The most famous battles Major battles of the Great Patriotic War

Sadly, war has always been and is the most powerful engine in the history of mankind. It is difficult to judge whether it is good or bad, huge losses of people have always been replaced by progress in science and culture, in the economy or industry. For the entire time of the existence of mankind on earth, you can hardly count a couple of centuries when everyone lived in peace and harmony. Absolutely every battle changed the course of the entire history of mankind and left its imprint on the faces of its witnesses. And there are no most famous wars in this list, there are simply those that you always need to know and remember.

It is considered the last naval battle in the history of antiquity. In this battle, the forces of Octavian Augustus and Mark Antony fought. The confrontation is subsidized in 31 BC near Cape Actium. Historians argue that Octavian's victory played a huge role in the history of Rome and put an end to such a long civil war. Not having survived his loss, Mark Antony soon committed suicide.

The famous battle of the Greek and Persian troops took place on September 12, 490 BC near the tiny town of Marathon near Athens. The Persian ruler Darius madly wanted to subjugate all the cities of Greece. The disobedience of the inhabitants seriously angered the ruler, and he sent an army of 26,000 soldiers against them. Imagine his surprise that the Greek army, consisting of only 10,000 thousand people, withstood the onslaught and, in addition, completely defeated the enemy army. It seems that everything is as always, the war is like a war, and probably this battle remained only in the records of several historians, if not for the messenger. Having won the battle, the Greeks sent a messenger with good news. The messenger ran without stopping for more than 42 km. Arriving in the city, he proclaimed victory and, unfortunately, these were his last words. Since then, the battle has not only become known as a marathon, but the distance of 42 km 195 meters has become an indispensable length for athletics.

A naval battle between Persians and Greeks took place in 480 BC near the island of Salamis. According to historical data, the Greek fleet consisted of 380 ships and could not surpass the power of 1000 ships of the Persian warriors, but thanks to the unsurpassed command of Eurybiades, it was the Greeks who won the battle. It has been historically proven that the victory of Greece turned the whole course of events of the Greco-Persian civil strife.

This battle is popularly referred to as the "Battle of Tours". The battle took place in 732 between the Frankish kingdom and Aquitaine, in the city of Tours. As a result of the battle, the troops of the Frankish kingdom won and thus put an end to Islam in the territory of their state. It is believed that this victory gave further development to all Christianity.

The most famous, sung in many works and films. The battle of the Novgorod Republic and the Vladimir-Suzdal principality against the Livonian and Teutonic Orders. Historians suggest that the day of the battle was April 5, 1242. The battle gained its fame thanks to the brave knights who break through the ice and go under the water in their full outfit. The result of the war was the signing of a peace treaty between the Teutonic Order and Novgorod.

On September 8, 1380, a battle took place on the Kulikovo field, which became the main stage in the creation of the Russian state. The battle took place between the Moscow, Smolensk and Nizhny Novgorod principalities against the Horde of Mamai. In the battle, the Russian troops suffered colossal losses in people, but, in spite of everything, they destroyed the enemy army forever. As time passed, many historians began to argue that it was this battle that became the “point of no return” for pagan nomads.

The well-known battle of three emperors: Napoleon 1 and the allies of Frederick 1 (Austrian Empire) and Alexander 1 (Russian Empire.). The battle took place on December 2, 1805 near Austerlitz. Despite the huge superiority in strength of the allied sides, Russia and Austria were defeated in the battle. The brilliant strategy and tactics of the battle brought Napoleon a triumphant victory and glory.

The second major battle against Napoleon took place on June 18, 1815. France was opposed by the allied empire represented by Great Britain, the Netherlands, Hanover, Prussia, Nassau and Braunschweig-Luneburg. This was another attempt by Napoleon to prove his autocracy, but to great surprise, Napoleon did not show that brilliant strategy as at the battle of Austerlitz and lost the battle. To date, historians have been able to accurately describe the entire course of the battle, and even several films have been made dedicated to the momentous battle of Waterloo.

You might be interested:

Heroism and courage Soviet soldiers, shown during the battles of the Great Patriotic War, deserve eternal memory. The wisdom of military leaders, which has become one of the most important components of the common victory, does not cease to amaze even today.

Over the long years of the war, so many battles took place that even some historians disagree on the interpretation of the meaning of certain battles. And yet, the largest battles, which have a significant impact on the further course of hostilities, are known to almost every person. It is these battles that will be discussed in our article.

Name of the battle	Commanders who took part in the battle	Outcome of the battle
	Aviation Major Ionov A.P., Aviation Major General Kutsevalov T.F., F.I. Kuznetsov, V.F. Tributs.	Despite the stubborn struggle of the Soviet soldiers, the operation ended on July 9 after the Germans broke through the defenses in the area of ​​the Velikaya River. This military operation smoothly turned into a struggle for the Leningrad region.
	G.K. Zhukov, I.S. Konev, M.F. Lukin, P.A. Kurochkin, K.K. Rokossovsky	This battle is considered one of the bloodiest in the history of the Second World War. At the cost of multi-million dollar losses Soviet army managed to delay the advance of Hitler's army on Moscow.
	Popov M.M., Frolov V.A., Voroshilov K.E., Zhukov G.K., Meretskov K.A.	After the blockade of Leningrad began, local residents and military leaders had to fight fierce battles for several years. As a result, the blockade was lifted, the city was liberated. However, Leningrad itself was subjected to horrific destruction, and the death toll of local residents exceeded several hundred thousand.
	I.V. Stalin, G.K. Zhukov, A.M. Vasilevsky, S.M. Budyonny, A.A. Vlasov.	Despite huge losses, the Soviet troops managed to win. The Germans were thrown back 150-200 kilometers back, and the Soviet troops managed to liberate the Tula, Ryazan and Moscow regions.
	I.S. Konev, G.K. Zhukov.	The Germans managed to push back another 200 kilometers. Soviet troops completed the liberation of the Tula and Moscow regions, liberated some areas of the Smolensk region
	A.M. Vasilevsky, N.F. Vatutin, A.I. Eremenko, S.K. Timoshenko, V.I. Chuikov	It is the victory at Stalingrad that many historians call among the most important turning points in the course of the Second World War. The Red Army managed to win a strong-willed victory, pushing the Germans far back, and proving that the fascist army also had its vulnerabilities.
	CM. Budyonny, I.E. Petrov, I.I. Maslennikov, F.S. October	Soviet troops were able to win a landslide victory, liberating Checheno-Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, the Stavropol Territory and the Rostov Region.
	Georgy Zhukov, Ivan Konev, Konstantin Rokossovsky	The Kursk Bulge became one of the bloodiest battles, but it ensured the end of the turning point in the course of the Second World War. The Soviet troops managed to push the Germans back even further, almost to the border of the country.
	V.D. Sokolovsky, I.Kh. Bagramyan	On the one hand, the operation was unsuccessful, because the Soviet troops failed to reach Minsk and capture Vitebsk. However, the forces of the Nazis were severely wounded, and the tank reserves as a result of the battle were almost running out.
	Konstantin Rokossovsky, Alexey Antonov, Ivan Bagramyan, Georgy Zhukov	Operation Bagration turned out to be incredibly successful, because the territories of Belarus, part of the Baltic states and regions of Eastern Poland were recaptured.
	Georgy Zhukov, Ivan Konev	The Soviet troops managed to defeat 35 enemy divisions and directly go to Berlin for the final battle.
	I.V. Stalin, G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky, I.S. Konev	Soviet troops after a long resistance managed to take the capital of Germany. With the capture of Berlin, the Great Patriotic War officially ended.

