A German mine, describing an invisible arc in the sky, landed with a terrible whistle on our position. She landed right in the trench. And not just fell into a narrow trench, but crashed into a soldier who ran along the trench, basking in the cold. Mina seemed to specially watch over the Red Army, fell into the trench at the moment when he ran under it. There is nothing left of man. A torn body was thrown out of the trench and scattered around for tens of meters, on the parapet there was only a bayonet from the carbine that hung behind him. I can’t talk about it without excitement, because exactly the same thing happened with my signalman. We walked with him along the trench into the anti-tank ditch, I already stepped into the ditch and turned around the clay corner, and he still remained in the trench, literally two steps behind me. Mina got into him, but I wasn’t hurt. If the mine hadn’t reached just one meter, it would have hit me, and the signalman would have remained alive around the corner. The shortage of a mine could happen for various reasons: a grain of gunpowder was not put into charge, or its subtle breeze slowed it down. Yes, and we could go a little faster - both would survive. A little slower - both would die.
On another occasion, everything happened exactly as described at the beginning: a German mine, having described an invisible arc in the sky, landed with a terrible whistle on our position. She landed right in the trench. And not just got into a narrow trench, but crashed into a soldier ... But this time the mine did not explode. She punched the soldier’s shoulder and half leaned under his arm. An accident? Yes. As many as three. The first two were detrimental to the soldier, and the third - saving. The man stayed to live. He was saved by a fluke: the mine did not explode!
Here they are, sheer accidents. Happy and unhappy, good and bad, and their price is human life.
Ah, how rarely did this welcome guest appear on the front line - Mr. Happy Chance! Thousands of deaths were lucky to units. Why this particular soldier was lucky is a special question. Whether a chance pleased a person or a person by chance - no one knows. However, we can safely say that every surviving front-line fighter can recall more than one case when he was inevitably supposed to be killed, but by a lucky chance he survived. Maybe the Almighty intervened? Who knows.
From childhood we were all raised by atheists, most of us did not believe in God. But as soon as it happened, it presses down: whether a bomb, a shell or a mine detonates, or even a machine gun scratches, and you are ready to fall through the ground, if only to survive, here - where is he, that atheism ?! - you pray to God: “Lord, help! Lord, help! .. ”He helped some. But rarely.
The happy events in the war in their manifestations were surprisingly diverse, unusual, rare, unique, unpredictable, unexpected and capricious. And they did not appear at all by supplication or compassion, not even for the sake of affirming justice or accomplishing retribution. We at the front knew that there were happy occasions, secretly counting on them ourselves, but we talked about them with spiritual trepidation, with superstitious delicacy, reluctantly, quietly, so as not to accidentally frighten them away. And many superstitious people - and almost all were superstitious in the war - in the conversation generally tried not to touch on this topic. They were afraid.
Death was often punished not only by cowardice, sluggishness, but also by extra caution, and even provoking reckless heroism. Conversely, for the most part spared courage, courage, self-sacrifice, prudence. A warrior experienced, experienced, going to a dangerous job, like a regular job, death often went around. Another person was sent to certain death, and he, having done an extremely risky business, returned alive. Here, of course, experience and role played a role. But it depended more on chance - a German would turn in your direction or pass by without attention.
There were cases when salvation from imminent death was brought by the most ordinary stupidity, tyranny, and even greed of the boss.
I, like some others, was lucky in the war. During the three years of being at the front line with constant shelling, bombing, attacks, sorties to the Germans to the rear, I was only wounded three times. True, many times shell-shocked. But did not kill. And there were plenty of cases when it was inevitable to kill me or us. But for some strange, sometimes unnatural coincidence, it didn’t kill.
The commander of our division, the avid servant Gordienko, was distinguished by his solidarity. He also demanded from us, comfrey, that our seasoned species, the shoulder straps just introduced then, should not be wrinkled and shabby, but stick out to the sides, like wings of the archangels. My scouts put veneers on their shoulder straps, and steel plates from a downed German plane to me, although this prevented us from fighting. Soon we came under blasting shells: shells were torn above our heads, and there was nowhere to hide from the steel shower. They sat down on the ground in "pots" - tucking their legs to the cattle to reduce the susceptibility. A shrapnel hit on my left shoulder knocked me to the ground. I thought my arm was torn off. They took off my tunic: my whole shoulder was black and swollen. It turned out that the small fragment flew with such force that it pierced the steel plate and became entangled in the “tongue” of the epaulet. If not for the plate, he would pierce my shoulder and heart. So the stupidity of the boss saved my life.
Or another case. My only signalman was killed, and I myself had to pull the cable further and carry the telephone and coils with the cable. It was a pity to leave his carabiner with the dead signalman. I had to throw it behind my back. It was hard for me to drag all this property on me in the cold autumn rain and German fire. However, the carabiner saved my life. A shell exploded nearby, and one of the fragments hit me in the back. If there were no carbine, a splinter would pierce my heart. But he hit a carbine. And not just into the round barrel, from which it could easily slip into my back, but into the flat face of the chamber. The speed of the fragment was so great that it crashed a centimeter into a steel chamber. A long bruise from a carbine was imprinted on my back. If there was no carbine on my back, I would not live. Again, a fluke came to the rescue.
And what’s even more surprising: some saving accidents, like, by the way, tragic ones, were repeated exactly the same with different people. A similar situation with the carbine later saved the life of my signalman Shtansky: the shard landed in the chamber of his carbine.
On the other hand, thousands of fragments in thousands of other cases passed the saving cigarette case or folding knife and hit people to death. And others saved the life of the order on the chest or an asterisk on the cap.
Over the course of the war, I counted twenty-nine such accidents saving me. Probably, the Almighty recalled me in those moments and gave life to the guilty.
This is a riddle to the reader. In this story, I described three incredible cases that happened to me personally. Add 26 more in this book.
Fast news today
This happened on the Kursk Bulge, when the target of the armor-piercing projectile fired by our 76-mm cannon was the Borgvard mine transporter, which at that moment appeared on the German medium carrier tank. Primitive "battle robots" "Borgvard" were used by the Nazis to mine objects or to undermine pillboxes. One way or another, a tankette filled with a large volume of explosives detonated from a direct hit by a shell, provoking also an explosion of the ammunition of the tank itself. All this flaming pile of metal, flying up into the air, collapsed on the Ferdinand heavy self-propelled artillery station standing next door. Result: three shells of the enemy were irrevocably destroyed by one shell.
Another case of such luck in combat conditions occurred at the beginning of the war, when the Soviet heavy KV-1, which went on the offensive, stood right in the middle of the battlefield near German positions: the motor died out. This sometimes happened: our crews did not always have time to master the material part of the new military equipment entrusted to them. There was not enough knowledge, time and, accordingly, experience. Having lost their course and control, the tankers decided to give the last battle, opening fire on the fascists with guns and machine guns. But soon they ran out of ammunition.
Realizing that the Red Army fell into a trap and had nowhere to go, the Germans invited the crew to surrender. Our tankers refused categorically. Going close to the already dangerous non-dangerous heavy tank, the Nazis, in turn, admired the miracle of Russian technology, praising and tapping on all parts of the armor. At the same time, they were trying to open the ramp, trying to open the hatch, of course, they did not want to. Nobody was going to destroy “KV-1” either: the fascists, on the contrary, every time tried to replenish the collection of Wehrmacht trophies as soon as possible with a new novelty or just a well-preserved copy of the enemy’s equipment.
