On the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union

J. V. Stalin

ON THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR OF THE SOVIET UNION

27TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT OCTOBER SOCIALIST REVOLUTION
SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE JOINT CELEBRATION MEETING OF THE MOSCOW SOVIET OF WORKING PEOPLE'S DEPUTIES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF MOSCOW PARTY AND PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS
NOVEMBER 6, 1914
Comrades!

The Soviet people are today celebrating the 27th Anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Revolution in our country.
This is the fourth time our country is celebrating the anniversary of the Soviet Revolution amidst the conditions of our Patriotic War against the German fascist invaders.
This, of course, does not mean that the fourth year of the war does not differ in its results from the three preceding years of war. On the contrary, there is a fundamental difference between them. Whereas during the first two years of war the German troops were on the offensive and were advancing into the interior of our country, while the Red Army was obliged to wage defensive battles, and whereas the third year of the war marked the radical turning point on our front, when the Red Army developed powerful offensive operations, defeated the Germans in a series of decisive battles, cleared
the German troops out of two-thirds of Soviet territory and compelled them to pass to the defensive, all this time waging the war against the German troops single-handed without receiving any substantial support from the Allies, the fourth year of the war proved to be a year of decisive victories for the Soviet armies and the armies of our Allies over the German troops, while the Germans were compelled to wage war on two fronts, and were hurled back to the frontiers of Germany.
The operations of the past year culminated in the expulsion of the German troops from the boundaries of the Soviet Union, France, Belgium and Central Italy, and in the shifting of military operations to the territory of Germany.
1. GERMANY HELD IN A VICE BETWEEN TWO FRONTS
The decisive successes achieved by the Red Army during the past year and the expulsion of the Germans from the boundries of our Soviet territory were predetermined by a series of crushing blows inflicted by our troops upon the German troops, begun as far back as last January and subsequently developed throughout the course of the year under review.

The first blow was delivered by our troops near Leningrad and Novgorod last January, when the Red Army demolished the Germans' permanent defences and pushed the Germans into the Baltic regions. The result of this blow was the liberation of the Leningrad Region.

The second blow was delivered on the River Bug last February and March, when the Red Army routed the German troops and pushed them beyond the Dniester. As a result of this blow, the Ukraine on the right bank of the Dnieper was liberated from the German fascist invaders.

The third blow was delivered in the region of the Crimea last April and May, when the German troops were thrown into the Black Sea. As a result of this blow the Crimea and Odessa were liberated from German oppression.

The fourth blow was delivered in the region of Karelia last June, when the Red Army defeated the Finnish troops, liberated Vyborg and Petrozavodsk and pushed the Finns into the interior of Finland. The result of this blow was the liberation of the greater part of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Republic.

The fifth blow was inflicted on the Germans last June and July, when the Red Army utterly routed the German troops at Vitebsk, Bobruisk and Modhilev, and culminated in the surrounding of thirty German divisions near Minsk. As a result of this blow our troops: a) completely liberated the Byelorussian Soviet Republic; b) reached the Vistula and liberated a considerable part of the territory of our ally, Poland; c) reached the Niemen and liberated the greater part of the Lithuanian Soviet Republic, and d) forced the Niemen and reached the frontiers of Germany.

The sixth blow was delivered in the region of Western Ukraine last July and August, when the Red Army defeated the German troops at Lvov and hurled them beyond the San and the Vistula. As a result of this blow: a) Western Ukraine was liberated, and b) our troops
forced the Vistula and formed a powerful bridgehead on the other side, west of Sandomir.

The seventh blow was delivered last August in the region of Kishinev -- Jassy, when our troops utterly routed the German and Rumanian troops, and culminated in the surrounding of twenty-two German divisions near Kishinev, not counting the Rumanian divisions. As a result of this blow: a) the Moldavian Soviet Republic was liberated; b) Rumania, Germany's ally, was put out of action and she declared war on Germany and Hungary; c) Germany's ally, Bulgaria, was put out of action and she too declared war on Germany; d) the road was opened for our troops into Hungary, Germany's last ally in Europe, and e) it became possible to extend a helping hand to our ally, Yugoslavia, against the German invaders.

The eighth blow was delivered in the Baltic regions last September and October, when the Red Army defeated the German troops at Tallinn and Riga and expelled them from the Baltic regions. As a result of this blow: a) the Estonian Soviet Republic was liberated; b) the greater part of the Latvian Soviet Republic was liberated; c) Germany's ally, Finland, was put out of action and she declared war on Germany, and d) over thirty German divisions were cut off from Prussia and held between pincers in the area between Tukums and Libau, where our troops are driving the last nail into their coffin. (P r o l o n g e d a p p l a u s e.)

Last October our troops launched the ninth blow between the Tisa and the Danube, in the region of Hungary, with the object of putting Hungary out of the war and of turning her against Germany. As a result of this blow, which has not yet been completed: a) our troops rendered direct assistance to our ally, Yugoslavia, in expelling the Germans and liberating Belgrade, and b) our troops obtained the opportunity of crossing the Carpathians and of extending a helping hand to our ally, the Czechoslovakian Republic, part of whose territory has already been liberated from the German invaders.

Finally, at the end of last October, a blow was dealt the German troops in North Finland, when the German troops were kicked out of the region of Pechenga and our troops, pursuing the Germans, entered the territory of our ally, Norway. (A p p l a u s e.)

I shall not quote the figures of the losses sustained by the enemy in killed and prisoners as a result of these operations, of the guns, tanks, aircraft, shells, machine guns and so forth captured by our troops. You are probably familiar with these figures from the communiques of the Soviet Information Bureau.

