RZHEV, 30 June (BelTA) - The opening of the Rzhev Monument to the Soviet Soldier, which took place with the participation of presidents of Belarus and Russia Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin on 30 June, is a landmark event not only for Russians but also for Belarusians, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko told BelTA.
According to the latest data, the Soviet army lost 1.400 million soldiers in the battles near Rzhev. “There were a lot of Belarusians among them," said Vladimir Semashko. “Many Belarusians retreated together with the Red Army troops. Together they defeated the Germans near Moscow, participated in the battles near Rzhev where from January 1942 to March 1943 the Red Army conducted both defensive and offensive operations to deter the Nazis from a new offensive on Moscow, on the one hand, and on the other - to pull their forces and assets from the southern direction. Belarusians participated in all operations and on all fronts,” the ambassador noted.
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WNU Editor: Rzhev is 50 kilometers north of my mother's home town of Vyazma. Some of the most intense fighting during the Second World war occurred along this front. Before the war Vyazma had a population of 50,000. After the war only a few hundred survived, including my mother..
Americans have no clue how ferocious the fighting was on the Eastern Front. Narva, Kursk, Moscow, Sevastopol, Leningrad siege, Stalingrad, Operation Bagration, the Vistula-Oder Campaign and finally Berlin are in no history books in the USA. 20 plus million casualties!
ReplyDeleteCheck out David Glantz' work.
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteCheck out Tik on Youtube for some excellent documentaries especially on Stalingrad. He also has a high regard and respect for David Glantz.
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