Statements about the war and the Soviet army
home
Old people declare war, and young people go to die.
War is the continuation of politics by other means.
War benefits the mediocre. The world is always more profitable for the talented.
Peace is just a dream of war.
Only a few, whose vile well-being depends on the people's grief, make wars.
Sending people to war untrained means betraying them.
If we get into a fight, we will ruin the next and future years. Who needs it? Whose hands are itching? If you're itchy, scratch somewhere else!
As long as war is seen as nude, it will always have a certain appeal. When they learn to see vulgarity in her, she will not attract anyone.
Many people go to war because they don't want to be heroes.
The war is only over when the last soldier is buried. Phrases wise people
about war
War is a way of untying a political knot with teeth that defies language.
Why are you killing me? - How for what? Friend, you live on the other side of the river! If you lived on this, I would indeed have committed a wrong, a crime, if I had killed you. But you live on the other side, which means my cause is just, and I accomplished a feat!
Prominent phrases of wise people about war
The peasant cultivates the fields, the worker enriches the cities, thinkers reflect, industry creates amazing things, genius creates miracles... and all this perishes on the terrifying international exhibition called the battlefield!
The war will be repeated until the issue of it is decided not by those who die on the battlefields.
A war cannot be fair, because you cannot fight fairly, even if you are fighting for justice.
Wars are like legal battles where the legal costs exceed the amount in dispute.
There is no need for war, no need. Let's work better, think, search. The only true glory is the glory of work. Warriors are the lot of barbarians.
War is a series of disasters leading to victory.
A glass of champagne lifts your mood, unleashes your imagination and sense of humor; however, a whole bottle makes you dizzy, your vision becomes dark, your legs give way. War works in much the same way. To really get a taste of both, it’s best to do a tasting.
War imposes tribute equally on both men and women, but only takes blood from some, and tears from others.
Peace is the interval between two wars.
He could predict wars and; however, it was not difficult: they are always fighting somewhere and almost always starving somewhere.
Awesome phrases from wise people about war
Moderation in war is unforgivable stupidity.
If you want to win a war, you need to remember the old truth: the quieter you go, the further you will go.
They never lie so much as during the war, after the hunt and before the elections.
What a beautiful moon today! Yes, but if you had seen her before the war.
If the outcome of the war could be foreseen, all wars would cease.
The first panacea for a poorly governed country is currency inflation, the second is war; both bring temporary prosperity, both bring final destruction.
War is too serious a matter to be trusted to the military.
The war will last as long as people are foolish enough to be surprised and help those who kill them by the thousands.
Without war, no people are freed from any foreign yoke.
It is much easier to win a war than peace.
There is more valor in killing wars with words than killing people with iron.
Only the war that is undertaken for the highest and great principle, and not for material interest, not for greedy seizure, turns out to be useful.
War consists of unforeseen events.
War is war, and lunch must be on schedule.
Politics is as exciting as war. But more dangerous. In war you can be killed only once, in politics - many times.
Those who start a war themselves fall into their own networks.
Carefree phrases from wise people about war
For centuries, attempts have been made to fix the world with the help of explosives.
No one ever forgets where he buried the hatchet.
I don't believe that Russia wants war. She wants the fruits of war.
No matter how terrible war is, it still reveals the spiritual greatness of a person who challenges his strongest hereditary enemy - death.
Peace has no fewer victories than war, but much fewer monuments.
Why not try governments for every declaration of war? If the peoples understood this, if they did not allow themselves to be killed without any reason, if they used weapons to turn them against those who gave them them to beat, the war would die on that day.
Woe to him statesman who will not bother to find a basis for war that will still retain its significance even after the war.
When peoples fight among themselves, it is called war.
Anyone who has not lived through a single war will never know what a wonderful pre-war time he lived in.
Either humanity will end war, or war will end humanity.
War is one of the greatest sacrileges against man and nature.
Money is the artery of war.
We are at war. We are fighting for peace. We fight hunger. We can't live without a fight. We fight, fight, fight: with weapons, words, money. But everything remains the same: the world is not getting better.
Peace is not the absence of war, but the virtue that comes from fortitude.
Good-natured phrases from wise people about war
In love, as in war, woe to the vanquished!
There is no greater crime than unnecessary war.
War turns people born to live into wild beasts.
Before the battle every plan is good, after the battle every plan is bad.
How is the world governed and how wars break out? Diplomats lie to journalists and believe their own lies when they read them in newspapers.
Even a victorious war is an evil that must be prevented by the wisdom of nations.
He who wages war on everyone is hardly at peace with himself.
Love is like war: easy to start, but very difficult to end.
The only state of people before the formation of society was war, and not only war in its ordinary form, but a war of all against all.
A victorious army rarely rebels.
In a peaceful environment, a warlike person attacks himself.
Anyone standing at state power obliged to avoid war in the same way as the captain of a ship avoids a wreck.
War is too important a matter to be left to the military.
“I began to understand what people are capable of. Any, past the war and he who does not understand that people create evil just as a bee produces honey is either blind or out of his mind.”
(William Golding. Quoted from the book: Golding, William // Laureates Nobel Prize: Encyclopedia)
“If everyone fought only according to their convictions, there would be no war.”
(Leo Tolstoy. War and Peace)
“- Is there no God? - No, my friend. Of course not. If he had, would he have allowed what I saw with my own eyes?
(Ernest Hemingway. For whom the bell tolls)
“Everyone in government power is obliged to avoid war, just as the captain of a ship avoids shipwreck.”
“War is barbaric when a peaceful neighbor is attacked, but it is a sacred duty when one defends the homeland.”
(Guy De Maupassant. Complete Works)
“Franco bombs Barcelona because, according to him, monks were brutally exterminated in Barcelona. Consequently, Franco defends Christian values. But a Christian, in the name of Christian values, stands in bombed Barcelona near a fire in which women and children are burning. And he refuses to understand. Meaning of life".
