Second Front: Truth and Myths. Second Front and Lend-Lease: Their Role in the Victory over Nazi Germany

The decision to create a second front against Nazi Germany in Western Europe during World War II was made by representatives of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain after negotiations in London and Washington in May-June 1942. At the Tehran Conference in 1943, the Western Allies pledged to open a second front in May 1944.

The second front was opened on June 6, 1944 as a result of the landing of the Anglo-American troops in Normandy - the Normandy landing operation, codenamed "Overlord" (English overlord - supreme ruler, sovereign). In terms of the scale and number of forces and equipment involved, this was the largest landing operation of the Second World War.

The operation was characterized by the achievement of secrecy in preparation and the surprise landing of a large group of troops on an unequipped coast, ensuring close cooperation between ground forces, air and naval forces during the landing and during the struggle for a bridgehead, as well as the transfer of a large number of troops through the strait zone in a short time and material resources.

The coast of Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands was defended by the troops of the German Army Group "B" under the command of Field Marshal Evin Rommel, consisting of 528 thousand people, two thousand tanks, 6.7 thousand guns and mortars, supported by aviation consisting of 160 aircraft. Their positions were poorly prepared in terms of engineering.

The Allied expeditionary force under the command of General Dwight Eisenhower consisted of over 2.8 million people, about 10.9 thousand combat and 2.3 thousand transport aircraft, about 7 thousand ships and vessels.

These troops outnumbered the grouping of German troops opposing them in ground forces and tanks three times, artillery - 2.2 times, aircraft - more than 60 times, warships - 2.1 times.

The plan of the Normandy landing operation provided for the landing of sea and air assault forces on the coast of the Bay of Seine and seizing a bridgehead 15-20 kilometers deep, and on the 20th day of the operation to reach the line of Avranches, Donfront, Falaise.

From the end of April 1944, Allied aviation carried out systematic raids on important enemy targets in France and during May-June disabled a large number of defensive structures, command posts, airfields, railway stations and bridges. During this period, strategic aviation delivered massive strikes against German military-industrial facilities, which sharply reduced the combat effectiveness of German troops.

On the night of June 6, simultaneously with the passage of amphibious assaults, allied aviation attacked artillery, resistance centers, command posts, as well as enemy concentration areas and rear areas. During the night, two American and one British airborne divisions landed northwest of Carentan and northeast of Caen, which quickly broke the enemy's weak resistance and provided significant assistance to the amphibious assault in landing and seizing bridgeheads. The passage of landing detachments across the English Channel in stormy weather turned out to be unexpected for the German command, which only when they approached the shore began to put their troops on alert.

At 0630 hours on June 6, following massive air strikes and naval artillery fire preparations, the landing of allied forces on the Normandy coast began. The German troops defending it, having suffered significant losses from aviation and naval artillery fire, offered little resistance. By the end of the day, the allied forces captured five bridgeheads with a depth of two to nine kilometers. The main forces of five infantry and three airborne divisions landed on the coast of Normandy, consisting of over 156 thousand people, 900 tanks and armored vehicles, 600 guns. The German command reacted very slowly to the landing of the Allied troops and did not put forward operational reserves from the depths to disrupt it.

Having concentrated up to 12 divisions on the captured bridgeheads in three days, the Allied forces resumed the offensive on June 9 to create a single bridgehead. By the end of June 12, they occupied the coast with a length of 80 kilometers along the front and 13-18 kilometers in depth and increased the grouping of troops to 16 divisions and several armored units (equivalent to three armored divisions). By this time, the German command had pulled up three tank and motorized divisions to the bridgehead, bringing the grouping of its troops in Normandy to 12 divisions. It made an unsuccessful attempt to cut the grouping of allied troops between the Orn and Vir rivers. Lacking proper air cover, the German divisions suffered heavy losses from allied aviation and lost their combat effectiveness.

On June 12, formations of the American First Army launched an offensive from the area west of Sainte-Mere-Eglise in a westerly direction and on June 17 reached the western coast of the Cotentin Peninsula, captured Carteret, on June 27 - Cherbourg, on July 1 completely cleared the peninsula from fascist troops.

