What can be cooked from squid: quick and tasty
The second World War was the most ambitious and bloody in the history of mankind. As a result of its deployment, colossal changes have taken place in the political, economic and even cultural life of the world community. Now we can say with complete confidence that the events that took place seventy years ago have completely changed the course of history. 61 states took part in the war. The total losses of the belligerents exceeded 65 million people. For a more complete understanding of the full significance of this historical period, it is worth considering the largest battles of World War II in chronological order.
Battle of Britain
The largest air battle in World War II. It lasted from July 9 to October 30, 1940. After an unsuccessful attempt to conclude a peace treaty with Great Britain, Hitler gave the order for a massive bombing of the country. For these purposes, three air fleets were allocated under the general command of Goering and Kesselring. The total number of Luftwaffe aircraft involved in the battle exceeded 4,000. The British Air Force numbered half the number of aircraft, but had serious support from ground-based air defense systems. As a result of heavy aerial combat, the RAF nullified Germany's attempts to gain air supremacy. This prevented the direct landing of German troops on the island. This is the first battle in which the Air Force and Air Defense Forces participated exclusively.
Battle for Moscow
The battle lasted from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942. Throughout the defensive stage, the forces of the Red Army consisting of the Western, Bryansk, Kalinin and Reserve fronts under the command of Zhukov, Konev and Zakharov stubbornly resisted the advance of the German troops of Army Group Center under under the command of von Bock. As a result of the actions of the Red Army, the forces of the Third Reich were drained of blood, which allowed the Red Army on December 5-6 to launch a counteroffensive, which in early 1942 grew into a full-scale offensive along the entire front. In the period from January to April 1942, the forces of the Third Reich were thrown back 100 - 150 km. The outcome of the battle for Moscow had a major impact on the course of events in the war. The plan for "lightning war" failed, thereby dispelling the prevailing myth about the invincibility of the Nazi army.
Pearl Harbor attack
A surprise attack by Japanese aircraft aimed at an accumulation of American naval forces and aircraft located in the Pearl Harbor area on the island of Oahu took place on December 7, 1941, under the command of Vice Admiral Tuichi Nagumo. The attack included two air raids involving 353 Japanese aircraft. The goal of the operation was to destroy the US Navy forces in the Pacific Ocean, making Japan the only major military force in the region. The attack on Pearl Harbor made it possible to conduct hostilities against a number of countries in the South East Asia... The losses of the American fleet were extremely heavy - almost all large ships were destroyed or damaged, and the aviation also suffered serious losses. Japanese military forces suffered very little. The attack prompted the United States to enter World War II.
Battle of El Alamein
Largest battle in North Africa during World War II. It took place in two stages. The first battle of El Alamein lasted from 1 to 27 July 1942. During the battle, the Allied forces under the command of Oinklek managed to stop a massive offensive against Egypt by German-Italian troops under the command of Rommel near the city of El Alamein. The result was a stalemate. During the second battle, which lasted from October 23 to November 5, 1942, the British forces under the command of Montgomery defeated Rommel's army by significant efforts. Despite the enormous numerical superiority of the British, Rommel held out to the last. The order to retreat was given only after the loss of almost all equipment. The outcome of the second battle radically changed the balance of power in North Africa in favor of Great Britain.
Stalingrad battle
It lasted from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943.The Battle of Stalingrad is considered the bloodiest battle in the entire world history... Its end marks a turning point in the entire war. From the side of the Red Army participated in the battle
troops of the Stalingrad and Don fronts under the command of Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Vatutin, Timoshenko and Rokossovsky. The troops of the Third Reich were represented by Army Group B (in particular, the 6th Army) and the Amy Don group under the command of Weichs, von Manstein and Paulus. The Battle of Stalingrad can be roughly divided into two stages. For the first four months, the forces of the Red Army fought fierce defensive battles on the outskirts of the city, and then in Stalingrad itself. As a result, the Nazi troops were severely exhausted and were forced to go over to the defensive. Over the next two months, Soviet troops launched an active counteroffensive, as a result of which a large group of German troops was surrounded and eliminated, the 6th Army was almost completely destroyed, and its commander, Field Marshal Paulus, was captured. Subsequently, the Third Reich was never able to recover from such a serious defeat.
Battle of the Kursk Bulge
It lasted from July 5 to August 23, 1943. According to the plan of the German generals, the troops of Army Group Center and Army Group South under the command of von Kluge and Manstein, with the support of elite SS tank divisions equipped with new technical means, were supposed to encircle and destroy the troops Central and Voronezh fronts. The forces of the Red Army under the command of Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Vatutin and Konev were ready to take the blow. German offensive went uncertainly, and after the largest tank battle in the history of Prokhorovka, which took place on July 12, it completely collapsed. The next day, the Red Army launched a large-scale counterattack, which launched a strategic offensive, as a result of which a significant part of the territory occupied by German troops was liberated.
As a result of the Battle of Kursk, the offensive initiative finally went over to the side of the Soviet troops.
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Rome, or the Battle of Monte Cassino, is a sequence of four major battles. It lasted from January 17 to May 19, 1944. All battles were fought by the Allies in order to seize the line of fortifications, called the "Gustav Line", which is under the control of the troops of the Third Reich. At first, the Allies made a series of attempts to take possession of the line, which ultimately failed. Then attention was drawn to the ancient abbey of Monte Cassino, on the slopes of which the German troops organized a defense. Although the abbey was not occupied by Wehrmacht forces, the Allied command assumed the presence of observation posts there, and Monte Cassino was destroyed by American air strikes. Immediately after this, the ruins were occupied by German paratroopers, as a result of which a serious defense was organized. On the fourth attempt, the Allied forces still managed to break through the Gustav line. The road to Rome was open.
Landing in Normandy
The Normandy operation began on June 6, 1944 and ended on August 31, 1944. The mass landing of allied Anglo-American troops in Normandy during the operation and their advance deep into the occupied territories led to the opening of the Western Front, which became a key one in the entire war. The allied forces were commanded by Montgomery and Eisenhower. The operation was carried out in two stages. In the course of the first, code-named Operation Neptune, an amphibious assault was made on the coast in order to capture a continental bridgehead. During the second stage, called Operation Cobra, a breakthrough was carried out of the German defensive line of the defense line, followed by an offensive deployed on French territory. The landing in Normandy is considered the largest amphibious operation in history - the total number of its participants exceeded 3 million people.