(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Who are you, soldier)
“Of all the monstrously insane phenomena of the past, the war was, without a doubt, the craziest. Perhaps, in reality, it caused less harm than such a less noticeable evil as the universal recognition of private ownership of land, but the disastrous consequences of the war were so obvious that they were indignant at it even in that dull and Time of Troubles. The wars of that time were completely meaningless. Apart from the mass of killed and crippled people, apart from the destruction of enormous material wealth and the waste of countless units of energy, the wars did not bring any results. Ancient wars of wild, barbarian tribes at least changed humanity; some tribe considered itself physically stronger and more organized, proved this to its neighbors and, if successful, took away their lands and women and thus consolidated and spread its power. The new war did not change anything except the colors on geographical maps, drawings of postage stamps and relationships between a few random individuals.”
(H.G. Wells. In the Days of the Comet)
“Permanent peace would be the same as constant war. War is peace."
(George Orwell. 1984)
“War is not just about who will shoot who. War is about who will change someone’s mind.”
(Boris Lvovich Vasiliev. And the dawns here are quiet...)
“I quickly began to become disillusioned with military affairs. My brothers in arms zealously polished their boots and participated in the exercises with great enthusiasm. I didn't see any point in this. They just turned us into fresh cannon fodder.”
(Charles Bukowski. Bread and Ham)
"When a war breaks out, people usually say, 'Well, this can't last, it's too stupid.' And indeed, war is indeed too stupid, which, however, does not prevent it from lasting a long time.”
(Albert Camus. Plague)
“As long as the earth revolves around the sun, as long as there has been cold and heat, storm and sunlight, until then the struggle will continue. Including among people and nations. If people stayed in paradise, they would rot. Humanity became what it is thanks to struggle. War is a natural and commonplace thing. War is going on always and everywhere. It has no beginning, no end. War is life itself. War is the starting point."
(Adolf Hitler. My struggle)
“Oh, human shame! Consent reigns
Among the damned demons, but a man -
A creature possessing consciousness creates discord with its own kind; Although he has the right to rely on the mercy of Heaven and knows the covenant of the Lord: to preserve eternal peace, he lives in hatred and enmity, Tribes devastate the Earth with merciless wars, bringing destruction to each other.”
(John Milton. Paradise Lost)
“War is a psychosis generated by someone’s inability to see the relationships between things. Our relationships with our neighbors. With economics, history. But above all - with nothing. With death."
(John Fowles. Magus)
“War and love, on Earth, are the two main items of trade. Since time immemorial, we have been releasing them in huge quantities.”
(Robert Sheckley. Pilgrimage to Earth)
“Anyone who has ever looked into the glassy eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think twice before starting a war.”
(Otto von Bismarck, speech, August 1867, Berlin)
“War is a disaster and a crime that contains all disasters and all crimes.”
(Voltaire. Quoted from the book: Kuznetsov V.N. Francois Marie Voltaire)
“We justify everything we do as a necessity. When we bomb cities, it is a strategic necessity, and when our cities are bombed, it is a heinous crime.”
(Erich Maria Remarque. A time to live and a time to die)
(Nikolai Alekseevich Ostrovsky. How steel was hardened)
“War, Your Grace, is an empty game.
Today - success, and tomorrow - a hole...”
(Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky. Letter to General Z)
“History teaches that wars begin when governments believe that the cost of aggression is small.”
(Ronald Reagan)
“Perhaps the only reason wars arise again and again is that one can never fully feel how the other suffers.”
(Erich Maria Remarque. Return)
“Wars are never won, Charlie. Everyone does nothing but lose, and whoever loses last asks for peace.”
(Ray Bradbury. Dandelion Wine)
“Only a few, whose vile well-being depends on the people’s grief, make war.”
(Erasmus of Rotterdam. Quoted from the book: Aphorisms. Golden Fund of Wisdom. Eremishin O.)
“War is not a real feat, war is a surrogate for a feat. The basis of a feat is the wealth of connections it creates, the tasks it sets, the accomplishments it encourages. Simple game turning heads or tails will not turn into a feat, even if the stake in it is life or death. War is not a heroic deed. War is a disease. Like typhus."
(Antoine Saint-Exupéry. Military pilot)
“The old men declare war, but the young go to die.”
(Herbert Hoover)
“War is a test of all economic and organizational forces every nation."
(Vladimir Lenin)
Quotes about the Great Patriotic War
Dear Colleagues!
In less than a month we will celebrate one of the main holidays of our country - MAY 9. It is still one of the spiritual bonds for both society and the country as a whole.
I know from myself how difficult it is sometimes to quickly find the right quote for an exhibition, speech, or message. I bring to your attention a selection of quotes about the Great Patriotic War, which includes both poetic and prose quotes. I hope they will help you in preparing exhibitions and events for the holiday - MAY 9. Previously, there was a similar selection of quotes about the Battle of Stalingrad.
No government could have resisted such terrible, cruel wounds that Hitler inflicted on Russia. But Soviet Russia not only survived and recovered from these wounds, but also inflicted German army a blow of such power that no other army in the world could inflict on it...
Winston Churchill
In the first months of the war, German soldiers in their helmets, green greatcoats, with their machine guns, tanks, and dominance in the sky inspired fear. They seemed irresistible.
The retreat was largely due to this feeling. They had superior weapons, but also the aura of a professional warrior. We, the militia, looked pathetic: blue cavalry riding breeches, instead of boots there were boots and windings. The overcoat is not tall enough, there is a cap on the head...
During the blockade, military skill became equal. Our soldiers, hungry and poorly supplied with ammunition, held their positions for all 900 days, against a well-fed, well-armed enemy, simply by virtue of their superior spirit.
Daniil Granin
Do we have the right to forget what peace and freedom cost us? Wouldn't such oblivion be a betrayal of the memory of fallen soldiers, of the grief of inconsolable mothers, lonely widows, and orphaned children? This must not be forgotten in the name of our stubborn struggle for peace, which is unthinkable without the bitter memory of the disasters of the past war.
