the army was called Reichwehr. Despite such a small number, the Reichwehr, under the leadership of General von Seeckt, managed to become the base for the deployment of a new army of the Third Reich, and soon there were no those left who did not know what the Wehrmacht was.

Revival of the army

The coming to power of the National Socialists led by Hitler in 1933 was aimed at Germany's withdrawal from the rigid framework of the Treaty of Versailles. The Reichwehr had a highly trained and highly motivated personnel reserve to transform it into a real army. The Wehrmacht law, adopted shortly after Hitler took power, sharply expanded the scope of military development. Despite the envisaged increase in the armed forces by five times, in the first years it was not entirely clear what the Wehrmacht was. His appearance has not yet taken shape, distinguished by dynamic aggressiveness, high discipline and readiness to fight any enemy in any conditions. The Wehrmacht adopted the best traditions of the Prussian and German Imperial armies, in addition to them receiving a powerful ideological base based on the ideology of National Socialism.

Military ethics in the era of fascism

Nazi ideology had a significant influence on the personnel and fate of the Wehrmacht. Many perceive him as a party army, whose main task was to spread National Socialism to the captured territories. To some extent this was true. But life is more complex than dogma, and within the Wehrmacht the old Prussian and German military traditions remained in force. It was they who made him such a formidable opponent and a powerful instrument of Nazi domination. It is very difficult to formulate what the Wehrmacht is ideologically. It bizarrely combined soldier camaraderie and party fanaticism. Defense of Vaterland and construction of a new ideological Empire. The preservation of the corporate spirit of the Wehrmacht was facilitated by the creation of SS troops, which accumulated the most fanatical elements

The Wehrmacht's only war

The war demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses of the army of Nazi Germany. When World War II began, the Wehrmacht represented the most powerful land army in the world. An excellent personnel base and the highest motivation were complemented by the industrial and scientific potential of Germany and Austria. The course of the war proved the highest combat capabilities of this army. But it became clear with utmost clarity that the best tool was useless for achieving adventurous goals. The history of the best army at the beginning of World War II warns against the temptation to repeat the sad experience. The Reich was striving for war, and its army was a symbol of the word "war". The Wehrmacht as it is known today would not exist without her. The losses incurred during the battles changed the personnel composition. Instead of a highly professional army, the Wehrmacht increasingly acquired the features of the adventurous line of the Reich leadership posing the same impossible tasks. The restructuring of thinking from war to conquer territories to the defense of one’s own country in such conditions turned out to be impossible. As the fronts shrank, the rhetoric of propaganda changed, but its meaning did not change. The decline in professionalism, as a consequence of large losses, was not compensated by the influx of soldiers tuned to the defense of the state. At the end of the war, the Wehrmacht looked like a loose conglomerate of individual combat-ready units, blurred by a demoralized mass of conscripts and Volssturmists. They did not have time to adopt Prussian military traditions in order to become soldiers, and did not have the motivation to die for

Defeat and consequences

The defeat of Nazi Germany by 1945 became inevitable. When World War II ended, the Wehrmacht ceased to exist. Along with him, much of what formed the basis of the combat effectiveness of the German army became a thing of the past. Despite the declared anti-fascism, the Soviet Union most fully preserved the traditions and spirit of the Prussian army in the recreated army of the GDR. Perhaps this is explained by the deep commonality inherent in Russian even before the First World War. Many Wehrmacht soldiers and officers continued their service, passing on the old traditions. They managed to demonstrate this during the suppression of the Czechoslovak uprising of 1968. This event reminded us what the Wehrmacht was. The German army underwent a greater transformation to interact with the Anglo-American troops, which had a completely different structure and history.

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany and Slovakia declared war on Poland... Thus began the Second World War...

61 states out of 73 that existed at that time (80% of the world's population) participated in it. The fighting took place on the territory of three continents and in the waters of four oceans.

On June 10, 1940, Italy and Albania entered the war on the side of Germany, on April 11, 1941 - Hungary, on May 1, 1941 - Iraq, on June 22, 1941, after the German attack on the USSR - Romania, Croatia and Finland, on December 7, 1941 - Japan , December 13, 1941 - Bulgaria, January 25, 1942 - Thailand, January 9, 1943, the government of Wang Jingwei in China, August 1, 1943 - Burma.

Who fought for Hitler and the Wehrmacht, and who was against?

In total, about 2 million people from 15 European countries fought in the Wehrmacht troops (more than half a million - Romanian army, almost 400 thousand – Hungarian troops, more than 200 thousand - Mussolini's troops!).

Of these, 59 divisions, 23 brigades, several separate regiments, legions and battalions were formed during the war.

Many of them bore names based on state and nationality and were served exclusively by volunteers:

“Wallonia” - the division included French, Spanish and Walloon volunteers, and the Walloons were the majority.

“Galicia” – Ukrainians and Galicians

“Bohemia and Moravia” – Czechs from Moravia and Bohemia

"Viking" - volunteers from the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavian countries

"Denemark" - Danes

"Langemarck" - Flemish volunteers

"Nordland" - Dutch and Scandinavian volunteers

"Nederland" - Dutch collaborators who fled to Germany after the Allies occupied Holland.

"French Infantry Regiment 638", since 1943, was merged with the newly organized "French SS Division "Charlemagne" - the French.

The armies of Germany's allies - Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Slovakia and Croatia - participated in the war against the USSR.

The Bulgarian army was involved in the occupation of Greece and Yugoslavia, but the Bulgarian ground units did not fight on the Eastern Front.

Russian Liberation Army (ROA) under the command of General A.A. Vlasova supported Nazi Germany, although she was not officially a member of the Wehrmacht.

The 15th Cossack SS Cavalry Corps under General von Panwitz fought as part of the Wehrmacht.

Also acting on the German side were the Russian Corps of General Shteifon, the corps of Lieutenant General of the Tsarist Army P.N. Krasnov and a number of individual units formed from citizens of the USSR, often on a national basis, under the command of the former Kuban Cossack SS Gruppenführer, A.G. Shkuro (real name – Shkura) and the Circassian Sultan-Girey Klych, the leader of the nationalist “People’s Party of the Highlanders of the North Caucasus” in France.

I will not write who fought for Hitler and the Wehrmacht and why... Some for “ideological reasons”, some for revenge, some for glory, some out of fear, some against “communism”... About these are millions and millions of pages written by professional historians... And I’m simply stating historical facts, or rather trying to do this... The question is about something else... So that they remember...

So, first things first...

Romania

Romania declared war on the USSR on June 22, 1941 and wanted to return Bessarabia and Bukovina, “taken” from it in June 1940, and also annex Transnistria (the territory from the Dniester to the Southern Bug).

The Romanian 3rd and 4th armies, with a total number of about 220 thousand people, were intended for military operations against the USSR.

