Stalingrad in Italian

54
Stalingrad in Italian

On the morning of May 18, 1944, the reconnaissance group of the Carpathian division of the 2 Polish Corps captured the ruins of the monastery of Monte Cassino and hoisted its flag there. Thus ended a five-month battle, which would later be called the Stalingrad of the Italian campaign 1944 of the year. During the long five months of bloody battles, tens of thousands of soldiers of the United States, Algeria, Britain, Germany, India, Italy, Canada, Morocco, New Zealand, Poland, Tunisia, France were killed here ...

The Allied offensive ran into an impregnable wall of defense of the German troops. Its backbone was made up of units of the elite 1 th parachute and 5 th mountain rifle divisions. The defense of Monte Cassino was one of the most famous battles of German paratroopers, once again demonstrating the superiority of tactics and morale. It was after this battle that the German paratroopers began to call the “green devils” in the camp of the allied forces ...

From Salerno to Monte Cassino

For many, the Wehrmacht’s Italian campaign has certainly become one of the best examples of effective and long-lasting defense at a strategic, operational and tactical level. Being in a numerical minority and possessing a limited number of military equipment, the Wehrmacht managed to forge major Allied forces, prevented them from making a decisive breakthrough and imposed grueling defensive battles.

Having withdrawn Italy from the 8 war of September 1943 of the year, landed in Salerno and seized Naples on October 9, the Allies decided to concentrate their efforts on seizing Rome before starting preparations for Operation Overlord in anticipation of the landing in Normandy. But by the end of December 1, the attack on Rome was crawling at the speed of a snail. In fact, the Italian campaign of the Allies was stumped.

The local landscape favored the defenders. The spine of Italy - the Apennine ridge at the highest point reaches 2900 m. From it, the mountain ranges and valleys diverge to the narrow coastal stripes - 40 km in the west and 15 km in the east. Even with good weather, the roads in these areas were unsuitable for advancing mechanized supply columns. German troops of Army Group C, commanded by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, made the most of the relief features when creating defenses. To stop the Allied forces, German military engineers led by General Hans Bessel erected the so-called “Gustav Line”, which stretched across the entire width of Central Italy, from the mouth of the Sangro River in the east, through the Abruzzi Mountains to the mouths of the Rapido and Garigliano in the west. Fortifications controlled defile, on which stood the city of Cassino. In 900 m west of Cassino, there was Mount Monte Cassino (altitude 527 m), on top of which was an old Benedictine monastery. It was the dominant height of the Liri River valley, which stretched through the mountains to the north and hung over the road "number 6" - the main highway connecting the southern regions with Rome.


The Allies faced a difficult task, as the German sappers literally bit into the rocks throughout the entire front, strengthening their positions. Roads and trails were mined. Minefields were located in ravines and approaches hidden in the folds of the terrain. Bridges and plumbing destroyed. Machine-gun and mortar firing positions, often drowned on 1 – 1,5 meters in solid rocks, blocked every path. Only massive fire could destroy these positions. On the slopes of the mountains behind the beds of streams and in narrow valleys dozens of mutually supportive firing points were placed. Using these fortifications, small forces could defend ravines, ravines and impassable paths that led to the mountains, even from superior enemy forces.

To further impede the advancement of the enemy, the lands in front of Rapido east of Cassino were flooded. The supply of the Allied troops was carried out in the conditions of impassable mountains and, of course, off-road, which forced them to act in a complex and unfamiliar environment ...
For the defense of the Gustav Line and Monte Cassino, the 10-I German Army, Colonel-General Heinrich von Fitingof, had 15 divisions. In the area of ​​Cassino were part of the 5-th Mountain Division, Lieutenant-General Julius Ringel and 1-th parachute division, Lieutenant-General Richard Heydrich. The defense of Cassino again brought down parachutists and mountain riflemen who had fought together in Crete two years before ...

First Parachute Division

The first parachute division was rightfully considered one of the best in the German army. Renamed in May 1943 of the 7th aviation divisions, it had three parachute regiments, an artillery regiment, and separate battalions: communications, engineer, anti-aircraft, transport, reserve, sanitary, anti-tank, machine-gun. Its full staffing was to be about 12 people, the number of parachute regiment was 000 people.

The main advantage of the division was its well-trained, personal, especially officer and junior command, personnel. The German paratroopers who survived the landings in the Netherlands and on Crete went through a good school of defensive battles on the Eastern Front on the Volkhov River in 1941 and near Rzhev in 1942. As a mobile high command reserve, the first parachute division that was part of the 11 Air Corps, from July 12, took part in the Italian campaign in July 1943. Combat groups of German paratroopers participated in the battles in Sicily, in the areas of Taranto and Salerno, near Ortona and Orsonya.


The division was headed by 47-year-old Lieutenant-General Richard Heydrich, a veteran of the First World War, a knight of the Knight's Cross for Crete and the German Cross in gold for battles near Leningrad. The first parachute units arrived at Monte Cassino were headed by the commander of the 1 parachute regiment, Colonel Karl Lothar Schulz, Knight's Cross holder for the battles in Holland. The 1 and 2 battalions of the 1 parachute regiment, the 3 battalion of the 3 regiment and the parachute machine-gun battalion entered his battle group. They took positions stretching from Monte Cassino to Monte Calvario along the front for over a kilometer. Supported by a significant amount of artillery, the German paratroopers defending the “Gustav Line” were confident that they would be able to fight off any attempt to break through ...

American attack on January 44

The command of the Allies, trying to circumvent the "line of Gustav," landed 22 in January in the rear of the German troops in the Anzio area a large landing force. Almost simultaneously, on January 17, diversionary attacks began in the area of ​​the Garigliano river. As you know, these operations were not successful. This forced the commander of 5, the American army of General Mark Clark, to inflict a frontal strike on 24 in January of 1944 in the Cassino area with the forces of the 34 of the American infantry division and the French Expeditionary Force. After a week of fighting, 34-division of General Charles Ryder eventually forced the flooded bed of the Rapido River. The units advanced almost 3 km to the mountains around Cassino and stopped at 400 meters from the monastery.

The steep slopes did not allow tanks Maintain infantry by slowing the advance. The slopes were cut by deep gorges that sheltered the Germans during firing raids, served them as advanced positions and provided safe escape routes. Having excellent visibility, German artillery observers were aware of all Allied movements, making it difficult for them to supply and evacuate troops.


