Zelenograd land - a place of fighting
autumn - winter 1941
Zelenograd is the only one of the administrative districts of Moscow, on the land of which the front line passed - the last line of defense of the capital.
Our land keeps the memory of the past. Until now, lines of fortifications are visible in the surrounding forests - trenches, dugouts, places of observation posts. I can’t even believe that many years ago it was here that the fate of not only Moscow, but also of our entire vast Motherland was decided.
Thousands of people donated their money to the defense fund, signed up for a loan, became donors.
Residents of our region, like everyone else Soviet people brought victory closer.
Monuments of military glory in Zelenograd
The hard winter is over. Local residents buried Soviet soldiers whose lives were cut short during the fierce battles of 1941. They were buried where they were found: in the forest, on the outskirts of the village, at the end of the field. It was especially hard for the inhabitants of the villages: Matushkino, Rzhavki, as well as Kamenka. Collected soldiers melted out from under the snow, found "medallions of death." So many mass graves arose, modest pyramids were installed on them - a symbol of soldiers' eternal rest. There is such a burial on the territory of the tenth microdistrict. This collective grave consists of the remains of 17 Soviet soldiers, one of them is an officer. The monument was unveiled in December 1981. There is also a single burial on the territory of our 11 microdistrict. The burial was made by residents of the village of Kryukovo in December 1941. The grave is unmarked. Students of our school follow her, lay flowers on holidays. At the same time, a mass grave appeared on the forecourt of Kryukovo station. In 1947, a sculptural image of a warrior with a lowered machine gun and a memorial granite plaque with 38 names were installed on it.
In 1954 and 1958, government decrees appeared on the reburial of Soviet soldiers and the approach of mass graves to more available places- to settlements and roads. Obviously, at this time, mass graves appear in Aleksandrovka, near the Sputnik pioneer camp (Medvedki) and 40 km. Leningrad highway. In 1953, the remains of soldiers were brought from mass graves in the vicinity of the village of Matushkino at 40 km of the Leningrad highway. This place was not chosen by chance. During the war, this place was a well-equipped site for anti-aircraft guns. This place was deepened and it became the last shelter for the soldiers. Matushkintsy remember that there was a list of buried soldiers on the pyramid. So this modest soldier's obelisk existed until the start of the construction of a grandiose monument - a monument. In 1966, for the construction of the monument "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" at the Kremlin wall in the Alexander Garden, from 40 km. The ashes of one of the heroes who died in the harsh days of December 1941 on the outskirts of the heart of the Motherland were taken on the Leningrad highway. The Izvestia newspaper wrote: “... he was slain for the Fatherland, for his native Moscow. That's all we know about him." Marshal of the Soviet Union, as the commander of the 16th army, in which the Unknown Soldier served, said: “This is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the ancient walls of the Moscow Kremlin will become a monument of eternal glory to the heroes who died on the battlefield for their native Soviet land, the ashes of one of those who shielded Moscow with their breasts.
A few months later - on May 8, 1967 - on the eve of Victory Day, the monument "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" was opened and lit Eternal flame. Years pass, generations change, and many do not know that it was from here, from our land, that the ashes of the Unknown Soldier were taken.
On June 24, 1974, at the 40th kilometer of the Leningrad Highway, at the entrance to Zelenograd, a monument was opened - a monument to the defenders of Moscow. In the Slavic traditions, a 16-meter hill was poured, a mass grave (more than 760 Soviet soldiers) is under a bronze wreath. Three pointed ledges stood as if a symbolic barrier in the direction of Moscow. On one of the ledges there is a symbolic image of a warrior - liberator, on the other - a symbol of soldier's prowess - an asterisk and on the third the words: “1941. Here the defenders of Moscow, who died for their Motherland, remained forever immortal. On the very hill of the trihedral bayonet there are three closed faces. This is a symbolic image of the main branches of the armed forces: infantry, artillery, tankers. Or maybe this is a symbol of three neighboring armies: the 16th, 20th and 1st Shock? In any case, it is a symbol of unity; the unity of all those who have united their forces to repulse the enemy.
One of the last monuments that appeared on Zelenograd land is the Soldier's Stars monument at the entrance to the city cemetery. In 1978, when laying a sewer in the eighth microdistrict, the remains of two Soviet soldiers were found, which were reburied in the city cemetery. Considering that during the development of the city territory, the remains of the defenders of Moscow in 1941 can be found, it was decided to create a memorial complex at the city cemetery. A city-wide competition was announced to create a monument. He became the winner and author of the project.
Zelenograd land is the eternal feat of those who defended Moscow. The memory of them lives in scarlet carnations on the graves of soldiers, sparkling fireworks and in poems dedicated to their native city:
“Here in the forty-first there were battles,
Our countrymen fought.
Fascist tanks evil vents
Rested on Russian bayonets.
And Rokossovsky alarm
A soldier raised to the right battle.
Now on the outskirts of Moscow
Granite bayonets are standing.
Conclusion
The first sparks of Victory in the Great Patriotic war The Soviet Union against Nazi Germany flashed in the battle of Moscow in December 1941. Then the Red Army launched a counteroffensive and defeated the fascist units that were rushing towards the capital of our Motherland, Moscow.
The Battle of Moscow is great battle”, - this is how Marshal of the Soviet Zhukov defined its significance. Indeed, in importance it was not surpassed by any battles and battles.
The most difficult defensive period lasted more than two months, during which the whole country gave all its strength to prevent the enemy from reaching Moscow.
Large forces of our army from Siberia, Central Asia and other regions of the country were thrown to the defense of the capital. Muscovites took an active part in organizing the defense of their native city. Georgy Zhukov, then commander of the Western Front, which was in charge of the defense of Moscow, wrote that hundreds of thousands of Muscovites worked around the clock on the construction of defensive lines surrounding the capital. Only in the inner belt of defense in October and November, up to 250 thousand people worked, three-quarters of whom were women and teenagers. They built 72 thousand running meters anti-tank ditches, about 80 thousand meters of scarps and counterscarps, dug almost 128 thousand linear meters of trenches and communications. With their own hands, these people took out more than 3 million cubic meters of earth!
The situation around the capital in October-November was extremely difficult and dangerous. On such critical days of the defense of Moscow, on November 7, a traditional military parade took place on Red Square. The parade participants - soldiers of the Red Army with weapons in their hands, were heading straight from Red Square to the front.
In bloody battles with a technically equipped and dangerous enemy, who sought to break through to Moscow at any cost, our soldiers stopped the enemy’s advance, exhausted his forces, and on December 5-7, 1941, went on the counteroffensive. In December 1941 and in the first days of January 1942, they pushed back the fascist troops by 100-250 kilometers. The offensive ended on April 20, 1942. As a result, the enemy lost more than 500 thousand people, 1300 tanks, 2500 thousand guns, more than 15 thousand vehicles.
The victory near Moscow was of great international importance. It improved the military-political position of the Soviet Union. This was our first major victory, which made a turning point in the course of the entire war. The battle near Moscow dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Nazi troops. It was the first major defeat Nazi German troops in World War II since 1939.
Marshal Zhukov, who throughout the war was Deputy Supreme Commander and signed the act of unconditional surrender Germany, said: "When they ask me what I remember most from the last war, I always answer: the battle for Moscow."
The year 1941 turned out to be the year of the greatest trials for our people. It was in this year, especially in the battle near Moscow, that his spiritual strength and greatness were revealed. The people, as in 1812, turned out to be the bearer and expression of that simplicity and greatness of spirit, about which after the war Goering said that German strategists could calculate everything - both tanks and planes - but did not take into account the most important thing - the spirit of the Russian people, which turned war into Patriotic, national. This war became a liberation and holy war, as the people defended their Fatherland from the enemy - the aggressor, who by this time had captured almost all of Europe. The battle near Moscow became a moral victory for the Soviet troops.
More than a hundred years ago, still a young man, Alexander Pushkin, in his memoirs in Tsarskoe Selo, mentioning the defeat of Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812, wrote:
Take comfort, mother of the cities of Russia,
Behold the alien's death...
Look: they are running, they do not dare to look around,
Their blood does not stop flowing in rivers of snow...
These same words can be dedicated to the battles for Moscow in years.
Bodrova Anna, GOU secondary school No. 000, Zelenograd
The village of Kryukovo, located on the territory of the district of the same name in the past, has been known since the 16th century, although it existed before that time. The name most likely came from one of the owners: either from Prince Ivan Fedorovich Kryuk Fominsky, who lived in the 14th century, or Boris Kuzmich Kryuk Sorokoumov-Glebov, who lived here in the 15th century.
