“Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind us” - with these words of political instructor Klochkov, the immortal feat of 28 Panfilov heroes was forever inscribed in the history of Russia.
On November 16, 1941, a group of tank destroyers of the 2nd platoon of the 4th company of the 1075th regiment of the 316th Infantry Division entered into an unequal battle with dozens of German tanks and machine gunners. Platoon commander D. Shirmatov was wounded on the eve of the battle and was evacuated to the rear, so platoon deputy commander I.E. Dobrobabin took command. Within 3-4 hours from the start of the battle, it was he who commanded Panfilov’s men.
Panfilov's men competently prepared to meet the enemy: they dug five trenches in advance, reinforced them with sleepers, prepared weapons - rifles, a machine gun, anti-tank grenades, Molotov cocktails, two anti-tank rifles (ATR). They decided to fight to the death. In the morning, German machine gunners launched an attack on the village of Krasikovo. When they appeared on a hillock in front of Panfilov’s trenches, Dobrobabin gave a signal (whistle loudly) and the soldiers opened fire from 100-150 meters. Dozens of Nazis were killed. The fighters then repulsed a second infantry attack, accompanied by artillery fire. When two tanks, accompanied by machine gunners, moved towards Panfilov’s position, the soldiers set one tank on fire, and there was a short lull. And finally, in the afternoon, the Germans opened artillery fire and the German tanks again went on the attack, in a deployed front, in waves, about 15-20 tanks in a group.
Major General Ivan Panfilov Political instructor Vasily Klochkov Sergeant Ivan Dobrobabin
Over 50 tanks attacked the sector of the entire 1075th regiment, but their main attack was directed at the positions of the 2nd battalion, more precisely, at the positions of the 4th company, and even more specifically at the positions of Dobrobabin’s platoon. This sector was most accessible to enemy tanks. The battle with the tanks began at approximately two o'clock in the afternoon. The surviving Panfilov soldier, I.R. Vasiliev, writes that when the tanks got very close, a German officer appeared from the hatch of one of them and shouted: “Rus, surrender.” Panfilov's shots killed him. At that moment, a cowardly soldier jumped out of Panfilov’s trenches. He raised his hands up, but Vasiliev shot the traitor.
A mortal battle with armored vehicles began. We had to let the tanks get closer and jump out of the trenches in order to be sure to throw anti-tank grenades under the tracks of the tanks and bottles with a flammable mixture on the engine part of the armored vehicles. And it was also necessary to shoot at the German machine gunners and at the tank crews jumping out of the damaged tanks. There was a curtain of snow, soot and earth in the air from the explosions of enemy shells. Panfilov’s men did not notice that our units from the right flank had retreated to other lines. One after another, the soldiers broke down, but the tanks they had shot down burst into flames and burned. Dobrobabin sent the seriously wounded to the dugout at the trench. 14 German tanks were shot down and set on fire, dozens of Nazis were killed, and the attack failed.
However, Dobrobabin himself, in the midst of the battle, lost consciousness from a terrible explosion and no longer knew that the political instructor of the 4th company, V.G. Klochkov, sent by the company commander Gundilovich, managed to get to the Panfilov men. He took command, inspiring the soldiers during short respites. As Vasiliev testifies, noticing the approach of the second group of German tanks, Klochkov said: “Comrades, we will probably have to die here for the glory of the Motherland. Let the Motherland know how we fight here, how we defend Moscow. Moscow is behind us, we have nowhere to retreat.” The main battle with tanks lasted 40-45 minutes.
At the end of the battle, four tanks were destroyed at the cost of the lives of the last soldiers remaining in the ranks, who jumped out of the trench with grenades in their hands, led by Klochkov. 28 heroes delayed the breakthrough of a large German tank group to Moscow for more than four hours, allowing the Soviet command to withdraw troops to new lines and bring up reserves.
Most of the legendary warriors who accomplished this unprecedented feat, including Vasily Klochkov, died a brave death in that battle. The rest (D.F. Timofeev, G.M. Shemyakin, I.D. Shadrin, D.A. Kozhubergenov and I.R. Vasiliev) were seriously wounded. The battle of Dubosekovo went down in history as a feat of 28 Panfilov men; in 1942, all its participants were awarded the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union by the Soviet command...
