History

"The Aviator Case" Part I

"The Aviator Case" Part I

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

How the Red Army Air Force Was Beheaded The war for the Soviet Air Force began much earlier than that Sunday morning, when German bombs fell on the "peacefully sleeping airfields." The heaviest losses, and in the most important, command link, Soviet aviation suffered already in May-June 1941. And by

How the British "dynamized" the allies

How the British "dynamized" the allies

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the famous evacuation of British troops near Dunkirk “Britain has no permanent enemies and permanent friends, it has only constant interests” - this phrase, unknown by whom and when, became, however, winged. One of the striking examples of such a policy is Operation Dynamo (evacuation

The surprises and disappointments of the big war

The surprises and disappointments of the big war

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

War becomes a cruel examiner for the armies' weapons system. It happens that those types of weapons and military equipment, which were not promised much success, pass the exam better. Of course, funds and efforts were spent on them, but much more attention was paid to others. And wrong. Japanese aircraft carrier

Myths and truths about the Kriegsmarine polar expeditions

Myths and truths about the Kriegsmarine polar expeditions

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Monument to the Participants of the Defense of Dixon Island The theme of the Nazi military expeditions to the Arctic has become one of the most mythologized in the history of World War II - from the "Nord" base to everything connected with the "Annenerbe". In fact, everything was, to put it mildly, differently

Stalin's Pacific Rim

Stalin's Pacific Rim

Last modified: 2025-06-01 06:06

In the 1930s, a grandiose construction was launched in the Far East … During the Second World War, the Atlantic Wall became widely known. Fortifications built by Hitler's order stretched along the entire western coast of Europe, from Denmark to the border with Spain. About it

Sixty years since the beginning of the Korean War

Sixty years since the beginning of the Korean War

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

US Army soldiers in Korea. 1950 The second half of the twentieth century began anxiously. The Cold War was raging in the world. Former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition stood on opposite sides of the barricades, and the confrontation between them was growing. The arms race between the US-led NATO bloc

Technique in the battles for Berlin

Technique in the battles for Berlin

Last modified: 2025-06-01 06:06

The storming of Berlin April 21 - May 2, 1945 is one of the unique events in the world history of wars. It was a battle for a very large city with a large number of solid stone buildings.Even the struggle for Stalingrad is inferior to the battles for Berlin in terms of the main quantitative and qualitative indicators:

British intelligence predicted Hitler's actions

British intelligence predicted Hitler's actions

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Louis de Wal was able to convince MI5 intelligence that the Fuehrer's tactical decisions were heavily influenced by his horoscope. He suggested studying what the stars are preparing for Hitler, as well as for other major military figures, for example, the English general Bernard Montgomery and the Japanese emperor Hirohito with

Ivan Kozhedub. First ace of World War II

Ivan Kozhedub. First ace of World War II

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Today marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of the legendary pilot Ivan Kozhedub The glorified pilot did not write down an enemy vehicle if he did not see how it fell to the ground World War II ace

Broken Claw of the American Eagle

Broken Claw of the American Eagle

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

The shots of the shamefully abandoned and burnt-out American helicopters at one time went around the world. Photo from Soldier of Fortune magazine On the anniversary of the failure of the CIA operation in Iran Thirty years ago, in May 1980, then US President and Supreme Commander Jimmy Carter declared mourning in the country for eight

The tragedy of Soviet prisoners of war ('Holokauszt es Tarsadalmi Konfliktusok Program', Hungary)

The tragedy of Soviet prisoners of war ('Holokauszt es Tarsadalmi Konfliktusok Program', Hungary)

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

War of Annihilation In December 1940, Adolf Hitler began planning an attack on the then allied communist Soviet Union with Nazi Germany. The operation was codenamed "Barbarossa". During the preparation, Hitler made it clear that this was not about

The death of the old world

The death of the old world

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

The European powers feverishly prepared for a major conflict for several decades before 1914. Nevertheless, it can be argued that no one expected or wanted such a war. The general staffs expressed confidence: it will last a year, maximum one and a half. But a common misconception

Sell your own story

Sell your own story

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Soon we will be led to believe that in 1941-1945, Stalin, along with Hitler, fought against the West A cynical but basically true saying says that there are two main subjects in high school - history and basic military training. The second teaches how to shoot, and the first teaches at whom. It is history, and