In the scribe book of 1584, it is indicated that there was a wasteland on the site of the village of Kryukovo, which was part of the possessions of the regimental head Ivan Vasilyevich Shestov. The next mention of the village dates back to 1646. The census book refers to the village of Kryukov, which belonged to Ivan Vasilyevich Zhidovinov. At that time, the village already had a landowner's yard.
In 1760, when Major General Yakov Timofeevich Polivanov was the owner of Kryukov, in addition to the master's household, there were 10 peasant households and 46 residents in the village. Next to the wooden manor house there was a regular garden.
Significant damage was done to the village in 1812. Despite the fact that the Napoleonic army did not reach Kryukov, the Cossacks stationed here confiscated almost everything from the locals - horses, oats, hay.
In 1820, the village of Kryukovo was acquired by Ekaterina Ivanovna Fonvizina, and then it passed to her son, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Fonvizin. Member of the War of 1812 Major General M.A. Fonvizin participated in the Russian military campaigns of 1813-1815, and then joined the Decembrist movement. Contemporaries spoke of him as an honest and talented person, educated and intelligent. After retiring, Mikhail Alexandrovich married Natalya Dmitrievna Apukhtina, and together with his wife settled in Kryukov. Many Decembrists visited the Fonvizins, and in 1825 the head of the Moscow Administration visited them several times. secret society Ivan Ivanovich Pushchin. After the Decembrist uprising was suppressed, members of the Moscow secret society began to be arrested. Among the disgraced was Fonvizin. His wife, leaving two children, followed her husband into exile. Fonvizin was arrested in 1826, and in 1833 Natalya Dmitrievna sold Kryukovo to Sofia Lyudvigovna Mitkova, and then it was inherited by her husband, collegiate adviser Valerian Fotievich Mitkov. In 1852, under him, there was a master's estate, as well as 12 courtyards with 110 inhabitants.
When the Nikolaev railway was built in 1851, connecting Moscow with St. Petersburg, a second railway station from Moscow and a government hotel appeared in Kryukov. So the village turned into the center of the district, and the prices for local land increased in price, which Mitkov did not fail to take advantage of. In addition, the peasant reform was about to take place, during which the peasants received land. Mitkov realized that such a development of events would inevitably cause him financial damage, and he decided to resettle more than 100 of his peasants in the Smolensk province, where land was cheaper. Despite the protests of the peasants, which they submitted to the authorities, the landowner was able to carry out his plan. At first, in 1859, he sold Kryukovo to his second wife, leaving the peasants only their personal farmsteads. Then a fire broke out in Kryukov, which destroyed almost all the peasant households. It was not possible to find out what caused the disaster, but even having lost their homes, the peasants refused to move, settling in the surviving barns. It was possible to take people to a new place of residence only after the intervention of the authorities, who sent an escort from the Cossacks. For the resettlement of his peasants, Mitkov had to contribute 157 rubles 64 kopecks to the treasury. Although this amount was considerable for those times, Mitkov remained in an advantageous position. In 1868-1869, he and his wife sold several plots with a total area of 2.5 acres for 542 rubles. The new owners of the plots also saw in the local land an opportunity for successful monetary speculation, and after erecting buildings on their land, they sold them at a higher price. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, in the village of Kryukovo near Moscow, located at the railway station, there was an officer’s apartment, a post office, a pharmacy, a brick factory, a railway school, a state-owned wine shop, and several summer cottages.
After the revolution of 1917, local dachas were confiscated, and the owner of the estate, I.K. Rakhmanov seized all his property. Behind him at that time in the village there were 375 acres of convenient land, there were outbuildings, two cattle yards, two greenhouses, 10 sheds, 3 houses, 7 summer cottages, a timber warehouse, 5 premises for people, an office and two shops. In the following decades, the settlement developed in a typical way for settlements near Moscow, and at the end of the 1950s, it was decided to build a satellite city of Moscow here.
In January 1963, the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council decided to register a settlement under construction near the Kryukovo station of the Oktyabrskaya railway, call it Zelenograd, and assign the status of a city of district significance to the settlement.
On the territory of the modern district, there was also the village of Kutuzovo, which arose approximately at the same time as Kryukov. The owner of the village was originally Feder Kutuz, who lived in the 14th-15th centuries. This man was one of the most influential boyars, he laid the foundation for the famous Russian surname Kutuzov. Representatives of this family owned local lands until the middle of the 16th century. Then, when in the Time of Troubles many service people lost their possessions, Kutuzovo passed to Prince Boris Kenbulatovich Cherkassky, cousin Maria Temryukovna, the second wife of Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
In the future, the owners of Kutuzov changed several times. The documents preserved information that among the owners of the village was Major Ivan Vasilyevich Pleshcheev. In 1852, there was a master's house in Kutuzov, 6 peasant households and 93 inhabitants. The estate was owned by State Councilor Anton Frantsevich Tomashevsky. The family of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov often visited Tomashevsky. In the letters of sons to their father, S.T. Aksakov, they spoke very enthusiastically about Kutuzov, comparing it with the most picturesque estates in Moscow.
In order to maintain the estate in proper order, considerable funds were required. In October 1855, Tomashevsky pledged Kutuzovo for 37 years to the Moscow Treasury, and in 1861 he transferred the estate to his son Georgy Antonovich. Georgy Tomashevsky was obliged to pay the Security Treasury a debt of 2,918 rubles. The reason for the change of the owner of the estate was the marriage of Grigory Tomashevsky to Maria Sergeevna Aksakova. It was her brother Konstantin Aksakov who dedicated the poem “My Marihen”, and then the music for it was written by P.I. Tchaikovsky. But subsequent lean years led to the fact that the estate was still unprofitable. For this reason, in the early 1870s, Tomashevsky began to sell the land in parts. Two people became the owners of the estate itself - A.I. Serebryakov and A.K. Gorubnov.
On the eve of the October Revolution, there were 17 households in Kutuzov. The estate by that time belonged to the merchant Alexei Fedorovich Morgunov. Near the manor house was an old birch park. Once ordered and well-groomed, it already looked neglected and wild.
In the early years Soviet power occurred in Kutuzov significant changes. The manor estate was confiscated, but some owners managed to save the dachas. The dacha industry continued to develop also in subsequent years, and throughout the 20th century, Kutuzovo was famous as a summer cottage.
The village of Rzhavki is another settlement that was once located on the territory of the Kryukovo district. The village, which stood on the banks of the small river Rzhavka, was first mentioned in the cadastral book of 1584, however, then it was still a wasteland called Zhilino. After the events of the Great Troubles. At the beginning of the 17th century, the village of Rzhavki (Zhilino) arose on the site of the wasteland, the owner of which was F.V. Buturlin. In the village there were three peasant yards, one Bobyl yard and one yard of backyard people. Under Buturlin's son, the village grew little by little. The number of inhabitants slightly increased, and in 1709 I.I. Buturlin acquired the nearby Nikolsky churchyard on Rzhavets.
After the disclosure of a conspiracy against Prince A.D. Menshikov, I.I. Buturlin, as its participant, was deprived of all ranks, but the estate remained with him. After the death of I.I. Buturlina, his widow Akilina Petrovna, sold Rzhavki to Prince Alexei Borisovich Golitsyn. In the village there was a wooden master's house, the total area of possessions was 993 acres of land. Then the owner of the village changed again. In 1778 A.Ya. Golitsyn sold Nikolskoye, Rzhavka, Petrishchevo and Savelki for 9,000 rubles to Colonel Prince Nikolai Vladimirovich Dolgorukov. From that moment on, and for more than a hundred years, Rzhavka was in the hands of the Dolgorukovs. A.N. Dolgorukov decided to build a new stone church in Rzhavki. The project involved the construction of a two-story building, where Bottom part would be warm, and the top cold. But the implementation of this plan was somewhat slowed down by the Patriotic War of 1812, and it was completed only in 1826. The church was consecrated in 1827. Now St. Nicholas Church is the oldest building on the territory of the Zelenograd administrative district.
After the St. Petersburg highway was laid, Dolgorukov allowed his peasants to move from the river closer to the road, which brought good additional income. Not far from these settlements, a little closer to Moscow, another village of Rzhavki arose. Part of the peasants from Lyalovo and Klushin moved here, the owner of which was Anna Grigoryevna Kozitskaya. This section of the village was sometimes called Kozikha - from the distorted surname of the landowner.