On June 22, Romanian troops tried to seize bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Prut River. On June 25-26, 1941, the Soviet Danube Flotilla landed troops on Romanian territory, and Soviet aircraft and ships of the Black Sea Fleet bombed and shelled Romanian oil fields and other objects.

Romanian troops began active hostilities by crossing the Prut River on July 2, 1941. By July 26, Romanian troops occupied the territories of Bessarabia and Bukovina.

Then the Romanian 3rd Army advanced in Ukraine, crossed the Dnieper in September and reached the coast of the Azov Sea.

From the end of October 1941, units of the Romanian 3rd Army participated in the seizure of Crimea (together with the German 11th Army under the command of von Manstein).

From the beginning of August 1941, the Romanian 4th Army conducted an operation to capture Odessa; by September 10, 12 Romanian divisions and 5 brigades were assembled to capture Odessa, with a total number of up to 200 thousand people

On October 16, 1941, after heavy fighting, Odessa was captured by Romanian troops together with Wehrmacht units. The losses of the 4th Romanian Army amounted to 29 thousand dead and missing and 63 thousand wounded.

In August 1942, the 3rd Romanian Army took part in the offensive in the Caucasus, Romanian cavalry divisions took Taman, Anapa, Novorossiysk (together with German troops), and the Romanian mountain division captured Nalchik in October 1942.

In the fall of 1942, Romanian troops occupied positions in the Stalingrad area. The 3rd Romanian Army, with a total strength of 150 thousand people, held a front section 140 km northwest of Stalingrad, and the Romanian 4th Army held a front section 300 km to the south.

By the end of January 1943, the Romanian 3rd and 4th armies were practically destroyed - their total losses amounted to almost 160 thousand dead, missing and wounded.

At the beginning of 1943, 6 Romanian divisions, with a total strength of 65 thousand people, fought (as part of the German 17th Army) in the Kuban. In September 1943 they retreated to Crimea, lost more than a third of their personnel, and were evacuated by sea to Romania.

In August 1944, King Michael I, united with the anti-fascist opposition, ordered the arrest of General Antonescu and other pro-German generals and declared war on Germany. Soviet troops were brought into Bucharest, and the “allied Romanian army”, together with the Soviet army, fought against the Nazi coalition on the territory of Hungary, and then in Austria.

In total, up to 200 thousand Romanians died in the war against the USSR (including 55 thousand who died in Soviet captivity).

18 Romanians were awarded the German Knight's Cross, of whom three also received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.

Italy

Italy declared war on the USSR on June 22, 1941. The motivation is Mussolini’s initiative, which he proposed back in January 1940 - “a pan-European campaign against Bolshevism.” At the same time, Italy had no territorial claims to any zone of occupation of the USSR. In 1944, Italy actually left the war.

The “Italian Expeditionary Force” for the war against the USSR was created on July 10, 1941 - 62 thousand soldiers and officers. The corps was sent to the southern section of the German-Soviet front for operations in southern Ukraine.

The first clash between the advanced units of the Italian corps and units of the Red Army took place on the Southern Bug River on August 10, 1941.

In September 1941, the Italian corps fought on the Dnieper, in a 100-km sector in the Dneprodzerzhinsk region, and in October-November 1941 participated in the capture of Donbass. Then, until July 1942, the Italians stood on the defensive, fighting local battles with units of the Red Army.

The losses of the Italian corps from August 1941 to June 1942 amounted to more than 1,600 dead, more than 400 missing, almost 6,300 wounded and more than 3,600 frostbitten.

In July 1942, Italian troops on the territory of the USSR were significantly strengthened, and the 8th Italian Army was formed, which in the fall of 1942 occupied positions on the river. Don, northwest of Stalingrad.

In December 1942 - January 1943, the Italians tried to repel the advance of the Red Army, and as a result, the Italian army was virtually defeated - 21 thousand Italians died and 64 thousand were missing. In the harsh winter, the Italians simply froze, and they had no time for war. The remaining 145 thousand Italians were withdrawn to Italy in March 1943.

Italian losses in the USSR from August 1941 to February 1943 amounted to about 90 thousand dead and missing. According to Soviet data, 49 thousand Italians were captured, of which 21 thousand Italians were released from Soviet captivity in 1946-1956. Thus, in total, about 70 thousand Italians died in the war against the USSR and in Soviet captivity.

9 Italians were awarded the German Knight's Cross.

Finland

On June 25, 1941, Soviet aviation bombed populated areas of Finland, and on June 26, Finland declared war with the USSR.

Finland intended to return the territories taken from it in March 1940, as well as annex Karelia.

On June 30, 1941, Finnish troops went on the offensive in the direction of Vyborg and Petrozavodsk. By the end of August 1941, the Finns reached the approaches to Leningrad on the Karelian Isthmus, by the beginning of October 1941 they occupied almost the entire territory of Karelia (except for the coast of the White Sea and Zaonezhye), after which they went on the defensive on the achieved lines.

From the end of 1941 to the summer of 1944, there were practically no military operations on the Soviet-Finnish front, except for raids by Soviet partisans on the territory of Karelia and bombings of Finnish settlements by Soviet aircraft.

On June 9, 1944, Soviet troops (totaling up to 500 thousand people) went on the offensive against the Finns (about 200 thousand people). During heavy fighting that lasted until August 1944, Soviet troops took Petrozavodsk, Vyborg and in one section reached the Soviet-Finnish border in March 1940.

On September 1, 1944, Marshal Mannerheim proposed a truce; on September 4, Stalin agreed to a truce; Finnish troops retreated to the March 1940 border.

54 thousand Finns died in the war against the USSR.

2 Finns were awarded the Knight's Cross, including Marshal Mannerheim who received the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross.

Hungary

Hungary declared war on the USSR on June 27, 1941. Hungary had no territorial claims to the USSR, but there was also a motivation - “revenge on the Bolsheviks for the communist revolution of 1919 in Hungary.”

On July 1, 1941, Hungary sent the “Carpathian Group” (5 brigades, totaling 40 thousand people) to the war against the USSR, which fought as part of the German 17th Army in Ukraine.

In July 1941, the group was divided - 2 infantry brigades began to serve as rear guards, and the “Fast Corps” (2 motorized and 1 cavalry brigades, a total of 25 thousand people, with several dozen light tanks and wedges) continued to advance.

By November 1941, the “Fast Corps” suffered heavy losses - up to 12 thousand killed, missing and wounded, all tankettes and almost all light tanks were lost. The corps was returned to Hungary, but at the same time, 4 infantry and 2 Hungarian cavalry brigades with a total number of 60 thousand people remained at the front and in the rear areas.