Belarusian operation
The operation to liberate Belarus, also known as Operation Bagration, lasted from June 23 to August 29, 1944. During the battles, the troops of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian fronts, as well as the 1st Baltic Front under commanders of Zhukov, Baghramyan, Zakharov, Rokossovsky and Chernyakhovsky inflicted a powerful blow on the Army Group Center under the command of Model. The Red Army broke through the enemy defenses and, having launched a massive offensive, surrounded and destroyed large enemy forces in the Vitebsk region. At the same time, there was an advance in the western direction, during which part of the Baltic was liberated. Soviet troops entered occupied Poland, thereby transferring hostilities beyond the borders of the USSR. The movement towards the borders of Germany was started. According to a number of historians, the battle in Belarus is the largest defeat for the Wehrmacht.
Storming Berlin
The assault on the capital of fascist Germany lasted from April 25 to May 2, 1945. On the first day of the operation, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Zhukov joined forces with the forces of the 1st Belorussian Front, led by Konev, encircling Berlin in a tight ring, which began to rapidly shrink. The defense of the city was carefully prepared and included numerous strongholds, becoming increasingly dense towards the center of the capital. Despite this, the Soviet troops confidently walked towards their goal, and entering the city began to lead heavy street, which somewhat slowed down their advance. On May 1, the Reichstag fell, and on May 2, the head of the garrison, General Weidling, with his closest associates surrendered. The resistance of the remnants of the German army, who did not want to surrender, was quickly suppressed. With the fall of Berlin, World War II in Europe ended.
Invaders came both from the West and the East. They spoke in different languages, they had different weapons. But their goals were the same - to destroy and plunder the country, kill or take prisoners and into slavery of its inhabitants.
Today, in connection with this holiday, we decided to remember the most significant battles in the history of our Fatherland. If we forgot something, you can write in the comments.
1. Defeat of the Khazar Kaganate (965)
The Khazar Kaganate has long been the main rival of the Russian state. The unification of Slavic tribes around Russia, many of which were previously dependent on Khazaria, could not but increase tension in relations between the two powers.
In 965, Prince Svyatoslav subdued the Khazar Kaganate to his power, and then organized a campaign against a strong tribal union of Vyatichi who paid tribute to the Khazars. Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the Kagan's army in battle and raided his entire state, from the Volga to the North Caucasus. Important Khazar cities were annexed to Rus - the Sarkel fortress (Belaya Vezha) on the Don, which controlled the route from the Caspian Sea to the Black (now at the bottom of the Tsimlyansk reservoir), and the port of Tmutarakan on the Taman Peninsula. The Black Sea Khazars fell into the sphere of Russian influence. The remains of the Kaganate on the Volga were destroyed in the 11th century by the Polovtsy.
2. Battle of the Neva (1240)
The Novgorod prince was only 19 years old when in the summer of 1240 Swedish ships, probably led by Birger Magnusson, entered the mouth of the Neva. Knowing that Novgorod was deprived of the support of the southern principalities, the Swedes, being instructed from Rome, hoped, at least, to seize all the lands north of the Neva, simultaneously converting both pagans and Orthodox Karelians to Catholicism.
The young Novgorod prince led a lightning attack of his squad and defeated the Swedish camp before they could strengthen it. Going on a campaign, Alexander was in such a hurry that he did not gather all the Novgorodians who wished to join, believing that speed would be of decisive importance, and he was right. In the battle, Alexander fought in the forefront.
The decisive victory over the superior forces brought Prince Alexander resounding glory and an honorable nickname - Nevsky.
However, the Novgorod boyars feared the growing influence of the prince, and tried to remove him from the management of the city. Soon Alexander left Novgorod, but a year later the threat a new war forced the Novgorodians to turn to him again.
3. Battle on the ice (1242)
In 1242, German knights from the Livonian Order captured Pskov and approached Novgorod. Novgorodians, who had quarreled with Prince Alexander a year earlier, turned to him for help and again handed over power to him. The prince gathered an army, drove the enemies out of the Novgorod and Pskov lands and went to Lake Peipsi.
On the ice of the lake in 1242, in a battle known as the Battle of the Ice, Alexander Yaroslavich destroyed an army of German knights. The Russian riflemen, despite the onslaught of the Germans who were breaking through the regiments in the center, courageously resisted the attackers. This courage helped the Russians to flank the knights and win. In pursuit of the survivors as much as seven miles, Alexander showed the firmness of the Russian army. The victory in the battle led to the signing of a peace agreement between Novgorod and the Livonian Order.
4. Battle of Kulikovo (1380)
The battle of Kulikovo, which took place on September 8, 1380, was a turning point that showed the strength of the united Russian army and the ability of Russia to resist the Horde.
The conflict between Mamai and Dmitry Donskoy became more and more aggravated. The Moscow principality strengthened, Russia won many victories over the troops of the Horde. Donskoy did not obey Mamai when he gave Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy a label on Vladimir, and then stopped paying tribute to the Horde. All this could not but lead Mamai to the idea of the need for a quick victory over the enemy gaining strength.
In 1378, he sent an army against Dmitry, but it was defeated on the Vozha River. Soon Mamai lost influence on the Volga lands due to the invasion of Tokhtamysh. In 1380, the Horde commander decided to attack the Donskoy army in order to finally crush his forces.
On September 8, 1380, when the armies clashed, it became clear that there would be a lot of losses on both sides. The legendary exploits of Alexander Peresvet, Mikhail Brenk and Dmitry Donskoy were described in the "Tale of the Mamayev Massacre." The turning point for the battle was the moment when Bobrok ordered to detain the ambush regiment, and then cut off the retreat of the Tatars who had broken through to the river. The Horde cavalry was driven into the river and destroyed, while the rest of the forces mixed up the other enemy troops, and the Horde began to retreat indiscriminately. Mamai fled, realizing that he no longer had the strength to continue the fight. According to various estimates, on September 8, 1380, from 40 to 70 thousand Russians and from 90 to 150 thousand Horde troops came together in a decisive battle. The victory of Dmitry Donskoy significantly weakened the Golden Horde, which predetermined its further disintegration.
5. Standing on the Ugra (1480)
This event marks the end of the Horde's influence on the politics of the Russian princes.
