Line UMK I. L. Andreeva, O. V. Volobueva. History (6-10)

General history

Russian history

June 22: chronology of events of the first day of the Great Patriotic War

On June 22, 1941, the Soviet Union was unexpectedly attacked by Nazi Germany without a declaration of war. The Great Patriotic War began, a brutal war between the Soviet people and the Wehrmacht troops. This day will forever remain a day of remembrance and mourning for all those who died. Today we remember how the events of the first day of that terrible war developed chronologically.

Peaceful June 41st The first summer month in 1941 turned out to be very warm. People spent their weekends as usual: walked with their children in parks, went to the cinema, watched performances in theaters. The day before, on Saturday the 21st, graduation ceremonies were held for high school students... But already in the evening of that day, the military received the first alarming news: at about nine o'clock in the evening, the German soldier-defector Corporal Alfred Liskov swam across the Bug River and surrendered to the Soviet border guards of the 90th border detachment. An anti-fascist by conviction, he warned the Soviet command about the impending attack, which he himself learned about a few hours ago. Alfred even named the exact time when hostilities began: 4 am, June 22.

On the eve of the war On June 22 at 02:30-03:00 hours, the German Ambassador to the USSR Friedrich-Werner von der Schulenburg in the office of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V.M. Molotov made a statement accusing the Soviet government of pursuing a hostile policy of the USSR towards Germany, as well as that the Union “illegally concentrated all its troops on the border with Germany and brought them to full combat readiness.” “The Fuehrer ordered the German armed forces to counter this threat with all means at their disposal” were Schulenburg’s final words. Around the same time (04:00 am), the USSR Ambassador to Germany received an official note declaring war from the German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. It was a belated procedure; by that time the war had already begun...

Technological lesson maps were developed in accordance with the textbook "History of Russia. Beginning of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century. Grade 10" by O. V. Volobueva, S. P. Karpacheva, P. N. Romanova, the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard for secondary general education and historical and cultural standard. The manual provides the content of the course, determines the sequence of studying the educational material, reflects the planned subject, meta-subject, personal learning outcomes, types of educational and cognitive activities of students, as well as forms of control. The manual will help the teacher organize the educational process and significantly reduce the time spent preparing for the lesson. The manual materials are exemplary (1 lesson - 1 academic hour), the teacher can supplement them at his own discretion, based on the assigned tasks, the level of students' preparation and taking into account the school component.

3 hours 15 minutes At this time, German artillery opened fire along the entire line of the Soviet-German border, while hundreds of aircraft attacked military and civilian targets. Many peaceful cities also came under attack from German aviation, among them Murmansk, Riga, Minsk, Smolensk, Kiev, etc. Already at 03:17, the General Staff of the Red Army received the first news from Sevastopol about the start of bombing of the city by German aviation: back at 03: On 06, the Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet, Rear Admiral Ivan Eliseev, gave the order to open fire in advance on enemy aircraft that violated the airspace of the USSR and were approaching the southern borders of the country.

Battle of Bialystok-Minsk The fighting that began at dawn on the central sector of the Soviet-German front was called the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk, which a week later ended for the Soviet army with a heavy defeat and the loss of the city of Minsk. The news of the start of the war came as a complete surprise to the Soviet leadership and caused obvious confusion. Soviet troops lacked either the experience or organization to effectively resist the well-coordinated German machine. The tank counterattacks of our army, launched on the afternoon of June 22, also did not bring significant success.

The workbook is part of the educational complex on the history of Russia by I.L. Andreeva, L.M. Lyashenko, O.V. Volobueva and others and corresponds to the Federal State Educational Standard for basic general education and the historical and cultural standard. The structure of the workbook corresponds to the structure of the textbook for grade 10 by O.V. Volobueva, S.P. Karpacheva, P.N. Romanova. The notebook contains a variety of tasks: tests, writing an essay, working with a historical map, correlating dates and events, etc. and adapted for training students for the OGE and the Unified State Exam. Special signs mark tasks aimed at developing meta-subject skills (planning activities, identifying various features, comparing, classifying, establishing cause-and-effect relationships, transforming information, etc.) and personal qualities of students.

Image from website mytravelbook.org

Defense of the Brest Fortress That same morning (05:00) the Germans unleashed a hurricane of artillery fire on the Brest Fortress. In the very first minutes of the attack by the Wehrmacht troops, Soviet soldiers suffered heavy losses. After the end of the artillery preparation, the Germans launched an active offensive, and only infantry formations were to storm the fortress, without the participation of tanks and heavy equipment. It took about 8 hours to capture the fortress. The defenders of the fortress held it for almost a month: the Red Army soldiers, divided into separate detachments, repelled attacks and successfully held the defense. But after attracting German aviation, the resistance of Soviet soldiers began to weaken and the Germans managed to finally suppress it.

Molotov's speech At noon, a historic speech by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. took place on the radio. Molotov. It was then that the whole country learned about the German attack on the Soviet Union. During this speech, Molotov for the first time called the war with Germany the “Great Patriotic War.” Addressing the Soviet people, he utters his famous phrase: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours!". I.V. Stalin made a similar appeal only in July, after the military-political situation of the outbreak of the war became clear.

The end of doomsday By the evening of June 22, the depth of advance of German troops ranged from 20 to 70 km. Along almost the entire line of the state border, German troops managed to break through the Soviet defenses and destroy the command and control system. The Wehrmacht troops were inspired by such rapid successes on the very first day of the war. It seemed to them that they would defeat the Soviet Union without any special difficulties. The Red Army faced the more difficult task of regrouping and preventing the Germans from further advancing towards the capital, Moscow. There were still 1417 days of war ahead...

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The workshop is intended for organizing independent educational and cognitive activities of high school students when studying a course on the history of Russia (grade 10). It can also be used to organize educational activities in the classroom as part of a basic history course, as an elective course, a system of lessons at a specialized level of study of the subject, additional classes in preparation for passing the Unified State Exam. This manual helps to expand the scope of the basic history course, create conditions for students to practice certain research skills in working with a historical source, and improve their ability to formulate their own reasoned position.

On June 22, 1941, the pre-dawn silence was suddenly broken by explosions of roaring shells. Thus began the war.

At that time, no one knew that it would go down in human history as the bloodiest. No one guessed that the Soviet people would have to go through inhuman tests, pass and win. To rid the world of fascism, showing everyone that the spirit of a Red Army soldier cannot be broken by the invaders. No one could have imagined that the names of the hero cities would become known to the whole world, that Stalingrad would become a symbol of the fortitude of our people, Leningrad - a symbol of courage, Brest - a symbol of courage. That, along with male warriors, old men, women and children will heroically defend the earth from the fascist plague.

