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🗓 The heroic defence of Odessa from the Nazi invaders began #OnThisDay in 1941.
Odessa became a frontline city almost immediately after the start of the Great Patriotic War. On August 5, 1941, when the enemy approached Odessa, the Southern Front received an order from the Supreme High Command General Headquarters to retain control of the city at any cost.
The Separate Coastal Army under the command of General Georgy Sofronov was charged with the defence, with the Black Sea Fleet rendering assistance to the city’s defenders.
❗️ Up to 100,000 residents took part in building the city’s defences. Thanks to their efforts, three lines of defence with a total length of 250 km were built in Odessa; 250 barricades were erected in the city’s streets.
Thanks to the efficient organisation of defence, the enemy’s attacks were successfully repelled despite the Nazis’ almost tenfold numerical superiority.
The heroic defence lasted for 73 days and paralysed up to 18 enemy divisions. During the battles, according to various estimates, more than 160,000 enemy soldiers and officers, approximately 200 aircraft and 100 tanks were put out of action, which hampered the advance of the right wing of Army Group South to the East.
After the enemy invaded Odessa, around 40,000 residents left for the catacombs and continued to offer resistance right until the liberation of the city by the 3rd Ukrainian Front forces on April 10, 1944.
🎖 On December 22, 1942, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union established the medal For the Defence of Odessa, which was awarded to more than 30,000 people.
Odessa became a frontline city almost immediately after the start of the Great Patriotic War. On August 5, 1941, when the enemy approached Odessa, the Southern Front received an order from the Supreme High Command General Headquarters to retain control of the city at any cost.
The Separate Coastal Army under the command of General Georgy Sofronov was charged with the defence, with the Black Sea Fleet rendering assistance to the city’s defenders.
❗️ Up to 100,000 residents took part in building the city’s defences. Thanks to their efforts, three lines of defence with a total length of 250 km were built in Odessa; 250 barricades were erected in the city’s streets.
Thanks to the efficient organisation of defence, the enemy’s attacks were successfully repelled despite the Nazis’ almost tenfold numerical superiority.
The heroic defence lasted for 73 days and paralysed up to 18 enemy divisions. During the battles, according to various estimates, more than 160,000 enemy soldiers and officers, approximately 200 aircraft and 100 tanks were put out of action, which hampered the advance of the right wing of Army Group South to the East.
After the enemy invaded Odessa, around 40,000 residents left for the catacombs and continued to offer resistance right until the liberation of the city by the 3rd Ukrainian Front forces on April 10, 1944.
🎖 On December 22, 1942, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union established the medal For the Defence of Odessa, which was awarded to more than 30,000 people.
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🕯 #OnThisDay in 1945, the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, instantly killing almost 80,000 people. About as many people would die in agony later from radiation poisoning. This was the first time in human history that a nuclear device was used in warfare. In fact, it was a merciless test on the civilian population.
The United States has been carrying out research on military applications for nuclear weapons since 1939, seeking to create a formidable weapon that would enable Washington to impose its will on the entire world. Codenamed Manhattan, the project received almost $2 billion in funding.
Three nuclear bombs were developed by mid-summer 1945, cynically codenamed the Gadget, Little Boy and Fat Man. The Gadget was to be used in a test explosion, while the other two were intended to intimidate Japan and also impress the USSR as it reinforced its positions.
Almost all clocks in Hiroshima stopped ticking at 8:15 am. The city was completely wiped from the surface of the Earth with the blast from the explosion turning people into ashes.
Attempts by Western historians to justify this monstrous crime by saying that the United States wanted to force Japan to withdraw from World War II do not hold water. Japan’s military resources were largely depleted by early August 1945, and it was the USSR’s entry into war in the Far East that played a decisive role here.
Therefore, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was nothing other than a barbarous display of force and an attempt to justify all the money that had been invested in the Manhattan Project. It never occurred to President Harry Truman or any of his successors in this office to apologise for the suffering the people of Hiroshima had to endure.