Almost before his death, Prince A.N. Dolgorukov decided to free his peasants. They were supposed to become free cultivators without a ransom, but with the obligation to perform all duties in favor of their wife until her death. The prince did not have time to issue Required documents, but his undertaking was completed by the widow Princess Elizaveta Nikolaevna Dolgorukova. The peasants were released without a ransom, but they assumed a number of obligations: to pay the princess dues and to cultivate the master's land.
Another part of Rzhavki (settlements on the Petersburg road), previously owned by A.G. Kozitskaya, on the eve of the abolition of serfdom, went to Prince Konstantin Esperovich Beloselsky-Belozersky. They were able to buy their estate plots by 1869, and for field lands continued to pay dues.
After the revolution of 1917, Rzhavki developed quite typically. The number of inhabitants by that time reached 339 people. During the years of collectivization, a collective farm was organized in the village, and then Rzhavki were included in Zelenograd.
In the future, the history of Rzhavok was quite typical. According to the zemstvo statistics of 1884, the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was noted here, with it an almshouse, two taverns, a manor with a manor house and 50 courtyards, in which 164 men and 175 women lived. After the revolution, a collective farm was organized, and later the village became part of Zelenograd.
The territories of these villages and villages were merged into the Kryukovo municipal district in 1991, which was transformed into a district in 1995.
In a counteroffensive near Moscow.
| K. K. Rokossovsky I. V. Panfilov L. M. Dovator M. E. Katukov |
Walter Fischer von Weikerstal Walter Scheller Gustav Fehn |
The Soviet troops were represented by formations of the 16th Army of Lieutenant General K.K. Rokossovsky and were located as follows (from the left flank to the right):
Along the Leningrad highway (the modern northern border of the city) in the area of \u200b\u200bthe memorial complex "Bayonets" there was a separation line with the 7th Guards Rifle Division).
German troops were represented (from the left flank to the right) mainly by the 35th Infantry Division (north of the railway) and the 11th Panzer Division (south). To the south was the 5th Panzer Division.
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The turn of the autumn - winter of 1941 was marked by a breakthrough in the area of the village of Kryukovo of two German military groups operating in different directions. The 8th Guards Rifle Division named after I.V. Panfilov, the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps of General L.M. Dovator and the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of General M.E. Katukov entered the battle. It was here, at the Kryukovo station, after the capture of the villages of Peshki and Nikolskoye by fascist troops, that the headquarters of the 16th Army was moved.
On the same evening, Pierre went to the Rostovs to fulfill his assignment. Natasha was in bed, the count was in the club, and Pierre, after handing over the letters to Sonya, went to Marya Dmitrievna, who was interested in finding out how Prince Andrei received the news. Ten minutes later Sonya came in to Marya Dmitrievna.
“Natasha certainly wants to see Count Pyotr Kirillovich,” she said.
- Yes, how can I bring him to her? It’s not tidied up there,” said Marya Dmitrievna.
“No, she got dressed and went out into the living room,” said Sonya.
Marya Dmitrievna only shrugged her shoulders.
- When this Countess arrives, she completely exhausted me. Look, don’t tell her everything, ”she turned to Pierre. - And scolding her spirit is not enough, so pitiful, so pitiful!
On the eve of the next anniversary of the Moscow Battle, which became a turning point in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the site recalls history day by day. The battles took place in those places where modern Zelenograd grew up decades later. How did ordinary people survive this time, residents of Kryukovo and the surrounding villages - families in which men went to the front or to the militia, children who are now 80-90 years old? What was December 6, 1941, like for them?
"December 6. Saturday. 4th overnight stay of German soldiers. Strong fighting takes place in Kryukov and fires"
Motherbut - Alabushevo. From the memoirs of Vera Grigoryevna Konkina, nee Ustinova (based on the book by A.N. Vasilyeva "Countrymen", a collection of memoirs of the inhabitants of Kryukovo and surrounding villages):
Retreating Germans set fire to a Russian village, late 1941
“When the war began, my mother [Maria Grigoryevna Ustinova] was only 32 years old, but she already had six children (from one to 14 years old). The family lived in the village of Matushkino. My father was an ideological communist, and therefore refused the armor and in October 1941 volunteered for the front. He died… Three feelings remained from childhood: fear during the fighting, hunger, cold, hard work for survival and a bright image of a mother. I will try to reproduce these feelings.
The fighting was approaching our village of Matushkino, which was at the epicenter of the struggle for the strategically important Leningrad Highway. Knowing that the Germans, having occupied the settlements, begin to destroy the communists and their families, the mother, together with the children, fearing betrayal, hid her whole family with her grandmother in the village of Alabushevo. But the Germans came there even earlier, my grandmother's house burned down.
We found a new shelter in the village of Alabushevo - an unoccupied house. It was very cold, and nearby houses were burning in the frost, logs crackled from a big fire, ... sparks flew ... And suddenly, right at me ... a cow ran out of the fire (apparently from a burning barn). I remember this scene forever: fire, a cow and tears flowing from her eyes ... It became terrifying from a feeling of hopelessness.
The second feeling left from the war is the feeling of hunger and cold. During the fighting, many houses in Matushkino were destroyed or burned down. The Germans burned the surviving houses during the retreat. When the inhabitants, hiding in different places, returned to the village, they found burnt corpses in the ashes of the houses. There was nothing to feed the children, all stocks were destroyed, the corpses of horses were used as food ... On this ashes it was necessary to revive life, raise children. All this fell on the shoulders of women.
Kamenka - Barantsevo. From the diary of Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharov, who lived in a forest dacha between the villages of Kamenka and Barantsevo, on the Goretovka River, and kept notes on a flip calendar:
Red Army soldier in the village of Kamenka near a German tank
Viktor Kinelovsky, 1942 / mosoborona.ru
Kryukovo - Vodokachka. From a letter from political instructor Nikolai Fedorovich Omelchenko to a resident of the city of Zelenograd, a participant in the battles for Kryukovo, Silina Erna Alekseevna (1960s):
"Hello Erna! I read in Pravda Borodino 1941, where O. Popov talks about the battle for Kryukovo and about your feat. I participated in the battle for Kryukovo in the 8th Panfilov division in the regiment of the commander of Major Shekhtman, Commissar Comrade Korsakov, as a political instructor of the company. My company was ordered to take up defense to the right of the water basin (Vodokachka) from which the water supply system went to the Kryukovo station (this is on the right side of Moscow).
The unit, which was ordered to defend the water basin on December 6 at night, at 8 o'clock in the evening, did not reach the starting line, and our right flank was open. German scouts in the amount of five submachine gunners entered our rear through the frozen pool. My orderly Mikhail Petukhov and I were in a ditch where a water pipe ran to the Kryukovo station. There was a picket fence on both sides. The Germans were 8-10 meters behind us.
My orderly Petukhov had a rifle and grenades, and I had a pistol and grenades. We shot two at point-blank range with a rifle and revolver. One fired an automatic burst, but it passed above us. We fired more shots, threw grenades and laid the rest down. But this is not the main thing I want to ask you to tell me, but the main thing is something else.
After this fight and reprisals against the Germans, the orderly and I moved in the same place to a house made of burnt bricks, in which a woman of about 25-30 years old with a sick child was lying on a Russian stove. There were two more boys in the room, about 4 to 6 years old, and possibly less - these are the sons of the woman who was lying on the stove with a sick child.
At about 3-4 am on December 7, 1941, the child died. This woman carried him to be buried, somewhere nearby, in a trench or a bomb shelter. At five o'clock our counteroffensive began, artillery began to work. There was no mother. I fed these two boys with an orderly. Leaving them, he went to raise the company on the offensive. Raised the unit, opened mortar fire. Somewhere 50-60 meters from the house, I was wounded in the right shoulder by a mine fragment.
When I got up, I saw these two boys, undressed, running towards me. I grabbed them and dragged them into the house, after which the mother came. Leaving them, she sent me to the hospital, through Moscow, to the city of Ivanovo. […] I am very interested in whether these little brothers are alive, and whether their mother is alive…”
Erna Silina (Yankus), a 17-year-old resident of the village of Aleksandrovka (the current 14th world district of Zelenograd), became a nurse in the Panfilov division on December 5, 1941 - during the battles for Kryukovo, she herself turned to the command with an insistent request to take her to the medical service. “She did dressings under fire on the battlefield, and also pulled the wounded from the battlefield, placing a raincoat under the body of a Red Army soldier,” said the daughter of Erna Alekseevna. “So she went with the division until the spring of 1944.”
