To the 40th anniversary of the Great Victory
From the history of the Battle for Moscow, it is well known what role was played by the heroic resistance of the defenders of the capital to the enemy on the Volokolamsk Highway. But in the same autumn days of 1941, the fascist invaders tried to break through to the Soviet capital in other directions, in particular along the Warsaw Highway (primarily at the turn of the Nara River), the battles on which were less reflected in the press.
On September 30, 1941, the enemy attacked the right wing of the Bryansk Front, and on October 2-on the Western and Reserve Fronts. On October 5, the Nazis captured Yukhnov on the Warsaw Highway. K. F. Telegin, who was then a member of the Military Council of the Moscow Military District and the Moscow Defense Zone, noted that the only real force capable of detaining the enemy until the Stavka reserves arrived in this direction was the Podolsk infantry and Artillery schools. They blocked the road to the Nazis in the area of Yukhnov and Maloyaroslavets, which turned out to be a surprise for the Nazis .1 Making another entry in his diary for October 5, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Land Forces F. Halder did not assume such a possibility, considering that "in front of the troops of the right flank... the enemy is no more. " 2
Subsequently, noting the role of cadets of these schools in repelling the onslaught of the enemy on the Warsaw Highway, Marshal of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov wrote: "With their heroic self-sacrifice, they thwarted the plan to quickly capture Maloyaroslavets and helped our troops gain the time necessary to organize defense on the approaches to Moscow." 3 On October 10, the Supreme High Command Headquarters united the Western and Reserve Fronts into the Western, which was commanded by Army General Zhukov. It was decided to cover the main directions first of all. Major General K. D. Golubev's 43rd Army was deployed on Maloyaroslavskoye Highway, the axis of which was the Warsaw Highway. Formed on the basis of the 33rd Rifle Corps, it was still fighting on the Desna River, south of Yelnya, in early August.
K. D. Golubev took command in the conditions of the army's withdrawal to the Nara River. The enemy had a 3.2 - fold advantage in men, 8.5 - fold advantage in tanks, and 7-fold advantage in guns and mortars .4 Konstantin Dmitrievich started his military career as a private, later graduated from the Frunze Military Academy, was the head of a military school, for more than three years he commanded the 22nd Rifle Division of the North Caucasus Military District, for about six months he was the head of the Department of Combat Training of the General Staff, then studied at the General Staff Academy and worked there as a senior teacher of the Department of Army operations.
In the first months of the pre-war year, new textbooks on general tactics, combat training methods, and the history of the art of war were released. One of their authors was Golubev. The students of the Academy remembered his speech at the enlarged meeting of the Department of Operational Art on November 15, 1939, where he made a report "On new issues of the theory of operational art arising from recent events" 5 . In March
1 Sbytov N. A. Aviation shield of the capital. In: Battle for Moscow, Moscow, 1966, p. 402; Telegin K. F. In the days of the highest danger. In: On the Fiery Frontiers of the Moscow Battle, Moscow, 1981, p. 79.
2 F. Halder Military Diary, vol. 3, book 2, Moscow, 1971, p. 16.
3 Zhukov G. K. Memoirs and Reflections, Vol. 2, Moscow, 1974, p. 15.
4 Sokolovsky V. On the Soviet military art in the battle of Moscow. - Military Historical Journal, 1961, N 11, p. 23.
5 History of the Military Order of Lenin and Suvorov I degree of the Voroshilov Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR, Moscow, 1976, p. 64.
page 175
In 1941, Golubev became commander of the 10th Army and two weeks before the Nazi German attack on the USSR, he was awarded the rank of Major General. He joined the army immediately after defending his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Military Sciences.
Parts of his army fought hard at der. Sparrows. In only one of the battles, the gunners of the 610th anti-tank Regiment destroyed 23 tanks; battery commander A. A. Melnikov, gun commanders V. M. Vedenyev, V. D. Klyuchnikov, and gunner V. P. Perfirov especially distinguished themselves. The crew of the gun commander, Sergeant G. I. Tsvetaev, disabled five tanks. The sergeant shot down the last tank personally, already when his legs were broken by a mine. Three enemy tanks were destroyed by a seriously wounded gunner P. K. Gubanov. The 201st Airborne and 152nd motorized Rifle Brigades 6 held a strong defense . In the battle, a covered truck with pre-prepared German road signs "To Podolsk", "To Moscow", "To Lopasnya", "To Serpukhov"was captured.