Allied soldiers were at a thousand meters from the 6 highway, but the Germans stubbornly defended every rock, every turn of a mountain road, every cave. Only by February 11 (!!!) parts of the 133 American Infantry Regiment and five tanks made their way into the city of Cassino, but were immediately dislodged from there.
At this point, the 2 troops of the US Corps of General Keyes lost in the January battles of 12000 people killed, wounded and missing. The 142 American Infantry Regiment was actually destroyed. From the subsidiary companies of the 2 Corps: drivers, clerks and cooks had to form temporary combat units. On February 11 the offensive was stopped, and the 2 American Corps was withdrawn from the front for rest and replenishment. Against the background of this defeat, the success of the 3 Algerian division, which managed to gain a foothold on the top of Monte Belvedere and even capture a 500 man in captivity, looked bright ...

Abbey tragedy

The threatening situation on the bridgehead in Anzio forced the Allied command to continue the offensive. The New Zealand Corps of General Bernard Freiberg took over the 2 American Corps. His Francis Tucker 4 Indian Division was to advance from the north, along the mountain ranges to the monastic mountain, and General Howard Kippenberger's 2 New Zealand Division to attack the Cassino railway station. The allies were convinced that the abbey (in the perimeter of 230 m), with walls 3 m thick and 45 m high, was an excellent German stronghold prepared for defense, from which artillery fire was adjusted. The commander of the Allied air forces in the Mediterranean, General Ira Iker, flying over the monastery by plane, claimed that he had seen a radio tower, a German uniform hung up to dry and machine-gun trenches under the fortress wall.

On February 14, leaflets were dropped over Cassino, warning the local population and soldiers that February 16 would bomb the monastery and its surroundings. But in fact, not a single German soldier crossed the territory of the abbey. By order of Field Marshal Kesselring back in October 1943, all valuables were transferred from the monastery to Rome and the entire population was evacuated. Only the abbot Grigorio Diamare, ten monks and several hundred refugee peasants remained in the abbey. The Germans guarded only the entrance and did not approach directly to the abbey, drawing a circle at a distance of two hundred meters from it. Was the destruction of the ancient monastery justified by military necessity for the allies? Alas, there was no need for this - there were many other heights around the valley, on which German observers were ...


On the morning of February 15, 229 bombers (of which 142 Boeing B-17 were X) brought down the monastery mountain and the positions of the first parachute division to more than 600 tons of bombs. In the abbey turned into ruins, more than three hundred civilians were killed. But the air strike was struck by the Air Force command a day earlier than planned due to weather conditions. This did not allow ground units to prepare for an assault in time. Only on the night of 15 on the 16 of February, the Sussex Royal Regiment attacked the height of 593, but was forced to retreat.

The next night, the Rajputan infantry regiment was thrown into battle, and only after the fourth attack did he manage to get close to 1000 meters from the monastic mountain. The fact is that the battle group of the German paratroopers of Oberst Lothar Schulz led forty of the last civilians and monks out of the abbey, and then occupied the monastery. Numerous catacombs and underground tunnels have become an excellent defensive position. The paratroopers-machine-gunners caused serious damage to the Indian infantry. Their losses reached half of the personnel.

Only by the end of February 2, the New Zealand division seized Cassino station and, having crossed the Rapido river, pressed the 17 th Grenadier regiment of the 211 th infantry division. But the mountain river overturned and carried off the pontoons, prevented sappers from building bridges and crossings.
At the front of Cassino, the Germans tried to counterattack with superior forces of no less than a regiment in order to sweep the enemy bridgeheads. Once without the support of tanks and artillery, the New Zealanders of February 18 were forced to retreat. Due to bad weather conditions, the new 24 offensive in February was canceled ...

"Italian Stalingrad"

Twenty-one days of bad weather were used by the opponents to train and regroup the troops. Under the new plan, the New Zealand Corps concentrated both its divisions to strike at the monastery and the city of Cassino from the north. After that, a breakthrough, opening the way to Rome, was to be thrown fresh 78-I British infantry division. Given the previous experience, the Allies relied on superiority in technology, especially in aircraft, tanks and artillery, and on the effect of bombardment. The Allies again resorted to the tactic of ramming, completely forgetting about the possibility of a bypass maneuver.

This time the German command completely defended the first parachute division with the defense of the 13-kilometer area of ​​Cassino. The fighting group of Schulz was replaced by the 3 th Parachute Regiment of Oberst Ludwig Heilman, Knight's Cross Knight for Crete, a veteran of the Eastern Front. The 1 and 4 parachute regiments are located in the city and suburb.

On the morning of March 15, 1944, the 445 bombers and the 150 attack aircraft bombed the city and its environs with more than 1150 tons of bombs. Following the bombing - a squall of 196 thousand projectiles fired from more than 750 guns. Then the New Zealand and Indian infantry went on the attack with the support of more than 400 armored vehicles. But the tanks fell behind the infantry, stuck in numerous funnels, which after the start of the rain began to turn into a continuous swamp mess. And although the Germans suffered significant losses, the ruins of the city and the abbeys provided them with even more shelters and convenient firing positions.


Now the Allied infantry was forced to clean up each destroyed building from German machine gunners and snipers. March 16 Gurkham from the 4 Indian Division unexpectedly managed to seize the Executioner Hill, located just 250 m from the abbey, and the New Zealanders - to capture the Castle Hill. This height at the foot of the monastery mountain the Germans tried to repel throughout the night. As a result, fierce fighting ensued, sometimes they turned into melee.

March 17 ram attack on a narrow section of the New Zealanders seized the railway station. After that, all the necessary equipment and weapons for the defense had to be delivered in the only way - by air. During the fighting in the area of ​​Cassino, the German commanders distributed their tanks, assault guns and self-propelled guns between the fortified points and counterattacking troops. Only a few assault guns that operated with paratroopers, did not allow the allies to use their tanks to support the infantry.

On March 19, the Allied High Command issued an order to re-assault the city in order to seize all the strongholds with the forces of the New Zealand Maori and the frontal attack of the Gurkha on the abbey. In the morning, the monastery and the city were again bombed, but the parachutists in their underground bunkers almost did not suffer. For two weeks, the sappers of the 4 Indian Division, covering their work with camouflage screens, cleared one of the goat trails north of the abbey, turning it into a road for the 40 tanks of the Sherman 20 tank brigade. But the parachutists violated the plans of the attackers by attacking Zamkova Mountain. Once without the support of the infantry, the tank attack choked.