Rape Germany

Rape Germany

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

During the occupation of German territory, Soviet troops committed mass rapes of local women. “The Soviet soldiers viewed the rape, which was often carried out in front of the woman's husband and family members, as a suitable way to humiliate the German nation, which considered the Slavs an inferior race

The army makes a choice

The army makes a choice

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

At the Eurosatory-2010 arms show in Paris, Russia not only demonstrates its military equipment, but also for the first time looks closely at the best Western models. And not out of pure curiosity, but for the purpose of purchasing them. The armed forces of our country should have only the best equipment. And if there is no possibility

The myth of incompetent leadership during the Second World War

The myth of incompetent leadership during the Second World War

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Today we will try to take an objective look at the myth of the mediocrity of the military leadership of the Red Army - the Soviet Army, introduced into the public consciousness during the years of perestroika. Hundreds of times we have heard that the cannibalistic Stalinist regime bombarded the valiant German troops with crowds of unarmed Soviet soldiers

With 8.8 and panzerfaust against Soviet tanks ('Deutsche Stimme', Germany)

With 8.8 and panzerfaust against Soviet tanks ('Deutsche Stimme', Germany)

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

In the spring of 1945, when the enemies penetrated deeper and deeper into the empire, German women and girls took up arms to defend their homeland. We will share one such particularly successful episode. Between 8 and 12 March 1945 near Greifenhagen in Pomerania, heavy fighting raged with the addicted Bolsheviks. Non-commissioned officer

Alexey Isaev: "Unknown 1941"

Alexey Isaev: "Unknown 1941"

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

The sad date of June 22 makes us remember how many questions are still raised by the history of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Why did the Kremlin ignore intelligence reports about Hitler's preparations for an attack on the USSR? How did the experience of the Civil War help the Soviet military leaders? Than in

Facts about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Facts about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

On August 23, 1939, in Moscow, USSR People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop signed a non-aggression pact between the two countries, which immortalized their names

Confession before the last fight

Confession before the last fight

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

The cruel truth about the beginning of the war told in the letters of a soldier of the Great Patriotic War 65 years have passed since the end of the Great Patriotic War, the ashes of those who fell in battles have long since decayed, but the soldier's triangle letters remained incorrupt - small yellowed sheets of paper covered with simple or

Russians don't give up

Russians don't give up

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

These words fully apply to many battles of the First World War. For some reason, the modern Russian government, which is so concerned about patriotic education, chose not to notice the 95th anniversary of its beginning. This tragic date at the state level is trying not to notice: 95 years ago, 1

German Field Marshal served two dictators: Hitler and Stalin

German Field Marshal served two dictators: Hitler and Stalin

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

The most famous Hitlerite military leader in Russia is still Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus. First, because he brought his 6th army to the Volga. Secondly, because there, in the Stalingrad "cauldron", he left her. Alexander ZVYAGINTSEV tells about the strange fate of this man

Stalin was ready for war

Stalin was ready for war

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

On the eve of the next anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, liberal historians and journalists crawled out like devils from a snuffbox on television screens and newspaper pages. Still: a good occasion presented itself to remind the Russian man in the street about who is to blame for all mortal sins. Of course, we are talking

Miracle on the Vistula. Year 1920 ('Gazeta Wyborcza', Poland)

Miracle on the Vistula. Year 1920 ('Gazeta Wyborcza', Poland)

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

18-08-1995. If we had lost this battle, the world would have looked different - without Poland. Head of State and Commander-in-Chief Józef Pilsudski did not intend to wait. He dreamed of the resurrection of the old Commonwealth, of the federation of the peoples of the Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarusian (it should be noted that

Nuremberg - a fair trial or a parody? ('Latvijas Avize', Latvia)

Nuremberg - a fair trial or a parody? ('Latvijas Avize', Latvia)

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

October 16, 1946 - the day when the ashes of eleven main war criminals - the Nazis, sentenced to death by the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal - were poured into one of the tributaries of the Isara River (near Munich). The winners decided that absolutely nothing should be left of the dust

Marinesco - a hero, a criminal, a legend?

Marinesco - a hero, a criminal, a legend?