The bloodiest battle in the history of mankind is Stalingrad. Nazi Germany lost 841,000 soldiers in the battle. The losses of the USSR amounted to 1,130,000 people. Accordingly, the total death toll was 1,971,000 people.

By the middle of the summer of 1942, the battles of the Great Patriotic War had reached the Volga. The German command also included Stalingrad in the plan for a large-scale offensive in the south of the USSR (Caucasus, Crimea). Hitler wanted to carry out this plan in just a week with the help of the 6th Paulus Field Army. It included 13 divisions, where there were about 270,000 people, 3 thousand guns and about five hundred tanks. On the part of the USSR, the forces of Germany opposed Stalingrad Front. It was created by decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on July 12, 1942 (commander - Marshal Timoshenko, from July 23 - Lieutenant General Gordov).

On August 23, German tanks approached Stalingrad. From that day on, fascist aviation began to systematically bomb the city. On the ground, battles did not stop either. The defending troops were ordered to hold the city with all their might. With each passing day, the fighting became more and more fierce. All houses were turned into fortresses. Fights went for floors, basements, separate walls.

By November, the Germans had captured almost the entire city. Stalingrad was turned into solid ruins. The defending troops held only a low strip of land - a few hundred meters along the banks of the Volga. Hitler hurried to the whole world to announce the capture of Stalingrad.

On September 12, 1942, at the height of the battles for the city, the General Staff began to develop the offensive operation "Uranus". It was planned by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. The plan was to hit the flanks of the German wedge, which was defended by the Allied troops (Italians, Romanians and Hungarians). Their formations were poorly armed and did not have a high morale. Within two months, under conditions of the deepest secrecy, a strike force was created near Stalingrad. The Germans understood the weakness of their flanks, but could not imagine that the Soviet command would be able to collect such a number of combat-ready units.

On November 19, the Red Army, after a powerful artillery preparation, launched an offensive with the forces of tank and mechanized units. Overturning Germany's allies, November 23 Soviet troops closed the ring, surrounding 22 divisions numbering 330 thousand soldiers.

Hitler rejected the option of retreat and ordered the commander-in-chief of the 6th Army, Paulus, to begin defensive battles in the environment. The command of the Wehrmacht tried to release the encircled troops with a strike by the Don army under the command of Manstein. There was an attempt to organize an air bridge, which our aviation stopped. The Soviet command presented an ultimatum to the Surrounded units. Realizing the hopelessness of their situation, on February 2, 1943, the remnants of the 6th Army in Stalingrad surrendered.

2 "Verdun meat grinder"

The Battle of Verdun is one of the largest and one of the bloodiest military operations in the First World War. It took place from February 21 to December 18, 1916 between the troops of France and Germany. Each side unsuccessfully tried to break through the enemy's defenses and launch a decisive offensive. During the nine months of the battle, the front line remained virtually unchanged. Neither side achieved a strategic advantage. It was not by chance that contemporaries called the battle of Verdun a "meat grinder". 305,000 soldiers and officers from both sides lost their lives in a useless confrontation. The losses of the French army, including those killed and wounded, amounted to 543 thousand people, and the German - 434 thousand. 70 French and 50 German divisions passed through the Verdun meat grinder.

After a series of bloody battles on both fronts in 1914-1915, Germany did not have the forces to attack on a wide front, so the goal of the offensive was a powerful blow on a narrow sector - in the area of ​​​​the Verdun fortified region. The breakthrough of the French defense, the encirclement and defeat of 8 French divisions would mean free passage to Paris, followed by the surrender of France.

On a small section of the front, 15 km long, Germany concentrated 6.5 divisions against 2 French divisions. Additional reserves could be brought in to maintain a continuous offensive. The sky was cleared of French aircraft for the unhindered work of German fire spotters and bombers.

The Verdun operation began on 21 February. After a massive 8-hour artillery preparation, the German troops went on the offensive on the right bank of the Meuse River, but met stubborn resistance. The German infantry was advancing in tight battle formations. During the first day of the offensive, the German troops advanced 2 km and took the first position of the French. In the following days, the offensive was carried out according to the same scheme: during the day, the artillery destroyed the next position, and by the evening the infantry occupied it.

By February 25, the French had lost almost all of their forts. Almost without resistance, the Germans managed to take the important Fort Douaumont. However, the French command took measures to eliminate the threat of encirclement of the Verdun fortified area. On the only highway connecting Verdun with the rear, troops from other sectors of the front were transferred in 6,000 vehicles. During the period from February 27 to March 6, about 190,000 soldiers and 25,000 tons of military cargo were delivered to Verdun by motor vehicles. The offensive of the German troops was stopped by almost one and a half superiority in manpower.

The battle took on a protracted character, since March the Germans suffered the main blow to the left bank of the river. After intense fighting, the German troops managed to advance only 6-7 km by May.

