At the beginning of May, all the thoughts and minds of millions of people in the former USSR are turning toward the great date, May 9.This day we will never forget, because it marked the end of the bloodiest wars of our time.It claimed the lives of many of our fellow citizens, millions of families are separated and brought so much grief that living participants of those events may not remember this time without tears.
Many heroes have been forgotten.We probably will not know where was their last fight.There are also those whose names will remain forever in the hearts and monuments.Among the heroes have not only people, but also the great cities of the Great Patriotic War, which in those terrible years stood under heavy pressure from the Nazis, or for months resisted their onslaught.
What is it?
This is a high rank, which was received by the twelve cities of the USSR, famous for its history of protection.On their territory established monuments and stelae, which are designed to always remind citizens about the unparalleled heroic deed of their people.
must be remembered that the city-heroes of the Great Patriotic War, a photo and the name of which is in the article, paid for his high rank much blood as they received his unprecedented courage in the defense of the defenders in the most difficult years.
St. Petersburg (Leningrad)
title was awarded May 8, 1965
In the early autumn the Germans were able to completely block the supply of the city from the land.Beginning of the siege of Leningrad, which lasted nearly 872 long, hungry day.Almost all the inhabitants of the city - the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.Photos "Leningrad blockade" and still inspire fear and mortal anguish even seasoned veterans of local wars, not to mention the direct participants of the events.
The courage of its people was unparalleled: in totally inhumane conditions they not only fought against the invaders, but even managed to set up production of weapons, which is immediately used on the front, just a factory building.Today it is believed that from hunger and disease have died about a half million people.
Only 3% had fallen in arms.Everything else is made famine.Today, every schoolchild knows that the only way to salvation was the "Road of Life", which took place on the ice freezing in the winter of Lake Ladoga.However, even in the summer to carry out transportation by water transport, but their volumes were not so great.It really was a way of life, as on this route was able to leave the city of 1.5 million people, among which were mostly children, women and the elderly.Finally I managed to lift the blockade of the city only in 1944.
what you represent in the utterance of the phrase "city of heroes of the Great Patriotic War"?Photos monuments on the battlefield and more.Here are just a blockade of these words may even cry, as they stand before the eyes of others, horrific pictures of those years.
In memory of those terrible days was established seven monuments, as well as precisely 112 commemorative pillars throughout the Road of Life.The central monument is a memorial composition "Broken Ring", which symbolizes the final breakthrough of the blockade and the release of Leningrad.Of course, all the great cities of the Great Patriotic War are worthy of respect, but the victim of Leningrad be remembered forever.
Odessa
title was also awarded in May 1965.
Odessa became one of the first cities that were on the path of the invaders.By August 1941, despite the outstanding courage of its defenders, it has been completely blocked.There is only way to the sea, the protected variety of the Black Sea Fleet.From the sea have been reported not only a huge amount of food, but also the weapon that allowed to fend off the advancing enemy troops.
to effectively defend themselves from increasing attacks all the Germans had created a fortified area.Residents of the city managed to produce in the most difficult conditions of simple armor and flame-throwers, who immediately fell at the disposal of soldiers.Defenders of Odessa had to leave the city, but they were gone, not broken and conquered: subsequently were formed many groups, as firmly and with the same courage to defend themselves against the Nazis Crimea.
Currently the monument, which is dedicated to the events of those days, set in a park named after Taras Shevchenko.Rather, it is a memorial complex "Walk of Fame", which is forever captured for posterity the achievement of their great ancestors.In general, all the great cities of the Great Patriotic War have similar memorials.
Sevastopol
title was awarded to the same period as the above-mentioned cities.
Crimea has always had for the country's strategic importance as it is through its territory ran the shortest route to the oil fields of the Caucasus.It is not surprising that from the first days of the war the Wehrmacht commanders gave orders to his legions simple: in what may become as soon as possible to capture and clean Sevastopol.At the command of the USSR illusions on this score also it was not: in the Crimea is a significant part of the aircraft that can not be left at the mercy of the enemy.It was necessary to defend the city as much as possible for a longer time.
on defense were immediately thrown the best forces, who at one time opposed to the enemy in Odessa.They formed the core of the guerrilla movement, whose members were active in the whole territory of the Crimean peninsula.Unfortunately, in July of next year, the city still had to leave.