In a word, the Nazis decided to transport the KV-1 to their positions, picking up two of their lungs, the Panzerkampfvagena (T-2), with cables. Motors roared, clutches pulled themselves up ... And then (lo and behold!) The unexpected happened. It turns out that German KV-1 was launched by German tanks. And then everything was already a matter of technology: having received such timely assistance from the enemy, the driver turned on the reverse gear and gazanul as it should. Well, what are two German 9-ton “fly-flies” against an almost 50-ton Soviet giant!
The heavyweight, like two toys, pulled the enemy equipment towards his own position. The fascist crews could only panic quickly leave their cars and retreat. Thus, the potential victim herself acquired a good batch of trophies.
During the Novorossiysk-Maykop offensive operation, a plane of Nikolai Averkin was shot down. The pilot had to “land” on the lead waves of the Black Sea, then on such warm ones, as in those days, with which this sunny land is always associated with us, because it was winter of 1943. Yes, and no improvised means of dealing with either the waves, or with the wind, or with the cold from the downed pilot was not. Even in the state, this was not allowed, since the flight unit of Nikolai did not belong to naval aviation.
Having plunged into the icy waves, the pilot felt the horror of his unenviable position: he had no time to flounder in ice water, if only a miracle had not happened ... And it happened! Struggling with the wind and cold waves, he suddenly saw a submarine pop up a few meters away. There was still a danger that it would turn out to be an enemy submarine, which sometimes happened: the “valiant wolves” of the Kriegsmarine sometimes did not disdain to seek out and pick up (capture) enemy sailors and pilots. But then Nikolai heard such a welcome Russian speech: “It's good to swim there, catch the end!”. Catching a life buoy, he quickly got to the boat. And after a few minutes, boarding the Soviet submarine, he was finally saved.
It is hard to imagine that this could happen in the Black Sea in broad daylight (and that was exactly so). Indeed, in 1943, enemy troops still reigned on land and at sea: German ships and submarines reigned supreme on the water, and the Luftwaffe dominated in the air. Everything that appeared on the surface was simply drowned. Therefore, Soviet submariners behaved quieter than water and lower than grass. If our submarines surfaced to charge the batteries, then only at night and far from their native shores. What happened in the case of Nikolai was pure coincidence: the boat was simply forced to make an emergency ascent. And after all, this had to happen - exactly at that time and in the place where, apparently, Nikolai Averkin had already said goodbye to life. But fate, apparently, was supportive of the Soviet pilot.
Guardian angel saved the Red Army
She also kept the Red Army man Dmitry Palchikov, the driver of Studebaker. During the battle of Moscow, in his Lend-Lease truck, he ran into an anti-tank mine. At that time, Dmitry Grigorievich drove the fighters to the front line, in addition, the Studebaker himself was used as a tractor for a heavy gun. After the blast, neither the Red Army men sitting in the back, nor the gun, nor the truck itself were left with nothing. The cabin in which Dmitry was sitting was torn off and thrown far forward, and he ... escaped with light scratches. The problem was that there was a terrible frost in the yard, and everyone who controlled the equipment (no matter which tanks, trucks, and tractors) was forbidden to leave it until their arrival.
Guardian angel saved the Red Army
There are even cases when our tankers had to spend hours with their tank that was wrecked in battle (sitting, say, somewhere nearby in the crater from the projectile), while a technical vehicle (repair service) arrived on the battlefield. So Dmitry was lucky this time too: for two and a half weeks (!) He had to be on duty next to the rest of the truck. He burned a fire, slept only in fits and starts, but did not leave his post. To escape from the severe frost he was helped by the soldiers passing by and passing by, feeding and encouraging the soldier. As a result, he survived, did not freeze, and did not become ill. In such cases, people say: the guardian angel saved.
The family itself found a husband and father
The war, as you know, led to the fact that millions of people were in a vast territory divorced from their families. To find their loved ones in such conditions was also real luck. It so happened that a soldier fighting at the front lost contact with his wife and children only because the train in which they were sent to evacuate was bombed right during the movement. Imagine that at the same time the fighter was transferred to another part, and the family, on the other hand, finally lost the thread of correspondence. In such cases, only a miracle could help.
Often anonymous packages arrived at the front, named, for example: "To the bravest fighter." One of these came at the end of 1944 and to one of the artillery regiments. After conferring, the fighters decided to give it to their comrade Grigory Turyanchik, who repeatedly confirmed such a high rank in battle. His relatives were evacuated from the blockade when the seriously injured soldier was lying in the hospital. Since then, he has not heard anything about them. Having received the package, Gregory printed it and the first thing I saw was a letter lying on top of the hotel, in which he conveyed greetings from the rear. And at the end of the letter he read: “Dear fighter, if there is such an opportunity, write if you have met somewhere on the front line of my husband Grigory Turyanchik. With deep respect, his wife Elena. ”
Any war is a serious matter, however, military operations cannot do without entertaining, curious and interesting cases. To everyone to be original and even to make feats. And almost all entertaining and curious cases occur due to human stupidity or resourcefulness. Below are some interesting facts about the Second World War.
Eisenhower's Memories
Eisenhower wrote that the Germans created were a powerful obstacle to the rapid advance of the American army. Once he had a chance to talk with Marshal Zhukov. The latter shared Soviet practice, saying that the infantry attacked directly through the field, on mines. And the losses of the soldiers were equal to those that could have happened if the Germans defended this area with artillery and machine guns.
This story of Zhukov shocked Eisenhower. If any American or European general had thought this way, then he could immediately be demoted. We do not undertake to judge whether he did the right thing or not, in any case, only he could know what motivated such decisions. However, this tactic is rightfully included in the interesting facts of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
Foothold
Curious cases happened not only with the infantrymen. Interesting facts about the Second World War abound with accidents and with the participation of pilots. Once, the attack squadron received orders to drop bombs on the bridgehead occupied by the Germans. Enemy anti-aircraft guns fired so tightly that they could put all aircraft out of action before approaching the target. The commander felt sorry for his subordinates and violated the order. At his direction, the attack aircraft dropped bombs into the forest, which was located near the bridgehead, and safely returned.
Of course, the German units did not receive damage and continued to defend steadily. The miracle happened the next morning. Our troops were able to take a foothold almost without a fight. It turned out that the enemy headquarters was in that forest, and the pilots completely destroyed it. The authorities looked for those who distinguished themselves for presenting the award, but the one who did this was never found. The pilots were silent, as it was reported that they had bombed the enemy’s bridgehead according to the order.
Ram
Rich in exploits was Interesting facts include the heroic behavior of individual pilots. For example, pilot Boris Kovzan once returned from a combat mission. Suddenly he was attacked by six German aces. The pilot shot the entire ammunition and was wounded in the head. Then he reported over the radio that he was leaving the car and opened the hatch. At the last moment, he noticed that an enemy aircraft was flying at him. Boris leveled his car and aimed it at the ram. Both aircraft exploded.
Kovzan was saved by the fact that he opened a hatch in front of the ram. The pilot fell unconscious out of the cockpit, the automated parachute opened, and Boris safely landed on the ground, where he was picked up and sent to the hospital. Kovzan twice received the honorary title "Hero of the Soviet Union".
Camels
Interesting facts from the history of the Second World War include the cases of domestication of wild camels by the military. In 1942, the 28th reserve army was formed in Astrakhan. There was not enough draft force for the cannons. For this reason, the military were forced to catch wild camels in the vicinity of Astrakhan and tame them.
In total, 350 “desert ships” were used for the needs of the 28th Army. Most of them died in battle. Surviving animals were gradually transferred to household units, and then transferred to zoos. One camel, nicknamed Yashka, came with fighters all the way to Berlin.