S.S. Smirnov "Brest Fortress"
It is known that the British lose all battles except the last one. This proverb speaks of the country's stability. We, too, were losing the war; according to all calculations, the Germans should have carried out the Barbarossa plan and reached the Urals. Militarily, they were stronger than us in all respects. It's really unclear why they lost. We won because we fought against the occupiers, our war was a just war, from the very first day we knew that we would win. Moral superiority was more important than air superiority.
Daniil Granin
I will take this opportunity to repeat tomorrow in the House of Commons what I said earlier, that it is the Russian army that has gutted the German war machine and is currently holding back on its front incomparably most enemy forces
letter to I. Stalin September 27, 1944, “Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the USA and Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War 1941−1945." M., 1967. T. 1. P. 260
Winston Churchill
On the European front the most important event last year, without a doubt, was a crushing counter-offensive of the great Russian army against the powerful German group. Russian troops have destroyed - and continue to destroy - more manpower, aircraft, tanks and guns of our common enemy than all the other United Nations combined.
Franklin Roosevelt
Under the leadership of Marshal Joseph Stalin, the Russian people showed such an example of love for their homeland, fortitude and self-sacrifice, which the world has never known. After the war, our country will always be happy to maintain relations of good neighborliness and sincere friendship with Russia, whose people, by saving themselves, are helping to save the whole world from the Nazi threat.
Franklin Roosevelt
In all my work, the most precious thing is that dedicated to our Victory. In the 70s, director Carmen invited me to voice a 20-episode documentary“The Great Patriotic War,” where the true figures of our terrible losses were announced for the first time. I remember close-up of people different ages who went to the front from besieged Leningrad, and the words: “Look at these faces. Remember them. None of these people will return alive...” I started to voice it and... I couldn’t hold back my tears. I had to stop. Only after a week did I learn to cope with the lump in my throat and the tears that were coming.
Vasily Lanovoy
Source
I know it's not my fault
The fact that others did not come from the war,
The fact that they - some older, some younger -
We stayed there, and it’s not about the same thing,
That I could, but failed to save them, -
This is not about that, but still, still, still...
A. T. Tvardovsky
Crossing, crossing!
The guns fire in the pitch darkness.
The battle is holy and just.
Mortal combat is not for glory,
For the sake of life on earth.
A. T. Tvardovsky
Yes, you can survive in the heat, in thunderstorms, in frosts,
Yes, you can go hungry and cold,
Go to death... But these three birches
You can't give it to anyone while you're alive.
K. M. Simonov
Only those people who honor their heroes can be considered great. (Rokossovsky)
Victory! This is the greatest happiness for a soldier - the knowledge that you helped your people defeat the enemy, defend the freedom of the Motherland, and return peace to it. The consciousness that you have fulfilled your soldier’s duty, a difficult and noble duty, higher than which there is nothing on earth!
Rokossovsky
No country, no people anti-Hitler coalition did not suffer such heavy casualties as the Soviet Union, and no one made as much effort to defeat the enemy that threatened all of humanity. Not a single bomb was dropped on American soil.
G. K. Zhukov
Time has no power over the greatness of everything we experienced during the war. And the people, who once experienced great trials, will continue to draw strength from this victory.
G. K. Zhukov
After Stalingrad, the army became like a hardened blade, capable of crushing any force. The battle on the Kursk Bulge perfectly confirmed this.
G. K. Zhukov
The war required many sacrifices from all the peoples of the world. I am happy that I was born a Russian person. And he shared with his people in the last war the bitterness of many losses and the happiness of Victory.
Zhukov
The greatness of the feat near Moscow lies in the fact that we did not outnumber the Germans in strength... Now it’s hard to believe, but at the end of the battles near Moscow, the norm for shells was established: one or two rounds per gun per day.
G. K. Zhukov
I believe that young people made the main sacrifice in the war. How many wonderful young people we have lost. How many mothers did not have children after the war!
Marshal G. Zhukov
A hero is one who died wisely and bravely, bringing the hour of victory closer. But twice the hero is the one who managed to defeat the enemy and remained alive. (V.I. Chuikov)
And Russia - dear mother -
He will give full respect to everyone.
The fight is different, the time is different,
There is one life and one death.
A. T. Tvardovsky
The truth is that, despite the most difficult trials, we have won. (A. Chakovsky)
Like a child born in labor, -
There will be twice the road
To us the Earth liberated
From a sworn enemy. (S. Ya. Marshak)
Let the living remember
and let generations know
This harsh truth of soldiers taken into battle.
And your crutches, and the mortal wound through and through
And the graves over the Volga,
Where thousands of young people lie...
S. Gudzenko
People!
As long as hearts are knocking,
Remember!
At what price was happiness won?
Please remember!
R. Rozhdestvensky
Forties fatal,
Lead, gunpowder...
War is sweeping across Russia...
D. Samoilov
In Europe, journalists said to my face: “Why are you running around with your Victory in Russia? We’ve already forgotten.” I asked them: “How many days did your countries resist Hitler?” They are silent. Then I continued: “Poland was conquered in 28 days, and in the same 28 days in Stalingrad the Germans were able to capture only a few houses. Denmark lasted exactly a day. And all of Europe was conquered in three months. And our soldiers had to free her. And at what cost! A million lives Soviet soldiers given for the liberation of Europeans from fascism." But Europe chose to forget about it!
Vasily Lanovoy
Now many want to belittle the importance of our country in the defeat of fascism. It’s fine if Western ideologists do this, but it’s disgusting to see how our home-grown lackeys sing along with them for opportunistic reasons. These people are violating what is sacred.
Vasily Lanovoy
Blooming May! Just like in '45...
Sacred Ninth!
I bow low to the waist to the soldiers,
That Victory was brought to us a long time ago.
