It is known that during the Second World War, Wehrmacht units accumulated extensive experience in overcoming defense lines and fortified areas. The German army faced them in Poland, Belgium, France, Greece, Yugoslavia. The Germans were also familiar with the fortifications that they got without a fight after the occupation of Czechoslovakia. On the Czechoslovak fortifications, the German assault groups worked out the coherence of their actions, which was a good preparation of these units for the Second World War.

Soldiers of the assault group of the Wehrmacht in battle on the outskirts of Leningrad.
The soldiers are armed with two MG-34 machine guns and a Flammenwerfer 35 backpack flamethrower.

The assault group was actually a consolidated platoon, consisting of soldiers from various units. Such groups were formed during the preparation of the Wehrmacht troops for the assault on individual bunkers, bunkers, defense lines or fortified areas of the enemy. After completing the assigned tasks, the groups were disbanded, and the soldiers returned to their main units. The assault group was divided into detachments and groups, each of which was charged with certain functions.

The commander of the assault group was supposed to exercise overall command of the group, in fact being the platoon commander. Such a German platoon was armed with an MP 38/40 submachine gun, but could also use captured automatic weapons. According to the Charter of 1944, he had to have the following equipment: binoculars, barbed wire shears, hand grenades (the number of grenades could be different), a flare gun with rockets, a compass, a whistle, a trench knife. He could also be issued a device for silent shooting.

The detachment for undermining or destroying barriers consisted of 3-4 soldiers of a sapper infantry platoon. Their task was to undermine the barriers and create passages in minefields and barbed wire. The detachment also ensured the passage through these passages of the units following the assault group. The sappers were armed with conventional infantry rifles of the Mauser system of the 1898 model of the year or captured rifles. At the same time, they could also have other small arms. Also, sappers were given 3 grenades, shovels, scissors for cutting barbed wire, axes with nail pullers, sandbags, elongated explosive charges according to the number of obstacles and standard edged weapons - trench knives.

The group for the destruction of firing points and bunkers usually included 2-3 soldiers, mainly from an infantry sapper platoon. They were armed, as a rule, with pistols, although they were also given one rifle. They were also given 10 sandbags. The task of the group was to block the embrasures of the pillbox with sandbags or soil, to disable the machine guns and machine gunners of the pillbox garrison. To do this, the sappers had to throw grenades at the embrasures or undermine them using standard one-kilogram or three-kilogram charges on poles.

The German assault group receives a mission. Stalingrad, 1942
Source - http://waralbum.ru

The group for the destruction of firing points and bunkers was given the calculation of a 37-mm anti-tank gun, and since 1944 - one or two calculations of anti-tank rifles armed with standard anti-tank rifles (PzB.38, 39) or captured anti-tank rifles. The anti-tankers were armed with pistols and grenades, and were also supplied with a demolition charge (3 kg), detonators and poles. The charge was used if the group could not cope with the embrasure with grenades alone.

The calculation of the 37-mm anti-tank gun Rak 35/36 lowers the gun barrel by -8 °,
to fire at a Soviet bunker from a short distance. One of the gunners
the servant spreads the bipod wider to give the gun more stability on the concrete surface
Source - plan-barbarossa.ru

The cover group consisted of two or three detachments of 2-3 people. The soldiers of the group were armed with standard or captured small arms, a large stock of grenades. They were also issued additional armor-piercing rounds, smoke grenades or bombs, flags to mark the forward edge, and signal flags to indicate their air targets. The group could include one or two crews of MG-34 machine guns. The cover group provided the flanks of the group for the destruction of firing points and bunkers, and also had to cover it in the event of a retreat.

Calculation of the German PTR PzB. 39
Source - sporting-ru.ru

The smoke screening detachment, as a rule, consisted of 2-3 people, but it could not be formed. In this case, soldiers from sappers, special forces (Nebeltruppen) or artillery could be involved in setting up smoke screens. The regular armament of the smoke screening detachment included small arms, 4 hand grenades, 8 smoke grenades or smoke bombs, 1 entrenching tool, 1 wire cutter. The presence of other weapons and equipment, depending on the situation, was not excluded.

Full-time German sapper 3-kilogram explosive charge (Geballte Ladung 3 Kg)
with holes in the box designed for detonators
Source - trizna.ru

Support detachment - its number was not regulated. These were the soldiers who followed the rest of the groups and carried:

2-3 additional demolition charges (3 kg) with detonators and poles;

uniforms left by the assault group, equipment, excess weapons, additional ammunition, armor-piercing cartridges, etc .;

hand grenades, smoke grenades or bombs and other weapons and equipment.

