Battle of Stalingrad Six months of continuous bloodbath in the territory huge city. All of Stalingrad has been turned into ruins. The USSR fielded seven ground and one air armies against the Nazi invaders....

Battle of Stalingrad

Six months of continuous bloodbath on the territory of a huge city. All of Stalingrad has been turned into ruins. The USSR fielded seven ground and one air armies against the Nazi invaders. The Volga flotilla beat the enemy from the expanses of water.

The Nazis and their allies were defeated. Here Hitler felt sobered up. After this battle, the Nazis could no longer recover. Soviet troops exhausted the enemy at a cost own life many soldiers, officers and civilians.

1,130,000 people died defending Stalingrad. Germany and the countries involved in the conflict on the side of the Nazis lost 1,500,000. The battle, which lasted six months, completely ended with the defeat of the Nazi armies trying to reach the oil fields of the Caucasus.

Battle for Moscow

The defeat of fascist troops near Moscow was a real victory for the entire people. The country perceived these events as the threshold of an imminent general Victory. The troops of Nazi Germany were broken morally. The spirit of the offensive movement fell. Guderian praised the will to win of the Soviet people.

He later said that all the sacrifices were in vain. Moscow held out, destroying the victorious spirit of the Germans. A stubborn reluctance to understand the situation at the front led to huge losses on all sides. The crisis in the German troops undermined faith in Hitler and his unsurpassed military genius.

The USSR lost 926,200 soldiers near Moscow. Civilian losses were not estimated. Germany and allied countries 581,900 people. Military operations lasted more than six months, from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942.

Battle for Kyiv

The Soviet military leaders learned a hard lesson when they handed over Kyiv to the enemy to be torn to pieces. The Wehrmacht sensed the poor preparation of the USSR armed forces. The Nazi troops began an intensive movement towards the Azov region and Donbass. As soon as Kyiv was surrendered, the Red Army soldiers, completely demoralized, began to surrender en masse.

In the battles for Kyiv, the losses of the Red Army amounted to 627,800 people. The civilian population was not counted. How much Germany lost remained unknown, since at the beginning of the war the Germans did not keep records of losses, hoping for a blitzkrieg. The fighting lasted two and a half months.

Battle of the Dnieper

The liberation of Kyiv cost great losses. Almost four million people from both sides took part in the battles for the Dnieper. The front stretches for 1,400 kilometers. The survivors of the crossing of the Dnieper recalled that 25,000 people entered the water, 3-5 thousand climbed ashore.

Everyone else remained in the water, only to emerge in a few days. Scary picture war. During the crossing of the Dnieper, 417,000 Red Army soldiers died, Germany lost from 400,000 to a million (according to different sources). Scary numbers. The battle for the Dnieper lasted four months.

Battle of Kursk

Although the most terrible tank battles We fought in the village of Prokhorovka, the battle is called Kursk. It’s scary to see the battle of iron monsters even on the cinema screen. What was it like for the participants in the battle?

An incredible battle of enemy tank armies. The “Center” and “South” groups were destroyed. The battle lasted almost two months in 1943. The USSR lost 254,000 people, Germany lost 500,000 of its soldiers. For what?

Operation Bagration

We can say that Operation Bagration was the bloodiest in the history of mankind. The result of the operation is the complete liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders. After the operation was completed, 50,000 prisoners of war were marched through the streets of Moscow.

In that battle the losses Soviet Union amounted to 178,500 people, Germany lost 255,400 Wehrmacht soldiers. The battle lasted two months without breaks.

Vistula-Oder operation

The bloody battles for Poland went down in history as the rapid advance of the troops of the Soviet Union. Every day the troops advanced twenty to thirty kilometers inland. The fighting lasted only twenty days.

In the battles for Poland, losses amounted to 43,200 people. Civilian losses were not taken into account. The Nazis lost 480,000 people.

Battle of Berlin

This battle was decisive for the Victory. Soviet troops approached the lair of fascism. The assault on Berlin lasted only 22 days. The Soviet Union and allied forces lost 81,000 people. Fallen Germany, defending its city, lost 400,000. The 1st Ukrainian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts fought for Victory. Divisions of the Polish Army, and Baltic sailors.

Battle of Monte Casino

Soviet troops did not take part in the liberation of Rome. The USA and England managed to break through the Gustav Line and completely liberate the Eternal City.

The attackers lost 100,000 people in that battle, Germany only 20,000. The battle lasted four months.