The last attempt to capture Verdun was made by the Germans on June 22, 1916. They acted, as always, according to the pattern, at first, after a powerful artillery preparation, the use of gas followed, then the thirty-thousandth vanguard of the Germans went on the attack, which acted with the despair of the doomed. The advancing avant-garde managed to destroy the opposing French division and even take Fort Tiamon, located just three kilometers north of Verdun, the walls of the Verdun Cathedral were already visible ahead, but there was simply no one to continue the attack, the advancing German troops died almost completely on the battlefield, reserves ran out, the general offensive bogged down.

The Brusilovsky breakthrough on the Eastern Front and the Entente operation on the Somme forced the German troops to go on the defensive in the fall, and on October 24, the French troops went on the offensive and by the end of December reached the positions they occupied on February 25, pushing the enemy back 2 km from Fort Duamon.

The battle did not bring any tactical and strategic results - by December 1916, the front line had moved to the lines occupied by both armies by February 25, 1916.

3 Battle of the Somme

The Battle of the Somme is one of the largest battles of the First World War, with over 1,000,000 killed and wounded, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. Only on the first day of the campaign, July 1, 1916, the English landing lost 60,000 people. The operation dragged on for five months. The number of divisions participating in the battle increased from 33 to 149. As a result, the French losses amounted to 204,253 people, the British - 419,654 people, a total of 623,907 people, of which 146,431 people were killed and missing. German losses amounted to more than 465,000 people, of which 164,055 were killed and missing.

The offensive plan on all fronts, including the Western front, was developed and approved as early as early March 1916 in Chantilly. The combined army of the French and British was to launch an offensive against the fortified German positions in early July, and the Russian and Italian 15 days earlier. In May, the plan was significantly changed, the French, who had lost over half a million soldiers killed near Verdun, could no longer put up in the upcoming battle the number of soldiers that the allies demanded. As a result, the length of the front was reduced from 70 to 40 kilometers.

On June 24, British artillery began heavy shelling of German positions near the Somme River. As a result of this shelling, the Germans lost more than half of their entire artillery and the entire first line of defense, after which they immediately began to pull reserve divisions into the breakthrough area.

On July 1, as planned, the infantry was launched, which easily overcame the almost destroyed first line of German troops, but when moving to the second and third positions, lost a huge number of soldiers and was thrown back. On this day, over 20 thousand English and French soldiers died, more than 35 thousand were seriously injured, some of them were taken prisoner. At the same time, the small French not only captured and held the second line of defense, but also took Barlet, however, leaving it a few hours later, since the commander was not ready for such a rapid development of events and ordered to retreat. A new offensive on the French sector of the front began only on July 5, but by this time the Germans had pulled several additional divisions to this area, several thousand soldiers died as a result, but the city, abandoned so recklessly, was not taken. The French tried to capture Barlet from the moment they retreated in July until the month of October.

Already a month after the start of the battle, the British and French lost so many soldiers that 9 additional divisions were brought into battle, while Germany transferred as many as 20 divisions to the Somme. By August, against 500 British aircraft, the Germans were able to field only 300, and against 52 divisions, only 31.

The situation for Germany became much more complicated after the implementation of the Brusilov breakthrough by the Russian troops, the German command depleted all its reserves and was forced to switch to planned defense from the last forces, not only on the Somme, but also near Verdun.

Under these conditions, the British decided to make another attempt at a breakthrough, scheduled for September 3, 1916. After the artillery bombardment, all available reserves, including French ones, were thrown into action, and on September 15 tanks went into battle for the first time. In total, the command had at its disposal about 50 tanks with a well-trained crew, but only 18 of them actually took part in the battle. A big miscalculation of the designers and developers of the tank offensive was the rejection of the fact that the terrain near the river was swampy, and bulky, clumsy tanks simply could not get out of the swamp. However, the British were able to advance deep into the enemy positions for several tens of kilometers and on September 27 they were able to capture the heights between the Somme River and the small river Ancre.

A further offensive did not make sense, since the exhausted soldiers would not be able to hold the recaptured positions, therefore, despite several offensive attempts made in October, in fact, no military operations had been conducted in this area since November, and the operation was completed.

4 Battle of Leipzig

The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, is the largest battle in the Napoleonic Wars and in world history before the First World War. The French army, according to rough estimates, lost 70-80 thousand soldiers near Leipzig, of which about 40 thousand were killed and wounded, 15 thousand prisoners, another 15 thousand were captured in hospitals, and up to 5 thousand Saxons went over to the Allied side. According to the French historian T. Lenz, the losses of the Napoleonic army amounted to 70 thousand killed, wounded and captured, another 15-20 thousand German soldiers went over to the side of the Allies. In addition to combat losses, the lives of the soldiers of the retreating army were carried away by a typhus epidemic. Allied losses amounted to 54 thousand killed and wounded, of which up to 23 thousand Russians, 16 thousand Prussians, 15 thousand Austrians and 180 Swedes.

From October 16 to October 19, 1813, a battle took place near Leipzig between the armies of Napoleon I and the sovereigns united against him: Russian, Austrian, Prussian and Swedish. The forces of the latter were divided into three armies: the Bohemian (main), Silesian and northern, but only the first two of them participated in the battle on October 16. The bloody actions of that day did not bring any significant results.

On October 17, both warring parties remained inactive, and only on the north side of Leipzig did a cavalry skirmish occur. During this day, the position of the French deteriorated significantly, since only one Renier corps (15 thousand) came to reinforce them, and the allies were strengthened by the newly arrived northern army. Napoleon found out about this, but did not dare to retreat, because, retreating, he left the possessions of his ally, the king of Saxony, in the hands of the enemies, and finally abandoned the French garrisons scattered at various points on the Vistula, Oder and Elbe to the mercy of fate. By the evening of the 17th, he pulled his troops to new positions, closer to Leipzig, on October 18, the allies resumed the attack along the entire line, but, despite the enormous superiority of their forces, the result of the battle was again far from decisive: on the right wing of Napoleon, all the attacks of the Bohemian army were repulsed; in the center, the French lost several villages and retreated back to Leipzig; their left wing held its ground north of Leipzig; in the rear, the French retreat route to Weissenfels remained free.