If necessary, a reserve detachment could also be formed.

The assault group of the Wehrmacht attacks the entrance block of the bunker No. 179 of the Kyiv fortified area
Source - photo archive of MAIF "Citadel", Kyiv. Site relicfinder.io.ua

An assault group could be allocated a horse-drawn transport (two-wheeler) or vehicles to deliver the group and its equipment to the front line. Assault groups could also be reinforced by special sapper units - stormpioners (Sturmpioniereinheiten; Sturmpioniere), that is, specially trained sappers and soldiers prepared to storm well-fortified enemy engineering structures. The standard armament of stormtroopers could include special weapons (flamethrowers, rifle grenades, hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers), special equipment, special explosives, powerful explosives, etc.

Assault groups interacted with aviation, pointing out targets for bombing with flags and signaling their location with rocket launchers. If necessary, assault groups could be supported by tanks, self-propelled guns, other armored vehicles, as well as artillery.

Subordination As part of Type of armed forces Role The size Part Accommodation Nickname (((nickname))) Patron Motto Colors March Mascot Equipment Wars (((wars))) Participation in Marks of Excellence Current commander Notable commanders

Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler was the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht.

Story

Historically, the word "Wehrmacht" in German-speaking countries denoted the armed forces of any country, it received its current meaning during the coming to power of the NSDAP.

The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces was Hitler, to whose allegiance the personnel of the armed forces were required to take an oath. The OKW included four departments: the operational department (A. Jodl), military intelligence and counterintelligence - Abwehr (V. Canaris), the economic department, which was in charge of supplying and arming the army (G. Thomas), and a general purpose department. General (from 1940 - Field Marshal) Wilhelm Keitel was appointed chief of staff of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces.

Organizational structure of OKW:

Supreme Commander: Fuhrer and Chancellor

Commander-in-Chief: Minister of War

Commander of the Air Force 1938-1941

Supreme Commander and Minister of War: Fuhrer and Chancellor

Commander of the Ground Forces

Commander of the Navy

Commander of the Air Force 1941-1945

Supreme Commander, Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces: Fuhrer and Chancellor

Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces

Commander of the Navy

Commander of the Air Force

As part of the rate, a department was created, called the headquarters of the operational leadership. It included the department of national defense (department "L" - the operational department) and the department of communications. Until August 8, this department was called not the headquarters, but the operational directorate of the armed forces. In the spring of the year, it also began to include a press and propaganda department. The chief of staff of the operational leadership reported directly to the chief of staff of the OKW and was responsible for all the departments mentioned. At the beginning of the war, the chief of staff of the headquarters was Keitel.

The OKW also included (at the beginning of the war):

• Directorate of War Economics and Armaments (Thomas)
• General Directorate of the Armed Forces (Reinecke) together with legal and administrative departments
• Directorate of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (Canaris).

The structure of the high command of the Wehrmacht

Each branch of the military had its own commander-in-chief, chief of staff and headquarters, who were subordinate to the chief of staff of the operational leadership of the Wehrmacht, and he, in turn, to the chief of staff of the headquarters, headed by Hitler, as supreme commander.

In May 1942, the establishment of the "Insignia of the Eastern Peoples" was announced. The right to award them was granted to the Minister of the Eastern Territories and the Inspector General of the Eastern Troops [of the Wehrmacht].

population

After the war and the division of Germany into two parts, the armed forces of the two countries were created, called respectively "National People's Army" (GDR) and "Federal Defense Forces" (Bundeswehr - Germany).

Links

• "Squires of the Nation": The Wehrmacht and the Special Forces of the SS (1934-1939). Yaroslavl Pedagogical Bulletin (Russian).

see also

Army of Germany since the year
Reichsheer imperial army	Reichswehr Imperial Defense	Wehrmacht Armed forces	Nationale Volksarmee National People's Army	Bundeswehr Federal Defense
-	-	-