Battle of Iwo Jima

The brutal battle of the US military against Japan. The small island of Iwo Jima, where the Japanese put up stubborn resistance. It was here that the American command decided to atomic bomb the country.

The battle lasted 40 days. Japan lost 22,300 people, America was missing 6,800 fighters.

Second World War, The Great Patriotic War. It was the most brutal and bloody war in human history.

During this massacre, more than 60 million citizens of the most different countries peace. Historian scientists have calculated that every war month, an average of 27 thousand tons of bombs and shells fell on the heads of military and civilians on both sides of the front!

Let's remember today, on Victory Day, the 10 most formidable battles of World War II.

Source: realitypod.com/

It was the largest air battle in history. The Germans' goal was to gain air superiority over the British Royal Air Force in order to invade the British Isles without opposition. The battle was fought exclusively by combat aircraft of the opposing sides. Germany lost 3,000 of its pilots, England - 1,800 pilots. More than 20,000 British civilians were killed. Germany's defeat in this battle is considered one of the decisive moments in World War II - it did not eliminate Western allies USSR, which subsequently led to the opening of a second front.

Source: realitypod.com/

The longest long battle of World War II. During naval battles, the Germans submarines tried to sink Soviet and British supply ships and warships. The Allies responded in kind. Everyone understood the special significance of this battle - on the one hand, Western weapons and equipment were supplied to the Soviet Union by sea, on the other hand, Britain was supplied with everything necessary mainly by sea - the British needed up to a million tons of all kinds of materials and food in order to survive and continue the fight . The cost of the victory of the members of the anti-Hitler coalition in the Atlantic was enormous and terrible - about 50,000 of its sailors died, and the same number of German sailors lost their lives.

Source: realitypod.com/

This battle began after German troops at the end of World War II made a desperate (and, as history shows, the last) attempt to turn the tide of hostilities in their favor by organizing offensive operation against Anglo-American forces in mountainous and wooded areas in Belgium under the code name Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhine). Despite all the experience of British and American strategists, the massive German attack took the Allies by surprise. However, the offensive ultimately failed. Germany lost more than 100 thousand of its soldiers and officers killed in this operation, and the Anglo-American allies lost about 20 thousand military personnel killed.

Source: realitypod.com/

Marshal Zhukov wrote in his memoirs: “When people ask me what I remember most from last war, I always answer: the battle for Moscow.” Hitler considered taking Moscow, the capital of the USSR and the largest Soviet city as one of the main military and political goals of Operation Barbarossa. In German and Western military history it is known as "Operation Typhoon". This battle is divided into two periods: defensive (September 30 - December 4, 1941) and offensive, which consists of 2 stages: counteroffensive (December 5-6, 1941 - January 7-8, 1942) and general offensive Soviet troops(January 7-10 - April 20, 1942). The losses of the USSR were 926.2 thousand people, the losses of Germany were 581 thousand people.

LANDING OF THE ALLIES IN NORMANDY, OPENING OF THE SECOND FRONT (FROM JUNE 6, 1944 TO JULY 24, 1944)

Source: realitypod.com/

This battle, which became part of Operation Overlord, marked the beginning of the deployment of a strategic group of Anglo-American allied forces in Normandy (France). British, American, Canadian and French units took part in the invasion. The landing of the main forces from Allied warships was preceded by a massive bombardment of German coastal fortifications and the landing of paratroopers and gliders on the positions of selected Wehrmacht units. Allied Marines landed on five beaches. Considered one of the largest amphibious operations in history. Both sides lost more than 200 thousand of their troops.

Source: realitypod.com/

The last strategic offensive operation of the armed forces of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War It turned out to be one of the bloodiest. It became possible as a result of a strategic breakthrough of the German front by units of the Red Army carrying out the Vistula-Oder offensive operation. It ended with complete victory over Nazi Germany and the surrender of the Wehrmacht. During the battles for Berlin, the losses of our army amounted to more than 80 thousand soldiers and officers, the Nazis lost 450 thousand of their military personnel.

The Second World War was fought on the territory of 40 countries, and 72 states took part in it. In 1941, Germany had the strongest army in the world, but several critical battles led to the Third Reich's defeat.

Battle of Moscow (blitzkrieg failure)

The Battle of Moscow showed that the German blitzkrieg failed. In this battle in total More than 7 million people participated. This is more than the Berlin operation, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest battle of World War II, and more than the enemy forces on the western front after the Normandy landings.