The main reasons for the small success of the Allies were the timing of their attacks and the inactivity of the reserve, which Prince Schwarzenberg did not know how or did not want to properly use, contrary to the insistence of Emperor Alexander. Meanwhile, Napoleon, taking advantage of the fact that the retreat route remained open, began to send back his carts and separate parts of the troops before noon, and on the night of 18-19 the entire French army retreated to Leipzig and beyond. For the defense of the city itself, 4 corps were left. The commander of the rear guard, MacDonald, was ordered to hold out until at least 12 noon the next day, and then retreat, blowing up the only bridge on the Elster River behind him.

On the morning of October 19, a new Allied attack followed. About one o'clock in the afternoon, the allied monarchs could already enter the city, in some parts of which fierce fighting was still in full swing. Due to a disastrous mistake for the French, the bridge on the Elster was blown up prematurely. The cut off troops of their rearguard were partly taken prisoner, partly died, trying to escape by swimming across the river.

The battle of Leipzig, in terms of the size of the forces of both sides (Napoleon had 190,000, with 700 guns; the allies had up to 300,000 and more than 1,300 guns) and because of its enormous consequences, is called by the Germans the "battle of the peoples." The consequence of this battle was the liberation of Germany and the falling away from Napoleon of the troops of the Confederation of the Rhine.

5 Battle of Borodino

The battle of Borodino is considered the bloodiest one-day battle in history. During it, every hour, about 6 thousand people died or were injured, according to the most conservative estimates. During the battle, the Russian army lost about 30% of its composition, the French - about 25%. In absolute numbers, this is about 60 thousand killed on both sides. But, according to some reports, up to 100 thousand people were killed during the battle and died later from wounds.

The battle of Borodino took place 125 kilometers west of Moscow, near the village of Borodino, on August 26 (September 7, old style), 1812. French troops under the leadership of Napoleon I Bonaparte invaded the territory of the Russian Empire in June 1812 and reached the capital itself by the end of August. The Russian troops constantly retreated and, naturally, caused great discontent both in society and in Emperor Alexander I himself. To turn the tide, Commander-in-Chief Barclay de Tolly was removed, and Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov took his place. But the new head of the Russian army also preferred to retreat: on the one hand, he wanted to wear down the enemy, on the other, Kutuzov was waiting for reinforcements to give a general battle. After the retreat near Smolensk, Kutuzov's army settled down near the village of Borodino - there was nowhere to retreat further. It was here that the most famous battle of the entire Patriotic War of 1812 took place.

At 6 am, the French artillery opened fire on the entire front. The French troops lined up for the attack launched their onslaught on the Life Guards Jaeger Regiment. Desperately resisting, the regiment retreated across the Koloch River. The flashes, who would become known as the Bagrationovs, protected the chasseur regiments of Prince Shakhovsky from being bypassed. Ahead, the huntsmen also lined up in a cordon. The division of Major General Neverovsky took up positions behind the flushes.

The troops of Major General Duka occupied the Semyonov Heights. This area was attacked by the cavalry of Marshal Murat, the troops of Marshals Ney and Davout, and the corps of General Junot. The number of attackers reached 115 thousand people.

The course of the Battle of Borodino after the repulsed attacks of the French at 6 and 7 o'clock continued with another attempt to take flushes on the left flank. By that time, they were reinforced by the Izmailovsky and Lithuanian regiments, the Konovnitsin division and cavalry units. On the French side, it was in this sector that serious artillery forces were concentrated - 160 guns. However, subsequent attacks (at 8 and 9 in the morning) were, despite the incredible intensity of the fighting, completely unsuccessful. The French briefly managed to take possession of the flushes at 9 am. But, soon they were knocked out of the Russian fortifications by a powerful counterattack. The half-ruined flushes held on stubbornly, repelling subsequent attacks from the enemy.

Konovnitsin withdrew his troops to Semyonovskoye only after the holding of these fortifications ceased to be a necessity. Semyonovsky ravine became a new line of defense. The exhausted troops of Davout and Murat, who did not receive reinforcements (Napoleon did not dare to bring the Old Guard into battle), were unable to carry out a successful attack.

The situation was extremely difficult in other areas as well. The barrow height was attacked at the same time that the battle for the capture of flushes was in full swing on the left flank. Raevsky's battery held the height, despite the powerful onslaught of the French under the command of Eugene Beauharnais. After reinforcements arrived, the French were forced to retreat.

Actions on the right flank were no less intense. Lieutenant-General Uvarov and Ataman Platov with a cavalry raid deep into the enemy positions, committed at about 10 o'clock in the morning, pulled back significant French forces. This allowed to weaken the onslaught along the entire front. Platov was able to reach the rear of the French (the Valuevo area), which suspended the offensive in the central direction. Uvarov made an equally successful maneuver in the Bezzubovo area.

The battle of Borodino lasted all day and gradually began to subside only by 6 pm. Another attempt to bypass the Russian positions was successfully repelled by the soldiers of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment in the Utitsky Forest. After that, Napoleon gave the order to withdraw to their original positions. The Battle of Borodino lasted more than 12 hours.

Invaders came from both the West and the East. They spoke to different languages, they had different weapons. But their goals were the same - to ruin and plunder the country, to kill or take away its inhabitants into captivity and slavery.

Today, in connection with this holiday, we decided to recall the most significant battles in the history of our Fatherland. If we forgot something, you can write in the comments.

1. Defeat Khazar Khaganate(965)

The Khazar Khaganate has long been the main rival of the Russian state. The unification of Slavic tribes around Russia, many of which had previously been dependent on Khazaria, could not but increase tension in relations between the two powers.

In 965, Prince Svyatoslav subjugated the Khazar Khaganate to his power, and then organized a campaign against a strong tribal union of the Vyatichi, who paid tribute to the Khazars. Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the army of the kagan in battle and raided his entire state, from the Volga to the North Caucasus. Important Khazar cities were attached to Russia - the Sarkel (Belaya Vezha) fortress on the Don, which controlled the route from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea (now at the bottom of the Tsimlyansk reservoir), and the port of Tmutarakan on the Taman Peninsula. The Black Sea Khazars fell into the sphere of Russian influence. The remains of the Kaganate on the Volga were destroyed in the XI century by the Polovtsy.

