Interesting facts about the 2nd world war. Little known facts about World War II (11 photos)

Photo: Arkady Georgievich Khodov, foreman of the 44th Guards Tank Brigade

Although more than a decade has passed since the end of World War II, there are still many secrets and mysteries from those times. Let's get acquainted with some of them.

Who is in the picture

Six days after Germany's surrender, Life magazine published a series of photographs by one of the famous Hungarian photojournalists, Robert Capa. One of the photos shows an American soldier killed by a bullet from a German sniper. This shot has become an imperishable classic in documentary photography.

The body of the killed soldier lies on the balcony of one of the apartments in Leipzig. It was April 18, 1945. The person in the photo, of course, was not the last victim of the war, and at that time no one cared that the name of the deceased was not in the publication. He remained an unknown soldier for a long 67 years.
In 2011, the city of Leipzig gave permission to raze the building in one of the apartments of which the above picture was taken.
However, a group of conscientious activists decided to prevent the demolition of the historic building. To do this, they decided to find out the name of the soldier who was immortalized by the photographer, and thereby arouse the attention of the media and the public to the upcoming demolition of the building. The search began on November 27, 2011. Soon, enthusiasts found out that the name of the deceased soldier was Raymond Bowman.

Result. The building will not be demolished. There was an investor who is ready to completely restore it ...

There are only two of us left

In 1958, Ivan Smirnov, a carpenter of the Nekrasovo state farm in the Uvarovsky district of the Moscow region, when he was cutting a birch trunk, found a cartridge case in it with a note in it.

A letter from a Soviet soldier who fought in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Minsk highway was written in ink pencil in uneven letters on both sides of the leaflet. Here is its text:
“Twelve of us were sent to the Minsk highway to block the enemy's path, especially tanks. And we stood firm. And now there are three of us left: Kolya, Volodya and I - Alexander. But the enemies climb without mercy. And here's another one - Volodya from Moscow. But the tanks keep climbing. 19 cars are already on the road. There are already two of us. We will stand until we have enough spirit, but we will not let our own approach.
And so I was left alone, wounded in the head and arm. And the tanks added up the score. Already 23 cars. Perhaps I will die, but maybe someone will find my note someday and remember the heroes. I'm from Frunze, Russian. No parents. Goodbye dear friends. Yours, Alexander Vinogradov. 22/21942 g. "

As a result of the research, it was possible to restore the picture of the battles on the Minsk highway in February 1942.

To contain the offensive of Soviet troops near Moscow, the Hitlerite command transferred several additional divisions from Germany to the Soviet-German front. For the Soviet troops fighting in the Vyazma area, a difficult situation was created and the commander Western front ordered the armies of the front to activate.

On February 20, 1942, the military commissar of the 612th regiment gave the order to go to the Minsk highway in the area of \u200b\u200bthe 152nd kilometer west of Moscow and block the way for enemy tanks. The soldiers were stationed along the highway. A group of fighters, which included Alexander Vinogradov, was on the flank. The column of fascist tanks appeared suddenly. The soldiers fought for three days, the ranks of the defenders were thinning before our eyes, but they did not retreat ...

A. Vinogradov's note is kept in the Central Museum of the Soviet Army.

Revealed mystery of "Perseus"

In November 1941, at the height of the Second World War, the British submarine Perseus left the naval base in Malta and went on its next mission. She was supposed to patrol the waters of the Mediterranean Sea near Greece.

On December 6, 1941, not far from the Greek island of Kefalonia, the submarine ran into an Italian mine and sank to the bottom, burying the entire crew with it ...

And now, after a year and a half, the UK was shocked by the news: one person, during the sinking of the boat, still managed to escape. It turned out to be John Capes. He was not on the crew lists, but during the voyage he served as a machinist.

According to Capes, on the night of the disaster, as usual, he was in the engine room and lay in his bunk, made from the torpedo hull. When the explosion thundered, he was thrown to the other end of the room. Quickly realizing that the "Perseus", apparently, hit a mine, John made his way through the bodies of the dead and wounded and tried to get out of the compartment. This turned out to be impossible, since the entire space behind the door was already filled with water. Donning Davis's lifesaving apparatus, Capes opened the escape hatch, took a sip from a bottle of rum lying nearby, and got out of the boat.

Capes, unconscious, was discovered the next morning by two Greek fishermen. For the next year and a half, he lived in the house of a local Greek who agreed to shelter him from the Italian invaders. It was only in May 1943 that Capes managed to get off the island and get to Alexandria, where the British military base was located.
For this rescue, John Capes was awarded the Medal of the British Empire, but soon mistrust arose in relation to him: was John Capes on the lost boat or was it just his inventions?

The fact is that our hero was not included in the crew lists. There were no living witnesses to his salvation either.

In Britain, they began to say that John Capes was a kind of Baron Munchausen, chasing dubious fame. He died in 1985 without being able to convince skeptics of the veracity of his stories.
This story was continued only in 1997, when the Greek submariner Kostas Toktaridis descended to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea and explored the sunken Perseus.

He found there a torpedo-shaped bunk and a bottle of rum in front of the escape hatch. All other details of the Capes stories also coincided.

In the eyes of many, John was rehabilitated.