💬 Sergey Lavrov on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (August 6, 2020): To this day, the terrible death of innocent civilians strikes a chord with millions of people on our planet. It is hard to fully understand what the masterminds and perpetrators of such an inhumane act were guided by.
The United States has been carrying out research on military applications for nuclear weapons since 1939, seeking to create a formidable weapon that would enable Washington to impose its will on the entire world. Codenamed Manhattan, the project received almost $2 billion in funding.
Three nuclear bombs were developed by mid-summer 1945, cynically codenamed the Gadget, Little Boy and Fat Man. The Gadget was to be used in a test explosion, while the other two were intended to intimidate Japan and also impress the USSR as it reinforced its positions.
Almost all clocks in Hiroshima stopped ticking at 8:15 am. The city was completely wiped from the surface of the Earth with the blast from the explosion turning people into ashes.
Attempts by Western historians to justify this monstrous crime by saying that the United States wanted to force Japan to withdraw from World War II do not hold water. Japan’s military resources were largely depleted by early August 1945, and it was the USSR’s entry into war in the Far East that played a decisive role here.
Therefore, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was nothing other than a barbarous display of force and an attempt to justify all the money that had been invested in the Manhattan Project. It never occurred to President Harry Truman or any of his successors in this office to apologise for the suffering the people of Hiroshima had to endure.
💬 Sergey Lavrov on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (August 6, 2020): To this day, the terrible death of innocent civilians strikes a chord with millions of people on our planet. It is hard to fully understand what the masterminds and perpetrators of such an inhumane act were guided by.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
✈️ #OnThisDay in 1941, Viktor Talalikhin became one of the first pilots in the history of Great Patriotic War to perform an aerial ramming at night. In the early hours of August 7, he flew his Polikarpov I-16 aircraft straight into the tail of a Nazi Heinkel He-111 bomber that was escaping pursuit.
This happened in the first weeks of the war, when the young Soviet fighter pilot was defending the sky over the south-west of Moscow. The German aircraft was shot down, and the wounded Talalikhin miraculously managed to parachute out of the aircraft and remained unharmed. On August 8 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
At the time of his feat, Talalikhin was only 22 years old. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the end of the war: in the autumn of 1941 he fell in an unequal battle with the Nazis in the vicinity of Podolsk.
During the heavy fighting in the summer of 1941 Talalikhin's selfless feat inspired millions. In total, Soviet pilots rammed more than 600 enemy aircraft during the Great Patriotic War.
#FacesOfVictory
This happened in the first weeks of the war, when the young Soviet fighter pilot was defending the sky over the south-west of Moscow. The German aircraft was shot down, and the wounded Talalikhin miraculously managed to parachute out of the aircraft and remained unharmed. On August 8 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
At the time of his feat, Talalikhin was only 22 years old. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the end of the war: in the autumn of 1941 he fell in an unequal battle with the Nazis in the vicinity of Podolsk.
During the heavy fighting in the summer of 1941 Talalikhin's selfless feat inspired millions. In total, Soviet pilots rammed more than 600 enemy aircraft during the Great Patriotic War.
#FacesOfVictory
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🗓 #OnThisDay in 1944, the Battle of Leningrad, the longest military engagement in the history of the Great Patriotic War, ended with a Red Army victory.
The fighting, which lasted from July 1941 to August 1944, took place on the territory of the Leningrad Region, the Estonian SSR, in the western Kalinin Region, and the southern part of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.
Destroying Leningrad was a primary goal under the Operation Barbarossa plan, given the city’s industrial and cultural significance. Hitler planned to use Leningrad as a springboard to strike at the rear of the Soviet troops defending Moscow.
The battle included several stages: defence of the distant and near approaches, 872 days of a siege, the breakthrough and the Soviet offensive in the northwestern direction. Instead of taking the city in three weeks, as Hitler expected, the Nazi troops spent about three years at the gates.
While the Red Army fought fierce battles, the local people selflessly laboured and steadfastly endured the horrors of the siege. The ring finally closed around Leningrad on September 8, 1941. More than 2.8 million people, including 400,000 children, found themselves in the enemy pincers, facing harsh winters, famine and continuous bombing.