2. Neva Battle (1240)

The prince of Novgorod was only 19 years old when, in the summer of 1240, Swedish ships, probably led by Birger Magnusson, entered the mouth of the Neva. Knowing that Novgorod was deprived of the support of the southern principalities, the Swedes, instructed from Rome, hoped, at a minimum, to seize all the lands north of the Neva, simultaneously converting both pagans and Orthodox Karelians to Catholicism.

The young Novgorod prince led a lightning attack of his squad and defeated the Swedes' camp before they had time to strengthen it. Going on a campaign, Alexander was in such a hurry that he did not gather all the Novgorodians who wished to join, believing that speed would be of decisive importance, and he turned out to be right. In the battle, Alexander fought in the forefront.

A decisive victory over superior forces brought Prince Alexander great fame and the honorary title - Nevsky.

However, the Novgorod boyars feared the growing influence of the prince, and tried to remove him from the management of the city. Soon Alexander left Novgorod, but a year later the threat of a new war forced the Novgorodians to turn to him again.

3. Battle on the Ice (1242)

In 1242, German knights from the Livonian Order captured Pskov and approached Novgorod. The Novgorodians, who had quarreled with Prince Alexander a year before, turned to him for help and again transferred power to him. The prince gathered an army, expelled the enemies from the Novgorod and Pskov lands and went to Lake Peipus.

On the ice of the lake in 1242, in a battle known as the Battle of the Ice, Alexander Yaroslavich destroyed an army of German knights. Russian arrows, despite the onslaught of the Germans, breaking through the regiments in the center, courageously resisted the attackers. This courage helped the Russians to surround the knights from the flanks and win. Pursuing the survivors for seven miles, Alexander showed the firmness of the Russian army. The victory in the battle led to the signing of a peace agreement between Novgorod and the Livonian Order.

4. Battle of Kulikovo (1380)

The Battle of Kulikovo, which took place on September 8, 1380, was a turning point that showed the strength of the united Russian army and the ability of Russia to resist the Horde.

The conflict between Mamai and Dmitry Donskoy escalated more and more. The Moscow principality strengthened, Russia won many victories over the troops of the Horde. Donskoy did not listen to Mamai when he gave Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy a label for Vladimir, and then stopped paying tribute to the Horde. All this could not help but lead Mamai to the idea of ​​the need for a quick victory over the enemy that was gaining strength.

In 1378 he sent an army against Dmitry, but it was defeated on the Vozha River. Soon Mamai lost influence on the Volga lands due to the invasion of Tokhtamysh. In 1380, the Horde commander decided to attack the Donskoy army in order to finally defeat his forces.

On September 8, 1380, when the armies clashed, it became clear that there would be a lot of losses on both sides. The legendary exploits of Alexander Peresvet, Mikhail Brenk and Dmitry Donskoy were described in The Tale of the Battle of Mamaev. The turning point for the battle was the moment when Bobrok ordered to delay the ambush regiment, and then cut off the retreat of the Tatars, who had broken through to the river, with his forces. The Horde cavalry was driven into the river and destroyed, meanwhile the rest of the forces mixed the other enemy troops, and the Horde began to retreat randomly. Mamai fled, realizing that he no longer had the strength to continue the fight. According to various estimates, on September 8, 1380, from 40 to 70 thousand Russians and from 90 to 150 thousand Horde troops met in the decisive battle. The victory of Dmitry Donskoy significantly weakened Golden Horde which predetermined its further disintegration.

5. Standing on the Ugra (1480)

This event marks the end of the Horde's influence on the politics of the Russian princes.

In 1480, after Ivan III tore the khan's label, Khan Akhmat, having concluded an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Casimir, moved to Russia. In an effort to connect with the Lithuanian army, on October 8 he approached the Ugra River, a tributary of the Oka. Here he was met by the Russian army.

Akhmat's attempt to force the Ugra was repulsed in a four-day battle. Then the Khan began to expect the Lithuanians. Ivan III, in order to gain time, began negotiations with him. At this time, the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray, an ally of Moscow, attacked the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which did not allow Casimir to help Akhmat. On October 20, the regiments of his brothers, Boris and Andrei Bolshoi, came to reinforce Ivan III. Upon learning of this, Akhmat turned his army back to the steppe on November 11. Soon Akhmat was killed in the Horde. So Russia finally broke the Horde yoke and gained independence.

6. Battle of Molodi (1572)

On July 29, 1572, the Battle of Molodi began - a battle whose outcome was decided by the course of Russian history.

The situation before the battle was very unfavorable. The main forces of the Russian army got stuck in a fierce struggle in the west with Sweden and the Commonwealth. Only a small zemstvo army and guardsmen under the command of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky and governor Dmitry Ivanovich Khvorostinin were able to assemble against the Tatars. They were joined by a 7,000-strong detachment of German mercenaries and Don Cossacks. The total number of Russian troops amounted to 20,034 people.

To fight the Tatar cavalry, Prince Vorotynsky decided to use the "walk-city" - a mobile fortress, behind the walls of which archers and gunners hid. Russian troops not only stopped the six times superior enemy, but also put him to flight. The Crimean-Turkish army of Devlet Giray was almost completely destroyed.

Only 20 thousand horsemen returned to the Crimea, and none of the Janissaries escaped. The Russian army also suffered heavy losses, including the oprichnina army. In the autumn of 1572, the oprichnina regime was abolished. The heroic victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Molodin - the last major battle between Russia and the Steppe - was of great geopolitical significance. Moscow was saved from complete annihilation, and the Russian state from defeat and loss of independence. Russia retained control over the entire course of the Volga - the most important trade and transport artery. The Nogai horde, convinced of the weakness of the Crimean Khan, broke away from him.

7. Moscow battle (1612)

The Moscow battle was the decisive episode of the Time of Troubles. The occupation of Moscow was removed by the forces of the Second Militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The garrison, completely blocked in the Kremlin and Kitay-gorod, having received no help from King Sigismund III, began to experience an acute shortage of provisions, it even came to cannibalism. On October 26, the remnants of the occupation detachment surrendered to the mercy of the winner.

