Figure 1.--This is Senior Sergeant P.N. Tantovo in the 248th Separate Infantry Brigade with a child from a liberated village west of Kursk in 1943. PPSh41 Sub Machine gun saw extensive combat service during World War II. It was one of the major Soviet infantry weapons and the first fully automatic weapon to be issued to large numbers of infantry troops.

The Germans severely damaged, but failed to destroy the Red Army in the massive Barbarossa summer offensuive (June 1941). Large areas of the Sovit Union, however, were occupied by the Germans. The Soviet Union was composed of 16 constiuent republics, some recently acquired. This included the Baltics, eastern Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, western Russia, and the Caucasus. The largest and most importnt of the different republucs was the vast Russian republic from Leningrad (St. Perersburg) on the Baltic east to Vladisvostock on the Pacific. The Germans occupied large areas of the western Soviet Union, but only limited areas of the Russian ethnic heartland. And after the Soviet Winter Offensive before Moscow much smaller Russian ethnic areas (Decenber 1941). This would be the first area of NAZI-occupied to be liberted and the Red Army troops that drove West were the first to encounter the terrible attricities the Germans were inflicting on occupied peoples, especilly in Eastern Europe. The NAZIs assumed their murderous policies would never be discovered. This of course was just the beginning. Further liberation woiuld only occur only after the second Soviet winter offensive, this time in the south centered on Stalingrad (November 1942). The ensuing Soviet liberation was a more complicated affair than the rest of Europe, including both Russian and non Russian areas and areao fthe Soviet Uniin before the war as wella sas areas taht the Soviet Union invadeded and occupied as a NAZI ally.

Russian Ethnic Areas

Most of the Russian ethnic heartland (the modern Russian Republic) remained in Soviet hands. The Germans launched Operation Barbarossa (June 1941). The first battles were fought in the Baltics, eastern Poland, and Ukraine--all non Russian ethnic areas. The first battles on the fringe of Russian ethnic areas occured about two months later as Soviet resistance stiffened (September 1941). Army Group North reached the outskirts of Leningrad (September 1). Army Group Center finally took Smolensk (September 10). The Germans drove into Russian ethnic areas, approaching Moscow, but were thrown back by the Red Army winter counter-offensive before Moscow (December 1941). This the first liberated areas in the Soviet Union were in Russian ethnic areas west of Moscow. The first liberated city was Kalinin/Tver. There were also liberated areas in southern Russian and the eastern Ukraine. The Germans launched a second summer offensive, this time striking primarily in the south and to a lesser ectent in the notyh around Leningrad. Regaining the Ukraune and moving into Russian areas reaching the Volga as well as non Russian areas in the Cauccasus. Again a Soviet winter counter-offensive, this time centered on Stalingrad (November 1942), stopped the Germans at the Volga. The Red Army again driove the Germansand German allies from Russuan ethnic areas. Thus the rest if the War on the eastern front (1943-44) was largely driving the Germans from non-Russian ethnic areas of the Soviet Union. Russians subjected to brutal NAZI occupation received the Red Army as libertors, much as in the west. The Red Army found evidence of terrible attrocities committed by the Germans.

Non-Russian Ethnic Areas--Soviet Pre-War Areas

The German ocupied areas included many non-Russian areas and ethnic groups, including areas and peoples recently occupied by the Soviets (Finnish Karelia, the Baltics, eastern Poland, and northeastern Romania). Other non-Russian lived in Belarus, Ukranine, the Crimean Peninsula, and the northern Caucauses. These areas included many people opposed to both Soviet control and Communism. In several areas liberation hardly seems like the correct term. The Red Army drive west and reimposition of Soviet control meant deportation to Siberia and Central Asia. Thus the arrival of the Red Army was often seen differently than the advance of the Allied armies in the West. Only the incredible brutality of Hitler and the NAZIs prevented the Ukranians from joining the NAZIs in masse, especially in the Western Ukraine. The details of Generalplan Ost and the NAZI Hunger Plan was unknown at the time in the Ukraine, but NAZI brutality the suppressiuon of Ukrainian nationslists who could have been allies was plain engough. Soviet brutality in the Baltics (1940-41) resulted in many receiving the Germans as liberators. Unknown at the time was NAZI plans to murder much of the Baltic population.

Soviet Agressions and Annexations

The Soviet Union as a NAZI ally invaded and annexed large areas of Eastern Europe. These were non-Russian independent countries. And they committed terrible atrocities, the same kind of horroes committed by the NAZIs, but without the horific murder of Jews. As a result, thr return of the soviets was no liberation for the people involved in these countries. The countries involved included parts or all of Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania. In addition the Soviets demanded the Czrechs ceeded the far eastern part of Czechoslovakia after the War. These areas were annexed and made part of the Soviet Union.

Created: 2:12 AM 4/30/2018
Last updated: 10:59 PM 9/9/2019