The Battle of Moscow was the only major battle of World War II that was lost by the Wehrmacht despite its overall numerical superiority over the enemy.

Moscow was defended “by the whole world.” Thus, the feat of the senior groom of the village of Lishnyagi, Serebryano-Prudsky district, Ivan Petrovich Ivanov, who on December 11, 1941 repeated the feat of Ivan Susanin, having led a German convoy of 40 vehicles into the deep ravine “Belgorod Pines”, has remained in history.

The victory over the enemy was also helped by a simple teacher from Krasnaya Polyana, Elena Gorokhova, who informed the Red Army command about the redeployment of German units with long-range artillery batteries.

As a result of the counter-offensive near Moscow and the general offensive, German units were thrown back 100-250 km. The Tula, Ryazan and Moscow regions, and many areas of the Kalinin, Smolensk and Oryol regions were completely liberated.

General Günter Blumentritt wrote: “It was now important for German political leaders to understand that the days of the blitzkrieg were a thing of the past. We were confronted by an army whose fighting qualities were far superior to all other armies we had ever encountered on the battlefield. But it should be said that the German army also demonstrated high moral fortitude in overcoming all the disasters and dangers that befell it.”

Battle of Stalingrad (radical turning point)

Battle of Stalingrad was the main turning point of the Second World War. The Soviet military command made it clear: there is no land beyond the Volga. The assessments of this battle and the losses that Stalingrad suffered from foreign historians are interesting.

The book “Operation Survive,” published in 1949 and written by the famous American publicist Hessler, who is difficult to suspect of a pro-Russian position, stated: “According to the assessment of the very realistic scientist Dr. Philip Morrison, it would take at least 1000 atomic bombs, to cause Russia the damage caused during the Stalingrad campaign alone... This is significantly more than the number of bombs that we have accumulated after four years of tireless efforts.”

The Battle of Stalingrad was a fight for survival.

The beginning was made on August 23, 1942, when German aircraft carried out a massive bombing of the city. 40,000 people died. This exceeds the official figures for the Allied air raid on Dresden in February 1945 (25,000 casualties).

In Stalingrad, the Red Army used revolutionary innovations of psychological pressure on the enemy. From the loudspeakers installed at the front line, favorite hits of German music were heard, which were interrupted by messages about the victories of the Red Army in sections of the Stalingrad Front. The most effective means psychological pressure was the monotonous beat of the metronome, which was interrupted after 7 beats by a commentary on German: “Every 7 seconds one dies at the front German soldier" At the end of a series of 10-20 “timer reports,” a tango sounded from the loudspeakers.

During the Stalingrad operation, the Red Army managed to create the so-called “Stalingrad cauldron”. On November 23, 1942, the troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts closed the encirclement ring, which contained almost 300,000 enemy forces.

In Stalingrad, one of Hitler’s “favorites,” Marshal Paulus, was captured and became a field marshal during the Battle of Stalingrad. By the beginning of 1943, Paulus's 6th Army was a pitiful sight. On January 8, the Soviet military command addressed the German military leader with an ultimatum: if he does not surrender by 10 o’clock next day, all Germans in the “cauldron” will be destroyed. Paulus did not react to the ultimatum. On January 31 he was captured. Subsequently, he became one of the USSR's allies in the Cold War propaganda war.

In early February 1943, units and formations of the 4th Luftwaffe Air Fleet received the password “Orlog”. It meant that the 6th Army no longer existed, and the Battle of Stalingrad ended in the defeat of Germany.

Battle of Kursk (transition of initiative to the Red Army)

Victory in battles on Kursk Bulge was of fundamental importance due to a number of factors. After Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht had another chance to change the situation on the Eastern Front in its favor, Hitler blamed Operation Citadel big hopes and declared that “The victory at Kursk should serve as a torch for the whole world.”

The Soviet command also understood the importance of these battles. It was important for the Red Army to prove that it could win victories not only during winter campaigns, but also in summer, so not only the military, but also the civilian population invested in the victory at Kursk. In record time, in 32 days, it was built Railway, connecting Rzhava and Stary Oskol, called the “road of courage.” Thousands of people worked day and night on its construction.

The turning point in the Battle of Kursk was the Battle of Prokhorovka. The largest tank battle in history, over 1,500 tanks.

Memories of that battle still boggle the mind. It was real hell.

