by Viktor SVISHCHEV, Dr. Se. (Milit. Sc.), retired Major-General, veteran of the Great Patriotic War The 65th anniversary of the victory of our people and its Armed Forces in the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 is the main event of this year. Every time, when we mark this sacred date, we pay tribute to the memory of and express gratitude to those who were killed in action and to veterans who defended the independence of our Motherland. We address words of gratitude also to scientists and engineers, workers and employees, who created, in incredibly severe conditions and in a very short period of time, a powerful military-technical potential of the army and navy, one of the most important components in the defeat of the Nazi Germany. The military-technical potential is a quantity of combat equipment in troops participating in full-scale battles, capabilities of the industry to pro-duce arms in the required volume, the ability of scien-tists and designers to update them and develop new models, the availability of food and material resources. The military experience of the 20th century has proved that victory goes to the army possessing a more powerful military-technical potential and more modern military equipment and weapons, first of all, tanks and aircraft. This was proved by successful operations of the fascist Wehrmacht at the initial period of World War II, in particular, in armed conflicts with the armies of Poland, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland and Yugosla-via. Due to this factor in combination with a surprise attack, German troops delivered a heavy blow to the Red Army in the summer of 1941. For example, during seven days of the border battles, the Western Front was completely defeated, and its commanders shot by Soviet punitive forces. The troops of the South-Western Front and partially of the North-Western Front were also utterly defeated. Today, to explain the events, which put the country on the brink of a military catas ... Читать далее