When discussing Nazi Germany’s opening volleys against the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, and what Josef Stalin observed as a shameful withdrawal and defeat of Red Army forces in the Western Special Military District [ZapOVO], it is important to give pause and consider the tragic fate of ZapOVO Commander Dmitriy Grigoryevich Pavlov, at theContinueContinue reading “July 1941: Hero of the Soviet Union Executed for “Allowing” Nazi Germany to Invade USSR”
Category Archives: World War Two
June 1945: The Soviet Interrogation of Hermann Göring
Immediately prior to or following Germany’s defeat in World War II, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring surrendered to the U.S. 36th Infantry Division on May 6–9, 1945, near Radstadt, Austria, seeking to avoid capture by Soviet forces. After being stripped of power by Hitler for perceived treason, Göring offered his surrender to the Western Allies, expecting toContinueContinue reading “June 1945: The Soviet Interrogation of Hermann Göring”
April 1945: Germans Admit to the Needless Execution of Soviet POWs and Civilians on the Eve of the Fall of Königsberg
In late 1944 and early 1945, the Red Army’s combat operations shifted into German territory. During the East Prussian Offensive, the Red Army advanced upon the fortress city of Königsberg (today known as Kaliningrad). To breach the Königsberg Fortified Region, troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, under the command of Marshal of the Soviet UnionContinueContinue reading “April 1945: Germans Admit to the Needless Execution of Soviet POWs and Civilians on the Eve of the Fall of Königsberg”
Soviet Intelligence Report: Germans in Stalingrad on the Eve of the 1942 Red Army Counteroffensive
Knowledge of the morale and physical state of the enemy army has always been of significant interest in planning defensive and offensive operations. In this regard, intelligence services constantly focused on obtaining information of this kind. The defeat of the German-fascist troops at Stalingrad would have been impossible without the persistent, deadly work of SovietContinueContinue reading “Soviet Intelligence Report: Germans in Stalingrad on the Eve of the 1942 Red Army Counteroffensive”
Stalin’s 1941 Scorched Earth Order: Separating Myth from Fact
Every year or so, additional questions and claims appear on the Internet regarding the so-called ‘Scorched Earth Order’ signed by Josef Stalin and Boris Shaposhnikov, on behalf of the Headquarters (Stavka / Ставка) of the Supreme High Command. Would-be historians take the contents of the basic document and add their own ingredients, either made upContinueContinue reading “Stalin’s 1941 Scorched Earth Order: Separating Myth from Fact”
Stalin’s Son Revisited: Why Stalin Refused to Save Him
As discussed in an August TranslatingHistory post, Yakov Dzhugashvili, the oldest child of Josef Stalin, was captured by Germans in 1941 near Vitebsk and used as a propaganda piece by Hitler and Goebbels. According to a generally accepted legend, he was dangled as bait in a proposed exchange with the Germans for Field Marshall Paulus, toContinueContinue reading “Stalin’s Son Revisited: Why Stalin Refused to Save Him”
On This Date: 1942 – Soviet Fighter Pilot Rams Nazi Ju-88 to Bring it Down, His Second Such Victory That Year
On 27 December 1942, Soviet pilot Petr Shavurin downed an enemy aircraft by ramming it at an altitude of 6000 meters. It was a frosty December of 1942. The winter days were short. A blizzard raged with only brief interruptions. On December 27th, exactly five months after his ramming attack in the skies over Gorky,ContinueContinue reading “On This Date: 1942 – Soviet Fighter Pilot Rams Nazi Ju-88 to Bring it Down, His Second Such Victory That Year”
FSB Publication Details Finland’s Communications Intelligence Successes Against Soviet Union Before and During WW2
In 2020, the official periodical of the Russian FSB [Federal Security Service] carried a lengthy but interesting breakdown of the history and successes enjoyed by the Finnish Radio Intelligence Service (Radiotiedustelukeskus, or RTK) during the Winter War between Finland and the USSR (1939-1940), as Germany’s ally during World War II (1941-1944), and during the LaplandContinueContinue reading “FSB Publication Details Finland’s Communications Intelligence Successes Against Soviet Union Before and During WW2”
Countdown to Pearl Harbor: November 1941 Encrypted Telegram Explains Japan’s Next Actions if US Negotiations Break Down
The following is a translation of a Top Secret encrypted telegram dated 25 November 1941 from unidentified Soviet agents in Tokyo regarding the potential for Japan being “forced to” seize the Dutch East Indies in the event of failure of Japanese-American negotiations. Note that, while the telegram was transmitted on 25 November, it wasn’t received untilContinueContinue reading “Countdown to Pearl Harbor: November 1941 Encrypted Telegram Explains Japan’s Next Actions if US Negotiations Break Down”
1943: Molotov Informs Gromyko, Sobolev of Acceptance of Terms of Italy’s Surrender to the Allies
The following is a translation of a 2 September 1943 Top Secret message from the People’s Commissar Of Foreign Affairs Of The USSR Vyacheslav Molotov To Soviet Ambassador To The US Andrey Gromyko and Soviet Charge D’Affairs Of The USSR In Great Britain Arkady Sobolev. 2 September 1943 Top Secret Priority On 26 AugustContinueContinue reading “1943: Molotov Informs Gromyko, Sobolev of Acceptance of Terms of Italy’s Surrender to the Allies”
Translating History 