Such were the Red Army's main operations during the past year which led to the expulsion of the German troops from the boundaries of our country.
As a result of these operations as many as 120 divisions of the Germans and their allies were defeated and put out of action. Instead of the 257 divisions that faced our front last year, of which 207 divisions were German, we now have on our front, after all the "total" and "super-total" mobilizations, only 204 German and Hungarian divisions, of which no more than 180 are German.

It must be admitted that in the present war Hitler Germany and her fascist army proved to be a more powerful, crafty and experienced foe than Germany and her army were in all previous wars. To this it must be added that in the present war the Germans succeeded in utilizing the productive forces of nearly the whole of Europe and the fairly large armies of their vassal states. The fact that Germany, nevertheless, finds herself on the brink of inevitable doom in spite of these favourable conditions for waging war must be attributed to the circumstance that her chief foe, the Soviet Union, excelled Hitler Germany in strength. (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)

What must be deemed as a new factor in the war against Hitler Germany during the past year is the fact that the Red Army conducted its operations against the German troops not single-handed, as was the case in preceding years, but jointly with the troops of our Allies. The Teheran Conference was not held in vain. The decision of the Teheran Conference to strike joint blows at Germany from the West, East and South began to be put into operation with astonishing precision. Simultaneously with the Red Army's summer operations on the Soviet-German front, the Allied troops commenced their invasion of France and organized powerful offensive operations which compelled Hitler Germany to wage war on two fronts. The troops and the navies of our Allies carried out a massed landing operation on the French coast of a magnitude and organization unprecedented in history and overcame the German fortifications with consummate skill.

Thus, Germany found herself held in a vice between two fronts.

As was to be expected, the enemy failed to withstand the joint blows of the Red Army and the Allied troops. The enemy's resistance was broken and within a short space of time his troops were kicked out of Central Italy,
France, Belgium and the Soviet Union. The enemy was thrown back to the frontiers of Germany.

There can be no doubt that without the organization of the Second Front in Europe, which engages as many as seventy-five German divisions, our troops would have been unable in so short a time to break the resistance of the German troops and eject them from the boundaries of the Soviet Union. Nor can there be any doubt that without the Red Army's powerful offensive operations last summer, which engaged as many as two hundred German divisions, the troops of our Allies would have been unable to cope with the German troops so quickly and expel them from Central Italy, France and Belgium.
The task is to continue to hold Germany in the vice between two fronts. This is the key to victory.

2. THE HEROIC FEAT OF THE SOVIET PEOPLE IN THE PATRIOTIC WAR
The fact that the Red Army was able successfully to perform its duty to our country and has expelled the Germans from the boundaries of our Soviet territory is due to the devoted support it received from the rear, from our entire country, from all the peoples of our country. The keynote of the self-sacrificing labours of all the Soviet people during the past year -- of the workers, peasants and intellectuals -- and of the directing activities of our Government and Party organizations has been: "Everything for the front!"

The past year was marked by fresh successes in industry, agriculture and transport, by the further expansion of our war economy.

In the fourth year of the war our factories are producing several times more tanks, aircrafit, guns, mortars and ammunition than at the beginning of the war. The most difficult period in the restoration of agriculture is now over. Now that the fertile fields of the Don and the Kuban have been restored to our country and the Ukraine liberated, our agriculture is rapidly recovering from the severe losses it sustained. Our Soviet railways have stood a strain that the railways of other countries could scarcely have stood. All this proves that the economic basis of the Soviet state is immeasurably more virile than the economies of the enemy countries have proved to be.

The socialist system which was engendered by the October Revolution imbued our people and our Army with great and invincible strength. Notwithstanding the heavy burden of war, notwithstanding the temporary occupation of extremely large and economically important regions of our country by the Germans, the Soviet state, far from reducing has, year after year, increased its supplies of arms and ammunition to the front during the course of the war. Today, the Red Army has not less but more tanks, guns and aircraft than the German army. As regards the quality of our war material, it far excels the armaments of the enemy. Just as the Red Army gained a military victory over the fascist troops in a long and severe struggle, fighting single-handed, so the working people in the Soviet rear gained an economic victory over the enemy in single combat against Hitler Germany and her accomplices. (L o u d a p p l a u s e.) The Soviet people denied themselves many necessities,
voluntarily endured severe hardships, in order to provide more for the front. The unprecedented difficulties of the present war, far from breaking, still further steeled the iron will and courageous spirit of the Soviet people. Our people have justly earned fame as a heroic nation.
Our working class is devoting all its strength to the cause of victory; it is steadily improving the process of production, increasing the output capacity of our industrial enterprises and erecting new factories and mills. The working class of the Soviet Union has performed a great feat of labour heroism in the present war.
Our intellectuals are boldly pursuing the path of technical and cultural innovation, are successfully promoting modern science and are creatively utilizing its achievements for the production of armaments for the Red Army. By their constructive efforts the Soviet intellectuals have made an invaluable contribution to the cause of defeating the enemy.

An army cannot fight and win without modern armaments, nor can it fight and win without bread, without provisions. Thanks to the care of our collective farm peasantry, the Red Army suffers no lack of provisions in the fourth year of war. Our men and women collective farmers are supplying the workers and intellectuals with food and our industry with raw materials, thus ensuring the normal functioning of our factories and mills which are manufacturing armaments and equipment for the front. Fully conscious of their duty to their country. our collective farm peasantry are actively helping the Red Army to achieve victory over the enemy.
The unprecedented labour heroism displayed by our Soviet women and our valiant youth, who have borne
the brunt of the burden in our factories and mills and in our collective and state farms, will go down in history for ever. For the sake of the honour and independence of our country our Soviet women, youths and girls are displaying courage and heroism on the labour front. They have proved themselves worthy of their fathers and sons, their husbands and brothers who are defending our country from the German fascist fiends.