And the fate of the little brothers and their mother, which is mentioned in the letter, was learned at the Kryukov school, which was engaged in search work - its director since 1946 was Leonid Arkhipovich Sinyuk, political instructor of the sapper battalion of the 7th Guards Division, a participant in the battles for Kryukovo. A letter from Nikolai Omelchenko was handed over to this school - Erna Silina by that time no longer lived in Zelenograd, after searching she was found in Murmansk. About the woman and the boys, the heroes of the letter, it was only possible to find out that they remained alive. Erna Alekseevna Silina and Nikolai Fedorovich Omelchenko met at the Kryukov school on the anniversary of the 30th anniversary of the victory near Moscow in 1971.
On December 6, the Klinsko-Solnechnogorsk offensive operation began, the purpose of which was to advance the Soviet troops by 30-40 km. Fighting continued that day in the Kryukovo-Matushkino area, but without special movements of military units - it was a day of preparation.
In Kryukovo, "... during December 4, 5 and 6, a thorough reconnaissance of the enemy's position in the defense areas occupied by them was carried out," wrote Major General Revyakin, commander of the 8th Panfilov Guards Division. But this was reconnaissance in force - parts of the division were assigned tasks for the offensive.
“Before dawn on December 6, the commanders and staff members of the rifle units and our brigade gathered at the headquarters of the Panfilovites, in a hotly heated hut,” recalled the commander of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, General Katukov. - Everyone was worried about one question: how to fulfill the order of the commander. "Your proposals, comrade commanders." I took the word. The gist of my proposal was as follows. The dispersal of tanks along the entire attack front will not bring the desired result. What does it mean when attacking one vehicle per company, or even per battalion!
“Wouldn't it be better,” I said, “to concentrate the main forces of the brigade into a powerful fist and strike them at the most vulnerable point of the enemy defenses. Tanks should not accompany the infantry, but lead it to storm the enemy's fortifications. The debate got heated. As a result, we decided to take the group into pincers. But, first of all, it was necessary to organize a thorough reconnaissance.
Commander of the 4th Tank (1st Guards) Brigade Major General Mikhail Efimovich Katukov with officers at the map. Winter 1941-1942
Zelenograd Museum of Local History / waralbum.ru
During December 6 and on the night of December 7, reconnaissance searches were carried out, gunners spotted targets. A group of volunteer tankers penetrated deep into the enemy defenses, studied the route of the upcoming offensive, and marked firing points. On the way back, the tankers ambushed and took the "language", which helped to clarify the fire system and weaknesses in the enemy's defenses.
From the political reports of the political department of the 8th Guards Rifle Division (Archive of the Moscow Region, f. 1063, on. 1, file 100, sheets 190-191): “During December 6, 1941, there were no changes in the location of units in the division. During the day, the enemy regrouped and concentrated his units in the area of Kryukovo and Kamenka stations, pulled up infantry and tanks to the front line. 1077 SP occupies the defense of elev. 186.5 Red October, Kirp. During the day, the enemy conducted periodic mortar shelling of the front line. 1075 SP occupies the defense of Kirp. northern, Kirp. southern, saddles the roads Kryukovo-Matushkino, Kryukovo-Savelki. The enemy was concentrating infantry and tanks at the Kryukovo station, periodically firing mortars. Damaged: 1 passenger car and 1 truck enemy. 1073 SP occupies the same position. The enemy fired mortars and machine-guns at our positions. Artillery fire destroyed up to 150 soldiers and officers.
The regiments of the "Panfilovites" received "young communist replenishment" - new fighters, party organizers and commanders who replaced the wounded and dead and carried away the rest with their personal example. “Already on the first day of the fighting, a group of this replenishment knocked out an enemy tank,” the political report said. - Particularly stands out comrade. Kamenshchikov, who during the battle replaced the wounded party organizer and led the company. He taught people the rules of running and throwing grenades. The Red Army soldier Zubarev behaved courageously and bravely in battle. While in the school building, at the most difficult moment, he cut a hole in the wall and led several guards through it. Tov. Tarakanov, commanding a platoon, organized a strong defense. Personally, he himself shot down 3 tanks and 1 armored vehicle from the PTR, and destroyed the crews of these tanks and armored vehicles from a light machine gun. Fighters Dudkin and Likhachev noticed enemy camouflaged tanks. Armed with anti-tank missiles, they knocked out 2 tanks.
On this day, troops launched a counteroffensive near Moscow. Western front under the command of Zhukov (30th, 1st shock, 20th, 16th and 5th armies - a total of 100 divisions). “Later, Halder will say that on December 6, 1941, the myth of the invincibility of the German army was “smashed”. With the onset of summer, Germany will achieve new victories, but this will not restore the myth of its invincibility,” writes A.V. Suldin, author of the “Battle for Moscow” chronicle.
“After December 6, a soldier of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, Adolf Fortheimer, sent this letter: “Dear wife! Here is hell. The Russians don't want to leave Moscow. They began to advance. Every hour brings terrible news for us. It is so cold that the soul freezes. You can't go outside in the evening - they'll kill you. I beg you - stop writing to me about the silk and rubber boots that I was supposed to bring you from Moscow. Understand - I'm dying, I'm dying, I feel it.
The year 1941 came, the same work. I worked as an auto mechanic - driver first class. We coped with the spring company, preparations for the harvest began, the year turned out to be fruitful. In those distant years, there was a tradition, before harvesting grain with a neighboring collective farm, to conclude socialist competition on the best housekeeping harvest. On Saturday, June 21, I took the chairman of the collective farm, Dyachenko, and the chairman of the village council, Radchenko, to the neighboring Nesterkinsky collective farm to conclude such an agreement. Collective farmers were gathered in Nesterkino for a meeting to make commitments, which dragged on until late in the evening. By the time we wrote the contract, it was already midnight, we had to spend the night there. We arrived home in the morning, we look, the people gathered at the mouthpiece of the radio. And here we were informed that Germany had treacherously attacked our country. A fierce and bloody war began.
The next day, an order came from the military registration and enlistment office, to hand over the Pickup, ZIS and a lorry to them. I hoped that along with the cars they would also call me. After all, I have served in the army as a commander of a machine-gun squad, then in April 1940 I completed a six-month advanced training course for command personnel, where I studied to be a wartime company commander and was awarded the rank of junior lieutenant. But they took me only a subscription not to leave. Then they called all our drivers and took the last car. Only in July I received a summons from the military commissariat and was sent to Rostov, and then to Moscow. And on July 7, I was already at the Shot courses in Solnechnogorsk, military studies began.
In the courses from early morning until late evening, every day without days off, we were trained as commanders capable of fighting the well-groomed fascist hordes. To wear down the fascists on the outskirts of Moscow and drive them away from our Russian land. Colonel Dmitriev taught us tactics and Colonel Gryzlov fire training. Experienced military instructors devoted to the motherland officers. Along with the teaching of military affairs, they kept us informed of events on the fronts.
While hastily studying and mastering military affairs, we had to vigilantly monitor the surrounding territory. So already on July 22, the Germans began to bomb Moscow and one day we detained a suspicious girl who turned out to be a gunner of fascist planes and had a transmitter with her.
At the end of September we were loaded into cars and taken to Moscow. Here we passed the exams, I was given the rank of lieutenant, commander of a machine gun company. And he was sent to the active army, where he was appointed commander of the 2nd rifle company, 1st rifle battalion, 449th rifle regiment, 144th rifle division. The regiment I was in last fights carried under Vyazma big losses in manpower and was withdrawn to the Alabinsky camps for replenishment and bringing to combat readiness. The division, after leaving Vyazma, occupied the defense line of Terekhovo - Lokotnya - Vasilyevskoye in the Mozhaisk direction and fought fierce defensive battles. When I arrived in Alabino, practically the 2nd rifle company did not yet exist. It was formed in two days from the soldiers who left the encirclement near Vyazma. The company consisted of three rifle platoons, intelligence and control departments. Lieutenant Karitsky was appointed commander of the first platoon, Lieutenant Artemov was appointed commander of the second, and Junior Lieutenant Tantsura was appointed commander of the third. Senior Lieutenant Milko was appointed commissar of the company, Sergeant Frolov, foreman of the company Matyushchenko, was appointed Komsomol organizer of the company. Hard work began with the personnel. It was necessary to rally the soldiers and sergeants, torn and worn out by battles, who had lost their faith, into a single combat unit, to instill in them the spirit of a victorious warrior. Stubborn military, fire and tactical training began. The company was given a site for the construction of defense at the junction of two neighboring units, building defense in the second echelon. We also had to take care of food. To do this, I had to go to the collective farm, find a chairman, negotiate with him. The chairman gave us a bull to feed the company. In the future, care for food fell on the foreman Matyushenko. The second rifle company was stubbornly preparing for battle. The personnel of the units has changed.
