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115-566: Flak corps did not exist before World War II . Until the end of war Germany eventually organized a total of six flak corps, being numbered one through six in Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, VI), plus one short-lived special flak corps. I Flak Corps was formed twice, once in 1939 and once in 1941. The initial formation was assembled in October 1939 in Berlin from the staff of Luftgaukommando III. It

230-659: A Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ron , promoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward and eventually led to war with the United States and the Western Allies. In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria , again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on

345-578: A cautious French probe into the Saarland . The Western Allies also began a naval blockade of Germany , which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort. Germany responded by ordering U-boat warfare against Allied merchant and warships, which would later escalate into the Battle of the Atlantic . On 8 September, German troops reached the suburbs of Warsaw . The Polish counter-offensive to

460-589: A dead-end as large-caliber AA guns were phased out of military service in the 1950s and replaced by surface to air missiles . World War II Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers . Nearly all

575-524: A pretext to initiate the invasion. The first German attack of the war came against the Polish defences at Westerplatte . The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum for Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War period, the alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of

690-781: A pretext to worsen relations. On 29 August, Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary immediately travel to Berlin to negotiate the handover of Danzig , and to allow a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor in which the German minority would vote on secession. The Poles refused to comply with the German demands, and on the night of 30–31 August in a confrontational meeting with the British ambassador Nevile Henderson , Ribbentrop declared that Germany considered its claims rejected. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as

805-532: A protective earth barrier, wooden walls, and almost a dozen two-story watchtowers. In the walls there were openings designed for the placement of firearms. After the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 it came into the hands of Imperial Russia . In 1810, the construction of a fortress began to mark the border between Russia and Austria and Prussia ; in 1812 it was almost completed and was successful in repelling Napoleon 's attack for four months. After

920-475: A secret protocol that defined German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany; eastern Poland , Finland, Estonia , Latvia and Bessarabia for the Soviet Union), and raised the question of continuing Polish independence. The pact neutralised the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland and assured that Germany would not have to face the prospect of

1035-774: A similar pact and rejected ceding part of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, and was subsequently expelled from the League of Nations for this crime of aggression. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Soviet military success during the Winter War was modest, and the Finno-Soviet war ended in March 1940 with some Finnish concessions of territory . In June 1940,

1150-399: A total of four flak divisions and an autonomous flak brigade (23rd Flak Division in support of 9th Army between Warsaw and Modlin, 12th Flak Division in support of 2nd Army between Modlin and Lomza, 18th Flak Division in support of 4th Army between Lomza and Ebenrode, 27th Flak Division in support of 3rd Panzer Army between Ebenrode and Rusnė , 15th Flak Brigade in reserves at Danzig). At

1265-531: A two-front war, as it had in World War   I. Immediately afterwards, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. In response to British requests for direct negotiations to avoid war, Germany made demands on Poland, which served as

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1380-761: Is a small memorial dedicated to the memory of Babruysk Jews killed in the Holocaust , located in the Nahalat Yitzhak cemetery, Giv'atayim , Israel , as part of the Babi Yar memorial. On June 29, 1944, the Red Army liberated Babruysk. The city lay in ruins; while the population had been 84,107 in 1939, it was down to 28,352 following the war. The difficult process of rebuilding was conducted by thousands of workers and war prisoners who labored to clear factories and streets of rubble and filled in craters made by

1495-557: Is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina River . Babruysk occupies an area of 66 square kilometres (25 sq mi), and comprises over 450 streets whose combined length stretches for over 430 km (267 mi). As of 2024 , it has a population of 207,351. Babruysk is located at the intersection of railroads to Asipovichy , Zhlobin , Aktsyabrski and roads to Minsk , Gomel , Mogilev , Kalinkavichy , Slutsk , and Rahachow . It has

1610-591: Is where the name Babruysk originated. For many centuries Babruysk was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and was an important militarily fortified border post. In the 14th century a castle was built on one of the hills near the Berezina River. Babruysk was not only a major military base, but also a prominent trade center. There is evidence of a market containing nearly one hundred stalls, which implies significant financial activity. In