Hitler
Interesting facts about the Second World War include the story of Hitler. But not about the one who was in Berlin, but about his namesake, a Jew. Semyon Hitler was a machine gunner and courageously proved himself in battle. The archives preserved the award sheet, where it is written that Hitler was presented to the medal "For Military Merit." However, in another award sheet for the medal “For Courage”, a mistake was made. Hitler wrote instead of Hitler. Whether this is done by accident or intentionally is unknown.
Tractor
Unknown facts about the war tell about the case when tractors were trying to convert into tanks. During the fighting near Odessa experienced an acute shortage of equipment. The command ordered to sheathe 20 tractors with sheets of armor and install imitation guns on them. The stake was on the psychological effect. The attack took place at night, and in the darkness of the tractor with the headlights and imitation guns turned on, they panicked the ranks of the Romanian units besieging Odessa. The soldiers nicknamed these cars NI-1, which means "To Fright."
Feat of Dmitry Ovcharenko
What other interesting facts of WWII are known? The heroic deeds of Soviet soldiers occupy far from the last place in them. In 1941, Private Dmitry Ovcharenko was awarded the honorary title "Hero of the USSR". On July 13, a fighter carried ammunition on a cart to his company. Suddenly he was surrounded by a German detachment of 50 people.
Ovcharenko hesitated, and the Germans took his rifle from him. But the soldier was not at a loss and grabbed an ax from the cart, which chopped off the head of a German officer standing next to him. Then he grabbed three grenades from the cart and threw them at the soldiers, who managed to relax and retreat a little. 20 people died on the spot, the rest fled in horror. Ovcharenko caught up with another officer and cut off his head too.
Leonid Gaidai
What else was unusual to remember the Great Patriotic War? Interesting facts include a story that happened with a famous filmmaker. He was drafted into the army in 1942. He did not get to the front, since they sent him to Mongolia to go round horses for military needs. One day a military commissar came to them, recruiting volunteers to join the army. He asked: "Who is in the cavalry?" The director replied: "I." The military commissar asked a number of similar questions about infantry, navy, reconnaissance - Gaidai was called everywhere. The boss got angry and said: “Do not rush, I will first publish the entire list.” A few years later, Gaidai used this dialogue in his comedy "Operation" Y "and Shurik's other adventures."
And finally, a few other interesting cases:
T for unique experiences that turn out to be incredible ...
1. About Russian ingenuity.
It was 1941. Our KV-1 tank stopped through troubles in the engine in the neutral zone. It simply died out, and the battery did not give the opportunity to start. Unfortunately, the shells and ammunition ran out, and the Germans were still frightened and arrogant.
The crew decided to pretend to be dead ... and barricaded themselves inside. Fortunately, the German field artillery shells and tanks could not penetrate the KV-1 armor.
The Germans knocked on the armor of the stalled KV-1 for a long time, offered the crew to appear, promised to feed and treat well, but they didn’t. The crew of our tank in this particular case, most likely suspected how it would all end. And he knew that smoking them from the tank was not so simple.
The Nazis waited for their equipment and tried to tow the tank closer to the repair units. Apparently they decided that the crew left the tank, somehow closing the hatches. And the stop occurred because the tank ran out of fuel (the most common reason for stopping the KV-1). The Nazis hooked the HF with their tractor, but could not move the colossus. Then they hooked him with their two light tanks in order to tow the KV-1 to their location, even if together with the crew ... and open there without obstacles.
But their calculation did not work - when they started towing, our tank started up with a "pusher" and dashingly pulled German tanks now in our location ...
The German tankers were forced to leave their tanks and KV-1 without problems, and pulled them to our positions ...))))) Such an amusing curiosity!
The tank was very successful in the warhead and not very on the chassis. It was characterized by high survivability, especially in the summer. As I already wrote, the armor of these heavy tanks was not penetrated by German 37 mm anti-tank guns, nor by the guns of the Pz-III, Pz-IV and Pz-38 tanks, which were armed with a Panzerwaffe.
The Germans could only "unravel" him - to remove a caterpillar by a direct hit. But there were cases when the KV-1 could move without one of them.
The big problem of the tank was the engine, rather weak for such a colossus. Any pothole made him work at maximum speed. The crew needed an experienced mechanic driver. The battery was weak too. The tank was adopted almost without sea trials, after a couple of successful episodes during the Finnish war, on flat areas with rocky soil. But in everything that concerned the “warhead” he was very good!
The Germans had to use the “KV” method of struggle, very similar to the hunt of primitive people for a mammoth. Some German tanks distracted the attention of the KV crew until an 88 mm anti-aircraft gun was mounted behind it.
It was only by hitting a shell in the gap between the hull and the turret that it was possible to jam the turret and thereby completely turn the Soviet tank into a dead block. There is a known case when about ten German tanks were engaged in the distraction of the KV crew!
At the beginning of the war, one KV-1 tank could make a lot of noise not only in the rear of the enemy, but also at the front line. It would be fuel and ammunition.
2. The execution of a fascist column without hiding in an ambush.
ABOUT writing a feat from the award sheet (spelling and punctuation saved):
July 13, 1942, in the district of N-MITYAKINSKY 2nd, the KV tank of l-nt KONOVALOV stood due to a malfunction after the battle. The crew rebuilt the tank on their own. At that time, 2 German armored vehicles appeared. Comrade KONOVALOV immediately opened fire and 1 car was set on fire, the second hastily disappeared. Following the armored vehicles a moving column of tanks appeared, initially 35 vehicles, and then another 40. The pr-k was advancing towards the village. L-nt KONOVALOV, using the advantageous position of his disguised tank, decided to accept the battle. Having lowered the first column of tanks at a distance of 500-600 meters, the KV crew opened fire. Direct fire destroyed 4 tanks. The column didn’t accept the battle, returned back. But after some time, deployed formation attacked the village 55 tanks ave. L-nt KONOVALOV decided to continue the struggle with the armored vehicles of the Nazi invaders, despite such overwhelming superiority. The heroic crew set fire to another 6 tanks, and made him roll back a second time. The enemy makes a third attack. Hero tankers, led by their Komsomol commander Comrade KONOVALOV, firing at tanks and vehicles pr-ka to the last shell. They destroy 6 more enemy tanks, 1 armored car and 8 vehicles with enemy soldiers and officers. The Soviet fortress is silent. The Nazis open fire from 105mm guns, which are pulled to the tank at a distance of 75 meters. The crew of the tank with the Hero-Commander Lieutenant KONOVALOV together with the tank died in this unequal battle. Defending our Motherland from the German invaders, lt KONOVALOV showed courage, unshakable stamina, selfless heroism. For heroism shown in the defense of the homeland, comrade KONOVALOV deserves the posthumous assignment of the title “HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION” with the awarding of the Order of LENIN and the GOLD STAR Medal.Source with documents http://2w.su/memory/970
ETERNAL MEMORY OF HEROES!Unfortunately, the Soviet army in 1941 did not have enough KV tanks to stop the rapid advance of the Wehrmacht inland. The Germans respected Soviet heavy tanks. They did not undermine the tanks in good condition, but slightly modernized, drew crosses on them, transplanted their crew and sent them into battle, only now for Germany.
Here are the photo facts ...
The modernized captured Soviet tank KV-1 from the 204th tank regiment of the 22nd tank division of the Wehrmacht.