However, the Germans were not too confident feel in the captured city, as their forces are constantly patted guerrillas.Fully managed to liberate Sevastopol in May 1944.The medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol" has always been considered in the ranks of the Red Army elite as great were the exploits of those who defended the old monument of military glory of Russia and the USSR.
To permanently imprint in the memory of posterity, these days, a monument was erected on Mount Sapun.This place is the key to the city, the most important defensive positions, which killed a huge number of Soviet and German soldiers.However, the same can be characterized by all other city-heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
Volgograd (Stalingrad)
title was also awarded May 8, 1965.When is a terrible battle of Stalingrad, during which the Soviet army was able to break the backbone of Hitler's troops, this city was a battleground.As many as 200 days of uninterrupted walking, bloody battle for every meter of urban space, every house was turned into an impregnable fortress.
During the month, which the Nazis took to the invasion of Poland at the time, the Germans were able to grab a couple of streets in Stalingrad, suffering terrible losses.The intensity of the fighting was terrible, the two sides successfully and widely used snipers.
on the famous Mamayev Kurgan is a monumental complex "Heroes of the Stalingrad Battle" on the top of which stands a giant monument to Motherland, which will always be a symbol of love and devotion of our people to their homeland.In this article, there is not only the city of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War: Images and photo sites to help you feel the monumentality of those places.
Kiev
order on conferring the title also was signed May 8, 1965.It should be noted that at present the new Ukrainian authorities to "undo" it.However, they are not protected Kiev, they were not released.So that "the orders of the Abolition of the status of the city-hero" and not to publish them.
defensive operation lasted exactly 70 days.The occupation of the city by German troops was delayed for 2.5 years.During this time, the Germans and their hangers-nationalist had a lot of "work": Jews were shot en masse, was organized by the concentration camp for Soviet prisoners of war, which killed thousands of our soldiers.
were destroyed many historical and architectural monuments, disappeared without a trace many priceless artifacts from museums.Of course, many Kiev residents have participated in the guerrilla movement, all the forces trying to protect native city from the tyranny of the Nazis.But only after the hardest battles of the winter 1943, he was liberated by the forces of German troops.Note that both the city-heroes of Ukraine (the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945) were almost completely destroyed, and restore them had a very long time.
As in Volgograd, there is a monument to "Motherland".
Fortress in Brest
legendary monument to the courage and valor of Soviet soldiers.The title was also awarded in May 1965.We have already mentioned, many of the city-heroes of the Great Patriotic War: the list you can get them, just jump around in the subtitles of the article.But Brest - a very special place where you can talk about for a long time.
On defense the fortress many know from poignant and terrible book by Boris Vasilyev.But in the book we do not understand what is felt and what is waiting for people who knew the impossibility of salvation that every hour lost their friends and loved ones.In all of this they do not even think about surrender to the enemy.Battle of Brest - the first in the history of the war, and one of the most significant.
This is not surprising.The German troops were planning to go to take the city, and then the "victory march" to continue moving to the East.They miscalculated badly.A few days a group of Soviet soldiers fiercely defended the approaches to the fortress even without letting the Germans pass its limits.Fierce skirmishes did not fall silent even at night.
soldiers was tired, thirsty and hungry, until the last second to resist the enemy."I am dying, but do not give up" - this famous inscription on one of the walls of the fortress fully shows the real spirit of our soldiers in the terrible, final battle.The Germans finally captured the fortress, when no living of its defenders, only the winners, they did not feel: while European countries obey the German army in a couple of weeks, some pitiful fortress only on the incredible courage and heroism of its defenders, I was able to hold out for a couple of months.
whole fortress acknowledged eternal memorial in 1971.Its territory is always the eternal flame burns, always paying homage to the fallen soldiers of the Soviet Army.
Moscow
As in all previous cases, the title was awarded in May 1965.Almost everyone in varying degrees, the city known heroes of the Great Patriotic War.Photos «Moscow Parade 1941" is also familiar to many.This is where the fresh troops went to the counter, here was the command headquarters of the Red Army.
not surprising that from the very beginning of the war taking the capital of the USSR was the prerogative of the German command, and therefore used for this purpose the best troops.Plan "Barbarosa" envisaged the conquest of the city in the first three months of the war.Here are just Kiev, Leningrad and Smolensk put on the table ambitious plans bold cross, delay the start of operations to take the city for six months.On the outskirts of Moscow, the Germans seemed only to the middle of autumn, when it began the first serious cold.