1725-754: The 19th Flak Brigade (at Kyllburg , in support of 7th Army). III Flak Corps was destroyed in the Ruhr pocket in April 1945. The IV Flak Corps was formed in Breslau in June 1944 to support Luftflotte 1 on the Eastern Front . Its initial deployment remained uncompleted and was aborted shortly after. The deployment of IV Flak Corps was reattempted in September 1944, this time for the Western Front . It

1840-453: The 20th Flak Division in Pécs (in support of 6th Army , 3rd Hungarian Army and Army Group Fretter-Pico ) and the 15th Flak Division at Debrecen (in support of Army Group Wöhler , 8th Army , 1st Hungarian Army ). Initially deployed east of Budapest, V Flak Corps was pushed to Bratislava by December 1944. After redeployment to Wiener Neustadt, V Flak Corps was also placed in charge of

1955-486: The 21st Flak Division and 26th Flak Division in March 1945. The V Flak Corps was formed under supervision of the "Luftwaffenkommando Südost" staff for the southern sector of the Eastern Front on 15 November 1944 to support the withdrawals of Army Group E and Army Group South . It initially was placed in charge of the 19th Flak Division in the Independent State of Croatia (in support of Army Group E),

2070-418: The 4th Flak Division to VI Flak Corps and 7th Flak Division to III Flak Corps. Its staff was used to form a reserve staff for a flak corps. Flak corps were large organizations of pre-existing AA units (regiments, brigades, and divisions) rather than being formed as new units from scratch. In 1943 Allied intelligence noted: The Flak Corps is a wartime organization, and constitutes an operational reserve of

2185-604: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression . The situation became a crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilise against the Polish border. On 23 August the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, after tripartite negotiations for a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had stalled. This pact had

2300-689: The British Empire , with fighting in the Balkans , Mediterranean, and Middle East , the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz , and naval Battle of the Atlantic . Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy , Japan , and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of

2415-549: The Falaise Pocket in August 1944. In September 1944, the staff of III Flak Corps was headquartered at Cochem and reused to oversee the 1st Flak Brigade, 18th Flak Brigade, 19th Flak Brigade and 20th Flak Brigade in support of Army Group B . In February 1945, the corps HQ was at Bonn and oversaw the 1st Flak Brigade (at Rheydt , in support of 15th Army ), 2nd Flak Division (at Altenahr , in support of 5th Panzer Army ) and

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2530-581: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and a democratic government, later known as the Weimar Republic , was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the political right and left. Italy, as an Entente ally, had made some post-war territorial gains; however, Italian nationalists were angered that the promises made by the United Kingdom and France to secure Italian entrance into

2645-853: The German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France 's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria , on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor , who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and

2760-671: The Imperial Russian Army had its headquarters here. Between February 2 and March 11, 1918, was a Battle of Bobrujsk , between units of the Polish I Corps in Russia , commanded by General Jozef Dowbor-Musnicki , fought with the Red Army over the control of the city and region of Babruysk. In 1918–1920, town was captured by Polish forces. On 28 June 1941, troops of the German Army Group Centre captured Babruysk. General Gotthard Heinrici considered

2875-576: The Italian mainland , and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France at Normandy , while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled

2990-553: The Japanese Navy and captured key islands . The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories ; the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops; Hitler's suicide ; and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 . Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ,

3105-695: The League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant . The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but the sanctions were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion. Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany's goal of absorbing Austria . When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to

3220-731: The Nationalist rebels , led by General Francisco Franco . Italy supported the Nationalists to a greater extent than the Nazis: Mussolini sent more than 70,000 ground troops, 6,000 aviation personnel, and 720 aircraft to Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government of the Spanish Republic . More than 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades , also fought against

3335-690: The Rome–Berlin Axis . A month later, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , which Italy joined the following year. The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allies and new regional warlords . In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Empire of Japan , which had long sought influence in China as