Moscow was liberated. “The hope of taking possession of the whole Muscovite state was irrevocably destroyed,” wrote the Polish chronicler.

8. Battle of Poltava (1709)

On June 27, 1709, a general battle of the Northern War took place near Poltava with the participation of 37,000 Swedish and 60,000 Russian armies. Little Russian Cossacks participated in the battle on both sides, but most fought for the Russians. The Swedish army was almost completely defeated. Charles XII and Mazepa fled to Turkish possessions in Moldavia.

The military forces of Sweden were undermined, and its army was forever out of the best in the world. After the Battle of Poltava, the superiority of Russia became obvious. Denmark and Poland resumed participation in the Northern Alliance. An end was soon put to Swedish dominance in the Baltic.

9. Chesme battle (1770)

The decisive naval battle in the Chesme Bay took place at the height of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774.

Despite the fact that the balance of power in the battle was 30/73 (not in favor of the Russian fleet), the competent command of Alexei Orlov and the valor of our sailors allowed the Russians to take strategic superiority in the battle.

The flagship of the Turks "Burj-u-Zafer" was set on fire, and after it many more ships of the Turkish fleet took up fire.

Chesmen became a triumph for the Russian fleet, secured the blockade of the Dardanelles and seriously disrupted Turkish communications in the Aegean Sea.

10. Battle of Kozludzhi (1774)

During Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774 Russia won another major victory. The Russian army under the command of Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kamensky near the city of Kozludzha (now Suvorovo in Bulgaria), with an unequal balance of forces (24 thousand against 40 thousand), was able to win. Alexander Suvorov managed to drive the Turks off the hill and put them to flight without even resorting to a bayonet attack. This victory largely predetermined the outcome of the Russian-Turkish war and forced the Ottoman Empire to sign a peace treaty.

11. Capture of Ishmael (1790)

On December 22, 1790, Russian troops under the command of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov stormed the hitherto impregnable Turkish fortress of Izmail.

Shortly before the war, with the help of French and German engineers, Izmail was turned into a fairly powerful fortress. Defended by a large garrison, he withstood two sieges undertaken by Russian troops without much difficulty.

Suvorov took command only 8 days before the final assault. He devoted all the remaining time to the training of soldiers. The troops trained to overcome obstacles and ramparts specially created near the Russian camp, practiced hand-to-hand combat techniques on stuffed animals.

A day before the assault, a powerful artillery shelling of the city from all guns began. He was shelling both from land and from the sea.

At 3 am, long before dawn, a flare was launched. It was a sign of preparation for the assault. Russian troops left the location and lined up in three detachments of three columns.

At half past six the soldiers went on the attack. The fortress was attacked from all sides at once. By four o'clock the resistance was finally crushed in all parts of the city - the impregnable fortress fell.

The Russians lost over 2,000 soldiers killed and about 3,000 wounded in the battle. Significant losses. But they could not be compared with the losses of the Turks - they only lost about 26,000 people killed. The news of the capture of Ishmael spread like lightning throughout Europe.

The Turks realized the complete futility of further resistance and in next year signed the Treaty of Jassy. They abandoned their claims to the Crimea and the protectorate over Georgia, ceded part of the Black Sea territories to Russia. The border between the Russian and Ottoman empires moved to the Dniester. True, Ishmael had to be returned back to the Turks.

In honor of the capture of Izmail, Derzhavin and Kozlovsky wrote the song "Thunder of victory, resound!". Until 1816, it remained the unofficial anthem of the Empire.

12. Battle of Cape Tendra (1790)

The commander of the Turkish squadron, Hassan Pasha, managed to convince the Sultan of the imminent defeat of the Russian navy, and at the end of August 1790 he advanced the main forces to Cape Tendra (not far from modern Odessa). However, for the anchored Turkish fleet, the rapid approach of the Russian squadron under the command of Fyodor Ushakov was an unpleasant surprise. Despite the superiority in the number of ships (45 versus 37), the Turkish fleet tried to flee. However, by that time, Russian ships had already attacked the front line of the Turks. Ushakov managed to withdraw all the flagships of the Turkish fleet from the battle and thereby demoralize the rest of the enemy squadron. The Russian fleet did not lose a single ship.

13. Battle of Borodino (1812)

On August 26, 1812, in the battle near the village of Borodino, 125 kilometers west of Moscow, significant forces of the French and Russian armies converged. The regular troops under the command of Napoleon numbered about 137 thousand people, the army of Mikhail Kutuzov with the Cossacks and militia who joined it reached 120 thousand. The rugged terrain made it possible to quietly move reserves, and install artillery batteries on the hills.

On August 24, Napoleon approached the Shevardinsky redoubt, which stood near the village of the same name, three versts in front of the Borodino field.

The battle of Borodino began a day after the battle at the Shevardinsky redoubt and became the largest battle in the war of 1812. The losses on both sides were colossal: the French lost 28 thousand people, the Russians - 46.5 thousand.

Although Kutuzov after the battle gave the order to retreat to Moscow, in a report to Alexander I, he called the Russian army the winner in the battle. Many Russian historians think so too.

French scientists see the battle at Borodino differently. In their opinion, "in the battle near the Moscow River" Napoleonic troops won. Napoleon himself, comprehending the results of the battle, said: "The French in it showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible."

14. Battle of Elisavetpol (1826)

One of the key episodes of the Russian-Persian war of 1826-1828 was the battle near Elisavetpol (now the Azerbaijani city of Ganja). The victory then gained by the Russian troops under the command of Ivan Paskevich over the Persian army of Abbas Mirza became a model of military leadership. Paskevich managed to use the confusion of the Persians who fell into the ravine to launch a counterattack. Despite the superior forces of the enemy (35 thousand against 10 thousand), the Russian regiments began to push the army of Abbas Mirza along the entire front of the attack. The losses of the Russian side amounted to 46 killed, the Persians missed 2000 people.