In 1480, after Ivan III tore up the khan's label, Khan Akhmat, having concluded an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Kazimir, moved to Russia. Striving to join the Lithuanian army, on October 8, he approached the Ugra River, a tributary of the Oka. Here he was met by the Russian army.
Akhmat's attempt to force the Ugra was reflected in a four-day battle. Then the khan began to wait for the Lithuanians. Ivan III, in order to gain time, began negotiations with him. At this time, the Crimean Khan Mengli Girey, an ally of Moscow, attacked the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which did not allow Kazimir to help Akhmat. On October 20, the regiments of his brothers, Boris and Andrei Bolshoi, came to reinforce Ivan III. Upon learning of this, Akhmat on November 11 turned his army back into the steppe. Soon Akhmat was killed in the Horde. So Russia finally broke the Horde yoke and gained independence.
6. Battle of Molodi (1572)
On July 29, 1572, the Battle of Molody began - a battle, the outcome of which was decided by the course of Russian history.
The situation before the battle was very unfavorable. The main forces of the Russian army got bogged down in a fierce struggle in the west with Sweden and the Commonwealth. Only a small zemstvo army and guardsmen under the command of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky and governor Dmitry Ivanovich Khvorostinin were able to gather against the Tatars. They were joined by a 7,000-strong detachment of German mercenaries and the Don Cossacks. The total number of Russian troops was 20,034 people.
To fight the Tatar cavalry, Prince Vorotynsky decided to use the "walk-gorod" - a mobile fortress, behind the walls of which the archers and gunners were hiding. Russian troops not only stopped the six times superior enemy, but also put him to flight. The Crimean-Turkish army of Devlet-Girey was almost completely destroyed.
Only 20 thousand horsemen returned to Crimea, and none of the Janissaries escaped. The Russian army also suffered heavy losses, including the oprichnina army. In the fall of 1572, the oprichnina regime was abolished. The heroic victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Molodino - the last major battle between Russia and the Steppe - was of great geopolitical significance. Moscow was saved from complete destruction, and the Russian state from defeat and loss of independence. Russia retained control over the entire course of the Volga - the most important trade and transport artery. The Nogai horde, convinced of the weakness of the Crimean Khan, separated from him.
7. Moscow battle (1612)
The Battle of Moscow was a decisive episode of the Time of Troubles. The occupation of Moscow was removed by the forces of the Second Militia, headed by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The garrison completely blocked in the Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod, without receiving help from King Sigismund III, began to experience an acute shortage of provisions, it even came to cannibalism. On October 26, the remnants of the occupation detachment surrendered at the mercy of the victor.
Moscow was liberated. “The hope of taking possession of the whole Moscow state was crumbling irrevocably,” wrote the Polish chronicler.
8. Battle of Poltava (1709)
On June 27, 1709, near Poltava, a general battle of the Northern War took place with the participation of 37 thousand Swedish and 60 thousand Russian armies. Little Russian Cossacks participated in the battle on both sides, but most of them fought for the Russians. The Swedish army was almost completely defeated. Charles XII and Mazepa fled to Turkish possessions in Moldavia.
The Swedish military was undermined, and its army was permanently out of the ranks of the best in the world. After the Battle of Poltava, the superiority of Russia became obvious. Denmark and Poland have resumed their participation in the Northern Alliance. The Swedish domination of the Baltic was soon brought to an end.
9. Chesme battle (1770)
The decisive naval battle in the Chesme Bay took place at the height of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774.
Despite the fact that the ratio of forces in battle was 30/73 (not in favor of the Russian fleet), the competent command of Alexei Orlov and the valor of our sailors allowed the Russians to take strategic superiority in the battle.
The flagship of the Turks "Burj-u-Zafer" was set on fire, and after it many more ships of the Turkish fleet began to fire.
Chesman became a triumph for the Russian fleet, secured the blockade of the Dardanelles and seriously disrupted Turkish communications in the Aegean Sea.
10. Battle of Kozludzhi (1774)
During the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, Russia won another major victory. The Russian army under the command of Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kamensky near the city of Kozludzhi (now Suvorovo in Bulgaria), with an unequal balance of forces (24 thousand against 40 thousand), was able to win. Alexander Suvorov managed to knock the Turks off the hill and put them to flight, without even resorting to a bayonet attack. This victory largely predetermined the outcome of the Russian-Turkish war and forced the Ottoman Empire to sign a peace treaty.
11. The capture of Ishmael (1790)
On December 22, 1790, Russian troops under the command of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov stormed the previously impregnable Turkish fortress of Izmail.
Shortly before the war, with the help of French and German engineers, Ishmael was turned into a fairly powerful fortress. Defended by a large garrison, it is without special difficulties withstood two sieges undertaken by Russian troops.
Suvorov took command just 8 days before the final assault. He devoted the rest of his time to training soldiers. The troops trained to overcome obstacles and ramparts specially created near the Russian camp, practiced hand-to-hand combat techniques on scarecrows.
A day before the assault, a powerful artillery bombardment of the city began from all guns. It was fired from both land and sea.
At 3 o'clock in the morning, well before dawn, a signal flare was launched. It was a sign of preparation for the assault. Russian troops left the position and lined up in three detachments of three columns.
At half past five, the soldiers began to attack. The fortress was attacked from all sides at once. By four o'clock the resistance was finally suppressed in all parts of the city - the impregnable fortress fell.
The Russians lost more than 2,000 soldiers killed and about 3,000 wounded in the battle. Significant losses. But they could not be compared with the losses of the Turks - they only lost about 26,000 people killed. The news of the capture of Ishmael spread like lightning all over Europe.
The Turks realized the complete futility of further resistance and the following year signed the Yassy Peace Treaty. They abandoned their claims to Crimea and the protectorate over Georgia, and ceded part of the Black Sea territories to Russia. The border between the Russian and Ottoman empires moved back to the Dniester. True, Ishmael had to be returned back to the Turks.
In honor of the capture of Ishmael, Derzhavin and Kozlovsky wrote the song "Thunder of victory, be heard!" Until 1816, it remained the unofficial anthem of the Empire.
12. Battle of Cape Tendra (1790)
The commander of the Turkish squadron, Hasan-Pasha, managed to convince the sultan of the imminent defeat of the Russian navy, and at the end of August 1790 moved the main forces to Cape Tendra (not far from modern Odessa). However, for the anchored Turkish fleet, it was an unpleasant surprise for the rapid approach of the Russian squadron under the command of Fyodor Ushakov. Despite the superiority in the number of ships (45 against 37), the Turkish fleet tried to take flight. However, by that time, Russian ships had already attacked the front line of the Turks. Ushakov managed to withdraw from the battle all the flagships of the Turkish fleet and thereby demoralize the remainder of the enemy squadron. At the same time, the Russian fleet did not lose a single ship.