The Germans installed a German 75-mm KwK 40 L / 48 cannon on it instead of a 76.2 mm gun, as well as a commander’s turret. Shooting time 1943
According to German data, of the 28,000 tanks available in the Red Army units before the start of the war, more than 14,079 tanks were lost by August 22, 1941 in two months of hostilities. A significant part of these vehicles was lost during the fighting or was destroyed during the retreat, but a huge amount of equipment was thrown out of service in parks, on marches due to lack of fuel or abandoned due to malfunctions, many of which could be fixed in short lines.
According to some reports, in the initial period of the war, the Germans got up to 1,100 T-26 tanks, about 500 BT tanks (of all modifications), more than 40 T-28 tanks and more than 150 T-34 and KV tanks in good condition.
The tanks captured in good condition were used by the units that captured them and usually served until they were completely out of order.
3rd promised CASE! AT ALL KILLING
(German memories
colonel General
Erhard Routh)
The 6th Tank Division of the Wehrmacht was part of the 41st Panzer Corps. Together with the 56th Panzer Corps, he made up the 4th Panzer Group - the main striking force of the Army Group North, whose task was to capture the Baltic states, capture Leningrad and join with the Finns. The 6th Division was commanded by Major General Franz Landgraf. It was armed mainly with tanks of the Czechoslovak production PzKw-35t - light, with thin armor, but possessing high maneuverability and maneuverability. There were a number of more powerful PzKw-III and PzKw-IV. Before the start of the offensive, the division was divided into two tactical groups. The more powerful was commanded by Colonel Erhard Raus, the weaker - commanded by Colonel Erich von Seeckendorf.
In the first two days of the war, the advance of the division was successful. By the evening of June 23, the division captured the Lithuanian city of Raseiniai and crossed the Dubissa River. The tasks assigned to the division were completed, but the Germans, already experienced in campaigns in the west, were unpleasantly struck by the stubborn resistance of the Soviet troops. One of the units of the Routh group came under fire from snipers, occupying positions on fruit trees growing in the meadow. Snipers killed several German officers, delayed the advance of German units by almost an hour, preventing them from quickly encircling Soviet units. Snipers were obviously doomed, because they were inside the location of German troops. But they performed the task to the end. In the West, the Germans did not meet anything like this.
How the only KV-1 appeared on the morning of June 24 in the rear of the Routh group is not clear. It is possible that he just got lost. However, in the end, the tank blocked the only road leading from the rear to the positions of the group.
This episode is not described by regular communist propagandists, but by Erhard Routh himself. Raus then conquered the whole war on the Eastern Front, passing Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk, and ended it as commander of the 3rd Panzer Army and the rank of colonel general. Of the 427 pages of his memoirs that directly describe the fighting, 12 are devoted to a two-day battle with the only Russian tank at Raseiniy. Rausa clearly shook this tank. Therefore, there is no reason for mistrust. Soviet historiography ignored this episode. Moreover, since it was first mentioned in the domestic press by Suvorov-Rezun, some "patriots" began to "expose" the feat. In the sense - this is not a feat, but so-so.
The KV, whose crew is 4 people, “traded” itself for 12 trucks, 4 anti-tank guns, 1 anti-aircraft gun, possibly several tanks, as well as several dozen Germans killed and died from wounds. This in itself is an outstanding result, given the fact that until 1945, in the vast majority of even victorious battles, our losses were higher than German. But this is only the direct loss of the Germans. Indirect - the loss of the Szekendorf group, which, reflecting the Soviet strike, could not get help from the Routh group.
Accordingly, for the same reason, the losses of our 2nd Panzer Division were less than if Raus supported Sackendorf.
However, perhaps more important than direct and indirect losses of people and technology was the loss of time by the Germans. The Wehrmacht on June 22, 1941 on the entire Eastern Front had only 17 tank divisions, including 4 tank divisions in the 4th Panzer Group. One of them and kept alone KV. Moreover, on June 25, the 6th division could not advance solely because of the presence of a single tank in its rear. One day of delay of one division is very much in conditions when German tank groups advanced at a high pace, breaking the defense of the Red Army and arranging for it many "cauldrons". After all, the Wehrmacht actually accomplished the task set by Barbarossa, almost completely destroying the Red Army, which opposed it in the summer of 1941. But because of such "incidents" as an unforeseen tank on the road, it did so much more slowly and with much greater losses than planned. And in the end he ran into the impenetrable mud of the Russian autumn, the deadly frosts of the Russian winter and the Siberian divisions near Moscow. After which the war passed into a protracted stage hopeless for the Germans.
And yet, the most surprising thing in this battle is the behavior of four tankers, whose names we do not know and will never know. They created more problems for the Germans than the entire 2nd Panzer Division, to which, apparently, the KV belonged. If the division delayed the German offensive for one day, then the only tank for two. No wonder Routh had to take away anti-aircraft guns from Seckendorf, although, it would seem, it should have been the other way around.
It is almost impossible to assume that the tankers had a special task to block the only supply route for the Routh group. Intelligence at that moment was simply absent. So the tank was on the road by accident. The tank commander himself realized what critical position he took. And deliberately began to hold her. It is unlikely that the tank in one place can be interpreted as a lack of initiative, the crew acted too skillfully. On the contrary, standing was the initiative.
It’s not painful to sit in a cramped iron box for two days, and in the June heat, torture itself. If this box is also surrounded by an enemy whose purpose is to destroy the tank with the crew (in addition, the tank is not one of the enemy’s goals, as in a “normal” battle, but the only goal), for the crew this is already an absolutely incredible physical and psychological stress. Moreover, almost all this time, the tankers spent not in battle, but in anticipation of the battle, which is morally incomparably harder.
All five combat episodes - the defeat of a convoy of trucks, the destruction of an anti-tank battery, the destruction of anti-aircraft guns, shooting at sappers, the last battle with tanks - in all, hardly took even an hour. The rest of the time, the HF crew wondered which side and in what form they would be destroyed next time. The battle with the anti-aircraft gun is especially indicative. The tankers deliberately hesitated until the Germans installed a cannon and began to prepare for firing, in order to shoot for sure themselves and finish the job with one shell. Try at least to imagine such an expectation.
Moreover, if on the first day the KV crew could still hope for their arrival, then on the second, when their own didn’t come and even the noise of the battle at Raseinaya died down, it became clearer than clear: the iron box in which they are fried for the second day will soon turn into their common coffin. They took it for granted and continued to fight.
Here is what Erhard Raus writes about it: “Nothing important happened in our sector. The troops improved their positions, conducted reconnaissance in the direction of Siluva and on the east coast of Dubissa in both directions, but basically tried to find out what was happening on the south coast. We met only small units and individual soldiers. During this time, we made contact with the patrols of the von Seckendorf battle group and the 1st Panzer Division at Lidavenaya. When clearing a wooded area west of the bridgehead, our infantry encountered larger Russian forces, which in two places were still held on the west bank of the Dubissa River.
In violation of the accepted rules, several prisoners captured in recent battles, including one lieutenant of the Red Army, were sent to the rear in a truck under the protection of only one non-commissioned officer. Halfway back to Raseinaya, the driver suddenly saw an enemy tank on the road and stopped. At this moment, Russian prisoners (and there were about 20 of them) suddenly attacked the driver and escort. The non-commissioned officer sat next to the driver, facing the prisoners, when they tried to wrest the weapons from both of them. The Russian lieutenant had already grabbed the non-commissioned officer’s assault rifle, but he managed to free one hand and hit the Russian with all his might, throwing him back. The lieutenant collapsed and carried several more people with him. Before the prisoners managed to again rush at the non-commissioned officer, he released his left hand, although he was held by three. Now he was completely free. With lightning speed, he tore off the machine gun from his shoulder and gave a line to the rebellious crowd. The effect was terrible. Only a few prisoners, not counting the wounded officer, managed to jump out of the car to hide in the forest. The car, in which there were no living prisoners, quickly turned around and rushed back to the bridgehead, although the tank fired at it.