In the city itself, fighting continued as the attackers of New Zealanders cleaned the house behind the house, approaching the 6 highway. Hiding from the shelling in the bunkers and caves, they again and again arose among the ruins, penetrated into the rear of the attackers, and struck delicate blows with aimed fire. Only superiority in manpower and artillery allowed the allies to move forward.

For the final sweep of the city, the 78-i British division was even deployed. These battles increasingly resembled the German veterans of Stalingrad 1942 of the year: fruitless attacks, mutilated terrain, heavy losses. The paratroopers in Cassino even had their own "Pavlov's House" - the Continental Hotel, where the Germans barricaded themselves were fighting off the attacks of the Maori battalion. There was also his “Pavlov” - sergeant-major Walter Werner, who was awarded the Knight's Cross 9 on June 1944.

At this point in Italy 28 allied divisions were opposed by German 23. The situation became stalemate, and on March 26 the offensive was again stopped ...

"Meat grinder" in May 44

After that, Monte Cassino became an even more serious problem for the Allies. The Gustav Line should have been taken before the landing in Normandy. A new assault was scheduled for May to prevent the Germans from transferring reserves to France. Now British Field Marshal Harold Alexander has decided to act for sure - to realize his numerical superiority, concentrating two armies on the 30 kilometer front: the American 5 and the British 8. The American corps struck along the coast, the French - through the mountains of Aurunchi, the British attacked in the center across the Rapido river, and the storm of Monte Cassino fell to the Polish corps of Vladislav Anders. His 50-thousandth connection was formed in the USSR, in the 1942 year it was withdrawn to the Middle East and has not yet participated in the battles.

The corps was to bypass the abbey from the north, cut off the lines of communication and block the German paratroopers in the monastery. This time the Allies paid special attention to the camouflage and misinformation of the enemy. On the Mediterranean coast, mock-ups of equipment were built, imitating the preparation of a landing force. During the entire month and a half of preparation for the operation, the Rapido valley was camouflaged every evening by a smoke screen for the transfer of troops. All this allowed secretly to concentrate thirteen divisions, and not six, as the enemy believed ...

The German command regrouped the troops again. In the city of Cassino, the 4 th Parachute Regiment of Oberst Erich Walter, Knight's Cross holder for Holland, veteran of Crete, Sicily, defended. The 1 th parachute regiment along with the 71 th regiment of rocket artillery was in reserve of the division commander. The division was weakened by the transfer of its third battalions to form the 5 th parachute division. In reality, the regiments were skeletons opposed by the Allied army corps ...

Unexpectedly for the Germans, late in the evening 11 May 1944, over 2000 guns opened fire on their defensive positions and fired at it continuously for two hours. After a difficult night march along the rocky slopes, two Polish divisions captured the Ridge Ghost ridge, located 1800 meters from the abbey, and Snake's head ridge only in 1000 meters. Poles who had no combat experience suffered heavy losses from artillery, mortar and machine gun fire parachutists. But this was more than offset by their fighting spirit and courage. The German paratroopers lacked strength, their battalions numbered two hundred men, and the defense was held by separate strongholds overlapping each other with firing sectors. At dawn, the Germans counterattacked the Poles, who at night were forced to withdraw to their original positions, losing more than half of the personnel. But, alas, the Allies were obliged by the success of their fourth offensive to the Gumiera soldiers of 2 of the Moroccan division of the French corps of General Alfons Juan. They, natives of the Atlas Mountains, acting at night, captured the mountain of Monte Mayo, overcoming the mountains of Aurunchi, which the Germans considered impassable for infantry.


By May 16, the Hummers had broken through the “Gustav Line” to a depth of ten miles. This, in turn, allowed the British to cut the 6 highway number the next day. 1-I parachute division was under threat of encirclement in the abbey. The Poles continued the 17 attack in May. German paratroopers left the abbey at night. When on the morning of May 18 the reconnaissance patrol of the 12 regiment of the Podolsk Ulan entered the abbey, there remained 30 of wounded German soldiers. Poles hoisted the Polish flag over the ruins of the monastery as a symbol of victory. The five-month battle for Monte Cassino ended in Pyrrhic, but still a victory. The breakthrough of the Gustav line finally opened the road to Rome, which fell 4 June 1944 of the year ...

Red poppies at Monte Cassino

After the end of the battle, the landscape around Monte Cassino resembled paintings from the First World War on the Western Front. All the land was plowed over by bomb craters and shells, instead of houses - solid ruins. Among the destroyed urban buildings, thousands of soldiers laid down their heads on the mountain slopes and in the caves. The Allies lost more than 120 thousand people killed, wounded and missing, the Germans lost more than 20 thousand soldiers.

The battle for Monte Cassino was a classic example of defensive battles, which were attended by German paratroopers. They literally bite into the ground, turning the Gustav Line into an impregnable fortress. Neither aerial bombardment, nor many hours of artillery shelling, nor massive infantry and tank attacks could not break the paratroopers' will to resist. Their defensive tactics were competent and very effective, which turned the German tactical defensive success, first in operational, and then in strategic.

With very limited resources, the paratroopers managed to thwart the enemy’s offensive plans and hold him at the front at Monte Cassino until mid-May 1944. They opposed the numerical superiority of the allies to tactical skill and high morale. It was under Cassino that the combat motto of the division, “Fellowship, skill, honor!” Was born.
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  1. toguns
    +23
    23 October 2012 08: 40
    wassat listen to the stories on the radio. fm Stalingrad in Italian, Prokhorovka in African and many more interesting military tales from the western front.
    ps
    But seriously, it’s stupid to compare one of the most bloody battles on the banks of the Volga in the entire history of World War II with the Italian small-town military operation.
    1. Lech e-mine
      +12
      23 October 2012 08: 52
      I agree. But HONOR MUCH.
      In the 90s, one morning I wake up and find out from the news of the media that Fascist Germany is defeated by the USA - and RUSSIA somewhere far led the FIGHTS OF LOCAL VALUE.
      And the USA, as always, saved DEMOCRACY AND THE WHOLE WORLD from a bad guy.
      It is NECESSARY to show our history to the West more often so that they have no illusions about this.
      1. vasev
        -1
        23 October 2012 11: 03
        Anyway, they will. UWB propaganda zombies much better than Putin's TV, although the latter is pulling up smile
      2. +5
        23 October 2012 13: 48
        In the West, then - to hell with them .... The trouble is that Fursenkov's education and "free" media are already educating our youth in such a spirit that everything Russian is bad, and American is good, including the victory over fascism - merit " Private Ryan "...
      3. +2
        23 October 2012 17: 48
        they won’t give ....... we are an enemy with a capital letter for the west, from our submission all the colonial empires are ruined, they will never forgive us for this.
    2. Beck
      +9
      23 October 2012 09: 12
      Quote: toguns
      well, but seriously stupid to compare