3450-590: The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later. On 31 July 1940, Hitler decided that

3565-598: The Stresa Front in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards military globalisation ; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe , drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the Franco-Soviet pact

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3680-709: The Sudetenland , an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement , which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed

3795-652: The Tanggu Truce was signed in 1933. Thereafter, Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria , and Chahar and Suiyuan . After the 1936 Xi'an Incident , the Kuomintang and CCP forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with

3910-579: The Trans-Olza region of Czechoslovakia. Although all of Germany's stated demands had been satisfied by the agreement, privately Hitler was furious that British interference had prevented him from seizing all of Czechoslovakia in one operation. In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January 1939 secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In March 1939, Germany invaded

4025-558: The Treaty of Craiova . The loss of one-third of Romania's 1939 territory caused a coup against King Carol II, turning Romania into a fascist dictatorship under Marshal Ion Antonescu , with a course set towards the Axis in the hopes of a German guarantee. Meanwhile, German-Soviet political relations and economic co-operation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden , which

4140-698: The United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany. Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , in which they had agreed on " spheres of influence " in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania . After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and

4255-426: The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced to the Channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium, trapping the bulk of the Allied armies in a cauldron on the Franco-Belgian border near Lille. The United Kingdom was able to evacuate a significant number of Allied troops from the continent by early June, although they had to abandon almost all their equipment. On 10 June, Italy invaded France , declaring war on both France and

4370-451: The aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan . Key events leading up to the war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria , the Spanish Civil War , the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland . World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany , under Adolf Hitler , invaded Poland , prompting

4485-399: The cauldron of Stalingrad . I Flak Corps withdrew via southern Russia and Crimea in 1943 and through northern Ukraine and Galicia in 1944. In November/December 1943, it still contained the 9th, 10th, 15th and 17th Flak Divisions. In October 1944, I Flak Corps was positioned at Kraków with Army Group A . At the end of the war, it was in Schweidnitz under Army Group Center. II Flak Corps

4600-404: The reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War   II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 , which also restored full diplomatic relations between them. World War I had radically altered

4715-404: The 5th and 6th centuries there existed Slavic settlements up the river Biarezina from where Babruysk is currently located; findings of stone tools and weapons suggest that people have lived in the area since the Stone Age . During the reign of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev , in place of modern-day Babruysk there was a village whose inhabitants were occupied with fishing and beaver trapping . This

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4830-409: The Allies were attempting to cut off . Denmark capitulated after six hours , and despite Allied support , Norway was conquered within two months. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , who was replaced by Winston Churchill on 10   May 1940. On the same day, Germany launched an offensive against France . To circumvent

4945-400: The Axis war against the Soviet Union, in Romania's case partially to recapture territory ceded to the Soviet Union . In early June 1940, the Italian Regia Aeronautica attacked and besieged Malta , a British possession. From late summer to early autumn, Italy conquered British Somaliland and made an incursion into British-held Egypt . In October, Italy attacked Greece , but the attack

5060-413: The Belarusian word babyor ( бабёр , lit.   ' beaver ' ), many of which used to inhabit the Berezina. However, beavers in the area had been almost eliminated by the end of the 19th century due to hunting and pollution. Babruysk is one of the oldest cities in Belarus . It was first mentioned in writing in the middle of the 14th century. Investigations by archaeologists revealed that in

5175-421: The Blitz , but largely ended in May 1941 after failing to significantly disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy , using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic . The British Home Fleet scored a significant victory on 27   May 1941 by sinking the German battleship Bismarck . In November 1939,

5290-405: The European Axis declaring war on the US. Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia , but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval Battle of Midway ; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and

5405-400: The Flak Regiments 101 and 104. In March 1941, I Flak Corps was used to form the staff "Luftwaffenbefehlshaber Mitte". I Flak Corps was quickly reformed on 1 April 1941 in Berlin, using the staff of 1st Flak Brigade. By 6 June, it was in Warsaw . In Operation Barbarossa , it was used in Army Group Center with Panzer Group 2 and provided fire support using its Flak Regiments 101 and 104. It