This little drama was the first sign that the only road leading to our bridgehead was blocked by the KV-1 superheavy tank. In addition, the Russian tank was able to destroy the telephone wires connecting us with the division headquarters. Although the enemy’s intentions remained unclear, we began to fear an attack from the rear. I immediately ordered the 3rd battery of Lieutenant Wenroth from the 41st tank destroyer battalion to take a position in the rear near the flat top of the hill near the command post of the 6th Motorized Brigade, which also served as the command post of the entire battle group. To strengthen our anti-tank defense, I had to deploy a nearby 150mm howitzer battery 180 degrees. The 3rd company of Lieutenant Gebhardt from the 57th Engineer Tank Battalion was ordered to mine the road and its surroundings. The tanks given to us (half of the 65th tank battalion of Major Shenk) were located in the forest. They were ordered to be ready for a counterattack as soon as required.
Time passed, but the enemy tank that blocked the road did not move, although from time to time it shot towards Raseinaya. At noon on June 24 the scouts returned, whom I sent to clarify the situation. They reported that apart from this tank, they did not find any troops or equipment that could attack us. The officer in charge of this unit made the logical conclusion that it was a solitary tank from the detachment attacking the von Seckendorf battle group.
Although the danger of the attack was dispelled, measures should be taken to quickly destroy this dangerous obstacle, or at least drive the Russian tank away. With his fire, he had already set fire to 12 supply trucks that were coming to us from Raseinaya. We could not evacuate the wounded in the battles for the bridgehead, and as a result several people died without receiving medical assistance, including a young lieutenant wounded by a point-blank shot. If we could take them out, they would be saved. All attempts to get around this tank were unsuccessful. Cars either got stuck in the mud or came across scattered Russian units still wandering through the forest.
So I ordered the battery of Lieutenant Wengenrot. recently received 50-mm anti-tank guns, make their way through the forest, approach the tank at a distance of effective shooting and destroy it. The battery commander and his brave soldiers gladly accepted this dangerous task and set to work with full confidence that it would not drag on for too long. From the command post on the top of the hill, we watched them while they carefully made their way among the trees from one hollow to another. We were not alone. Dozens of soldiers climbed onto the roofs and climbed the trees with intense attention, waiting for the outcome of the undertaking. We saw how the first gun approached 1000 meters to a tank that was sticking out right in the middle of the road. Apparently, the Russians did not notice the threat. The second gun for some time disappeared from view, and then emerged from the ravine right in front of the tank and took a well-disguised position. Another 30 minutes passed, and the last two guns also returned to their original positions.
We followed what was happening from the top of the hill. Suddenly, someone suggested that the tank was damaged and abandoned by the crew, as it stood on the road completely motionless, representing an ideal target. (One can imagine the disappointment of our comrades, who, sweating sweat, dragged the guns to firing positions for several hours, if that were the case.) The shot of the first of our anti-tank guns suddenly slammed, the flash blinked, and the silver track ran straight into the tank. The distance did not exceed 600 meters. A flicker of fire flickered, an abrupt crackling sounded. Direct hit! Then followed the second and third hits.
Officers and soldiers screamed joyfully, like spectators at a fun performance. “Got it! Bravo! The tank is over! ”The tank didn’t react in any way until our guns reached 8 hits. Then his tower turned around, gently felt for the target and began methodically destroying our guns with single shots of 80-mm guns. Two of our 50 mm guns were torn apart, the other two were seriously damaged. The personnel lost several people killed and wounded. Lieutenant Wengenroth led the survivors back to avoid unnecessary losses. Only after nightfall he managed to pull out the guns. The Russian tank was still blocking the road tightly, so we were literally paralyzed. Deeply shocked, Lieutenant Wenengroth, along with his soldiers, returned to the bridgehead. The recently obtained weapon, which he unconditionally trusted, proved completely helpless against the monstrous tank. A feeling of deep disappointment swept our entire battle group.
It was necessary to find some new way to master the situation.
It was clear that of all our weapons, only 88-mm anti-aircraft guns with their heavy armor-piercing shells could cope with the destruction of a steel giant. In the afternoon, one such weapon was withdrawn from battle near Raseinai and began to creep cautiously to the tank from the south. KV-1 was still deployed to the north, since it was from this direction that the previous attack was carried out. The long-barreled anti-aircraft gun approached a distance of 2000 yards, from which satisfactory results could already be achieved. Unfortunately, the trucks that the monstrous tank had previously destroyed still burned out along the side of the road, and their smoke prevented the gunners from aiming. But, on the other hand, the same smoke turned into a curtain, under the cover of which the gun could be pulled even closer to the target. Having tied many branches to the cannon for better camouflage, the gunners slowly rolled it forward, trying not to disturb the tank.
Finally, the calculation got to the edge of the forest, from where the visibility was excellent. The distance to the tank now did not exceed 500 meters. We thought that the first shot would give a direct hit and would certainly destroy the tank that was bothering us. The calculation began to prepare the gun for firing.
Although the tank has not moved since the battle with the anti-tank battery, it turned out that its crew and commander had iron nerves. They calmly watched the approach of the anti-aircraft gun, without interfering with it, since while the gun was moving, it did not pose any threat to the tank. In addition, the closer the anti-aircraft gun will be, the easier it will be to destroy it. A critical moment came in a duel of nerves, when the calculation began to prepare the anti-aircraft gun for a shot. It was time for the crew of the tank to act. While the gunners, terribly nervous, pointed and loaded the gun, the tank turned the turret and fired first! Each shell hit the target. A heavily damaged anti-aircraft gun fell into a ditch, several crew members died, and the rest were forced to flee. Machine gun fire prevented the removal of the gun and pick up the dead.
The failure of this attempt, which had great hopes, was very unpleasant news for us. The optimism of the soldiers died along with the 88-mm gun. Our soldiers did not spend the best day chewing canned food, as it was impossible to bring hot food.
However, the biggest fears disappeared, at least for a while. The Russian attack on Raseinai was repulsed by the von Seckendorf battle group, which managed to maintain a height of 106. Now one could no longer fear that the Soviet 2nd Panzer Division would break through to our rear and cut us off. All that remained was a painful splinter in the form of a tank, which blocked our only supply route. We decided that if we could not cope with him during the day, then at night we will do it. The brigade headquarters for several hours discussed various options for the destruction of the tank, and preparations began for several of them at once.
Our sappers suggested at night on June 24/25 just to blow up the tank. It should be said that sappers, not without malevolent satisfaction, followed the unsuccessful attempts of artillerymen to destroy the enemy. Now it was their turn to try their luck. When Lieutenant Gebhardt summoned 12 volunteers, all 12 people raised their hands together. In order not to offend the rest, every tenth was chosen. The 12 lucky ones were looking forward to the night. Lieutenant Gebhardt, who intended to personally command the operation, acquainted all the sappers in detail with the general plan of the operation and the personal task of each of them individually. After dark, the lieutenant at the head of a small column set off. The road passed an eastern height of 123, through a small sandy area to a strip of trees, among which a tank was discovered, and then through a rare forest to the old concentration area.