1418 days and nights of war....

Over 26 million human lives...

1. These photographs have one thing in common: they were taken in the first hours and days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

German soldiers cross the state border of the USSR.

Time taken: 06/22/1941

2.Soviet border guards on patrol. The photograph is interesting because it was taken for a newspaper at one of the outposts on the western border of the USSR on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the war.

Time taken: 06/20/1941

3. The first day of the war in Przemysl (today the Polish city of Przemysl) and the first invaders killed on Soviet soil (soldiers of the 101st Light Infantry Division). The city was occupied by German troops on June 22, but was liberated the next morning by Red Army units and border guards and held until June 27.

Time taken: 06/22/1941

4.22 June 1941 near the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav. At that time, the San River was the border between German-occupied Poland and the USSR.

Time taken: 06/22/1941

5.The first Soviet prisoners of war, under the supervision of German soldiers, head west along the bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav.

Time taken: 06/22/1941

6.After the failure of the surprise capture of the Brest Fortress, the Germans had to dig in. The photo was taken on the North or South Island.

Time taken: 06/22/1941

7.The battle of German shock units in the Brest area.

Time taken: June 1941

8. A column of Soviet prisoners crossed the San River along a sapper bridge. Among the prisoners, not only military men are noticeable, but also people in civilian clothes: the Germans detained and captured all men of military age so that they could not be recruited into the enemy army. Area of ​​the city of Yaroslav, June 1941.

Time taken: June 1941

9. Sapper bridge over the San River near the city of Yaroslav, across which German troops are transported.

Time taken: June 1941

10. German soldiers are photographed on a Soviet tank T-34-76, model 1940, abandoned in Lviv.

Filming location: Lvov, Ukraine, USSR

Shooting time: 30.06. 1941

11.German soldiers inspect a T-34-76 tank, model 1940, stuck in a field and abandoned.

Time taken: June 1941

12.Prisoned Soviet women soldiers in Nevel (now Nevelsk district of the Pskov region).

Time taken: 07/26/1941

13.German infantry passes by broken Soviet vehicles.

Time taken: June 1941

14. The Germans inspect Soviet T-34-76 tanks stuck in a water meadow. Floodplain of the Drut River, near Tolochin, Vitebsk region.

Time taken: July 1941

15. Start of German Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers from a field airfield in the USSR.

Time taken: summer 1941

16. Red Army soldiers surrender to SS soldiers.

Time taken: June 1941

17. German light tank Pz.Kpfw destroyed by Soviet artillery. II Ausf. C.

18.German soldiers next to a burning Soviet village.

Time taken: June 1941

19.German soldier during the battle in the Brest Fortress.

20. A meeting at the Leningrad Kirov plant about the beginning of the war.

Time taken: June 1941

Filming location: Leningrad

21.Residents of Leningrad at the display window of LenTASS “Latest News” (Sotsialisticheskaya street, building 14 - “Pravda” printing house).

Time taken: July 1941

Filming location: Leningrad

22.Aerial photograph of the Smolensk-1 airfield taken by German aerial reconnaissance. The airfield with hangars and runways is marked in the upper left part of the image. The image also shows other strategic objects: barracks (bottom left, marked “B”), large bridges, anti-aircraft artillery batteries (vertical line with a circle).

Time taken: 06/23/1941

Filming location: Smolensk

23. Red Army soldiers look at a damaged German tank Pz 35(t) (LT vz.35) of Czech production from the 6th Tank Division of the Wehrmacht. Neighborhoods of the city of Raseiniai (Lithuanian SSR).

Time taken: June 1941

24.Soviet refugees walk past an abandoned BT-7A tank.

Time taken: June 1941

25.German soldiers examine a burning Soviet tank T-34-76 model 1940.

Time taken: June-August 1941

26.Germans on the march at the beginning of the invasion of the USSR.

Time taken: June 1941

27.Soviet field airfield captured by the Germans. An I-16 fighter can be seen shot or dismantled on the ground, a Po-2 biplane and another I-16 are in the background. A photo from a passing German car. Smolensk region, summer 1941.

Time taken: July 1941

28. Artillerymen of the 29th motorized division of the Wehrmacht from an ambush shot Soviet tanks on the side from a 50-mm PaK 38 cannon. The closest one, on the left, is the T-34 tank. Belarus, 1941.

Time taken: summer 1941

29.German soldiers ride along the street along destroyed houses on the outskirts of Smolensk.

Time taken: July 1941

Filming location: Smolensk

30. At the captured Minsk airfield, German soldiers examine the SB bomber (or its training version, the USB, since the nose of the plane is visible, slightly different from the glass nose of the SB). Beginning of July 1941.

The I-15 and I-153 Chaika fighters are visible behind.

Time taken: July 1941

31.Soviet 203-mm howitzer B-4 (model 1931), captured by the Germans. The gun barrel, which was transported separately, is missing. 1941, presumably Belarus. German photo.

Time taken: 1941

32. The city of Demidov, Smolensk region in the first days of the occupation. July 1941.

Time taken: July 1941

33. Damaged Soviet T-26 tank. On the turret, under the hatch cover, a burnt-out tanker is visible.

Time taken: summer 1941

34. Surrendering Soviet soldiers go to the rear of the Germans. Summer 1941. The photo was apparently taken from the back of a truck in a German convoy moving along the road.

Time taken: summer 1941

35. Many crashed Soviet aircraft: I-153 “Chaika” fighters (to the left). In the background are a U-2 and a twin-engine SB bomber. Minsk airfield captured by German troops (a German soldier in the foreground). Beginning of July 1941.

Time taken: July 1941

36.Many broken Soviet Chaika I-153 fighters. Minsk airfield. Beginning of July 1941.

Time taken: July 1941

37.German collection point for Soviet captured equipment and weapons. On the left are Soviet 45mm anti-tank guns, then a large number of Maxim heavy machine guns and DP-27 light machine guns, on the right are 82mm mortars. Summer 1941.

Time taken: summer 1941

38.Dead Soviet soldiers near captured trenches. This is probably the very beginning of the war, the summer of 1941: the soldier in the foreground is wearing a pre-war SSh-36 helmet; later such helmets were extremely rare in the Red Army and mainly in the Far East. It is also clear that his belt has been removed - apparently the work of the German soldiers who captured these positions.

