English for Historians. The Greatest Historical Milestones = Английский язык для историков. Величайшие исторические события. Учебное пособие

2.At the same time, the end of the World War I __________ of the Entente.

3.The destruction of the remnants of Denikin’s troops in the North Caucasus ______________ the Red Army in the spring of 1920.

4.In the autumn of 1919, the main efforts of the Red Army were focused on ____________________, who launched an offensive against Moscow.

5.At the same time, Yudenich’s new ____________ failed, and his army was routed.

6.The main ______________ in Russia were eliminated.

7.Partisan formations ______________ by the population or on the initiative of local party bodies.

V.Makea summaryaboutthe mainstagesofthe RussianCivil War.

text 3. the End of the russian civil War

I. Read the text.

In 1921–1922, anti-bolshevik uprisings were suppressed in Kronstadt, in Tambov region, in a number of regions of the Ukraine, etc., and the remaining centers of interventionists and White Guards in Central Asia and the Far East were liquidated (October 1922).

The Civil War in Russia ended with the victory of the Red Army. The territorial integrity of the state, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, was restored. Outside the union of Soviet republics, which was based on Russia, only Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia remained, as well as Bessarabia, annexed to Romania, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, which went to Poland. During the Russian Civil War, the most distinguished military leaders in the Red Army were Joachim Vatsetis, Alexander Egorov, Sergei Kamenev, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Vasily Blucher, Semyon Budyonny, Vasily Chapaev, Grigory Kotovsky, Mikhail Frunze, Ion Yakir and others. Of

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the military leaders of the White movement, the most prominent role in the Russian Civil War was played by Generals Mikhail Alekseev, Pyotr Wrangel, Anton Denikin, Alexander Dutov, Lavr Kornilov, Yevgeny Miller, Grigory Semenov, Nikolai Yudenich, Alexander Kolchak and others. One of the controversial figures of the Russian Civil War was the anarchist Nestor Makhno. He was the organizer of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of the Ukraine, which at various times fought against Ukrainian nationalists, Austro-German troops, White Guards and units of the Red Army. Makhno three times entered into agreements with the Soviet authorities on the joint struggle against “domestic and world counter-revolution” and each time violated them. The core of his army (several thousand people) continued to fight until July 1921, when it was completely destroyed.

II. Writing. Make the written translation of the 3rd part of the text (the end of the Russian Civil War).

III. Make a presentation about one of the most famous warlords of the Russian Civil War.

IV. Project activity. Make and present a clip about the main stages or events of the Russian Civil War (3–5 min.).

Part ii. the great Patriotic War

text 1. the defense of the Brest fortress

I. Read the text.

The defense of the Brest Fortress is one of the first and most dramatic episodes of the primary period of the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945). The defenders of the fortress — soldiers and officers of more than 30 nationalities, were attacked on June 22, 1941, and resisted

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for at least a month, remaining in the rear of the Wehrmacht advancing on Moscow.

In accordance with the German plan of attack on theUSSR(“Barbarossa”),theBrest Fortress was in the direction of the main attack of the right (southern) flank of the German Army Group Centre. Brest was oneofthe firstSovietcitiestotake the blow of the German troops at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

At 04:15 (at 03:15 Moscow

time) on June 22, 1941, heavy artillery fire suddenly hit the Brest Fortress. By that time, it housed units of the 6th and 42nd rifle divisions, the 17th Red Banner Border Detachment, the 132nd separate battalion of escort troops of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD), units of district subordination, military hospitals, families of command and commanding staff. Due to the participation of part of the military personnel of the Brest garrison in planned training events, from seven to eight thousand people remained in the fortress, not counting family members.

After an artillery raid, the German offensive began. Brest was stormed by the reinforced 12th German Army Corps with the assistance of aviation. Its 45th Infantry Division, supported by tanks, artillery and aircraft, operated directly against the fortress. The German command planned to take the fortification in a few hours.

In the first minutes of the attack, the garrison of the fortress, taken by surprise, suffered heavy losses, most of its buildings were destroyed. Due to the considerable numerical superiority of the enemy and the insufficiency of the preliminary preparation of the defense, its defenders already on the first day of the war were surrounded, without communication with the higher command. However, the garrison was

able to build a defense, although fires, lack of ammunition, food and water, which were taken from the nearest river at the risk of life, made it extremely difficult to maintain. Taking into account the losses for the first day of fighting, as a result, the fortress was defended by about 3,5 thousand people.