The offensive of the Anglo-Canadian troops, undertaken on June 25-26 to capture Caen, did not reach its goal. Despite the powerful fire support of aviation and artillery, they failed to overcome the resistance of the Nazis and only slightly advanced west of the city of Caen.

By June 30, the Allied bridgehead reached 100 kilometers along the front and 20-40 kilometers in depth with the Anglo-American troops stationed on it, 23 airfields were equipped for basing tactical aviation. They were opposed by 18 German divisions, which had suffered heavy losses in previous battles. The constant air strikes of the allies and French partisans on their communications limited the possibilities of the German command to transfer troops from other regions of France.

The main reason that did not allow the reinforcement of the Wehrmacht troops in the west was the offensive of the Soviet troops in Belarus.

During July, the troops of the American army, continuing to expand the bridgehead, advanced 10-15 kilometers southward and occupied the city of Saint-Lo. The British directed their main efforts to capture the city of Caen, which their troops captured on July 21.

By the end of July 24, the allies reached the Lesse line south of Saint-Lo, Caumont, Caen, creating a bridgehead about 100 kilometers along the front and up to 50 kilometers in depth.

As a result of the operation, the allied expeditionary forces, having absolute dominance in the air and at sea, seized a strategic foothold and concentrated a large number of forces and means on it for a subsequent offensive in northwestern France.

The losses of the Nazi troops amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and captured, 2117 tanks and assault guns, seven submarines, 57 surface ships and combat boats, 913 aircraft.

Allied troops lost 122 thousand people, 2395 tanks, 65 surface ships and ships, 1508 aircraft. About 800 ships during the landing during the storm were washed ashore and damaged.

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The front of the armed struggle of the USA and Great Britain, as well as the troops of a number of states allied to them, against Nazi Germany in 1944-1945. in Western Europe it was opened on June 6, 1944 by the landing of the Anglo-American expeditionary forces on the territory of Northern France (Norman landing operation).

From the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet leadership raised the question of the early opening by the Anglo-American troops of a second front in Western Europe before the United States and Great Britain. The landing of the allies in France led to a decrease in the losses of the Red Army and the civilian population, the fastest expulsion of the enemy from the occupied regions. At some stages of hostilities in 1941-1943. the problem of the second front was of critical importance for the Soviet Union. At the same time, the timely opening of hostilities in the West could significantly accelerate the defeat of the fascist bloc and shorten the duration of the entire Second World War. For Western leaders, however, the issue of a second front was to a large extent a matter of putting their strategy into practice.

Only during the Tehran Conference in November-December 1943 was the question of the timing of the opening of the second front resolved. The Allies agreed to land their troops in France in May 1944. For his part, he made a statement that at about the same time he would launch a powerful offensive on the Soviet-German front.

General leadership of the Allied combat operations in Europe was entrusted to the commander of the expeditionary forces, General D. Eisenhower. At the head of the British group of troops was Field Marshal B. Montgomery. The opening of the second front was sincerely welcomed in Moscow. But during the two-year period of postponing the Allied landings in Northern France - from May 1942 to June 1944. only the irretrievable losses of the Soviet armed forces (killed, captured and missing) amounted to more than 5 million people.

Myagkov M.Yu. Second front. // The Great Patriotic War. Encyclopedia. /Answer. ed. Ak. A.O. Chubaryan. M., 2010

CORRESPONDENCE W. CHURCHILL AND J. STALIN DURING THE ALLIED LANDING IN NORMANDY, June 6-9, 1944

Everything started well. Mines, obstacles and coastal batteries have been largely cleared. The airborne assaults were highly successful and were undertaken on a large scale. The infantry landings are deployed quickly, and a large number of tanks and self-propelled guns are already on the shore.

Views of the weather are tolerable, with a tendency to improve.

B) SECRET AND PERSONAL FROM PREMIER JV STALIN TO THE PRIME MINISTER, Mr W. CHURCHILL, June 6, 1944.

Your message about the success of the start of operations "Overlord" received. It pleases us all and gives us hope for further progress.

The summer offensive of the Soviet troops, organized in accordance with the agreement at the Tehran Conference, will begin by mid-June on one of the important sectors of the front. The general offensive of the Soviet troops will be deployed in stages through the successive introduction of armies into offensive operations. At the end of June and during July, offensive operations will turn into a general offensive of the Soviet troops.