      Well, that’s why you are so. This should be clear. The name is a journalistic cliche, for aplomb. What a journalist should call this battle a battle of all time and of all nations is worthless. So, in this case too, will you seriously oppose? Anyone who is less familiar with the history of the Second World War will not even enter his head to compare. For me, the article is not the name of the glan, but what opens the curtain on the actions of the gurkhs, Indians, Moroccans, Algerians.
    3. +1
      23 October 2012 09: 28
      Quote: toguns
      Stalingrad in Italian, Prokhorovka in African


      Well, it’s necessary to show your well, it’s just not really important significance, but here a place just turned up where they stomped for a long time and spoiled the underpants from every German shot. Here you have Stalingrad ... fifty of the German tanks killed were killed with the help of three or four hundred of theirs, and here you have no less and no less Kursk in African. Impudent Saxons are hellish masters of lies and exaggeration of their own merits.
      1. 0
        23 October 2012 17: 52
        and their darlings - 50 freaks who escaped to Africa, crawled out into Italy, and here they tasted German hospitality ......
    4. beech
      +1
      23 October 2012 13: 56
      The allies lost more than 120 thousand people killed, wounded and missing, the Germans lost more than 20 thousand soldiers.
      Once again, I am convinced that the Amers have never been able to, are not able to and do not learn to fight !!!
      1. Beck
        -1
        23 October 2012 18: 02
        Quote: beech
        The Allies lost more than 120 thousand people killed, wounded and missing, the Germans lost more than 20 thousand soldiers. Once again, I am convinced that the Amers have never been able to, are not able to and do not learn to fight !!!


        You made it up as your opinion, at random, or something. Did you read the article? After all, there were no longer amers acting. And the Poles, Moroccans, Canadians, Algerians, Indians, Gurkhas.

        Well, here’s at least an eye on, pull something, if only to amer pocket amer.
        1. beech
          0
          23 October 2012 21: 53
          it’s just that some left-wing dudes fought, and the laurels of glory went to the valiant allies !!!
          1. aviator46
            -1
            27 October 2012 23: 04
            Do not drive the blizzard - our Allies were:
            Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Greece, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Liberia, Lebanon Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Syria,, USA, Turkey, Uruguay, Philippines, France, Czechoslovakia, Chile, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Yugoslavia, Union of South Africa
      2. aviator46
        0
        27 October 2012 23: 02
        The advancing side always suffers more losses than the defending ....
        But the Soviet Army fought "brilliantly"
        The ratio of Soviet and German losses on the Eastern Front is approximately 10: 1. If we take into account the losses of the German allies and Soviet citizens who died on the Wehrmacht's side, but were not taken into account in the German losses (such, according to various estimates, the ratio will become approximately 7,5: 1.
        1. Beck
          +1
          28 October 2012 16: 54
          Quote: aviator46
          The ratio of Soviet and German losses on the Eastern Front is approximately 10: 1.


          You already do not read statistics and figures at all. The accepted figure of Soviet losses is 20 million people. German losses of 7 million. Now we calculate in your ratio of 10 to 1 in favor of the USSR.

          If 1 is 20 million, then the Germans in a ratio of 10 to 1 would have died 200 million ???

          If 10 is 7 million, then in a ratio of 10 to 1, Soviet losses should have been 700 thousand ???

          Well, how, the Absurdity of your statement reached you? It would be elementary to count and not give out nonsense in koment.
          1. Beck
            +1
            28 October 2012 18: 03
            Aviator.

            I apologize. not so understood your top comment. Did not read the quotes. I take my koment, about the losses, back.
    5. +6
      23 October 2012 14: 27
      There is one positive point in this information - this is the worldwide recognition that Stalingrad has become a SYMBOL of exceptional courage and stamina of a soldier. And it was a RUSSIAN soldier! The name Stalingrad has become a household name and is used, as in this article, when they want to note the resistance of any troops, although everyone understands that Stalingrad is an UNBEATABLE example of resistance, which they will remain if they do not touch the Russians!
  2. Beck
    +6
    23 October 2012 08: 50
    The article shows the actions of soldiers of other nations who also fought against fascism. Their participation in the war is poorly lit. The article opens his gaze.
    1. Lech e-mine
      +7
      23 October 2012 09: 25
      ordinary soldiers and officers of any Army experience all the hardships of war in their own skin (BLOOD, DIRT, COLD, HUNGER every day to see the death of their comrades-testing is not for the faint of heart) I respect them.
      I’m more enraged by the attempts of all politicians and journalists to REWRIGHT THE HISTORY UNDER THE BIRTH OF HIMSELF (the goal is, as always, the thirst for GLORY, MONEY, AND OTHER SELF-GOALS)
      the memory of fallen soldiers and officers must not be dirty with dirty hands.
    2. +4
      23 October 2012 13: 32
      I absolutely agree.
      I have been convinced for quite some time that near Monte Cassino the Poles made the decisive point and the most significant contribution (I won’t know where I got this heresy from) and only later found out that in May there were Moroccan gunners and the 1 Canadian Infantry Division 5-I Canadian Tank Division as a reinforcement; presumably the Moroccans pushed because of what they did after the battle.
      I consider the polemic that this comparison with the Battle of Stalingrad somehow diminishes the feat of our ancestors unacceptable, on the contrary - this article perfectly shows what enemy we had to fight and defeat our grandfathers with some numbers that make you think:
      - The Allies lost more than 120 thousand people killed, wounded and missing, the Germans lost more than 20 thousand soldiers;
      - May 11 1944 years more than 2000 guns opened fire;
      - On the morning of March 15 1944, 445 bombers and 150 attack aircraft rained down over 1150 tons of bombs on the city and its environs. Following the bombing - a flurry of 196 thousand shells fired from more than 750 guns.
      Well, if someone here saw the praise of fascism, then there is nothing to talk about.
      1. borisst64
        +5
        23 October 2012 14: 37
        Quote: Karlsonn
        The polemic that this comparison with the Battle of Stalingrad somehow detracts from the feat of our ancestors is considered unacceptable


