The article analyzes the role of the Red Army in defeating Nazi Germany and its satellites in 1945. Emphasizing the crucial importance of the Soviet-German front in the course of World War II, the paper also provides a detailed chronology of diplomatic negotiations with the Western allies about the opening of a second front in the Western Europe. In this context, the author writes about the paramount importance of the 10 major offensive operations of the Red Army in 1944, when not only the German troops were expelled from the Soviet territory but also crucial preconditions were created for the final defeat of Germany in Eastern and Central Europe. The article contains a detailed chronology of events that led to the liberation of European countries by the Red army, describes the characteristic features of its offensive operations and provides a picture of population’s attitudes towards our troops in the liberated countries. Analyzed are political disagreements between the USSR and the Western allies over the future of Europe. The paper shows that, alongside with pursuing its own military tasks, the Red Army also provided substantial assistance to the British and American allies, when the German troops went on counter-offensive operations against them on the Western front. Presented is the data for the losses of the Red army and the allies in the course of the offensive operation in Europet. The article draws on memoirs by the participants of the war, i.e. commanders both of the Soviet and Western troops as well as prominent statesmen of the time: the Soviet marshals G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovskiy and I.S. Konev, by the British field-marshal Montgomery and the British Prime Minister W. Churchill. The author concludes with a thesis about the decisive contribution of the Red army to the victory over the fascist Germany.
the World War II; the Great Patriotic War; the USSR; the Second Front; G.K. Zhukov; I.S. Konev; K.K. Rokossovsky; Romania; Hungary; Poland.