I undertake to inform you in a timely manner of the progress of offensive operations.

C) PERSONAL AND MOST SECRET MESSAGE FROM Mr WINSTON CHURCHILL TO MARSHAL STALIN, June 7, 1944.

1. Thank you for your message and congratulations on Rome. With regard to Overlord, I am quite satisfied with the situation as it developed until noon today, June 7th. Only in one coastal area where the Americans landed, there were serious difficulties, and now they have been eliminated. Twenty thousand airborne troops landed safely behind enemy lines on their flanks, in each case making contact with American and British troops landed from the sea. We crossed with little loss. We expected to lose about 10 thousand people. We hope to have the greater part of a quarter of a million people ashore by this evening, including a significant number of armored forces (tanks) unloaded ashore from special ships or swam ashore under their own power. In this last type of tanks, there were quite significant losses, especially on the American front, due to the fact that the waves overturned these amphibious tanks. We must now expect strong counterattacks, but we count on superior armor and, of course, overwhelming air superiority whenever the sky is clear of clouds.

2. Late last night in the Caen area, a tank battle took place between our newly unloaded armored forces and fifty enemy tanks from the 21st Armored Grenadier Division, as a result of which the enemy left the battlefield. The British 7th Armored Division is now coming into action and should give us the upper hand within a few days. We are talking about how many forces they can throw against us in the coming week. The weather in the Canal region will apparently not prevent our further landing in any way. Indeed, the weather seems more promising than before. All commanders are satisfied that, in reality, things went better during the landing process than we expected.

3. Top secret. We propose very soon to set up two large collecting ports on the banks of a wide bay at the mouth of the Seine. Nothing like these ports has ever been seen before. Large ocean liners will be able to unload and deliver supplies to the fighting troops through numerous moorings. This must be completely unexpected by the enemy, and it will allow accumulation to a very large extent regardless of weather conditions. We hope to capture Cherbourg soon in the course of operations.

4. On the other hand, the enemy will quickly and intensively concentrate his forces, and the fighting will be fierce and their scale will increase. We still hope that by the D-30 date we will have deployed about 25 divisions with all their auxiliaries, with both flanks of the front facing the sea and with at least three good ports at the front: Cherbourg and two assembly ports. This front will be continuously supplied and expanded, and later we hope to include the Brest Peninsula. But all this depends on the accidents of the war, which you, Marshal Stalin, are so well aware of.

5. We hope that this successful landing and victory at Rome, the fruits of which have yet to be harvested from the cut off divisions of the Huns, will please your valiant soldiers after all the burden they have had to bear and which no one outside your country has felt more keenly than I .

6. After I dictated the above, I received your message regarding the successful start of "Overlord", in which you speak of the summer offensive of the Soviet troops. I sincerely thank you for this. I hope that you will pay attention to the fact that we have never asked you a single question because of our complete confidence in you, your people and your troops.

D) SECRET AND PERSONAL FROM PREMIER JV STALIN TO THE PRIME MINISTER, Mr W. CHURCHILL, June 9, 1944.

I have received your message of June 7th announcing the successful deployment of Operation Overlord. We all salute you and the courageous British and American troops and ardently wish you continued success. Preparations for the summer offensive of the Soviet troops are coming to an end. Tomorrow, June 10, the first round of our summer offensive on the Leningrad Front opens.

I was very glad to receive your message, which I conveyed to General Eisenhower. The whole world can see the embodiment of Tehran's plans in our concerted attacks against our common enemy. May all good luck and happiness accompany the Soviet armies.

Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the United States and Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. T.1. M., 1986

FROM THE MEMORIES OF D. EISENHAUER

The period from D-Day to our decisive breakthrough of the enemy defenses on July 25 constituted a certain phase in the operations of the Allied forces and was called the "Battle for the Bridgehead". This phase included a series of continuous and heavy fighting, during which, except for the capture of Cherbourg, we did not manage to advance very far. However, it was at this time that conditions were prepared for subsequent actions to liberate France and Belgium ...