        The controversy that it is impossible to compare a brilliant military operation (resisted, surrounded, repelled the threat of release, destroyed, captured) with the banal bulk of aviation, armored vehicles, artillery and infantry. Moreover, judging by the losses, the bulk was organized disgustingly.
        1. +2
          24 October 2012 12: 56
          borisst64 hi ,
          Well, the Glory of the Battle of Stalingrad thundered to the whole world, actually it was a turning point in the Second World War, here the foreigners are impressed and compare, but whether it is possible or not for them, let’s say, what does the foreigners have to do with the Glory of our weapons, but go ahead:
          ... In honor of the victory of Soviet troops near Stalingrad, streets, squares, avenues with a heroic name appeared in different European cities. So, in Paris, the name "Stalingrad" is the square, the boulevard and the metro station, in Lyon - the antique market, in Brussels - the avenue and the hotel, and in Bologna - the main street of the city;
          Heroes Street of Stalingrad, Bielsko-Biala, Poland
          Street of Defenders of Stalingrad, Kepno, Poland
          Stalingrad street, Bratislava, Slovakia
          Stalingrad Street, Steps, Czechoslovakia
          Stalingradskaya street, Teplice, Czech Republic
          Stalingradskaya street, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
          Stalingradskaya street, Kolin, Czech Republic
          Street "Stalingrad", Saint-Nazaire, France
          Stalingrad street, city of Ermont, France
          Stalingrad Street, Nanterre, France
          Street "Stalingrad", Chaville, France
          Stalingrad street, Cannes, France
          Street "Stalingrad", Bologna, Italy
          Stalingrad Prospect, Anthony, France
          Stalingrad Avenue, Colombes, France
          Heroes' Square of Stalingrad, Zielona Gora, Poland
          Stalingrad Square, Nitra, Slovakia
          Stalingrad Square, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
          Stalingrad Square, Znojmo, Czech Republic
          Stalingrad Square, Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
          Stalingrad Square, Pardubice, Czech Republic
          Stalingrad Square, Friedlant, Czech Republic
          Stalingrad Square, Gorazdevice, Czech Republic
          Stalingrad Square, Puto, France
          Stalingrad Alley, Poznan, Poland
          Stalingrad Alley, Jicin, Czech Republic
          Park "Stalingrad", Saint-Denis, France
          Square named Stalingrad, Marseille, France
          Hotel and restaurant "Stalingrad", Nova Paka, Czech Republic
          Stalingrad embankment, Isi-les-Moulineaux, France
          Stalingrad embankment, Toulon, France
          Stalingrad Boulevard, Saint-Etienne, France.

          and they rename everything, mainly with us.
          1. 0
            24 October 2012 14: 05
            I am very happy for the Europeans that they DARE to be proud of the incredible and immeasurable feat of all times and peoples, created by our glorious grandfathers and fathers!
            I am ashamed of my country, which, by the will of the silly maize (for the sake of his ambitions) plunged into oblivion the name of the CITY-HERO, which became the symbol of the Great Victory !!!

            I heard a story about how the national team of soccer players from Germany came to the USSR after the war, I don’t remember what kind of tournament it was, but in the course of the match the game was remarkably interesting, and at the end of the match our team lost 1: 2 ..
            And then all the people in the stands (German was ill then, of course, was not ill) began to chant: STALINGRAD! STALINGRAD!
            Our then won !!!
      2. 0
        23 October 2012 17: 54
        ........ just an ordinary soldier feat.
      3. 0
        23 October 2012 19: 34
        Monte Cassino was taken not entirely by the Poles, namely the Belarusians in the Anders army.
        1. 0
          24 October 2012 14: 32
          Imagine, and I read that Belarusians fought in the army of Anders, only when they returned to the USSR they were deprived of all benefits and the title of "WWII veteran"
          Maybe I'm wrong?
  3. Dimani
    +12
    23 October 2012 09: 06
    I think that if the Germans had constantly replenished reserves, the Allies could not have taken this fortified area. Although history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood.
    The funny thing is that either the Poles, or the Moroccan Gumiers (native soldiers), or the Gurkhas were thrown into the bloody operations. And they made a decisive contribution to the victory. It turns out they have a much greater morale than that of small-shavens and amers. request
    1. +2
      23 October 2012 11: 26
      Dimani,
      Quote: Dimani
      It turns out they have a much greater morale than that of small-shavens and amers.


      Probably also the habit of raking in heat with the wrong hands! The victory is then called Anglo-Saxon, and others fought for them more.
      1. -1
        23 October 2012 13: 54
        50 thousandth Polish Anders Corps.
        ".. At dawn, the Germans counterattacked the Poles, who were forced to retreat to their original positions at night, having lost more than half of their personnel."
        More than half - 25 001 people?
        1: 5 killed - wounded .... = 4166 man of irreparable loss.
        3: 7 dead from wounds ...... = 6 250 dead after wounds and treatment.
        Over 10 thousand ....
        And it seems to me that these guys are on the lists of Katyn.
        ...
        They are able, indeed, to rake in the heat.
        Poles, Indians, Maori, French (on Italian soil), Algerians - all have results, but the goal has not been achieved. For nothing.
        So ... look for your allies.
        1. Beck
          +2
          23 October 2012 17: 54
          Quote: Igarr
          And it seems to me that these guys are on the lists of Katyn.


          Confirm your words that the killed Poles in Monte Cassino are among the Katyn victims.

          You have no confirmation. And when it seems, it is to be baptized, and they do not say all kinds of nonsense. And then they are still indignant that the Poles are bad.

          You insulted the memory of the soldiers who died in the fight against fascism. And your green eye is shameless.
          1. 0
            24 October 2012 09: 36
            Let's swear, hee hee?
            ".. And your eyes are green shameless .."
            ...
            And you have horns on your head.
            1. Beck
              0
              24 October 2012 09: 48
              Igarru.

              In order for your eye to glow normally, you confirm that the Poles who died in Cassino are included in the list of victims of Katyn. Or somehow surrender back. Well, to smooth the corners.