Like the undying martial heroism displayed by our warriors on the battlefield, the labour heroism displayed by our Soviet people in the rear springs from their ardent and virile Soviet patriotism.

The strength of Soviet patriotism lies in the fact that it is based not on racial or nationalistic prejudices, but upon the profound devotion and loyalty of the people to their Soviet Motherland, on the fraternal co-operation of the working people of all the nations inhabiting our country. Soviet patriotism is a harmonious blend of the national traditions of the peoples and the common vital interests of all the working people of the Soviet Union. Soviet patriotism does not disunite but unites all the nations and nationalities inhabiting our country in a single fraternal family. This should be regarded as the basis of the indestructible and ever-growing friendship that exists among the peoples of the Soviet Union. At the same time, the peoples of the U.S.S.R. respect the rights and independence of the peoples of foreign countries and have always shown their readiness to live in peace and friendship with neighbouring countries. This should be regarded as the basis upon which the ties between our country and other freedom-loving peoples are expanding and growing stronger.
The Soviet people hate the German invaders not because they belong to a foreign nation, but because they have caused our people and all freedom-loving peoples incalculable misfortune and suffering. There is an old saying among our people: "The wolf is not beaten because he is grey, but because he devours the sheep." (L a u g h t e r. P r o l o n g e d a p p l a u s e.)

The German fascists chose the misanthropic race theory as their ideological weapon in the expectation that the advocacy of brutal nationalism would create the moral and political prerequisites for the domination of the German invaders over enslaved peoples. The policy of race hatred pursued by the Hitlerites, however, actually became a source of internal weakness for the German fascist state, and of its political isolation from other states. The ideology and policy of race hatred have been one of the factors that led to the collapse of the Hitler brigand bloc. It cannot be regarded as an accident that against the German imperialists have risen not only the enslaved peoples of France, Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, but also Hitler's former vassals -- the Italians, the Rumanians, the Finns and Bulgarians. By their cannibal policy the Hitler clique has roused all the people of the world against Germany, and the so-called "chosen German race" has become the object of universal hatred.

In the course of the war the Hitlerites have sustained not only military but also moral and political defeat. The ideology of the equality of all races and nations, which has become firmly established in our country, the ideology of friendship among nations, has achieved com-
plete victory over the ideology of brutal nationalism and race hatred preached by the Hitlerites.
Now that our Patriotic War is drawing to a triumphant close, the historic role played by the Soviet people stands out in all its grandeur. Everybody admits now that by their self-sacrificing struggle the Soviet people saved the civilization of Europe from the fascist pogrom-mongers. This is the great historic service the Soviet people have rendered mankind.

3. THE CONSOLIDATION AND EXPANSION OF THE ANTI-GERMAN COALITION FRONT. THE QUESTION OF PEACE AND SECURITY
The past year has witnessed the triumph of the common cause of the anti-German coalition, for the sake of which the peoples of the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States of America have united in a fighting alliance. This year witnessed the consolidation of the unity of the three principal powers and of the co-ordination of their activities against Hitler Germany.

The decision of the Teheran Conference to conduct joint operations against Germany, and the brilliant execution of this decision, constitute one of the striking indices of the consolidation of the anti-Hitler coalition front. There are few cases in history of plans for large-scale military operations, undertaken in joint action against a common enemy, being carried out as fully and precisely as the plan for a joint blow against Germany drawn up at the Teheran Conference was carried out.
There can be no doubt that the Teheran decision could not have been carried out so fully and precisely had there been no unanimity of opinion and co-ordination of action among the three Great Powers. There can be no doubt also that the successful execution of the Teheran decision could not but help to consolidate the front of the United Nations.

An equally striking index of the stability of the front of the United Nations are the decisions of the conference at Dumbarton Oaks on the question of organizing security after the war. There is talk of disagreements among the three powers on certain questions concerning security. Of course there are disagreements, and there will be on a number of other questions too. Disagreements even exist among people who belong to the same party. How much more so must this be the case among representatives of different countries and different parties. The surprising thing is not that differences exist, but that there are so few, and that these are, as a rule, settled almost every time in a spirit of unity and co-ordination of action of the three Great Powers. It is not the disagreements that count, but the fact that they do not go beyond the limits dictated by the interests of unity among the three Great Powers, and that, in the final analysis, they are settled in conformity with the interests of this unity. It is common knowledge that more serious disagreements existed among us on the question of opening the Second Front. It is also common knowledge, however, that, in the final analysis, these disagreements were settled in the spirit of complete harmony. The same must be said concerning the differences that existed at the conference in Dumbarton Oaks. The char-
acteristic thing about the conference is not that certain disagreements were revealed there, but that nine-tenths of the questions concerning security were settled at the conference in the spirit of complete unanimity. That is why I think that the decisions of the conference at Dumbarton Oaks should be regarded as one of the striking indices of the stability of the anti-German coalition front.

A still more striking index of the consolidation of the front of the United Nations are the recent negotiations with the head of the British Government, Mr. Churchill, and the British Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Eden, in Moscow, which proceeded in a friendly atmosphere and in a spirit of complete unanimity.

Throughout the whole period of the war the Hitlerites have been making desperate efforts to disunite the United Nations, to set them against each other, to foment suspicion and hostility among them, to weaken their war efforts by mutual distrust and, if possible, by mutual conflicts. These efforts on the part of the Hitler politicians are quite intelligible. For them there is nothing more dangerous than the unity of the United Nations in the struggle against Hitler imperialism, and they could achieve no greater military and political victory than that of disuniting the Allied Powers in their struggle against the common enemy. How vain, however, the efforts of the fascist politicians to disrupt the alliance of the Great Powers have been is common knowledge. This indicates that the alliance between the U.S.S.R., Great Britain and the U.S.A. is based not on casual and transient motives, but on vitally important and long-standing interests.
Since the fighting alliance of the democratic countries has stood the test of over three years of war, and since this alliance is sealed with the blood of the peoples who have risen to defend their freedom and honour, there can be no doubt that it will stand the test of the concluding stage of the war. (P r o l o n g e d a p p l a u s e.)