From the day we landed, the fighting nowhere acquired the positional character of the First World War, with the exception of fighting near isolated points. However, such a possibility existed, and all of us, and especially our English friends, remembered all this ...

By July 2, 1944, we had landed about a million men in Normandy, including 13 American, 11 British and 1 Canadian divisions. In the same period, we unloaded 566,648 tons of cargo and 171,532 tires ashore. It was very hard and exhausting work, but it paid off handsomely when we finally prepared to strike at the enemy with all our might. During these first three weeks we captured 41,000 prisoners. Our losses amounted to 60,771 people, of which 8975 were killed.

Eisenhower D. At the head of the allied forces. // The Second World War in the memoirs of W. Churchill, C. de Gaulle, K. Hull, W. Lega, D. Eisenhower. M., 1990

Opening a second front

second front world war

The second front is a code name in the Second World War of 1939-1945. the Western European front, which England and the United States undertook to open in the summer of 1942. After the attack of fascist Germany on the USSR, the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition became one of the main tasks of the foreign policy of the Soviet government. Given the contradictions between the USSR and the capitalist countries, it was not easy to solve this problem. During the year there were diplomatic negotiations, correspondence between the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain on the issue of creating an anti-Hitler coalition. By the signing on May 26, 1942 in London of the Soviet-British Treaty of Alliance in the War against Hitler Germany and on June 11 in Washington of the Soviet-American Agreement on Principles Applicable to Mutual Assistance in Waging the War against Aggression, the anti-Hitler coalition was formed. The next task of the foreign policy of the USSR was the opening by the allies of a second front in Europe. The absence of a second front allowed the Wehrmacht command to keep the main forces in the East without fear for their Western Front. The Soviet government, proceeding from the most difficult situation on the Soviet-German front in 1941-1942, urged England and the USA to open a second front in 1942 with all perseverance. During the Soviet-American negotiations in June 1942, which were conducted in Washington by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V.M. Molotov, an agreement was reached between the governments of the USSR and the USA on the opening of a second front in Europe in 1942. V.M. Molotov also obtained from the British government when he stopped in London on his way from Washington to Moscow. In fact, England was not going to fulfill its obligations and put forward all kinds of reservations in order to postpone the opening of the second front to 1943. In addition, British Prime Minister W. Churchill did everything possible to persuade US President F. Roosevelt to renounce his obligation and to concentrate efforts on carrying out the landing of Anglo-American troops in North Africa. In July 1942, the President of the United States accepted the point of view of W. Churchill. In a letter to I.V. Stalin on July 18, and then during negotiations with the head of the Soviet government in Moscow in August 1942, W. Churchill announced Britain's refusal to open a second front in Europe in 1942. This was also confirmed on behalf of US President F. Roosevelt and the US Ambassador to In Moscow, A. Harriman, who was present at the talks between W. Churchill and I.V. Stalin. The promise of the allies to open a second front was not fulfilled in 1943 either. The delay in the opening of the second front was due to the fact that the Anglo-American coalition counted on the weakening of the USSR, on the fact that after an exhausting war the USSR would lose its significance as a great power. The second front was opened only on June 6, 1944 with the landing of Anglo - American troops in Normandy (Northern France) and American troops in southern France on August 15. By this time, the Germans had in France, Belgium, Holland, the West Army Group, consisting of 50 divisions, more than 200 divisions and the vast majority of enemy tanks and aircraft were against the USSR. The opening of the second front had little effect on the position of the Eastern Front, since the allies immediately switched to the protracted nature of combat operations. The activity of the Anglo - Americans increased only after they realized that the USSR would soon independently defeat Nazi Germany, take Berlin and liberate the countries of Western Europe. The Anglo - Americans began to urgently occupy Austria, West and South Germany, but by the beginning of the Berlin operation of the Soviet troops, they did not even reach the river. Rhine.

Liberation campaign of the Red Army in Europe

1. Liberation of Romania . On March 26, 1944, Soviet troops reached the river. Prut - State border of the USSR with Romania. The dictator of Romania, Marshal I. Antonescu, organized the sounding of the terms of the truce with the allies. On April 12, 1944, the Soviet representative N. Novikov handed over the text of the conditions of the Soviet government, previously agreed with the United States and England, to the Romanian representative, Prince B. Stirbey. The terms of the armistice provided for the restoration of the Soviet-Romanian border under the 1940 treaty; compensation for losses caused to the Soviet Union by military operations and the occupation of Soviet territory by the Romanian troops; ensuring free movement of the allied troops on the Romanian territory in accordance with military needs.