5520-410: The French possessions of Syria and Lebanon , assisted by the Free French . With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia , the two powers signed

5635-426: The Germans, and the last large operational unit of the Polish Army surrendered on 6   October . Despite the military defeat, Poland never surrendered; instead, it formed the Polish government-in-exile and a clandestine state apparatus remained in occupied Poland. A significant part of Polish military personnel evacuated to Romania and Latvia; many of them later fought against the Axis in other theatres of

5750-519: The Germany's flak force. Even considering only the Luftwaffe's flak units dedicated to direct support of Wehrmacht ground troops, most of them were not subordinated to flak corps. Flak corps were either partially motorized or fully motorized, depending on the degree of motorization of their subordinate units. Although the AA guns of all nations in World War II could be used against ground targets, Germany in particular used AA guns in multiple roles. The need for command and control of these assets led to

5865-415: The II Flak Corps was part of Luftflotte 6 , along with Feldluftgau XXVII and Luftwaffenkommando Südost , the latter hosting the German air force mission to Bulgaria. II Flak Corps itself still contained the 12th and 18th Flak Division, as well as the nascent 23rd Flak Division , which 10th Flak Brigade was being restructured into. During the great Soviet offensive of January 1945 , the II Flak Corps oversaw

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5980-450: The Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War   II but generally favoured the Axis . His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front . In July 1937, Japan captured

6095-452: The Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission after a carrier attack at Taranto , and neutralising several more warships at the Battle of Cape Matapan . Italian defeats prompted Germany to deploy an expeditionary force to North Africa; at the end of March 1941, Rommel 's Afrika Korps launched an offensive which drove back Commonwealth forces. In less than a month, Axis forces advanced to western Egypt and besieged

6210-423: The Soviet Union occupied the entire territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Romanian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region . In August 1940, Hitler imposed the Second Vienna Award on Romania which led to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In September 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja from Romania with German and Italian support, leading to

6325-421: The Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains. Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific , and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China . In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific , including Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and

6440-418: The Soviet Union and Mongolia . The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ron , which emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time. This policy would prove difficult to maintain in light of the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol in 1939, the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed

6555-575: The Soviet Union should be eliminated and aimed for the conquest of Ukraine , the Baltic states and Byelorussia . However, other senior German officials like Ribbentrop saw an opportunity to create a Euro-Asian bloc against the British Empire by inviting the Soviet Union into the Tripartite Pact. In November 1940, negotiations took place to determine if the Soviet Union would join the pact. The Soviets showed some interest but asked for concessions from Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan that Germany considered unacceptable. On 18 December 1940, Hitler issued

6670-402: The US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago , the possibility of further atomic bombings, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria , Japan announced its unconditional surrender on 15 August and signed a surrender document on 2 September 1945 , marking

6785-424: The United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence ; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to the Kingdoms of Romania and Greece . Shortly after the Franco - British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel . Hitler accused the United Kingdom and Poland of trying to "encircle" Germany and renounced

6900-489: The United Kingdom attacked on 3   July in an attempt to prevent its seizure by Germany. The air Battle of Britain began in early July with Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbours . The German campaign for air superiority started in August but its failure to defeat RAF Fighter Command forced the indefinite postponement of the proposed German invasion of Britain . The German strategic bombing offensive intensified with night attacks on London and other cities in

7015-401: The United Kingdom. The Germans turned south against the weakened French army, and Paris fell to them on 14   June. Eight days later France signed an armistice with Germany ; it was divided into German and Italian occupation zones , and an unoccupied rump state under the Vichy Regime , which, though officially neutral, was generally aligned with Germany. France kept its fleet, which

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7130-473: The United States was assisting China and the Western Allies, and had amended the Neutrality Act to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased . In September the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases . Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention in

