Text | Lanzi Ji
Ed Lanzi Ji
In other words, today's Moscow is brightly lit and thriving, and the elegant European-style architecture is even more desirable.
But hundreds of years ago, the scene there was not beautiful, but it was magnificent......
The partition of Poland in 1939
According to historical records, more than 1.7 million Viking soldiers launched an offensive against the Polish army, which had only 600,000 troops, and together with massive aerial bombardment, it caused severe damage to key Polish cities.
In fact, the Polish government's hopes for a final revolt in the Pripet marshes were shattered by the intervention of Russian troops, which undoubtedly dealt a major blow to the entire Polish resistance.
The German invasion of Poland will forever be regarded as one of the most tragic events in the history of World War II, and a reminder to remain vigilant to avoid a similar tragedy again.
Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940
At that time, when the world was shrouded in the shadow of World War II, in 1939, the Soviet Union and Finland fought a full-scale war that was rare in a world war based on rigorous logic.
And this war finally ended with the signing of the Moscow Treaty.
In the face of the powerful Soviet army, the Finnish people struggled to maintain their country's independence with their own tenacity and perseverance and the participation of British and French volunteers.
According to the author, the Soviet military operation also meant that they controlled the area along the railway from St. Petersburg to Murmansk, further enhancing their strategic position.
The Soviet Union's fear of Germany and Japan led it to decide to challenge Finland, which had been independent for 22 years, and brazenly provoked the Great Patriotic War. In November 1939, the Soviet Union crossed the border and invaded Finland directly, and the course of the war changed rapidly.
However, with the support of the independentist Finnish army and volunteers from France and England, the war did not last long.
After several rounds of negotiations, an agreement was reached in March 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Treaty, which ended the dispute in Finland.
On an international level, the Soviet Union's occupation of a large area of territory around Leningrad marked a strong guarantee of the railway line from Leningrad to Murmansk, and it was also a remarkable result of its active offensive.
Annexation of the USSR in 1939-1940
The Soviet defense line gradually collapsed under the iron heel of the Nazis, and the German military power was about to threaten the vast eastern region, and the situation was precarious.
In 1940, after Hitler made a request to the Soviet Union for eastward expansion, the Soviet side immediately took action to strengthen the defensive line. However, in 1941, Germany launched a lightning offensive, and the Soviet defense line was unable to withstand the German front.
By June 1940, the Soviet Union had successfully built a defensive system to prevent the Germans from moving further eastward.
However, the battlefield changed rapidly, and in June 1941, Germany brazenly launched an attack on the Soviet Union, and the Soviet defense line collapsed instantly, and the German army was able to drive straight in.
The devastation caused by the war is staggering, with nearly three million people killed in Ukraine alone, according to historical records, in what is undoubtedly one of the worst humanitarian disasters in history.
To tell the truth, peace is of paramount importance to the people of all nationalities in the world, and only when the international community joins hands can the beautiful vision of peace and development be truly realized.
The wealth of the Soviet Union controlled by Germany in 1942
The German conquest of the Soviet Union during World War II led to a massive loss of resources and labor abroad, as well as a surge of resistance at home.
According to historical sources, hundreds of thousands of Russians were forced to become manual laborers in German enterprises.
Due to the loss of hardware equipment such as machines, as well as the destruction of infrastructure such as railways and bridges, the production capacity of eastern regions such as Ukraine has been seriously damaged.
However, the Soviets did not give in and tried to mitigate the economic impact of the German occupation by adopting a strategy called "moving east" (moving some factories and supplies to the relative safety of the east).
Moreover, even during the three years of German occupation, the Soviet reactionary forces continued to attack from time to time, destroying factories, shops, and crops, as a sign of their determination to resist Germany.
Despite the difficulties it faced, the Soviet Union showed perseverance and strong coping ability against this special historical background, and their efforts laid a solid foundation for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union after the war.