At the end of October, at night, on alarm, the company plunged into vehicles and set off. Passing oncoming traffic, the motorcade slowly moved to the west. Ahead, the dark autumn bathe of the sky was lit up by flashes of artillery shots and shell explosions. It seemed to us that somewhere in the distance a thunderstorm was raging and strong peals of thunder followed one after another. Morning caught the motorcade on open area, 5-6 km. before reaching the village of Karinskoe. And at that time, an enemy plane hung in the sky overhead, a two-fuselage reconnaissance spotter. Not risking being bombed, the unit unloaded and continued the rest of the way in a marching column at an accelerated march.
Upon entering the village of Karinskoye, it was clear that the front was here. Everywhere gaped, still fresh craters from exploding shells. By the smell it was felt that the shelling was recent. And in the west, very close, strong artillery, machine-gun and automatic fire was heard. There were no local people in the village. From time to time there were soldiers hurriedly carrying out their tasks. Everywhere one could see stacked military equipment, disguised from observation from the air. The headquarters of the 144th Rifle Division was located here.
Having found the right house, and entering the premises, I saw the division commander, Major General Pronin M.A. and Commissioner Movshev G.S. He reported that Lieutenant Lupinos, commander of the 2nd rifle company of the 449th rifle regiment, had arrived, consisting of 180 active bayonets at his disposal. Their exhausted and tired faces said that they had not rested for several days. It was evident that my message about the arrival of the company pleased the general. He called a staff officer, ordered to find a map of the area. And he began to introduce me to the current situation. He reported that the enemy had recently driven our unit out of the settlement of Lokotnya, the soldiers of the division were fighting for the village of Kolyubakino, and that this morning, the 32nd Infantry Division withdrew from the Borodino field. As a result of the current situation, a gap has formed in the area of the village of Kryukovo, which the second company will have to close. They brought a map, the general took a pencil in his hands and drew an arcuate line from the village of Karinsky to the village of Kryukovo, and gave me a verbal order: - “Rote, with a forced march, reach the indicated settlement, go northwest of the village of Kryukovo and take up defense, saddling the highway running from Kolyubakino. Do not allow the enemy to move along it to Moscow. And he added that this was an order from the commander of the 5th Army.
Having repeated the order and having clarified the situation, I dared to turn to the division commander with a request to allow the soldiers of the unit to change linen, since the soldiers who had left the encirclement had not yet done so. The commander allowed. There was a whole pile of linen in the yard and the war companies quickly changed clothes, some even took them in reserve. Wasting no time, the company set out from Karinsky along the indicated route. We had to move through the forest without a road. They walked quickly without noise, and suddenly a wagon with a harnessed horse appeared on the way, and on the wagon was a Maxim heavy machine gun. There were no people close, I gave the command to machine gunner Boldyrev to take a machine gun, since there was not a single machine gun in the company yet. After passing two hundred meters again a wagon with a machine gun, I give the command: "remove the machine gun." But here the soldiers soon caught up with us and took away the machine gun. No conversations or laughter could be heard in the marching column. Everyone was busy with their own thoughts about the upcoming battles. In those days, Goebels' propaganda fell upon us from all sides, the whole area was bombarded with fascist leaflets. On the leaflets, Stalin was depicted in all forms, even in the form of a dog, huddled in a corner and howling about the last “new” day, and Hitler was depicted with a button accordion, playing and singing: “My dear country is wide.” In the leaflets, here, they promised all the blessings to those who surrender, and a pass was written, a bayonet in the ground. But we already knew what benefits the Nazis promised and how these benefits turn around, although there were those in the company who believed their propaganda.
By noon, the unit reached the southern edge of the forest. Artillery cannonade was now reaching us from the northwest. Ahead stretched a large clearing in the lowland of which stood the village of Kryukovo. The exiled reconnaissance reached the village and after a while gave a signal, the company entered Kryukovo. The village seemed empty. Not a single living creature was to be seen in the streets and courtyards. The approach of the front forced the inhabitants to hide all their property, and to take refuge in prepared shelters themselves. There are about a hundred households in the settlement, it is cut into two parts by a deep beam running from east to west. A not deep nameless stream flows along the beam. In the western part of the village across the beam was wooden bridge along which the highway from Kolyubakino passed. It was this highway that our unit had to close and not let the enemy in. According to the stories of the inhabitants, the bridge was blown up by the retreating Soviet units in the morning of that day, and the banks of the stream were mined. Later, after the departure of our troops, fascist submachine gunners on motorcycles rolled into the village, stood at the blown-up bridge and drove back along the highway towards Kolyubakino. The day was drawing to a close and it was necessary to hurry, so that before dark, to choose favorable places for the location of positions. The main, main and dangerous direction is the northwestern one from Kolyubakino and the western one, where the forest came close to our village. In the main direction, the 1st platoon took up defense, cutting the highway. For the timely detection of the approach of the enemy, combat guards were put forward, secrets were exposed. The second platoon took up defensive positions in the forest to the west of the village and also posted outposts in front, towards the village of Vysokovo. The third platoon covered the northeast, the rest were located in the village.
In the first months of the war, the defense was built circular, with battalion strongholds. The defense of the second company covered only the northern part of the village and the front line of defense passed mainly through the forest.
In the evening I returned to the command post of the company, which was located in the house of an old grandmother Abramova Natalya Efimovna. It was already dark outside, my soul was dreary and heavy, but the worries about catering and other urgent matters distracted me from heavy thoughts. Suddenly, we heard the hum of tank engines from the south side of the village. All of a sudden everything was quiet. Urgently sent reconnaissance to determine whose tanks it was, ours or the enemy. Zarnitsy flared up in the darkness of the night and the deaf explosions of shells that could be heard spoke of the fact that the battle did not stop in the Kolyubakino area. Silence settled in our village. And suddenly this silence was broken by the loud voices of sentries standing at the gates of the yard and the house, they were arguing with someone. The front door opened and on the threshold, accompanied by a sentry, a large red-haired senior lieutenant in the uniform of a tankman appeared. The sentries mistook him for a disguised German, and he swears noisily, mentions the 2nd rifle company, asks Lieutenant Lupinos. It turned out that he was the commander of a tank company consisting of three KV tanks, arrived to reinforce us, and was looking for us in the morning and in the morning. The arrival of tanks raised the morale of all the soldiers of the unit. According to the tanker, it was General Zhukov himself who sent the tanks, since this direction, and especially this highway, were very important and caused concern to the front command.
Company commissar Art. Lieutenant Milko and Komsomol organizer Sergeant Frolov immediately went to the platoons that were engaged in equipping firing points and trenches to report the good news about the arrival of tanks and the latest news from SOVINFORMBYURO. The commander of a tank company and I began to choose positions for tanks. Then they went through the platoons, identified sappers and miners, they recruited a team, which, together with tankers, should dig shelters for tanks overnight and disguise them. And at dawn, make a passage in the minefields and drive the tanks into these shelters to the company's defense sector.
Before morning, an emergency happened in the company. They began to check how military guards are serving. We checked the one that was put up in the direction of Kolyubakino, here all the soldiers are on the ground and are vigilantly serving. In the second platoon with Lieutenant Artemov and with a liaison we are heading to the outpost, which was located 100 - 150 meters from the trenches. We are carefully approaching the place where a squad of 12 people was stationed last night with orders to dig in. Silence, no one stops us, the password and the pass does not ask. There is no one on the spot, instead of trenches there are all weapons and military ammunition and traces, in freshly fallen snow, in the direction of the enemy. We started calling, we thought it was some kind of joke. When it began to dawn, we saw a group of people approaching from the direction of the village of Vysokovo, we thought that our fugitives were returning, but they were Germans. There was a battle, having lost several people, the Nazis retreated.