Time taken: summer 1941

39. A German soldier knocks on the house of local residents. The city of Yartsevo, Smolensk region, early July 1941.

Time taken: July 1941

40.The Germans inspect damaged Soviet light tanks. In the foreground is a BT-7, on the far left is a BT-5 (the characteristic wheelhouse of the tank driver), and in the center of the road is a T-26. Smolensk region, summer 1941

Time taken: summer 1941

41.Soviet artillery wagon with a gun. A shell or aerial bomb exploded right in front of the horses. Neighborhoods of the city of Yartsevo, Smolensk region. August 1941.

Filming time: summer 1941

42.Grave of a Soviet soldier. The inscription on the sign in German reads: “Here lies the unknown Russian soldier.” Perhaps the fallen soldier was buried by his own people, so at the bottom of the sign you can make out the word “Here...” in Russian. For some reason the Germans made the inscription in their own language. German photo, place of shooting - presumably Smolensk region, August 1941.

Time taken: summer 1941

43.German armored personnel carrier, German soldiers on it and local residents in Belarus.

Time taken: June 1941

44.Ukrainians welcome the Germans in Western Ukraine.

Time taken: summer 1941

45.Advancing Wehrmacht units in Belarus. The photo was taken from a car window. June 1941

Time taken: June 1941

46.German soldiers in captured Soviet positions. A Soviet 45 mm cannon is visible in the foreground, followed by a Soviet T-34 tank of the 1940 model.

Time taken: 1941

47.German soldiers approach newly destroyed Soviet BT-2 tanks.

Time taken: June-July 1941

48.Smoking break for the crews of tractor tractors “Stalinets”. Photo dated summer 1941

Time taken: summer 1941

49.Soviet girl volunteers are sent to the front. Summer 1941.

Time taken: 1941

50.Soviet girl-private among prisoners of war.

Time taken: summer 1941

51.The machine-gun crew of German rangers fires from an MG-34 machine gun. Summer 1941, Army Group North. In the background, the crew is covering the StuG III self-propelled gun.

Time taken: summer 1941

52. A German column passes a village in the Smolensk region.

Time taken: July 1941

53.Wehrmacht soldiers watch the burning village. The territory of the USSR, the date of the photograph is approximately the summer of 1941.

Time taken: summer 1941

54. Red Army soldier with a captured German light tank of Czech production LT vz.38 (designated Pz.Kpfw.38(t) in the Wehrmacht). About 600 of these tanks took part in military operations against the USSR, which were used in battles until mid-1942.

Time taken: summer 1941

55.SS soldiers at a destroyed bunker on the “Stalin Line.” The defensive structures located on the “old” (as of 1939) border of the USSR were mothballed, but after the invasion of German troops, some fortified areas were used by the Red Army for defense.

June 21, 1941, 13:00. German troops receive the code signal "Dortmund", confirming that the invasion will begin the next day.

Commander of the 2nd Tank Group of Army Group Center Heinz Guderian writes in his diary: “Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they did not suspect anything about our intentions. In the courtyard of the Brest fortress, which was visible from our observation points, they were changing the guards to the sounds of an orchestra. The coastal fortifications along the Western Bug were not occupied by Russian troops."

21:00. Soldiers of the 90th border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained a German serviceman who crossed the border Bug River by swimming. The defector was sent to the detachment headquarters in the city of Vladimir-Volynsky.

23:00. German minelayers stationed in Finnish ports began to mine the exit from the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, Finnish submarines began laying mines off the coast of Estonia.

June 22, 1941, 0:30. The defector was taken to Vladimir-Volynsky. During interrogation, the soldier identified himself Alfred Liskov, soldiers of the 221st Regiment of the 15th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht. He said that at dawn on June 22, the German army would go on the offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German border. The information was transferred to higher command.

At the same time, the transmission of Directive No. 1 of the People's Commissariat of Defense for parts of the western military districts began from Moscow. “During June 22 - 23, 1941, a surprise attack by the Germans on the fronts of LVO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO is possible. An attack may begin with provocative actions,” the directive said. “The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications.”

The units were ordered to be put on combat readiness, to secretly occupy firing points of fortified areas on the state border, and to disperse aircraft to field airfields.

It is not possible to convey the directive to military units before the start of hostilities, as a result of which the measures specified in it are not carried out.

“I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory”

1:00. The commandants of the sections of the 90th border detachment report to the head of the detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “nothing suspicious was noticed on the adjacent side, everything is calm.”

3:05 . A group of 14 German Ju-88 bombers drops 28 magnetic mines near the Kronstadt roadstead.

3:07. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to the Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov: “The fleet's air surveillance, warning and communications system reports the approach of a large number of unknown aircraft from the sea; The fleet is in full combat readiness."

3:10. The NKGB for the Lviv region transmits by telephone message to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR the information obtained during the interrogation of the defector Alfred Liskov.

Mobilization. Columns of fighters are moving to the front. Moscow, June 23, 1941. Anatoly Garanin/RIA Novosti

From the memoirs of the chief of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, I heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant’s office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken..."

3:30. Chief of Staff of the Western District General Klimovsky reports on enemy air raids on the cities of Belarus: Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi and others.

3:33. The chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reports on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine, including Kyiv.

3:40. Commander of the Baltic Military District General Kuznetsov reports on enemy air raids on Riga, Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas and other cities.

“The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled."

3:42. Chief of the General Staff Zhukov is calling Stalin and reports the start of hostilities by Germany. Stalin orders Tymoshenko and Zhukov arrive at the Kremlin, where an emergency meeting of the Politburo is convened.

3:45. The 1st border outpost of the 86th August border detachment was attacked by an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group. Outpost personnel under command Alexandra Sivacheva, having entered into battle, destroys the attackers.

4:00. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to Zhukov: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled. But there is destruction in Sevastopol.”

4:05. The outposts of the 86th August Border Detachment, including the 1st Border Outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev, come under heavy artillery fire, after which the German offensive begins. Border guards, deprived of communication with the command, engage in battle with superior enemy forces.

4:10. The Western and Baltic special military districts report the beginning of hostilities by German troops on the ground.

4:15. The Nazis open massive artillery fire on the Brest Fortress. As a result, warehouses were destroyed, communications were disrupted, and there were a large number of dead and wounded.

4:25. The 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division begins an attack on the Brest Fortress.

The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Residents of the capital on June 22, 1941, during the radio announcement of a government message about the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Evgeniy Khaldey/RIA Novosti

“Protecting not individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe”

4:30. A meeting of Politburo members begins in the Kremlin. Stalin expresses doubt that what happened is the beginning of a war and does not exclude the possibility of a German provocation. People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko and Zhukov insist: this is war.

4:55. In the Brest Fortress, the Nazis manage to capture almost half of the territory. Further progress was stopped by a sudden counterattack by the Red Army.

