Russian Holidays - Day of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG Day)

As a result of the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II in 1945, a large-scale operational-strategic association of the USSR Armed Forces outside the country was formed The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG), with headquarters in Wünsdorf, was stationed on the territory of the GDR Based on the Directive of the Supreme High Command Headquarters No 11095 of May 29, 1945, it was prescribed to create a powerful force in Germany to maintain security and order, as well as the military presence of the USSR The powerful association created to maintain order and security in the occupied lands was headed by Marshal GK Zhukov June 9 marks the Day of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, and on June 10 it began to carry out its tasks Initially, its headquarters were located in Potsdam, and in 1946 the administration and headquarters of the commander-in-chief were transferred to the suburbs of Berlin In 1949, the number of military personnel in the group, which included soldiers and officers of the First Belorussian, Second Belorussian and First Ukrainian Fronts, amounted to 2 million 900 thousand people Units of the GSVG were mainly located in places that had previously been a Wehrmacht base By the 1980s, the size of the group, which was part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union until 1992, exceeded 500 thousand people The GSVG was engaged in creating the necessary conditions for the elimination of the fascist regime in the occupied territories But the main task of the Group of Forces was to protect the western borders of the Motherland from external threats This service was considered responsible and honorable among military personnel - they were proud that they were at the forefront of the defense of the Motherland, even in peacetime The GSVG was equipped with the most modern equipment and the best weapons, including military equipment nuclear The Group of Forces included missile, tank, artillery and motorized rifle divisions, and, since 1979, air assault units Their preparedness and equipment allowed the NATO military to declare that, if necessary, GSVG fighters would be able to cross Western Europe and reach the English Channel within 4 days The readiness of the troops for war was constant and checked around the clock The group was considered a personnel forge: future ministers of defense, generals, and chiefs of formations and headquarters of the Armed Forces underwent a rigorous schooling there The GSVG was a state within a state It had not only its own military camps with developed social infrastructure (kindergartens, schools, shops, sanatoriums, farmsteads and TV centers), but also factories and other industrial facilities The units had Officers' Houses and clubs where song and dance ensembles performed The Group of Forces even had its own Drama Theater For many years, the GSVG ensured international stability, balancing the military power of the NATO bloc, whose associations were stationed in Europe After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the question arose about completing the mission of the operational-strategic unification of the USSR in Germany In 1990, as a result of the signing of an international treaty, the presence of the Western Group of Forces on the lands of the GDR began to be considered temporary The withdrawal of armed units began, which ended in 1994 The soldiers and officers who served in the GSVG carried out their assigned tasks with honor, holding back the plans of aggressors and potential opponents of the USSR with their presence on the western borders of the Motherland Remembering the activities of the unification of the troops of the Soviet Union in the GDR, the descendants of the military personnel feel pride and admiration, realizing that thanks to the GSVG, peace was maintained on Earth in the conditions of the arms race and the Cold War Therefore, the date of June 9, the day before the formation of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, is considered memorable and will forever remain in the history of Russia