Names of the main organizations of the Third Reich

AD – Allgemeinenedienst - General Service
AHS - Adolf Hitler Schulen - Adolf Hitler Schools
AO – Auslandsorganisation - Foreign organization
ASS - Allgemeine SS - General SS Troops
BD - Bereitschaftsdienst - Reserve Service
BDM - Bund Deutscher Maedel - Union of German Girls
BVP - Bayerische Volkspartei - Bavarian People's Party
DAF - Deutsche Arbeitsfront - German Labor Front
DEST - Deutsche Erd und Steinwerke GmbH - German Stripping Corporation
DFO - Deutsche Falken Orden - German Order of Falconry
DJ - Deutsche Jungvolk - Young Germans, junior section of the "Hitler Youth"
DJ - Deutsche Jaegerschaft - German hunting society
DLV - Deutscher Luftsports Verband - German Air Sports Society
DNVP - Deutschnationale Volkspartei - German National People's Party
DRL - Deutscher Reichsbund fur Leibe-subungen - German Imperial Association for Physical Culture
DVL - Deutsche Volksliste - Register of German nationality
DVP - Deutsche Volkspartei - German People's Party
EWZ - Einwandererzentralstelle - Immigration Center
FdV - Festigung deutschen Volkstums - Strengthening the German Nation
FJK - Feldjaegerkorps - SA Police Corps
GBA - Generalbevollmachtigen fur den Arbeitseinsatz - Commissioner General for Labor Distribution
Gestapo - Geheime Staats-Polizei - Secret State Police
GFM - Generalfeldmarschali - Field Marshal General
HJ - Hitlerjugend - Hitler Youth, Hitler Youth
HJD - Hitlerjugend Division
HSSPF - Hohere SS und Polizei Fuhrer - Supreme Leader of the SS and Police
JM - Jungmadelgruppen - Younger Girls
JV - Jungvolk - Young generation
KdF - Kraft durch Freude - Strength through joy
KfHB – Kyffhauserbund - Veterans Union
KJVD - Kommunistischer Jugendver-band Deutschlands - Communist Youth League of Germany)
KLV - Kinderlandverschickung - Removal of children
KPD - Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands - Communist Party of Germany
KRIPO - Kriminalpolizei - Criminal Police
LAH - Leibstandart Adolf Hitler - Hitler's Bodyguard Regiment
LD - Landdienst - Land Office
LKPA - Landeskriminalpolizeiamt - Prussian Criminal Police Office
LSD - Luftschutzdienst - Air Defense Service
LSW - Luftschutz Warndienst - Air raid warning service
LSSAH - Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - SS division "Adolf Hitler"
NAPOLA- National-Politische Lehranstalt - State Political Educational Institution
NPEA - Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt - National Socialist educational institutions
NS - Nationalsozialist - National Socialist
NSBO - NS Betriebsorganisation - National Socialist party cell in production
NSDAP - Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei - National Socialist German Workers' Party
NSF - Nationalsozialistische Frauenschaften - National Socialist Women's Association
NSFK - NS Fliegerkorps - National Socialist Aviation Corps
NSHAGO - NS Handels und Gewerbeorganisation - National Socialist Trade and Industrial Organization
NSKK - NS Kraftfahrkorps - National Socialist Motorized Corps
NSKOV - NS Kriegsopferversorgung - National Socialist War Victim Assistance Service
NSRKB - NS Reichskriegerbund - National Socialist Union of War Veterans
NSS - Nationalsozialistischer Schulerbund - National Socialist School League
NSV- Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt - National Socialist People's Charity
OKH - Oberkommando des Heeres - High Command of the Land Forces
OKL - Oberkommando der Luftwaffe - High Command of the German Air Force
OKW - Oberkommando der Wehrmacht - Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces
ORPO - Ordnungspolizei - Law enforcement police
OSAF - ObersterSA-Fuehrer - Commander-in-Chief of the SA
OT - Organization Todt - Organization Todt
PZ - Panzer - Panzer Troops
PZK - Politische Zentralkommission - Central Political Commission
RAB - Reichsautobahn - Reichsautobahn
RAD - Reichs Arbeitsdienst - German Labor Front
RADwJ - Reichs Arbeitsdienst der weiblichen Jugend - Imperial Labor Service, Women's Youth Department
RAL - Reichsausbildungslager - Imperial training camps
RFSS - Reichsfuerer-SS - Reichsfuehrer SS
RJF - Reichsjugendfuhrung - Reich Youth Office
RJF - Reichs Jugendführer - Imperial Youth Leader
RKFDV - Reichskommissar fur die Festigung DeutschenVolkstums - Reichskommissariat for the Strengthening of the German Nation
RLB - Reichslehrerbund - Imperial Teachers' Association
RLB - Reichsluftschutzbund - German Air Defense League
RMBO - Reichsministerium fur die besetzten Ostgebiete - Ministry of the Occupied Eastern Territories
RMVP - Reichsministerium fur Volksaufklarung und Propaganda - Reich Ministry of Public Education and Propaganda
RPA - Reichspropagandaamt - Imperial Propaganda Office
RSHA - Reichssicherheitshaupamt - Imperial Security Headquarters
RuSHA - Rasse und Siedlungs Hauptamt - Directorate General for Race and Migration
RW - Reichswehr - Reichswehr
SA - Sturmabteilung - Stormtroopers
SAJ - Verband der Soziaiistischen Arbeiterjugend - Union of Socialist Working Youth
SD - Sicherheitsdienst - Security Service
SDP - Sudeten Deutsche Partei - Sudeten German Party
SIPO - Sicherheitspolizei - Security Police
SHD - Sicherheits und Hilfsdienst - Security and Assistance Service
SP - Transportkorps "Speer" - Speer Transport Corps
SPD - Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands - Social Democratic Party of Germany
SRD - Streifendienst - Patrol Service
SS - Schutzstaffel - SS, guard units
SSEA - SS Erganzungsamt - SS Recruiting Office
SSHA - SS Hauptamt - SS Headquarters
SSHK-SS HelferinnenKorps - SS Women's Auxiliary Corps
SSTV - SS Totenkopfverbande - SS "Dead Head" unit
SSVT - SS Verfugungstruppe - Special Forces of the SS
TeNo - Technische Nothilfe - Technical Ambulance Service
TD - Technischedienst - Technical Service
USCHLA - Untersuchungs und Schlichtungs Ausschuss - Committee of Investigation and Arbitration
VB - Volkischer Beobachter - Newspaper "Volkischer Beobachter"
VDA - Verein fur das Volkstum im Ausland - Association of Foreign Germans
VoMi - Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle - Liaison Office for Ethnic Germans
VT - Verfügungstruppe - Special Forces
Waffen-SS - "Waffen-SS", SS troops
WBK - Wehrbezirkskommando - District Conscription Office
WFA - Wehrmachtsfuehrungsamt - Operational Directorate of the Land Forces
WFSt - Wehrmachtsfuehrungsstab - Operations Directorate of the German High Command of the Armed Forces (OKW)
WEL - Wehrertuchtigungslager - Military training camps
WKR - Wehrkreis - Military District
W-SS - see Waffen-SS
WVHA - Wirtschafts und Verwaltungshauptamt - Administrative and economic department of the SS