13. Battle of Borodino (1812)
On August 26, 1812, significant forces of the French and Russian armies met in a battle near the village of Borodino, 125 kilometers west of Moscow. Regular troops under the command of Napoleon numbered about 137 thousand people, the army of Mikhail Kutuzov with the Cossacks and the militia who joined it reached 120 thousand. The rugged terrain made it possible to quietly move reserves, and install artillery batteries on the hills.
On August 24, Napoleon approached the Shevardinsky redoubt, which stood near the village of the same name, three versts in front of the Borodino field.
The battle of Borodino began a day after the battle at the Shevardinsky redoubt and became the largest battle in the war of 1812. The losses on both sides were colossal: the French lost 28 thousand people, the Russians - 46.5 thousand.
Although Kutuzov after the battle gave the order to retreat to Moscow, in a report to Alexander I, he called the Russian army the winner in the battle. Many Russian historians think so.
French scientists see the battle at Borodino differently. In their opinion, Napoleon's troops won the battle at the Moskva River. Napoleon himself, comprehending the results of the battle, said: "The French in it showed themselves worthy to win, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible."
14. Battle of Elisabethpol (1826)
One of the key episodes of the Russian-Persian war of 1826-1828 was the battle near Elisavetpol (now the Azerbaijani city of Ganja). The victory won then by the Russian troops under the command of Ivan Paskevich over the Persian army of Abbas Mirza became an example of military leadership. Paskevich managed to use the confusion of the Persians who had fallen into the ravine to deliver a counterattack. Despite the superior forces of the enemy (35 thousand against 10 thousand), the Russian regiments began to press the army of Abbas Mirza along the entire front of the attack. The losses of the Russian side amounted to 46 killed, the Persians lost 2,000 people.
15. The capture of Erivan (1827)
The fall of the walled city of Erivan was the culmination of numerous attempts by Russia to establish control over the Transcaucasus. Built in the middle of the 16th century, the fortress was considered impregnable and more than once became a stumbling block for the Russian army. Ivan Paskevich managed to competently besiege the city from three sides, placing cannons around the entire perimeter. “The artillery of the Russians worked perfectly,” the Armenians who remained in the fortress recalled. Paskevich knew exactly where the Persian positions were located. On the eighth day of the siege, Russian soldiers broke into the city and dealt with the garrison of the fortress with bayonets.
16. Battle of Sarikamish (1914)
By December 1914, during the First World War, Russia occupied a 350 km long front from the Black Sea to Lake Van, while a significant part of the Caucasian army was pushed forward - deep into Turkish territory. Turkey had a tempting plan to flank the Russian forces, thereby cutting off railroad Sarikamysh-Kars.
The persistence and initiative of the Russians defending Sarakamysh played a decisive role in the operation, the success of which literally hung in the balance. Unable to take Sarikamysh on the move, two Turkish corps fell into the arms of the icy cold, which became fatal for them.
Turkish troops lost 10 thousand people with frostbite in just one day on December 14.
The last attempt of the Turks to take Sarikamysh on December 17 was repelled by Russian counterattacks and ended in failure. At this, the offensive impulse of the Turkish troops, suffering from frost and poor supplies, was exhausted.
The turning point has come. On the same day, the Russians launched a counteroffensive and drove the Turks away from Sarikamish. The Turkish commander Enver Pasha decided to strengthen the frontal onslaught and transferred the main blow to Karaurgan, which was defended by parts of the Sarikamysh detachment of General Berkhman. But here, too, the fierce attacks of the 11th Turkish corps, advancing on Sarikamish from the front, were repelled.
On December 19, the Russian troops advancing near Sarykamysh completely surrounded the 9th Turkish corps, frozen by snow storms. Its remnants, after three days of stubborn fighting, surrendered. Parts of the 10th corps managed to retreat, but were defeated near Ardahan.
On December 25, General N.N. Yudenich became the commander of the Caucasian army, who gave the order to launch a counteroffensive near Karaurgan. Having thrown back the remnants of the 3rd Army by 30-40 km by January 5, 1915, the Russians stopped the pursuit, which was conducted in a 20-degree cold. And there was almost no one to pursue.
The troops of Enver Pasha lost 78 thousand people killed, frozen, wounded and captured (over 80% of the personnel). Russian losses amounted to 26 thousand people (killed, wounded, frostbitten).
The victory at Sarykamish stopped the Turkish aggression in the Transcaucasus and strengthened the position of the Caucasian army.
17. Brusilov breakthrough (1916)
One of the most important operations on the Eastern Front in 1916 was the offensive on the Southwestern Front, designed not only to turn the tide of hostilities on the Eastern Front, but also to cover the Allied offensive on the Somme. The result was the Brusilov Breakthrough, which significantly undermined the military power of the Austro-Hungarian army and pushed Romania to enter the war on the side of the Entente.
The offensive operation of the Southwestern Front under the command of General Alexei Brusilov, carried out from May to September 1916, became, according to the military historian Anton Kersnovsky, "a victory that we have not yet won in a world war." The number of forces deployed on both sides is also impressive - 1,732,000 Russian soldiers and 1,061,000 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian and German armies.
18. Khalkhin-Gol operation
Since the beginning of 1939, in the border area between the Mongolian People's Republic (on the territory of which, in accordance with the Soviet-Mongolian protocol of 1936, there were Soviet troops) and the puppet state of Manchukuo, which was actually ruled by Japan, there have been several incidents between the Mongols and the Japanese-Manchus. Mongolia, behind which the Soviet Union stood, announced that it had passed the border near the small village of Nomon-Khan-Burd-Obo, and Manchukuo, behind which was Japan, drew the border along the Khalkhin-Gol River. In May, the command of the Japanese Kwantung Army concentrated significant forces at Khalkhin Gol. The Japanese managed to achieve superiority in infantry, artillery and cavalry over the Soviet 57th separate rifle corps deployed in Mongolia. However, the Soviet troops had an advantage in aviation and armored forces. Since May, the Japanese held the eastern bank of Khalkhin-Gol, but in the summer they decided to force the river and seize a bridgehead on the "Mongol" bank.