On April 27, an ultimatum telegram was sent to I. Antonescu on behalf of the three allies, in which it was proposed to give an answer within 72 hours. However, the Romanian side did everything to turn the negotiations into a discussion.

In the spring of 1944, the Romanian Communist Party achieved the creation of the United Workers' Front (URF). On May 1, 1944, the ERF published a manifesto in which it called on the working class, all parties and organizations, regardless of political views, religious beliefs and social affiliation, the entire Romanian people to resolutely fight for immediate peace, the overthrow of the government of I. Antonescu and the creation of a national government from representatives of the anti-fascist forces. Patriotic armed detachments were organized, anti-fascist agitation was carried out. Soviet and British aviation flooded Romania with leaflets calling for withdrawal from the war on the side of Germany.

On August 23, King Mihai issued an appeal to the people of the country. A declaration was promulgated, which announced the breaking of the alliance with Germany by Romania, the immediate cessation of the war, the acceptance of the terms of the armistice proposed by the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States. Since the king was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country, the army at the front was ordered to stop hostilities against the Red Army. Subsequently, the king was awarded the highest Soviet Order of Victory.

However, for about seven months, the Red Army fought on Romanian territory against German troops, while suffering considerable losses. From March to October 1944, more than 286 thousand Soviet soldiers shed their blood here, of which 69 thousand people died. The price paid by the Soviet Union for the liberation of Romania was great.

2.Liberation of Bulgaria . After the defeat of the German-Romanian troops under the years. Iasi and Chisinau, Romania's way out of the war, and with the approach of Soviet troops, the ruling circles of Bulgaria began to look for a way out of the situation.

The main force opposing the government was the anti-fascist workers and peasants, the progressive intelligentsia. Their political representatives were primarily the Bulgarian Workers' Party and the Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union, which formed the Fatherland Front (OF).

On September 5, the Soviet government announced that henceforth the USSR "would be at war with Bulgaria," which, as the statement said, had "actually been at war against the Soviet Union since 1941." All over the country, strikes and demonstrations began under the slogan "All power to the Fatherland Front!". The actions of partisan detachments and combat groups intensified. During September 6-8, the authority of the OF was established in more than 160 settlements.

On September 6, the Bulgarian government announced the severance of relations with Germany and requested the terms of a truce with the USSR. On September 7, the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, General F. Tolbukhin, addressed an appeal to the Bulgarian people and the Bulgarian army. It said: “The Red Army has no intention of fighting the Bulgarian people and their army, as it considers the Bulgarian people to be a brotherly people. The Red Army has one task - to defeat the Germans and hasten the time for the onset of universal peace.

On September 8, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front crossed the Romanian-Bulgarian border. Without a single shot, in marching order, they rapidly advanced along the intended route. The front headquarters began to receive reports of an enthusiastic welcome of the Soviet soldiers by the Bulgarian people.

Thus, the campaign of Soviet troops in Bulgaria was completed. What are the results? It took place in favorable political conditions and was not associated with the conduct of hostilities. However, the losses of the Red Army here amounted to 12,750 people, including irretrievable losses - 977 people.

3.Liberation of Yugoslavia. Back in the autumn of 1942, on the initiative of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, a political body arose - the Anti-Fascist Council for the People's Liberation of Yugoslavia. At the same time, the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia was established as the highest executive and administrative authority, i.e. provisional government of the country headed by I. Tito.

Since the troops of the Yugoslav patriots were not able to defeat the enemy and liberate the country on their own, the High Command of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOAJ) sought help from other states. Not having received it from England, on July 5, 1944, I. Tito wrote to I. Stalin with the wish that the Red Army advance through the Carpathians and Romania in a southerly direction and help the NOAU drive out the Nazis.

