June 22: the day that started the countdown to the Third Reichtranslated

With the blessing of Metropolitan John of Belgorod and Stary Oskol, the longest day for Russia in the twentieth century began for its political and military leadership long before June 22, 1941. The myth that the attack by Nazi Germany came as a complete surprise to Soviet leaders is not supported by documents. We decided to look in detail at what happened on the eve of June 22 and directly in the first hours of the war: what were the Germans planning, what were they talking about in the Kremlin, how did the military act? On June 2, the NKVD border service announced the transfer of German troops of all types to the Soviet borders, which was carried out mainly at night. On June 5 and 7, the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Red Army informed the Kremlin that the Romanian army was being put on combat readiness and covert mobilization had begun in the country. There is a strengthening of the Wehrmacht in Poland. In a special message from the NKGB of the BSSR dated June 6, along with the intensive military mobilization preparations of the Germans noted in the adjacent territory, it was noted that Gestapo officers had intensified “surveillance of Soviet railway workers servicing trains.” Retaliatory measures were also taken. On June 12, 1941, the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army...