Broken axle
The value of Stalingrad immediately went beyond the line of the Soviet-German and, in general, the European front of the Second World War. And not only because the battle took place almost on the border of two parts of the world.
Already at that time, military and political leaders of the allied countries, European and Asian, emphasized the influence of the 19 th Soviet counteroffensive launched on November 1942 on resistance to Japanese forces on most sectors of the extensive front - from the Chinese-Mongolian border to the coast of Australia. But in the USSR after 1956, this aspect of the battle of Stalingrad was hushed up. If only because after the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU (“That same Congress”), decisions were already being prepared to eliminate all Stalinist paraphernalia in the USSR and most of the socialist countries of Eastern Europe.
Mongolian Prime Minister and Defense Minister Marshal Khorloghiin Choibalsan repeatedly noted that it was the Red Army’s counteroffensive at Stalingrad that caused the suspension of Japanese forces in Central and South China: “Tokyo realized that Stalingrad is a qualitatively new stage on all fronts of World War II, and in favor of Germany and its allies. " Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek expressed a similar opinion at a meeting with Soviet diplomats and military advisers on the eve of the reception in honor of November NN at the USSR Embassy in Chongqing (temporary capital of China in 7 – 1938): . This will be an important factor in strengthening not only the Chinese front and rear, but also the entire Asian-Pacific theater of world war. ” Already from the beginning of the Stalingrad battle, Japan, according to the then Chinese leader, does not dare to disperse troops in Southeast Asia and in fact turned down plans for amphibious operations in the region of the Indian Ocean adjacent to the front.
Characterized by the refusal of the Japanese command at the end of November 1942 of the use of parts of the main striking force - the Kwantung Army, stationed in the north of Korea, in Northeast China and near the eastern sector of the Chinese-Mongolian border, on other parts of the Asia-Pacific front. This accelerated the victories of the Allied forces, obtained in December 1942 th - January 1943 th in battles in the eastern sector of the island of New Guinea and near the port city of Darwin, the North Australian citadel of the allied forces. This eliminated the threat of the capture of numerous Pacific islands of France by Japanese forces. This was noted by the heads of the administrations of New Caledonia, Polynesia, Futuna, New Hebrides. The Governor of the Dutch East Indies (Future Indonesia), General Hubertus van Mook, told 24 on November 1942 at a meeting of the Allied Command in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: if not on all sectors of the Asia-Pacific Front. In any case, Tokyo is not responding to the requests of Berlin for the demonstration of Japanese military force near the borders with the USSR or Mongolia. ” Van Mook turned out to be a visionary: all this had already taken place since the beginning of the Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad.
By the way, Moscow and Canberra established 10’s October 1942 diplomatic relations, and on the eve of this event, Herbert Evatt, then head of the Foreign Ministry of Australia and her representation in the intergovernmental council of the British Commonwealth, declared in parliament: They will certainly affect the Pacific theater of military operations. ” The role of the USSR and its army in world war, according to Evatt, is increasing every day and contributes to the success of the entire allied coalition in the Pacific. The minister called for increasing the volume of allied supplies to the USSR, despite the known difficulties for convoys to Russia from North America and the British Commonwealth.
A similar view was expressed by the Prime Ministers of Canada and New Zealand of that period - William Mackenzie King and Peter Fraser. Recall that in 1941 – 1945, the share of total deliveries from Australia, New Zealand and Canada in the total amount of USSR allied aid (under lend-lease and other programs, including humanitarian) exceeded 25 percent.