5:00. German Ambassador to the USSR Count von Schulenburg presented to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov“Note from the German Foreign Office to the Soviet Government,” which states: “The German Government cannot remain indifferent to the serious threat on the eastern border, therefore the Fuehrer has ordered the German Armed Forces to ward off this threat by all means.” An hour after the actual start of hostilities, Germany de jure declares war on the Soviet Union.

5:30. On German radio, the Reich Minister of Propaganda Goebbels reads out the appeal Adolf Hitler to the German people in connection with the start of the war against the Soviet Union: “Now the hour has come when it is necessary to speak out against this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow... At the moment, a military action of the greatest extent and volume is taking place, what the world has ever seen... The task of this front is no longer to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and thereby save everyone.”

7:00. Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs Ribbentrop begins a press conference at which he announces the beginning of hostilities against the USSR: “The German army has invaded the territory of Bolshevik Russia!”

“The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?”

7:15. Stalin approves a directive to repel the attack of Nazi Germany: “The troops with all their might and means attack enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border.” Transfer of “directive No. 2” due to saboteurs’ disruption of communication lines in the western districts. Moscow does not have a clear picture of what is happening in the combat zone.

9:30. It was decided that at noon, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov would address the Soviet people in connection with the outbreak of war.

10:00. From the speaker's memories Yuri Levitan: “They’re calling from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they’re calling from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?” “Enemy planes are over Kiev.” A woman’s crying, excitement: “Is it really war?..” However, no official messages are transmitted until 12:00 Moscow time on June 22.

10:30. From a report from the headquarters of the 45th German division about the battles on the territory of the Brest Fortress: “The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35–40 tanks and armored vehicles. Enemy sniper fire resulted in heavy casualties among officers and non-commissioned officers."

11:00. The Baltic, Western and Kiev special military districts were transformed into the North-Western, Western and South-Western fronts.

“The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours"

12:00. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov reads out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union: “Today at 4 o’clock in the morning, without making any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed us with our cities - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others - with their planes, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Raids by enemy planes and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory... Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repel the bandit attack and expel German troops from the territory of our homeland... The government calls on you, citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally our ranks even more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader, Comrade Stalin.

Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".

12:30. Advanced German units break into the Belarusian city of Grodno.

13:00. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issues a decree “On the mobilization of those liable for military service...”
“Based on Article 49, paragraph “o” of the USSR Constitution, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces mobilization on the territory of the military districts - Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kiev special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North -Caucasian and Transcaucasian.

Those liable for military service who were born from 1905 to 1918 inclusive are subject to mobilization. The first day of mobilization is June 23, 1941.” Despite the fact that the first day of mobilization is June 23, recruiting stations at military registration and enlistment offices begin to operate by the middle of the day on June 22.

13:30. Chief of the General Staff General Zhukov flies to Kyiv as a representative of the newly created Headquarters of the Main Command on the Southwestern Front.

June 22, 1945 meeting of the Normandy-Niemen regiment at Le Bourget airfield (France). From left to right: engineer-captain Nikolai Filippov, major Pierre Matras, engineer-major Sergei Agavelyan, captain De Saint-Marceau Gaston and others. Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. RIA Novosti/RIA Novosti

14:00. The Brest Fortress is completely surrounded by German troops. Soviet units blocked in the citadel continue to offer fierce resistance.

14:05. Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano states: “In view of the current situation, due to the fact that Germany declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and as a member of the Tripartite Pact, also declares war on the Soviet Union from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory.”

14:10. The 1st border outpost of Alexander Sivachev has been fighting for more than 10 hours. The border guards, who had only small arms and grenades, destroyed up to 60 Nazis and burned three tanks. The wounded commander of the outpost continued to command the battle.

15:00. From the notes of the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal von Bock: “The question of whether the Russians are carrying out a systematic withdrawal remains open. There is now plenty of evidence both for and against this.

What is surprising is that nowhere is any significant work of their artillery visible. Heavy artillery fire is conducted only in the northwest of Grodno, where the VIII Army Corps is advancing. Apparently, our air force has an overwhelming superiority over Russian aviation."

Of the 485 border posts attacked, not a single one withdrew without orders.

16:00. After a 12-hour battle, the Nazis took the positions of the 1st border outpost. This became possible only after all the border guards who defended it died. The head of the outpost, Alexander Sivachev, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

The feat of the outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev was one of hundreds committed by border guards in the first hours and days of the war. On June 22, 1941, the state border of the USSR from the Barents to the Black Sea was guarded by 666 border outposts, 485 of which were attacked on the very first day of the war. Not one of the 485 outposts attacked on June 22 withdrew without orders.

Hitler's command allotted 20 minutes to break the resistance of the border guards. 257 Soviet border posts held their defense from several hours to one day. More than one day - 20, more than two days - 16, more than three days - 20, more than four and five days - 43, from seven to nine days - 4, more than eleven days - 51, more than twelve days - 55, more than 15 days - 51 outpost. Forty-five outposts fought for up to two months.

06/22/1941 Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The workers of Leningrad listen to a message about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Boris Losin/RIA Novosti

Of the 19,600 border guards who met the Nazis on June 22 in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, more than 16,000 died in the first days of the war.

17:00. Hitler's units manage to occupy the southwestern part of the Brest Fortress, the northeast remained under the control of Soviet troops. Stubborn battles for the fortress will continue for weeks.

“The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland”

18:00. The Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow and Kolomna, addresses the believers with a message: “Fascist robbers attacked our homeland. Trampling all kinds of agreements and promises, they suddenly fell upon us, and now the blood of peaceful citizens is already irrigating our native land... Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not abandon her people even now... The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland.”

19:00. From the notes of the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces, Colonel General Franz Halder: “All armies, except the 11th Army of Army Group South in Romania, went on the offensive according to plan. The offensive of our troops, apparently, came as a complete tactical surprise to the enemy along the entire front. Border bridges across the Bug and other rivers were everywhere captured by our troops without a fight and in complete safety. The complete surprise of our offensive for the enemy is evidenced by the fact that the units were taken by surprise in a barracks arrangement, the planes were parked at airfields, covered with tarpaulins, and the advanced units, suddenly attacked by our troops, asked the command about what to do... The Air Force command reported, that today 850 enemy aircraft have been destroyed, including entire squadrons of bombers, which, having taken off without fighter cover, were attacked by our fighters and destroyed.”

20:00. Directive No. 3 of the People's Commissariat of Defense was approved, ordering Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive with the task of defeating Hitler's troops on the territory of the USSR with further advance into enemy territory. The directive ordered the capture of the Polish city of Lublin by the end of June 24.