NSDAP divisions:

Sturmabteilungen (SA) -- Stormtroopers, Hitlerjugend (HJ) -- Hitler Youth,
NS-Frauenschaft (NSF) -- National Socialist women's Union,
Schutzstaffel (SS) -- Security units,
NS-Kraftfahrerkorps (NSKK) -- National Socialist driver's corps,
Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps (NSFK) -- National Social. flight corps,
NS-Deutscher Studentenbund (NSDStB) -- National Socialist German Student Union,
NS-Deutscher Dozentenbund (NSDD) (established in July 1944) -- National Socialist union of teachers of higher educational institutions.

NSDAP associations that had their own "legal personality" and

own property:

Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF) -- German workers' front,
NS-Volkswohlfahrt (NSV) -- National Socialist public welfare,
NS-Kriegsopferversorgung (NSKOV) -- National Socialist aid to war victims,
NS-Deutscher Aerztebund (NSDAB) -- National Social. German Medical Association,
NS-Lehrerbund (NSLB) -- -- National Socialist union of scientists
Beamtenbund - Employees' Union,
NS-Juristenbund -- -- National Socialist union of lawyers.

SA divisions:

Nationalsozialistische Reiterkorps (NSRK), Reiter-SA - SA cavalry units,
Marine-SA -- Marine divisions of the SA.

DAF divisions:

Nationalsozialistische Betriebszellenorganisation (NSBO) -- national social. organization of factory cells,
Kraft durch Freude (KdF) -- "Strength through joy",
Reichskulturkammer -- Imperial Chamber of Culture.

Other National Socialist Organizations:

Nationalsozialistischer Reichskriegerbund (NS-RKB) -- National Socialist alliance of imperial warriors,
Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Frontkaempfer-Bund (NSDFB) -- National Social. German Union of Frontline Soldiers,
Reichluftschutzbund (RLB) -- Imperial Air Defense League,
Organization Todt (OT)
ReichsArbeitsDienst (RAD) -- Imperial Labor Service.
NS-Bund Deutscher Technik (NSBDT) -- National Socialist german technical union,
Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Marinebund (NSDMB) -- National Socialist. german seamen's union,
Nationalsozialistische Handels- und Gewerbetreibende Organization (NS HAGO) -- National Social. trade and craft organization,
NS-Rechtswahrerbund (NSRB) --
NS-Schulerbund (NSSB) -- National Socialist student union,
Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (NSV) -- National Social Welfare,
NS-Wirtschaftsdienst (NSW) -- National Socialist Economic service.