              And do not touch my horns. It is sacred. And it’s not horns. And what I will not say is a secret.
              1. 0
                24 October 2012 10: 17
                Beck, stop it.
                I don’t touch the horns, in any way, Iskander Zulkarneyn - that was the difference.
                ..
                I do not want to seek confirmation from people in Katyn.
                You can dig up anything on the Internet.
                Only all this "digging" will be, not archived data.
                ..
                He proceeded only from the fact that all this Katyn story smells bad.
                Our all were shot. The Germans shot the remaining ones.
                Then there were extremely honest, truthful guys - Americans, Germans, and ours - who told the whole truth.
                And then the Poles launched a hysterical bacchanalia.
                In life I can not stand shrill. Thunderous Wazoo truthful.
                All of them are double bottom.
                And where could Anders’s corps form on the territory of Russia?
                Of the blind men, or what?
                And until the 1942 of the year it was vandalized in Kazakhstan, Central Asia.
                Therefore, the British saw these, well-fed ... fighters - and let them go to the slaughter.
                ...
                Well .. did I smooth the corners in reverse?
                1. Beck
                  0
                  24 October 2012 11: 10
                  Quote: Igarr
                  Well .. did I smooth the corners in reverse?


                  Well, you see and the other eye has become. And then your corner to the side butted worse than the horns. In general, it’s good to talk with adequate people.
        2. 0
          23 October 2012 19: 40
          The corps of General Anders half or more consisted of Western Belarusians.
    2. 0
      23 October 2012 22: 07
      "The funny thing is that either Poles, or Moroccan gumiers (native soldiers), or Gurkhas were thrown into bloody operations. And they made a decisive contribution to the victory. It turns out that they have a much greater fighting spirit than the small-shavens and Amers."
      I read somewhere that Churchill considered the relatively few British who died in World War II to be his main merit. Someone else's hand to rake in the heat for the first time.
      And the Germans are strong soldiers. The more valuable is the feat of ours.
  4. vylvyn
    +8
    23 October 2012 09: 06
    Do not smear the name of the holy city. What's "Stalingrad" like in Italy?

    Quote - "During the long five months of bloody battles, tens of thousands of soldiers from the USA, Algeria, Britain, Germany, India, Italy, Canada, Morocco, New Zealand, Poland, Tunisia, France were killed here ...".
    Stalingrad and does not smell close. Stalingrad is hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dead, terrible tank battles and air battles, mass heroism, courage and self-sacrifice of soldiers. In Stalingrad, after a 1-2 weeks of fighting, a platoon remained in the division, at best a company.

    Quote - "Twenty-one days of bad weather the opponents used to train and regroup their troops."
    Allied guardsmen fought rather badly. The month of the bulge. They were in no hurry to go to the monastery 250 meters in a peppercorn. But in Stalingrad, the fighting did not stop for a day. And here the greenhouse conditions - 750 guns of various calibers, plus its own aviation works with impunity, and no bombing and "Stuks" for you, no tank attacks for you, just a fairy tale.

    In general - 1) the Americans and other allies are shitty warriors (quote - "But by the end of December 1943, the offensive on Rome was crawling at the speed of a snail. In fact, the Italian campaign of the allies came to a standstill.") they still sat near this monastery and in their gallant combat reports wrote about the super-duper brave defense of the approaches to the monastery from the "billions" of the Fritzes who had settled in the same defense; 2) if we fought like this (leisurely), the war with the Nazis would still be going on with us. No, though. The Fritzes would have had time to come up with a bunch of different superweapons (including a nuclear bomb) and we would definitely be an ambassador.
    Here are the New Zealanders and the Indians well done. Tired of looking at the cowardly American and English dogs with their tails tightened, they went and kicked the Fritz ass.

    In short, the title of the article, to put it mildly, is incorrect and even offensive. Stalingrad is Stalingrad. He is so one and only. There is simply nothing to compare it with.
    1. Beck
      0
      23 October 2012 09: 20
      Quote: vylvyn
      Do not smear the name of the holy city. What's "Stalingrad" like in Italy?


      Well, who is getting dirty. This is the usual reception of journalists. When someone somewhere seeing a beautiful landscape says - like little Switzerland. That man doesn’t overeat all of Switzerland.
    2. DIMS
      +4
      23 October 2012 09: 37
      Quote: vylvyn
      Do not smear the name of the holy city. What's "Stalingrad" like in Italy?

      This refers to the intensity of the battles, not the number of participants. In real life, it was even worse than in Stalingrad. The allied command arranged a meat grinder in the best traditions of the First World War or some not very smart Soviet commanders, about whom Zhukov wrote in his famous order "to stop criminal attacks head-on ..."
      1. 0
        23 October 2012 11: 11
        absolutely right. Nobody compares the death toll or the level of courage of the allied forces and the Red Army. The comparison is in line with the strategic importance of the battle itself.
        1. vylvyn
          +4
          23 October 2012 14: 33
          Guys (Beck, DIMS, Delta), I am certainly grateful that you are trying to give your explanations (I perfectly understand about the cunning journalistic trick). But there are things that, when glorifying the fascist paratroopers, it is better not to mention, in particular - Stalingrad. Thank you for not calling the article "Brest in Italian". Have the author name his article "Warsaw in Italian" or "Berlin in Italian" or "Omaha Beach in Italian" or "Maginot Line in Italian". But "Stalingrad in Italian" is an understatement of the significance of the Battle of Stalingrad, demotion of it to the level of an ordinary front-line operation.

          DIMS, I’m sure that in real life it was worse in Stalingrad. The strategic importance of the place is directly determined by the number of troops being drawn there and the intensity of hostilities. Stalingrad was much more important for the Fritz than the monastery.

          Delta, Stalingrad is at times strategically more important than some monastery there. If the Fritzes strangled us in Stalingrad and then transferred their troops from there to Rome, the Allies would have fluttered on all four of their limbs from Italy and Europe.