The pale light of the stars flickering in the sky was enough to outline the contours of the nearest trees, the road and the tank. Trying not to make any noise so as not to give themselves away, the disguised soldiers climbed to the side of the road and began to examine the tank at close range in order to outline the most convenient path. The Russian giant stood in the same place, its tower froze. Silence and peace reigned everywhere, only occasionally a flash flickered in the air, followed by a dull peal. Sometimes an enemy shell flew with a hiss and burst at the intersection of roads north of Raseinaya. These were the last echoes of the heavy battle that went on in the south all day. By midnight, artillery firing on both sides had finally ceased.
Suddenly, in the forest on the other side of the road, there was a crack and footsteps. Ghost-like figures rushed to the tank, shouting something while running. Is it really a crew? Then there were blows to the tower, the hatch leaned back with a clang and someone climbed out. Judging by the muffled tinkle, it brought food. Scouts immediately reported this to Lieutenant Gebhardt, who began to annoy them with questions: “Maybe rush at them and capture them? It seems to be civilians. ” The temptation was great, as it seemed very simple to do. However, the tank crew remained in the tower and stayed awake. Such an attack would alarm tankers and could jeopardize the success of the entire operation. Lieutenant Gebhardt reluctantly rejected the offer. As a result, the sappers had to wait another hour for the civilians (or were they partisans?) To leave.
During this time, a thorough reconnaissance of the area was carried out. At 01.00, sappers began to act, as the tank crew fell asleep in the tower, unaware of the danger. After subversive charges were mounted on the caterpillar and thick side armor, sappers set fire to the Bikford cord and ran back. Seconds later, a booming explosion broke the silence of the night. The task was completed, and the sappers decided that they had achieved decisive success. However, before the echo of the explosion fell silent among the trees, the machine gun of the tank came to life, and bullets whistled around. The tank itself did not move. Probably his caterpillar was killed, but it was not possible to find out, since the machine gun fired wildly around everything. Lieutenant Gebhardt and his patrol returned to the bridgehead noticeably depressed. Now they were no longer sure of success, and it turned out that one person was missing. Attempts to find him in the dark have failed.
Shortly before dawn, we heard a second, weaker, explosion somewhere near the tank, for which we could not find the reasons. The tank machine gun came to life again and for several minutes poured lead all around. Then silence fell again.
Soon after, it began to grow light. The rays of the morning sun painted gold forests and fields. Thousands of dew drops sparkled with diamonds on the grass and flowers, the early birds began to sing. The soldiers began to stretch and blink sleepily, rising to their feet. A new day began.
The sun had not yet risen high when a barefoot soldier, hanging his tied boots over his shoulder, walked past the command post of the brigade. In his misfortune, it was I, the brigade commander, who first noticed him and rudely called me to him. When the frightened traveler reached out in front of me, in a clear language I demanded an explanation for his morning walk in such a strange way. Is he a follower of dad Kneipp? If so, then this is not the place to showcase your hobbies. (Dad Kneipp created a society under the motto “Back to Nature” in the 19th century and preached physical health, cold baths, outdoor sleep, and the like.)
Very frightened, the lone wanderer began to get confused and indistinctly bleat. Every word from this silent intruder had to be pulled literally by ticks. However, with each of his answers, my face brightened. Finally, with a smile, I patted his shoulder and gratefully shook my hand. To an outside observer who did not hear what was being said, such a development of events could seem extremely strange. What could a barefoot guy say so that his attitude to him changes so swiftly? I could not satisfy this curiosity until I was ordered by the brigade for the current day with a report from a young sapper.
“I listened to the sentries and lay in a ditch next to the Russian tank. When everything was ready, I, together with the company commander, hung a subversive charge, which was twice as heavy as the instructions required, against the tank caterpillar, and set fire to the wick. Since the ditch was deep enough to provide shelter from fragments, I expected the results of the explosion. However, after the explosion, the tank continued to shower the forest edge and the ditch with bullets. More than an hour passed before the enemy calmed down. Then I crept up to the tank and examined the caterpillar in the place where the charge was installed. No more than half of its width was destroyed. I did not notice any other injuries.
When I returned to the collection point of the diversionary group, she was already gone. Looking for my shoes that I left there, I found another forgotten subversive charge. I took it and returned to the tank, climbed onto the hull and suspended the charge from the barrel of the gun in the hope of damaging it. The charge was too small to cause serious damage to the car itself. I crawled under the tank and blew it up.
After the explosion, the tank immediately fired at the edge of the forest and a ditch from a machine gun. The shooting did not stop until dawn, only then I managed to crawl out from under the tank. I sadly found that my charge was still too small. When I reached the gathering point, I tried to put on my boots, but found out that they were too small and in general this was not my pair. One of my comrades mistakenly donned mine. As a result, I had to return barefoot, and I was late. "
This was the true story of a brave man. However, despite his efforts, the tank continued to block the road, firing at any moving object that it noticed. The fourth decision, which was born on the morning of June 25, was to challenge the dive-bombers. Ju-87 to destroy the tank. However, we were refused, because aircraft were required literally everywhere. But even if they were found, it is unlikely that the dive bombers would be able to destroy the tank with a direct hit. We were sure that the fragments of close gaps did not scare the crew of the steel giant.
But now this damned tank needed to be destroyed at all costs. The fighting power of the garrison of our bridgehead will be seriously undermined if it is not possible to unblock the road. The division will not be able to fulfill the task assigned to it. Therefore, I decided to use the last remaining tool with us, although this plan could lead to large losses in people, tanks and equipment, but at the same time I did not promise guaranteed success. However, my intentions were to mislead the enemy and help minimize our losses. We intended to distract the KV-1 with a false attack from Major Shenk’s tanks and drive a 88 mm gun closer to destroy the terrible monster. The area around the Russian tank contributed to this. There was an opportunity to sneak up to the tank secretly and set up observation posts in a wooded area on the eastern road. Since the forest was quite rare, our nimble PzKw-35t were able to move freely in all directions.
Soon, the 65th tank battalion arrived and began to shell the Russian tank from three sides. The KV-1 crew began to get noticeably nervous. The tower spun from side to side, trying to catch sassy German tanks on the sight. The Russians fired at targets flickering among the trees, but were late all the time. A German tank appeared, but literally at the same instant disappeared. The crew of the KV-1 tank was confident in the strength of their armor, which resembled an elephant skin and reflected all the shells, but the Russians wanted to destroy the enemies annoying them, while at the same time continuing to block the road.
Fortunately for us Russians, there was excitement, and they stopped monitoring their rear, from where misfortune was approaching them. The anti-aircraft gun took a position near the place where the same had already been destroyed the day before. His formidable barrel aimed at the tank, and the first shot rang out. The wounded KV-1 tried to turn the turret back, while the anti-aircraft gunners managed to make 2 more shots during this time. The tower stopped rotating, but the tank did not catch fire, although we expected this. Although the enemy no longer reacted to our fire, after two days of failure we could not believe in success. Another 4 shots were made with armor-piercing shells from an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun, which ripped through the skin of the monster. His gun helplessly lifted up, but the tank continued to stand on the road, which was no longer blocked.
Witnesses of this deadly duel wanted to come closer to check the results of their shooting. To their greatest amazement, they found that only 2 shells pierced the armor, while the other 5 88-mm shells only made deep bumps on it. We also found 8 blue circles marking where 50 mm shells hit. The result of the sappers sally was serious damage to the track and a shallow hole in the gun barrel. But we did not find any traces of the shells of the 37-mm cannons and PzKW-35t tanks. Motivated by curiosity, our "davids" climbed up on the defeated "goliath" in a vain attempt to open the tower hatch. Despite all efforts, his lid did not give in.