MAIN BODIES AND DIVISIONS OF THE NSDAP

AHS - Adolf Hitler Schulen (Adolf Hitler Schools)
BDM - Bund Deutscher Madel (Union of German Girls)
DAF - Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labor Front)
Deutsche Frauenwerk (German Women's Organization)
Deutsche Gemeindetag (Congress of the German Communities)
Deutsche Handwerk (German handicraft)
Deutsche Giedler (German Settlers Union)
DJ - Deutsche Junge (German Youth)
DJ - Deutsches Jungvolk (Young Germans)
Deutsche Studentenschaft (German students)
Deutsche Ubungswirtschaft (German training farm)
Deutsche Volksbildungswerk (German Public Education)
Hauptamt fur Erzieher (Headquarters
for educators)
JM - Jungmadel (Young Girls Association)
JM - Jungemanschenbund (Young Men's Union)
NSDAP - Nationalsozialistische (National Socialist
Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (German Workers' Party)
NSBDT - Nationalsozialistische (National Socialist Union
Bund Deutscher Technik of German technicians)
NS-Dozentenbund (National Socialist Union
German docents)
NSD-Arztebund (National Socialist Union
German doctors)
NSD-Studentenbund (National Socialist Union
German students)
NSFK - Nationalsozialistische (National Socialist
Fliegerkorps Pilot Corps)
NS-Frauenschaft (National Socialist
women's union)
NS-Gemeinschaft (11National Socialist Society
"Kraft durch Freude" "Strength through joy")
NSBO - Nationalsozialistische (National Socialist
Betriebzellenorganization work cell organization)
NSKK - NS-Kraftfahrer Korps (National Socialist
car body)
NS-Kriegsopferversorgung (National Socialist Organization for the Relief of War Victims)
NS-Lehrerbund (National Socialist Teachers' Union)
NS-Rechtswahrerbund (National Socialist Union for the Protection of Law)
NS-Reiterkorps (National Socialist Cavalry Corps)
NS-Schwesternschaft (National Socialist Organization of Nurses)
NSV - NS-Volkswohlfahrt (National Socialist Welfare Society)
NSV - NS-Volksgemeinschaft (National Socialist Relief Service)
Reichsbund der deutschen Beamten (Imperial Union of Civil Servants)
Reichsbund der deutschen Diplomandwirte (German Union of Chartered Farmers)
Reichsbund der deutsches Swerhorigen (Union of the German Hearing Impaired)
RdK - Reichsbund der Kinderreichen Deutschlands zum Schutze der Familie (German State Union for the Protection of the Family of Large Children)
Reichskriegerbund (Reich Military Bund)
Reichsluft Schutzbund (Reich Air Defense League)
Reichsbund fur Leibesubungen (Reich Athletes' Union)
Reichsstudentenfuhrung (German students)
SA - Sturmabteilung (Storm Squads)
SD - Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service)
SS - Schutzstaffeln (Security detachments)
Technische Nothitse (Technical Emergency Service)
WHW - Winterhilfswerkes (Winter Aid Organization)