And on Victory Day I’m ready to hug
All veterans! God let them live!
Let us not forget their feat, and again
We will thank them for Life!
War, that's what it is - war...
And to those who are scorched by the fierce breath,
That bitter cup that has been drunk to the bottom,
Not even sweeter... with fireworks.
War, that's what it is - war...
To this day, the old wounds ache.
And yet – put on your medals!
And happy Victory Day, veterans!
For the ninth, let's drink to spite everyone!!! For victory in this world and for the tank - T-34, FOR "Katyusha", FOR the soldier... we'll drink while standing, guys!!! We will say THANK YOU to grandfather for the Great Victory!!!
We are RUSSIAN and let the enemy forever remember that only then do we kneel when we kiss the RUSSIAN flag!
Thank you to grandfather for the Victory, for every home that has been defended, for the clear sky, for faith, for the fact that we now live!
I don’t know why, it’s somewhere inside me, but for some reason I cry on Victory Day. This is truly a celebration with tears in my eyes. Especially when I hear the song “Victory Day”. But at the same time, the mood is still festive. Probably tears of memory are combined with pride for one’s people and joy from a difficult, but still Victory.
There are almost none left - WAR VETERANS...
That distant and strong SOVIET COUNTRY...
But the war burst into their youth... Without asking, the war...
Who reached the Victory... Well, someone left names at the graves...
How they defeated the enemy, they themselves and GOD knew...
Boots have trampled kilometers of roads...
And believe me, more than once, death stared me in the face...
And the ring froze in my hand from the grenade...
We know firsthand about that terrible disaster...
From fathers and grandfathers about the great war...
You are all in the memory of our WAR VETERANS...
That distant and strong... that SOVIET country...
Let's bow our heads quietly... Let's just all keep quiet...
Thank you for the VICTORY, to your loved ones, family...
Shcherblyuk Lyudmila
Source
Victory Day! He froze on the ships,
He raised an eternal flame over the bowl
It rumbles and beats in people's hearts,
It scorches us with song, it rings in verse,
Blazing with posters and flowers.
(E. Asadov)
Victory! Victory!
In the name of the fatherland - victory!
Eternity puts them at the head...
In the name of the living - victory
In the name of the future - victory!
(R. Rozhdestvensky)
Not all soldiers will see a victorious day
Not everyone can come to the holiday parade.
Soldiers are mortal:
Feats are immortal.
The courage of soldiers never dies.
(B. Serman)
“I am an equal among equals with you
I've become a stone, but I live
You, who gave me centuries,
Don't forget for an hour
That I am looking at you from stone."
(M. Maksimov)
“The second front was opened by a Russian woman. In 1941, when she took upon herself all this manly, backbreaking work, when the front, the army, the war relied on her with their power. Well, I’m not even talking about the feat of the same Russian woman after the war, the home hearth, home warmth, song - all this was glowing. And a new generation grew up primarily around women. This should never be forgotten. And, of course, a Russian woman, a Russian woman, is more worthy than the greatest monuments.”
(F. Abramov)
We are soldiers
And this is our glory
Those who died and returned
We ourselves must rightfully tell
About our generation of soldiers.
(N. Starshinov)
Farewell! Over time together
Rolling up of the last wave
We are leaving along the road of honor
Dear people who came from the war.
Let's leave... Over our daily bread -
Great Victory crown
Let's go, saluting the living
The tears of our hearts.
(M. Dudin)
The soldiers in the trenches were crazy
And fell in mortal combat,
But they didn’t spare their lives
For your bitter land.
R. Rozhdestvensky
They say it's posthumous
Our bodies will become earth.
I'm ready to believe
No wonder this rumor.
Let me become a part
Land won in battle
That land on which
Now I live with all my heart.
(R. Gamzatov)
And I, until death extinguished
In my eyes the last star -
I am your soldier, I am waiting for your orders.
Lead me, Great Russia,
To work. To death, to heroism - I’m going!
(N. Gribachev)
What to do. Memory is to blame.
She scratched like a bayonet,
That on such a day long ago
(Don’t forget this date from your heart!)
The war rose like black smoke.
(E. Asadov)
For the rest of my life
We have enough exploits and glory,
Victories under a bloody enemy
For the rest of my life.
(from song)
O my generation! We walked with you
For the sake of the happiness of the earth through smoke and troubles,
Spots of scarlet dawn on the dry ground
Like a memory of the heavy price of victory.
(E. Asadov)
…I know,
Like clay smells in the trenches,
I heard,
I walked from the Volga itself
to Berlin
Soldier
of your homeland
(V. Poltoratsky)
I have no reason to worry
So that that war is not forgotten,
After all, this memory is our conscience,
She's like the strength we need
Yu. Voronov
Don't forget, don't forget, soldiers,
Those who were buried by the war...
Dates are still responding
To their immortal names
(I. Rzhavsky)
Source
Thanks to everyone who gave their lives,
For dear Rus', for freedom,
Who forgot fear and fought,
Serving my beloved people.
Thank you,
Your feat is eternal,
While my country is alive,
You are in our souls,
In our heart
We will never forget the heroes!
Come on, on the ninth, let's remember them,
Who is no longer alive today...
Who never returned in '45,
Remaining in our memory as a soldier...
And those who returned, but soon left -
I found a refuge in that world...
Blame it all on the brutal war,
Giver of posthumous orders,
Wounded souls and bodies,
Bringing so much evil to the living!!!
Defenders! We will honor you sacredly,
And keep those terrible years in memory,
Every resident of the former Soviet Union and their descendants will always remember the day of our universal victory - May 9, Victory Day. Modern history never knew a more significant day on its pages. Many years have passed since the Second World War, and those who do not know what war is are lucky.
OFFICEPLANKTON in honor of this significant day I have collected for you quotes and expressions about how great thinkers responded and said about war at any time and on any occasion.