1941-1945 Soviet industry and allied aid
In the historic heat of World War II, the Soviet Union faced the difficulties of the German occupation of Ukraine, the blockade of Leningrad, and the fierce fighting of other major cities such as Moscow and Stalingrad, but this did not stop the operation of its many industrial bases.
At that time, factories on the north and south sides of the Ural Mountains, on the banks of the Volga River in the Caucasus, and in Central Asia, etc., maintained a high degree of productivity during the war.
In the vast area east of Berlin, the Soviet Union still held firm control of the Urals, the Volga valley and its surroundings, despite the high degree of industrialization in Poland.
At the same time, in the vast hinterland, the industrial bases of the Central Asian states are also in continuous operation, ensuring the continuous operation of production lines.
With the strong assistance of Britain and the United States, large quantities of supplies to the Soviet Union arrived along the Persian Gulf, the Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean.
The author believes that these materials not only maintain the normal development of important industries, but also ensure the needs of people's lives. This also laid a solid foundation for the later victory of the Soviet Union.
Germany's plan to divide the Soviet Union in 1941
In the months leading up to Germany's blitzkrieg attack on the Soviet Union, the Nazi leadership had secretly discussed how to divide up the territories under its rule.
They hoped to bring great benefits to the Nazi Reich through the occupation of Ukraine's abundant grain resources, Caucasus oil fields, Ural mines, Tubostan coal, and cotton.
This strategic plan was designed by Alfred Rosenberg, an important Nazi figure.
Between August 1940 and May 1941, before Germany began its invasion of the Soviet Union, a series of secret meetings were held at the top of the Nazi hierarchy to discuss how to effectively manage the newly conquered territories.
This radical territorial expansion mentality stemmed from the Nazis' coveting of Ukraine's abundant grain resources, Caucasus oil fields, Ural mines, Turkestan coal mines and cotton.
In order to realize these ambitious plans, the Nazis set their sights on the vast lands of the Russian Federation.
In fact, the conclave painted a beautiful vision that made Rosenberg's strategic plan one of the topics of in-depth discussion among the Nazi leaders.
However, such good intentions existed only on paper, and in reality Germany suffered a major setback in the process of territorial expansion.
The Soviet troops, under the command of Stalin, premeditated and decisively destroyed the Nazi invasion and relied on defensive tactics to hold their territory, thus greatly limiting the Nazi attempts.
German administration in the east, 1941-1944
Recently, while looking through the history books, the author found a report on the atrocities committed by Germany against the Soviet Union and Poland in World War II: more than 5.8 million Jews and many Soviet and Polish civilians were subjected to dehumanizing massacres.
According to historical records, about 2.1 million Soviet soldiers were abused and deliberately starved to death during the war.
Nearly 6 million Jews suffered a tragic fate in cities and concentration camps. In addition, an equal number of non-Jewish civilians were brutally murdered, including 2.1 million innocent Soviet children.
These bloody historical truths should be remembered as a warning against similar human tragedies in the future.
At the same time, we would like to thank the survivors who have come forward to expose the crimes, and who have used their own experiences to remind the world of the great trauma of war.
German planning and conquest in 1942
Despite a fierce attack in 1941, Germany did not succeed in capturing the Soviet capital, Moscow, which became one of the key turning points in World War II.
The German plan to seize Moscow in 1941 failed.
Despite attempts to attack Stalingrad from the south in an attempt to cut off Moscow from the Eastern Front, the attempt was thwarted.
At the same time, plans to invade the oil fields of the Caucasus also failed.
Judging from the international situation at that time, these events marked the blockage of Germany's offensive in World War II and the shaking of its strategic advantage.
On the other hand, the Soviets successfully withstood the German offensive. The clever use of war tactics and rational tactics enabled Moscow to survive in the end.
This also laid a solid foundation for the victory in the subsequent Battle of Stalingrad.
Siege of Stalingrad from September 1942 to February 1943
After five months of fierce fighting, the Red Army managed to recapture Stalingrad and completely defeat the Germans in the process.