In April 1942, the Hungarian 2nd Army (about 200 thousand people) was sent against the USSR. In June 1942, it went on the offensive in the Voronezh direction, as part of the German offensive on the southern sector of the German-Soviet front.

In January 1943, the Hungarian 2nd Army was practically destroyed during the Soviet offensive (up to 100 thousand dead and up to 60 thousand captured, most of them wounded). In May 1943, the remnants of the army (about 40 thousand people) were withdrawn to Hungary.

In the fall of 1944, all Hungarian armed forces (three armies) fought against the Red Army, already on the territory of Hungary. The fighting in Hungary ended in April 1945, but some Hungarian units continued to fight in Austria until the German surrender on May 8, 1945.

More than 200 thousand Hungarians died in the war against the USSR (including 55 thousand who died in Soviet captivity).

8 Hungarians were awarded the German Knight's Cross.

Slovakia

Slovakia took part in the war against the USSR as part of the “pan-European campaign against Bolshevism.” She had no territorial claims to the USSR. 2 Slovak divisions were sent to the war against the USSR.

One division, numbering 8 thousand people, fought in Ukraine in 1941, in Kuban in 1942, and performed police and security functions in Crimea in 1943-1944.

Another division (also 8 thousand people) performed “security functions” in Ukraine in 1941-1942, and in Belarus in 1943-1944.

About 3,500 Slovaks died in the war against the USSR.

Croatia

Croatia, like Slovakia, took part in the war against the USSR as part of the “pan-European campaign against Bolshevism.”

In October 1941, 1 volunteer Croatian regiment with a total strength of 3,900 people was sent against the USSR. The regiment fought in the Donbass, and in Stalingrad in 1942. By February 1943, the Croatian regiment was almost completely destroyed, about 700 Croats were taken prisoner.

About 2 thousand Croats died in the war against the USSR.

Spain

Spain was a neutral country and did not officially declare war against the USSR, but organized the sending of one volunteer division to the front. Motivation – revenge for being sent by the Comintern International Brigades to Spain during the Civil War.

The Spanish division, or “Blue Division” (18 thousand people) was sent to the northern section of the German-Soviet front. From October 1941 she fought in the Volkhov region, from August 1942 - near Leningrad. In October 1943, the division was returned to Spain, but about 2 thousand volunteers remained to fight in the Spanish Legion.

The Legion was disbanded in March 1944, but about 300 Spaniards wished to fight further, and 2 companies of SS troops were formed from them, fighting against the Red Army until the end of the war.

About 5 thousand Spaniards died in the war against the USSR (452 ​​Spaniards were captured by the Soviets).

2 Spaniards were awarded the German Knight's Cross, including one who received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.

Belgium

Belgium declared its neutrality in 1939, but was occupied by German troops.

In 1941, two volunteer legions (battalions) were formed in Belgium for the war against the USSR. They differed in ethnicity - Flemish and Walloon.

In the fall of 1941, the legions were sent to the front - the Walloon Legion to the southern sector (to Rostov-on-Don, then to Kuban), and the Flemish Legion to the northern sector (to Volkhov).

In June 1943, both legions were reorganized into brigades of SS troops - the volunteer SS brigade "Langemarck" and the volunteer assault brigade of the SS troops "Wallonia".

In October 1943, the brigades were renamed into divisions (remaining the same composition - 2 infantry regiments each). At the end of the war, both the Flemings and Walloons fought against the Red Army in Pomerania.

About 5 thousand Belgians died in the war against the USSR (2 thousand Belgians were taken prisoner by the Soviets).

4 Belgians were awarded the Knight's Cross, including one who received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.

Netherlands

The Dutch Volunteer Legion (a motorized battalion of 5 companies) was formed in July 1941.

In January 1942, the Dutch Legion arrived on the northern section of the German-Soviet front, in the Volkhov area. Then the legion was transferred to Leningrad.

In May 1943, the Dutch Legion was reorganized into the volunteer SS brigade "Netherlands" (with a total strength of 9 thousand people).

In 1944, one of the regiments of the Dutch brigade was practically destroyed in the battles near Narva. In the fall of 1944, the brigade retreated to Courland, and in January 1945 it was evacuated to Germany by sea.

In February 1945, the brigade was renamed a division, although its strength was greatly reduced due to losses. By May 1945, the Dutch division was practically destroyed in battles against the Red Army.

About 8 thousand Dutch people died in the war against the USSR (more than 4 thousand Dutch people were taken prisoner by the Soviets).

4 Dutchmen were awarded the Knight's Cross.

France

The "French Volunteer Legion" for the war "against the Bolsheviks" was created in July 1941.

In October 1941, the French Legion (an infantry regiment of 2.5 thousand people) was sent to the German-Soviet front, in the Moscow direction. The French suffered heavy losses there, were defeated “to smithereens” almost on the Borodino field, and from the spring of 1942 to the summer of 1944, the legion performed only police functions, it was used to fight against Soviet partisans.

In the summer of 1944, as a result of the offensive of the Red Army in Belarus, the French Legion again found itself on the front line, again suffered heavy losses and was withdrawn to Germany.

In September 1944, the legion was disbanded, and in its place the “French SS Brigade” was created (numbering more than 7 thousand people), and in February 1945 it was renamed the 33rd Grenadier Division of the SS troops “Charlemagne” (“Charlemagne”) ") and sent to the front in Pomerania against Soviet troops. In March 1945, the French division was almost completely destroyed.

The remnants of the French division (about 700 people) defended Berlin at the end of April 1945, in particular Hitler’s bunker.

And in 1942, 130 thousand young people from Alsace and Lorraine born in 1920-24 were forcibly mobilized into the Wehrmacht, dressed in German uniforms and most of them were sent to the eastern front (they called themselves “malgre-nous”, that is, “mobilized against your will"). About 90% of them immediately surrendered to Soviet troops and ended up in the Gulag!

Pierre Rigoulot in his books “The French in the Gulag” and “The Tragedy of the Reluctant Soldier” writes: “...In total, after 1946, 85 thousand French were repatriated, 25 thousand died in camps, 20 thousand disappeared on the territory of the USSR...”. In 1943-1945 alone, more than 10 thousand Frenchmen who died in custody in camp No. 188 were buried in mass graves in the forest near Rada station, near Tambov.

About 8 thousand French died in the war against the USSR (not counting the Alsatians and Logaringians).

3 Frenchmen were awarded the German Knight's Cross.

"African Phalanx"

After the Allied landing in Northern France, of all the North African territories of France, only Tunisia remained under the sovereignty of Vichy and the occupation of the Axis troops. After the Allied landings, the Vichy regime attempted to create volunteer forces that could serve alongside the Italo-German army.

On January 8, 1943, a “legion” was created with a single unit - the “African Phalanx” (Phalange Africaine), consisting of 300 French and 150 Muslim Africans (later the number of French was reduced to 200).