The commander of the tank brigade, Grigory Penezhko, who received the Hero of the Soviet Union for this battle, recalls: “We lost the sense of time, did not feel thirst, heat, or even blows in the cramped cabin of the tank. One thought, one desire - while you are alive, beat the enemy. Our tankers, who got out of their broken cars, looked for enemy crews on the field, also left without equipment, and beat them with pistols, grappling hand-to-hand ... ".

After Prokhorovka, our troops launched a decisive offensive. Operations “Kutuzov” and “Rumyantsev” allowed the liberation of Belgorod and Orel, and Kharkov was liberated on August 23.

Oil is called the “blood of war.” From the very beginning of the war, one of the general routes of the German offensive was directed towards the Baku oil fields. Controlling them was a priority for the Third Reich.
The Battle of the Caucasus was marked air battles in the skies over Kuban, which became one of the largest air battles of World War II. For the first time in Soviet pilots imposed their will on the Luftwaffe and actively interfered with and opposed the Germans in carrying out their combat missions. From May 26 to June 7, the Red Army Air Force conducted 845 sorties against Nazi airfields in Anapa, Kerch, Saki, Sarabuz and Taman. In total, during the battles in the skies of Kuban, Soviet aviation carried out about 35 thousand sorties.

It was for the battles over Kuban that Alexander Pokryshkin, the future three-time Hero of the Soviet Union and an air marshal, was awarded the first Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

On September 9, 1943, the last operation of the battle for the Caucasus began - Novorossiysk-Taman. Within a month, German troops on the Taman Peninsula were defeated. As a result of the offensive, the cities of Novorossiysk and Anapa were liberated, the preconditions were created for carrying out landing operation to Crimea. In honor of liberation Taman Peninsula On October 9, 1943, a salute of 20 salvoes from 224 guns was fired in Moscow.

Operation of the Ardennes (disruption of the “last blitzkrieg” of the Wehrmacht)

The Battle of the Bulge is called “the last blitzkrieg of the Wehrmacht.” This was the last attempt of the Third Reich to turn the tide on Western Front. The operation was commanded by Field Marshal V. Model, who ordered it to begin on the morning of December 16, 1944; by December 25, the Germans had advanced 90 km deep into the enemy’s defenses.

However, the Germans did not know that the Allied defenses were deliberately weakened so that when the Germans broke through to the West 100 kilometers, they would be surrounded and attacked from the flanks. The Wehrmacht did not foresee this maneuver.
The Allies knew about the Ardennes operation in advance, since they could read the German Ultra codes. In addition, aerial reconnaissance reported on the movements of German troops.

Despite the fact that the Allies initially had the initiative, the Germans were well prepared for the Ardennes. The timing of the offensive was chosen to ensure that Allied aircraft could not provide air support. The Germans also resorted to a trick: everyone who knew English language, changed into American uniform and, under the leadership of Otto Skorzeny, they created assault troops from them so that they would sow panic in the American rear.
Some of the Panthers were disguised as American tanks; they had bulwarks attached, muzzle brakes were removed from the guns, the turrets were covered with sheet metal, and large white stars were painted on the armor.

With the beginning of the offensive, the “false panthers” rushed to the rear of the American troops, but the Germans’ cunning was “seen through” due to stupidity. One of the Germans asked for gas and said “petroleum” instead of “gas”. The Americans didn't say that. The saboteurs were discovered, and their cars were burned with bazookas.

In American historiography, the Battle of the Bulge is called the Battle of the Bulge. By January 29, the Allies completed the operation and began the invasion of Germany.

The Wehrmacht lost more than a third of its armored vehicles in the battles, and almost all the aircraft (including jets) participating in the operation used up fuel and ammunition. The only “profit” for Germany from the Ardennes operation was that it delayed the Allied offensive on the Rhine for six weeks: it had to be postponed to January 29, 1945.