06/22/1941 Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. June 22, 1941 Nurses provide assistance to the first wounded after a Nazi air raid near Chisinau. Georgy Zelma/RIA Novosti

“We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can.”

21:00. Summary of the Red Army High Command for June 22: “At dawn on June 22, 1941, regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced units of the field troops of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristinopol directions did the enemy manage to achieve minor tactical successes and occupy the towns of Kalwaria, Stoyanuv and Tsekhanovets (the first two are 15 km and the last 10 km from the border).

Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and populated areas, but everywhere they met decisive resistance from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy aircraft.”

23:00. Message from the Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill to the British people in connection with the German attack on the USSR: “At 4 o'clock this morning Hitler attacked Russia. All his usual formalities of treachery were observed with scrupulous precision... suddenly, without a declaration of war, even without an ultimatum, German bombs fell from the sky on Russian cities, German troops violated Russian borders, and an hour later the German ambassador, who just the day before had generously lavished his assurances on the Russians in friendship and almost an alliance, paid a visit to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and declared that Russia and Germany were at war...

No one has been more staunchly opposed to communism over the past 25 years than I have been. I will not take back a single word that was said about him. But all this pales in comparison to the spectacle unfolding now.

The past, with its crimes, follies and tragedies, recedes. I see Russian soldiers as they stand on the border of their native land and guard the fields that their fathers have plowed since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes; their mothers and wives pray - oh, yes, because at such a time everyone prays for the preservation of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, patron, their protectors...

We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can. We must call on all our friends and allies in all parts of the world to pursue a similar course and pursue it as steadfastly and steadily as we will, to the very end.”

June 22 came to an end. There were still 1,417 days ahead of the worst war in human history.

22nd of June. An ordinary Sunday day. More than 200 million citizens are planning how to spend their day off: going on a visit, taking their children to the zoo, some are in a hurry to go to football, others are on a date. Soon they will become heroes and victims of war, killed and wounded, soldiers and refugees, blockade survivors and concentration camp prisoners, partisans, prisoners of war, orphans, and disabled people. Winners and veterans of the Great Patriotic War. But none of them knows about it yet.

In 1941 The Soviet Union stood quite firmly on its feet - industrialization and collectivization bore fruit, industry developed - out of ten tractors produced in the world, four were Soviet-made. The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station and Magnitka have been built, the army is being re-equipped - the famous T-34 tank, Yak-1, MIG-3 fighters, Il-2 attack aircraft, Pe-2 bomber have already entered service with the Red Army. The situation in the world is turbulent, but the Soviet people are confident that “the armor is strong and our tanks are fast.” In addition, two years ago, after three-hour negotiations in Moscow, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov and the German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop signed a non-aggression pact for a period of 10 years.

After the abnormally cold winter of 1940–1941. A rather warm summer has arrived in Moscow. There are amusement rides in Gorky Park, and football matches are held at the Dynamo Stadium. The Mosfilm film studio is preparing the main premiere for the summer of 1941 - they have just completed editing of the lyrical comedy "Hearts of Four", which will be released only in 1945. Starring the favorite of Joseph Stalin and all Soviet moviegoers, actress Valentina Serova.

June, 1941 Astrakhan. Near the village of Lineiny

1941 Astrakhan. On the Caspian Sea

July 1, 1940. Scene from the film “My Love” directed by Vladimir Korsh-Sablin. In the center is actress Lidiya Smirnova as Shurochka

April, 1941 A peasant welcomes the first Soviet tractor

July 12, 1940 Residents of Uzbekistan work on the construction of a section of the Great Fergana Canal

August 9, 1940 Belorussian SSR. Collective farmers of the village of Tonezh, Turov district, Polesie region, on a walk after a hard day

May 05, 1941 Kliment Voroshilov, Mikhail Kalinin, Anastas Mikoyan, Andrei Andreev, Alexander Shcherbakov, Georgy Malenkov, Semyon Timoshenko, Georgy Zhukov, Andrei Eremenko, Semyon Budyonny, Nikolai Bulganin, Lazar Kaganovich and others at the presidium of the ceremonial meeting dedicated to the graduation commanders who graduated from military academies. Joseph Stalin speaking

June 1, 1940 Civil defense classes in the village of Dikanka. Ukraine, Poltava region

In the spring and summer of 1941, Soviet military exercises began to be held increasingly on the western borders of the USSR. War is already in full swing in Europe. Rumors reach the Soviet leadership that Germany could attack at any moment. But such messages are often ignored, since the non-aggression pact was signed only recently.
August 20, 1940 Villagers talk with tank crews during military exercises

"Higher, higher and higher
We strive for the flight of our birds,
And every propeller breathes
Peace of our borders."

Soviet song, better known as "March of the Aviators"

June 1, 1941. Suspended under the wing of a TB-3 aircraft is an I-16 fighter, under the wing of which is a high-explosive bomb weighing 250 kg

September 28, 1939 People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop shake hands after signing the joint Soviet-German Treaty “On Friendship and Borders”

Field Marshal W. Keitel, Colonel General W. von Brauchitsch, A. Hitler, Colonel General F. Halder (from left to right in the foreground) near the table with a map during a meeting of the General Staff. In 1940, Adolf Hitler signed Prime Directive 21, codenamed Barbarossa.

On June 17, 1941, V. N. Merkulov sent an intelligence message received by the NKGB of the USSR from Berlin to I. V. Stalin and V. M. Molotov:

“A source working at the headquarters of the German air force reports:
1. All German military measures to prepare an armed uprising against the USSR are completely completed, and a strike can be expected at any time.

2. In the circles of the aviation headquarters, the TASS message of June 6 was perceived very ironically. They emphasize that this statement cannot have any significance...”

There is a resolution (regarding point 2): “To Comrade Merkulov. You can send your “source” from the headquarters of the German aviation to the fucking mother. This is not a “source”, but a disinformer. I. Stalin"

July 1, 1940 Marshal Semyon Timoshenko (right), Army General Georgy Zhukov (left) and Army General Kirill Meretskov (2nd left) during exercises in the 99th Infantry Division of the Kyiv Special Military District

June 21, 21:00

At the Sokal commandant's office, a German soldier, Corporal Alfred Liskoff, was detained after swimming across the Bug River.

From the testimony of the head of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky:“Due to the fact that the translators in the detachment are weak, I called a German language teacher from the city ... and Liskof again repeated the same thing, that is, that the Germans were preparing to attack the USSR at dawn on June 22, 1941 ... Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, I heard in the direction Ustilug (first commandant's office) heavy artillery fire. I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately started calling the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken.”

21:30

In Moscow, a conversation took place between the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov and the German Ambassador Schulenburg. Molotov protested against numerous violations of the USSR border by German planes. Schulenburg avoided answering.