On October 22, fighting broke out on the border of the Nara River. Several times passed from hand to hand der. Makarov. The 1079th Regiment of the 312th Rifle Division fought bravely here. Incessant attacks were repulsed from der. Chernyshnya 53rd Rifle Division. Superior enemy forces were held back by 60 soldiers of the motorized rifle battalion of the 17th Tank Brigade, led by Commissar D. A. Borodin. When he was wounded, the counterattack of Soviet soldiers was led by the secretary of the Party Bureau N. G. Titov7 . For courage and heroism in this battle were awarded the Order of Lenin - tank driver P. P. Alekseev, the Order of the Red Banner-senior Lieutenant R. A. Akhundzyanov, senior political instructors D. A. Borodin, N. V. Gyadzyuk, Lieutenant V. V. Gretsov, chief of Staff of the 17th tank Regiment Captain N. N. Medvedev, tank commander battalion captain T. S. Pozolotin, assistant commander of the tank company Lieutenant P. M. Umanets.
The 9th Tank Brigade fought heroically on the Narsk line. During the first two days of fighting, 75 of its fighters and commanders were presented with government awards .8 On October 22, the Nazis still crossed the Naru River near Tarutino. In a report to Zhukov, Golubev reported: "The enemy's plan is clear: hit the Crosses, go to the rear of our group and open the road to Podolsk." 9 From Podolsk to Moscow on the highway was 25 kilometers. In front of the army command post in Kamenka, the guns were on direct fire. To contain the enemy rushing forward, a consolidated formation was formed from the 312th, 17th and 53rd rifle divisions that suffered heavy losses, headed by Colonel A. F. Naumov. In parting words to him, Golubev said:: "You should know and remember that the line of the Nara River, where we are now, is the last line of our withdrawal... Nothing can justify us leaving this milestone. " 10
On October 24, the 93rd Rifle Division of Major General K. M. Erastov arrived at the Nara River line. The formation dates back to the years of the Civil War, and later it became the 26th Guards Division, which received the name Gorodokskaya; its battle banner was decorated with the Orders of the Red Banner and Suvorov. At the Nara turn, the Erastovs replaced the combined battalion of Podolsk cadets, who completed the task of buying time before the Stavka reserves arrived. The next day, the division entered the battle south of der. Crosses. The battle lasted from early morning to late evening. Lieutenant Colonel P. V. Gusev, the commander of the 266th Rifle Regiment in the vanguard, was seriously wounded, but did not leave the battlefield and continued to direct the regiment's actions. His courage and heroism were awarded the Order of Lenin 11 .
On October 28 and 29, the Nazis repeatedly counterattacked the positions of the 93rd Division. Nine times the village changed hands. Roller coasters. At the critical moment, division Commissar P. I. Kornev gathered his men and led them against the enemy who had broken through. The commissar was mortally wounded, and his feat was posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin. The commendation of the 43rd Army command was awarded to the commander of the 51st Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel F. Y. Kuritsyn, the commander of the 129th Regiment, Captain Y. I. Sedykh, and the division commander, Major General K. M. Erastov. The enemy was not able to reach Varshavskoe Highway in the direction of Tarutino - Kresty.
6 Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR (TSAMO), f. 398, op. 9329, 16, l. 130.
7 Ibid., l. 105.
8 Ibid., l. 156.
9 Ibid., op. 9308, d. 12, l. 288.
10 On Varshavskoe highway. Alma-Ata, 1968, p. 47.
11 Pankov D. V., Pankov D. D. Podvig podolskikh kursantov [Feat of Podolsky cadets]. Moscow, 1982, p. 106,
page 176
On the Narsk line, the Red Army soldier Shishkov performed a feat. The newspaper wrote: "Red Army soldier Shishkov rose to his full height... Struck by enemy bullets, he fell at the embrasure of the bunker, from where a machine gun was firing. A fearless Soviet infantryman covered his comrades from machine-gun fire with his body. " 12 The order of November 4, 1941 on the 43rd army emphasized: "The past battles with the insolent fascist troops showed that the Hitlerite robbers are mortally afraid of our active actions... In the battles in the area of Voroby and Gorki, the Nazis lost several thousand people killed and wounded. " 13 Komsomol members-bombers were organized to go to the rear of the Nazis to destroy communications. A sniper movement was being deployed, initiated by soldiers of the 201st and 10th Airborne brigades in the 43rd Army.
Given the importance of the Warsaw Highway, G. K. Zhukov arrived in the 43rd Army. Former battalion commander of the 129th Regiment, now Colonel-General M. G. Khomulo recalls that the commander of the Western Front was interested in how the defense was being built, what the personnel of the units were. Together with him came the chief of Staff of the front, Lieutenant - General V. D. Sokolovsky. Having learned about the heavy losses of the 93rd division, Zhukov turned to Sokolovsky: "We need to scrape together one and a half thousand fighters and give them to this division." "Too heavy. You know that the Supreme forbade taking reserves from the flanks." "I know. Take it anywhere. I will personally answer to the Supreme Court for this!" Saying goodbye, he said: "The fascists must lay down their bones in front of your defense... Not a step back! Fight to the last bullet! " 14 .