7245-434: The Yellow River ; this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan , but the city was taken by October. Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve; instead, the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing and continued the war. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Japanese forces in Manchukuo had sporadic border clashes with

7360-645: The air defenses of Wehrkreis XVII , including 24th Flak Division in Vienna and 7th Flak Brigade in Linz . On 2 April 1945, the corps was at Sankt Pölten and on 13 April at Traun . On 7 May 1945, the corps goes into captivity at Admont . The VI Corps was formed on 10 February 1945 in the north of the Western Front , the sector of Army Group H , from the dissolved 16th Flak Division at Doetinchem . It initially oversaw 9th Flak Brigade (at Huis ter Heide in support of 25th Army ) and 18th Flak Brigade (at Winkel in Guelders in support of 1st Parachute Army ) as well as 4th Flak Division (at Duisburg ). During

7475-420: The assassination of the Russian emperor Alexander II . Many of the attacks were repelled by armed Jewish self-defense. In 1902, the Great Fire of Babruysk left 2,500 families homeless and destroyed over 250 business, 15 schools and the market. There were more than 7 million rubles in property damage, however the city was quickly rebuilt, this time with brick and stone. In 1904 the 40th Infantry Division of

7590-444: The biggest timber mill in Belarus, and is also known for its chemical, machine building and metal-working industries. In 2021, there were 38 public schools in Babruysk, with over 24,000 students. There are three schools specializing in music, dance and visual arts . Additionally, there is a medical school and numerous professional technical schools. The name Babruysk (as well as that of the Babruyka River ) probably originates from

7705-463: The bombardment. The machine building plant had been almost completely destroyed, but was restored to working order by the end of 1944. Many other factories and facilities were also rebuilt. Between 1944 and 1954, Babruysk served as an administrative center of Babruysk Voblast . The population recovered swiftly as well. In 1959 it was 96,000, in 1965 – 116,000, in 1968 – 122,500, in 1970 – 136,000 and by 1989, 232,000 people were living in Babruysk. This

7820-418: The buildings were constructed from wood. In 1866 there were 1498 houses, only 29 of which were made from brick. There was a steady increase in the Jewish population of Babruysk following the Napoleonic wars . By 1897, in the population of 34,336 citizens, 60%, or 20,760 were Jews. Most of them were employed in crafts, industry, and trade. During the 1890s, the citizens of Babruysk witnessed pogroms after

7935-405: The capital Nanking in December 1937. After the fall of Nanking, tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese . In March 1938, Nationalist Chinese forces won their first major victory at Taierzhuang , but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding

8050-401: The commander in chief of the German Air Force. It combines great mobility with heavy fire power. It can be employed in conjunction with spearheads composed of armored and motorized forces, and with nonmotorized troops in forcing river crossings and attacking fortified positions. It can also be deployed as highly mobile artillery to support tank attacks. Flak corps did not include the majority of

8165-403: The conflict well into 1941. In December 1940, Roosevelt accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out any negotiations as useless, calling for the United States to become an " arsenal of democracy " and promoting Lend-Lease programmes of military and humanitarian aid to support the British war effort; Lend-Lease was later extended to the other Allies, including the Soviet Union after it

8280-526: The creation of a " New Roman Empire ". Adolf Hitler , after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, eventually became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 when Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichstag appointed him. Following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer of Germany and abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of

8395-508: The directive to prepare for an invasion of the Soviet Union. Babruysk Babruysk or Bobruysk ( Belarusian : Бабруйск , romanized :  Babrujsk , IPA: [bäˈbruɪ̯s̪k] ; Russian : Бобруйск , IPA: [bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k] ; Yiddish : באָברויסק , romanized :  Bobroysk ) is a city in Mogilev Region , Belarus . It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District , though it

8510-757: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. To prevent a future world war, the League of Nations was established in 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference . The organisation's primary goals were to prevent armed conflict through collective security, military, and naval disarmament , as well as settling international disputes through peaceful negotiations and arbitration. Despite strong pacifist sentiment after World War   I , irredentist and revanchist nationalism had emerged in several European states. These sentiments were especially marked in Germany because of