According to military experts, by 1941 the German army was the strongest in the world. Hardened in battles, knowing the taste of victories, the German units approached the Soviet border with a sense of their superiority. Wehrmacht soldiers considered themselves invincible.
Systems approach
The German historian Werner Picht believed that it was the Treaty of Versailles, according to which Germany did not have the right to have an army of more than 100 thousand people, that forced the Berlin generals to look for new principles for the formation of the armed forces. And they were found. And although Hitler, having come to power in 1933, abandoned the "norms of Versailles", the ideology of military mobility of the new army has already won the minds of German military leaders. Later, the transfer of German soldiers to Spain to protect the Franco regime made it possible to test 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, Me-109 fighters and dive bombers of the Stuka-87 type in real conditions. In the same place, the young Nazi aviation created its own school of air combat. The Balkan campaign of 1941 showed how important it is to coordinate a large amount of equipment. As a result, the German staff officers in front of the Russian company had a successful experience in the use of mobile units reinforced by aviation. All this allowed them to create a military organization of a new and, most importantly, systemic type, optimally tuned to carry out combat missions.
Special training
In 1935, the concept of special training for Wehrmacht soldiers arose in order to make a kind of “motorized weapon” out of a fighter. For this, the most capable young men were chosen from among the youth. They were trained in training camps. To understand what the German soldiers of the 1941 model were like, you should read Walter Kempovsky's multi-volume Echo Sounder. The books provide numerous testimonies explaining the defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, including soldiers' correspondence. For example, it tells about a certain corporal Hans, who at a distance of 40-50 meters could hit a small window with a grenade. the other side of the street. If he were alive, we could easily take this damn house, because of which half of our platoon died. But in August 1941, a captured Russian lieutenant killed him with a shot in the back. It was ridiculous, because there were so many who surrendered that we did not even have time to search them. Dying, Hans shouted that it was not fair. According to official figures, in 1941 the Wehrmacht lost 162,799 soldiers killed, 32,484 missing and 579,795 wounded, most of whom died in hospitals or became disabled. Hitler called these losses monstrous, not so much because of the numbers, but because of the lost quality of the German army. In Berlin, they were forced to state that the war would be different - a war by all available means. Russian soldiers in the summer and autumn of 1941 offered active resistance. As a rule, these were attacks by desperate and doomed Red Army soldiers, single shots from burning houses, self-explosions. In total, 3138 thousand Soviet soldiers died in the first year of the war, most often in captivity or in "boilers". But it was they who bled the elite of the Wehrmacht, which the Germans had been preparing so carefully for six years.
Massive military experience
Any commander will tell you how important it is to have fired soldiers under your command. The German army that attacked the USSR had this invaluable experience of military victories. In September 1939, the Wehrmacht soldiers, having easily defeated 39 Polish divisions of Edward Rydz-Smigly, felt the taste of victory for the first time. Then there was the Maginot Line, the capture of Yugoslavia and Greece - all this only strengthened the self-consciousness of their invincibility. No country in the world then had so many fired fighters motivated for success. Retired infantry general Kurt von Tippelskirch believed that this factor was the most important in the first victories over the Red Army. Describing the concept of lightning wars, he emphasized that, unlike the anxious hours of anticipation of a war with Poland, self-confident German conquerors entered the territory of Soviet Russia. By the way, the multi-day defense of the Brest Fortress is largely due to the fact that the 42nd Rifle Division of the Red Army, which has combat experience in the Finnish War, was stationed on its territory.
Precise Destruction Concept
The Germans also emphasized the rapid destruction of pockets of resistance, no matter how firmly they were protected. According to the German generals, in this case, the enemy has a feeling of doom and futility of resistance. As a rule, accurate, almost sniper shelling was used. This was achieved through the successful use of visual optical observation posts, with the help of which shelling was adjusted at a distance of 7-10 km from our positions. Only at the end of 1941 did the Red Army find an antidote to the all-seeing Nazi artillery, when it began to build defensive structures on the reverse slopes of the hills, out of reach of German optics.
Quality connection
The most significant advantage of the Wehrmacht over the Red Army was high-quality communications. Guderian believed that a tank without reliable radio communication would not show even a tenth of what it was capable of. In the Third Reich, since the beginning of 1935, the development of reliable ultrashort-wave transceivers has intensified. Thanks to the appearance in the German communications service of fundamentally new devices designed by Dr. Grube, Wehrmacht generals were able to quickly control the huge theater of military operations. For example, high-frequency telephone equipment served the German tank headquarters without any interference at distances up to one and a half thousand kilometers. That is why on June 27, 1941, in the Dubno region, the Kleist group of only 700 tanks was able to defeat the mechanized corps of the Red Army, which included 4,000 combat vehicles. Later, in 1944, analyzing this battle, Soviet generals bitterly admitted that if our tanks had had radio communications then, the Soviet Army would have turned the tide of the war at its very beginning.
And still nothing helped them, not even the elephants! Thanks to the selfless courage and great love for the Motherland of our fathers and grandfathers, the most perfect military machine in the world was defeated and, I hope, will never be reborn!

German fascism has shown itself in all its vileness, its brutal nature has been revealed in exhaustive fullness.

The German army has stained itself with monstrous crimes that go far beyond the cruelties that marked all the wars of the past. Nightmarish massacres of fascist monsters over wounded Red Army soldiers, over the civilian population of Soviet cities and villages, over women and children - all this is a sophisticated abuse of the victims, sadism, disgusting pleasure.