But the past year not only witnessed the consolidation of the anti-German front of the Allied Powers; it also witnessed its expansion. The fact that Italy was followed out of the war by Germany's other allies, Finland, Rumania and Bulgaria, cannot be regarded as an accident. It must be noted that these countries not only went out of the war, but also broke off relations with Germany and declared war on her, thereby joining the front of the United Nations. This undoubtedly signifies the expansion of the front of the United Nations against Hitler Germany. There can be no doubt that Hungary, Germany's last ally in Europe, will also be put out of action in the very near future. This will signify the complete isolation of Hitler Germany in Europe, and her inevitable collapse.

The United Nations are on the threshold of the victorious consummation of the war against Hitler Germany.
The United Nations will win the war against Germany -- of this there can no longer be the slightest doubt now.
To win the war against Germany means consummating a great historical cause. But winning the war does not yet mean ensuring the peoples a durable peace and reliable security in the future. The task is not only to
win the war, but also to prevent the outbreak of fresh aggression and another war, if not for ever, then at least for a long time to come.
After her defeat Germany will, of course, be disarmed economically, as well as militarily and politically. It would be naive to think, however, that she will make no attempt to recuperate her strength and embark on new aggression. It is common knowledge that the German rulers are already making preparations for another war. History shows that quite a short period, a matter of twenty or thirty years, is sufficient to enable Germany to recover from defeat and recuperate her strength. What means are available to prevent fresh aggression on Germany's part and, if war breaks out nevertheless, to strangle it at the very outset and prevent it from developing into a big war?
This question is all the more appropriate for the reason that, as history shows, aggressor nations, being the attacking nations, are usually better prepared for a new war than peaceful nations, which, not being interested in waging a new war, are usually belated in their preparations for It. It is a fact that the aggressor nations in the present war had an army of invasion ready even before the war broke out, whereas the peaceful nations did not even have a fully satisfactory covering army for mobilization. Unpleasant facts such as the Pearl Harbour "incident," the loss of the Philippines and other islands in the Pacific, the loss of Hongkong and Singapore, when Japan, as an aggressor nation, proved to be better prepared for war than Great Britain and the United States who pursued a peace policy, cannot be regarded as accidents. Nor can such an unpleasant fact as
the loss of the Ukraine, Byelorussia and the Baltic regions in the very first year of the war, when Germany, as the aggressor nation, proved to be better prepared for war than the peaceful Soviet Union, be regarded as an accident. It would be naive to attribute these facts to the personal qualities of the Japanese and the Germans, to their superiority over the English, the Americans or the Russians, to their farsightedness, and so forth. It is not personal qualities that count, but the fact that aggressor nations who are interested in a new war, nations who prepare for war over a long period of time and accumulate the necessary forces, usually are and must be better prepared for war than peaceful nations who are not interested in a new war. This is natural and intelligible. It is, if you like, a law of history, which it would be dangerous to ignore.

Consequently, it cannot be denied that the peaceful nations may again be caught unawares by aggression in the future, if, of course, they fail, right now, to devise special measures that will be capable of preventing aggression.

Hence, what means are available to prevent fresh aggression on the part of Germany, and if war breaks out nevertheless, to strangle it at the very outset and to prevent it from developing into a big war?

Apart from the complete disarming of aggressor nations there is only one means of achieving this: to set up a special organization consisting of representatives of the peaceful nations, for the protection of peace and for ensuring security; to place at the disposal of the leading body of this organization the minimum of armed forces necessary to prevent aggression; and to make it
the duty of this organization to utilize these armed forces without delay, in the event of necessity, to prevent or liquidate aggression and punish those responsible for it.

This must not be a replica of the League of Nations of sad memory, which possessed neither the powers nor the means with which to prevent aggression. It will be a new, special, fully-empowered international organization, which will have at its disposal all that is necessary for protecting peace and preventing fresh aggression.

Can we count on the activities of this international organization being sufficiently effective? They will be effective if the Great Powers who have borne the brunt of the burden of the war against Hitler Germany continue to act in a spirit of unanimity and harmony. They will not be effective if this essential condition is violated.
* * *
Comrades!
The Soviet people and the Red Army are successfully accomplishing the tasks set them in the course of our Patriotic War. The Red Army has worthily performed its patriotic duly and has liberated our country from the enemy. Henceforth our soil will be free from the Hitler scum for ever. It now remains for the Red Army to fulfil its last and concluding mission: to consummate, in conjunction with the armies of our Allies, the complete rout of the German fascist army, to finish off the fascist beast in its own lair and hoist the flag of victory over Berlin. (L o u d a n d p r o l o n g e d a p p l a u s e.) There are grounds for assuming that the Red Army will fulfil this task in the not distant future. (L o u d a n d p r o l o n g e d a p p l a u s e.)

Long live our victorious Red Army! (A p p l a u s e.)
Long live our valiant Navy! (A p p l a u s e.)
Long live the mighty Soviet people! (A p p l a u s e.)
Long live our great motherland! (L o u d a p p l a u s e. A l l r i s e.)
Death to the German fascist invaders! (L o u d a n d p r o l o n g e d a p p l a u s e. O v a t i o n. C r i e s o f : "L o n g l i v e C o m r a d e S t a l i n !")