From the memoirs of Corporal Hans Teuchler:“At 10 p.m. we were lined up and the Fuhrer’s order was read out. Finally they told us straight out why we were here. Not at all for a rush to Persia to punish the British with the permission of the Russians. And not in order to lull the vigilance of the British, and then quickly transfer troops to the English Channel and land in England. No. We, soldiers of the Great Reich, are facing a war with the Soviet Union itself. But there is no force that could restrain the movement of our armies. For the Russians this will be a real war, for us it will be just Victory. We will pray for her."

June 22, 00:30

Directive No. 1 was sent to the districts, containing an order to secretly occupy firing points on the border, not to succumb to provocations and to put troops on combat readiness.

From the memoirs of German General Heinz Guderian:“On the fateful day of June 22 at 2:10 a.m. I went to the group’s command post...
At 3:15 a.m. our artillery preparation began.
At 3 hours 40 minutes - the first raid of our dive bombers.
At 4:15 a.m. the crossing of the Bug began.”

03:07

The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Oktyabrsky, called the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army Georgy Zhukov and reported that a large number of unknown aircraft were approaching from the sea; the fleet is in full combat readiness. The admiral suggested meeting them with naval air defense fire. He was given the instruction: “Go ahead and report to your people’s commissar.”

03:30

The Chief of Staff of the Western District, Major General Vladimir Klimovskikh, reported on a German air raid on the cities of Belarus. Three minutes later, the chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reported on an air raid on Ukrainian cities. At 03:40, the commander of the Baltic district, General Kuznetsov, announced a raid on Kaunas and other cities.

From the memoirs of I. I. Geibo, deputy regiment commander of the 46th IAP, Western Military District:“...I felt a chill in my chest. In front of me are four twin-engine bombers with black crosses on the wings. I even bit my lip. But these are “Junkers”! German Ju-88 bombers! What to do?.. Another thought arose: “Today is Sunday, and the Germans don’t have training flights on Sundays.” So it's war? Yes, war!

03:40

People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko asks Zhukov to report to Stalin about the start of hostilities. Stalin responded by ordering all Politburo members to gather in the Kremlin. At this time, Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovich, Bobruisk, Volkovysk, Kiev, Zhitomir, Sevastopol, Riga, Vindava, Libava, Siauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius and many other cities were bombed.

From the memoirs of Alevtina Kotik, born in 1925. (Lithuania):“I woke up from hitting my head on the bed - the ground was shaking from falling bombs. I ran to my parents. Dad said: “The war has begun. We need to get out of here!” We didn’t know who the war started with, we didn’t think about it, it was just very scary. Dad was a military man, and therefore he was able to call a car for us, which took us to the train station. They only took clothes with them. All furniture and household utensils remained. First we traveled on a freight train. I remember how my mother covered my brother and me with her body, then we boarded a passenger train. We learned that there was a war with Germany around 12 noon from people we met. Near the city of Siauliai we saw a large number of wounded, stretchers, and doctors.”

At the same time, the Bialystok-Minsk battle began, as a result of which the main forces of the Soviet Western Front were surrounded and defeated. German troops captured a significant part of Belarus and advanced to a depth of over 300 km. On the part of the Soviet Union in the Bialystok and Minsk “cauldrons”, 11 rifle, 2 cavalry, 6 tank and 4 motorized divisions were destroyed, 3 corps commanders and 2 division commanders were killed, 2 corps commanders and 6 division commanders, another 1 corps commander and 2 commanders were captured divisions were missing.

04:10

The Western and Baltic special districts reported the start of hostilities by German troops on land.

04:12

German bombers appeared over Sevastopol. The enemy raid was repulsed, and an attempt to strike the ships was thwarted, but residential buildings and warehouses in the city were damaged.

From the memoirs of Sevastopol resident Anatoly Marsanov:“I was only five years old then... The only thing that remains in my memory: on the night of June 22, parachutes appeared in the sky. It became light, I remember, the whole city was illuminated, everyone was running, so joyful... They shouted: “Parachuters! Paratroopers!”... They don’t know that these are mines. And they gasped - one in the bay, the other below us on the street, so many people were killed!”

04:15

The defense of the Brest Fortress began. With their first attack, at 04:55, the Germans occupied almost half of the fortress.

From the memoirs of the defender of the Brest Fortress Pyotr Kotelnikov, born in 1929:“In the morning we were awakened by a strong blow. It broke through the roof. I was stunned. I saw the wounded and killed and realized: this is no longer a training exercise, but a war. Most of the soldiers in our barracks died in the first seconds. I followed the adults and rushed to arms, but they didn’t give me a rifle. Then I, along with one of the Red Army soldiers, rushed to put out the fire in the clothing warehouse. Then he and the soldiers moved to the basements of the barracks of the neighboring 333rd Infantry Regiment... We helped the wounded, carried them ammunition, food, water. Through the western wing they made their way to the river at night to get water, and returned back.”

05:00

Moscow time, Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop summoned Soviet diplomats to his office. When they arrived, he informed them about the beginning of the war. The last thing he said to the ambassadors was: “Tell Moscow that I was against the attack.” After this, the telephones in the embassy did not work, and the building itself was surrounded by SS detachments.

5:30

Schulenburg officially informed Molotov about the start of the war between Germany and the USSR, reading a note: “Bolshevik Moscow is ready to strike in the back of National Socialist Germany, which is fighting for existence. The German government cannot remain indifferent to the serious threat on its eastern border. Therefore, the Fuhrer gave the order to the German armed forces to ward off this threat by all means and means..."

From Molotov's memoirs:“The advisor to the German ambassador, Hilger, shed tears when he handed over the note.”

From Hilger's memoirs:“He gave vent to his indignation by declaring that Germany had attacked a country with which it had a non-aggression pact. This has no precedent in history. The reason given by the German side is an empty pretext... Molotov concluded his angry speech with the words: “We have not given any grounds for this.”

07:15

Directive No. 2 was issued, ordering the USSR troops to destroy enemy forces in areas of border violation, destroy enemy aircraft, and also “bomb Koenigsberg and Memel” (modern Kaliningrad and Klaipeda). The USSR Air Force was allowed to enter “the depth of German territory up to 100–150 km.” At the same time, the first counterattack of Soviet troops took place near the Lithuanian town of Alytus.

09:00

At 7:00 Berlin time, Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels read on the radio Adolf Hitler’s appeal to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against the Soviet Union: “...Today I have decided again to put the fate and future of the German Reich and our people in our hands soldier. May the Lord help us in this struggle!”