I'm leaving with love

October 1941. A tank with a crew consisting of commander Junior Lieutenant Ivan Sidorovich Kolosov, Vasily Orlov and Pavel Rudov was damaged on the outskirts of Vyazma. The commander was wounded, the driver was killed. Kolosov and Orlov dumped fuel and removed ammunition from other damaged tanks, repaired their car and took it into the forest.
Having determined that they were surrounded, the tankers decided to make their way to their own. On October 12, a lone tank defeated a German column. However, on October 24, when the tank attacked another column, the Germans managed to deploy the guns ...

A quarter of a century after the war, in a deep forest near Vyazma, a BT tank with a clearly visible number 12 was found buried in the ground. The hatches were battened down, and there was a hole in the side. When the car was opened, the remains of a junior lieutenant tanker were found in the place of the driver. He had a revolver with one cartridge and a tablet, and in the tablet was a map, a photograph of his beloved girl and an unsent letter dated October 25, 1941:
“Hello, my Varya!
No, we will not meet with you.
Yesterday at noon we smashed another Hitler column. The fascist shell pierced the side armor and exploded inside. While I was driving the car into the forest, Vasily died. My wound is cruel.
I buried Vasily Orlov in a birch grove. It was light in it. Vasily died, without having time to say a single word to me, did not convey anything to his beautiful Zoya and white-haired Mashenka, who looked like a dandelion in fluff.
So, out of three tankers, I was left alone. At dusk I drove into the forest. The night passed in agony, a lot of blood was lost. Now, for some reason, the pain burning through my entire chest has subsided and my soul is quiet.

It is very disappointing that we have not done everything. But we did everything we could. Our comrades will chase the enemy, who should not walk through our fields and forests. I would never have lived my life like this if it weren't for you, Varya. You have always helped me: on Khalkhin Gol and here. Probably, after all, whoever loves is kinder to people. Thank you, dear! A person is getting old, and the sky is forever young, like your eyes, into which you can only look and admire. They will never grow old or fade.
Time will pass, people will heal their wounds, people will build new cities, grow new gardens. Another life will come, other songs will be sung. But never forget about us, about the three tankers.
You will have beautiful children, you will still love. And I am happy that I am leaving you with great love for you. Your Ivan Kolosov ".
Varvara Petrovna Zhuravleva received letters addressed to her after almost 30 years.

British soldiers

They talk about World War II even in high school in history lessons. Everyone knows about the tyranny of Hitler, the Holocaust, the attack on Pearl Harbor. But there are also such facts about the war, which are known only to those who are seriously studying the history of this period.

1. The German army was significantly inferior in size to the French army

Damaged German tanks in North Africa

Many believe that the German army in 1940 was significantly superior in numbers and weapons to the enemy. Although the German armed forces appeared to be very modern and mechanized, the German army was outnumbered by the French army.

When the Germans attacked France on May 10, 1940, they had mechanized transport in only 16 of 135 units. The rest used horses, carts and even walked. France had 117 divisions, all of them ready for modern warfare. Also, France had more artillery pieces (more than 10,700 against 7,378 for Germany). And that's not to mention the greater number of tanks from the French.

2. Britain had almost no infantry

British Spitfire

The British Armed Forces were mostly concentrated in air and sea units. But after the fall of France, it turned out that the British needed more infantry. However, until the spring of 1944, most of the British military was still concentrated in the navy and aviation. Even though Britain never had more than 750 infantry at one time, the country built a whopping 132,500 aircraft.

3. The losses of allied ships amounted to about one percent

Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and Swordfish flight

The number of Allied ships during the Second World War was approximately 323,090 ships. Of these, about 4,786 were sunk, 2,562 of which were British. Thus, the loss of the allies between the North Atlantic, Arctic and inland waters amounted to 1.48% of the fleet. This number seems all the more surprising given the number of casualties in other sectors of the front.

4. There was no hunger in England

Line for rations, London, 1945

After the outbreak of war, there was no food rationing in England and France, unlike in Germany. Germany, on the other hand, was constantly faced with hunger throughout the war, and not only civilians, but also the armed forces. So when the Germans defeated France in June 1940, they began removing food from the occupied territories, leading to famine and food rationing in many parts of France. In 1940, rationing began in Great Britain as well, but the British never really went hungry like people in other countries.

5. The Japanese had kamikaze rockets

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka.

Not only some Germans had missiles. The Japanese also had their own rockets that were operated by humans. They were called Ohka, which means "cherry blossoms". The Japanese armed forces had less advanced technology than the United States or Britain, so they used kamikaze. Although such missiles managed to sink several Allied ships, that was all.

6. Forgotten British Marshal

Campaign in North Africa, 1940-1943

Field Marshal Alexander (fhjkml was one of the main figures in the war, often personally leading the troops. He was a combat commander during the First World War, commanded troops in Nowushera in 1930, in France in 1940 and even in Burma in 1942. Today about he is hardly remembered, but his successes were simply amazing.

7. The Luftwaffe had high demands for pilots

German aces were more likely to win

The number of aircraft shot down among the Allied and German fighter aces varied greatly. The German Luftwaffe had much higher requirements for pilots. The German pilots had much more flying time. In this regard, the German aces had a much better chance of achieving better results than their colleagues. While the leading aces of the Luftwaffe shot down more than 350 opponents, the best Allied fighter ace shot down only 38 aircraft.