After three months of training, the phalanx was assigned to the 754th Infantry Regiment of the 334th German Infantry Division operating in Tunisia. Having been “in action”, the phalanx was renamed “LVF en Tunisie” and existed under this name until the surrender in early May 1945.

Denmark

The social democratic government of Denmark did not declare war on the USSR, but did not interfere with the formation of the “Danish Volunteer Corps”, and officially allowed members of the Danish army to join it (indefinite leave with retention of rank).

In July-December 1941, more than 1 thousand people joined the “Danish Volunteer Corps” (the name “corps” was symbolic, in fact it was a battalion). In May 1942, the “Danish Corps” was sent to the front, to the Demyansk region. Since December 1942, the Danes fought in the Velikiye Luki region.

At the beginning of June 1943, the corps was disbanded, many of its members, as well as new volunteers, joined the regiment " Danemark"11th SS Volunteer Division" Nordland"(Danish-Norwegian division). In January 1944, the division was sent to Leningrad and took part in the battle of Narva.

In January 1945, the division fought against the Red Army in Pomerania, and in April 1945 fought in Berlin.

About 2 thousand Danes died in the war against the USSR (456 Danes were taken prisoner by the Soviets).

3 Danes were awarded the German Knight's Cross.

Norway

The Norwegian government in July 1941 announced the formation of the “Norwegian Volunteer Legion” to be sent “to help Finland in the war against the USSR.”

In February 1942, after training in Germany, the Norwegian Legion (1 battalion, numbering 1.2 thousand people) was sent to the German-Soviet front, near Leningrad.

In May 1943, the Norwegian Legion was disbanded, most of the soldiers joined the Norwegian regiment of the 11th SS Volunteer Division " Nordland"(Danish-Norwegian division).

About 1 thousand Norwegians died in the war against the USSR (100 Norwegians were taken prisoner by the Soviets).

Divisions under the SS

These are the so-called “SS divisions”, formed from “citizens” of the USSR, as well as from residents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Note that only Germans and representatives of the peoples of the German language group (Dutch, Danes, Flemings, Norwegians, Swedes) were taken into the SS divisions. Only they had the right to wear SS runes in their buttonholes. For some reason, an exception was made only for the French-speaking Belgian Walloons.

And here "Divisions under the SS", "Waffen-Divisions of the SS" were formed precisely from “non-German peoples” - Bosniaks, Ukrainians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Albanians, Russians, Belarusians, Hungarians, Italians, French.

Moreover, the command staff in these divisions was mainly German (they had the right to wear SS runes). But the “Russian Division under the SS” was commanded by Bronislav Kaminsky, a half-Pole, half-German, originally from St. Petersburg. Because of his “pedigree,” he could not be a member of the SS party organization, nor was he a member of the NSDAP.

The first "Waffen Division under the SS" was the 13th ( Bosnian-Muslim) or "Handshar", formed in March 1943. She fought in Croatia from January 1944, and in Hungary from December 1944.

"Skanderbeg". In April 1944, the 21st Waffen-SS Mountain Division "Skanderbeg" was formed from Muslim Albanians. Almost 11 thousand soldiers were recruited from the region of Kosovo, as well as from Albania itself. They were mostly Sunni Muslims.

"14th Waffen-Division der SS" (Ukrainian)

From the autumn of 1943 to the spring of 1944 she was listed in the reserve (in Poland). In July 1944 she fought on the Soviet-German front in the Brody region (Western Ukraine). In September 1944 it was aimed at suppressing the uprising in Slovakia. In January 1945, she was moved to reserve in the Bratislava area, in April 1945 she retreated to Austria, and in May 1945 she surrendered to American troops.

Ukrainian volunteers

The only units of Eastern volunteers that entered the Wehrmacht from the very beginning were two small Ukrainian battalions created in the spring of 1941

The Nachtigal battalion was recruited from Ukrainians living in Poland, the Roland battalion was recruited from Ukrainian emigrants living in Germany.

"15th Waffen-Division der SS" (Latvian No. 1)

From December 1943 - at the front in the Volkhov region, in January - March 1944 - at the front in the Pskov region, in April - May 1944 at the front in the Nevel region. From July to December 1944 it was reorganized in Latvia, and then in West Prussia. In February 1945 she was sent to the front in West Prussia, in March 1945 to the front in Pomerania.

"19th Waffen-Division der SS" (Latvian No. 2)

At the front from April 1944, in the Pskov region, from July 1944 - in Latvia.

"20th Waffen-Division der SS" (Estonian)

From March to October 1944 in Estonia, November 1944 - January 1945 in Germany (in reserve), in February - May 1945 at the front in Silesia.

"29th Waffen-Division der SS" (Russian)

In August 1944 she took part in the suppression of the uprising in Warsaw. At the end of August, for the rape and murder of German residents of Warsaw, the division commander Waffen-Brigadeführer Kaminsky and the division chief of staff Waffen-Obersturmbannführer Shavyakin (a former captain of the Red Army) were shot, and the division was sent to Slovakia and disbanded there.

"Russian security corps in Serbia"("Russisches Schutzkorps Serbien", RSS), the last unit of the Imperial Russian Army. He was recruited from among the White Guards who found refuge in Serbia in 1921 and retained their national identity and adherence to traditional beliefs. They wanted to fight “for Russia and against the Reds,” but they were sent to fight the partisans of Joseph Broz Tito.

"Russian Security Corps", initially headed by the White Guard General Shteifon, and later by Colonel Rogozin. The number of corps is more than 11 thousand people.

"30th Waffen-Division der SS" (Belarusian)

From September to November 1944 in reserve in Germany, from December 1944 on the Upper Rhine.

The “33rd Hungarian” lasted only two months , was formed in December 1944, disbanded in January 1945.

The “36th Division” was formed from German criminals and even political prisoners in February 1945. But then the Nazis “raked out” all the “reserves”, conscripting everyone into the Wehrmacht - from boys from the “Hitler Youth” to old men...

"Latvian SS Volunteer Legion". In February 1943, after the defeat of German troops at Stalingrad, the Nazi command decided to form the Latvian SS National Legion. It included part of the Latvian volunteer units that had been created earlier and had already taken part in hostilities.

In early March 1943, the entire male population of Latvia born in 1918 and 1919 was ordered to report to the county and volost police departments at their place of residence. There, after being examined by a medical commission, those mobilized were given the right to choose their place of service: either in the Latvian SS Legion, or in the service personnel of the German troops, or for defense work.

Of the 150 thousand soldiers and officers of the legion, over 40 thousand died and almost 50 thousand were captured by the Soviets. In April 1945, she took part in the battles for Neubrandenburg. At the end of April 1945, the remnants of the division were transferred to Berlin, where the battalion took part in the last battles for the “capital of the Third Reich.”