For the first time since the beginning of the war, the German army faced a military defeat and total collapse.
The site of this classic battle is located north of the Volga River.
Attempts by the Germans to capture Stalingrad and advance north into the Volga region were thwarted by stubborn resistance in the city. After a long period of fighting, the devastated city was finally reborn.
In this operation, the German army encountered an unprecedented and serious dilemma. Intelligence showed that they were completely encircled, and it was almost impossible for them to break through and receive support.
Therefore, after paying heavy casualties, the exhausted German army finally chose to surrender unconditionally in February 1943.
According to the author, this campaign was not only strategically important for the USSR, but also gave hope to the whole world. It was one of the most iconic turning points of the Second World War, revealing the great strength of the Red Army and the glorious prospects of victory.
The offensive of the Red Army in 1943-1944
According to historical records, the Soviet Union successfully carried out a full-scale counteroffensive in the spring of 1944, and all Polish territory was liberated. This marked the fact that the territory occupied by the Germans before the war had been largely recovered.
Among them, the thousand-mile-long front line between Dersburg and Russia, as well as the area from Taganrog to the Carpathians in southern Poland, have also been liberated. This put an end to the long German blockade of Leningrad. Under the Soviet counteroffensive, most of the Nazi troops in Poland were eliminated.
Analyzing the northern region in depth, I believe that the Battle of Leningrad can be said to be an important turning point in this war.
During this offensive, the German defense line was completely disrupted and the blockade of Leningrad that lasted for more than eight months was lost. At the same time, the Soviet military also successfully eliminated the German resistance in the German-occupied zone, including German prisoners and friendly troops, in the counteroffensive. Civilians have finally regained their right to freedom.
Poland was the hardest hit by the war, with a total of about 180 million people affected. Today, Soviet forces have succeeded in liberating these occupied territories, returning most of the territories that originally belonged to Poland to the embrace of the motherland.
In the eastern part of Poland up to the Carpathians, the aggression of Soviet militants did not stop. By the end of March, the Soviet Union had not only recovered vast areas of lost Polish territory, but had also almost completely restored them to the level of the original border line of 1939.
This counterattack not only greatly strengthened the confidence of the Soviet Union in fighting the Nazis, but also made the best reward for the Soviet soldiers who persisted in the fight.
These brave and resilient warriors have always been steadfast in many difficult struggles in the past, and they have advanced all the way to the heart of the enemy, successfully weakening the German army and bringing the dawn of liberation to the Polish people.
epilogue
After thousands of years of vicissitudes, from the earliest scattered records of geographical regions to today's complete and detailed map depictions, the map of Russia is showing us a long scroll of human civilization.
Here we can explore the long historical boundaries between Europe and Asia, and learn more about the historical context of Russia's maverick and continuity.
These rich and diverse historical materials connect the topographical maps of Russia with the long history of Russia, allowing visitors to experience the enduring tenacity of Russia and the majestic power of historical movements.
I have always believed that reading a map is like understanding history in depth, and understanding history can also better understand the geomorphological characteristics of Russia and the laws of social change.
Resources:
Lobanov-Rostovsky, A..‘ Anglo -Russian Relations through the Centuries',Russian Review, vol 7 (New York,1948)
Parkes, Harry,‘Report on the Russian Caravan Trade with China', Journal ofthe Royal Geographic Society, vol 25(London，1854)
Stanhope, Henry,‘Soviet Strength at Sea’, The Times(London，25 January1971)
Sullivan, Joseph L.，‘Decembrists in Exile’. Harvard Slavic Studies,vol 4(The Hague,1954)
Wildes, Harry Emerson,‘Russia’s Attempts to Open Japan’, Russian Review,vol 5 (New York,1945)
Yakunskiy, V. K.'The Industrial Revolution in Russia', Cahiers du Monde Russe et Sovietique (The Hague, 1961)