In decisive battles with the enemy, the skill of Soviet soldiers grew, their will to win was tempered. In one of the battles, the commissar of the 201st Airborne Brigade, I. V. Kozlov, noticed how the enemy moved a battery to the firing position. "For the Motherland, forward!" he shouted, and together with a group of paratroopers rushed at the enemy battery that did not have time to turn around and destroyed its personnel. The soul of the 24th Tank Brigade was the military commissar, senior battalion commissar S. K. Romanov. When the Nazis surrounded part of the brigade's personnel at der. On Christmas Day, he led the encirclement breakthrough. Seven soldiers of the 152nd motorized Rifle brigade were attacked by an enemy platoon. Left alone after the death of his comrades, Komsomol member Lobkov let several enemy soldiers get closer and blew himself up with a grenade along with them. The feat of Komsomol member Lieutenant Groshikov from the 120th separate communications battalion is unforgettable. Under fire, he and the Red Army soldier Nikolaev were restoring communication. 500 meters from the command post, they found a cliff. The spare cable was not enough for the distance of outstretched hands. Groshikov sent Nikolayev for a cable, and he took the end of the wire in each hand and, being under fire, provided communication through himself.
Together with our army, the section on Varshavskoye Highway was defended by a working detachment from Podolsk. In their appeal, its fighters stated:; "At this terrible moment, we, the proletarians of Podolsk, communists, Komsomol members and non-party Bolsheviks, following the example of millions of Soviet patriots, took up military weapons to defend our hometown of Podolsk together with the regular units of the Red Army, through which the enemy is trying to break through to Moscow... On the outskirts of Moscow, the enemy will find his death, he will drown in his own black blood... All to arms! All hands on the enemy! " 15 .
On November 6, echelons of Colonel A. L. Hetman's 112th Panzer Division began arriving in Podolsk. She was to concentrate southwest of the city. But circumstances have changed. The division commander recalled: "Having unloaded from the echelons, the division, on the orders of the command, took up defensive positions southwest of Podolsk, straddled the Varshavskoe Highway and began to prepare to repel enemy attacks... We started the fighting not with defense, but with an offensive, since by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the troops of the Western Front were to launch two counterattacks. "One counterstrike," Stalin ordered Zhukov, "must be delivered in the area of Volokolamsk, and the other from the Serpukhov area to the flank of the German 4th army." 16 In this regard, the 112th Panzer Division was merged into the mobile group of P. A. Belov and began to prepare for a counteroffensive.
12 Defender of the Fatherland, 30. XI. 1941.
13 TsAMO, f. 398, op. 9308, 3, l. 19.
14 Khomulo M. G. Polk, k boyu! M. 1980, pp. 52-53.
15 Withstood and won. Moscow, 1966, p. 170.
16 Hetman A. 112th Tank Division in the Battle of Moscow. - Military History magazine. 1981, N 11, p. 49.
page 177
On November 9, the Nazis launched a new push on the 93rd Rifle Division's sector. They threw about 100 tanks along the Warsaw Highway. Soldiers of the division used "fire ramparts" in the fight against them: dry brushwood and straw piled up in piles, doused with fuel, were set on fire, the flame rose to a height of up to three meters. The tanks had to change course and move along the front edge of our defenses, exposing their sides to artillery fire .17 Soldiers of the 100th and 128th artillery regiments distinguished themselves in this battle.
On November 14, the combined regiment of the 17th Rifle Division, supported by a separate 26th tank battalion, attacked the enemy in the Leonovo-Tunaevo area. In just one day, the tank of the battalion commander of the Hero of the Soviet Union V. R. Filatov destroyed 10 guns, 5 machine guns, 2 mortars, a tractor and 60 enemy soldiers. After the shell jammed the turret, the Filatovites continued to crush the Nazis with tracks 18 . The Red Army soldiers of Major A. A. Kuznetsov's 320th anti-tank artillery regiment proved to be brave warriors. When the shell hit the ammunition cellar, a fire broke out and the threat of an explosion loomed, Komsomol members I. Serov and A. Podkopaev rushed into the cellar, began to pull out boxes with shells and extinguish the fire. The ammunition was salvaged.
Several enemy planes were shot down by the 152nd separate anti-aircraft artillery division. Among them was the "lone pirate", which had been operating for a long time, which always unexpectedly appeared over the Bunk, causing damage to our troops. On the fuselage of the defeated enemy aircraft was a distinctive badge of the highest category: the head of a red fox with a monocle, which meant "cunning and sharp" in the Luftwaffe. Only fascist aces were marked with this sign.