The Russian people are not the first to get acquainted with the German army: in 1914-1918. millions of Germans have visited. The Germans showed cruelty even then. In particular, they raged in 1918 in Ukraine. But what happened then cannot be compared with the atrocities of Hitler's army. Even then the Germans were soulless in their cruelty. The notorious German pedantry gave a special inhumanity to the massacre of the civilian population, especially the partisans. There were also cases of robbery, there were also cases of rape of women. But these were isolated cases. Desecration of the population, as a general rule, was not encouraged, although it was not pursued with all severity. In 1914, the French Commission of Inquiry collected numerous materials on the violation by the Germans of the international rules of war. The report of the commission of inquiry noted robberies and theft, arson and murder, cases of rape of women. “These phenomena,” the report says, “can still be considered separate and unauthorized acts of animals that do not know how to restrain themselves.”

In Hitler's army, the mass rape of women is a common legal phenomenon. It is encouraged by the whole policy of fascism in the army.

The outrage against the population, savage torture and mass rape of women, which were widely practiced by fascist gangs even before, intensified many times over in the war against the USSR. Cruelty serves as a cover for the cowardice of the Nazis, who did not expect this. The German fascist command proceeds from the basic Hitlerite proposition that terror and fear are the most powerful means of influencing people, and that therefore the German must frighten the population everywhere. Therefore, the most brutal methods of reprisal are encouraged in the fascist army: executions take place in public and, moreover, in a deliberately frightening atmosphere. But this does not help the executioners; The Soviet people responded to the ferocious terror of the fascists with development.

Looting also joins the brutal massacres of the Nazis with the population.

During the war in the West, the German hordes, without meeting resistance, ate and robbed the conquered countries in an organized and well-known manner. Individual thefts were also organized in the form of parcels to their homeland. The soldiers were happy as long as there was something to rob in stores and from the population France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and other countries.

It was worse in the Balkans, and it turned out quite differently in the occupied areas of the Soviet country. The protracted "- this by its very nature a war without reserves and without supplies, at its own expense - began to quickly deplete the resources of the fascist army. When attacking the USSR, they promised the soldiers that in the Soviet Union, especially in Ukraine, not only the entire emaciated German army would get drunk to the full, but also wide streams of food and all kinds of goods would go to hungry families. But these calculations for pasture failed. The Germans met scorched fields, destroyed cities, empty warehouses. The population leaves and steals the cattle. The little that can be captured is not enough for the gluttonous. The supply should mainly come from Germany itself and from the occupied countries already plundered. Supply must go along the longest roads, through the fire of guerrilla warfare.

Under these conditions, looting, which had been widely practiced before, took on the character of wholesale robbery. Everyone steals - from a soldier to senior officers. They take everything they can. Not only are surpluses and supplies taken away from the population (which is officially encouraged by the authorities), but the last shirt is literally removed. There is especially a pursuit for boots, for warm clothes. With the entry of the German part into the village, a wild rout begins. Chests are broken open, everything that is on them is torn off from the peasants. For the slightest resistance - death. All poultry, pigs, sheep are destroyed. The diaries and letters of captured and killed Germans are full of descriptions of these "", and letters from their homeland incite soldiers to.

The German command, imbued with the same feeling of fascist robbery, encourages this. In the tanks, Hitler's officers set up warehouses of stolen items. But the German command sees that this general theft disrupts the system of organized robbery of the population, robbery to supply the army. Orders are issued requiring, for example, that warm clothes seized from the population be collected in one place, sealed and sent to army warehouses for organized distribution between units.

Among the documents found during the defeat of the German units, a document was found coming from the supply department and stamped on July 17, 1941: “In various units, a situation has been established in which cattle are senselessly killed, and only the best parts are used, and the remains are thrown away. Draft power is also killed, as well as dairy cows, although there are sufficient animals for slaughter. In addition, at various agricultural points (collective farms, state farms, machine and tractor stations), the farm located there was destroyed.

This could not be found during the war in the West. Colossal technical power, together with a huge numerical superiority, broke down any resistance force. The man was not visible behind the armor. Therefore, the German appeared in such a formidable form before the conquered peoples.

Easy victories over a weak enemy also created in the German soldiers the idea of ​​\u200b\u200btheir "invincibility". They felt completely safe behind steel armor. The infantry followed on trucks without meeting any more resistance.

