2. Flooding part of the French fleet off the coast of Algeria
1. Occupation of France by Germany and Italy.
2. Flooding of a part of the French fleet of Vichy France by naval forces and British aircraft (Operation Catapult, also the Anglo-French War of 1940).
Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. On June 27, 1940, the government of the USSR sends an ultimatum to the Romanian government demanding the return of Bessarabia (rejected by Romania in 1920) and Northern Bukovina, as compensation for the exploitation of the population of Bessarabia. A few hours before the start of the Soviet invasion, the Romanian king accepts all his conditions. Territories are divided between Soviet Ukraine and Moldova. The population of Bessarabia, numbering 3.7 million people, indeed, which underwent many humiliations and terror from the Romanian authorities, as a whole is loyal to the Soviet government. Ethnic Romanians and Ukrainians (85%) Bukovina, 0.8 million people who did not feel this kind of attitude, regard annexation without enthusiasm.
Italy has its own interests, primarily in Africa, where it intends to win back British colonies – Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, part of Somalia. He wants to take also Greece, he puts forward an ultimatum demanding that it be given the opportunity to occupy certain strategic objects. To help the Greeks come Britain, Union Australia. Defeated, Mussolini asks for help, and, in February 1941, the expeditionary corps of General Rommel arrives in Libya. German troops beat off the British north-eastern part of this country (Cyrenaica), go to the borders of Egypt, after which the front stabilizes.
Soviet-German relations are cooled on November 12, 1941 at the talks in Berlin; Molotov is denied accession to the countries of the Triple Alliance (Axis) as a full partner with interests in Finland, Southern Bukovina, Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia, as well as Turkey (Straits).
Yugoslavia and Greece
Yugoslavia. On March 25, 1945, the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia signed a protocol on the accession of his country to the Tripartite Pact; the same day in Belgrade is an 80-thousand demonstration against the alliance with Germany, which, in addition, is marked by the defeat of the German Information Bureau. A new government is being formed, and, on April 5, the USSR and Yugoslavia sign a treaty of friendship and non-aggression.
These events Hitler views as an excuse for an invasion. And, on April 6, the armed forces of Germany, Italy and Hungary enter Yugoslavia. On Belgrade, 2,000 tons of bombs fall, on April 16 the Yugoslav army surrenders, 344,000 people are captured (Croatians, Hungarians and Germans-Volksdeutsche are later released). Irreversible losses: Germany 165 people, 40 aircraft, 3 tanks. Italy 3300 people, 13 aircraft, 11 tankettes. Hungary 130 people, 1 airplane. Yugoslavia: 5,000 military, 57 downed, 150 aircraft destroyed on the ground.
Greece. For some political reasons, the seizure of Yugoslavia prompts Hitler to render more effective assistance to his Italian allies. And, on April 6, 1941, from the territory of Bulgaria, German troops invade Greece. Athens is captured on April 27, after another three days Greece will capitulate. A month later the Wehrmacht invaded the island of Crete, considered primarily as an airfield for control of the Luftwaffe in the Mediterranean. The large losses of paratroopers do not allow further operations to be carried out to capture Cyprus and the Suez Canal immediately. Losses of Greece: 14,000 killed, allies 900, with 14,000 prisoners, the Wehrmacht 1,450 killed, Italy – about 20,000 people.
It is believed that the need to seize Yugoslavia, as well as the stubborn resistance of Greece, delayed the start of the invasion of the USSR from May 15, 1941 to June 22, and these five weeks had a decisive effect on the course of the entire war.
Clash of the Titans
Count the forces of the warring parties. The population of the Soviet Union according to the results of the 1939 census is 170 million. It should be borne in mind that the leaders of the 1937 census, who showed the result of «only» 162 million for «undercounting» of the population, were shot. In 1940, territories with a population of 18 million people were annexed to the USSR, though not always loyal to the new system, having a different mentality. We assume that the results of the «shot» population census are the only correct ones, then by 1941 the population of the colossal state was 180 million people.
The Third Reich, 1941, ie, Germany, Austria, the Sudetenland and some other territories inhabited by ethnic Germans subject to conscription – 90 million people. Hungary – 9.3 million (there were 800,000 Hungarians killed on the Eastern Front), Romania – 20 million (453,000 people died). These two countries are the unconditional allies of Germany, whose human reserves it could dispose of as its own. The contingent of volunteers in 64 thousand was allocated by 44 million Italy (during the war years the corps was renewed several times, 374 thousand were killed), and 25 million Spain – 18 thousand hours (irretrievable losses of 15 thousand). Slovakia – 36 thousand hours, 3 thousand people died, Croatia 2,200 people, the number of dead is unknown, Finland – about 300,000 people, losses of 70,000 (against 108,000 Soviet losses on this front, including 18,000 people killed in captivity)
Wehrmacht also owned resources, the industry of France, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic.
The only ally of the USSR was at that time a 47-million United Kingdom with 1.2 million (including parts located in the colonies), battered after the Dunkirk army. Her war with Germany until 1944 is similar to a ritual battle, a knight tournament, where, according to established rules, knights with knuckled gloves and all sorts of ammunition seize. England had 1500 aircraft, a dozen aircraft carriers, many cruisers, destroyers and submarines. After Dunkirk, the British did not have more than 100 tanks, but thanks to the developed industry, their number constantly increased. I fought here rather, the technique, not the people.
The interest of Germany, whose people’s spirit is now ruled by the ancient German gods, lies in the Northeast. According to the plans of the Hitlerite command, German colonies on the territory of the USSR should be organized on the model of Ancient Sparta, with an autochthonous population reduced to 50 million, turned into slave-helots, respectively.
The beginning of the war. On June 22, 1941, Germany and Romania join the war with the USSR. The basis of military operations for Bucharest is understandable – the year-earlier exclusion of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. A day later, Slovakia entered the war. On 26 June, Kosice, which was Slovakia three years earlier, was bombed by unmarked aircraft, but, at that time, Hungary. 27 tons of bombs were dropped. It is still unclear whether this was the Soviet air force, bombed the city because of the confusion and obsolete maps, Germanic or even Romanian (to push the opposing ally to active action), but on June 27, Hungary declared the USSR a war.
Almost at the same time, on June 25, Soviet aviation strikes at several settlements and 18 Finnish airfields. On some of them, German planes were actually based, formally, Finland was one of the Axis countries. On the same day, Suomi declares war, and by the end of the year he occupies a large part of Karelia, including its capital, Petrozavodsk (which has become Einislinna). About 70,000 civilians (from non-Finn-related peoples, according to racial anthropological surveys) are taken to Finnish concentration camps. Later, one third of them will die from malnutrition, disease and ill-treatment.
Further on this topic: «I reject Christianity, because it is the product of Judaism, because it is internationalistic and because it preaches peace on earth.»
(Adolf Gitler).
In general, we can say that the entire people of the USSR, the Soviet Army (RKKA), are moving towards God during the war, and Germany (the Axis countries), on the contrary, step by step, move away from it. «God is with us,» the inscription engraved on buckles of belts becomes an empty formality. In the second half of the war, the funeral rites of SS men are most often conducted, according to the pagan custom of the Vikings, with