Favourable conditions finally developed in January 1943, when the main forces of the Wehrmacht were sent to Stalingrad. During Operation Iskra, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke through the German defences, restoring the land connection of the city with the mainland.
🕯 Losses among the defenders and the population of Leningrad, resulting from the fighting and from the siege totaled 1.5 to 2 million people.
🎖 Over 350,000 soldiers, officers and generals of the Leningrad Front were decorated with orders and medals. The medal For the Defence of Leningrad was conferred on 1.5 million people. In 1965, Leningrad was among the first to receive the title Hero City as a tribute to the heroism and courage shown by its residents during the siege.
The fighting, which lasted from July 1941 to August 1944, took place on the territory of the Leningrad Region, the Estonian SSR, in the western Kalinin Region, and the southern part of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.
Destroying Leningrad was a primary goal under the Operation Barbarossa plan, given the city’s industrial and cultural significance. Hitler planned to use Leningrad as a springboard to strike at the rear of the Soviet troops defending Moscow.
The battle included several stages: defence of the distant and near approaches, 872 days of a siege, the breakthrough and the Soviet offensive in the northwestern direction. Instead of taking the city in three weeks, as Hitler expected, the Nazi troops spent about three years at the gates.
While the Red Army fought fierce battles, the local people selflessly laboured and steadfastly endured the horrors of the siege. The ring finally closed around Leningrad on September 8, 1941. More than 2.8 million people, including 400,000 children, found themselves in the enemy pincers, facing harsh winters, famine and continuous bombing.
Favourable conditions finally developed in January 1943, when the main forces of the Wehrmacht were sent to Stalingrad. During Operation Iskra, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke through the German defences, restoring the land connection of the city with the mainland.
🕯 Losses among the defenders and the population of Leningrad, resulting from the fighting and from the siege totaled 1.5 to 2 million people.
🎖 Over 350,000 soldiers, officers and generals of the Leningrad Front were decorated with orders and medals. The medal For the Defence of Leningrad was conferred on 1.5 million people. In 1965, Leningrad was among the first to receive the title Hero City as a tribute to the heroism and courage shown by its residents during the siege.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🕯 On August 9, 1945, the United States carried out a nuclear strike on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, three days after dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The attack wiped the city off the face of the earth, killing more than 70,000 people instantly; another 95,000 died years and decades later from diseases caused by radioactive contamination.
💬 From the memoirs of an eyewitness, Yasuaki Yamashita: The A-Bomb had turned the centre of Nagasaki into an inferno of death and devastation. Communications and transportation were disrupted. There was no food in the city and we were starving. One week after the explosion we walked through the rubble of the city centre where fires still burned. Some years later I worked in the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital. It was very painful to see the survivors still suffering from the effects of burns and radiation.
The attack on Nagasaki was the final stage of a monstrous test of a new weapon of mass destruction to see how effective it was when used on cities, infrastructure and people.
Americans took the bombing calmly, believing it would accelerate the end of the war (in reality, that was brought about by the USSR starting hostilities against Japan). US President Harry Truman, who ordered the attack on the Japanese cities, had no doubts about his decision until the end of his life, referring to the Japanese as savages and barbarians in his diary.
💬 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: Atomic bombings by the United States were in fact a show of force and an operational test of nuclear weapons on civilians. The United States was the first and only country to use this type of weapons of mass destruction. We must join our efforts to ensure that the terror and pain of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will never repeat. The tragedy left a deep imprint on the hearts of the Russian people. (Sergey Lavrov’s message to the participants of the memorial ceremony in Hiroshima on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing, August 6, 2020).
#NoStatuteOfLimitations
💬 From the memoirs of an eyewitness, Yasuaki Yamashita: The A-Bomb had turned the centre of Nagasaki into an inferno of death and devastation. Communications and transportation were disrupted. There was no food in the city and we were starving. One week after the explosion we walked through the rubble of the city centre where fires still burned. Some years later I worked in the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital. It was very painful to see the survivors still suffering from the effects of burns and radiation.