This article will be devoted to the topic of the decisive battles of bloody war in human history – World War II. And here we will name not only those battles that had an impact on the winning side, because we must not forget that at the beginning of the war the Germans had an advantage and they deserved this with a number of brilliant victories.
So, let's begin. What battles can be called the most significant and most decisive during the Second World War?
1. Capture of France.
After German troops took Poland, Hitler understood that he needed to get rid of the danger on the Western Front, this would ensure that the German army did not start a war on two fronts. And for this it was necessary to capture France.
Hitler managed to capture France in just a few weeks. It was a real blitzkrieg. Lightning-fast tank attacks helped break and encircle the most combat-ready armies of the French, Dutch and Belgians. However, that wasn't it main reason defeat for the Allies, their overconfidence became a catastrophic mistake for them, which led to the surrender of France and a decisive victory for the Germans on the Western Front.
During the attack on France there were no huge battles, there were only local attempts at resistance in separate parts French army and when Northern France fell, German victory was not long in coming.
2. Battle of Britain.
After the French fell, it was necessary to destroy Great Britain, which was located on islands well protected from direct attack.
Hitler understood perfectly well that it would be possible to break the British only after their Air Force was defeated. On initial stage air attacks on Britain were successful, German bombers bombed Largest cities. But when the British acquired radar, they were able to intercept German planes while approaching the islands.
The amount of German military equipment in the air was greatly reduced, and a few months later a catastrophic shortage of not only aircraft, but also personnel began.
But the Royal Air Force, meanwhile, was gaining strength and completely gained air superiority over Britain. This victory allowed the British not only to protect themselves from German attacks, but also gave them time to rebuild their military potential after their defeat in the Battle of France. In addition, the British victory paved the way for an operation called “Overlord,” which will be discussed later.
3. Battle of Stalingrad.
Meanwhile, on the Eastern Front, the successful offensive of the Wehrmacht armies continued, which had already completely occupied Ukraine and were now ready to take the most important cities for the USSR, including Stalingrad. However, here they were forced to stop.
Having practically captured the city, the Germans met determined resistance from the Red Army, which could not be broken due to the enemy’s numerical advantage, problems with supplies and weapons, as well as severe frosts.
The battle for Stalingrad began in July 1941 and went well for the Germans until November of that year. But with the onset of winter, the Union forces launched a powerful counterattack, which forced the Germans to retreat. Thus, one of the best armies of the Wehrmacht under the command of Pauls was surrounded and defeated.
In total, during the battle of Stalingrad, the Germans lost about 1 million soldiers, as well as great amount units of weapons and military equipment. The morale of the Germans was so undermined that the advance of the Soviet troops could no longer be stopped. A radical change occurred not only during the Great Patriotic War, but also during the Second World War.
4. Battle of Kursk.
This battle can be safely called last try the Germans launch a counterattack on the Eastern Front. The Germans decided to carry out a lightning attack along the Soviet defense line on the Kursk Bulge, but their plan was undermined and the offensive ended in complete failure. After this, the huge forces of the Red Army launched a counter-offensive, and thanks to their numerical advantage they managed to break the German defenses, which meant one thing - Germany’s defeat was already a foregone conclusion. Were broken best armies, and the number of Wehrmacht soldiers was already inferior to the forces of the Red Army several times, and this is not to mention the fact that the Allied forces began to put pressure on the Western Front.
During the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle also took place - the Battle of Prokhorovka, where Soviet tanks won, albeit with huge losses.
5. Battle of Leyte Gulf.
This battle can be called the last decisive attempt by the Japanese to seize the initiative in the war on Pacific Ocean. The Japanese fleet attacked the US fleet in hopes of defeating it and launching a counteroffensive. This battle lasted from October 23 to October 26, 1944 and ended in complete American victory. The Japanese fought so desperately that they sacrificed themselves to destroy the enemy - we are talking about the so-called “kamikazes”. But this did not help them, they lost their most powerful ships and no longer made decisive attempts to stop the US fleet.
6. "Overlord".
In 1944, Germany was already on the verge of defeat, but it had to be accelerated, for this the Western Front was opened - Operation Overlord.
In June 1944, huge US and Allied forces landed in Northern France. Two months later, Paris was liberated, and two months later, the Allied forces approached the western borders of Germany. In order to contain the offensive on the Western Front, the Germans greatly stretched their forces and further weakened their positions on the Eastern Front, which accelerated the advance of the Red Army.
The opening of the Second Front was a decisive blow to Germany's military strength, followed only by the occupation and fall of Berlin.
7. Battle of Berlin.
Even though Germany had already lost, Berlin continued to stand. The city was encircled, and there was no way to wait for help, but the Germans stood.
The Battle of Berlin, which lasted throughout the spring of 1945, was completed by May 8th. During the defense of Berlin, the Germans put up powerful pockets of resistance, which is why a huge number of Red Army soldiers died, but their fate was still decided.
After Hitler shot himself, the morale of the Wehrmacht was completely destroyed and Germany capitulated - victory was won. Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean, the United States had almost subjugated Japan - World War II was coming to an end.
These were the decisive battles of World War II. Of course, this list could be supplemented with a dozen more important battles, but still these battles and operations were key.