A little about the War. Song about T-34
A song about the T34 tank, dedicated to the fallen soldiers in the Great Patriotic War. T34- soviet tank, during the Great Patriotic War, was mass-produced and was the main tank of the Red Army. Best medium tank Second World War. The latest modification of the tank, produced before 1958, T34-85, is in service in some countries to this day. Currently, the T34 tank, various modifications, can be seen in the form of monuments and museum exhibits.
The most ordinary tank of that great war
People like us died in it from mortal wounds
Placed on a pedestal at a crossroads
So that anyone can touch him
I'm sure you liked these lines. Dear readers, I invite you to listen to a wonderful nostalgic song about the Great T-34. The author of the song is Sergei Bardoshin. : Here is a link to the original song.
Quotes and aphorisms.
1 War will be repeated until the issue of it is decided not by those who die on the battlefields. A. Barbusse
2 War imposes tribute equally on both men and women, but only takes blood from some, and tears from others. W. Thackeray
3 War is not a real feat, war is a surrogate for a feat. The basis of a feat is the wealth of connections it creates, the tasks it sets, the accomplishments it encourages. A simple game of heads or tails will not turn into a feat, even if the stake in it is life or death. War is not a heroic deed. War is a disease. Like typhus. Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
4 I don’t know what weapons will be used to fight in the 3rd World War, but in the 4th World War they will fight with sticks and stones. A. Einstein
5 Peace must be achieved by victory, not by agreement. Cicero
6 A soldier must be healthy, brave, firm in his resolve, truthful, pious. Suvorov A.V.
7 Monuments should be erected to those who prevented the war, and not to generals. Arkady Davidovich
8 Of all the wars that nations waged among themselves with fire and sword, religious ones were the bloodiest. E. Haeckel
9 The flourishing of military sciences is possible only in Peaceful time. Don Aminado
10 The world is a mirror that shows each person his own reflection. Thackeray W.
11 An army of rams led by a lion will always win over an army of lions led by a ram. Napoleon Bonaparte
12 Do not offend the common man, he gives us food and water; a soldier is not a robber. Suvorov A.V.
War: World War II
“War is a terrible and exciting drama,” said Clausewitz. How true this is in relation to the current [World War II] war, in which not only the greatness of each state is at stake, but also the fate of each person! – Charles de Gaulle
“I have brought you peace,” said British Prime Minister Chamberlain, returning from Munich, where he met with Hitler. Less than a year later, on September 1, 1939, at 04:45, the Nazi armies moved against Poland - and the flames of the Second World War flared up. – Chester Nimitz "War at Sea"
On February 1, 1943, in the morning hours, all our military force brought down its fire on the positions of the enemy defending near Stalingrad. From our observation post we could see how the entire front line of the enemy’s defense was covered with continuous explosions of shells and mines. Aircraft bombed artillery positions in the depths of the defense. The Nazis could not withstand such a blow, and after artillery and air preparation, white flags began to appear in many areas they occupied. This happened against the will of the command, spontaneously... On February 2, the battle on the Volga was victoriously completed. – Konstantin Rokossovsky
On July 14, I went by car to Kyiv. He arrived in the city at night and was struck by the desolation and ominous silence that reigned in it. Khreshchatyk, usually teeming with people at this time, resounding with loud conversations, noise, laughter and shining with the lights of shop windows, was empty, silent and immersed in darkness. Not a single living soul is visible on the streets. Having stopped the car in order to find out where I could find the front headquarters, I lit a cigarette. And then out of the darkness came the following words: “Put out the fire!..”, “Are you tired of life?..”, “Put it out immediately!”. Other words were heard, this time stronger. This, I must admit, greatly surprised me. The voices were very hysterical. This no longer looked like reasonable caution, but like signs of panic. Well, I had to submit and quickly put out the cigarette. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
On July 15, I left Kyiv, having previously received information that things were also not going well on the Western Front - the Germans were approaching Smolensk. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
On November 19, 1942, a historic battle began, as a result of which selected troops were surrounded near Stalingrad Nazi troops. And if until this moment the enemy still had the opportunity to save his units from defeat by timely withdrawing them to the west, now they were doomed to death. Nothing could save them anymore. A plan skillfully and carefully developed by the Soviet command came into effect. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
August 2, 1944 ours intelligence agencies We received information that an uprising against the Nazi occupiers had allegedly begun in Warsaw. This news greatly alarmed us. The front headquarters immediately began collecting information and clarifying the scale of the uprising and its nature. Everything happened so unexpectedly that we were at a loss and at first thought: were the Germans spreading these rumors, and if so, then for what purpose? After all, frankly speaking, the worst time to start an uprising was exactly when it began. It’s as if the leaders of the uprising deliberately chose the time to suffer defeat...
Those who pushed the Warsawians to revolt did not think about uniting with the approaching troops of the Soviet Union and Polish army. They were afraid of this. They thought about something else - to seize power in the capital before coming to Warsaw Soviet troops. This is what the gentlemen from London ordered...
The tragedy that unfolded in Warsaw haunted me. The realization of the impossibility of undertaking a major operation in order to rescue the rebels was painful.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
On June 21, I debriefed the command and staff night corps exercise. Having finished his business, he invited the division commanders to go fishing at dawn on their day off. But in the evening, someone from our headquarters was informed through the border troops that a German army corporal, a Pole by nationality, from Poznan, had run across the outpost and claimed: on June 22, the Germans would attack the Soviet Union. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
On December 31, 1942, taking advantage of some calm (relative, of course) near Stalingrad, we decided to celebrate the New Year. Members of the Front Military Council and comrades from Moscow - Vasilevsky, Novikov, Golovanov, writers Vanda Vasilevskaya, Alexander Korneichuk - gathered at our headquarters. At Novikov’s request, the pilots brought a Christmas tree on a passing flight, which they decorated here as best they could. Everything was done impromptu, but it turned out great.
We celebrated the New Year in a friendly and friendly atmosphere. Many good wishes were expressed, all our toasts and conversations were permeated by a strong belief in the impending victory over the enemy.