ORDER THE DAY
OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
No. 220
MOSCOW, NOVEMBER 7, 1944

Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, non-commissioned officers, officers and generals! Working people of the Soviet Union! Brothers and sisters who have been forcibly driven into fascist servitude in Germany!

On behalf of the Soviet Government and of our Bolshevik Party, I greet and congratulate you on the 27th anniversary of our Great October Socialist Revolution.
We are celebrating the twenty-seventh anniversary of the October Revolution in the midst of decisive victories achieved by the Red Army over the enemies of our country. As a result of the heroic efforts of the Red Army and the Soviet people our soil has been cleared of the German fascist invaders.

This year our Soviet troops have rained continuous blows of increasing power upon the enemy. In the winter of 1944 the Red Army achieved outstanding victories in the Ukraine, on the right bank of the Dnieper, and routed the Germans near Leningrad. Last spring the Red Army cleared the Crimea of the Germans. In the summer of 1944 our troops inflicted the severest defeats upon the
German army, which caused a radical change in the situation at the front in the struggle against the German fascist invaders. The Red Army shattered the enemy's powerful defences on the Karelian Isthmus and also between Lakes Ladoga and Onega and knocked Finland out of the brigand Hitler bloc. In the historic battles on Byelorussian soil the Red Army forces utterly routed the German central group of forces constituting three armies, and killed and captured 540,000 German men and officers. During the fighting in the South, the Red Army surrounded and completely annihilated a group of German troops constituting two armies. In the course of these battles our Soviet troops killed and captured over 250,000 German men and officers. The Red Army routed the Germans in Rumania, ejected them from Bulgaria and is beating them on Hungarian territory. Our troops have crushed the Baltic group of Hitler's army. During the course of the 1944 summer campaign the Red Army fought its way from Kishinev to Belgrade -- over 900 kilometres, from Zhlobin to Warsaw -- over 600 kilometres, and from Vitebsk to Tilsit -- 550 kilometres. The war has now been carried into the territory of fascist Germany.

In the course of the fighting the Red Army expelled the German fascist invaders from the entire territory of Soviet Ukraine and Byelorussia and from the Karelo-Finnish, Moldavian, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet Republics. The fascist yoke which for three years prevailed in the territories of our fraternal Soviet Republics temporarily seized by the Germans has been overthrown. The Red Army has restored freedom to tens of millions of Soviet people. The Soviet State frontiers, which the Hitler hordes wantonly violated on June 22, 1941, have been restored along their whole length from the Black Sea to the Barents Sea.

Thus, the past year witnessed the complete liberation of our Soviet soil from the German fascist invaders. Having consummated the liberation of its native soil from the Hitler scum, the Red Army is now helping the peoples of Holand, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia to break the chains of fascist slavery and to recover their freedom and independence.

During the fighting last winter and summer, the Red Army displayed greater fighting ability. The men of the Red Army skilfully demolislled the enemy's fortified zones and swiftly pursued, surrounded and annihilated the enemy. In the course of these offensive operations the actions of all arms of the service were closely co-ordinated and high skill in manoeuvring was displayed. Our Soviet troops became steeled in battle and learnt to rout and vanquish the enemy. The Red Army grew into a formidable force, and is now superior to the enemy in fighting ability ,and war material.

The strength of the Red Army is greatly multiplied by the smooth operation of the Soviet rear. The workers, collective farmers and intellectuals are honourably performing their duty to their country, are heroically overcoming wartime difficulties and are uninterruptedly supplying the Red Army with arms, ammunition and provisions. Our Soviet economy is continuously growing in strength and is rendering ever increasing assistance to the front.

The Red Army and the Soviet people are ready to strike fresh annihilating blows at the enemy. The days of Hitler's bloody regime are numbered. Under the blows of the Red Army the fascist bloc has utterly collapsed, and Hitler Germany has lost most of her allies. The large-scale operations conducted by the armies of our Allies in Western Europe with consummate skill have led to the rout of the German troops in France and Belgium and to the liberation of these countries from fascist occupation. The Allied forces have crossed the western frontiers of Germany. The joint blows struck at Hitler Germany by the Red Army and the Anglo-American forces have brought near the hour of the victorious conclusion of the war. The encirclement of Hitler Germany is being completed. The lair of the fascist beast is beleaguered on all sides and no cunning will save the enemy from complete and inevitable defeat.

The Red Army and the armies of our Allies have taken up their initial positions for launching the decisive attack upon Germany's vital centres. The task now is for the armies of the United Nations to crush Hitler Germany at the earliest date by means of a swift assault.

Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, non-commissioned officers, officers and generals! Working people of the Soviet Union!

In our Great Patriotic War we saved our country from the invaders, completely liquidated the menace of enslavement of the peoples of the U.S.S.R. by the fascist fiends and are now on the threshold of complete victory.

To mark the historic victories achieved by the Red Army at the front and the great achievements of the workers, peasants and intellectuals in the rear, and in honour of the liberation of our Soviet soil from the German fascist invaders,

I HEREBY ORDER
That today, the 27th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, at 20 hours, a salute of twenty-four artillery salvoes be fired in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Petrozavodsk, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Kishinev, Tbilisi, Sevastopol and Lvov.
Long live the 27th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution!
Long live our free Soviet Motherland!
Long live our Red Army and Navy!
Long live our great Soviet people!
Eternal glory to the heroes who have fallen in the struggle for the freedom and independence of our country!
Death to the German invaders!
J. Stalin
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Supreme Commander-in-Chief

ORDER THE DAY
OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
No. 225
MOSCOW, NOVEMBER 19, 1944