8. The Luftwaffe had the best planes

He 112 in flight

The Luftwaffe had the development of the most modern aircraft for that time, but they were not put into service. The main aircraft produced by Messerschmidt was the Bf109 fighter, while rival Heinkel had its own version of the fighter, the He112 all-metal monoplane. Both aircraft were fast, reaching speeds of over 560 km / h mph, and their climb speed was excellent. However, the He112 could ascend to 6 km in just 10 minutes and had an unprecedented range of up to 1,150 km.

However, since Heinkel allegedly had Jewish connections, Heinkel fighters were not mass-produced.

9. The famous Parsons jacket

Soldiers in jackets

The most widely known Parsons tunic, which was used by the US Field Army, became the standard attire for the army. It gained its popularity due to its combination of comfort and durability, unlike other forms that were offered at the time. The simple short jacket was perfect for all seasons.

10. Germany had very little technology

German horses stuck in the mud

War in the Arctic.

The German submarine, having found the Allied transport carrying fuel, ammunition, military equipment and tanks to Murmansk, surfaced to the surface and almost point-blank launched a torpedo into the ship. A huge blast wave tore off and lifted into the air the tanks on the deck. Two tanks fell onto the submarine. The German submarine immediately sank.

Radio.

In early October 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command learned about the defeat of its three fronts in the Moscow direction from the messages of the Berlin radio. We are talking about the encirclement near Vyazma.

English humor.

A well-known historical fact. The Germans, putting on display an allegedly preparing landing on the British Isles, placed several dummy airfields on the coast of France, on which they "scolded" a large number of wooden copies of aircraft. Work on the creation of these very dummy airplanes was in full swing when one day in broad daylight a lone British plane appeared in the air and dropped one single bomb on the "airfield". It was made of wood ...! After this "bombing" the Germans abandoned false airfields.

For the king.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, some cavalry units were given old checkers from the warehouse with the inscription "For faith, Tsar and Fatherland" ...

English humor performed by torpedo

A curious incident at sea. In 1943, a German and British destroyer met in the North Atlantic. The British, without hesitation, were the first to hurl a torpedo at the enemy…. but the rudders of the torpedo jammed at an angle, and as a result, the torpedo made a circular fun maneuver and returned ... The British were no longer joking watching their torpedo rushing towards them. As a result, they got it from their own torpedo, and in such a way that the destroyer, although it remained afloat and waited for help, did not participate in hostilities until the very end of the war due to the damage received. Only one thing remained a mystery of military history: why did the Germans not finish off the Angians ?? Either they were ashamed to finish off such warriors of the "queen of the seas" and the successors of Nelson's fame, or they whinnied so that they could no longer shoot ....

Clip.

Unusual intelligence facts. In principle, German intelligence "worked" quite successfully in the Soviet rear, except for the Leningrad direction. The Germans sent large numbers of spies to besieged Leningrad, supplying everything you need - clothes, documents, addresses, passwords, attendance. But, when checking documents, any patrol instantly revealed "fake" documents of German
production. The works of the best forensic and printing specialists were easily discovered by soldiers and officers on patrols. The Germans changed the texture of the paper, the composition of the paints - to no avail. Anyone, even a semi-literate sergeant of the Central Asian draft, could identify the lime tree at first sight. The Germans never solved the problem.

And the secret was simple - the Germans, a nation of high quality, made stainless steel paper clips to fasten documents, and our real Soviet paper clips were slightly rusty, the sergeants of the patrols had never seen anything else, for them shiny steel clips sparkled like gold ...

Old master.

An interesting bike, which is difficult to verify, because this is not officially recorded. In Izhevsk, during the Great Patriotic War, a mass production of PPSh assault rifles was launched. So that when firing, the barrel of the machine gun does not heat up, and so that deformation does not occur, the barrel hardening procedure was worked out. Unexpectedly, in 1944, a defect began - during control firing, the barrels were "velo". The special department, of course, began to understand - to look for saboteurs, but they did not find anything suspicious. They began to find out what had changed in production. We found out that for the first time since the start of production, the old master fell ill. He was urgently "put on his feet" and began to follow unnoticed.

To the amazement of engineers and designers, an interesting detail emerged - the old master urinated twice a day in a quenching tank with water. But, the marriage is gone! ?? Other “masters” secretly tried to urinate, but it turned out that participation in this “secret” procedure of this particular person was required. They closed their eyes and for a long time carried out this secret function ...

The master retired when the plant switched over to the production of the famous Kalashnikovs ...

No man is an island.

On July 17, 1941 (the first month of the war), the Chief Lieutenant of the Wehrmacht Hensfald, who later died at Stalingrad, wrote in his diary: “Sokolniki, near Krichev. In the evening, a Russian unknown soldier was buried. He alone, standing at the cannon, shot a column of our tanks and infantry for a long time. And so he died. Everyone was amazed at his courage. " Yes, this warrior was buried by the enemy! With honors ...

Later it turned out that it was the commander of the gun of the 137th rifle division of the 13th army, senior sergeant Nikolai Sirotinin. He was left alone to cover the withdrawal of his unit. Sirotinin, took an advantageous firing position, from which the highway, a small rivulet and a bridge across it were clearly visible. At dawn on July 17, German tanks and armored personnel carriers appeared. When the lead tank reached the bridge, a gun shot rang out. From the first shot, Nikolai knocked out a German tank. The second shell hit another one that was closing the column. A traffic jam has formed on the road. The Nazis tried to turn off the highway, but several tanks immediately got stuck in the swamp. And Senior Sergeant Sirotinin continued to send shells at the target. The enemy brought down the fire of all tanks and machine guns on the lone gun. A second group of tanks approached from the west and also opened fire. Only 2.5 hours later, the Germans managed to destroy the cannon, which managed to fire almost 60 shells. At the site of the battle, 10 destroyed German tanks and armored personnel carriers burned down. The Germans got the impression that a full battery was firing at the tanks. It was only later that they learned that the tank column was being held back by one gunner.