In September, the State Defense Committee decided to form in the Soviet Union a Yugoslav tank brigade, two aviation regiments - a fighter and an assault, as well as a Yugoslav volunteer infantry brigade, numbering about 2 thousand people. Well-armed and equipped formations in August 1944 were included in the 2nd Ukrainian Front, and then transferred to one of the divisions of the NOAU.

On October 1, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command approved the plan for the Belgrade strategic offensive operation, and the Soviet troops went on the offensive. The inhabitants of the villages and cities of Yugoslavia warmly welcomed the Soviet soldiers. They took to the streets with flowers, hugged and kissed their liberators, shook hands with them. The air was filled with solemn bells and Russian melodies performed by local musicians. In addition, the population helped the Soviet fighters to repair roads and restore destroyed bridges, helping to increase the pace of the offensive of the Red Army troops.

May 20, 1942 People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov, having made a risky flight through the territory occupied by Germany, arrived in London to negotiate with British Prime Minister W. Churchill about an alliance in the war against Nazi Germany. One of the main issues of negotiations in the UK, and then the US was the second front.

The front of the armed struggle of the USA and Great Britain, as well as the troops of a number of states allied to them, against Nazi Germany in 1944-1945. in Western Europe. It was opened on June 6, 1944 by the landing of the Anglo-American expeditionary forces on the territory of Northern France (Norman landing operation).

From the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet leadership raised the question of the early opening by the Anglo-American troops of a second front in Western Europe before the United States and Great Britain. The landing of the allies in France led to a decrease in the losses of the Red Army and the civilian population, the fastest expulsion of the enemy from the occupied regions. At some stages of hostilities in 1941 - 1943. the problem of the second front was of critical importance for the Soviet Union. At the same time, the timely opening of hostilities in the West could significantly accelerate the defeat of the fascist bloc and shorten the duration of the entire Second World War. For Western leaders, however, the issue of a second front was to a large extent a matter of putting their strategy into practice. They considered allied obligations through the prism of their geopolitical interests.

During the negotiations, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov with British Prime Minister W. Churchill and US President F. Roosevelt in May-June 1942, an agreement was reached on the creation of a second front in Western Europe in 1942. However, soon after the negotiations, Western leaders decided to reconsider their previous commitments and postpone the opening the second front in 1943. During W. Churchill's visit to Moscow in August 1942, he informed I. Stalin of the intention of the United States and Great Britain to land in North Africa. This landing took place in November 1942.

Time passed, but there was no second front in Western Europe. The most difficult year for the Soviet Union in 1942 was left behind. The Anglo-American conference in Casablanca (January 1943) showed that in 1943 there would be no Allied offensive in France. The joint message of Churchill and Roosevelt on the results of the conference, sent to Stalin, did not contain information about specific operations and their timing, but only expressed the hope that "these operations, together with your powerful offensive, can probably force Germany to kneel in 1943 .". In response, Stalin sent a telegram to Churchill and Roosevelt on January 30, 1943, in which he asked: "I would be grateful to you for a message about the specifically planned operations in this area and the planned dates for their implementation."

After consultations with Roosevelt, the British Prime Minister sent an encouraging reply to the Soviet side, which spoke of preparations for forcing the canal in August-September 1943. However, in reality, the US and British governments were preparing to continue hostilities in the Mediterranean theater. After another meeting with Churchill in Washington in May 1943, Roosevelt informed Moscow about the postponement of the opening of the second front to 1944. Thus, on the eve of the next summer offensive of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front, the Allies announced that the landings in France in 1943 . will not be.

The ensuing exchange of messages further aggravated the situation. A serious crisis arose in the relations between the allies. In addition to postponing the landings, Lend-Lease deliveries to the USSR were cut. In April, there was a virtual break in diplomatic relations between the USSR and the Polish government in exile in London, the reason for which was the statement of German propaganda about the graves of Polish officers found near Katyn, who were shot by the NKVD in 1940. The US Ambassador to Moscow, W. Standley, made sharp statements about the inattention of the Soviet governments to the material assistance provided by the United States to the Soviet Union. The US government has decided to replace its diplomat.