Having captured the fortress, the German troops occupied a strategically important highway and a large road junction — Brest, which was of decisive importance for the entire operation as a whole. That is why they made serious efforts to break the resistance of the garrison.

the western and southern islands. The defense was concentrated in the Kobrin fortification and the citadel. On this day, the fortress defense headquarters and a single command headed by captain Ivan Zubachev and regimental commissar Efim Fomin were created. The garrison, which consisted of combined units, not only defended itself, but also repeatedly counterattacked the enemy.

On June 26, an attempt was organized to break through the fortress through the Kobrin fortification, but it failured. The breakthrough group was almost completely destroyed. Those who escaped from the fortress were taken prisoner. The defense of the citadel took on

a focal character. At the Kobrin fortification, by that time, all the defenders had concentrated in the Eastern Fort. To break the resistance of those remaining in the fortress, the Germans used incendiary ammunition and tear gas. Aviation bombed them with 500-kilogram bombs. Even a 1800-kilogram bomb was dropped, hitting the corner of the fortress wall and shaking

the entire city of Brest with its detonation. On June 29–30, the enemy launched a general assault on the Brest Fortress and captured many fortifications, including the Eastern Fort. The defenders suffered heavy losses.Afterthat,the fightingwasmostlyfocalinnature.Smallgroupsof warriors,hidinginthe ruinsandcellarsofthe fortress,continuedstubborn resistance. The actions of these groups and individual fighters obtained moreandmorefeaturesofsabotageactivityandcontinuedinanumberof cases until the end of July and even until the beginning of August 1941.

For almost a month, the defenders of the Brest Fortress pinned down an entire German division. The capture of the Brest Fortress — according to German historians — required the same forces from the Wehrmachtasthe captureofKyiv,the thirdlargestcityinthe Soviet Union. Most of the defenders of the fortress died, a small part was able to break through to the partisans or go to the front line, some were captured. So, major Pyotr Gavrilov, who gathered around him a group of 12 people, was wounded among the last on July 23. He survived captivity, was released by Soviet troops in May 1945 in the Mauthausen concentration camp. After a special check, he was reinstated in his military rank, and in 1946 he was transmitted to the reserve during the post-war reduction of the army. Commissar Fomin was shot by the Germans, captain Zubachev died in captivity.

The very fact of the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress did not directly become known in the USSR. After the counteroffensive

near Moscow, in February 1942, in the Orel region, the archive of the headquarters of the 45th Wehrmacht infantry division was captured with a combat report on the battles in Brest and the fortress. Records in captured documents evidenced that the Brest Fortress was defended to the last drop of blood, to the last defender.

The city of Brest was liberated on July 28, 1944 by the Red Army during the Lublin-Brest offensive operation (an integral part of the Belarusian operation of 1944) in less than two days, although the German troops prepared for the battles. They created a powerful fortified area near the city with a large number of pillboxes and minefields, and the forts of the Brest Fortress were also included in the defense system. To increase morale, Hitler issued an order that it was impossible to retreat from these positions, but this did not help.

After the liberation, Soviet soldiers entered the Brest Fortress for the first time after three years of fascist occupation. Almost all of it lay in ruins. By the mere sight of these terrible ruins, one could judge the strength and cruelty of the battles that took place here. On the surviving walls of the fortress, scriptures left by the defenders began to be found. The scripture “I am dying, but I do not give up. Farewell, Motherland!”, dated July 20, 1941, was discovered in 1950. Later, they found fragments of a combat order drawn up on June 24, from which for the first time they learned the names of the leaders of the citadel defense. In 1956, the combat banner of the 393rd separate anti-aircraft artillery division, buried by soldiers in one of the casemates, was brought to light.

II. Give the Russian equivalents to the following words and expressions:

•to resist

•flank

•rifle division

•fortification

•heavy losses

•serious efforts

•incendiary ammunition

III. Give the English equivalents to the following words and expressions:

•прорыв

•линия фронта

•концлагерь

•до последней капли крови

•штаб

•послевоенный

•минное поле

IV. Answer the questions.

1.When did the war begin?

2.How many people remain remained in the fortress by the attack beginning?

3.What strategic advances did the German troop have having captured the fortress?

4.How long did the defenders of the Brest Fortress pin down an entire German division?