          I understand that the author is crazy about the Germans, but there is a limit to everything. Stalingrad is Stalingrad, Brest is Brest, the battle for Moscow is the battle for Moscow, the blockade is the blockade, a throw to Berlin for 600 km in a few weeks there is a throw to Berlin for 600 km in a few weeks (from which the Allies were dumbfounded), Malaya Zemlya is Small Earth, the defense of Sevastopol is the defense of Sevastopol, the Kursk Bulge is the Kursk Bulge, and no seat near a monastery there 300 km from Rome (or how much was from it to Rome) can not be compared with this either in heat or in quantity manpower and technology, nor in strategic importance.
  5. 0
    23 October 2012 09: 31
    there is a good Sabaton song about this battle - Union.
  6. +3
    23 October 2012 10: 08
    Good article! Well, the Germans went through a good school and gained experience on the eastern front, and most importantly, they adopted the inappropriateness and firmness of standing by the Soviet soldiers to the end. Near Leningrad and Volkhov there were very fierce battles ....... The Allies used the tactics that NATo uses now - to bomb !!!!
  7. Brother Sarych
    +1
    23 October 2012 10: 34
    I didn’t understand something - is it praise to the German paratroopers or what?
    And is it not too insulting for our country to compare with Stalingrad?
    Do we need such materials? Is it worth re-singing the "exploits" of the beaten Nazis? Well, yes, our allies have nothing to be proud of, but all the same - what the hell is it for us?
    1. +1
      23 October 2012 11: 02
      This is history. And all
      1. Brother Sarych
        0
        23 October 2012 12: 41
        You have not read the article, or what? It is praise that is not particularly appropriate ...
        1. 0
          23 October 2012 12: 56
          those. did not have? There were no fights, there were no dead? there was no military skill on both sides?
          1. Brother Sarych
            0
            23 October 2012 14: 36
            Who says there were no fights? It is about the article itself and its tone ...
        2. +2
          23 October 2012 20: 25
          Brother Sarych (3) FR ".. Precisely praise, not particularly appropriate ..."
          I will not talk about the "praise" of the German soldiers, but we must admit the fact that they were really good soldiers after all! I hate films in which they talk about the vanquished with some kind of mockery! If they were bad soldiers, they would hardly have managed to reach Moscow, well, and all the subsequent battles to carry out ... Personally, from this article for myself, I once again make a confirmation of WHAT STRONG ENEMY WE HAVE STUFFED !!! I will not belittle anyone, but I want to note that the SOVIET-RUSSIAN soldiers turned out to be the HARDEST, the BEST, and this article confirms this once again!
          I will provide links to several of my poems dedicated to our soldiers:
          http://stihi.ru/2009/04/17/2432 - Таков истории удел и еще
          http://stihi.ru/2009/04/16/2344 - Скала молчания
          1. +1
            23 October 2012 22: 25
            "WHAT A STRONG OPPONENT WE HAVE OUTLETED !!!"
            Remember how loved by the people "Seventeen Moments of Spring", which shows a strong, cruel enemy and who will remember films where fascists are sheer idiots. It is stupid and criminal to belittle the forces of the enemy.
            The largest relic in our family are the orders and medals of father and father-in-law. One fought in Stalingrad and near Balaton, the other returned from the Kursk Bulge disabled. Alas, they are no longer alive. I will die - these relics will pass to the children. And I hope it always will be.
    2. +2
      23 October 2012 18: 02
      Sarych, this simply characterizes the fighting qualities of the warring parties; a German soldier is the best in Western Europe. Even Westerners, but still Slavs ....
  8. 8 company
    +5
    23 October 2012 10: 48
    It doesn’t even smell like Stalingrad, of course, on the Volga the sides were equal in military spirit and skill, and in Monte Cassino the Germans simply taught the Allies to fight.
  9. cyberandr
    0
    23 October 2012 10: 51
    It was near Cassino that the combat motto of the division “Partnership, skill, honor!” Was born
    And what is this??? Propaganda of fascism or what?
    1. FreZZZeR
      +2
      23 October 2012 11: 54
      it is interesting that in almost every assault, anyone but the Americans and the British went to the frontal attack: Poles, Indians, Moroccans, Algerians, New Zealanders.
    2. Volkhov
      0
      23 October 2012 11: 58
      Russian consciousness is formed systematically by the Nazis and Zionists in their own interests, privately in families and genes in a dream and in extreme cases. The point of view is determined by the addition of vectors. Volkogonov had good special propaganda benefits until he himself turned into a democrat. This is the classic stage of data accumulation before the information revolution.
      See how others work, maybe there will someday be Russian propaganda, or the Arctic fox will teach to brush itself off from someone else's.
  10. +1
    23 October 2012 11: 04
    in the second photograph of the Hauptmann Renneke KP, and next to the StuG III assault gun. And in the penultimate photograph, the same self-propelled gun, but already knocked out, after fights
  11. 0
    23 October 2012 11: 23
    Events are certainly not comparable in importance and scale. Naturally, Western journalists are trying, according to their usual habit, to "pull the owl on the globe", i.e. maximize your success. The Germans showed themselves head and shoulders above all the Anglo-Macroccan-Indian units. Since our troops gouged the Germans, they were, by definition, better than all this intersalat. So, there is no propaganda of fascism here
    1. DIMS
      +1
      23 October 2012 11: 38
      Look at your leisure what this monastery was like. Photos and chronicles of the sea. And the "intersalat" time after time rose to attack up the hill head-on with machine guns, carrying out the orders of their stupid bosses. And there already nothing depended on skill or "best" - this could not affect the win in Russian roulette.
  12. +1
    23 October 2012 11: 59
    The article is definitely a plus. Regarding the title - would you read an article titled "Fights for the Monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy"? I think that there would be much fewer readers than with the title - "Stalingrad in Italian". So I don't think you need to get hung up on this.

    And the Germans, although fascists, knew military science by heart, which was what our allies taught in full. The ratio of killed to 1 to 10 speaks for itself.

    And the Germans, although fascists, knew military science by heart, which was what our allies taught in full. The ratio of killed to 1 to 10 speaks for itself.
    1. Albaros
      0
      24 October 2012 19: 18
      And the Soviet, though Communists, also learned a lot from their opponents.
  13. borisst64
    0
    23 October 2012 14: 44
    "The German paratroopers left the abbey at night. When the reconnaissance patrol of the 18th regiment of the Podolsk uhlans entered the abbey on the morning of May 12, 30 wounded German soldiers remained there."

    It’s not customary to leave your wounded comrades to the enemy! The battle fraternity is worth a lot.
    1. dom.lazar
      0
      23 October 2012 16: 24
      if the enemy complies with the Geneva Convention and, instead of finishing off, puts the wounded in the hospital (and left the seriously wounded, who would die during transportation), then why not leave
  14. uncle gosh
    0
    23 October 2012 16: 32
    Konstantin Simonov was the first to write about the Poles. From his diary, it was known about the 2nd Polish corps, which our country equipped and armed, and then through Iran, the Polish government led the British out.
    1. 0
      23 October 2012 19: 38
      They were not so much Poles as Belarusians in the army of General Anders, and they were rightfully awarded the Monte Cassino cross.
      1. 0
        23 October 2012 20: 02
        If they served in the Anders army, they are no longer Belarusians, but Poles.
  15. simplekss
    0
    23 October 2012 19: 48
    Kurt von Tippelskirch
    "History of the Second World War".



