Soviet Union in World War II

When World War II in Europe began, the Soviet Union was involved in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol against the Empire of Japan. But the two countries made peace with Japan because the month before the war in Europe, the USSR and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. This established Nazi and Communist spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. The war in Europe began with the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 with the Wehrmacht (German forces) invading from the west, the Soviets joined 16 days later with the Red Army (Soviet forces) invading from the east. One month after the Polish campaign ended with a German-Soviet victory, the USSR invaded Finland in what is known as the Winter War. Fighting lasted for months until Finland gave up and gave the USSR land. From 1940 to 1941, the USSR annexed all of the Baltic states and took Bessarabia from Romania. On 22 June 1941 the pact with Germany ended when Germany (and other Axis countries) invaded the USSR in what is known as Operation Barbarossa, the Soviets saw many defeats in a period of six months at Smolensk, Kyiv, and Odesa. During Barbarossa, the Red Army and armies from the British Empire invaded Iran because the country had some sympathy to Germany. The Soviets saw their first major victory on the Eastern Front when the Red Army pushed back the Germans at the Battle of Moscow. The Axis armies launched an operation to try and reach the Caucasus region in summer 1942. German and Romanian forces were stoped at the city of Stalingrad in November and the Red Army encircled most of the Axis troops in the Stalingrad area, the Axis troops near Stalingrad and in the Caucasus would be pushed back in the next few months, the Red Army were stopped after liberating Kursk and the German forces later tried to retake the city but failed. The Soviets pushed the Axis back to pre-war Polish territory in January 1944. In June the Soviets started Operation Bagration and pushed the German forces back to Warsaw, where an uprising began. The Soviets entered the Balkans and helped the Yugoslav Partisans to liberate their country in 1945, the Vistula–Oder offensive and the East Prussian offensive started pushing the Germans to the Oder. The Battle of Berlin happened in April and the Red Army linked up with the Western Allies. one of the last offensives on the eastern front was the Prague offensive where Soviet forces managed to link up with Czech Resistance fighters during an uprising that happened in the city. Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945 and the war in Europe ended. Months after the war in Europe was over, the USSR declared war on Japan in August and invaded Manchukuo (a Japanese puppet state). On 2 September 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies and World War II was over.

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Soviet Union in World War II
- **place**: Soviet Union and bordering countries
- **partof**: World War II
- **image**: Raising a flag over the Reichstag - Restoration.jpg
- **caption**: Soviet soldier Raising the flag over the Reichstag, raising Flag of the Soviet Union, the flag on the Reichstag
- **date**: 1939 – 1945
- **result**: Soviet and Allies of World War II, Allied victory
- **combatant1**: **1939**

- **combatant2**: **1939**

*
- **combatant1a**: **1939 – 1940**

- **combatant2a**: **1939 – 1940**

- **combatant1b**: **1941 – 1943**

*
*

<hr> (Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, 1941)
 Ukrainian Insurgent Army
 Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists
 Belarusian nationalism, Belarusian nationalists
 Provisional Government of Lithuania, Lithuania
- **combatant2b**: **1941 – 1943**
 (and partisans)
 Czechoslovak government-in-exile, Czechoslovakia

- **combatant1c**: **1944 – 1945**

*
* Government of National Unity (Hungary), Hungary
*
* Government of National Salvation, Nedić's Serbia
* Quisling Regime
*
<hr>
 Ukrainian Insurgent Army
 Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists
 Belarusian nationalism, Belarusian nationalists
 Forest Brothers
 Russian Liberation Army
- **combatant2c**: **1944 – 1945**
 (and partisans)
* (and polish People's Army, People's Army)
 Czechoslovak government-in-exile, Czechoslovakia
 (from August 1944)
 (from September 1944)
 Debrecen Government (from December 1944)
 (from September 1944)

Czechoslovak Resistance, Czechoslovak resistance
 History of Poland (1939–1945), Polish communist resistance
 Norwegian resistance movement, Norwegian resistance
 National Committee for a Free Germany, Kampfgruppen

- **combatant1d**: **1945**

*
*  Korea under Japanese rule, Korea
*
- **combatant2d**: **1945**

*

* Chinese Communist Party, CCP