On July 2, Japanese units crossed the "Manchu-Mongol" border officially recognized by Japan and tried to gain a foothold. The command of the Red Army put into action all the forces that could be delivered to the conflict area. Soviet mechanized brigades, having made an unprecedented march across the desert, immediately entered the battle in the area of Mount Bain-Tsagan, in which about 400 tanks and armored vehicles, over 300 guns and several hundred aircraft participated on both sides. As a result, the Japanese lost almost all of their tanks. During a 3-day bloody battle, the Japanese managed to push back across the river. However, now Moscow was already insisting on a forceful solution to the issue, especially since there was a threat of a second Japanese invasion. G.K. Zhukov was appointed commander of the rifle corps. The aviation was reinforced by pilots with experience in combat in Spain and China. On August 20, Soviet troops launched an offensive. By the end of August 23, Japanese troops were surrounded. An attempt by the enemy to unblock this group was repelled. The encircled fought fiercely until 31 August. The conflict led to the complete resignation of the command of the Kwantung Army and a change of government. The new government immediately asked the Soviet side for an armistice, which was signed in Moscow on September 15.
19. Battle of Moscow (1941-1942)
The long and bloody defense of Moscow, which began in September 1941, went into an offensive phase on December 5, which ended on April 20, 1942. On December 5, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive and the German divisions rolled westward. The plan of the Soviet command - to encircle the main forces of Army Group Center to the east of Vyazma - was not fully implemented. The Soviet troops did not have enough mobile formations, and there was no experience of a coordinated offensive of such masses of troops.
However, the result was impressive. The enemy was thrown back from Moscow to 100-250 kilometers, and the immediate threat to the capital, which is the most important industrial and transport hub, was eliminated. In addition, the victory near Moscow was of tremendous psychological significance. For the first time in the entire war, the enemy was defeated and retreated tens and hundreds of kilometers. German General Gunther Blumentritt recalled: “Now it was important for political leaders in Germany to understand that the days of the blitzkrieg were over. We were opposed by an army that was far superior in its combat qualities to all other armies with which we had ever encountered. "
20. Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943)
The defense of Stalingrad became one of the most violent operations of that war. By the end of the street fighting, which lasted from August to November, Soviet troops held only three isolated bridgeheads on the right bank of the Volga; in the divisions of the 62nd army, defending the city, there were 500-700 people left, but the Germans did not succeed in throwing them into the river. Meanwhile, already in September, the Soviet command was preparing an operation to encircle the German group that was advancing on Stalingrad.
On November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched an offensive north of Stalingrad, and the next day, south of it. On November 23, the shock wedges of the Soviet troops met at the city of Kalach, which marked the encirclement of the enemy's Stalingrad grouping. In the ring were 22 enemy divisions (about 300 thousand people). This marked the turning point of the entire war.
In December 1942, the German command tried to unblock the encircled grouping, but Soviet troops repulsed this onslaught. Fighting in the Stalingrad area continued until February 2, 1943. Over 90 thousand enemy soldiers and officers (including 24 generals) surrendered to captivity.
Soviet trophies were 5,762 guns, 1,312 mortars, 12,701 machine guns, 156,987 rifles, 10,722 assault rifles, 744 aircraft, 166 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 cars, 10,679 motorcycles, 240 tractors, 571 tractors, 3 armored trains and other military property ...
21. Battle of the Kursk Bulge (1943)
The Battle of Kursk is one of the greatest in the history of the Great Patriotic War, which marked a radical turning point in hostilities. After her, the strategic initiative completely passed into the hands of the Soviet command.
Building on the success achieved at Stalingrad, Soviet troops launched a large-scale offensive along the front from Voronezh to the Black Sea. At the same time, in January 1943, besieged Leningrad was unblocked.
Only by the spring of 1943, the Wehrmacht managed to stop the Soviet offensive in Ukraine. Although parts of the Red Army occupied Kharkov and Kursk, and the advanced units of the Southwestern Front had already fought on the outskirts of Zaporozhye, German troops, transferring reserves from other sectors of the front, pulling troops from Western Europe, actively maneuvering with mechanized formations, launched a counteroffensive and again occupied Kharkov ... As a result, the front line on the southern flank of the confrontation acquired a characteristic shape, which later became known as the Kursk Bulge.
It was here that the German command decided to inflict a decisive defeat on the Soviet troops. It was supposed to cut it off with blows at the base of the arc, surrounding two Soviet fronts at once.
The German command planned to achieve success, including through the widespread use of the latest types of military equipment. It was at the Kursk Bulge that heavy German tanks "Panther" and self-propelled artillery guns "Ferdinand" were used for the first time.
The Soviet command knew about the enemy's plans and deliberately decided to cede the strategic initiative to the enemy. The idea was to wear out the Wehrmacht's shock divisions in pre-prepared positions, and then launch a counteroffensive. And I must admit: this plan was crowned with success.
Yes, not everything went as planned, and on the southern face of the arc, German tank wedges almost broke through the defenses, but in general, the Soviet operation developed according to the original plan. One of the largest tank battles in the world took place in the area of the Prokhorovka station, in which more than 800 tanks took part at the same time. Although the Soviet troops also suffered heavy losses in this battle, the Germans lost their offensive potential.
More than 100 thousand participants in the Battle of the Kursk Bulge were awarded orders and medals, more than 180 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In honor of the victory in the Battle of Kursk, an artillery salute sounded for the first time.
22. Taking Berlin (1945)
The assault on Berlin began on April 25, 1945 and lasted until May 2. Soviet troops had to literally gnaw through the enemy's defenses - battles were fought for every intersection, for every house. The garrison of the city numbered 200 thousand people, who had about 3,000 guns and about 250 tanks at their disposal, so the storming of Berlin was an operation quite comparable to the defeat of the encircled German army at Stalingrad.
On May 1, the new chief of the German General Staff, General Krebs, informed the Soviet representatives of Hitler's suicide and proposed an armistice. However, the Soviet side demanded unconditional surrender. In this situation, the new German government embarked on a course of achieving the earliest possible surrender to the Western allies. Since Berlin was already surrounded, on May 2, the commander of the city's garrison, General Weindling, surrendered, but only on behalf of the Berlin garrison.