Revision of the importance of the Battle of Stalingrad for all fronts of the Second World War, judging by modern publications, is not expected in these countries. The Canadian “Vancouver Sun” 11 on November 2010 of the year noted: “Before this legendary battle, Hitler’s army was still coming. After it, there was nothing more than a retreat and a final defeat ... For almost the whole of the Battle of Stalingrad, the average life expectancy of the Soviet infantryman was one day. Hitler underestimated the strength of the will of the Russian people in their resistance to the invaders. "
The importance of Stalingrad was emphasized by the leaders of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Nuri Said, the Iraqi prime minister (in 30 – 50-x) at the beginning of December, 1942-th said in his parliament that “the outcome of the Stalingrad battle is predetermined by carefully planned actions of the Russian troops and their dedication. The Stalingrad victory can radically shake the positions of the Axis troops on all fronts of world war. ” Recall that Iraq was the most important overland corridor of supplies to the USSR of military technical and food aid, and for the Western allies it was the main oil producer (“Poorly Oiled Axis”), whose refined products were sent to the Soviet Union. 16 January 1943-th - on the eve of the defeat of Paulus - Baghdad entered the war against Germany, Italy and Japan.
And yet: by the end of November 1942, British, De Gaulle and Ethiopian formations completely eliminated the centers of resistance of Italian troops in its East African colonies (that is, in Eritrea and East Somalia). The emperor of Ethiopia and its commander, Haile Selassie, considered these victories to be connected with the Battle of Stalingrad. During his first visit to the USSR (June 30 - July 12, 1959), he visited Stalingrad, where, speaking at a reception in his honor, he said that the collapse of the aggressive bloc of Berlin and Rome accelerated in mid-November 1942, not only from allied victories in Egypt and the French Maghreb, but also in connection with the Soviet counteroffensive near Stalingrad. Therefore, “humanity has no moral right to forget about the innumerable victims of the peoples of the USSR in historical the battle of Stalingrad. "
A similar assessment was given by the King of Nepal, Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva. During the war years, this small country provided all possible economic assistance to the USSR and its Western allies (“Coffee for the front”). In June 1958, during the first visit to the USSR, the king asked to include a visit to Stalingrad in the program. Here, Shah Deva said: "In Nepal, they know about the heroic struggle of the Soviet peoples against fascism ... And Stalingrad will forever remain a great symbol of victory over the aggressors."
In a word, Stalingrad forever entered world history as an outpost of Victory on all fronts of World War II.
Already at that time, military and political leaders of the allied countries, European and Asian, emphasized the influence of the 19 th Soviet counteroffensive launched on November 1942 on resistance to Japanese forces on most sectors of the extensive front - from the Chinese-Mongolian border to the coast of Australia. But in the USSR after 1956, this aspect of the battle of Stalingrad was hushed up. If only because after the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU (“That same Congress”), decisions were already being prepared to eliminate all Stalinist paraphernalia in the USSR and most of the socialist countries of Eastern Europe.
Mongolian Prime Minister and Defense Minister Marshal Khorloghiin Choibalsan repeatedly noted that it was the Red Army’s counteroffensive at Stalingrad that caused the suspension of Japanese forces in Central and South China: “Tokyo realized that Stalingrad is a qualitatively new stage on all fronts of World War II, and in favor of Germany and its allies. " Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek expressed a similar opinion at a meeting with Soviet diplomats and military advisers on the eve of the reception in honor of November NN at the USSR Embassy in Chongqing (temporary capital of China in 7 – 1938): . This will be an important factor in strengthening not only the Chinese front and rear, but also the entire Asian-Pacific theater of world war. ” Already from the beginning of the Stalingrad battle, Japan, according to the then Chinese leader, does not dare to disperse troops in Southeast Asia and in fact turned down plans for amphibious operations in the region of the Indian Ocean adjacent to the front.