8625-662: The end of May completed the German conquest of the Balkans. Partisan warfare subsequently broke out against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , which continued until the end of the war. In the Middle East in May, Commonwealth forces quashed an uprising in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled Syria . Between June and July, British-led forces invaded and occupied

8740-520: The end of the war, the II Flak Corps was part of Army Group Vistula and oversaw, as of 27 April 1945, the 23rd Flak Division behind 9th Army, the 6th and 15th Flak Brigades as well as the 27th Flak Division behind the 3rd Panzer Army and the 14th Flak Division as well as the 16th Flak Brigade in the Prignitz region with the 12th Army . The III Flak Corps was formed on 22 February 1944 from

8855-511: The end of the war. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world, and it set the foundation of international relations for the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US—becoming

8970-478: The fighting around the Vyazma pocket between 2 and 13 October 1941, shooting down 29 Soviet aircraft, destroying or capturing 14 tanks, 17 bunkers, 104 heavy guns, 18 field fortifications, 5 nests of resistance, 94 machine gun positions, one freight train and 579 motorized vehicles. One Soviet cavalry squadron was destroyed, along with seven supply columns. 23 infantry attacks were repelled and 3,842 Soviet PoWs taken by

9085-563: The first half of the 17th century Babruysk became a big trade outpost thanks to its strategic position at the intersection of major trade routes and the Berezina river. There was a flowering of skilled tradesmen, including carpenters , blacksmiths , goldsmiths , and bakers. The population in the first half of the 17th century was between 2,000 and 5,000 people. The town was surrounded by fortifications made from wood and earth, whose length stretched for over 3 km (2 mi). These included

9200-631: The first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Asia , staged the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo . China appealed to the League of Nations to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after being condemned for its incursion into Manchuria. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shanghai , Rehe and Hebei , until

9315-864: The former Chinese imperial capital of Peking after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge incident , which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany . From September to November, the Japanese attacked Taiyuan , engaged the Kuomintang Army around Xinkou , and fought Communist forces in Pingxingguan . Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai , but after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push Chinese forces back, capturing

9430-525: The invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia ) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia ), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea . The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of

9545-497: The largely-evacuated city "a dump consisting mainly of wooden houses" and was appalled by the "extremely primitive" surrounding area. Dulag 131 , one of the largest camps for Soviet prisoners of war , was located in the "citadel". An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Red Army soldiers died there. Believing that German troops would not target civilians, many Jews stayed behind. Consequently, 20,000 Babruysk Jews were shot and buried in mass graves. Ghetto and labor camps were established in

9660-571: The members of II Flak Corps. In April 1942, the corps staff was dissolved and used for the formation of 18th Flak Division . II Flak Corps was reformed in central Russia in October 1943 from the command of III Luftwaffe Field Corps , headquartered at Babruysk and tasked with the supervision of 12th Flak Division (at Babruysk, provision of support for 2nd Army and 9th Army ), 18th Flak Division (at Orsha, provision of support for 4th Army ) and 10th Flak Brigade (at Vitebsk , provision of support for 3rd Panzer Army ). In November/December 1943,

9775-578: The organization of larger units, culminating with the organization of flak corps. Although the Soviets also organized large air defense units, they were typically not used against ground targets. The flak corps above all provided additional antitank support for the German ground forces. In some cases, such as at Cagny in Normandy, these units achieved significant success against attacking Allied armored vehicles. The use of flak corps as ground warfare assets

9890-502: The permanent members of its security council . The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers , setting the stage for the Cold War . In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia . Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion . World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with

10005-589: The political European map with the defeat of the Central Powers —including Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire —and the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia , which led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the victorious Allies of World War I , such as France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece, gained territory, and new nation-states were created out of

10120-599: The port of Tobruk . By late March 1941, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact ; however, the Yugoslav government was overthrown two days later by pro-British nationalists. Germany and Italy responded with simultaneous invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece , commencing on 6 April 1941; both nations were forced to surrender within the month. The airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete at