All November there were battles for the village. Kuzovlevo, which the Nazis wanted to use as a springboard for jumping to the Warsaw Highway; it was only 5 kilometers away. And yet, at the end of November, the enemy was driven out of Kuzovlev. For more than half a month he fought in the encirclement of u der. Teterinka and survived the battalion of Captain F. F. Ryzhykh. "Let their steadfastness," the newspaper reported, "serve as an example for all the fighters of our direction." 19
"Soldiers of the invisible front" were called volunteers of the 43rd army-Komsomol members of Podolsk, who took part in intelligence collection. They set fire to a building in Tarutino occupied by the enemy, designated a target for Soviet artillery, and established the movement of enemy forces near the village. Sparrows. Komsomol intelligence officer Alexandra Shurygina, one of the most active members of this detachment, later graduated from the junior lieutenant course and was sent by the Komsomol rifle battalion to the 53rd division. Three times wounded, the girl was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the Medal "For Courage". The newspaper wrote: "Shura has a cheerful word for everyone! ... She didn't seem to notice the bullets whizzing around her. "Get down, the Krauts will kill you!" "What is it?" her companions warned her when Alexandra was already close to them. "A German, but on our land to be afraid! Shurygina objected. "Komsomol members, follow me!" "Stop it!" she shouted. "All the fighters have risen." 20
The 43rd Army's chief of Staff, Colonel A. N. Bogolyubov, head of the Operations Department S. I. Lyubarsky, Artillery Commander V. E. Taranovich, and a member of the Military Council, Divisional Commissar S. I. Shabalov, enjoyed great authority in the days of the battles on the Nar line. The latter took part in the revolutionary battles of 1917 in Moscow. The son of a tugboat driver, A. N. Bogolyubov was a professional soldier, graduated from the Higher Military School of Communications and the Military Academy named after M. V. Frunze. In the most acute moments, he showed composure, courage and initiative. The same qualities were shown in him later, at the posts of First Deputy Chief of Operations of the General Staff, Chief of Staff of the 1st Ukrainian and 2nd Belorussian fronts. 21 His book "The Military Art of A.V. Suvorov"is widely known. Kombrig Lyubarsky knew the operational work well. When the need arose, Stepan Ivanovich assumed the duties of commander in battle and headed the 17th Rifle Division. In his certification sheet, it is said that from October 17 to November 2, 1941, in the battles in the Maloyaroslavsky direction, he performed a number of tasks-
17 of the Order of Lenin Zabaikalsky, Moscow, 1980, pp. 139-140.
18 TsAMO, f. 398, op. 9329, 17, l. 202.
19 Defender of the Fatherland, 30. XI. 1941.
20 Voroshilovets, 29. X. 1943.
21 Shtemenko S. M. General Staff during the War, Moscow, 1968, p. 142.
page 178
state tasks to restore order in the troops 22 .
Taranovich, a civil War veteran, proved to be an experienced military leader in the battles on the Warsaw Highway. When, after the capture of Maloyaroslavets, enemy tanks broke through on the highway to the village of Belousovo, Taranovich quickly organized an anti-tank barrier. Chief of Artillery of the 53rd Division G. D. Plaskov recalled: "The commander of the artillery of the army V. E. Taranovich appears at my checkpoint. I watched the battle unfold and said: "Let's go to the firing positions." "Can we wait until the air raid is over?" "There's no time to wait!" In the course of the message, we go to the nearest battery. Young fighters scurry around the cannon. Vladimir Erastovich smiled and pushed aside the sweating gunner, sat down heavily on the seat, and put his eye to the panorama's eyepiece. A gunshot hit my ears. I'm watching through binoculars. A dark green tank with gray spots, which had just been rocking on potholes about three hundred meters from our front edge, froze in its tracks. Smoke billowed out of a hole in the armor. " 23
Defensive battles of the 43rd Army weakened the enemy in this sector of the Western Front. Its formations destroyed half the personnel of the enemy's 34th and 98th infantry divisions. The lance-corporal of the first of them wrote home: "Our days are very hot. But I was lucky. I was the only survivor of my squad." A soldier of the 98th Division reported :" We are told not to reason. But it seems to me that what is happening near Moscow is not so simple. We still have a lot to overcome and experience... I can't wait to be transferred to the reserve" 24. On December 18, the 43rd Army launched a counteroffensive and pushed the enemy back from the Nara line.
22 TsAMO, inz. No. 53938, personal file of S. I. Lyubarsky.
23 Plaskov G. D. Pod grokhot kanonady [Under the roar of cannonade], Moscow, 1969, p. 193.
24 Pankov D. V., Pankov D. D. Uk. soch., p. 111.
page 179
New publications: |
Popular with readers: |
News from other countries: |
![]() |
Editorial Contacts |
About · News · For Advertisers |
![]() 2020-2025, LIB.AM is a part of Libmonster, international library network (open map) Keeping the heritage of Armenia |