15. Capture of Erivan (1827)

The fall of the fortified city of Erivan was the culmination of numerous attempts by Russia to establish control over the Transcaucasus. Built in the middle of the 16th century, the fortress was considered impregnable and more than once became a stumbling block for the Russian army. Ivan Paskevich managed to competently besiege the city from three sides, placing cannons around the entire perimeter. “The Russian artillery acted beautifully,” recalled the Armenians who remained in the fortress. Paskevich knew exactly where the Persian positions were located. On the eighth day of the siege, Russian soldiers broke into the city and dealt with the garrison of the fortress with bayonets.

16. Battle of Sarykamysh (1914)

By December 1914, during the First World War, Russia occupied the front from the Black Sea to Lake Van with a length of 350 km, while a significant part of the Caucasian army was pushed forward - deep into Turkish territory. Turkey had a tempting plan to outflank the Russian forces, thereby cutting the Sarykamysh-Kars railway.

The persistence and initiative of the Russians defending Sarakamysh played a decisive role in the operation, the success of which literally hung in the balance. Unable to take Sarykamysh on the move, two Turkish corps fell into the arms of an icy cold, which became fatal for them.

Turkish troops in just one day on December 14 lost 10 thousand people frostbitten.

The last attempt of the Turks to take Sarykamysh on December 17 was repulsed by Russian counterattacks and ended in failure. At this, the offensive impulse of the Turkish troops, suffering from frost and poor supplies, was exhausted.

The turning point has arrived. On the same day, the Russians launched a counteroffensive and drove the Turks back from Sarykamysh. The Turkish commander Enver Pasha decided to strengthen the frontal onslaught and transferred the main blow to Karaurgan, which was defended by parts of the Sarykamysh detachment of General Berkhman. But here, too, the fierce attacks of the 11th Turkish Corps, advancing on Sarykamysh from the front, were repelled.

On December 19, the Russian troops advancing near Sarykamysh completely surrounded the Turkish 9th Corps, frozen by snow storms. Its remnants after stubborn three-day fighting capitulated. Parts of the 10th Corps managed to retreat, but were defeated near Ardagan.

On December 25, General N. N. Yudenich became commander of the Caucasian Army, who gave the order to launch a counteroffensive near Karaurgan. Having thrown back the remnants of the 3rd Army by 30-40 km by January 5, 1915, the Russians stopped the pursuit, which was carried out in a 20-degree cold. And there was almost no one to follow.

Enver Pasha's troops lost 78 thousand people killed, frozen, wounded and captured (over 80% of the personnel). Russian losses amounted to 26 thousand people (killed, wounded, frostbite).

The victory near Sarykamysh stopped the Turkish aggression in Transcaucasia and strengthened the positions of the Caucasian army.

17. Brusilovsky breakthrough (1916)

One of the most important operations on the Eastern Front in 1916 was the offensive on the Southwestern Front, designed not only to turn the tide of hostilities on the Eastern Front, but also to cover the Allied offensive on the Somme. The result was the Brusilovsky breakthrough, which significantly undermined the military power of the Austro-Hungarian army and pushed Romania to enter the war on the side of the Entente.

The offensive operation of the Southwestern Front under the command of General Alexei Brusilov, carried out from May to September 1916, was, according to military historian Anton Kersnovsky, "a victory world war we haven't won yet." The number of forces that were involved on both sides is also impressive - 1,732,000 Russian soldiers and 1,061,000 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian and German armies.

18. Khalkhin-Gol operation

Since the beginning of 1939, in the border area between the Mongolian People's Republic (on whose territory, in accordance with the Soviet-Mongolian protocol of 1936, there were Soviet troops) and the puppet state of Manchukuo, which was actually controlled by Japan, several incidents occurred between the Mongols and the Japanese-Manchus. Mongolia, backed by the Soviet Union, announced the passage of the border near the small village of Nomon-Khan-Burd-Obo, and Manchukuo, backed by Japan, drew the border along the Khalkhin Gol River. In May, the command of the Japanese Kwantung Army concentrated significant forces near Khalkhin Gol. The Japanese managed to achieve superiority in infantry, artillery and cavalry over the Soviet 57th separate rifle corps deployed in Mongolia. However, the Soviet troops had an advantage in aviation and armored forces. Since May, the Japanese held the eastern bank of Khalkhin Gol, but in the summer they decided to force the river and seize a bridgehead on the "Mongolian" bank.

On July 2, Japanese units crossed the "Manchu-Mongolian" border officially recognized by Japan and tried to gain a foothold. The command of the Red Army put into action all the forces that could be delivered to the conflict area. Soviet mechanized brigades, having made an unprecedented march through the desert, immediately entered the battle in the region of Mount Bain-Tsagan, in which about 400 tanks and armored vehicles, over 300 guns and several hundred aircraft participated on both sides. As a result, the Japanese lost almost all of their tanks. During a 3-day bloody battle, the Japanese managed to push back across the river. However, now Moscow was already insisting on a forceful solution of the issue, especially since there was a threat of a second Japanese invasion. G.K. Zhukov was appointed commander of the rifle corps. Aviation was reinforced by pilots with combat experience in Spain and China. On August 20, Soviet troops went on the offensive. By the end of August 23, the Japanese troops were surrounded. An attempt to release this group, made by the enemy, was repelled. Surrounded fought fiercely until 31 August. The conflict led to the total resignation of the command of the Kwantung Army and the change of government. The new government immediately asked the Soviet side for an armistice, which was signed in Moscow on 15 September.

19. Battle for Moscow (1941-1942)

The long and bloody defense of Moscow, which began in September 1941, from December 5 passed into the offensive phase, which ended on April 20, 1942. On December 5, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive and German divisions rolled west. The plan of the Soviet command to encircle the main forces of Army Group Center east of Vyazma was not fully implemented. The Soviet troops lacked mobile formations, and there was no experience of a coordinated offensive of such masses of troops.

However, the result was impressive. The enemy was thrown back from Moscow by 100–250 kilometers, and the immediate threat to the capital, which is the most important industrial and transport hub, was eliminated. In addition, the victory near Moscow was of great psychological significance. For the first time in the entire war, the enemy was defeated and retreated tens and hundreds of kilometers. German General Gunther Blumentritt recalled: “Now it was important for the political leaders of Germany to understand that the days of blitzkrieg had sunk into the past. We were confronted by an army far superior in its fighting qualities to all other armies with which we had ever had to meet.