It is characteristic that some units refused to carry out this order and tried to break through to the west, but were intercepted and defeated. Meanwhile, negotiations between German and Anglo-American representatives were under way in Reims. The German delegation insisted on the surrender of troops on the western front, hoping to continue the war in the east, but the American command demanded unconditional surrender.
Finally, on May 7, the unconditional surrender of Germany was signed, which was supposed to come at 23.01 on May 8. On behalf of the USSR, this act was signed by General Susloparov. However, the Soviet government considered that the surrender of Germany should, firstly, take place in Berlin, and secondly, it should be signed by the Soviet command.
23. Defeat of the Kwantung Army (1945)
During World War II, Japan was an ally of Nazi Germany and waged an aggressive war with China, during which all known types of weapons of mass destruction were used, including biological and chemical weapons.
Marshal Vasilevsky was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East. In less than a month, Soviet troops defeated the million-strong Kwantung Army stationed in Manchuria and liberated all of North China and part of Central China from Japanese occupation.
A highly professional army fought with the Kwantung Army. It was impossible to stop her. Military textbooks included the operation of Soviet troops to overcome the Gobi desert and the Khingan ridge. In just two days, the 6th Guards Tank Army crossed the mountains and found itself deep in the rear of the enemy. In the course of this outstanding offensive, about 200 thousand Japanese were taken prisoner, many weapons and equipment were captured.
The heroic efforts of our soldiers also took the heights "Sharp" and "Camel" of the Khutou fortified area. The approaches to the heights were located in hard-to-reach wetlands and were well protected by escarpments and wire fences. The firing points of the Japanese were carved into the granite rock mass.
The capture of the Hutou fortress cost the lives of over a thousand Soviet soldiers and officers. The Japanese did not go to negotiations and rejected all calls for surrender. During the 11 days of the assault, almost all of them died, only 53 people surrendered.
As a result of the war, the Soviet Union returned to its composition the territories lost The Russian Empire in 1905, following the results of the Portsmouth Peace, but the loss of the South Kuriles by Japan has not been recognized by it to this day. Japan surrendered, but a peace treaty with the Soviet Union was not signed.
Battle of Stalingrad Six months of continuous bloody massacre on the territory of a huge city. All of Stalingrad was turned into ruins. The USSR fielded seven ground and one air armies against the Nazi invaders ...
Battle of Stalingrad
Six months of continuous bloody massacre on the territory of a huge city. All of Stalingrad was turned into ruins. The USSR deployed seven ground and one air armies against the Nazi invaders. The Volga flotilla beat the enemy from the expanses of water.
The Nazis and their allies were defeated. Here Hitler felt sober. After this battle, the Nazis could no longer recover. Soviet troops exhausted the enemy at the cost of their own lives for many soldiers, officers and civilians.
Defending Stalingrad, 1,130,000 people died. Germany and the countries involved in the conflict on the side of the fascists lost 1,500,000. The battle, which lasted six months, completely ended in the defeat of the fascist armies trying to reach the oil fields of the Caucasus.
Battle for Moscow
The defeat of the fascist troops near Moscow was a real victory for the entire people. The country perceived these events as the eve of an imminent general Victory. The troops of Hitlerite Germany were morally broken. The spirit of the offensive movement fell. Guderian praised the will to victory of the Soviet people.
He later said that all the sacrifices were in vain. Moscow resisted, destroying the victorious spirit of the Germans. A stubborn unwillingness to understand the situation at the front led to huge losses on all sides. The crisis in the German troops undermined faith in Hitler and his unrivaled military genius.
Near Moscow, the USSR lost 926,200 soldiers. Civilian casualties were not estimated. Germany and allied countries 581,900 people. The hostilities lasted more than six months, from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942.
Battle of Kiev
The Soviet commanders learned a hard lesson when they surrendered Kiev to the enemy to be torn apart. The Wehrmacht felt the weak training of the armed forces of the USSR. The troops of the Nazis began an intensive movement towards the Azov Sea and Donbass. As soon as Kiev was surrendered, the soldiers of the Red Army, completely demoralized, began to surrender en masse.
In the battles for Kiev, the losses of the Red Army amounted to 627,800 people. The civilian population was not counted. How much Germany lost remained unknown, since at the beginning of the war the Germans did not keep a record of losses, hoping for a blitzkrieg. The fighting continued for two and a half months.
Battle of the Dnieper
The liberation of Kiev cost a lot. Almost four million people from both sides took part in the battles for the Dnieper. The front stretches for 1400 kilometers. The surviving participants in the crossing of the Dnieper recalled - 25,000 people enter the water, 3-5 thousand get out on the shore.
Everyone else stayed in the water to surface after a few days. A terrible picture of the war. When crossing the Dnieper, 417,000 soldiers of the Red Army were killed, Germany lost from 400,000 to a million (according to various sources). Terrible numbers. The battle for the Dnieper lasted four months.
Battle of Kursk
Although the worst tank battles took place in the village of Prokhorovka, the battle is called Kursk. It is scary to see the battle of iron monsters even on the screen of cinemas. What was it like for the participants in the battle?
An incredible battle of enemy tank armies. The grouping "Center" and "South" was destroyed. The fight lasted almost two months in 1943. The USSR lost 254,000 people, Germany lost 500,000 of its soldiers. What for?
Operation Bagration
We can say that Operation Bagration was the bloodiest in the history of mankind. The result of the operation is the complete liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders. After the completion of the operation, 50,000 prisoners of war were carried out through the streets of Moscow.
In that battle, the losses of the Soviet Union amounted to 178,500 people, Germany lost 255,400 Wehrmacht soldiers. The fight lasted two months without interruption.
Vistula-Oder operation
The bloody battles for Poland went down in history as the swift advance of the troops of the Soviet Union. Every day, the troops moved inland for twenty to thirty kilometers. The fighting lasted only twenty days.
In the battles for Poland, the losses amounted to 43,200 people. Civilian casualties were not included. The Nazis lost 480,000 people.
Battle of Berlin
This battle was decisive for the Victory. Soviet troops approached the den of fascism. The assault on Berlin lasted only 22 days. The Soviet Union and allied forces lost 81,000 people. Fallen Germany, defending its city, lost 400,000. The 1st Ukrainian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts fought for the Victory. Divisions of the Polish Army, and Baltic sailors.
Battle of Monte Casino
Soviet troops did not take part in the liberation of Rome. The USA and England managed to break through the "Gustav Line" and completely liberate the Eternal City.