09:30

The Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Mikhail Kalinin, signed a number of decrees, including the decree on the introduction of martial law, on the formation of the Headquarters of the Main Command, on military tribunals and on general mobilization, to which all those liable for military service from 1905 to 1918 were subject to birth.

10:00

German bombers raided Kyiv and its suburbs. A railway station, the Bolshevik plant, an aircraft plant, power plants, military airfields, and residential buildings were bombed. According to official data, 25 people died as a result of the bombing; according to unofficial data, there were many more casualties. However, peaceful life continued in the capital of Ukraine for several more days. Only the opening of the stadium, scheduled for June 22, was canceled; on that day, the football match Dynamo (Kyiv) - CSKA was supposed to take place here.

12:15

Molotov gave a speech on the radio about the beginning of the war, where he for the first time called it patriotic. Also in this speech, for the first time, the phrase that became the main slogan of the war was heard: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours".

From Molotov's address:“This unheard-of attack on our country is a treachery unparalleled in the history of civilized peoples... This war was imposed on us not by the German people, not by the German workers, peasants and intelligentsia, whose suffering we well understand, but by a clique of bloodthirsty fascist rulers of Germany who enslaved the French and Czechs , Poles, Serbs, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other peoples... This is not the first time our people have to deal with an attacking arrogant enemy. At one time, our people responded to Napoleon’s campaign in Russia with a Patriotic War and Napoleon was defeated and came to his collapse. The same will happen to the arrogant Hitler, who announced a new campaign against our country. The Red Army and all our people will once again wage a victorious patriotic war for the Motherland, for honor, for freedom.”

Workers of Leningrad listen to a message about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union

From the memoirs of Dmitry Savelyev, Novokuznetsk: “We gathered at the poles with loudspeakers. We listened carefully to Molotov’s speech. Many felt a certain sense of wariness. After this, the streets began to empty, and after a while food disappeared from the stores. They weren’t bought up - the supply was just reduced... People were not afraid, but rather focused, doing everything the government told them.”

After some time, the text of Molotov’s speech was repeated by the famous announcer Yuri Levitan. Thanks to his soulful voice and the fact that Levitan read the front-line reports of the Soviet Information Bureau throughout the war, there is an opinion that he was the first to read the message about the beginning of the war on the radio. Even Marshals Zhukov and Rokossovsky thought so, as they wrote about in their memoirs.

Moscow. Announcer Yuri Levitan during filming in the studio

From the memoirs of speaker Yuri Levitan:“When we, the announcers, were called to the radio early in the morning, the calls had already begun to ring out. They call from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they call from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why don’t you broadcast anything on the radio?”, “Enemy planes are over Kiev.” A woman’s crying, excitement - “is it really war”?.. And then I remember - I turned on the microphone. In all cases, I remember that I was worried only internally, only internally worried. But here, when I said the word “Moscow speaks,” I feel that I can’t speak further - there’s a lump stuck in my throat. They are already knocking from the control room - “Why are you silent? Continue!” He clenched his fists and continued: “Citizens and women of the Soviet Union...”

Stalin addressed the Soviet people only on July 3, 12 days after the start of the war. Historians are still arguing why he remained silent for so long. Here is how Vyacheslav Molotov explained this fact:“Why me and not Stalin? He didn't want to go first. There needs to be a clearer picture, what tone and what approach... He said that he would wait a few days and speak when the situation on the fronts became clearer.”

And here is what Marshal Zhukov wrote about this:"AND. V. Stalin was a strong-willed man and, as they say, “not one of the cowardly dozen.” I saw him confused only once. It was at dawn on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked our country. During the first day, he could not truly pull himself together and firmly direct events. The shock produced on J.V. Stalin by the enemy’s attack was so strong that the sound of his voice even lowered, and his orders for organizing armed struggle did not always correspond to the prevailing situation.”

From Stalin's radio speech on July 3, 1941:“The war with Nazi Germany cannot be considered an ordinary war... Our war for the freedom of our Fatherland will merge with the struggle of the peoples of Europe and America for their independence, for democratic freedoms.”

12:30

At the same time, German troops entered Grodno. A few minutes later, the bombing of Minsk, Kyiv, Sevastopol and other cities began again.

From the memoirs of Ninel Karpova, born in 1931. (Kharovsk, Vologda region):“We listened to the message about the beginning of the war from the loudspeaker at the House of Defense. There were a lot of people crowding there. I wasn’t upset, on the contrary, I was proud: my father will defend the Motherland... In general, people were not afraid. Yes, the women, of course, were upset and cried. But there was no panic. Everyone was confident that we would quickly defeat the Germans. The men said: “Yes, the Germans will flee from us!”

Recruitment centers have opened at military registration and enlistment offices. In Moscow, Leningrad and other cities there were queues.

From the memoirs of Dina Belykh, born in 1936. (Kushva, Sverdlovsk region):“All the men were immediately called up, including my dad. Dad hugged mom, they both cried, kissed... I remember how I grabbed him by the tarpaulin boots and shouted: “Dad, don’t leave! They will kill you there, they will kill you!” When he got on the train, my mother took me in her arms, we were both sobbing, she whispered through her tears: “Wave to dad...” What the hell, I was sobbing so much, I couldn’t move my hand. We never saw him, our breadwinner, again.”

Calculations and experience of the mobilization carried out showed that in order to transfer the army and navy to wartime, it was necessary to call up 4.9 million people. However, when mobilization was announced, conscripts of 14 ages were called up, the total number of which was about 10 million people, that is, almost 5.1 million people more than what was required.

The first day of mobilization into the Red Army. Volunteers at the Oktyabrsky military registration and enlistment office

The conscription of such a mass of people was not caused by military necessity and introduced disorganization into the national economy and anxiety among the masses. Without realizing this, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.I. Kulik proposed to the government to additionally call up older people (born 1895 - 1904), the total number of which was 6.8 million people.

13:15

To capture the Brest Fortress, the Germans brought into action new forces of the 133rd Infantry Regiment on the Southern and Western Islands, but this “brought no changes in the situation.” The Brest Fortress continued to hold its defense. Fritz Schlieper's 45th Infantry Division was sent to this section of the front. It was decided that the Brest Fortress would be taken only by infantry - without tanks. No more than eight hours were allotted to capture the fortress.

From a report to the headquarters of the 45th Infantry Division by Fritz Schlieper:“The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the Citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35–40 tanks and armored vehicles. The fire of Russian snipers led to heavy losses among officers and non-commissioned officers."

14:30

Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano told the Soviet Ambassador in Rome Gorelkin that Italy declared war on the USSR “from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory.”