The attack on Nagasaki was the final stage of a monstrous test of a new weapon of mass destruction to see how effective it was when used on cities, infrastructure and people.
Americans took the bombing calmly, believing it would accelerate the end of the war (in reality, that was brought about by the USSR starting hostilities against Japan). US President Harry Truman, who ordered the attack on the Japanese cities, had no doubts about his decision until the end of his life, referring to the Japanese as savages and barbarians in his diary.
💬 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: Atomic bombings by the United States were in fact a show of force and an operational test of nuclear weapons on civilians. The United States was the first and only country to use this type of weapons of mass destruction. We must join our efforts to ensure that the terror and pain of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will never repeat. The tragedy left a deep imprint on the hearts of the Russian people. (Sergey Lavrov’s message to the participants of the memorial ceremony in Hiroshima on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing, August 6, 2020).
#NoStatuteOfLimitations
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📆 #OnThisDay in 1945, the Allied Soviet, US, British and French forces held a joint parade in Berlin. The anti-Hitler coalition allies marched through the defeated Nazi stronghold of Berlin.
The initiative for this celebration came from the Soviet Union, whose leaders suggested organising a joint Allied military pass-by in Berlin after its own Victory Parade in Moscow in June. It was arranged that it would take place on Alexanderplatz near the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate after the downfall of militarist Japan, their last enemy.
👉 Originally it was assumed that the parade would be reviewed by all the commanders-in-chief of the Allied forces in Germany. On the eve of the event, however, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower (USA), Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (GB), and Gen. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (France) refused to attend, sending their representatives instead. This was a clear attempt to belittle the Soviet Union’s role in gaining a victory over the hydra of German Nazism and Japanese militarism.
The Berlin parade involved all branches of the land forces. It was decided to do without Air Force and Navy units because they were deployed far from Berlin. Soviet generals primarily sought to invite officers and men who had particularly distinguished themselves during the assault on Berlin.
The parade began at 11 am on the dot. The stands were filled with Soviet military leaders, generals and admirals of the British, US, and French armies and navies, and a group of US congressmen. Nearly 20,000 Berliners assembled around the parade ground. After reviewing the troops, Marshal Georgy Zhukov delivered a speech praising the historic achievements of the Soviet and Allied forces. Next there was a pass-by of the foot columns.
☝️ The memorable Victory Parade near the Brandenburg Gate was the last symbolic act involving the anti-Hitler coalition Allies. This joint military holiday became a prologue to the Cold War that was about to begin by the West's initiative.
The initiative for this celebration came from the Soviet Union, whose leaders suggested organising a joint Allied military pass-by in Berlin after its own Victory Parade in Moscow in June. It was arranged that it would take place on Alexanderplatz near the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate after the downfall of militarist Japan, their last enemy.
👉 Originally it was assumed that the parade would be reviewed by all the commanders-in-chief of the Allied forces in Germany. On the eve of the event, however, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower (USA), Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (GB), and Gen. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (France) refused to attend, sending their representatives instead. This was a clear attempt to belittle the Soviet Union’s role in gaining a victory over the hydra of German Nazism and Japanese militarism.
The Berlin parade involved all branches of the land forces. It was decided to do without Air Force and Navy units because they were deployed far from Berlin. Soviet generals primarily sought to invite officers and men who had particularly distinguished themselves during the assault on Berlin.
The parade began at 11 am on the dot. The stands were filled with Soviet military leaders, generals and admirals of the British, US, and French armies and navies, and a group of US congressmen. Nearly 20,000 Berliners assembled around the parade ground. After reviewing the troops, Marshal Georgy Zhukov delivered a speech praising the historic achievements of the Soviet and Allied forces. Next there was a pass-by of the foot columns.
☝️ The memorable Victory Parade near the Brandenburg Gate was the last symbolic act involving the anti-Hitler coalition Allies. This joint military holiday became a prologue to the Cold War that was about to begin by the West's initiative.