Comrades, artillerymen, mortar men, engineers and technicians, officers and generals of our Soviet Artillery!
Today the Soviet people are celebrating Red Army Artillery Day.
The entire country is today paying tribute to the great importance of the Artillery as the Red Army's main striking force.
It is well known that the Artillery was the force that helped the Red Army to check the enemy,s advance at the approaches to Leningrad and Moscow.
The Artillery was the force that ensured the rout by the Red Army of the German troops at Stalingrad and Voronezh, at Kursk and Belgorod, at Kharkov and Kiev, at Vitebsk and Bobruisk, at Leningrad and Minsk, at Jassy and Kishinev.
By means of its devastating fire, the Artillery successfully cleared the road for the Infantry and Tanks in the great battles that have been fought during our Patriotic War, as a result of which the enemy has been driven beyond the borders of our country.
Now, in conjunction with the entire Red Army, the Soviet Artillery is striking crushing blows at the enemy's manpower, material and fortifications in the last decisive battles for victory over Germany.
It is common knowledge that our Soviet Artillery has achieved complete mastery on the battlefield over the enemy's artillery, that in numerous battles with the enemy our Soviet artillerymen and mortar men have covered themselves with undying fame by their exceptional courage and heroism, and that their commanders and chiefs have displayed high skill in directing artillery fire.
This is an achievement of which our country may justly be proud.
Comrades, artillerymen and mortar men, engineers and technicians, officers and generals of our Soviet Artillery! I congratulate you on the occasion of Artillery Day!
To mark the decisive successes achieved by the Artillery of the Red Army in our Patriotic War,
I HEREBY ORDER:
That today, November 19, Artillery Day, at 19 hours, the capital of our country Moscow, the capitals of our Union Republics, and the cities of Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol, Odessa, Khabarovsk, Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk, Gorky, Molotov and Tula shall, on behalf of our country, salute our valiant artillerymen with twenty artillery salvoes.
May our Soviet Artillery live and flourish to the terror of the enemies of our motherland!
J. Stalin
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Supreme Commander-in-Chief

ORDER THE DAY
OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
No. 5
MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 23, 1945

Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, non-commissioned officers, officers and generals! Today we are celebrating the twenty-seventh anniversary of the Red Army.
Created by great Lenin to protect our country from attack by foreign aggressors and reared by the Bolshevik Party, the Red Army has traversed a glorious path of development. It has fulfilled with honour its historic mission and is deservedly the beloved offspring of the Soviet people. During the period of the Civil War the Red Army defended our young Soviet state from numerous enemies. In the great battles of our Patriotic War against the German invasion, the Red Army saved the peoples of the Soviet Union from German fascist slavery, upheld the freedom and independence of our country and helped the peoples of Europe to throw off the German yoke.
We are celebrating the Red Army's twenty-seventh anniversary amidst new historic victories over the enemy. The Red Army has not only rid our native land of the Hitler scum, but has also hurled the enemy back many hundreds of kilometres beyond the lines from which the
Germans launched their predatory attack upon our country, has carried the war into the territory of Germany, and is now, in conjunction with the armies of our Allies, successfully completing the rout of the German fascist army.
In January, this year, the Red Army struck the enemy a blow of unprecedented force along the whole front from the Baltic to the Carpathians. On a stretch of 1,200 kilometres it demolished the powerful defences of the Germans, which the latter had built up in the course of a number of years. During its offensive the Red Army, by means of swift and skilful operations, hurled the enemy far to the West. In hard fought battles, our Soviet troops advanced from the frontiers of East Prussia to the lower reaches of the Vistula -- a distance of 270 kilometres; from the bridgehead on the Vistula south of Warsaw to the lower reaches of the river Oder -- a distance of 570 kilometres; and from the Sandomir bridgehead into the interior of German Silesia -- a distance of 480 kilometres.
The successes of our winter offensive resulted, primarily in the frustration of the Germans' winter offensive in the West, the object of which was to capture Belgium and Alsace, and they enabled the armies of our Allies, in their turn, to pass to the offensive against the Germans and thereby combine their offensive operations in the West with the Red Army's offensive operations in the East.
During forty days of the offensive in January and February 1945, our troops dislodged the Germans from 300 towns, captured as many as 100 munition plants producing tanks, aircraft, armaments and ammunition, occupied over 2,400 railway stations and captured a net-
work of railways of a total length exceeding 15,000 kilometres. During this short period Germany lost over 350,000 men and officers taken prisoner, and no less than 800,000 killed. In the same period the Red Army destroyed and captured about 3,000 German aeroplanes, over 4,500 tanks and self-propelled guns, and no less than 12,000 other guns.
As a result the Red Army completely liberated Poland and a large part of Czechoslovakia, occupied Budapest and knocked out of the war Germany's last ally in Europe, Hungary, captured the major part of East Prussia and German Silesia, and hewed a road for itself to Brandenburg and Pomerania, the approaches to Berlin.
The Hitlerites boasted that no enemy soldier had set foot on German soil for over a hundred years and that the German army had fought and would fight only on foreign soil. An end has now been put to this German boastfulness.
Our winter offensive has shown that our Red Army finds ever new forces for solving problems of increasing complexity and difficulty. Its valiant soldiers have now learned to crush and destroy the enemy according to all the rules of modern military science. Inspired by the consciousness of their great liberating mission, our soldiers are displaying miracles of heroism and self-sacrifice, skilfully combine bravery and daring in battle with the full utilization of the power and might of their weapons. The generals and officers of the Red Army skilfully combine massed blows of powerful implements of war with skilful and swift manoeuvring.In the fourth year of the war the Red Army is more solid and powerful than ever before; its fighting equipment is more perfect and its fighting skill ever so much higher.
Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, non-commissioned officers, officers and generals!
Complete victory over the Germans is now already near. But victory never comes of its own accord; it is achieved by hard fighting and by persevering labour. The doomed foe is hurling his last forces into battle and is offering desperate resistance in order to escape stern retribution. He is clutching, and will clutch again, at the most extreme and despicable methods of fighting. Hence, we must bear in mind that the nearer our victory, the keener must be our vigilance and the more powerful the blows we strike at the enemy.
On behalf of the Soviet Government and of our glorious Bolshevik Party, I greet and congratulate you on the twenty-seventh anniversary of the Red Army!
To mark the great victories achieved during the past year by the armed forces of the Soviet state
I HEREBY ORDER:
That today, February 23, the twenty-seventh anniversary of the Red Army, at 20 hours, a salute of twenty artillery salvoes be fired in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Petrozavodsk, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Kishinev, Tbilisi, Stalingrad, Sevastopol, Odessa and Lvov.
Long live our victorious Red Army!
Long live our victorious Navy!
Long live our mighty Soviet Motherland!
Eternal glory to the heroes who have fallen in the struggle for the freedom and independence of our country!
Death to the German invaders!
J. Stalin
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Supreme Commander-in-Chief