10235-722: The remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client state , the Slovak Republic . Hitler also delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania on 20 March 1939, forcing the concession of the Klaipėda Region , formerly the German Memelland . Greatly alarmed and with Hitler making further demands on the Free City of Danzig ,

10350-410: The significant territorial, colonial, and financial losses imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Under the treaty, Germany lost around 13 percent of its home territory and all its overseas possessions , while German annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposed, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces . The German Empire was dissolved in

10465-593: The southwest part of town. The conditions inside the camps were horrible and involved lack of food, lack of sanitation and perpetual abuse by the Nazi guards. Soon the Nazis began executing the Jews in the ghetto in groups of about 30. By 1943 all labor camps had been liquidated and the remaining Jews killed. The few Jews who escaped joined partisan forces in the surrounding forest and went about attacking enemy railroad lines. There

10580-662: The staff of the 11th Flak Division to cooperate with Panzer Group West against an anticipated invasion by the Western Allies. It consisted of the Flak Assault Regiments 1 through 4 (formed from the Flak Regiments 431, 653, 37 and 79) as well as an air force signals detachment. Following the Allied invasion of Normandy (6 June 1944), much of the III Flak Corps' fielded flak forces were destroyed in

10695-498: The start or prelude to World War II. The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ( V-J Day ), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia . A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed

10810-593: The strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The Germans carried out a flanking manoeuvre through the Ardennes region, which was mistakenly perceived by the Allies as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. By successfully implementing new Blitzkrieg tactics,

10925-585: The two wars became World War II in 1941. Other proposed starting dates for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War   II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as

11040-480: The war the building was renewed on a large scale, and it was completed in 1820. That was one of the western Russian fortresses . The Babruysk fortress has served its purpose for many decades and today it is a major tourist attraction . The 1861 census showed a population of 15,766. The ethnic groups living in Babruysk included Belarusians , Ukrainians , Poles , and Jews . As in other cities of Belarus, most of

11155-513: The war were not fulfilled in the peace settlement. From 1922 to 1925, the Fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy with a nationalist, totalitarian , and class collaborationist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed socialist, left-wing, and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy aimed at making Italy a world power, promising

11270-475: The war. Germany annexed western Poland and occupied central Poland ; the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland ; small shares of Polish territory were transferred to Lithuania and Slovakia . On 6 October, Hitler made a public peace overture to the United Kingdom and France but said that the future of Poland was to be determined exclusively by Germany and the Soviet Union. The proposal was rejected and Hitler ordered an immediate offensive against France, which

11385-512: The west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht . Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw . On 17 September 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan , the Soviet Union invaded Poland under the supposed pretext that the Polish state had ceased to exist. On 27 September, the Warsaw garrison surrendered to

11500-647: The withdrawal of the German forces in Northwest Germany from the Rhine towards the Elbe, VI Flak Corps additionally was placed in charge of 3rd Flak Division (at Hamburg ) and 8th Flak Division (at Bremen ). The Flak Corps z.b.V. was formed on 2 April 1945 from the Luftgau-Kommando VI staff, initially formed on 12 October 1937. Luftgau VI was dissolved in early April 1945 after it had passed

11615-707: The world order , and soon began a massive rearmament campaign . France, seeking to secure its alliance with Italy, allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia , which Italy desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Territory of the Saar Basin was legally reunited with Germany, and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, accelerated his rearmament programme, and introduced conscription. The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed

11730-439: The world's countries —including all the great powers —participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war , blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles , with the latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II

11845-614: Was invaded by Germany. The United States started strategic planning to prepare for a full-scale offensive against Germany. At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact formally united Japan, Italy, and Germany as the Axis powers . The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country—with the exception of the Soviet Union—that attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Hungary , Slovakia , and Romania joined. Romania and Hungary later made major contributions to