Soon, the Soviet ambassadors I. Maisky and M. Litvinov were recalled from London and Washington. The version about the alleged meeting between Molotov and Ribbentrop in Kirovograd dates back to this time. There is circumstantial evidence that this was Soviet government disinformation intended for the leaders of England and the United States. In many ways, it was beneficial to the Soviet Union, helped to ensure that the Western allies realized the threat of being left face to face with Hitler and accelerated the invasion of Europe.

Nevertheless, at the Tehran conference in November-December 1943, where I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill met for the first time at the same table, the issue of the timing of the opening of the second front was resolved. The Allies agreed to land their troops in France in May 1944. For his part, Stalin announced that at about the same time he would launch a powerful offensive on the Soviet-German front. Shortly before the start of Operation Overlord, the British representatives on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington announced that "they are categorically against" giving the Russians information about the exact date of the landing in Normandy. According to the British, any further delay in the landing, which may occur due to weather conditions and other circumstances, could "be perceived by the Russians as evidence of hesitation and indecision" of the Allied High Command. However, in the end, the opinion prevailed that the transfer of information to the Russians about the exact date of the landing would have a positive effect on the coordination of the Allied fighting. On May 29, 1944, American and British military representatives in Moscow informed the Red Army General Staff that the operation would begin on the night of June 6. And on June 7, the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Marshal Vasilevsky, informed the heads of the British and American military missions in Moscow, Generals Barrows and Dean, that a powerful Soviet offensive would be launched in mid-June on one of the important sectors of the Soviet-German front. Soviet troops were preparing for Operation Bagration.

June 6, 1944 the second front was opened. The overall management of the Allied combat operations was entrusted to the commander of the expeditionary forces, General D. Eisenhower. At the head of the British group of troops was Field Marshal B. Montgomery. The opening of the second front was sincerely welcomed in Moscow. The actions of the Red Army began to be coordinated with the actions of the armies of the Western allies in Europe. But over the two-year period of postponing the Allied landings in Northern France - from May 1942 to June 1944. only the irretrievable losses of the Soviet armed forces (killed, captured and missing) amounted to more than 5 million people. It should also be emphasized that the second front was opened when a radical change had already occurred in the war and the forces of the German Wehrmacht were finally undermined on the Soviet-German front. It became clear that in the post-war period the USSR would significantly strengthen its position on the European continent. But the excessive expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence was not part of the plans of London and Washington. The landing of allied troops in France pursued a twofold goal - the quickest end to the war with Germany and the advance entry of Anglo-American forces into the territory of Western Europe.

After the landing in Normandy, the Allied forces managed to retain the land bridgehead and gradually expand its territory. Anglo-American troops also landed in southern France. In July-August 1944, having accumulated enough forces, they launched a powerful offensive. At the end of August 1944, Paris was liberated. Allied troops soon gained overwhelming superiority over the enemy, as the main German forces were still engaged on the Eastern Front. So, by the beginning of July 1944, there were 235 enemy divisions on the Soviet-German front, and 65 on the Western front. Nevertheless, in December 1944, German troops managed to carry out a powerful counterattack on the Western Front in the Ardennes region, as a result of which part of the allied forces found themselves in a difficult situation. As a result of the emergency measures of the Anglo-American command, as well as the postponement of the beginning of the Vistula-Oder offensive operation of the Red Army, the German offensive soon ran out of steam without reaching its goals.

In the spring of 1945, after a series of successful operations in the Rhine region, the Allied forces launched a general offensive. Despite the persistent requests of British Prime Minister W. Churchill, the commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force D. Eisenhower refused to concentrate the main forces in the Berlin direction and capture the capital of Germany before the Soviet troops. By the beginning of May 1945, the allied armies reached the Jutland Peninsula, at the turn of the river. Elba, to the western regions of Austria and Czechoslovakia, where they joined the troops of the Red Army. By this point, the Western Allies had also completed the liberation of Italy. In 1944-1945. the main theater of operations still continued to be the Soviet-German front. During the second half of 1944, the German command transferred 59 divisions and 13 brigades here, and took 12 divisions and 5 brigades from it for the Western Front. In January 1945, 195 divisions opposed the Soviet troops, and 74 divisions opposed the allied forces in Western Europe.