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SPEECH
DELIVERED AT THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP, MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AND POST-WAR COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE SOVIET UNION AND THE POLISH REPUBLIC
APRIL 21, 1945

Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Gentlemen!
I think that the Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance and Post-War Collaboration between the Soviet Union and Poland, which we have just signed, is of great historic importance.
The importance of this Trealy lies, first of all, in that it marks the radical turn in the relations between the Soviet Union and Poland towards alliance and friendship that was brought about in the course of the present struggle for liberation against Germany, and which is now formally sealed in this Treaty.
The relations between our countries during the past five centuries, as is known, were replete with elements of mutual estrangement, unfriendliness and often with open military conflicts. These relations weakened both our countries and strengthened German imperialism.
The importance of the present Treaty lies in that it puts an end to these old relations between our countries, nails them in their coffin, and creates real basis for
substituting relations of alliance and friendship between the Soviet Union and Poland for the old unfriendly relations.
During the last twenty-five to thirty years, i.e., during the last two world wars, the Germans succeeded in utilizing the territory of Poland as a corridor for invasion in the East, and as a jumping off ground for an attack on the Soviet Union. This could happen because there were then no relations of friendship and alliance between our countries. The former rulers of Poland did not wish to have allied relations with the Soviet Union. They preferred a policy of playing between Germany and the Soviet Union. Of course, they lost. . . . Poland was occupied and her independence was annulled; as a result of this fatal policy the German troops were given the opportunity to reach the gates of Moscow.
The importance of the present Treaty lies in that it does away with the old fatal policy of playing between Germany and the Soviet Union and substitutes for it a policy of alliance and friendship between Poland and her Eastern neighbour.
Such is the historic importance of the Treaty between Poland and the Soviet Union for Friendship, Mutual Assistance and Post-War Collaboration, which we have just signed.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the peoples of our countries have been impatiently looking forward to the signing of this Treaty. They feel that this Treaty is a guarantee of the independence of new democratic Poland, a guarantee of her might and her prosperity.
But this is not all. The present Treaty is also of great international importance. While there was no alliance
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between our countries, Germany was able to take advantage of the absence of a united front between us; she could play off Poland against the Soviet Union and vice versa, and thereby fight them one by one. The situation radically changed after the alliance between our countries was established. Now it is no longer possible to play off our countries against each other. Our countries now have a united front, from the Baltic to the Carpathians,ia against the common enemy, against German imperialism. It can now confidently be said that German aggression is hemmed in in the East. There can be no doubt that if this barrier in the East is supplemented by a barrier in the West, that is, by an alliance between our countries and our Allies in the West, it may be boldly asserted that German aggression will be curbed, and it will not be easy for it to run riot.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the freedom-loving nations, and primarily the Slavonic nations, have been impatiently looking forward to the conclusion of this Treaty, for they realize that this Treaty signifies the consolidation of the united front of the United Nations against the common enemy in Europe.
Hence, I have no doubt that our Western allies will welcome this Treaty.
May free, independent and democratic Poland live and prosper!
May her Eastern neighbour -- our Soviet Union -- live and prosper!
Long live the alliance and friendship between our countries!
ORDER THE DAY
OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
TO THE ARMY ON ACTIVE SERVICE

The troops of the First Ukrainian Front and our Allied British and American troops, striking from the East and West, severed the front of the German troops and on April 25, at 13 hours 30 minutes, effected a junction in the middle of Germany, in the region of Torgau. As a result, the German troops located in North Germany have been cut off from the German troops in the southern regions of Germany.
To mark this victory, and in honour of this historic event, today, April 27, at 19 hours, the capital of our country, Moscow, will, on behalf of our country, salute the valiant troops of the First Ukrainian Front and our Allied British and American troops with twenty-four artillery salvoes, fired from three hundred and twenty-four guns.
Long live the victory of the freedom-loving nations over Germany!

April 27, 1945, No. 346.

ADDRESS
OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF TO THE RED ARMY AND THE ALLIED TROOPS
APRIL 21, 1945

On behalf of the Soviet Government I address myself to you, commanders and men of the Red Army and of the armies of our Allies.
The victorious armies of the Allied Powers who are waging a war of liberation in Europe have routed the German troops and have effected a junction in the territory of Germany.
Our task, and our duty, is to deliver the finishing stroke at the enemy and compel him to lay down his arms and surrender unconditionally. This task, and this duty towards our people and towards all the freedom-loving peoples, will be carried out by the Red Army to the very end.
I greet the valiant troops of our Allies who are now standing on German territory shoulder to shoulder with the Soviet troops, determined to perform their duty to the end.

