The main reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War

According to military experts, at the beginning of the war with the Soviet Union the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) was considered the strongest army in the world. Why, then, did the "Barbarossa" plan, according to which Hitler hoped to put an end to the USSR in 6-8 weeks, failed? Instead, the war stretched out for a long 1418 days and ended in a crushing defeat of the Germans and their allies. How did it happen? What were the reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War? What was the miscalculation of the Nazi leader?

The reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War

Unleashing a war with the Soviet Union, Hitler, in addition to the power of his army, counted on the assistance of that part of the population of the USSR, which was dissatisfied with the existing system, party and power. He also believed that in a country where so many peoples live, there must be inter-ethnic enmity, which means that the invasion of German troops will provoke a split in the society, which again will play into Germany's hands. And here was the first puncture of Hitler.

Everything happened to the exact opposite: the war that broke out only rallied the people of a huge country, turning it into a single fist. The questions of personal attitude towards the authorities have come to the fore. The defense of the fatherland from a common enemy has erased all kinds of ethnic groups. Of course, in a huge country there were also traitors, but their number was negligible compared to the mass of people consisting of real patriots ready to die for their land.

Therefore, the main reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War include the following:

• Unprecedented patriotism of the Soviet people, manifested not only in the regular army, but also in the partisan movement, in which over one million people took part.
• The cohesion of the social system: the Communist Party had such a powerful authority that it could ensure the unity of will and high performance at all levels of society, from the very tops of power and ending with simple people: soldiers, workers, peasants.
• The professionalism of Soviet military commanders: during the war, commanders quickly acquired practical experience in conducting effective combat operations under various conditions of the situation.
• No matter how the modern scribes of history are sneering at the notion of "friendship of peoples", claiming that in reality it never existed, the facts of war prove otherwise. Russians, Byelorussians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Ossetians, Moldovans ... all the peoples of the USSR took part in the Patriotic War, liberating the country from the invaders. And for the Germans, regardless of real nationality, they were all Russian enemies, subject to destruction.

• A huge contribution to the victory was made by the rear. Old men, women and even children day and night stood at the factory machines, making weapons, equipment, ammunition, uniforms. Despite the deplorable situation of agriculture (many of the country's grain-growing areas were under occupation), the village workers supplied the front with food, while they themselves often remained on a starvation ration. Scientists and designers created new models of weapons: rocket mortars, lovingly nicknamed in the army "Katyusha", the legendary tanks T-34, IS and KV, combat aircraft. Moreover, the new technology was not only highly reliable, but also easy to manufacture, which made it possible to use low-skilled workers (women, children) in its production.
• Not the least role in the victory over Nazi Germany was played by the successful foreign policy pursued by the country's leadership. Thanks to it, in 1942 an anti-Hitler coalition was formed, consisting of 28 states, and by the end of the war, it included more than fifty countries. But still the leading roles in the union belonged to the USSR, Britain and the USA.

By the way, in modern literature, many authors, voicing the reasons for the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War, put on the forefront are the successful actions of the allies of the Soviet state. But how was it in reality?

Allies of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War

Almost immediately after the outbreak of the war, the Soviet government tried to convince the Allies of the need for the early opening of the second, western front, which would force Hitler to weaken the onslaught on the Soviet state, dividing his forces in two. By the way, then the price of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War would be quite different, but more about this later. On the Allies on this account was a different opinion: they took a wait-and-see attitude, without taking any active action in Europe. The main help to the Soviet Union was the supply of long-term lease of machinery, transport, ammunition. At the same time, the volume of foreign military assistance amounted to only 4% of the total number of products going to the front.

Indeed, the allies of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War showed themselves only in 1944, when its outcome was already clear. June 6 in Normandy (north of France) landed a joint Anglo-American landing, thereby marking the opening of a second front. Now, already pretty battered Germans had to fight both with the west and with the east, which, of course, significantly brought such a long-awaited date - the Victory Day.

The price of victory over fascism

The price of Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War, paid by the Soviet people, was extremely high: 1,710 towns and large settlements, 70,000 villages and villages were completely or partially destroyed. The Nazis destroyed 32,000 enterprises, 1,876 state farms and 98,000 collective farms. In general, the Soviet Union lost a third of its national wealth during the war. Twenty-seven million people died on the battlefields, the occupied territories and in captivity. The losses of Nazi Germany are fourteen million. Several thousand people were killed by the United States and England.

What ended the war for the USSR

The consequences of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War were not at all what Hitler hoped for, attacking the Soviet Union. The victorious country ended the fight against fascism, having the largest and strongest army in Europe - 11 million 365 thousand people.

At the same time, the USSR secured the rights to the territory of Bessarabia, Western Ukraine, the Baltic region, Western Byelorussia and Northern Bukovina, as well as to Koenigsberg and the adjacent territories. Klaipeda became a part of the Lithuanian SSR. However, it was not at all the expansion of state borders that became the main result of the war with Hitler.

What does the victory of the USSR over Germany for the whole world mean?

The significance of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War was grandiose both for the country itself and for the whole world. First of all, the Soviet Union became the main force that stopped fascism in the person of Hitler, who is striving for world domination. Secondly, thanks to the USSR, the lost independence was restored not only to the countries of Europe, but also to Asia.

Thirdly, the victor country significantly strengthened its international authority, and the socialist system went beyond the territory of one country. The USSR became a great power that changed the geopolitical situation in the world, which eventually resulted in a confrontation between capitalism and socialism. The settled colonial system of imperialism has cracked and began to disintegrate. As a result, Lebanon, Syria, Laos, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Korea declared their independence.

New page in history

With the victory of the USSR, the situation in world politics was radically transformed. The situation of countries in the international arena changed rapidly: new centers of influence were formed. Now the main force of the West was America, and the east - the Soviet Union. Thanks to its victory, the USSR not only got rid of international isolation, which was before the war, but also became a full-fledged, and most importantly, very powerful world power, with which it was already difficult to ignore. Thus, a new page was opened in world history, and the Soviet Union was given one of its main roles.