The Second Front played one of the most important roles in the armed struggle against the aggressor bloc. Ultimately, he brought victory over Germany closer, which objectively meant a reduction in losses in the war of the Soviet Union. Canadian, French, Polish and other troops of the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition also took an active part in operations on the Western Front.

M.Yu. Myagkov, D.Sc.

The second front, much needed by the USSR during World War II, was opened only in June 1944. This is despite the fact that on the part of the allies represented by Great Britain and the United States, war on Nazi Germany was declared much earlier, in 1939 and 1941, respectively.

A number of historians attribute this to the insufficient readiness of the allies to wage war on a full scale. For comparison, in 1939 the British Army had a little over a million soldiers, over 600 tanks and 1500 aircraft. All this is in contrast to more than four million soldiers in the German army, more than three thousand tanks and more than four thousand aircraft.

In addition, during the retreat at Dunkirk in 1940, the British had to leave a large amount of military equipment and ammunition. According to the admission made by Winston Churchill, at that time there were no more than five hundred field guns and about two hundred tanks left in all of Britain.

In the US, things were even worse. The regular troops numbered only about half a thousand people, who were part of 89 divisions.
The German army at that time consisted of full-fledged, well-equipped 170 divisions.
However, the allied countries began to rapidly arm themselves and by 1942 already had a strong enough army to provide assistance to the Soviet Union.

Stalin repeatedly turned to Churchill with a request to open the Second Front, but the head of the British government found various reasons for refusing.

During the Second World War, Great Britain chose the Middle East as the most significant direction for its activities. According to the country's military command, the landing of amphibious troops in France was futile and could divert the main forces from more important tasks.

After the winter of 1941, the food question arose in Britain. Deliveries from a number of European countries were impossible.
Since the shortage of goods could be filled with supplies from India, the Near and Middle East, Churchill did his best to strengthen the defense of this direction, in particular the Suez Canal. The threat to this region at that time was very great.

Another reason for the unhurried opening of the Second Front was also the disagreement between the allies. In particular, the tension was noticeable between Britain and France.

During his visit to Tours, where the evacuated French government was located, Churchill expressed his fear that the French fleet would fall into the hands of the Germans and proposed sending ships to Great Britain. France refused.

In the summer of 1940, the head of the British government proposed to the French a daring plan, according to which France would practically unite with Great Britain. The government of the Third Republic refused the prime minister, evaluating this proposal as an attempt to take possession of the state's colonies.

Finally, the differences in relations between the two allied states were introduced by the operation code-named “Catapult”, which assumed that Great Britain would capture the entire French fleet or destroy it so that the Germans would not get it.

The United States at that time was also busy with something else, namely the war with Japan, which at the end of 1941 carried out an attack on the base at Pearl Harbor. The response to the Japanese attack took a whole year.

In the autumn of 1942, the American army began to implement a plan to capture Morocco, called "Torch". As expected by the US military government, the Vichy regime, with which it still had diplomatic relations, surrendered without resistance. The main cities of the state were taken in just a few days. Following this, the United States entered into an alliance with Britain and France and launched offensive operations in Algeria and Tunisia.

According to Soviet historians, the Anglo-American coalition deliberately postponed the opening of the Second Front, waiting for the USSR, exhausted from the war, to cease to be a great power. Even offering assistance to the USSR, Churchill still spoke of him, only as a "sinister Bolshevik state."

The allies took a wait-and-see attitude, counting on the weakening of the forces of both Germany and the USSR. The decision to open the Second Front was made when it became quite obvious that the Third Reich was losing ground.

Many historians wonder why, despite the fact that the advantage in military power was clearly on the side of Germany, the German army allowed the British landings to retreat during the “Dunkirk operation”. Presumably, Hitler's troops were ordered to let the British leave.

There is also an opinion that the American tycoon Rockefeller, whose main goal was the oil market, had a significant influence on the entry and participation in the war between the United States and Great Britain. In particular, the “Schroeder” bank created by Rockefeller was responsible for the development of the military sector of the German economy just before the start of the war.

Until a certain point, Rockefeller was interested in Hitler's Germany, and repeated opportunities to remove Hitler were cut short.
Participation in the hostilities of Great Britain and the United States became optimal only when it became clear that the Third Reich would cease to exist.