In addition to these divisions, in December 1944 the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division was transferred to the subordination of the SS, which in January 1945 was renamed the 15th Cossack Cavalry SS Corps. The corps operated in Croatia against Tito's partisans.

On December 30, 1941, the Wehrmacht command gave the order to form “legions” of volunteers of various nationalities of the USSR. During the first half of 1942, first four and then six legions were fully integrated into the Wehrmacht, receiving the same status as the European legions. At first they were located in Poland.

"Turkestan Legion" , located in Legionovo, included Cossacks, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Karakalpaks and representatives of other nationalities.

"Muslim-Caucasian Legion" (later renamed " Azerbaijan Legion") located in Zheldni, total number of 40,000 people.

"North Caucasian Legion" , which included representatives of 30 different peoples of the North Caucasus, was located in Vesol.

The formation of the legion began in September 1942 near Warsaw from Caucasian prisoners of war. The number of volunteers (more than 5,000 people) included Ossetians, Chechens, Ingush, Kabardians, Balkars, Tabasarans, etc.

The so-called took part in the formation of the legion and the call for volunteers. "North Caucasus Committee". Its leadership included Dagestani Akhmed-Nabi Agayev (Abwehr agent), Ossetian Kantemirov (former Minister of War of the Mountain Republic) and Sultan-Girey Klych.

"Georgian Legion" was formed in Kruzhyna. It should be noted that this legion existed from 1915 to 1917, and at its first formation it was staffed by volunteers from among Georgians who were captured during the First World War.

During the Second World War "Georgian Legion"“replenished” with volunteers from among Soviet prisoners of war of Georgian nationality

"Armenian Legion" (18 thousand people ) formed in Puława, led the legion Drastamat Kanayan (“General Dro”). Drastamat Kanayan defected to the Americans in May 1945. He spent the last years of his life in Beirut, died on March 8, 1956, and was buried in Boston. At the end of May 2000, the body of Drastamat Kanayan was reburied in the city of Aparan, in Armenia, near the memorial to the heroic soldiers of the Great Patriotic War.

"Volga-Tatar Legion" (the Idel-Ural legion) consisted of representatives of the Volga peoples (Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari, Mordovians, Chuvashs, Udmurts), most of all there were Tatars. Formed in Zheldni.

In accordance with the policies of the Wehrmacht, these legions were never united in combat conditions. Once they completed their training in Poland, they were sent separately to the front.

"Kalmyk Legion"

It is interesting that the Kalmyks were not part of the Eastern Legions and the first Kalmyk units were created by the headquarters of the 16th German motorized infantry division after Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, was occupied during the summer offensive of 1942. These units were called variously: “Kalmuck Legion”, “Kalmucken Verband Dr. Doll”, or “Kalmyk Cavalry Corps”.

In practice, it was a “volunteer corps” with the status of an allied army and broad autonomy. It was mainly composed of former Red Army soldiers, commanded by Kalmyk sergeants and Kalmyk officers.

Initially, the Kalmyks fought against partisan detachments, then retreated to the west along with German troops.

The constant retreat brought the Kalmyk Legion to Poland, where by the end of 1944 their number amounted to about 5,000 people. Soviet winter offensive 1944-45 found them near Radom, and at the very end of the war they were reorganized in Neuhammer.

The Kalmyks were the only ones of the “eastern volunteers” who joined Vlasov’s army.

Crimean Tatars. In October 1941, the creation of volunteer formations from representatives of the Crimean Tatars, “self-defense companies”, began, whose main task was to fight the partisans. Until January 1942, this process proceeded spontaneously, but after the recruitment of volunteers from among the Crimean Tatars was officially sanctioned by Hitler, “the solution to this problem” passed to the leadership of Einsatzgruppe “D”. During January 1942, more than 8,600 Crimean Tatar volunteers were recruited.

These formations were used to protect military and civilian facilities, took an active part in the fight against partisans, and in 1944 they actively resisted the Red Army units that liberated Crimea.

The remnants of the Crimean Tatar units, along with German and Romanian troops, were evacuated from Crimea by sea.

In the summer of 1944, from the remnants of the Crimean Tatar units in Hungary, the “Tatar Mountain Jaeger Regiment of the SS” was formed, which was soon reorganized into the “1st Tatar Mountain Jaeger Brigade of the SS”, which was disbanded on December 31, 1944 and reorganized into the combat group “Crimea” ", which joined the "East Turkic SS Unit".

Crimean Tatar volunteers who were not included in the “Tatar Mountain Jaeger Regiment of the SS” were transferred to France and included in the reserve battalion of the “Volga Tatar Legion”.

As Jurado Carlos Caballero wrote: “...Not as a justification for the “divisions under the SS”, but for the sake of objectivity, we note that a much larger scale of war crimes was committed by the special forces of the Allgemeine-SS (“Sonderkommando” and “Einsatzgruppen”), and also “Ost-Truppen” - units formed from Russians, Turkestanis, Ukrainians, Belarusians, peoples of the Caucasus and the Volga region - they were mainly engaged in anti-partisan activities... Divisions of the Hungarian army were also engaged in this...

However, it should be noted that the Bosnian-Muslim, Albanian and “Russian SS divisions”, as well as the “36th SS division” from the Germans, became most famous for war crimes...”

Volunteer Indian Legion

A few months before the start of Operation Barbarossa, while the Soviet-German non-aggression pact was still in effect, the extremist Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose arrived from Moscow in Berlin, intending to enlist German support “in the liberation of his country.” Thanks to his persistence, he was able to persuade the Germans to recruit a group of volunteers from Indians who had served in the British forces and were captured in North Africa.

By the end of 1942, this Free India Legion (also known as the Tiger Legion, Freis Indian Legion, Azad Hind Legion, Indische Freiwilligen-Legion Regiment 950 or I.R 950) had reached a strength of about 2,000 men and was officially entered the German army as the 950th (Indian) Infantry Regiment.

In 1943, Bose Chandra traveled on a submarine to Japanese-occupied Singapore. He sought to create an Indian National Army from Indians captured by the Japanese.

However, the German command had little understanding of the problems of caste, tribal and religious feuds among the inhabitants of India, and in addition, German officers treated their subordinates with disdain... And, most importantly, more than 70 percent of the division’s soldiers were Muslims, coming from tribes from the territories of modern Pakistan and Bangladesh , as well as from Muslim communities in western and northwestern India. And the problems with the nutrition of such “motley fighters” were very serious - some did not eat pork, others ate only rice and vegetables.

In the spring of 1944, 2,500 men of the Indian Legion were sent to the Bordeaux region in the fortress of the Atlantic Wall. The first combat loss was Lieutenant Ali Khan, who was killed in August 1944 by French partisans during the legion’s retreat to Alsace. On August 8, 1944, the legion was transferred to the SS troops.