20. Battle of Stalingrad(1942-1943)

The defense of Stalingrad became one of the most fierce operations of that war. By the end of the street fighting, which lasted from August to November, Soviet troops held only three isolated bridgeheads on the right bank of the Volga; in the divisions of the 62nd Army, which defended the city, there were 500-700 people left, but the Germans did not succeed in throwing them into the river. Meanwhile, since September, the Soviet command had been preparing an operation to encircle the German group advancing on Stalingrad.

On November 19, 1942, Soviet troops went on the offensive north of Stalingrad, and the next day, south of it. On November 23, the shock wedges of the Soviet troops met near the city of Kalach, which marked the encirclement of the Stalingrad grouping of the enemy. 22 enemy divisions (about 300 thousand people) were in the ring. This was the turning point of the entire war.

In December 1942, the German command tried to release the encircled group, but the Soviet troops repelled this onslaught. Fighting in the area of ​​Stalingrad continued until February 2, 1943. Over 90 thousand enemy soldiers and officers (including 24 generals) surrendered.

Soviet trophies were 5,762 guns, 1,312 mortars, 12,701 machine guns, 156,987 rifles, 10,722 machine guns, 744 aircraft, 166 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 cars, 10,679 motorcycles, 240 tractors, 571 tractors, 3 armored trains and other military equipment .

21. Battle of Kursk (1943)

The Battle of Kursk is one of the greatest in the history of the Great Patriotic War, which marked a radical turning point in hostilities. After it, the strategic initiative completely passed into the hands of the Soviet command.

Building on the success achieved at Stalingrad, Soviet troops launched a large-scale offensive on the front from Voronezh to the Black Sea. Simultaneously, in January 1943, besieged Leningrad was released.

Only by the spring of 1943 did the Wehrmacht manage to stop the Soviet offensive in Ukraine. Although the units of the Red Army occupied Kharkov and Kursk, and the advanced units of the South-Western Front were already fighting on the outskirts of Zaporozhye, the German troops, transferring reserves from other sectors of the front, pulling up troops from Western Europe, actively maneuvering mechanized formations, launched a counteroffensive and re-occupied Kharkov . As a result, the front line on the southern flank of the confrontation acquired a characteristic shape, which later became known as the Kursk salient.

It was here that the German command decided to inflict a decisive defeat on the Soviet troops. It was supposed to cut it off with blows to the base of the arc, surrounding two Soviet fronts at once.

The German command planned to achieve success, including through the widespread use latest types military equipment. It was on the Kursk Bulge that heavy German Panther tanks and Ferdinand self-propelled artillery guns were first used.

The Soviet command knew about the plans of the enemy and deliberately decided to cede the strategic initiative to the enemy. The idea was to wear out the shock divisions of the Wehrmacht in pre-prepared positions, and then go on the counteroffensive. And it must be admitted that this plan was successful.

Yes, not everything went as planned, and on the southern face of the arc, German tank wedges almost broke through the defenses, but on the whole, the Soviet operation developed according to the original plan. One of the largest tank battles in the world took place near the Prokhorovka station, in which more than 800 tanks took part simultaneously. Although the Soviet troops also suffered heavy losses in this battle, the offensive potential of the Germans was lost.

More than 100 thousand participants in the Battle of Kursk were awarded orders and medals, more than 180 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In honor of the victory in the Battle of Kursk, an artillery salute sounded for the first time.

22. Capture of Berlin (1945)

The assault on Berlin began on April 25, 1945 and continued until May 2. The Soviet troops had to literally gnaw through the enemy defenses - the battles went for every intersection, for every house. The garrison of the city consisted of 200 thousand people, who had at their disposal about 3000 guns and about 250 tanks, so the assault on Berlin was an operation comparable to the defeat of the encircled German army near Stalingrad.

On May 1, the new Chief of the German General Staff, General Krebs, informed the Soviet representatives about Hitler's suicide and offered a truce. However, the Soviet side demanded unconditional surrender. In this situation, the new German government set a course to achieve an early surrender to the Western allies. Since Berlin was already surrounded, on May 2, the commander of the city garrison, General Weindling, capitulated, but only on behalf of the Berlin garrison.

Characteristically, some units refused to comply with this order and tried to break through to the west, but were intercepted and defeated. Meanwhile, negotiations between German and Anglo-American representatives were going on in Reims. The German delegation insisted on the surrender of troops on the western front, hoping to continue the war in the east, but the American command demanded unconditional surrender.

Finally, on May 7, the unconditional surrender of Germany was signed, which was supposed to come at 23.01 on May 8. From the USSR, this act was signed by General Susloparov. However, the Soviet government considered that the surrender of Germany should, firstly, take place in Berlin, and secondly, be signed by the Soviet command.

23. Defeat of the Kwantung Army (1945)

Japan during the Second World War was an ally of Nazi Germany and waged a war of conquest with China, during which all known species weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons.

Marshal Vasilevsky was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East. In less than a month, Soviet troops defeated the million-strong Kwantung Army stationed in Manchuria and liberated all of Northern China and part of Central China from Japanese occupation.

A highly professional army fought against the Kwantung Army. It was impossible to stop her. The military textbooks included the operation of the Soviet troops to overcome the Gobi Desert and the Khingan Range. In just two days, the 6th Guards Tank Army crossed the mountains and found itself deep behind enemy lines. During this outstanding offensive, about 200 thousand Japanese were taken prisoner, many weapons and equipment were captured.

The heroic efforts of our fighters also took the heights of "Acute" and "Camel" of the Khutous fortified area. The approaches to the heights were located in hard-to-reach wetlands and were well protected by scarps and barbed wire. The firing points of the Japanese were cut down in a granite rock massif.

The capture of the Khutou fortress cost the lives of over a thousand Soviet soldiers and officers. The Japanese did not negotiate and rejected all calls for surrender. During the 11 days of the assault, almost all of them died, only 53 people surrendered.

As a result of the war, the Soviet Union returned to its territory the territories lost by the Russian Empire in 1905 as a result of the Treaty of Portsmouth, but the loss of the South Kuriles by Japan has not been recognized to this day. Japan capitulated, but a peace treaty with Soviet Union was not signed.