Yes, this warrior was buried by the enemy! With honors ...

One tank, a warrior in the field.

In the same July 1941 in Lithuania, near the town of Rasseniai, one KV tank for two days held back the entire offensive !!! 4th German Panzer Group of Colonel-General Gepner. Tank kv

The crew of the KV tank first burned down a convoy of trucks with ammunition. It was impossible to get to the tank - the roads passed through swamps. The advanced German units were cut off. An attempt to destroy the tank with a 50-mm anti-tank battery from a distance of 500 m ended in complete fiasco. Tank "KV" remained unharmed, despite, as it turned out later, at 14 !!! direct hits, but they only left dents in his armor. When the Germans pulled up a more powerful 88-mm anti-aircraft gun, the tank's crew allowed it to get into a position of 700 m, and then shot it in cold blood before the crew could fire at least one shot !!! At night, sappers were sent by the Germans. They managed to plant explosives under the tracks of the tank. But, the loaded charges tore only a few pieces from the tracks of the tank. The KV remained mobile and combat-ready and continued to block the German advance. On the first day, the crew of the tank was supplied with supplies by local residents, but then a blockade was set up around the KV. However, even this isolation did not force the tankers to leave the position. As a result, the Germans went for a trick. FIFTY !!! German tanks began to fire at the KV from 3 directions to divert its attention. At this time, a new 88 mm anti-aircraft gun was pulled up to the rear of the tank. She hit the tank twelve times, and only 3 shells pierced the armor, destroying the tank's crew.

Not all generals retreated.

June 22, 1941 In the zone of the southwestern front, Army Group South (commanded by Field Marshal G. Rundstedt) struck the main blow south of Vladimir-Volynsky on the formations of the 5th Army of General M.I. Potapov and the 6th Army of General I.N. Muzychenko. In the center of the 6th Army's strip, in the Rava-Russkaya area, the 41st Infantry Division of the oldest commander of the Red Army, General G.N. Mikusheva. The division's subunits repelled the first attacks of the enemy together with the border guards of the 91st border detachment. On June 23, with the approach of the main forces of the division, launching a counterattack, they threw the enemy back beyond the state border and advanced up to 3 km into Polish territory. But, due to the threat of encirclement, they had to withdraw ...

A grenade at planes.

During the defense of Sevastopol in 1942, the only case in the history of World War II and the Great Patriotic War occurred when the commander of a mortar company, junior lieutenant Simonok, shot down a low-flying German plane from an 82-mm mortar with a direct hit! It's as unlikely as hitting an airplane with a thrown stone or brick ...

From planes without a parachute!

The pilot who made a reconnaissance flight during his return noticed a convoy of German armored vehicles moving towards Moscow. As it turned out, there was no one on the way of the German tanks. It was decided to drop the troops in front of the column. The only thing they brought to the airfield was a complete regiment of Siberians in white sheepskin coats.

When the German convoy was walking along the highway, low-flying planes suddenly appeared ahead, as if they were about to land, dropping to the maximum speed, 10-20 meters from the surface of the snow. From the planes, people in white sheepskin coats rained down on the snow-covered field next to the road. The soldiers got up alive and rushed under the tracks of tanks with bundles of grenades ... They looked like white ghosts, they were not visible in the snow, and the advance of the tanks was stopped. When a new column of tanks and motorized infantry approached the Germans, there were practically no "white jackets" left. And then again a wave of planes swooped down and a new white waterfall of fresh fighters rushed from the sky. The German advance was halted and only a few tanks hastily retreated. After it turned out that when falling into the snow, only 12 percent of the landing party died, and the rest entered into an unequal battle. Although it is still a terribly wrong tradition to measure victories by the percentage of living people killed.

On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine a German, an American, or an Englishman, voluntarily and without a parachute jumping onto tanks. They couldn't even think about it.

Elephant.

The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed only an elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

Camel.

The picture shows Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War. The 28th Army, recruited near Astrakhan, took part in heavy battles at Stalingrad. By that time there was a lot of tension with horses, that's why they gave the camels! It should be noted that the ships of the desert coped with their tasks quite successfully. A camel named Yashka even took part in the battle for Berlin in 1945.

Shark.

During World War II, the Americans got the jackpot ... in the stomach of a shark! The shark managed to "manage" on the sunken Japanese destroyer, and the Americans accidentally got a secret Japanese code.

Deer.

There are also quite exotic cases of using animals in the Great Patriotic War. An entry from the diaries of Konstantin Simonov, about the story of one colonel, how he suffered in the war with reindeer transport. “They are too unpretentious animals! Such, unpretentious, that they eat nothing but their reindeer lichen. And where can you get it, this reindeer moss? You give hay - shakes your head, you give bread - shakes your head. Give him only lichen. But there is no reindeer! So I fought with them, with the deer. I carried a load on myself, and they went looking for their reindeer moss. "

From the stories of the participants in the hardest Battle of Stalingrad, a cat is known. Through the ruins of Stalingrad, the cat made his way at night from Soviet trenches to German ones and back, receiving treats here and there.