For the first time, the fascist hordes met with a strong enemy only in the Soviet Union. Very soon, many of our commanders and fighters learned the peculiarities of German adventurist tactics. The moral effect did not work. The impudence of the Nazis jumped on. Much was revealed during the war. Dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the German army.

These observations of the state of the enemy do not in the least imply an underestimation of his present forces. Hitler did not create the German army. The German war machine has huge equipment. She has a great past behind her. It has first-class, trained personnel. Her leadership is highly experienced. The enemy is strong. The terrible danger hanging over our country remains even after four months of war. Carelessness would be criminal, absurd would be the hope that the German army itself would fall apart as a result of the decomposition processes taking place in it. The fascist army must be defeated and destroyed by crushing blows. She will be destroyed.

Man decides the outcome of the historical struggle. In 1914-1918. the German army endured hunger, huge losses, and depletion of resources for four years. She almost did not know serious defeats, she was proud of victories. She fought in the territories of France, Belgium and Russia. She captured the whole of Ukraine. But the German soldier could not stand the strain. He was tired, lost faith in victory, he began to think critically about the tasks of the war, about the ruling classes. The break came immediately and as if suddenly. The processes of decomposition of the army, which were taking place in secret, broke out with great force. The giant war machine began to fall apart.

Hitler's army is really fighting for four months, because the previous years were only a prelude to a real war. And meanwhile, fatigue and disappointment are already paving a broad path into the ranks of the fascist army. Colossal losses suppress. He sees death before him and does not know what he must die for. He sees how all his hopes for easy money have dissipated. This main incentive that supported militancy disappears. There remains the fear of the authorities and the fear of the Red Army, of the partisans, of the harsh army.

The stronger the rebuff given to the fascists by the valiant units of the Red Army, the stronger the fire of the people's guerrilla war, the more the anger of the oppressed peoples in the rear of the German army grows, the stronger the growth of fatigue and pessimism in Hitler's army. Victory is not achieved by temporarily capturing territory. The blows of the Red Army exhaust, bleed the fascist horde, unprepared for a long, protracted war. Every day drains Germany's resources. Every day multiplies the resources of the USSR, England, the USA - countries that oppose fascist robbery.

Now the Nazi army has launched a new offensive. The enemy is in a hurry to achieve visible successes even before winter, because Germany is not able to withstand the third hungry winter. To fight back, to stop the fascist hordes means to initiate the collapse of the Nazi military machine. // .
________________________________________ ________
("The New York Times", USA)
("Time", USA)
("Pravda", USSR)
("Red Star", USSR)

However, yesterday, according to the German information bureau, the commander of the occupation forces in France, General Stulpnagel, issued an order to postpone the execution of the hostages for some time.

This decision of the German command was due to the fact that it was convinced that it was impossible to force the population by terror to hand over the participants in the murder of German officers.

As you know, Stulpnagel promised a bonus of 15 million francs to anyone who would provide any information about the persons who attempted to assassinate General Goltz. Soon, however, it became clear that the French patriots did not intend to sell their homeland. The Germans then announced that they would consider the cases of those prisoners of war whose relatives in France would provide useful information regarding the participants in the assassination attempt on German officers. However, this measure did not yield any results.

At the same time, a wave of popular indignation at the medieval atrocities perpetrated by the invaders was constantly growing. By shooting the second group of hostages, the invaders want to buy time to organize a new blackmail and prepare the necessary measures to find the perpetrators.

NEW TRAILE ORDER OF HITLER'S SLOVAK PUPPET

BERN, 29 October. (TASS). Anti-war sentiments, not only in the Slovak army and among the people, but among many leading figures in Slovakia, close to Tiso and Tuka, have recently taken on such a scale that they have generated anxiety at Hitler's headquarters. In this regard, Hitler summoned the President of Slovakia Tiso and other Slovak figures to his headquarters and demanded from them categorical assurances that anti-war and anti-German sentiments in Slovakia would be suppressed by any measures and that the Slovak army would unquestioningly carry out the orders of the German High Command .

Frightened, Tiso complied with Hitler's demand and immediately, at his headquarters, signed an order in which he promised to continue the fight on the side of Germany. In a fit of obsequiousness, trampling on the feelings of national dignity of the Slovaks, Tiso in his order gives his word to act in such a way as to "deserve the praise" of the German "Fuhrer".
("Pravda", USSR)
("Pravda", USSR)
("Red Star", USSR)
("Red Star", USSR)
("The New York Times", USA)
("Red Star", USSR)
("Red Star", USSR)
("Pravda", USSR)
("Red Star", USSR)