    "The concentration of troops and the occupation of the initial position, both the Allied armies were able, and this time so skillfully disguised that the German defense was completely taken by surprise, when on the evening of May 11 a real barrage of fire fell on it, which seriously complicated the supply even at night and completely removed from After this extremely intensive, albeit only 40 minutes of artillery preparation, the enemy divisions launched an offensive against the 10th Army. The far superior French attack on the Petrella massif, where only one German division was defending, was soon marked by a serious success. The German division defended to the south was unable to repel the American attacks.Both enemy corps were well equipped for operations in the mountains and therefore far outnumbered the German divisions defending against them.As a result of a series of enveloping maneuvers and breakthroughs, both German divisions were defeated and thrown back into the Fondi area, where they were reinforced with reserves brought up there in a prepared cut-off position. The command of Army Group South-West continued to adhere to its plan to conduct a strong defense and to prevent the left flank of the 5th US Army from connecting with the forces of the Nettun bridgehead at any cost. To this end, by May 18, it threw two of the three reserve divisions into battle, thanks to which it was temporarily possible to form a defense on a new line from Terracina, as a result of a counterattack, again captured from the enemy, to the confluence of the Liri and Sacco rivers and to stop the enemy's advance. However, his pressure continued to be very strong here. Consistently implementing its plan, the command of the German army group put into action the third reserve division, when the threat of a breakthrough of the English corps in the valley of the Leary River hung. Under the onslaught of this building on May 16, the monastery and the heights of Cassino were left, where they threatened with deep coverage from the flank. Since the Polish corps failed to break through to the north of Cassino, the situation in this sector of the front remained tolerable. Meanwhile, the Americans and French, meanwhile, with exceptional stubbornness continued to develop an offensive in the Lepini mountains with superior forces in the north-west direction, thanks to this, reaching not only deep into the flank of the 10th Army, but at the same time into the rear of the 14th Army, which held the defenses around the bridgehead ... In addition, they had to reckon with the fact that the Americans could launch an offensive from the beachhead any day, and all reserves were used up. The Americans, apparently, deliberately applied the same tactics here as during the landing in January, when they first took offensive actions on the front of the 10th Army with the aim of pinning down the largest German reserves here. "
  16. uncle Vasya
    +5
    23 October 2012 21: 15
    I foresee attacks and accusations of propaganda of fascism, but still I will express myself. The article is interesting in the context of the military skill of the Germans and, I am not afraid of the word, their feat. After all, the Germans were mostly not fascists. The soldiers. It is scary and strange to compare them with ours. But, you see, any soldier, whether he is a fascist who has occupied a foreign land, whether our soldier who defended his homeland is capable of a feat. We are not talking about those atrocities that the Nazis committed with the civilian population, with prisoners of war. It's about a soldier feat. Surely among the German soldiers were those who covered their retreat, and then blew himself up with a grenade. Or those who rushed under the tank ... Defending Koenigsberg, German soldiers showed personal courage bordering on a feat. Examples of their heroism are practically unknown. And this is obvious - for us they are enemies who attacked our country, tried to destroy our nations, and who got what they deserved ... The title of this article is, of course, high-profile. Perhaps controversial. But she, in my opinion, opens the veil of the other side of the coin of our enemy - shows the personal courage and heroism of ordinary soldiers, albeit hated, fascists, villains, etc.
    1. Albaros
      +1
      24 October 2012 19: 26
      A true soldier always respects his opponent. When fascists, communists or capitalists speak about soldiers of warring parties, this is ideology and ideological complexes. In a war, war and feats of arms are fought not by party and political figures, but by soldiers and soldiers.
  17. +2
    24 October 2012 00: 07
    Oh Uncle Vasya, you’re right about the soldier’s feat, because he is not a communist or a fascist, but a man, first of all, and it’s human to be (not strange) a man. There is propaganda, there is ideology, there is religion and the primary task of everything This makes people controlled, and the controlled mass is already less intelligent humanity.
    And I'm not saying that all this is bad, but how to use it. That's the question of questions.
  18. Larus
    +1
    24 October 2012 00: 52
    Yes, yes, often by history, such comparisons were made ... That's what the propaganda, which is already believed in all over the world, means. They will soon compare the battle for Moscow and the attack on Fallujah.
  19. jury08
    0
    25 October 2012 20: 53
    [quote = gurt] and the psheks of their slurp - 50 freaks who escaped to Africa, crawled out into Italy, and here they tasted German hospitality ...... [/ quote
    You’re a freak yourself, if you say so about the heroes of Monte Cassino, my compatriots, the Belarusians who fought as part of the Ukrysny divisions. Some returned to Belarus from where they were sent to Siberia when they were returned until the 80s they were not considered veterans! The last hero accelerator died a year or two ago in Belarus, not a single official remembered this! Glory to these heroes !!!
  20. Oles
    0
    14 November 2012 15: 57
    I’m sure our people would have laid not 120 but 320 thousand people .. after all, they climbed to take East Prussia .. however, as always, this was and will be .. there is nothing new here ..... and why is everyone on the alliance ?? after all, in essence, they defeated .... the Soviet Union simply performed the role of the anvil that the Germans fought .. the same role was played by China for the Japanese and they suffered the greatest losses .. but no one says that China won in that war. . ours simply laid down the people in piles and all .. and the number of our dead soldiers (which by the way is still unknown) does not mean that we won .. but about how we fought .. alas, the wreck of corpses is our contribution to war and nothing more .. and if there weren’t a Lend-Lease and indeed an alliance .. then everything .. the mustachioed would be blown away at 42 more ...
  21. bart74
    0
    18 November 2012 04: 38
    I won’t even shame the memory of my two grandfathers who passed Stalingrad. Why lower the small-town fights (local battles) to the level of great battles? We can’t even compare the battle for Moscow with the battle for Berlin! Where in the first case the whole country fought for its existence and prosperity, and in the second for its well-being! What is the difference between security and luxury?

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