We also remembered our loved ones. My family was already in Moscow at that time. The wife took an active part in the work of the Anti-Fascist Committee of Soviet Women, and the daughter entered the school of intelligence liaison officers, organized by the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
On January 31, 1943 [near Stalingrad] we forced the Nazis to lay down their arms. Together with this group of enemy troops, Field Marshal Paulus was captured with his headquarters, and that evening that day he was brought to our front headquarters.
In the room where Paulus was to be brought, Voronov and I and the translator were present. The room was illuminated by electric light, we were sitting at a small table and, I must say, we were looking forward to this meeting with interest. Finally, the door opened, the duty officer entered, reported to us about the arrival of the field marshal, a prisoner of war, and immediately stood aside and let him into the room.
We saw a tall, thin and rather slender general standing at attention in front of us. We invited him to sit at the table. We had cigars and cigarettes on the table. I offered them to the field marshal and lit a cigarette myself (Nikolai Nikolaevich did not smoke). They offered Paulus a glass of hot tea. He readily agreed.
Our conversation did not have the nature of an interrogation. It was a conversation on current topics, mainly about the situation of prisoners of war soldiers and officers. At the very beginning, the field marshal expressed the hope that we would not force him to answer questions that would lead to him violating his oath. We promised not to touch upon such issues. Towards the end of the conversation, they suggested that Paulus give orders to the troops subordinate to him, who were in the northern group, to stop pointless resistance. He avoided this, citing the fact that he, as a prisoner of war, did not have the right to give such an order. This ended our first meeting. The field marshal was taken to the room reserved for him, where decent conditions were created.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
On May 8, 1945, an act of complete, unconditional surrender of the Nazi armed forces was signed.
The happiness of our soldiers cannot be described. The shooting doesn't stop. Both ours and our allies shoot from all types of weapons. They fire into the air, pouring out their joy. At night we enter Berlin, where our headquarters are located. And suddenly the streets were illuminated with bright light. Lanterns and windows of houses flashed. It was so unexpected that I was confused. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was the end of the darkening. The war is over!
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
The Anglo-Saxons in general and the Americans in particular want, of course, to win the [World War II] war, but they are not going to really fight it, that is, to expose themselves to all the dangers and risks that it brings with it. Russia, on the contrary, is waging war without sparing any effort. That is why at present we [France] are closer to her than to any other power. – Charles de Gaulle "Telegram to General Quatre, to Beirut. London, 01/03/1942"
The snowmobile quickly and comfortably transported me from near Maklakov to the command post. It was necessary to work on the order for the actions of troops after the capture of a strong point. I had already grabbed the pen to sign the order when a high explosive shell exploded outside the window. A shrapnel hit me in the back. A strong blow... The words involuntarily escaped:
Well, it seems that it hit...
I uttered these words with difficulty, I felt that my breath was taken away.
The wound turned out to be serious. By order of the front commander, I was evacuated by plane to Moscow, to a hospital. This was already the third wound during his service in the Red Army.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
Without the Russian armies, Poland would have been destroyed or reduced to a slave state, and the Polish nation itself would have been wiped off the face of the earth. But the valiant Russian armies are liberating Poland from the fascist invaders, and no other forces in the world could have done this. - Winston Churchill
Our soldier is fearless and selfless. You look, he’s wounded, and with the last of his strength he’s crawling with grenades to the fascist bunker. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
The battle for Paris has been successfully completed. But victory [over Nazi Germany] has not yet been conquered. The upcoming military operations will require new efforts from the French army. – Charles de Gaulle
The fighting on the Yartsevo line did not stop in 1941, day or night. While carrying out a task of enormous importance, our units suffered significant losses. When replenishing divisions and forming subunits and units, we experienced great difficulties. On collection point people arrived who previously belonged to different units. Stragglers, lost contact, they got out of the encirclement alone and in small groups. All these people had to be united into a single fighting team. But it was not easy to do this, especially since there was no time for this. People recognized each other in battle. In these conditions, special responsibility fell on the officers - from the platoon commander to the division commander. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
The fighting [in World War II] was hard, people fought heroically. Persistence, mutual assistance and a passionate desire to win helped them. Every second they were threatened with death, but people understood their soldier’s duty... Duty was above all for them! – Konstantin Rokossovsky
The battles in the Volokolamsk region and for Volokolamsk went down in history. Many books have been written about them, and there is no need to repeat them. I will only say one thing: then everyone - from privates to generals - spared neither strength nor life to block the enemy’s path to Moscow. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
The battles in Stalingrad were of a special nature and required great courage, daring, enterprise and initiative from the soldiers and commanders. And above all, feelings of camaraderie, even to the point of self-sacrifice. Suvorov’s commandment “Perish yourself and save your comrade” became a law for everyone here. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
The battles with the Nazis were difficult, our people fought heroically. Perseverance, mutual assistance and a passionate desire to win helped them repel all enemy attacks. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
More than an end to the current [World War II] war, we want an end to the outbreak of all wars. - Franklin Roosevelt
Artillery played a large role in the operation at Stalingrad, so the main attention was paid to carefully working out all the issues of its use and interaction with infantry and tanks. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
My biggest regret is that when the Second World War ended when I was only fifteen years old. In high school, I studied with guys who, having barely reached eighteen, went to the front. Then they - those who remained alive - returned to school to finish their studies, sitting with us at the same desk. I remember being terribly jealous of them. Because there was something in their eyes that no one else had. - Neil Armstrong
The majority of the Tatar population of Crimea was very friendly towards us. We even managed to form armed self-defense companies from the Tatars, whose task was to protect their villages from attacks by partisans hiding in the Yayla mountains.... The Tatars immediately took our side. They saw us as their liberators from the Bolshevik yoke, especially since we respected their religious customs. A Tatar deputation arrived to me, bringing fruits and beautiful fabrics self made for the liberator of the Tatars "Adolf Efendi [Hitler]". - Erich von Manstein
Fighting in the depths of enemy defenses always requires perseverance and dedication. Our soldiers and commanders performed thousands of feats these days. Heroism, initiative, and mutual assistance helped them break into enemy fortifications and strongholds and destroy counterattacking tanks and infantry. – Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
Brothers and sisters! Soldiers of our army and navy! I am addressing you, my friends!