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Do you remember, brother, that time is long ago: the pines and the sea, the sunset of the sun; How did we see the ships sailing, how did we wait for them back? How we wanted to be captains and go around the world in the spring! Well, of course, we became masters - each in his own craft … The usual story of those years: after graduating only 6

Death under the heading "Secret"

Death under the heading "Secret"

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Dozens of large enterprises were evacuated from the west of the country to the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara) from the west of the country, which, just two or three months after the move, already issued products for the front, worked at aviation factories in several shifts. In the vicinity of the train station

Soviet bomb with an American accent

Soviet bomb with an American accent

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

60 years ago - on August 29, 1949 - the first Soviet atomic bomb RDS-1 with a declared yield of 20 kt was successfully tested at the Semipalatinsk test site. Thanks to this event, strategic military parity between the USSR and the United States was allegedly established in the world. And a hypothetical war

On June 22, the Soviet people turned into demigods

On June 22, the Soviet people turned into demigods

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Disputes and discussions around the event that happened 69 years ago (the beginning of the Great Patriotic War) not only do not subside, but flare up with renewed vigor. Propaganda myths that were supposed to convince the citizens of Russia that the Stalinist USSR was no better than Hitler's Germany, that

Our first rifle battalion

Our first rifle battalion

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

The history of the unit, all of whose soldiers were awarded the Orders of Glory At the end of 1944, the immediate task of the Red Army was to reach the borders of Germany and strike at Berlin. For this, favorable conditions were created, in particular, bridgeheads were captured on the western bank of the Vistula. True, it was necessary

The USSR could have received nuclear weapons before the war

The USSR could have received nuclear weapons before the war

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

But volcanoes in those days were silent, and the United States did not conduct nuclear tests. An airplane took off from the English airfield and took air samples in the upper atmosphere. It turned out: on August 29, a Soviet plutonium bomb was detonated on the territory of Northern Kazakhstan. The world did not yet know that she was

Was the Crimean War inevitable?

Was the Crimean War inevitable?

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

The problem of the origins of the Crimean War has long been in the field of view of historians who gravitate towards the study of failed, but possible scenarios of the past. The debate about whether there was an alternative to it is as old as the war itself, and there is no end in sight to the debate: this is too exciting a topic. Considering

"OKO FOR OKO, GAS FOR GAS!"

"OKO FOR OKO, GAS FOR GAS!"

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Why the military-political leadership of Germany did not order the use of chemical weapons During the hostilities during the First World War, various toxic substances were widely used. Subsequently, in the 20-30s of the twentieth century, the issues of the use of chemical weapons and means

And the city thought - teachings are coming

And the city thought - teachings are coming

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

In the construction of Russian warships, a fire hazardous alloy is still used, which was going to be banned two decades ago after the tragic death of the small missile ship "Monsoon". 39 sailors were burned alive in a fire that resulted from an accidental hit of a missile in

The secret of the BTB-569

The secret of the BTB-569

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Main road to BTB. Directly - repository No. 5, on the right - building No. 1 Facts are forgotten. The liquidators are dying. Before the radioactive "debris" in

Only guys go to battle

Only guys go to battle

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

The Living and the Dead of the First Chechen Chechen War began for me with the senior warrant officer Nikolai Potekhin - this was the first Russian serviceman with whom I met in the war. I had a chance to talk to him at the very end of November 1994, after the failed storming of Grozny by "unknowns"

Detachments in the Red Army. Scary, scary tale

Detachments in the Red Army. Scary, scary tale

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Someone at the front was driven to attack the enemy at the point of their own machine guns One of the most terrible myths of World War II is associated with the existence of detachments in the Red Army. Often in modern TV series about the war, you can see scenes with gloomy personalities in blue caps of the NKVD troops

Our unforgettable commander-in-chief

Our unforgettable commander-in-chief

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Under him, the air defense troops were at the zenith of their power. June 27 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding military leader of our country Pavel Fedorovich Batitsky. In the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR, he went from a cadet in a cavalry school to Marshal of the Soviet Union

June 22, 1941: who is to blame?

June 22, 1941: who is to blame?

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

Least of all Stalin and Beria The question in the title of this article has been debated for decades, but to this day there is no honest, accurate and complete answer to it. However, for many people it is obvious: of course, the main responsibility for the tragic beginning of the Great Patriotic War

"I can see everything from above "

"I can see everything from above "

Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01

In September 1783, a balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers lifted three passengers into the sky of Versailles: a sheep, a goose and a rooster. Two months later, people made their first hot air balloon flight. And soon balloons began to be used for military purposes