At sunrise, a reconnaissance plane appeared over the village. flew and flew south. Soon, on the defense sector of the 1st platoon, there was a fight with submachine gunners - motorcyclists who ran into his outposts. By the end of the day, two 76 mm regimental guns arrived at the location of the company. Now the company had sufficient fire support. The soldiers of the unit, seeing all this, understood that heavy battles were ahead and, sparing no hands and strength, improved their positions. On the third day, closer to nightfall, the battalion commander, Captain Arkhipov, the adjutant, Senior Lieutenant Vishnevsky, and the battalion headquarters arrived. With him arrived: - 1st rifle company of Lieutenant Melnikov; - 3rd rifle company of Lieutenant Lazarev, machine gun and mortar companies. The arrived units and the headquarters of the battalion were located and took up defensive positions in the southern part of the village of Kryukovo. From that day on, all-round defense was organized. The headquarters of the 449th Infantry Regiment was located in the village of Khotzhi. With the arrival of the battalion commander, the supply of units with food, weapons, necessary equipment and ammunition was adjusted. The defense section of the 2nd rifle company was very active, not a single day passed without the Nazis making a fire raid, but the soldiers of the unit vigilantly served on the front line. Timely detected approaching the enemy, and met him with organized fire. When repelling the enemy in the forest, the "pocket artillery" F-1 "lemonka" hand grenades especially helped us out. Each warrior in the trench in the niches had a box, and some had more grenades. In moments of calm, the defense continued to improve. Bunkers and dugouts with reinforced ceilings were built. All firing points, dugouts and the rear were connected by trenches, everything was skillfully camouflaged. They organized classes, the study of the charter and the material part of the weapon. Much attention was paid to political activities. Regular delivery of mail has been established. The newspaper "Pravda" was especially coveted, it covered all the events on the fronts and in the rear of the country.
Day and night we all prepared for the upcoming battles. We knew that the enemy was strong and was pulling up new forces to attack Moscow, but we had confidence that we would not let the Nazis through in our direction.
On the defense sector of the 1st platoon in the area of the highway, hot battles take place daily, and the company commissar and I decided to let all the soldiers of the 2nd, 3rd platoons and other small units through this sector. This event rallied the soldiers in squads and platoons. People were fired upon, stopped shying from side to side when shells burst, and most importantly they realized that the skillful use of their personal weapons and trenches makes them invincible. People saw that with organized fire, the enemy could not stand it and hastily retreated to the starting lines. This hardening played an important role in the upcoming battles. Successful battles to repel the attacks of the Nazis gave positive results. Unit wars became more energetic, bolder, and it was no longer enough to limit them only to defensive battles.
The second company firmly held its line and with the consent of the battalion commander, not to the detriment of the defense of the front line, a group of volunteers was created, which began to make sorties into the enemy camp. Subsequently, they began to attract volunteers from other companies of the battalion. Especially frequent raids were made on the nearby village of Vysokovo. By this time, two groups had been created in the battalion. They were supposed to approach the village from two sides in the dead of night and open heavy fire. The Fritz created panic, nervousness, heavy losses, this forced them to sit all night in the trenches and crevices.
On the eve of the 24th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, the command of the 449th Infantry Regiment set us the task of driving the Germans out of this village in honor of the holiday. On the night of November 5, we raided the village, resolutely pressed the enemy, inflicted significant damage on him in manpower, but the tanks that came to their rescue prevented us from gaining a foothold.
Such raids on the enemy were necessary and useful. Warriors gained combat experience in offensive combat and hardening, developed courage, showed cunning and ingenuity. We saw how the invincible conquerors - fascist thugs, rush about in panic under our organized fire, not feeling calm and in cover. We saw that the initiative in defensive battles and such sorties goes over to our side.
When returning from such trips to our village at the command post of the company, always, even at the latest, we were met by grandmother Natalya Efimovna and her granddaughter Shura, a girl of fourteen years old. They were very happy that we all returned alive and unharmed.
On November 6, before the holiday, the units of the battalion were on alert, waiting for the offensive or sorties of the Nazis. During the night, vigilantly watched the front line, and also listened to the continuous roar of the fascist bombers coming large groups bomb Moscow high in the night sky. In that direction, searchlights pierced the dark sky. They took the fascist vulture to the intersection of the beams and at the same moment white bursts of explosions appeared around the plane. With a successful hit, the plane fell and our jubilation knew no bounds.
On the evening of November 7, a radio was brought from the tank crews, they gathered all the soldiers free from outfits, and listened to a program about the festive parade held in honor of the 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, on Red Square in Moscow. After the end of the program, a short rally took place. At the war rally, we swore an oath to the Motherland that we would hold the line of defense guarded by us and not let a single Nazi in our direction pass. We strengthened the observation of the enemy, the Fritz were no longer the same as in the first months of the war. Although they were fattened and well-groomed, they no longer marched, but cowardly ran across open places, sat more in shelters. The movement of troops and mechanized enemy groups was observed. It was clear that they were preparing to attack.
On November 16, early in the morning, the combat guards noticed the approaching Nazis and opened rifle and machine-gun fire on them. Shooting in combat guards was a signal to all fighters to take up combat positions and be ready to repel the enemy. By this time, the company had twelve heavy and light machine guns. The area in front of the forward edge was targeted by artillery. But communication was only messengers. Combat guards, having lost two people, retreated to the main positions under the cover of machine guns and artillery. The dead were taken out. A fierce battle flared up in front of the front line of defense. The Nazis moved in short bursts and loudly shouted “Goh” in their guttural language. “They are already groaning,” one of the Red Army soldiers said, “what will happen next.” Now we'll see - I answered and warned Ivan Boldyrev's machine-gun crew to let them get closer, and then open fire. The Nazis attacked with large forces, but were met by well-organized fire, lay down and began to roll back. A little time passed, the Nazis reorganized, opened heavy artillery and mortar fire on the forest and the edge where our defenses were, and began to attack. The soldiers of Lieutenant Karitsky boldly met the enemy with rifle and machine-gun fire, and the Nazis who approached close were destroyed with grenades. The enemy suffered heavy losses and was forced to roll back to their original positions. Having rebuilt again, he opened a hurricane fire on our defenses. This fire did not cause us much harm, since all the trenches were blocked and well camouflaged by the forest, so the enemy attacks were successfully repelled. The Nazis raged, firing at our defenses continuously, changing their attack tactics. They tried to advance, sometimes along the highway, sometimes from the flanks. But the enemy could not break through a gap in the defense of the company. Only three frontal attacks were repulsed, but the enemy did not let up. It was evident that the advancing fascist unit had an order to make a breach along the road at all costs.
The second half of the day has come. The onslaught of the enemy did not weaken, but it seemed even intensified. Explosions of enemy artillery shells came at us in a stream. Suddenly, an observer observing the command post of the battalion and the defense in the southern part of the village reported that the Nazis were advancing from the south on the defense of the first, third and automatic companies. It turns out that the enemy bypassed our defense along the southern edge from the side of Vysokovo, accumulated behind standing haystacks and came out from behind them, turning around in chains. The observation post of the 2nd company was located on a hill from which the defense of the battalion was clearly visible from the south. I ordered the commander of the machine-gun platoon, without losing a single minute, to transfer four heavy machine guns to spare positions, which were pre-equipped for firing to the rear. The advancing Nazis had not yet gone half the way from the haystacks to the defense of our companies, as the easel machine guns began to work in unison. From the observation post it was clearly visible how the Fritz were falling and the chains of the advancing enemy were noticeably thinning. There was a hitch in the ranks of the enemy, the chains of the Germans lay down, then they began to carefully crawl away behind the haystacks. The machine-gunners began to save ammunition, to hit aimingly in short, but accurate, bursts.
The enemy pulled up artillery to the southern edge of the forest. He began to fire at the company's defenses from the south. But he could not find the firing positions of the machine guns. Some time later, with the support of artillery, the Germans again went on the attack. But they were also stopped by the fire of our machine guns and retreated to their original positions. Regrouping, the enemy again went on the attack, machine guns again opened fire on the attackers. But the unexpected happened. The enemy began to hit our skyscraper and the edges of the forest with smoke shells. Visibility completely disappeared, the machine gunners were blinded and the effectiveness of machine gun fire weakened. We could hear that the battle in the defense area of the first and third companies was becoming fiercer every minute, but we could not see what was being done there. On the defense sector of our company, the enemy weakened the attack, but continued heavy mortar and artillery fire, including smoke shells. The soldiers of our unit, straining their eyes, carefully scanned the lying area ahead. No more than an hour passed, as the visibility disappeared, and the battle on the other side did not subside. Suddenly they heard, and then saw, that people were moving on the right flank near the bridge. It was to the location of the 2nd company that the battalion units retreated, which occupied the defense south of the village. They reported that the battalion commander, Captain Arkhipov, had been killed, there were still casualties, and the Germans had occupied the village.