Comrades, Red Army and Red Navy men, commanders and political workers, partisans and partisans! The whole world looks at you as a force capable of destroying the predatory hordes of German invaders. The enslaved peoples of Europe, who fell under the yoke of the German invaders, look at you as their liberators. The great liberation mission has fallen to your lot. Be worthy of this mission! The war you are waging is a war of liberation, a just war. Let the courageous image of our great ancestors - Alexander Nevsky, Dimitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dimitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov - inspire you in this war!
For the complete defeat of the German invaders!
Death to the German occupiers!
Long live our glorious Motherland, its freedom, its independence!
Joseph Stalin
The storm [World War II] has passed, and this unfortunate people [the French] are returning to the swinishness and weak-willedness that once led them to 1940. – Charles de Gaulle
The order for a counterattack was again received. However, the enemy was so superior to us that I took upon myself the responsibility not to launch a counterattack, but to meet the enemy on the defensive. In those wooded, swampy places, the Germans advanced only along large roads. Having covered the line we had chosen on the Lutsk-Rovno highway with Novikov’s division, we transferred the 20th Tank with its artillery regiment, armed with new 85-mm guns, here from the left flank. The chief of staff organized, and Chernyaev quickly and energetically carried out the maneuver.
The guns were placed in ditches near the highway, and some were placed right on the road. The Germans rolled in in a large diamond-shaped group. Motorcyclists are ahead, armored vehicles and tanks are behind them.
We saw from the observation post how impressive enemy forces were advancing towards the 20th Tank. And they saw what happened to them. The artillerymen let the Nazis get closer and opened fire. A monstrous traffic jam formed on the highway from the wreckage of motorcycles and armored vehicles, and the corpses of Nazis. But the advancing enemy troops continued to move forward by inertia, and our guns received more and more new targets.
The enemy suffered heavy losses here and was driven back. General Novikov, using Chernyaev’s luck, moved forward and managed to occupy the high-rise buildings we needed.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
In 1937, i.e. even before the outbreak of the Second World War, I publicly declared that Hitler would break his neck in the East. This was done in the presence of hundreds of people in one of the Warsaw theaters. My statement was sold out on the front pages of Polish newspapers. It was because of him that Hitler put a large reward on my head. – Wolf Messing "About Myself"
In August 1942, a rifle brigade, formed from people convicted of various criminal offenses, arrived to replenish us. Yesterday's prisoners volunteered to go to the front in order to atone for their guilt through military deeds. The government believed the sincerity of their impulse. This is how this brigade appeared at our front. Its fighters quickly got used to the combat situation; We made sure that they can be trusted with serious tasks. Most often, the brigade was used for reconnaissance in force. She fought assertively and forced her opponent to reveal his entire fire system. Excellent snipers appeared in the brigade. Like real hunters, they watched for hours for the Nazis and rarely let them out alive.
The "restless" brigade fought well. For their valor in battle, most of its fighters had their criminal records expunged, and many received orders and medals on their chests.
Life has convinced me that you can trust even those who at one time, for some reason, violated the law. Give such a person the opportunity to atone for his guilt - and you will see that the good will prevail in him. Love for the Motherland, for his people, the desire to regain their trust at all costs will make him a brave fighter.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
In the battles near Moscow, when our units were greatly thinned out, one division arrived from Siberia. It consisted of 15 thousand people. Having entered the battle, this division defeated two German divisions within ten days and prevented the enemy from advancing in its zone. Fighting on the defensive on the outskirts of Moscow, she subsequently did not receive reinforcements, but turned out to be able to go on the offensive and continue it for a long time. – Konstantin Rokossovsky
In battles with the fascists, our soldiers were tempered, acquired the necessary combat experience, learned about weak and strengths enemy. – Konstantin Rokossovsky
There were up to 40 thousand Nazis in a ring with a diameter of approximately 25 kilometers. We closed the path to the south and west quite firmly, but in the north and north-west on the first day of encircling the enemy, only units held tank corps. The commander of the 9th German Army apparently wanted to take advantage of this. On June 27, 1944, he ordered the commander of the 35th Army Corps, von Lützow, to break through at all costs either to Bobruisk or to the north, to Pogorely, to join the 4th Army. Von Lützow decided to destroy all equipment and make his way north. The fascist corps failed to do this.
At the end of the day on June 27, massive explosions and fires began at the enemy’s location: the Nazis destroyed guns, tractors, tanks, and burned cars; they killed livestock and burned all the villages to the ground.
In the Titovka area, the enemy launched up to fifteen counterattacks, trying to break through to the north. Here is the testimony of a participant in the events of the commander of the 108th division, General P.A. Teremov: “... the most furious attack took place in front of the front of the 444th and 407th regiments. The forces of our artillery regiment were mainly concentrated in this area. At least 2 -thousands of enemy soldiers and officers, supported by fairly strong gunfire, were moving towards our positions. The guns opened fire on the attackers from a distance of seven hundred meters, and machine guns were coming from four hundred meters away. In their midst, machine guns were mowing down the enemy lines. over the corpses of their soldiers. They made a breakthrough, regardless of anything... It was a crazy attack... We saw a terrible picture from the observation post. No, there was no trace of military valor in it. in a state of semi-shock. The movement of this huge mass of soldiers was more like the animal tenacity of a herd than of an army determined to impose its will on the enemy at any cost. But the impression was nonetheless impressive.”