11960-467: Was also used by Army Group South . In May 1942, it was repurposed as an administrative leadership unit near Poltava and was assigned 9th Flak Division (at Kharkov ), 10th Flak Division (at Kursk ), 15th Flak Division (at Mariupol ) and 17th Flak Division (at Stalino ). 10th Flak Division was removed near the end of 1942. 9th Flak Division was annihilated in January/February 1943 in

12075-406: Was complicated because they were part of the air force ( Luftwaffe ) chain of command even when supporting ground forces (either Heer or Waffen SS ). Given the expense of producing AA guns – in relation to the cost of antitank guns of the same capabilities – it is questionable if their use as antitank weapons was economical. As an organizational form, massed AA-gun formations represented

12190-567: Was deployed to Edenkoben and served in the sector of Army Group G between the Meuse river and the France–Switzerland border . It oversaw the 9th Flak Division (at Landstuhl, in support of 1st Army) and 13th Flak Division (at Schlettstedt (later: Todtnau/Schwarzwald), in support of 19th Army) and was reinforced in January 1945 by the insertion of 28th Flak Division between the two previous division. Additionally, in March 1945, it received

12305-480: Was earmarked for Operation Sea Lion and prepared at the coast of the English Channel for operations. At this point, it supervised the Flak Regiments 6 ( Ostende ), 136 ( Boulogne ), 201 ( Calais ) and 202 ( Dunkirk ). Flak Regiment 103 had, after the victory over France, already been transferred to I Flak Corps, from where it was assigned to 1st Flak Brigade . After Sea Lion was cancelled, Flak Regiment 136

12420-462: Was formed twice, once in 1939 and once in 1943. The initial formation was assembled in October 1939 from elements of the 6th Air Division and was deployed near Mönchengladbach at the disposal of Army Group B for the Battle of France . In May 1940, it consisted of the Flak Regiments 103, 201, and 202, as well as an air signals regiments and a resupply staff. After the Battle of France, II Flak Corps

12535-496: Was mostly due to urbanization, where people moved into the city from the surrounding rural areas. This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Babruysk has a humid continental climate , abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. Babruysk

12650-456: Was postponed until the spring of 1940 due to bad weather. After the outbreak of war in Poland, Stalin threatened Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania with military invasion, forcing the three Baltic countries to sign pacts allowing the creation of Soviet military bases in these countries; in October 1939, significant Soviet military contingents were moved there. Finland refused to sign

12765-772: Was repulsed with heavy Italian casualties; the campaign ended within months with minor territorial changes. To assist Italy and prevent Britain from gaining a foothold, Germany prepared to invade the Balkans, which would threaten Romanian oil fields and strike against British dominance of the Mediterranean. In December 1940, British Empire forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa . The offensives were successful; by early February 1941, Italy had lost control of eastern Libya, and large numbers of Italian troops had been taken prisoner. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with

12880-620: Was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August of the same year. Hitler defied the Versailles and Locarno Treaties by remilitarising the Rhineland in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of appeasement . In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed

12995-590: Was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million deaths , more than half being civilians. Millions died in genocides , including the Holocaust of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany , Austria , Japan , and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders . The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in

13110-435: Was used in the Battle of France in support of Army Group A . On 16 August 1940, it consisted of the Flak Regiments 101, 102, and 104, as well as a heavy detachment, an air signals regiment and a resupply staff. On 1 June 1940, I Flak Corps was split into two brigades of two regiments each (after the addition of Flak Regiment 103), with 1st Flak Brigade receiving the Flak Regiments 102 and 103, and 2nd Flak Brigade receiving

13225-569: Was withdrawn in October and the entire corps redeployed to Tours on 16 December 1940. It protected the German-occupied Atlantic coast with 6th Flak Brigade (at Fontenay le Comte ), which in turn oversaw the Flak Regiments 40 and 45. On 3 March 1941, the II Flak Corps staff was recalled to Germany and deployed with Flak Regiment 6 and Flak Regiment General Göring to serve on the Eastern Front. II Flak Corps participated in

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