Suddenly, the gun barrel began to move, and our soldiers rushed away in horror. Only one of the sappers maintained his composure and quickly put a hand grenade into a hole made by a shell at the bottom of the tower. A thunderous explosion thundered, and the manhole cover flew off to the side. Inside the tank lay the bodies of a brave crew, who had only been injured before. Deeply shocked by this heroism, we buried them with all military honors. They fought to the last breath, but it was only one little drama of the great war.
After the only heavy tank blocked the road for 2 days, it began to operate. Our trucks delivered to the bridgehead the supplies necessary for the subsequent offensive. ”
Infa and photo (C) different places on the Internet
May 8, 2015, 13:0117 years in the Soviet Union did not celebrate Victory Day. Since 1948, for a long time this “most important” holiday today was not actually celebrated and was a working day (instead of a weekend, January 1 was made, which since 1930 has not been a day off). It was first widely celebrated in the USSR only after almost two decades - in the anniversary of 1965. Then Victory Day again became non-working. Some historians attribute the cancellation of the holiday to the fact that the Soviet regime was pretty much afraid of independent and active veterans. Officially, it was ordered: to forget about the war, to throw all our efforts into restoring the national economy destroyed by the war.
80 thousand Soviet officers during the Great Patriotic War were women.
On the whole, at the front, in different periods from 600,000 to 1 million women were fighting with weapons in their hands. For the first time in world history, female military formations appeared in the Armed Forces of the USSR. In particular, 3 aviation regiments were formed from female volunteers: the 46th guards night bomber regiment (the Germans called the warriors from this unit “night witches”), the 125th guards bomber regiment, and the 586th air defense fighter regiment. A separate women's volunteer rifle brigade and a separate women's spare rifle regiment were also created. Women snipers were trained by the Central Women's School of Snipers. In addition, a separate female company of sailors was created. It is worth noting that the weaker sex fought quite successfully. So, the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" during the Great Patriotic War received 87 women. History has not yet known such a massive participation of women in the armed struggle for the motherland, as Soviet women showed during the Great Patriotic War. Having achieved enlistment in the ranks of the soldiers of the Paint Army, women and girls mastered almost all military specialties and, together with their husbands, fathers and brothers, performed military service in all military branches of the Soviet Armed Forces.
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Hitler saw his attack on the USSR as a “Crusade,” which should be carried out by terrorist methods. Already on May 13, 1941, he released the servicemen from any responsibility for their actions in fulfilling the Barbarossa plan: “No actions of Wehrmacht employees or persons acting with them, in the case of civilians performing hostile acts against them, are not subject to suppression and are not may be considered misconduct or war crimes ... "
During World War II, more than 60 thousand dogs served on various fronts. Four-legged fighter saboteurs derailed dozens of enemy echelons. More than 300 enemy armored vehicles were destroyed by tank destroyer dogs. Signal dogs delivered about 200 thousand combat reports. Four-legged assistants took out about 700 thousand seriously wounded Red Army soldiers and commanders on medical teams. With the help of sapper dogs, 303 cities and towns (including Kiev, Kharkov, Lvov, Odessa) were cleared and an area of \u200b\u200b15 153 square kilometers was examined. At the same time, more than four million units of enemy mines and landmines were discovered and neutralized.
In the first 30 days of the war, the Moscow Kremlin "disappeared" from the face of Moscow. Probably the fascist aces were a lot surprised that their cards lie, and they can’t find the Kremlin flying over Moscow. The thing is that according to the masking plan, the stars on the towers and the crosses on the cathedrals were sheathed, and the domes of the cathedrals were painted black. Three-dimensional mock-ups of residential buildings were built around the entire perimeter of the Kremlin wall, with teeth not visible behind them. Part of the Red and Manege Square and the Alexander Garden were filled with plywood home decorations. The mausoleum became three-story, and from the Borovitsky gate to Spassky they poured a sandy road that depicted a highway. If before the light yellow facades of the Kremlin buildings were distinguished by their brightness, now they have become “like everyone else” - dirty gray, the roofs also had to change color from green to all-Moscow red-brown. The palace ensemble has never looked so democratic.
During World War II, the body of V.I. Lenin was evacuated to Tyumen.
According to the description of the feat of the Red Army soldier Dmitry Ovcharenko from the decree on awarding him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, on July 13, 1941 he delivered ammunition to his company and was surrounded by a detachment of 50 enemy soldiers and officers. Despite the fact that a rifle was taken from him, Ovcharenko was not at a loss and, having snatched an ax out of the wagon, chopped off the head of the officer questioning him. Then he threw three grenades at the German soldiers, killing 21 people. The rest fled in panic, except for another officer whom the Red Army soldier caught and also chopped off his head.
Hitler did not consider his main enemy in the USSR Stalin, but announcer Yuri Levitan. For his head, he announced an award of 250 thousand marks. The Soviet authorities carefully guarded Levitan, and through the press, misinformation about his appearance was launched.
At the beginning of World War II, the USSR experienced a large shortage of tanks, and therefore it was decided in emergency cases to convert conventional tractors into tanks. So, during the defense of Odessa from the Romanian units besieging the city, 20 such “tanks” were sheathed, sheathed with sheets of armor. The main bet was made on the psychological effect: the attack was carried out at night with the headlights and sirens turned on, and the Romanians took to flight. For such cases and also because models of heavy guns were often installed on these machines, the soldiers nicknamed them NI-1, which stands for “To Fright”.
The son of Stalin, Yakov Dzhugashvili, was captured during the war. The Germans offered Stalin to exchange Jacob for field-captured Marshal Paulus, captured by the Russians. Stalin said that the soldier would not be changed to field marshal, and refused such an exchange.
Jacob was shot shortly before the arrival of the Russians. After the war, his family was exiled as the family of a prisoner of war. When this link was reported to Stalin, he said that tens of thousands of families of prisoners of war were being expelled and that he could not make any exception for the family of his own son - there was a law.
5 million 270 thousand soldiers of the Army Paint were captured by the Germans. Their content, as historians note, was simply unbearable. This is evidenced by statistics: less than two million soldiers returned from captivity to their homeland. Only in Poland, according to Polish authorities, more than 850 thousand Soviet prisoners of war who died in Nazi camps are buried.
The main argument for such behavior on the part of the German side was the refusal of the Soviet Union to sign the Hague and Geneva conventions on prisoners of war. This, according to the German authorities, allowed Germany, which had previously signed both agreements, not to regulate the conditions of detention of Soviet prisoners of war by these documents. However, in fact, the Geneva Convention regulated the humane treatment of prisoners of war, regardless of whether their countries signed the convention or not.
The attitude of the Soviets towards German prisoners of war was fundamentally different. In general, they were treated much more humane. Even by standards, it is impossible to compare the caloric content of food of captured Germans (2533 kcal.) Versus captured Red Army soldiers (894.5 kcal.). As a result, out of almost 2 million 400 thousand soldiers of the Wehrmacht, just over 350 thousand people did not return home.
During the Great Patriotic War, in 1942, the peasant Matvey Kuzmin, the oldest owner of this title (he performed a feat at the age of 83), repeated the feat of another peasant - Ivan Susanin, who in the winter of 1613 led a detachment of Polish interventionists in impassable forest swamp.
In Kurakino, the native village of Matvey Kuzmin, a battalion of the German 1st Mountain Division (known as the Edelweiss) was stationed, which was assigned the task of making a breakthrough in February 1942, entering the rear of the Soviet troops in the planned counteroffensive in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Malkinsky Heights. The battalion commander demanded that Kuzmin act as a guide, promising for this money, flour, kerosene, as well as the Sauer Three Rings hunting rifle. Kuzmin agreed. Having warned through the 11-year-old grandson of Sergei Kuzmin, the military unit of the Red Army, Matvey Kuzmin took the Germans for a long time by a roundabout road and finally led the enemy detachment to an ambush in the village of Malkino under machine-gun fire of Soviet soldiers. The German detachment was destroyed, but Kuzmin himself was killed by the German commander.