From Ciano's diaries:“He perceives my message with rather great indifference, but this is in his character. The message is very short, without unnecessary words. The conversation lasted two minutes.”

15:00

The pilots of the German bombers reported that they had nothing left to bomb; all airfields, barracks and concentrations of armored vehicles had been destroyed.

From the memoirs of Air Marshal, Hero of the Soviet Union G.V. Zimina:“On June 22, 1941, large groups of fascist bombers attacked 66 of our airfields, where the main aviation forces of the western border districts were based. First of all, the airfields on which aviation regiments armed with aircraft of new designs were based were subjected to air strikes... As a result of attacks on airfields and in fierce air battles, the enemy managed to destroy up to 1,200 aircraft, including 800 at the airfields.”

16:30

Stalin left the Kremlin for the Near Dacha. Even members of the Politburo are not allowed to see the leader until the end of the day.

From the memoirs of Politburo member Nikita Khrushchev:
“Beria said the following: when the war began, members of the Politburo gathered at Stalin’s place. I don’t know if it was everyone or just a certain group that most often gathered at Stalin’s. Stalin was morally completely depressed and made the following statement: “The war has begun, it is developing catastrophically. Lenin left us a proletarian Soviet state, and we screwed it up.” That's literally how I put it.
“I,” he said, “resign from leadership,” and left. He left, got into the car and drove to a nearby dacha.”

Some historians, citing the recollections of other participants in the events, claim that this conversation took place a day later. But the fact that in the first days of the war Stalin was confused and did not know how to act is confirmed by many witnesses.

18:30

The commander of the 4th Army, Ludwig Kübler, gives the order to “withdraw his own forces” from the Brest Fortress. This is one of the first orders for the retreat of German troops.

19:00

The commander of Army Group Center, General Fedor von Bock, gives the order to stop the executions of Soviet prisoners of war. After that, they were kept in fields hastily fenced with barbed wire. This is how the first prisoner of war camps appeared.

From the notes of SS Brigadeführer G. Keppler, commander of the Der Fuhrer regiment from the SS division Das Reich:“Rich trophies and a large number of prisoners were in the hands of our regiment, among whom there were many civilians, even women and girls, the Russians forced them to defend themselves with weapons in their hands, and they fought bravely together with the Red Army.”

23:00

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a radio address in which he stated that England “will provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help it can.”

Speech by Winston Churchill on BBC radio:“Over the past 25 years, no one has been a more consistent opponent of communism than me. I won't take back a single word I said about him. But all this pales in comparison to the spectacle now unfolding. The past with its crimes, follies and tragedies disappears... I see Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields that their fathers have cultivated since time immemorial... I see how the vile Nazi war machine is approaching all this.”

23:50

The Main Military Council of the Red Army sent out Directive No. 3, ordering counterattacks on enemy groups on June 23.

Text: Information center of the Kommersant Publishing House, Tatyana Mishanina, Artem Galustyan
Video: Dmitry Shelkovnikov, Alexey Koshel
Photo: TASS, RIA Novosti, Ogonyok, Dmitry Kuchev
Design, programming and layout: Anton Zhukov, Alexey Shabrov
Kim Voronin
Commissioning Editor: Artem Galustyan

On Sunday, June 22, 1941, at dawn, the troops of Nazi Germany, without declaring war, suddenly attacked the entire western border of the Soviet Union and bombed Soviet cities and military formations.

Operation Barbarossa - a plan for the invasion and capture of the USSR - was developed by German generals under the leadership of Paulus on July 21, 1940. The operation was based on waging a “lightning war” - “blitzkrieg”. Hitler's strategists planned to defeat the Soviet Union in a short campaign and end the war by the fall of 1941. They hoped to quickly capture the most important industrial and political centers and annex the entire European part of the Union to Germany. The rulers of Nazi Germany were convinced of the fragility of the Soviet state and had no doubt about a quick victory, polk.inter.ua reports.

And so on June 22, 1941 at 3:00 (Moscow time) German aircraft invaded the airspace of the Soviet Union; fascist troops launched a powerful artillery strike on the border fortified areas. Thousands of tons of deadly cargo fell on airfields, railways, naval bases, communication lines, warehouses for military equipment and ammunition, and on sleeping Soviet cities. Riga, Kaunas, Vilnius, Grodno, Zhitomir, Kyiv, Sevastopol and many other cities were bombed by aviation; There was artillery shelling of border fortifications and areas of deployment of Soviet troops near the border from the Baltic to the Black Sea. At 5-6 o'clock in the morning, German troops crossed the state border of the USSR and launched an offensive into the interior of the territory.

Kyiv began to be bombed at about 4 a.m.: factories, military airfields, bridges. During the first raid, 25 people were killed and 76 were injured. By 10 am, the railway station, the Bolshevik plant, military airfields, power plants and an aircraft factory were destroyed.

Hurricane artillery fire was opened on the Brest Fortress at dawn, taking the garrison by surprise. As a result, warehouses were destroyed, the water supply was damaged, communications were interrupted, and major losses were inflicted on the garrison. At 3:23 the assault began. Up to one and a half thousand infantry from three battalions of the 45th Infantry Division attacked the fortress directly. By 2 p.m., the Brest Fortress was completely surrounded by German troops, after an almost 8-hour battle, the 1st border outpost of Alexander Sivachev surrendered, 485 of the 666 Soviet outposts were captured, but not a single one of them retreated without an order. Of the 19,600 border guards who met the Nazis on June 22 in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, more than 16,000 died in the first days of the war.

In the morning, German aircraft dealt crushing blows to USSR air bases. During the first hours of the war, 1,200 aircraft were destroyed at 66 bases, most of them - more than 800 - right on the ground. At the same time, the first German aircraft was destroyed in an air battle in the first hour of the war.

Meanwhile, at 12 o’clock, People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs V. Molotov makes a speech on Soviet radio about the beginning of the war: “Today at 4 o’clock in the morning, without making any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed our cities from their planes - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Raids by enemy planes and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory... Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government gave an order to our troops to repel the predatory attack and expel German troops from the territory of our homeland...

"Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours."

Already by 17:00, Germany unleashed a blow of unprecedented power on the territory of the Soviet Union: more than four thousand tanks, 47 thousand guns and mortars, up to 190 divisions, 5 million infantrymen. During the first day of the war, Wehrmacht troops advanced along the entire border 50-60 km deep into the territory of the USSR.

Despite the most difficult conditions of military operations, the defenders of the Fatherland showed courage and heroism from the very first days of the war. The retreat of Soviet troops was accompanied by fierce fighting.

Thus ended the first day of the Great Patriotic War. And there were still 1417 days and nights of the most terrible war in history...