An unexpectedly difficult situation developed. The detached units settled in the trenches of the 2nd company. The entire command staff of the departed units was urgently convened at the command post of the company. At a short meeting, it was decided to counterattack and drive the Nazis out of the village. I was instructed to lead the battle, this was dictated by the situation. Evening was approaching, it was necessary to act immediately. The terrain was advantageous from both the western and eastern sides, the forest came close to the village. At the edges of the forest, there were already two heavy machine guns each, and two more were additionally installed. It was decided to attack from three directions. From the northwest, the 1st company, from the north, a company of submachine gunners, and from the northeast, the 3rd rifle company. The battle for the capture of Kryukov lasted a long time, the Germans stubbornly did not want to leave, and we must not leave the village without an order from above.
Just two days ago, they read the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, which stated that Moscow was behind us and we should prevent the Germans from advancing to the east. Kryukovo changed hands twice. The wars of the first and third companies did not lose heart, supported by powerful machine-gun fire, boldly attacked the enemy from the flanks and completely expelled the Nazis from the village before the onset of darkness, moved forward and occupied their former defenses, southwest of the village.
The fight is quiet. Gathered warriors and assets free from outfits. The battalion commissar held a short meeting. Introducing the situation, he said: “A large enemy grouping is concentrated in our direction. Which, it will soon be a month, as the soldiers of the 5th Army, including our 144th Infantry Division, fighting fierce battles, delays at this defensive line and did not allow a single step to move east. Our battalion was ordered not to let the enemy pass in this direction. The order of the command of the 1st battalion complied. Today's battle showed that the enemy went on the offensive. The second rifle company defending Kryukovo in the main direction of attack did not flinch, repelled all attacks and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. The subdivisions defending the village from the south-west did not prove themselves, they were pushed back by the enemy. As a result, the Nazis broke into the village. Fortunately for us, we managed to knock out the enemy and take up our former defenses. But the enemy did not leave, somewhere nearby he hid, and with the onset of the day, new attacks should be expected. Therefore, our task is to strengthen our defense. Prepare to face the enemy with dignity."
Senior Lieutenant Milko also spoke, who from the beginning to the end of the battle was in the combat formations of the unit and himself repeatedly showed courage. By personal example, he raised the fighters in a counterattack to repel the Nazis who had come close to the trenches. He said: “The soldiers of the second company boldly met the enemy with organized rifle and machine-gun fire and repeated counterattacks. They skillfully beat off the attacking enemy, forced him to a stampede and inflicted great damage. He noted the selfless, heroic actions of the Boldyrev and Makarychev heavy machine gun crews. Sergeant Frolov and others spoke from the Komsomol. There were also unhealthy speeches that they say the enemy went ahead, we remained in his rear and we must act as a partisan detachment. It was impossible to allow such a mood to spread even when they gave me the floor. In my speech, I emphasized that our battalion is a unit that is part of the active Army. Holding the village of Kryukovo, we carried out the order of the higher command. It must be assumed that the command of the division knows the position of our battalion and has already decided on its further actions. Our task, before receiving the order, is to put the defense in order and prepare to repel the enemy.
Here they took an oath that without an order from Kryukovo not to give up, to fight with the Nazis while the heart beats in the chest.
Then they gathered and buried the heroically dead soldiers and the commander of the battalion, Captain Arkhipov, with full military honors. And without wasting time, they began to strengthen the defense, which in many places was destroyed by shells. The wars calmed down and in an organized manner proceeded to the usual earthworks. At the forefront, exposed outposts, secrets and sentries, vigilant observation was carried out and listened to every rustle. They knew that the enemy, somewhere nearby, was hiding and could attack at any moment. Everything seemed to be back to normal, but that was far from the case. There was no communication either with the headquarters of the regiment or with the division. They didn't know where they were. Intelligence sent out for communication has not yet returned. The second half of the night has come. There is silence all around, but no one rests. Hard work continues in defense, short commands are occasionally heard.
At two o'clock in the morning intelligence returned, along with it came a liaison officer with an order. The order gave a command to the first rifle battalion of the 449th rifle regiment to leave the defense of the settlement of Kryukovo and proceed to the area of the city of Zvenigorod. The route of movement was as follows: not reaching the village of Khotyazhi for two kilometers, cross the Moscow River to the right bank. In the future, move in the direction of Zvenigorod.
The battalion units quickly gathered and moved along the indicated route. We had to hurry in order to cross the river before daylight. The second rifle company moved in the rear, covering the retreat. Guards were posted to the rear and flanks. We moved at an accelerated march along the right bank of the Moscow River. The column without halts went the rest of the night and half of the day, I wanted to quickly reach the indicated milestone. It was supposed to be on the defensive.
The terrain was flat on both sides of the river, and in the gaps in the forests the left side was visible far away. Sometimes it was clearly visible how, along the road, 4-5 kilometers from the coast, an armada of fascists was moving east. They rode in tanks, cars, wagons, walked, and some crawled on all fours. It seemed to us from the outside that it was a dark mass of locusts crawling along the road in the distance. So the Nazis wanted to get to the promised and desired Moscow as soon as possible.
Suddenly I was called to the head of the column. Arriving there, I saw among the command of the battalion an officer who had been with us at night. In his hands he held an order which said that due to the fact that the enemy began to spread to the right bank of the Moscow River, a command was given to me, that is, the second rifle company, to change the route of movement, turn to the northeast, go to the area of the village of Vlasovo and occupy her. Orally, it was added that in case of failure, the company would move to the settlement of Troitskoye, where the battalion command post and all other units would be located.
Having received such an order, the company reorganized, sent reconnaissance along the indicated route, posted combat guards from the rear and from the left, and moved to the northeast. It was already getting late when they reached the edge of the forest. In front, about eight hundred meters away, was the village of Vlasovo. The terrain was flat with a slight downward slope towards the village. Three hundred meters from the village, from south to north, there was an inconspicuous groove along which there were bushes. The houses of the village were scattered on both sides of the street leading to the banks of the Moscow River. Houses already stood along the shore right order. The village was empty and there was no movement. The two extreme houses, closer to us, stood at a distance from the others. Further to the south-east, about three kilometers, stood the village of Troitskoye. A large forest began from the southern outskirts of Troitsky, the edge of which stretched two or three kilometers to the west, and then turned sharply and went north in our direction. Intelligence was sent towards Vlasovo. It was clearly visible how the group was approaching the village in rushes. When there were no more than two hundred meters left, enemy machine guns started to work. He ordered a machine-gun platoon to open fire on them to cover the reconnaissance retreat. The scouts returned in full force, one was slightly wounded. Suddenly, an old grandfather with a beard comes out of the forest and says to me: “Fu warriors, and I’ll go to the village right now.” Come on, I tell him. He went to the village, entered the street, and after a while he walks back in our direction, with a rooster under his arm. Coming up to us, he says: “You see that house over there, there is a barrel at an angle and behind this barrel there is a machine gun, and under that house there is also a barrel and also a machine gun.” I thanked my grandfather for this. At this time, evening and darkness came. I decided to follow to the village of Troitskoye.
We walked along the edge of the forest, having reached its southern edge, we found a road going from the west through the forest straight to Troitskoye. Arrived at the place. He reported the situation to the command and that Vlasovo was occupied by the enemy. I was warned that the order to take Vlasovo remained in force, with the onset of the morning it had to be carried out, but at the same time, two Katyushas would support me. Leaving the battalion command post, the task was to find food and feed the soldiers of the unit. He connected the foreman of the company Matyushenko to this, they found a member of the board of the collective farm of this village, who helped in catering. The unit was fed. Prior to this, the company did not take food for more than a day.
I determined the place of the initial, for the attack, frontier in advance. In the second half of the night, even before the onset of morning, the subunits go straight out and occupy the line for the attack. Along the line of an inconspicuous groove with bushes, three hundred meters from the village, which I noticed in the evening. All the soldiers were warned that the signal for the attack would be volleys of Katyushas in the village. The command post of the company was located on the edge of the forest to the west of the village. With the onset of morning, a courier from the Katyushas came running to the command post of the company, I gave the command to fire a volley in the village. Katyushas "played" volleys. When shells burst, the soldiers of the unit attacked in unison and drove the Germans out of Vlasovo. They took up defense on the right bank of the Moscow River. They recaptured food from the Germans, they left us both fried and “squashed”. At the same time, the commander of the third platoon, Lieutenant Tantsura, was wounded and out of action. The soldiers of the company cheered up and began to build defenses.
The command post of the company was located on the outskirts of the village in the house. We expected that we would keep the defense here for a long time, so we started digging trenches and other defensive structures. During the first half of the day, the Germans tried to attack twice, but we gave them a good rebuff and they calmed down. At the command post of the battalion in Troitsk, a messenger was sent a report that the company had complied with the order, the Nazis had been expelled from the village, and the soldiers were building defenses.
Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, along with the returned messengers, the leadership of the battalion also arrived. Thought they had arrived with something good. But first they asked to be fed. The foreman of the company complied with their request. Then came the order to me and the unit, to transfer the defense of Vlasovo to the third rifle company of Lieutenant Lazarev. The second company, with the onset of evening, make a march along the road to the northeast 3-4 kilometers and enter the disposal of the 50th motorized brigade. As part of a motorized brigade, drive the Nazis out of the village of Nikiforovo, located on the right bank of the Moscow River. It was already night when the company arrived at the indicated place. The 50th motorized brigade had several tankettes, armored cars and an infantry unit. The second company also became part of it. The senior lieutenant commanded this combined group, he gathered us under the tent and began to bring the situation up. Then he began to give orders to the commanders of the units, but I asked to go to the area, since I had just arrived and had not yet studied the area. We went out, it was a deep dark night. Approximately eight hundred meters to the village, where buildings were burning in some places. The approaches to the village were constantly illuminated by the Germans with rockets and fired from machine guns. The line for the attack was determined from about two hundred meters from the village. The signal for attack is a red rocket on the right flank. The infantry attack will be carried out in conjunction with wedges and armored cars. The second rifle company advanced on the left flank to the western part of the village. Due to the continuous shelling of the area by the Germans from machine guns, the soldiers of the company had to get to the line of attack mainly by plastun. I, too, had the entire overcoat on my back torn by bullets. By the end of the night, the attack line was occupied. And then a red rocket soared on the right flank, the soldiers of the unit with a loud cheer rushed to the attack, firing at the village. After a short battle, the Nazis were driven out. It was early in the morning, together with the infantry tankettes and armored cars entered the village. Our bank was higher than the left one and we had a good view of the enemy defenses on the other bank. The day came, the tank commander saw the dead German in the lowland and decided to climb to him for trophies. I warned him not to do this, as the place was shot through by the enemy, but he did not listen and did not return. The Germans opened fire and he was killed.
The second company took up defense and vigilantly monitored the behavior of the enemy, waiting for a counterattack. Residents of Nikiforovo came out of hiding, asking if there would be a fight, although it had not yet stopped. The shelling of the village was carried out and the inhabitants took everything of value and went into the forest. The Nazis tried twice to regain positions, but they helped us well to beat off the tankettes and armored cars standing behind the houses. By the end of the day, the 50th motorized brigade left the village, the remaining 2nd company began to equip defense along the entire coast of the village. It was getting dark and new fresh divisions of Siberians came to each other from the forest. All are dressed in sheepskin coats, well armed. With an order to take up defense in the village of Nikiforovo. (This happened on November 22, 1941.) The second company was instructed to surrender the village and go to Troitskoye. Having handed over Nikiforovo on receipt, we quickly packed up and set off at night to the indicated place.
We arrived in Troitskoye on November 23, the weather was cold, the ground was frozen. At the command post of the battalion, he reported that the company had arrived in full force, but while performing the task, one person, junior lieutenant Karitsky, was wounded. Having received a new task, the company settled down in a church and a school on the southeastern outskirts of the village.
They began to build the defense of the village on the right bank of the Moscow River from the east. The ground was frozen, and there was no suitable entrenching tool in the company. I had to remember blacksmithing. I found a forge and began to make crowbars and other equipment. The command post of the company was located in the school of the village, and Commissar Milko and I again had a concern. prepare the unit for the upcoming battles. The soldiers were always aware of events on the fronts of the country.
And then came the 30th of November, a boring day. The battalion commissar organized a collection of funds for the construction of a tank column, the day passed, as always, in worries. Unexpectedly, at 10 pm, I was summoned by the command at the battalion command post. Arriving, he saw among his officers an unfamiliar colonel. The colonel gives me a command that, without losing time, the second company should be removed from the defense of the village and reach the settlement of Ryazan, three kilometers east of Troitsk, on an accelerated march. Find sappers there, they will clear the banks of the Moscow River, we will go to the left bank and follow north, you can along the eastern edge of the forest. 6 kilometers away is the village of Ulitino, where, according to intelligence, the headquarters of a large group of Nazis is located. He ordered me to take possession of this headquarters, while advising the soldiers of the company to leave their documents in Troitsk. Repeating the order, I left the command post. I had to hurry, I ordered to build all the soldiers at the school. At the beginning of the second half of the night, the unit was ready to move. He briefly reported on the task set and that the battalion command hopes that we will fulfill it with honor. He gave the command to move at an accelerated pace. Upon arrival in Ryazan, they sought out sappers who made passages in the minefields. When the company reached the left bank, it was steep and high, and it began to get light in the east. Having posted guards to the left and from the rear, the unit moved north towards the village of Ulitino. When we had gone about half way, a messenger from the side guard ran up and said that the Germans were moving along the edge of the forest to the river and that they were already coming to our rear. I gave the signal - "Red Rocket", which meant retreat to the right bank of the river. A fierce oncoming battle ensued. And as soon as the unit managed to cross, the silhouettes of four tanks appeared on the cliff of the left bank and began to hit us with cannons and machine guns. The unit began to retreat south along the edge of the forest. The road along which we arrived at night was occupied by the Nazis, who were on the offensive on Troitskoye. We departed from the village of Ryazan to the southwest and came to the road, three kilometers from Troitsky, which led into the forest. Here we met the commissar of the battalion, and several dozen soldiers. They told us that when the second company withdrew from the eastern side of Trinity, a gap appeared in the defense. The battalion command did not take care to close this gap with other units, as a result of which the flank remained open. With the onset of morning, the Nazis swooped in and took possession of the village without a fight. IN given time the battalion command is located on the edge of the forest south of the village of Vlasovo, three kilometers from here. Having placed the company soldiers in the forest along the road on both sides and warning the platoon commanders about their readiness for battle, the orderly and I went to the battalion command post.
From the command post, the area was clearly visible both to Troitsky and to the edge of the forest, where the second company was located. I began to report to the colonel, who gave me the order at night, about the actions of the company and where it is currently located. And suddenly we see how two armored cars and up to two companies of the Nazis leave Troitsky one after the other and head along the road towards the location of the second company. Seeing this, it seemed to me that the colonel was even frightened. He tells me that I would rather take his horse and “sting” at the location of my unit, so that I would organize a meeting for them, but let them be drawn into the forest and then attacked.
Riding a horse to the company took no more than three minutes. Machine guns were installed in the forest along the road on the right and left, the soldiers skillfully disguised themselves. From the side it was not immediately possible to notice an ambush. Everyone was warned not to open fire without a command. The warriors hid in the forest, patiently waiting for the approach of the enemy. They felt confident and did not show any anxiety. They have already learned how to fight and beat the enemy in any conditions. We saw that the myth of the invincibility of the Nazis had long been dispelled.
The Germans were in no hurry. Approaching a hundred and fifty meters to the forest, the armored cars stopped and opened continuous fire. After shooting for about two minutes, without interrupting the fire, they began to slowly approach the forest. The Nazis followed closely behind them.
The enemy was almost completely drawn into the forest and here I commanded "Fire". Machine guns and aimed rifle fire brought death to the Fritz. The entrance was launched and grenades, the front armored car immediately caught fire, then the second. Many fascists were killed in this forest, they began to shoot back in the forest to Troitsky. The warriors of the second rifle company bravely pursued the retreating enemy. The day of December 1 was already drawing to a close, dusk was falling in the forest, we were approaching the northeastern edge of the forest, which came close to the village. We reached the edge, it remained to overcome two hundred meters and we would be on the outskirts of Troitsky. And suddenly I received a strong blunt blow to the thigh of my right leg. Thought I'd bumped into something while running. But after a moment he felt that his leg failed, and the boot was filled with hot blood. Almost simultaneously with me, the Komsomol organizer of the company, Sergeant Frolov, was wounded. And my front-line combat life is over for now. We were taken to the southern edge of the forest, from here on a wagon to the sanitary company of the regiment. Already at night, without delay, we were loaded onto a car, and by morning we were in Moscow in the hospital. For some reason I was not allowed to sleep. All the time they were on duty near me, distracting me from sleep with questions. In the hospital, they washed, disinfected clothes, fed, but didn’t let me sleep. They did an overlay. It turns out that I was wounded by an explosive bullet. After the dressing, I fell asleep. And woke up in an ambulance. I heard from someone that Moore does not accept us.
These memories are not fiction or fantasy, but really the combat path done by the Red Army officer Lupinos Nikolai Efimovich during the defense of Moscow from October to December 1941.