Hare.

There is a known case when, during positional battles near Polotsk, shooting suddenly stopped simultaneously from both sides. It turned out that a hare ran out to the neutral strip and began to carelessly scratch its shedding side with its hind paw.

A sad but entertaining and instructive fact about the Second World War.

In his memoirs of General Eisenhower, D. Eisenhower, "The Crusade to Europe"), recalled a conversation with Marshal Zhukov.

Russian method of attack through minefields. The German minefields were very serious tactical obstacles that led to large military losses. During the conversation, Marshal Zhukov talked about his practice in a completely ordinary way: “When we come to a minefield, our infantry attacks as if they were not there. We consider the losses from antipersonnel mines to be approximately equal to those that machine guns and artillery would cause us if the Germans decided to defend this area with large forces of troops, and not with minefields. Eisenhower was shocked and could not imagine how long any American or British general would live if he used such tactics. Especially if the soldiers of any American or British division knew about it.

On a ram with an open hatch!

Fighter pilot Borya Kovzan, returning from a mission, entered into battle with six German fighters. Having been wounded in the head and left without ammunition, Boris Kovzan reported by radio that he was leaving the plane and had already opened the lantern to leave it. And at that moment he saw a German ace rushing at him. Borya Kovzan again grabbed the steering wheel and directed the plane to the ace. The pilot knew that when ramming, in no case should he fold. If you roll, your enemy will beat you with a screw. Of course, he will break the screw for himself, but theoretically he will be able to plan, at least in principle, and nothing will remain of the "victim". This is a war of nerves. Well, if no one turns, then two of them glory and honor!
But the German ace was a real ace and he knew it all, and did not turn off either, and both planes hit head on, but the German ace had the lantern closed, and the seriously wounded Boris Kovzan flew unconscious through the lantern opened by coincidence. air. The parachute opened and Boris Kovzan. Twice Hero of the Union successfully landed, but first, of course, in the hospital.

Unformat!

The Germans who fought on the eastern front completely refute the stereotypes that have developed in our films about the Second World War.

As the German veterans of the Second World War "UR-R-RA!" they have never heard and does not even suspect the existence of such an attacking cry of Russian soldiers. But they learned the word BL @ DL perfectly. Because it was with such a cry that the Russians rushed into the attack, especially hand-to-hand. And the second word, which the Germans often heard from their side of the trenches - "Hey, go ahead, eben @ m @ t!"

Another interesting fact of the Second World War about pilots.

An order was received to bomb the bridgehead occupied by the German fascist troops. But the dense anti-aircraft fire of German guns burned our planes like matches. The commander changed course a little - he pitied the crews. All the same, they would have burned everyone before reaching the beachhead. The planes bombed the usual woodland near the German bridgehead and returned to the airfield. And the next morning a miracle happened. The impregnable bridgehead fell. It turned out that the carefully disguised headquarters of the central German group was completely destroyed at night in the same forest area. The pilots did not receive awards for this, as they reported that the order had been fulfilled. Therefore, the headquarters was destroyed by someone unknown. The staff were looking for someone to reward, but real Heroes, but they never found ...

Glamorous pink planes.

There are many similar photographs of aircraft from the Second World War. But in reality, these planes did not look so gray and gloomy; in fact, they are a glamorous pale pink fighter from the Second World War. And this is no coincidence.

Some fighters during World War II were so specialized that they only flew at certain times of the day. The beautiful pink planes of the US 16th Squadron RAF had a very big plus - they became almost invisible both at sunset and at sunrise. And these "glamorous" fighters look really fun. And in fact, it was a really clever tactic to make stealth planes even then.

Gas attack in the subway.

The subway is the best refuge in air raids, everyone knows that. But in the subway, you can be subjected to a gas attack!

Do you think in this photo - the victims of the gas attack? No, this is a normal night on the subway for the British. When German air raids over London became almost regular, the imperturbable British quickly adapted to sleeping on the subway. And while the Germans bombed London, the British people slept together - gathered in a gigantic but well-mannered "heap". Seriously, look at the guy in front of the picture: he didn't even take off his hat in the subway, during the bombing ... it seems more comfortable to sleep in it. Unfortunately, Muscovites cannot boast of such photographs. Firstly, in Stalin's times, taking pictures in the subway was forbidden. It was considered a military facility, so there are only a few photographs taken during the Second World War in the Moscow metro, including those specially for Life magazine.

Obviously "staged" photograph - Muscovites during air raids.

Photo correspondent "Life" at the station "Mayakovskaya", at the moment when Muscovites are hiding from the next air raid. The raids usually started late in the evening, with the onset of summer twilight. There is an immovable train on the tracks. As you can see, standard cradle-beds made of wood have been prepared in advance to accommodate small children. And one more thing: young and middle-aged women are comparatively well dressed.

Spacesuits for babies.

Gas masks are not suitable for children, and yet, somehow it was necessary to protect children from possible gas attacks. Thus, special devices were developed to protect children in the event of a gas attack. See how mothers use a special pump to pump air into spacesuits for children. But it was thanks to these pumps that none of these children could fall asleep. It is interesting that the mothers themselves are without gas masks, how were they going to breathe?

An airplane without a wing.