Only 30 minutes were allocated by the Wehrmacht command to suppress the resistance of the border guards. However, the 13th outpost under the command of A. Lopatin fought for more than 10 days and the Brest Fortress for more than a month. The frontier guards and units of the Red Army launched the first counterattack on June 23. They liberated the city of Przemysl, and two groups of border guards broke into Zasanie (the territory of Poland occupied by Germany), where they defeated the headquarters of the German division and the Gestapo, and released many prisoners.
At 4 hours 25 minutes on June 22, 1941, the pilot, Senior Lieutenant I. Ivanov, made an air ram. This was the first feat in the course of the war; marked with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The number one tank ace is rightfully considered to be Lieutenant Dmitry Lavrinenko from the 4th Tank Brigade. For three months of battles in September-November 1941 in 28 battles destroyed 52 enemy tanks. Unfortunately, the brave tanker died in November 41st near Moscow.
Only in 1993 were the official figures of Soviet casualties and casualties in tanks and aircraft published during the Battle of Kursk. "German casualties on the entire Eastern Front, according to information provided by the Wehrmacht Supreme Command (OKW), in July and August 1943 amounted to 68,800 killed, 34,800 missing and 434,000 wounded and sick. German casualties on Kursk the arc can be estimated at 2/3 of the losses on the Eastern Front, since during this period fierce battles also took place in the Donetsk basin, in the Smolensk region and in the northern sector of the front (in the Mgi region) .Thus, the German losses in the Battle of Kursk can be estimated approximately 360,000 dead They were missing, wounded and sick. Soviet losses exceeded the German ones in the ratio of 7: 1, ”researcher B. V. Sokolov writes in his article“ The Truth about the Great Patriotic War ”.
In the midst of the fighting on the Kursk Bulge on July 7, 1943, the machine gunner of the 1019th regiment, Senior Sergeant Yakov Studennikov alone (the rest of the soldiers of his crew died) fought for two days. Having been injured, he managed to repel 10 attacks by the Nazis and destroyed more than 300 Nazis. For the perfect feat he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
About the feat of warriors 316 s.d. (commander of Major General and. Panfilov) at the well-known junction Dubosekovo November 16, 1941 28 tank destroyers were hit by 50 tanks, of which 18 were destroyed. Hundreds of enemy soldiers found their end at Dubosekovo. But few know about the feat of the soldiers of the 1378th regiment of the 87th division. On December 17, 1942, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Verkhne-Kumskoye, fighters of the company of senior lieutenant Nikolai Naumov with two calculations of anti-tank rifles with a defense of 1372 m altitude repelled 3 attacks of enemy tanks and infantry. The next day, a few more attacks. All 24 soldiers died defending the heights, but the enemy lost 18 tanks and hundreds of foot soldiers.
Japanese soldiers in battles near Lake Hassan generously showered our tanks with ordinary bullets, hoping to break through them. The fact is that Japanese soldiers were assured that the tanks in the USSR were supposedly plywood! As a result, our tanks returned from the battlefield brilliant - to such an extent they were covered with a layer of lead from bullets that melted when they hit the armor. However, this did no harm to the armor.
In the Great Patriotic War, the 28th reserve army was part of our troops, in which camels were the draft force for the cannons. It was formed in Astrakhan during the battles near Stalingrad: the lack of cars and horses forced to catch wild camels in the vicinity and tame them. Most of the 350 animals died on the battlefield in various battles, and the survivors were gradually transferred to household units and "demobilized" in zoos. One of the camels, named Yashka, came with soldiers to Berlin.
In 1941-1944, thousands of Nazis exported from the USSR and Poland small children of "Nordic appearance" aged from two months to six years. They ended up in the Kinder KC children's concentration camp in Lodz, where they determined their “racial value”. The children who passed the selection underwent "initial Germanization." They were given new names, forged documents, forced to speak German, and then sent to the Lebensborn shelters for adoption. Not all German families knew that the children they adopted were not “Aryan blood” at all. Pafter the war, only 2-3% of abducted children returned to their homeland, while the rest grew up and grew old, considering themselves Germans. They and their descendants they don’t know the truth about their origin and, most likely, they will never know.
In World War II, five schoolchildren under the age of 16 received the title of Hero: Sasha Chekalin and Lenya Golikov - at 15 years old, Valya Kotik, Marat Kazey and Zina Portnova - at 14 years old.
In the battle of Stalingrad on 01.09.1943, the machine gunner Sergeant Khanpasha Nuradilov destroyed 920 fascists.
In August 1942, Hitler ordered "not to leave stone unturned" in Stalingrad. Happened. Six months later, when everything was already over, the Soviet government raised the question of the inexpediency of restoring the city, which would cost more than building a new city. However, Stalin insisted on the restoration of Stalingrad in the literal sense of the word from the ashes. So, so many shells were dropped on Mamaev Kurgan that after release for 2 years grass did not grow on it. In Stalingrad, both the Red Army and the Wehrmacht changed the methods of warfare for an unknown reason. The Red Army from the very beginning of the war used tactics of flexible defense with waste in critical situations. The Wehrmacht command, in turn, avoided large, bloody battles, preferring to bypass large fortified areas. In the Battle of Stalingrad, both sides forget their principles and embark on a bloody cabin. The beginning was laid on August 23, 1942, when German aircraft launched a massive bombardment of the city. Killed 40,000 people. This exceeds the official figures of the Allied air raid on Dresden in February 1945 (25,000 casualties).
During the battle, the Soviet side applied revolutionary innovations of psychological pressure on the enemy. So, from the loudspeakers installed at the front line, favorite hits of German music were rushing, which were interrupted by messages about the victories of the Red Army on sections of the Stalingrad Front. But the most effective tool was the monotonous knock of the metronome, which was interrupted after 7 hits by a comment in German: "Every 7 seconds a German soldier dies at the front." At the end of a series of 10-20 “timer reports”, tango swept from the speakers. 
In many countries, including France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy and several other countries, streets, squares, and squares were named after the Battle of Stalingrad. Only in Paris the name "Stalingrad" are the square, the boulevard and one of the metro stations. In Lyon, there is the so-called fraud "Stalingrad", where the third largest antique market in Europe is located. Also in honor of Stalingrad is the central street of the city of Bologna (Italy).
The genuine Victory Banner rests as a sacred relic in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces. It is forbidden to store in an upright position: the satin of which the flag is made, the material is fragile. Therefore, the banner is laid horizontally and covered with special paper. Nine nails were even pulled out of the shaft, which in May 1945 nailed a cloth to it. Their heads began to rust and injure the fabric. Recently, the genuine Victory Banner was shown only at the recent congress of museum workers in Russia. I even had to call the guard of honor from the Presidential Regiment, explains Arkady Nikolayevich Dementiev. In all other cases, there is a duplicate that with absolute accuracy repeats the original of the Victory Banner. It is exhibited in a glass case and has long been perceived as a real Victory Banner. And even the copy is aging in the same way as the historical heroic banner, erected over the Reichstag 64 years ago.
For 10 years after Victory Day, the Soviet Union was formally at war with Germany. It turned out that, having accepted the surrender of the German command, the Soviet Union decided not to sign peace with Germany, and thereby