ORDER THE DAY
OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
No. 20
MOSCOW, MAY 1, 1945

Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, non-commissioned officers, and petty officers, officers of the Army and Navy, generals and admirals!
Working people of the Soviet Union!
Today our country is celebrating the First of May -- the international festival of the working people.
This year the peoples of our motherland are celebrating the First of May during the victorious consummation of the Great Patriotic War.
The stern times when the Red Army was fighting back the attacks of enemy troops near Moscow and Leningrad, near Grozny and at Stalingrad, are gone, never to return. Today our victorious troops are routing the armed forces of the enemy in the heart of Germany, far beyond Berlin, on the River Elbe.
In a short space of time Poland, Hungary, a large part of Czechoslovakia, a considerable part of Austria, and Vienna, the capital of Austria, were liberated.
At the same time, the Red Army captured East Prussia, the hotbed of German imperialism, Pomerania, the larger part of Brandenburg and the main districts of
Berlin, the capital of Germany, and has hoisted the flag of victory over Berlin.
As a result of these offensive battles waged by the Red Army the Germans lost in the course of three to four months over 800,000 men and officers taken prisoner, and about 1,000,000 in killed. During the same period Red Army forces captured or destroyed as many as 6,000 enemy aeroplanes and 12,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, over 23,000 field-guns and an enormous quantity of other kinds of armaments and equipment.
It must be noted that in these battles Polish, Yugoslav, Czechoslovak, Bulgarian and Rumunian divisions successfully attacked the common enemy side by side with the Red Army.
As a result of the crushing blows that were struck by the Red Army, the German Command was compelled to shift dozens of divisions to the Soviet-German front, thereby denuding whole sectors of other fronts. This circumstance helped the troops of our Allies to develop a successful offensive in the West. Furthermore, by striking simultaneous blows at the German troops from East and West the Allied troops and the Red Army succeeded in cutting the German forces into two isolated parts and in effecting a junction between our troops and the Allied troops, thus forming a single front.
There can be no doubt that this circumstance signifies the end of Hitler Germany.
The days of Hitler Germany are numbered. More than half her territory is occupied by the Red Army and the troops of our Allies. Germany has lost her most vital regions. The industry still remaining in the hands of the Hitlerites cannot supply the German army with a
sufficient quantity of arms, ammunition and fuel. The man power reserves of the German army are exhausted. Germany is entirely isolated and stands alone, if her ally, Japan, is left out of account.
In their quest for a way out of their hopeless situation the Hitler adventurers resort to all sorts of tricks, even going to the extent of making advances to the Allies in an endeavour to sow discord in the Allied camp. This new chicanery of the Hitlerites is doomed to utter failure. It can only hasten the collapse of the German forces.
Mendacious fascist propaganda is intimidating the inhabitants of Germany with absurd tales to the effect that the armies of the United Nations are out to exterminate the German people. It is not part of the task of the United Nations to exterminate the German people. The United Nations will extirpate fascism and German militarism, they will sternly punish the war criminals, and compel the Germans to make good the damage they have caused other countries. But the United Nations are not touching, and will not touch, the civilian population of Germany if they faithfully carry out the demands of the Allied military authorities.
The brilliant victories the Soviet troops have achieved in the Great Patriotic War have revealed the titanic might of the Red Army and its high military skill. In the course of the war our motherland acquired a first-class seasoned army capable of defending the great Socialist gains of our people and of protecting the state interests of the Soviet Union.
Notwithstanding the fact that for nearly four years the Soviet Union has been waging a war of unprecedented magnitude calling for colossal expenditures our Socialist
economy is growing stronger and expanding, and the economy of the liberated districts, which was plundered and wrecked by the German invaders, is successfully and rapidly reviving. This is the result of the heroic efforts of the workers and collective farmers, of the Soviet intelligentsia, of the women and young people of our country who are inspired and directed by our great Bolshevik Party.
The World War, which was unleashed by the German imperialists, is drawing to a close. The collapse of Hitler Germany is a matter of the very near future. The Hitler bosses, who fancied themselves the rulers of the world, have now been left with a broken pitcher. The mortally wounded fascist beast is at its last gasp. The task now reduces itself to delivering the finishing stroke to this fascist beast.
Men of the Red Army and Red Navy!
The final assault on the Hitler lair is in progress. In the concluding battles set fresh examples of military skill and valour. Strike harder at the enemy, skilfully demolish his defences, pursue and surround the German aggressors, give them no respite until they cease resistance.
While beyond the borders of your native land, be exceptionally vigilant!
Continue to uphold the honour and dignity of the Soviet soldier!
Working people of the Soviet Union!
By your persevering and untiring labours increase your all-round assistance to the front. Quickly heal the wounds the war has inflicted on our country and enhance still further the might of our Soviet state!
Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, non-commissioned officers and petty officers, officers of the Army and Navy, generals and admirals!
Working people of the Soviet Union!
On behalf of the Soviet Government and of our Bolshevik Party, I greet and congratulate you on the occasion of the First of May!
In honour of the Red Army's historic victories at the front and of the great successes achieved by the workers, collective farmers and intelligentsia in the rear, and in celebration of the international festival of the working people,
I HEREBY ORDER.
That, today, May 1, a salute of twenty artillery salvoes be fired in the capitals of our Union republics: Moscow, Kiev, Minsk, Baku, Tbilisi, Erevan, Ashkhabad, Tashkent, Stalinabad, Alma-Ata, Frunze, Petrozavodsk, Kishinev, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn, and also in the hero cities Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa.
Long live our mighty Soviet Motherland!
Long live the great Soviet people, the victor people!
Long live the victorious Red Army and Navy!
Eternal glory to the heroes who have fallen in battle for the freedom and independence of our country!
Forward to the final defeat of Hitler Germany!
J. Stalin
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Supreme Commander-in-Chief