This is the Avenger, a torpedo bomber with the USS Bennington, piloted by pilot Bob King during the Battle of Chichi Jima. He did not want to upset his loved ones, friends and family ... so he managed to get his plane out of the tailspin and fly to the airfield on this wounded plane without a wing! Legend has it that since then, pilot Bob King has never been denied a free drink at the bar.

Giant ears.

No matter how ridiculous it looks, these are really big ears. This guy is not resting, but listening to the sky. In fact, it is a huge listening device. And the best part is that it really worked. AND better way to hear the noise of the engines of bombers then was not. There is nothing high-tech about this setup, you just plug a giant cone into your ear and listen to the sound of German pilots and airplanes. Elegant, efficient and simple. The most popular caption on the watery photos during WWII was: “I just heard someone fart. Most likely Goering's pilots are already on their way to us. "

Half of you will be the fence, and the other half of you will be prisoners ...

The fact remains, war is really hell. And this is no longer a joke. And for the soldiers of the Red Army in 1941, it was hell on earth. Rare photos that official propaganda doesn't like.

In 1939, Stalin and Hitler happily divided Europe in half by signing the famous pact. In 1941, Hitler was several days ahead of Stalin and was the first to attack the Soviet Union. Then, in 1941, as a result of Operation Barbarossa and catching the USSR by surprise, the Germans captured about 5,500 thousand prisoners of war - this is five and a half million soldiers and officers. For such a number of prisoners, the Germans naturally did not even have the opportunity to build such huge camps in the first days of the war. Therefore, the Germans solved the problem like this - "Half of you will be a fence, and the other half of you will be prisoners." With no roof over their heads, with ruthless Nazi guards, they could only cuddle up to each other at night to keep warm. At night, these camps were hell. The losses were so inconceivably great that only the prisoners of war of Soviet soldiers, according to the Germans, killed more than 3.3 million people.

7. Living Statue of Liberty.

In this photograph, you can see 18,000 American soldiers in a formation that closely resembles the Statue of Liberty. This photo was used as an advertisement for war bonds during World War II.

Notice, if you just look at the base of the statue, you will see a dozen soldiers standing there. But pay attention, the angle of the photo: This is not Photoshop - it just wasn't there. And the image has almost perfect proportions. How did they do it? Well, the number of soldiers in the formation of the statue increased exponentially the further they were from the camera. For example, only 12,000 soldiers participated in the formation of the torch. The entire statue, from foot to torch, is almost three hundred meters long.

Donkeys in World War II

TObesides elephants, camels and horses, donkeys also fought in World War II!

Donkeys of course did not want to go to war, but they were too stubborn to return home.
The Donkey Corps was a military unit deployed in 1943 to invade Sicily. Bad roads and difficult conditions for ordinary vehicle forced to use donkeys in Sicily! True, sometimes, due to their stubbornness, the soldiers had to wear them ... on themselves!

American kids did the same greeting as the Hitler Youth!

Another interesting and little-known historical fact about the Second World War.

This is not a frame from the chronicle "What if the Nazis won the war?" ... This is a real photo taken in a typical American classroom.

As you understand, as a result of the Second World War, and thanks to Hitler and cliches, a lot of absolutely good things were destroyed forever. For example, a tiny mustache, a swastika as a symbol of good luck, and all the hand signals that look a little like Heil Hitler. But in fact, Hitler did not invent any of these symbols, but simply used them.

For example, in 1892, Francis Bellamy decided to come up with an American oath, as well as a characteristic hand gesture, which had to be done during the oath of allegiance to America, after the words "... one nation, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all."

And it is a fact that for several decades children across America happily performed the Heil Hitler-style gesture, which was known in America as the Bellamy salute. But then the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini appeared in world history. When he came to power, he revived the so-called Roman salute, and Hitler felt that this should be adopted, and a little later he accepted it as his Nazi salute. This caused obvious controversy when America entered World War II. It was somehow wrong when American children made the same greeting as the Hitler Youth. Thus, during the war, Roosevelt accepted a new salute proposed by Congress - placing his right hand over his heart.

Thank you for the bra war?

An interesting historical fact about the Second World War, but it was she who caused the popularity of the bra among women. The fact is that before World War II, women did not really want to use this wardrobe accessory. But when men went to the front during World War II, women had to take their place in factories and factories. And as welders, and as turners, etc., and a serious question arose about the safety of some parts of the female body. An industrial plastic bra was developed, which this girl is demonstrating.

By the way, it was in 1941 that a patent was received for a special cut of a bra made of natural materials, which finally solved the problem of poor fit of the bra cup to the body. And in 1942, a patent was issued for a length-adjustable bra closure.

1. During World War II, the Taj Mahal was covered with a huge canopy to make it look like a bamboo supply. In this way, any Japanese bomber pilot could be misled. In 1971, he was disguised again during the Indo-Pakistani War.

2. After the Second World War, Jewish mercenary groups called “Nokmim” emerged who looked for those who terrorized Jews or their families during the war and meticulously executed them.

3. The Red Army (USSR) defeated 75-80% of German troops during the Second World War. US forces / destroyed only 20-25%.

4. During World War II, there was a secret American program to disguise plastic explosives as flour. It was such a disguise that even baked goods could be made from this "flour", which could later be used to make explosives.