Read about how World War II began 70 years ago in the material “Union of Wrong Forces.” The magazine's ranking includes the 10 bloodiest battles.

1. Battle of Stalingrad

Meaning: The Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest battle in world history. Near this city on the Volga, seven were deployed against the German Army Group B and their allies. Soviet armies(plus the 8th Air Army and the Volga Flotilla). After the battle, Stalin said: “Stalingrad was the decline of the Nazi army.” After this massacre, the Germans could never recover.

Irreversible losses: USSR - 1 million 130 thousand people; Germany and allies - 1.5 million people.

2. Battle for Moscow

Meaning: the commander of the German 2nd Panzer Army, Guderian, assessed the consequences of the defeat near Moscow: “All sacrifices and efforts were in vain, we suffered a serious defeat, which, due to the stubbornness of the high command, led to fatal consequences in the coming weeks. A crisis arose in the German offensive , the strength and morale of the German army are broken."

Irreversible losses: USSR - 926.2 thousand people; Germany - 581.9 thousand people.

3. Battle for Kyiv

Significance: the defeat near Kiev was a heavy blow for the Red Army; it opened the way for the Wehrmacht to Eastern Ukraine, the Azov region and the Donbass. The surrender of Kyiv led to the virtual collapse of the Southwestern Front; Soviet soldiers began to abandon their weapons en masse and surrender.

Irreversible losses: USSR - 627.8 thousand people. (according to German data, the number of prisoners was 665 thousand people); Germany - unknown.

4. Battle of the Dnieper

Significance: up to 4 million people took part in the battle for the liberation of Kyiv on both sides, and the battle front stretched over 1,400 km. Front-line writer Viktor Astafiev recalled: “Twenty-five thousand soldiers enter the water, and three thousand, maximum five, emerge on the other side. And after five or six days, all the dead emerge. Can you imagine?”

Irreversible losses: USSR - 417 thousand people; Germany - 400 thousand killed (according to other sources, about 1 million people).

5. Battle of Kursk

Meaning: The largest battle in the history of World War II. The troops of the Central and Voronezh Fronts defeated the two largest Wehrmacht army groups: Army Group Center and Army Group South.

Irreversible losses: USSR - 254 thousand people; Germany - 500 thousand people. (according to German data, 103.6 thousand people).

6. Operation "Bagration"

Significance: one of the largest military operations in the entire history of mankind, during which the forces of the 1st Baltic, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian fronts were defeated German group armies "Center" and Belarus was liberated. To demonstrate the significance of the success, after the battle, more than 50 thousand German prisoners captured near Minsk were paraded through the streets of Moscow.

Irreversible losses: USSR - 178.5 thousand people; Germany - 255.4 thousand people.

7. Vistula-Oder operation

Significance: strategic offensive of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, during which the territory of Poland west of the Vistula was liberated. This battle went down in the history of mankind as the most rapid offensive - for 20 days, Soviet troops advanced a distance of 20 to 30 km per day.

Irreversible losses: USSR - 43.2 thousand people; Germany - 480 thousand people.

8. Battle of Berlin

Meaning: last fight Soviet troops in Europe. For the sake of storming the capital of the Third Reich, the forces of the 1st Ukrainian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts were united; divisions of the Polish Army and sailors of the Baltic Fleet took part in the battles.

Irreversible losses: USSR with its allies - 81 thousand people; Germany - about 400 thousand people.

9. Battle of Monte Casino

Meaning: The bloodiest battle involving the Western Allies, during which the Americans and British broke through the German defensive line "Gustav Line" and took Rome.

Irreversible losses: USA and allies - more than 100 thousand people; Germany - about 20 thousand people.

10. Battle of Iwo Jima

Meaning: first military operation US forces against Japan on land, which became the bloodiest battle in the Pacific theater of operations. It was after the assault on this small island 1250 km from Tokyo that the US command decided before landing on Japanese islands carry out a demonstration atomic bombing.

Irreversible losses: Japan - 22.3 thousand people; USA - 6.8 thousand people.

Material prepared by Victor Bekker, Vladimir Tikhomirov