5.When did the fact of the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress become known in the USSR?

6.When was the city of Brest liberated?

7.What was the meaning of the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress?

text 2. the siege of leningrad

I. Read the text.

In 1939, September 1, Germany, led by Hitler attacked Poland, so the World War II began. Hitler conquered many European countries and on June 22 at 6 a. m. 1941 attacked the USSR. The Great Patriotic War began.

The army of the Germans was very fast, and because of that killed many Soviet soldiers. The Germans took people, who lived at occupied

AfterfiresatBadaevskywarehousesinthetownthefaminebegan.Survival becamemoredifficultduringthecoldweather.Themainelementsoflifein thebesiegedLeningradwerewater,heatandbread.

In the first winter there were abnormal frosts, the temperature was –40 °C. The power supply stopped, the water supply did not work, the connection stopped. People went to the holes in the river for water, but not everyone had the strength. They had to overcome a distance of several kilometers to get water. They poured water with ladles and mugs, because the pan did not fit into a small hole. Another problem was to take the sled water to the house.

Stoveshavebecome a salvation for many Leningraders. It took half an hour to heat a small room, but just as soon everything cooled down. The planks, furniture, destroyed houses, books walked into the fire.

The main food of people was bread. A single recipe for blockade bread did not exist, the proportions were changed. The main ingredients were rye flour, malt, oilcake, oat flour, added cellulose. The rate of bread per day in 1942 fell to 250 grams for workers and 125 grams for all others. People stood in long lines for their portion of bread, hid cards because cards could be stolen. Food was all that was possible. They boiled soups from joiner’s glue, leather things. The food was poor, monotonous and tasteless. In 1942, every day 5–7 thousand people died of hunger, everybody had dystrophy. In summer, parks, squares, lawns turned into gardens. People grew vegetables and edible grass.

Despite the bombing and difficult living conditions classes continued to go at schools, children read fairy tales. The loudspeakers sang songs, in theaters events took place. All this gave hope to people to win and raised morale. The symbol of the victory of the blockade is Lake Ladoga — “the road of life”. People were evacuated and products were transported on ice.

During the long months of the blockade, the Nazis dropped 150 thousand heavy artillery shells and over 107 thousand incendiary and high-explosive bombs on Leningrad. They destroyed 3 thousand buildings and damaged more than 7 thousand. All the main monuments of the city survived: the Leningraders hid them, covering them with sandbags and plywood shields. Some sculptures — for example, in the Summer garden and horses from Anichkov bridge — were removed from pedestals and buried in the ground until the end of the war.

The siege of Leningrad was finally lifted on January 27, 1944. By September 1941, the population of Leningrad and its suburbs was about 2,9 million people. The siege of Leningrad, according to various estimates, claimed the lives from 600 thousand to 1,5 million residents. It was an important step in the liberation of the whole country and then Europe. In 1965 Leningrad was awarded the title of Hero-City.

II. Answer the question.

1.Which country did Germany attack first?

2.When did the siege of Leningrad begin?

3.How did people get water?

4.What was bread made of?

5.How was water carried home?

6.What was the rate of bread per person per day?

7.When did the blockade end?

8.When was Leningrad awarded the title of Hero-City?

III. Give a definition of the concept.

•Nazis

•soldiers

•artillery shells

•incendiary and high-explosive bombs

•liberation

•the Hero-City

•“the road of life”

IV. Continue the sentence.

1.The Germans took the living people in ________.

2.After the warehouse fire ________.

3.The main components of life were ________.

4.Because the hole was long and narrow ________.

5.The soup was made from ________.

6.The houses were heated with help ________.

7.The liberation of the city is ________.

8.Despite the difficulties of life and bombing ________.

9.People grew vegetables and greens ________.

text 3. the feat of home front Workers

I. Read the text.

Evacuation

The evacuation of industrial enterprises from the front-line territories to the eastern regions of the country — the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia — was aimed at creating the country’s main arsenal here for the needs of the front. It was performed according to a single plan and immediately obtained colossal proportions. The task was to fast transmit to the east of the country a substantial number of large enterprises and industrial giants, together with their labor collectives. It was not easy to set up production at the evacuated factories, but people gave it all their strength in order to make a considerable contribution with their work to the victory over the enemy. During the war, the workers of the whole country faced more new tasks that required additional efforts and material resources: providing assistance to areas liberated from

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