5. A rank and file of the US Army during the Italian campaign single-handedly forced four machine gunners to surrender and captured 10 Italian prisoners of war. He was stripped of his medal only because he is a US Army soldier.

6. During the Second World War, the official gesture that accompanied the oath of allegiance in the United States was similar to a Nazi greeting (Hitler's). Therefore, Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered to change him and put his hand on his heart.

7. During World War II, US Army Lt. Robert Klingman used the propeller of his F4U Corsair (single-seat carrier-based fighter) to destroy an enemy reconnaissance aircraft. His weapon jammed, but he attempted an air ram, went into the tail of the enemy and with the propeller of his plane violated the control of the enemy plane, as a result of which he crashed. Robert Klingman returned to base and was awarded the naval cross.

8. There is an account where events that occurred during the Second World War are posted, which correspond to the date and time in real time (only with a difference of 70 years).

9. The "Night Witches" were members of the women's aviation regiment of Russian bombers. These pilots turned off their engines so that they would not be heard on the approach, glided across the sky and bombed German targets. "Night Witches" dropped 3000 tons of bombs on German positions and constantly evaded enemy aircraft, as a result of which the German command had no choice but to promise the German pilots "Iron Cross" for the destruction of at least one aircraft from the "Night Witches".

10. The prototype for the creation of the plot of the battle near the "Death Star" from the cult film " star Wars”Served as a combat operation of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

11. During World War II, three bombs hit the same church in Malta. Two of them just bounced aside and did not explode. The latter broke through the roof of the church, fell among the people who took refuge during the raid, but did not explode.

12. In the ranks of the Polish army as an ordinary soldier during the Second World War, there was an ordinary bear and, ultimately, his presence played an important role in the Battle of Monte Cassino.

13. Finished paying my debts for the Second World War only in 2006.

14. declared neutrality during the Second World War and so thousands of people put their hard-earned money into banks. When depositors left for another world, relatives were deprived of any access to their money, and banks continued to receive interest on the invested funds.

15. During World War II, Italy delivered an ultimatum demanding that it accept the Italian occupation. The Greeks replied "then it is war." In the ensuing duel, the unarmed Greeks staunchly held the defenses against the Italian troops, thereby forcing Germany to intervene, diverting resources from the upcoming invasion of the USSR.

16. During World War II, the Manhattan Project used the codename “copper” for the element plutonium.

17. During the Second World War, Canadian soldier Leo Major, single-handedly, captured about 93 Nazis in the Netherlands. He also later single-handedly captured the city of Zwolle, also in the Netherlands, to escape the Germans. To everything he was blind to one.

18. The total losses of the USA, Great Britain and France during the Second World War were roughly equal to those of the Soviet Union in the decisive battle of Leningrad. In general, Soviet losses were 26 times greater than those of other allies.

19. Fritz Haber, a German chemist, created a process for the production of fertilizers that today produce about half of the world's food. He also created chlorine gas. After his death, chlorine gas was used in gas chambers, and pesticides were used to fertilize the soil.

20. Lauri Terney was a soldier who fought under three flags: Finnish, German (when he fought the Soviets in World War II), and American (where he was known as Larry Thorne) when he served in the US Army as a Special Forces in the war.

21. During World War II, Great Britain shipped most of its stocks and foreign securities in boxes labeled “fish”. They were stored for years in an office building in downtown Montreal, where about 5,000 people worked throughout the war, having no idea what was hidden in their basement.

22. The United States bombed Tokyo on several occasions during World War II, resulting in more than 100,000 casualties, more than the total number of casualties in and combined.

23. There is a separate cemetery in France for American soldiers who were executed for rape or murder during World War II.

24 The United States produced only 139 vehicles during WWII because all factories were using production capacity and supplies for the army.

POMEGRANATE BY AIRCRAFT

During the defense of Sevastopol in 1942, the only case in the history of World War II and the Great Patriotic War occurred when the commander of a mortar company, Junior Lieutenant Simonok, shot down a German plane flying low from an 82-mm mortar with a direct hit! It's as unlikely as hitting an airplane with a thrown stone or brick ...

ENGLISH HUMOR PERFORMED BY TORPEDA

A curious incident at sea. In 1943, a German and British destroyer met in the North Atlantic. The British, without hesitation, were the first to hurl a torpedo at the enemy ... but the rudders of the torpedo jammed at an angle, and as a result the torpedo made a circular merry maneuver and returned ... The British were no longer joking watching their torpedo rushing towards them. As a result, they got it from their own torpedo, and in such a way that the destroyer, although it remained afloat and waited for help, did not participate in hostilities until the very end of the war due to the damage received. Only one thing remained a mystery of military history: why did the Germans not finish off the British? Either they were ashamed to finish off such warriors of the "queen of the seas" and the successors of Nelson's fame, or they whinnied so that they could not shoot ...

POLYGLOTS

A curious incident occurred in Hungary. Already at the end of the war, when Soviet troops entered Hungary, as a result of battles and communication, most Hungarians were convinced that "e @ b your mother" is an accepted greeting, like "hello." Once, when a Soviet colonel came to a rally to the Hungarian workers, and greeted them in Hungarian, he was answered in chorus "e @ b your mother!"

