To overcome the fear of the Wehrmacht forces, an exhibition of German military equipment is organized in the center of Moscow.
Moscow, 1941. MiG-3 fighters. The capital is covered by impressive air defense forces. Hitler’s plan for the destruction of the city from the air is not carried out
Two hundred thousand civilians are mobilizing to the aid of the Red Army in Moscow. Almost all of them die in the coming months.
American poster in support of the Lend-Lease
In November 1941, supplies under Lend-Lease start. The Soviet Union receives the first 670 aircraft, about 400 tanks and 3,000 other military cargoes from the United States and Great Britain. In the battle of Moscow, the armored vehicles «Valentine» and «Matilda II» account for 35% of all tanks used by the Red Army. Fighters «Tomahawk» and «Hurricane» form 16% of the capital’s air defense fleet. Photography is one of the first Lend-Lease sea convoys. November 1941
Moscow, November 1941. The BT-7 tanks are sent to the front.N. Nikulin: “… At the end of November, our offensive began. Only now I learned what war is, although I still did not participate in the attacks. Hundreds of wounded, dead, cold, hunger, stress, a week without sleep … On one relatively quiet night, I sat in a snow-covered hole, unable to fall asleep from the cold. Scratching lousy sides and crying from longing and weakness. That night a fracture occurred in me. From somewhere there were forces. In the morning I crawled out of the hole, began to scour the empty German dugouts, found frozen like a stone, potatoes, made a fire, cooked a brew in a helmet and, having filled my belly, I felt self-confidence. From that moment my rebirth began. Appeared defensive reactions, energy appeared. There was a gut feeling, telling how to behave. There is a snap. I began to get grub. Then he chopped horseflesh with an ax from the thigh of a killed German batyuga – he froze from the cold. That found an abandoned potato pit. Once a mine was killed by a passing horse. Twenty minutes later, only the mane and entrails remained, as craftsmen like me instantly cut the meat into pieces. The driver did not even have time to recover, and remained sitting in a sleigh with the reins in his hand. Another time, we were marching along the road, and suddenly, ahead of us, the projectile turned over the kitchen. Buckwheat gruel spilled on the snow. Immediately, without saying a word, everyone took out the spoons and the feast began! But the movement on the road can not be stopped! A cart carrying hay, a truck, went through the porridge, and we all ate and ate while there was what was left … I collected breadcrumbs and crusts near warehouses, kitchens – in a word, I got food where I could … "
«Siberian», in fact – the Far Eastern divisions, transferred to Moscow after the intelligence officers’ assurances that there would be no war with Japan, are the most prepared military units
Moscow strategic offensive operation. T-70 tanks and well-trained soldiers of the Red Army. November 1941
As a result of the Moscow battle, the German troops are moving back 100—120 km. from the capital. For the first time Soviet soldiers see such a significant amount of damaged and abandoned German equipment.
The German motor convoy, defeated near Moscow, January 1941. N. Niulin: «… The offensive continued, at first successfully. The Germans fled, abandoning guns, cars, all sorts of supplies, shooting horses. I was convinced that the stories about their atrocities were not an invention of newspapermen. I saw the corpses of burned prisoners with stars carved on their backs. The villages in the way of withdrawal were all broken, the inhabitants were driven out. There were very few of them left – hungry, ragged, miserable …»
German prisoners of war. For the first time, Soviet troops take German soldiers prisoner in groups of 10—15 people.
Pearl Harbor, the most important Pacific naval base of the United States
Pearl Harbor, modern photography. Something like this, in color, 80 years ago (assuming that it is now 2019), the Japanese pilot sees it all
The full-scale war in the Pacific gives the first visible sprout on November 26, 1941. The United States, seeing the ambitions of the Pacific power as a threat to its security, announces an ultimatum to Japan: to leave China, Indonesia and Korea already conquered. In response, on December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft hit the US base in Hawaii (Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean). The official declaration of war is late (which gives America moral superiority). 2,400 people die. Four battleships of the First World War, four destroyers, 188 aircraft are sent to the bottom. Twenty-three submarines and, we note, six aircraft carriers, the main striking force of the US Navy, which had just emerged into the open ocean, remain intact. The loss of the Japanese side – 29 aircraft, 55 pilots, 9 submariners from five ultra-small submarines. The photo – the attack «Zero» Imperial Air Force
Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
Japan has a major initial success. On December 8, 1941, the samurai stormed the dominion of Great Britain, Hong Kong. After 18 days of defense, the garrison capitulates. 9 thousand British and Canadian soldiers are taken prisoner. The irretrievable loss of Japan – 2 thousand people. Anglo-Saxon allies lose 4 thousand. Expansion throughout the Pacific and mainland China is gaining an unprecedented scale. The photograph shows the parade of Japanese troops in Hong Kong, January 1941.
Since June 1941, thousands of trains with people and equipment being evacuated rush to the East of the USSR
New factories built in Siberia and beyond the Urals are sometimes leveled earthen areas, without walls and roofs, with rows of machines on which military products are manufactured. Mostly women and teenagers work here.
Teenager 12—13 years at work. For adults, work shifts last for 15—16 hours
The production of KV-1 tanks at the monstrously expanded Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant since 1941. New huge tank-building plant called «Tankograd»
After the fairly successful Moscow battle, Stalin perks up and stops listening to the advice again. The Supreme Commander believes that 1942 is the year of the «final defeat of the German fascist troops.» As a continuation of the battle near Moscow, the Rzhev-Vyazma operation starts on January 8 – the general offensive of the Soviet troops on the enemy’s well-trained positions, without concentrating forces and assets in certain areas. N. Nikulin: «… – Attack! – Calls the owner of the Kremlin. … Well, if the colonel tries