In March 1945, the remnants of the legion tried to break into Switzerland, but were captured by the French and Americans. The prisoners were handed over to the British as traitors to their own power, the former legionnaires were sent to Delhi prisons, and some were immediately shot.

However, we note, in fairness, that this unique unit practically did not take part in the hostilities.

Volunteer Arab Legion

On May 2, 1941, an anti-British rebellion broke out in Iraq under the leadership of Rashid el-Ghaliani. The Germans formed a special headquarters "F" (Sonderstab F) to assist the Arab insurgents.

To support the rebellion, two small units were created - the 287th and 288th special formations (Sonderverbonde), recruited from the personnel of the Brandenburg division. But before they could take action, the rebellion was crushed.

The 288th Formation, composed entirely of Germans, was sent to North Africa as part of the Afrika Korps, and the 287th Formation was left in Greece, near Athens, to organize volunteers from the Middle East. These were mainly Palestinian supporters of the pro-German Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Iraqis who supported El-Ghaliani.

When three battalions were recruited, one battalion was sent to Tunisia, and the remaining two were used to fight the partisans, first in the Caucasus and then in Yugoslavia.

The 287th Unit was never officially recognized as an Arab Legion – “ Legion Free Arab." This general name was given to all Arabs who fought under German command, to distinguish them from other ethnic groups.

The anti-Hitler coalition included the USSR, USA, Great Britain and its dominions (Canada, India, Union of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand), Poland, France, Ethiopia, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Greece, Yugoslavia, Tuva, Mongolia, USA.

China (the government of Chiang Kai-shek) waged hostilities against Japan from July 7, 1937, and Mexico and Brazil. Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Argentina declared war on Germany and its allies.

The participation of Latin American countries in the war consisted mainly of carrying out defensive measures, protecting the coast and convoys of ships.

The fighting of a number of countries occupied by Germany - Yugoslavia, Greece, France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland consisted mainly of the partisan movement and the resistance movement. Italian partisans were also active, fighting both against the Mussolini regime and against Germany.

Poland. Polish troops, after the defeat and division of Poland between Germany and the USSR, acted together with the troops of Great Britain, France and the USSR (“Anders’ Army”). In 1944, Polish troops took part in the landing in Normandy, and in May 1945 they took Berlin.

Luxembourg was attacked by Germany on May 10, 1940. In August 1942, Luxembourg was incorporated into Germany, so many Luxembourgers were conscripted into the Wehrmacht.

In total, 10,211 Luxembourgers were drafted into the Wehrmacht during the occupation. Of these, 2,848 died, 96 were missing.

1,653 Luxembourgers who served in the Wehrmacht and fought on the German-Soviet front (of which 93 died in captivity) were captured by the Soviets.

NEUTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Sweden. At the beginning of the war, Sweden declared its neutrality, but nevertheless carried out partial mobilization. During Soviet-Finnish military conflict she announced the preservation of the status of “ non-belligerent power“, however, provided assistance to Finland with money and military equipment.

However, Sweden cooperated with both warring parties, the most famous examples being the passage of German troops from Norway to Finland and informing the British about the Bismarck's departure for Operation Rheinübung.

In addition, Sweden actively supplied Germany with iron ore, but from mid-August 1943 it stopped transporting German war materials through its country.

During the Great Patriotic War, Sweden was a diplomatic mediator between the USSR and Germany.

Switzerland. She announced her neutrality the day before the start of World War II. But in September 1939, 430 thousand people were mobilized into the army, and rationing for food and industrial products was introduced.

In the international arena, Switzerland maneuvered between two warring factions; the ruling circles for a long time leaned towards a pro-German course.

Swiss companies supplied Germany weapons, ammunition, cars and other industrial goods. Germany received electricity and loans from Switzerland (over 1 billion francs), and used Swiss railways for military transport to Italy and back.

Some Swiss firms acted as intermediaries for Germany in world markets. The intelligence agencies of Germany, Italy, the USA and England operated in Switzerland.

Spain. Spain remained neutral during World War II, although Hitler considered the Spaniards his allies. German submarines entered the ports of Spain, and German agents operated freely in Madrid. Spain also supplied tungsten to Germany, although at the end of the war Spain also sold tungsten to the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. Jews fled to Spain, then made their way to Portugal.

Portugal. In 1939 it declared neutrality. But Salazar's government supplied strategic raw materials, and, above all, tungsten to Germany and Italy. In October 1943, realizing the inevitability of the defeat of Nazi Germany, Salazar granted the British and Americans the right to use the Azores as a military base, and in June 1944 he stopped the export of tungsten to Germany.

During the war, hundreds of thousands of Jews from various European countries were able to escape Hitler's genocide by using Portuguese visas to emigrate from war-torn Europe.

Ireland maintained complete neutrality.

About 1,500,000 Jews took part in hostilities in the armies of different countries, in the partisan movement and the Resistance.

In the US Army - 550,000, in the USSR - 500,000, Poland - 140,000, Great Britain - 62,000, France - 46,000.

Alexey Kazdym

List of used literature

• Abrahamyan E. A. Caucasians in the Abwehr. M.: Publisher Bystrov, 2006.
• Asadov Yu.A. 1000 officer names in Armenian history. Pyatigorsk, 2004.
• Berdinskikh V.A. . Special settlers: Political exile of the peoples of Soviet Russia. M.: 2005.
• Briman Shimon Muslims in the SS // http://www.webcitation.org/66K7aB5b7
• Second World War 1939-1945, TSB. Yandex. Dictionaries
• Vozgrin V. Historical destinies of the Crimean Tatars. Moscow: Mysl, 1992
• Gilyazov I.A. Legion "Idel-Ural". Kazan: Tatknigoizdat, 2005.
• Drobyazko S. Eastern legions and Cossack units in the Wehrmacht http://www.erlib.com
• Elishev S. Salazarovskaya Portugal // Russian People's Line, http://ruskline.ru/analitika/2010/05/21/salazarovskaya_portugaliya
• Karashchuk A., Drobyazko S. Eastern volunteers in the Wehrmacht, police and SS. 2000
• Krysin M. Yu. History on the lips. Latvian SS Legion: yesterday and today. Veche, 2006.
• Concise Jewish Encyclopedia, Jerusalem. 1976 – 2006
• Mamulia G.G. Georgian Legion of the Wehrmacht M.: Veche, 2011.
• Romanko O.V. Muslim legions in World War II. M.: AST; Transitbook, 2004.
• Yurado Carlos Caballero “Foreign volunteers in the Wehrmacht. 1941-1945. AST, Astrel. 2005
• Etinger Ya. Ya. Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.
• Rigoulot Pierre. Des Francais au goulag.1917-1984. 1984
• Rigoulot Pierre. La tragedy des malgre-nous. 1990.