NOT ALL GENERALS LEFT

On June 22, 1941, in the zone of the southwestern front, Army Group South (commanded by Field Marshal G. Rundstedt) struck the main blow south of Vladimir-Volynsky on the formations of the 5th Army of General M.I. Potapov and the 6th Army of General I.N. Muzychenko. In the center of the 6th Army's strip, in the Rava-Russkaya area, the 41st Infantry Division of the oldest commander of the Red Army, General G.N. Mikusheva. The division's subunits repelled the first attacks of the enemy together with the border guards of the 91st border detachment. On June 23, with the approach of the main forces of the division, launching a counterattack, they threw the enemy over the state border and advanced up to 3 km into Polish territory. But, due to the threat of encirclement, they had to withdraw ...

Unusual intelligence facts. In principle, German intelligence "worked" quite successfully in the Soviet rear, except for the Leningrad direction. The Germans sent spies in large numbers to besieged Leningrad, supplying everything they needed - clothes, documents, addresses, passwords, and attendance. But, when checking documents, any patrol instantly revealed "fake" documents of German origin. The works of the best forensic and printing specialists were easily discovered by soldiers and officers on patrols. The Germans changed the texture of the paper, the composition of the paints - to no avail. Anyone, even a semi-literate sergeant of the Central Asian draft, could identify the lime tree at first sight. The Germans never solved the problem. And the secret was simple - the Germans, a nation of high quality, made stainless steel paper clips to fasten documents, and our real Soviet paper clips were slightly rusty, the sergeants of the patrols had never seen anything else, for them shiny steel clips sparkled like gold ...

WITH AIRCRAFT WITHOUT PARACHUTE

The pilot who made a reconnaissance flight during his return noticed a convoy of German armored vehicles moving towards Moscow. As it turned out, there was no one on the way of the German tanks. It was decided to drop the troops in front of the column. The only thing they brought to the airfield was a complete regiment of Siberians in white sheepskin coats. When the German convoy was walking along the highway, low-flying planes suddenly appeared ahead, as if they were about to land, dropping to the maximum speed, 10-20 meters from the surface of the snow. From the planes, people in white sheepskin coats rained down on the snow-covered field next to the road. The soldiers got up alive and rushed under the tracks of tanks with bundles of grenades ... They looked like white ghosts, they were not visible in the snow, and the advance of the tanks was stopped. When a new column of tanks and motorized infantry approached the Germans, there were practically no "white jackets" left. And then again a wave of planes swooped down and a new white waterfall of fresh fighters rushed from the sky. The German advance was halted and only a few tanks hastily retreated. After it turned out that when falling into the snow, only 12 percent of the landing party died, and the rest entered into an unequal battle. Although it is still a terribly wrong tradition to measure victories by the percentage of living people killed. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine a German, an American, or an Englishman, voluntarily and without a parachute jumping onto tanks. They couldn't even think about it.

In early October 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command learned about the defeat of its three fronts in the Moscow direction from the messages of the Berlin radio. We are talking about the encirclement near Vyazma.

AND ONE IN THE FIELD WARRIOR

On July 17, 1941 (the first month of the war), the Chief Lieutenant of the Wehrmacht Hensfald, who later died at Stalingrad, wrote in his diary: “Sokolniki, near Krichev. In the evening, a Russian unknown soldier was buried. He alone, standing at the cannon, shot a column of our tanks and infantry for a long time. And so he died. Everyone was amazed at his courage. " Yes, this warrior was buried by the enemy! With honors ... Later it turned out that this was the gun commander of the 137th rifle division of the 13th army, senior sergeant Nikolai Sirotinin. He was left alone to cover the withdrawal of his unit. Sirotinin, took an advantageous firing position, from which the highway, a small rivulet and a bridge across it were clearly visible. At dawn on July 17, German tanks and armored personnel carriers appeared. When the lead tank reached the bridge, a gun shot rang out. From the first shot, Nikolai knocked out a German tank. The second shell hit another one that was closing the column. There is a traffic jam on the road. The Nazis tried to turn off the highway, but several tanks immediately got stuck in the swamp. And Senior Sergeant Sirotinin continued to send shells at the target. The enemy brought down the fire of all tanks and machine guns on the lone gun. A second group of tanks approached from the west and also opened fire. Only 2.5 hours later, the Germans managed to destroy the cannon, which managed to fire almost 60 shells. At the site of the battle, 10 destroyed German tanks and armored personnel carriers burned down. The Germans got the impression that a full battery was firing at the tanks. And only later did they find out that one gunner was holding back the tank column. Yes, this warrior was buried by the enemy! With honors ...

ENGLISH HUMOR

A well-known historical fact. The Germans, putting on display an allegedly impending landing on the British Isles, placed several dummy airfields on the French coast, on which a large number of wooden copies of aircraft were "scolded". Work on the creation of these very dummy airplanes was in full swing when one day in broad daylight a lone British plane appeared in the air and dropped one single bomb on the "airfield". It was made of wood ...! After this "bombing" the Germans abandoned false airfields.

CAUTION, UNFORMAT!

The Germans who fought on the eastern front completely refute the stereotypes that have developed in our films about the Second World War. As the German veterans of the Second World War "UR-R-RA!" they have never heard and does not even suspect the existence of such an attacking cry of Russian soldiers. But they learned the word BL @ DL perfectly. Because it was with such a cry that the Russians rushed into the attack, especially hand-to-hand. And the second word, which the Germans often heard from their side of the trenches - "Hey, go ahead, eben @ m @ t!", This booming cry meant that now not only infantry but also T-34 tanks would trample the Germans.