The attackers lost 100,000 men in that battle, Germany only 20,000. The battle lasted four months.
Battle of Iwo Jima
The brutal battle of the US military against Japan. A small island of Iwo Jima, where the Japanese stubbornly resisted. It was here that the American command decided to atomic bomb the country.
The battle lasted 40 days. Japan lost 22,300 people, America lost 6,800 fighters.
Some facts about the Great Patriotic War become known only in our days. In the Tver region, historians and ethnographers say: the battles for Rzhev, named in official documents"local battles" were actually one of the largest operations in the entire history of the war. This is confirmed by the results of excavations.
The ground here is literally strewn with the remains of soldiers. The front section, three hundred kilometers long, is like a huge mass grave. And 62 years later, search engines find dozens of dead here almost every day. “Close by, in this little forest, we were raising 84 fighters. Three chains of fighters. That is, in the ranks, as they walked, they remained lying,” says Tatyana Kukharenko, head of the Yugra search unit.
Findings of search engines in the Tver region can serve as a basis for a different look at the history of the Great Patriotic War. Excavations show that the scale of the battles for Rzhev was much larger than previously thought. The battles that took place on these fields in 1942-1943 are listed in the archives as "battles of local importance." And now both search engines and historians agree that, in fact, this was the second battle for Moscow. And the bloodiest in the history of mankind. For 17 months, Soviet troops continuously attacked, trying to push the Nazis further to the West. For the victory, here near Rzhev, almost one and a half million of our soldiers were paid with their lives. This is more than in the battles for Stalingrad.
Official military history science in Soviet times could not accept such a version. Our offensive was unsuccessful, and failures were not recognized as heroism. Even such a name - the Battle of Rzhev - does not exist in textbooks.
The liberators of Rzhev, there are less than two dozen of them left in the city itself, do not agree with this. Nurse Faina Sobolevskaya - in 1942 she was 17 years old - never saw so many wounded again: “We did not have to sleep. not only tents, but also dugouts, sheds. "
Scientists will argue for a long time about the scale of losses. At the memorial complex of Rzhev, in the meantime, thousands of soldiers are buried annually. "It should come to an understanding that these are not bones, but these are people whom relatives are still looking for," says Sergei Petukhov, head of the Rzhevsk city public organization "Search Center".
Most of those killed near Rzhev are unnamed. But today the search engines found a medallion, the inscription on which they could read. The Red Army soldier Fedot Pchelkin was more fortunate in some way than his colleagues - now the Kursk region will be informed that in 1942 he did not disappear without a trace, but died with a weapon in his hands.
Wars are as old as humanity itself. The earliest documented evidence of war comes from a battle in Egypt during the Mesolithic (cemetery 117), which took place approximately 14,000 years ago. Wars took place across most of the globe, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. In our review of the bloodiest wars in the history of mankind, which should not be forgotten in any case, so as not to repeat something like that.
1. War of independence of Biafra
1 million fatalities dead
Conflict, also known as Nigerian Civil War(July 1967 - January 1970), was caused by an attempt to secede the self-proclaimed state of Biafra (eastern provinces of Nigeria). The conflict resulted from the political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions that preceded the formal decolonization of Nigeria in 1960-1963. Most people died of hunger and various diseases during the war.
2. Japanese invasions of Korea
1 million dead
The Japanese invasions of Korea (or the Imdin War) took place between 1592 and 1598: the initial invasion took place in 1592, and the second invasion took place in 1597, after a brief truce. The conflict ended in 1598 with the withdrawal of Japanese troops. About 1 million Koreans were killed, and Japanese losses are unknown.
3. Iran-Iraq war
1 million dead
The Iran-Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from 1980 to 1988, making it the longest-running war of the 20th century. The war began when Iraq invaded Iran on September 22, 1980 and ended in a stalemate on August 20, 1988. In terms of tactics, the conflict was comparable to the First World War, as it used large-scale trench warfare, machine gun points, bayonet attacks, psychological pressure, and also widely used chemical weapons.
4. Siege of Jerusalem
1.1 million deaths
The oldest conflict on this list (it occurred in 73 AD) was a decisive event in the First Jewish War. The Roman army laid siege to and captured the city of Jerusalem, which was defended by the Jews. The siege ended with the plundering of the city and the destruction of its famous Second Temple. According to historian Josephus Flavius, 1.1 million civilians were killed during the blockade, mostly as a result of violence and hunger.
5. Korean War
1.2 million deaths
The Korean War, lasting from June 1950 to July 1953, was an armed conflict that began when North Korea invaded South Korea. United Nations, led by the US, came to the rescue South Korea while China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea... The war ended after an armistice was signed, a demilitarized zone was established and an exchange of prisoners of war took place. However, no peace treaty has been signed and the two Koreas are technically still at war.
6. Mexican Revolution
2 million dead
The Mexican Revolution, which lasted from 1910 to 1920, radically changed the entire Mexican culture. Given that the country's population was then only 15 million, the losses were appallingly high, but the numerical estimates vary widely. Most historians agree that 1.5 million people died and almost 200,000 refugees fled abroad. The Mexican Revolution is often ranked as the most important socio-political event in Mexico and one of the greatest social upheavals of the 20th century.
7. Chuck's conquests
2 million dead
Chaka's Conquests is the term used for a series of massive and brutal conquests in South Africa led by Chaka, the famous monarch of the Zulu Kingdom. In the first half of the 19th century, Chaka, at the head of a large army, invaded and sacked several regions in South Africa. It is estimated that up to 2 million indigenous people died in the process.
8. Goguryosu-sui wars
2 million dead
Another violent conflict in Korea was the Goguryeo-Sui Wars, a series of military campaigns waged by the Chinese Sui Dynasty against Goguryeo, one of the three kingdoms of Korea in 598-614. These wars (which the Koreans ultimately won) killed 2 million people, and the total death toll is likely much higher, since the civilian casualties of Koreans were not accounted for.
9. Religious wars in France
4 million dead
Also known as the Huguenot Wars, the French Religious Wars, which were fought between 1562 and 1598, are a period of civil strife and military confrontation between French Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). The exact number of wars and their respective dates are still debated by historians, but it is estimated that up to 4 million people died.