Thanks to Soviet films about the war, most people have a strong opinion that the mass-produced small arms (photo below) of the German infantry during the Second World War is a machine gun (submachine gun) of the Schmeisser system, which is named after the name of its designer. This myth is still actively supported by domestic cinema. However, in fact, this popular machine gun was never a mass weapon of the Wehrmacht, and it was not created by Hugo Schmeisser. However, first things first.

How myths are created

Everyone should remember the footage from domestic films dedicated to the attacks of German infantry on our positions. Brave blond guys walk without bending down, while firing from machine guns “from the hip.” And the most interesting thing is that this fact does not surprise anyone except those who were in the war. According to movies, the “Schmeissers” could conduct aimed fire at the same distance as the rifles of our soldiers. In addition, when watching these films, the viewer got the impression that all the personnel of the German infantry during the Second World War were armed with machine guns. In fact, everything was different, and the submachine gun is not a mass-produced small arms weapon of the Wehrmacht, and it is impossible to shoot from the hip, and it is not called “Schmeisser” at all. In addition, carrying out an attack on a trench by a submachine gunner unit, in which there are soldiers armed with repeating rifles, is clearly suicide, since simply no one would reach the trenches.

Dispelling the myth: MP-40 automatic pistol

This Wehrmacht small weapon in WWII is officially called the submachine gun (Maschinenpistole) MP-40. In fact, this is a modification of the MP-36 assault rifle. The designer of this model, contrary to popular belief, was not the gunsmith H. Schmeisser, but the less famous and talented craftsman Heinrich Volmer. Why is the nickname “Schmeisser” so firmly attached to him? The thing is that Schmeisser owned the patent for the magazine that is used in this submachine gun. And in order not to violate his copyright, in the first batches of the MP-40, the inscription PATENT SCHMEISSER was stamped on the magazine receiver. When these machine guns ended up as trophies among the soldiers of the Allied armies, they mistakenly believed that the author of this model of small arms was, naturally, Schmeisser. This is how this nickname stuck to the MP-40.

Initially, the German command armed only command staff with machine guns. Thus, in infantry units, only battalion, company and squad commanders were supposed to have MP-40s. Later, automatic pistols were supplied to drivers of armored vehicles, tank crews and paratroopers. Nobody armed the infantry with them en masse, either in 1941 or after. According to archives, in 1941 the troops had only 250 thousand MP-40 assault rifles, and this was for 7,234,000 people. As you can see, a submachine gun is not a mass-produced weapon of World War II. In general, during the entire period - from 1939 to 1945 - only 1.2 million of these machine guns were produced, while over 21 million people were conscripted into the Wehrmacht units.

Why weren't the infantry armed with MP-40s?

Despite the fact that experts subsequently recognized that the MP-40 was the best small arms of World War II, very few of the Wehrmacht infantry units had it. This is explained simply: the sighting range of this machine gun for group targets is only 150 m, and for single targets - 70 m. This is despite the fact that Soviet soldiers were armed with Mosin and Tokarev rifles (SVT), the sighting range of which was 800 m for group targets. targets and 400 m for singles. If the Germans had fought with such weapons as they showed in Russian films, they would never have been able to reach the enemy trenches, they would have simply been shot, as if in a shooting gallery.

Shooting on the move "from the hip"

The MP-40 submachine gun vibrates strongly when firing, and if you use it, as shown in the films, the bullets always fly past the target. Therefore, for effective shooting, it must be pressed tightly to the shoulder, having first unfolded the butt. In addition, long bursts were never fired from this machine gun, since it quickly heated up. Most often they fired in a short burst of 3-4 rounds or fired single fire. Despite the fact that the tactical and technical characteristics indicate that the rate of fire is 450-500 rounds per minute, in practice this result has never been achieved.

Advantages of MP-40

This cannot be said that this small arms weapon was bad; on the contrary, it is very, very dangerous, but it must be used in close combat. That is why sabotage units were armed with it in the first place. They were also often used by scouts in our army, and the partisans respected this machine gun. The use of light, rapid-fire small arms in close combat provided tangible advantages. Even now, the MP-40 is very popular among criminals, and the price of such a machine gun is very high. And they are supplied there by “black archaeologists” who carry out excavations in places of military glory and very often find and restore weapons from the Second World War.

Mauser 98k

What can you say about this carbine? The most common small arms in Germany is the Mauser rifle. Its target range is up to 2000 m when firing. As you can see, this parameter is very close to the Mosin and SVT rifles. This carbine was developed back in 1888. During the war, this design was significantly modernized, mainly to reduce costs, as well as to rationalize production. In addition, these Wehrmacht small arms were equipped with optical sights, and sniper units were equipped with them. The Mauser rifle at that time was in service with many armies, for example, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia and Sweden.

Self-loading rifles

At the end of 1941, the Wehrmacht infantry units received the first automatic self-loading rifles of the Walter G-41 and Mauser G-41 systems for military testing. Their appearance was due to the fact that the Red Army had more than one and a half million similar systems in service: SVT-38, SVT-40 and ABC-36. In order not to be inferior to Soviet soldiers, German gunsmiths urgently had to develop their own versions of such rifles. As a result of the tests, the G-41 system (Walter system) was recognized as the best and adopted. The rifle is equipped with a hammer-type impact mechanism. Designed to fire only single shots. Equipped with a magazine with a capacity of ten rounds. This automatic self-loading rifle is designed for targeted shooting at a distance of up to 1200 m. However, due to the large weight of this weapon, as well as low reliability and sensitivity to contamination, it was produced in a small series. In 1943, the designers, having eliminated these shortcomings, proposed a modernized version of the G-43 (Walter system), which was produced in quantities of several hundred thousand units. Before its appearance, Wehrmacht soldiers preferred to use captured Soviet (!) SVT-40 rifles.

Now let's return to the German gunsmith Hugo Schmeisser. He developed two systems, without which the Second World War could not have happened.

Small arms - MP-41

This model was developed simultaneously with the MP-40. This machine gun was significantly different from the “Schmeisser” familiar to everyone from the movies: it had a forend trimmed with wood, which protected the fighter from burns, it was heavier and had a long barrel. However, these Wehrmacht small arms were not widely used and were not produced for long. In total, about 26 thousand units were produced. It is believed that the German army abandoned this machine gun due to a lawsuit from ERMA, which claimed illegal copying of its patented design. The MP-41 small arms were used by Waffen SS units. It was also successfully used by Gestapo units and mountain rangers.