Characterized by the refusal of the Japanese command at the end of November 1942 of the use of parts of the main striking force - the Kwantung Army, stationed in the north of Korea, in Northeast China and near the eastern sector of the Chinese-Mongolian border, on other parts of the Asia-Pacific front. This accelerated the victories of the Allied forces, obtained in December 1942 th - January 1943 th in battles in the eastern sector of the island of New Guinea and near the port city of Darwin, the North Australian citadel of the allied forces. This eliminated the threat of the capture of numerous Pacific islands of France by Japanese forces. This was noted by the heads of the administrations of New Caledonia, Polynesia, Futuna, New Hebrides. The Governor of the Dutch East Indies (Future Indonesia), General Hubertus van Mook, told 24 on November 1942 at a meeting of the Allied Command in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: if not on all sectors of the Asia-Pacific Front. In any case, Tokyo is not responding to the requests of Berlin for the demonstration of Japanese military force near the borders with the USSR or Mongolia. ” Van Mook turned out to be a visionary: all this had already taken place since the beginning of the Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad.
By the way, Moscow and Canberra established 10’s October 1942 diplomatic relations, and on the eve of this event, Herbert Evatt, then head of the Foreign Ministry of Australia and her representation in the intergovernmental council of the British Commonwealth, declared in parliament: They will certainly affect the Pacific theater of military operations. ” The role of the USSR and its army in world war, according to Evatt, is increasing every day and contributes to the success of the entire allied coalition in the Pacific. The minister called for increasing the volume of allied supplies to the USSR, despite the known difficulties for convoys to Russia from North America and the British Commonwealth.
A similar view was expressed by the Prime Ministers of Canada and New Zealand of that period - William Mackenzie King and Peter Fraser. Recall that in 1941 – 1945, the share of total deliveries from Australia, New Zealand and Canada in the total amount of USSR allied aid (under lend-lease and other programs, including humanitarian) exceeded 25 percent.
Revision of the importance of the Battle of Stalingrad for all fronts of the Second World War, judging by modern publications, is not expected in these countries. The Canadian “Vancouver Sun” 11 on November 2010 of the year noted: “Before this legendary battle, Hitler’s army was still coming. After it, there was nothing more than a retreat and a final defeat ... For almost the whole of the Battle of Stalingrad, the average life expectancy of the Soviet infantryman was one day. Hitler underestimated the strength of the will of the Russian people in their resistance to the invaders. "
The importance of Stalingrad was emphasized by the leaders of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Nuri Said, the Iraqi prime minister (in 30 – 50-x) at the beginning of December, 1942-th said in his parliament that “the outcome of the Stalingrad battle is predetermined by carefully planned actions of the Russian troops and their dedication. The Stalingrad victory can radically shake the positions of the Axis troops on all fronts of world war. ” Recall that Iraq was the most important overland corridor of supplies to the USSR of military technical and food aid, and for the Western allies it was the main oil producer (“Poorly Oiled Axis”), whose refined products were sent to the Soviet Union. 16 January 1943-th - on the eve of the defeat of Paulus - Baghdad entered the war against Germany, Italy and Japan.
And yet: by the end of November 1942, British, De Gaulle and Ethiopian formations completely eliminated the centers of resistance of Italian troops in its East African colonies (that is, in Eritrea and East Somalia). The emperor of Ethiopia and its commander, Haile Selassie, considered these victories to be connected with the Battle of Stalingrad. During his first visit to the USSR (June 30 - July 12, 1959), he visited Stalingrad, where, speaking at a reception in his honor, he said that the collapse of the aggressive bloc of Berlin and Rome accelerated in mid-November 1942, not only from allied victories in Egypt and the French Maghreb, but also in connection with the Soviet counteroffensive near Stalingrad. Therefore, “humanity has no moral right to forget about the innumerable victims of the peoples of the USSR in historical the battle of Stalingrad. "
A similar assessment was given by the King of Nepal, Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva. During the war years, this small country provided all possible economic assistance to the USSR and its Western allies (“Coffee for the front”). In June 1958, during the first visit to the USSR, the king asked to include a visit to Stalingrad in the program. Here, Shah Deva said: "In Nepal, they know about the heroic struggle of the Soviet peoples against fascism ... And Stalingrad will forever remain a great symbol of victory over the aggressors."
In a word, Stalingrad forever entered world history as an outpost of Victory on all fronts of World War II.
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