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
Twenty-two divisions and many different enemy units were surrounded at Stalingrad. The fascist command doomed hundreds of thousands of its soldiers to death. For several months it forced them to fight without any hope of salvation. Essentially, these people, by the will of the Hitler clique, were doomed to complete destruction. Only the humanity of the Soviet people saved the lives of many German soldiers. Yesterday's enemies now stood before us unarmed and suppressed. In the eyes of some there is detachment and fear, in others there are already glimmers of hope.
Over 91 thousand soldiers and officers were captured. Among the prisoners were 24 generals led by a field marshal. During the liquidation of the boiler, the troops of the Don Front captured 5,762 guns, over 3 thousand mortars, over 12 thousand machine guns, 156,987 rifles, over 10 thousand machine guns, 744 aircraft, 1,666 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 motor vehicles, over 10 thousand motorcycles, 240 tractors , 571 tractors, 3 armored trains, 58 steam locomotives, 1403 carriages, 696 radio stations, 933 telephone sets, 337 various warehouses, 13,787 carts and a lot of other military property.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
In the end, France emerged from the drama [of World War II] maintaining its unity and territorial integrity, remaining the mistress of her destiny and being among the winners. – Charles de Gaulle
In May 1940, difficult times began [in the Netherlands]: German attack, capitulation, occupation and more and more misfortune and humiliation for the Jews. Laws limiting our rights were adopted one after another. Jews were required to wear a yellow star, surrender their bicycles, and were not allowed to ride on trams or in cars, even their own. Jews could visit stores only from three to five and use the services of exclusively Jewish hairdressers. Jews had no right to appear on the street from eight in the evening to six in the morning. They were forbidden to go to theaters, cinemas and other similar institutions, as well as to the swimming pool, tennis court, rowing, and generally engage in any kind of sports in in public places. From eight in the evening, Jews could not sit in their own garden or in the garden of friends. It was forbidden to visit Christians. Studying was allowed only in Jewish schools. So we lived in anticipation of new bans. – Anne Frank
In the continuous battles with the increasingly intensified enemy in Yartsevsky, there were many cases of heroism, both from individuals(Red Army soldiers, officers), and units and units.
Unfortunately, which I have no right to remain silent about, there were many instances of military personnel displaying cowardice, alarmism, desertion and self-mutilation in order to evade battle.
First, the so-called “left-handed people” appeared, who shot themselves in the palm of their left hand or shot off a finger or several fingers on it. When attention was paid to this, “right-handed men” began to appear, doing the same thing, but with right hand. There was self-mutilation by conspiracy: two people mutually shot each other in the arms.
At the same time, a law was passed that provided for the use of capital punishment (execution) for desertion, evasion of battle, “crossbow,” and disobedience to a superior in a combat situation. The interests of the Motherland were above all, and in their name the most severe measures were required, and any relaxation for selfish people became not only unnecessary, but also harmful.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
On the night of July 5, 1943, German sappers were captured in the zone of the 13th and 48th armies, clearing minefields. They showed: the attack was scheduled for three o'clock in the morning, German troops have already taken their starting position on the Kursk Bulge.
There was just over an hour left before this deadline. To believe or not to believe the testimony of prisoners? If they are telling the truth, we must already begin our planned artillery counter-preparation, for which up to half of the combat set of shells and mines was allocated.
There was no time to make a request from Headquarters; the situation was such that delay could lead to severe consequences. The representative of the Headquarters, G.K. Zhukov, who was present and arrived to us the night before, entrusted the solution to this issue to me. Thanks to this, I was able to immediately order the front artillery commander to open fire.
At 2 hours 20 minutes on July 5, the thunder of guns broke the pre-dawn silence that reigned over the steppe, over the positions of both sides, on a vast section of the front south of Orel.
Our artillery opened fire in the zone of the 13th and partially 48th armies, where the main attack was expected, as it turned out, just ten minutes before the start of the artillery barrage planned by the enemy.
Over 500 guns, 460 mortars and 100 M-13 rocket launchers fell on the enemy troops, who were preparing to attack, on their batteries. As a result, the enemy suffered heavy losses, especially in artillery, and his system of command and control was disrupted.
The Nazi units were taken by surprise. The enemy decided that the Soviet side itself had gone on the offensive. This, naturally, confused his plans and brought confusion to the ranks of the German soldiers. It took the enemy about two hours to get his troops in order. Only at 4:30 am he was able to begin artillery preparation. It began with weakened forces and disorganization.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"
In the first days of fighting east of Yartsevo, our observation post was located at the edge of the forest. About a kilometer from the edge of the forest, a rifle unit was positioned in defense. The enemy fired sparse artillery fire. General Camera and I decided to see how the infantry dug in and went towards it. It was then that events unfolded.
Before our eyes, thick chains of German soldiers began to appear from behind the ridge of heights, two kilometers away. They were walking towards us. Following them, up to a dozen tanks appeared.
Our infantry did not flinch and continued to fire machine guns at the advancing Nazis. Howitzer artillery also began to fire.
General Camera said that a 76mm anti-tank battery was about to deploy at the edge of the forest for direct fire. It all started well.
The German infantry lay down. The tanks stopped moving.
And soon enemy aircraft appeared on the horizon... German planes were already diving into our trenches. The fire from enemy guns and mortars intensified. The tanks moved again, catching up with the chains of machine gunners who had already risen. The planes formed a circle and bombed our positions. The infantrymen could not stand it and wavered. First, individuals ran towards the forest, then whole groups. It was difficult and painful to look at them...
But from the crowd of people running loud voices of the soldiers themselves were heard:
Stop! Where are you running? Back!.. Don’t you see, the generals are standing... Back!..
Yes, indeed, Ivan Pavlovich Camera and I stood at our full height, in full view of everyone, realizing that only this could save the situation.
Our battery had already turned around, opened direct fire on the tanks, set fire to several vehicles, and the rest turned back. The offensive was repulsed.
Konstantin Rokossovsky "Soldier's Duty"