MP-43, or StG-44

Schmeisser developed the next Wehrmacht weapon (photo below) in 1943. At first it was called MP-43, and later - StG-44, which means “assault rifle” (sturmgewehr). This automatic rifle in appearance, and in some technical characteristics, resembles (which appeared later) and is significantly different from the MP-40. Its aimed fire range was up to 800 m. The StG-44 even had the ability to mount a 30 mm grenade launcher. To fire from cover, the designer developed a special attachment that was placed on the muzzle and changed the trajectory of the bullet by 32 degrees. This weapon went into mass production only in the fall of 1944. During the war years, about 450 thousand of these rifles were produced. So few of the German soldiers managed to use such a machine gun. StG-44s were supplied to elite units of the Wehrmacht and to Waffen SS units. Subsequently, these Wehrmacht weapons were used in

Automatic rifles FG-42

These copies were intended for paratroopers. They combined the fighting qualities of a light machine gun and an automatic rifle. The development of weapons was undertaken by the Rheinmetall company already during the war, when, after assessing the results of airborne operations carried out by the Wehrmacht, it became clear that the MP-38 submachine guns did not fully meet the combat requirements of this type of troops. The first tests of this rifle were carried out in 1942, and then it was put into service. In the process of using the mentioned weapon, disadvantages associated with low strength and stability during automatic shooting also emerged. In 1944, a modernized FG-42 rifle (model 2) was released, and model 1 was discontinued. The trigger mechanism of this weapon allows automatic or single fire. The rifle is designed for the standard 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge. The magazine capacity is 10 or 20 rounds. In addition, the rifle can be used to fire special rifle grenades. In order to increase stability when shooting, a bipod is attached under the barrel. The FG-42 rifle is designed to fire at a range of 1200 m. Due to the high cost, it was produced in limited quantities: only 12 thousand units of both models.

Luger P08 and Walter P38

Now let's look at what types of pistols were in service with the German army. “Luger”, its second name “Parabellum”, had a caliber of 7.65 mm. By the beginning of the war, units of the German army had more than half a million of these pistols. This Wehrmacht small arms were produced until 1942, and then they were replaced by the more reliable Walter.

This pistol was put into service in 1940. It was intended for firing 9-mm cartridges; the magazine capacity is 8 rounds. The target range of the "Walter" is 50 meters. It was produced until 1945. The total number of P38 pistols produced was approximately 1 million units.

Weapons of World War II: MG-34, MG-42 and MG-45

In the early 30s, the German military decided to create a machine gun that could be used both as an easel and as a manual one. They were supposed to fire at enemy aircraft and arm tanks. The MG-34, designed by Rheinmetall and put into service in 1934, became such a machine gun. By the beginning of hostilities, there were about 80 thousand units of this weapon in the Wehrmacht. The machine gun allows you to fire both single shots and continuous fire. To do this, he had a trigger with two notches. When you press the top one, the shooting was carried out in single shots, and when you press the bottom one - in bursts. It was intended for 7.92x57 mm Mauser rifle cartridges, with light or heavy bullets. And in the 40s, armor-piercing, armor-piercing tracer, armor-piercing incendiary and other types of cartridges were developed and used. This suggests that the impetus for changes in weapons systems and the tactics of their use was the Second World War.

The small arms that were used in this company were replenished with a new type of machine gun - MG-42. It was developed and put into service in 1942. The designers have significantly simplified and reduced the cost of production of these weapons. Thus, in its production, spot welding and stamping were widely used, and the number of parts was reduced to 200. The trigger mechanism of the machine gun in question allowed only automatic firing - 1200-1300 rounds per minute. Such significant changes had a negative impact on the stability of the unit when firing. Therefore, to ensure accuracy, it was recommended to fire in short bursts. The ammunition for the new machine gun remained the same as for the MG-34. The aimed fire range was two kilometers. Work to improve this design continued until the end of 1943, which led to the creation of a new modification known as the MG-45.

This machine gun weighed only 6.5 kg, and the rate of fire was 2400 rounds per minute. By the way, no infantry machine gun of that time could boast of such a rate of fire. However, this modification appeared too late and was not in service with the Wehrmacht.

PzB-39 and Panzerschrek

PzB-39 was developed in 1938. These weapons of the Second World War were used with relative success at the initial stage to combat wedges, tanks and armored vehicles with bulletproof armor. Against the heavily armored B-1s, English Matildas and Churchills, Soviet T-34s and KVs), this gun was either ineffective or completely useless. As a result, it was soon replaced by anti-tank grenade launchers and rocket-propelled anti-tank rifles “Panzerschrek”, “Ofenror”, as well as the famous “Faustpatrons”. The PzB-39 used a 7.92 mm cartridge. The firing range was 100 meters, the penetration ability made it possible to “pierce” 35 mm armor.

"Panzerschrek". This German light anti-tank weapon is a modified copy of the American Bazooka rocket gun. German designers equipped it with a shield that protected the shooter from the hot gases escaping from the grenade nozzle. Anti-tank companies of motorized rifle regiments of tank divisions were supplied with these weapons as a matter of priority. Rocket guns were extremely powerful weapons. “Panzerschreks” were weapons for group use and had a maintenance crew consisting of three people. Since they were very complex, their use required special training in calculations. In total, 314 thousand units of such guns and more than two million rocket-propelled grenades for them were produced in 1943-1944.

Grenade launchers: “Faustpatron” and “Panzerfaust”

The first years of World War II showed that anti-tank rifles could not cope with the assigned tasks, so the German military demanded anti-tank weapons that could be used to equip infantrymen, operating on the “fire and throw” principle. The development of a disposable hand grenade launcher was started by HASAG in 1942 (chief designer Langweiler). And in 1943 mass production was launched. The first 500 Faustpatrons entered service in August of the same year. All models of this anti-tank grenade launcher had a similar design: they consisted of a barrel (a smooth-bore seamless tube) and an over-caliber grenade. The impact mechanism and sighting device were welded to the outer surface of the barrel.

The Panzerfaust is one of the most powerful modifications of the Faustpatron, which was developed at the end of the war. Its firing range was 150 m, and its armor penetration was 280-320 mm. The Panzerfaust was a reusable weapon. The barrel of the grenade launcher is equipped with a pistol grip, which houses the trigger mechanism; the propellant charge was placed in the barrel. In addition, the designers were able to increase the grenade's flight speed. In total, more than eight million grenade launchers of all modifications were manufactured during the war years. This type of weapon caused significant losses to Soviet tanks. Thus, in the battles on the outskirts of Berlin, they knocked out about 30 percent of armored vehicles, and during street battles in the German capital - 70%.

Conclusion

The Second World War had a significant impact on small arms, including the world, its development and tactics of use. Based on its results, we can conclude that, despite the creation of the most modern weapons, the role of small arms units is not diminishing. The accumulated experience in using weapons in those years is still relevant today. In fact, it became the basis for the development and improvement of small arms.