10. Second Congolese War
5.4 million deaths
Also known by several other names such as the Great African War or the African World War, the Second Congolese War was the bloodiest in modern history Africa. Nine African countries were directly involved, as well as about 20 separate armed groups.
The war was fought for five years (from 1998 to 2003) and resulted in 5.4 million deaths, mainly due to disease and hunger. This makes the Congolese War the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II.
11. Napoleonic Wars
6 million dead
The Napoleonic Wars, which lasted between 1803 and 1815, were a series of major conflicts waged by the French empire led by Napoleon Bonaparte against many European powers formed in various coalitions. During his military career, Napoleon fought about 60 battles and lost only seven, mostly at the end of his reign. In Europe, approximately 5 million people died, including due to disease.
12. Thirty Years War
11.5 million deaths
The Thirty Years' War, which was fought between 1618 and 1648, was a series of conflicts for hegemony in Central Europe. This war became one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, and it originally began as a conflict between Protestant and Catholic states in the divided Holy Roman Empire. Gradually, the war escalated into a much larger conflict involving most of the great powers of Europe. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, but the most likely estimate shows that around 8 million people died, including civilians.
13. Chinese Civil War
8 million dead
The Chinese Civil War was fought between forces loyal to the Kuomintang (political party of the Republic of China) and forces loyal to the Chinese Communist Party. The war began in 1927, but it ended essentially only in 1950, when the main active fighting ceased. The conflict ultimately led to the de facto formation of two states: the Republic of China (now known as Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (mainland China). The war is remembered for its atrocities on both sides: millions of civilians were deliberately killed.
14. Civil war in Russia
12 million dead
The Russian Civil War, which lasted from 1917 to 1922, broke out as a result of the October Revolution of 1917, when many groups began to struggle for power. The two largest groups were the Bolshevik Red Army and the allied forces known as the White Army. For 5 years of war in the country were recorded from 7 to 12 million victims, who were mostly civilians. The Russian Civil War has even been described as the greatest national catastrophe Europe has ever faced.
15. Conquests of Tamerlane
20 million dead
Also known as Timur, Tamerlane was a famous Turkic-Mongol conqueror and commander. In the second half of the 14th century, he waged brutal military campaigns in Western, South and Central Asia, the Caucasus and southern Russia. Tamerlane became the most powerful ruler in the Muslim world after the victories over the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria, the emerging Ottoman Empire and the crushing defeat of the Delhi Sultanate. Scientists estimate that his military campaigns led to the deaths of 17 million people, which amounted to about 5% of the then world population.
16. Dungan Uprising
20.8 million deaths
The Dungan Uprising was mainly an ethnic and religious war that was fought between the Han (Chinese ethnic group originally from East Asia) and Huizu (Chinese Muslims) in the 19th century in China. The riot arose due to a price dispute (when a Huizu buyer did not pay the required amount for bamboo sticks to a Han merchant). As a result, the uprising killed more than 20 million people, mainly due to natural disasters and conditions caused by war, such as drought and famine.
17. Conquest of the Americas
138 million dead
European colonization of the Americas technically began as early as the 10th century, when Norwegian seafarers briefly settled on the coast of present-day Canada. However, it is mainly about the period between 1492 and 1691. During those 200 years, tens of millions of people were killed in battles between colonialists and Native Americans, but estimates of the total death toll vary greatly due to a lack of consensus on the demographic size of the native population of the pre-Columbian period.
18.Rise of An Lushan
36 million dead
During the reign of the Tang dynasty, another destructive war took place in China - the An Lushan uprising, which lasted from 755 to 763. There is no doubt that the rebellion caused a huge number of deaths and significantly reduced the population of the Tang Empire, but the exact death toll is difficult to estimate even in approximate conditions. Some scholars suggest that up to 36 million people died during the uprising, about two-thirds of the empire's population and about 1/6 of the world's population.
19. World War I
18 million dead
The First World War (July 1914 - November 1918) was a global conflict that arose in Europe and into which all the economically developed powers of the world were gradually drawn, which united into two opposite alliances: the Entente and the Central Powers. The total death toll was about 11 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians. About two-thirds of the deaths during the First World War occurred directly during the battle, in contrast to the conflicts that took place in the 19th century, when most of the deaths were due to disease.
20. The Taiping Uprising
30 million dead
This uprising, also known as the Taiping Civil War, continued in China from 1850 to 1864. The war was fought between the ruling Manchu Qing dynasty and the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace Christian movement. Although there was no census at the time, the most reliable estimates put the total death toll during the uprising at between 20 and 30 million civilians and soldiers. Most of the deaths were attributed to plague and famine.
21. Conquest by the Qing dynasty of the Ming dynasty
25 million dead
The Manchurian Conquest of China is a period of conflict between the Qing Dynasty (the Manchu Dynasty, ruling the northeast of China) and the Ming Dynasty (the Chinese dynasty, ruling the south of the country). The war that ultimately led to the fall of the Ming killed about 25 million people.
22.Sino-Japanese War II
30 million dead
The war, fought between 1937 and 1945, was an armed conflict between the Republic of China and the Japanese Empire. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor (1941), this war actually merged into World War II. It became the largest Asian war in the 20th century, with up to 25 million Chinese killed and more than 4 million Chinese and Japanese troops.
23. Wars of the Three Kingdoms
40 million dead
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms are a series of armed conflicts in ancient China (220-280 years). During these wars, three states - Wei, Shu and Wu vied for power in the country, trying to unite the peoples and take them under their control. One of the bloodiest periods in Chinese history was marked by a series of brutal battles that could lead to the deaths of up to 40 million people.
24. Mongol conquests
70 million dead
Mongol conquests progressed throughout the 13th century, with the result that the vast Mongol Empire conquered much of Asia and Eastern Europe. Historians consider the period of Mongol raids and invasions to be one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. In addition, the bubonic plague spread throughout most of Asia and Europe during this time. The total death toll during the conquests is estimated at 40 - 70 million people.
25. World War II
85 million dead
The Second World War (1939 - 1945) was global: the overwhelming majority of the countries of the world, including all the great powers, took part in it. It was the most massive war in history; more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries of the world took part in it directly.
It was marked by massive civilian deaths, including due to the Holocaust and strategic bombing of industrial and settlements, which led (according to various estimates) to the death of 60 million to 85 million people. As a result, World War II became the deadliest conflict in human history.
However, as history shows, a person harms himself all the time of his existence. What are they worth.