Our commanders to impose a war of attrition.Up until December of the year continued the defense of Moscow, which was attended by numerous groups of volunteers.
Several times the situation becomes critical.It seemed that the Germans were about to achieve their goals, and Hitler was preparing to throw a luxurious feast in the Kremlin.But the fifth of December, our troops launched a counteroffensive in the first score, leaving the Germans pulled back from the city limits just 200 kilometers.
In memory of those events before the walls of the Moscow Kremlin is a memorial to the Unknown Soldier.I must say that such a monument can safely install all the city-heroes of the Great Patriotic War, a photo of which is, in our article.
Kerch
title awarded only to 14 September 1973.The town is famous for being right on the front line passed him as many as four (!) Times.It killed at least 15 thousand inhabitants, half of whom were brutally shot in Bagerovsky trench.Another 15,000 Germans were driven to forced labor in Germany.From the city has less than 15%.Almost all more or less important buildings were destroyed, and whole buildings and does not remain.Only at the beginning of April 1944 Kerch was finally liberated from the Nazi invaders.
On the hill with a beautiful name Mithridates after those events the eternal flame burns.
Novorossiysk
title also awarded in mid-September 1973.During the war, almost all the city was captured by German troops.The aim of the Nazis was Georgia, straight path which opens immediately after the capture of Novorossiysk.
Everyone understood that such an outcome would have allowed Hitler to gain a firm foothold in the Caucasus.It caters to counteract this created a powerful fortified area of Novorossiysk, but by August 1942 from a little left (20%).In February 1943, after 225 days of occupation, the Soviet fighters managed to retake the city.
Not surprisingly, the main monument became a memorial called "The defensive line."Stella is 40 meters long symbolized that there will be no one villain entrance to the gates of the city.Hero of the Great Patriotic War, Sniper Shirt Philip Y. and was a native of the glorious Novorossiysk.
Minsk
Awarded the title June 26, 1974.
Just three days after the beginning of the war, the city was under German occupation.On its territory, "hard-working" just three Germans created a ghetto in which killed about 80 thousand Jews.In the vicinity of Minsk and the Germans killed at least 400 thousand people.Only in June 1944, was finally launched a large-scale liberation operation.By the time when the city was completely stripped, whole remained only 80 buildings.
most significant monument is the memorial "Yama", which was dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust.By the way speaking, it was the first monument in the entire Soviet Union, on the surface of which has an inscription in Yiddish.
Tula
title was given only 7 December 1976.
Soviet "Blacksmith" was a tempting target for the German command, and therefore prevent the capture of the city was in any case impossible.In addition, Tula covered the southern borders of Moscow, making it even more important.In the autumn of 1941 the most powerful local militia attack the Germans honored reflect the way the Germans were firmly closed.
When flushed the Great Patriotic War, the city of Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) has appeared in roughly the same position.Today, activists are trying to achieve the award of an honorary title to him.However, back to Thule.
City and its environs have been hit hard.They were burned almost all villages, killing at least 360 thousand civilians.Even amid dull siege Tula industry continued to produce machine guns, submachine guns and sniper rifles.By the way, at the local defensive lines perfectly proved PPK machine pistol Korovin, the author who has long years of Soviet power had been unjustly forgotten.
However, it remembers the old residents of the city.Hero of the Great Patriotic War was not completely forgotten.
In honor of the events all over the city are set numerous monuments of military glory, and Victory Square erected a monument in the form of soldiers and workers, which are based on a rifle bayonet.All cities-heroes of the Great Patriotic War, their exploits are nice, but Tula, even against this background that stand out for their unbroken will to win.
Murmansk
Only 6 May 1985 the city was awarded such a high rank and importance.
Hitler's directive to his troops was simple and short: Murmansk ordered to destroy immediately with the start of the war, because through its ports were many tons of supplies from the Allies.It produced more than 800 massive air raids on the city dropped about 186 thousands of powerful bombs, but the defenders held out with honor in this hell.Many cities in the Great Patriotic War passed through the bombing, but there was nowhere stronger.
Nearly all buildings were burned or badly damaged.A bad role played by wooden buildings, at which the fire spread with incredible speed.Only the fall of 1944, the threat of the city has been completely eliminated.There was a monument.