Panfilov’s men became a terrible curse for the Nazis; there were legends about the strength and courage of the heroes. On November 17, 1941, the 316th Rifle Division was renamed the 8th Guards Rifle Division and awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Hundreds of guardsmen were awarded orders and medals.
On November 19, the division lost its commander... For 36 days it fought under the command of General I.V. Panfilov 316th Rifle Division, defending the capital on the main direction.
Having failed to achieve decisive successes in the Volokolamsk direction, the main enemy forces turned to Solnechnogorsk, where they intended to break through first to Leningradskoye, then to Dmitrovskoye Highway and enter Moscow from the north-west.
The remains of the fallen Panfilov heroes were buried with military honors in the spring of 1942 in the village of Nelidovo. In 1967, the Museum of Panfilov Heroes was opened in the village of Nelidovo (1.5 km from Dubosekovo). In 1975, a memorial ensemble “Feat 28” was erected at the site of the battle (granite, sculptors N.S. Lyubimov, A.G. Postol, V.A. Fedorov, architect V.E. Datyuk, Yu.G. Krivushchenko, I.I. Stepanov, engineer S.P. Khadzhibaronov), consisting of 6 monumental figures personifying warriors of six nationalities who fought in the ranks of 28 Panfilovites.
The Panfilov heroes, all soldiers of the 316th Infantry Division of 30 different nationalities, who in the difficult days of the autumn of 1941 did not allow the Germans to reach Moscow, are all in the Immortal Regiment of a thousand years of Russian history.
Thanks to the feat at the Dubosekovo crossing, the 316th Rifle General Panfilov's division became one of the most famous units of the Red Army. After just a month of fighting, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and renamed the 8th Guards. Although the widely circulated version of the feat of 28 Panfilov men was subsequently recognized as a literary fiction, there is no doubt about the massive heroism of the soldiers of the 316th division, shown in the most difficult defensive battles near Volokolamsk. The formation of the 316th division began after the invasion of the Nazi aggressors, in mid-July 1941 year in Kazakhstan. Since the priority divisions had already been mobilized, the 316th was created “above plan.” It included many volunteers and those who previously had a reservation from conscription. According to the recollections of senior lieutenant Bauyrdzhan Momysh-uly, battalion commander of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment, which was part of the division, the fighters were dominated by middle-aged family people, many of whom had not served in the army before.
Another feature of this unit was its multinationality, since residents of the city of Alma-Ata and its environs were drafted into the division. The main backbone of the 316th consisted of Russians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. For example, in the battalion commanded by Senior Lieutenant Momysh-uly, there were about a third of Kazakhs, the rest were Russians and Ukrainians. Most of the Kyrgyz conscripts from the city of Frunze (modern Bishkek) were in the 1077th regiment, which was called “Kyrgyz”. In addition, a significant number of the fighters of the 316th division were Semirechensk Cossacks. The 1075th Infantry Regiment was formed from the residents of the villages of Lyubavinskaya and Vernenskaya, and the 1073rd from the Cossacks of the villages of Nadezhdenskaya and Sofia. Major General I.V. Panfilov, who held the post of military commissar of Kyrgyzstan, was appointed commander of the 316th division. In general, many responsible and party workers went to the front with Panfilov’s division: former instructors of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and the chairman of the regional trade union committee were listed as political commissars of the companies. Almost half of the rank and file and two thirds of the commanders were communists and Komsomol members.
The 316th Division was included in the 52nd Army of the North-Western Front, which defended on the right bank of the Volkhov River in the sector from Novgorod to Kirishi. Troops of the 52nd Army, Lieutenant General N.K. Klykov was supposed to prevent the development of the offensive of the German aggressors in the direction of Tikhvin. For more than a month, from the end of August to the beginning of October, General Panfilov’s division was in the second echelon of the 52nd Army, in positions near the village of Kresttsy, Novgorod region. Panfilov’s troops suffered their first, so far minor, losses from enemy air raids. By the beginning of October, a threatening situation had developed in the Volokolamsk sector of the Western Front, and the 316th Division, which was actually never involved in the battles, was transferred to the 16th Army under Major General K.K. Rokossovsky, which fought the hardest defensive battles on the Mozhaisk defense line.
Panfilov's division occupied a wide area of defense in front of Volokolamsk, from the village of Bolychevo in the south to the village of Lvovo in the north - only about 40 km, although according to the regulations the division's defense front should not exceed 8-12 km. Panfilov had to greatly stretch the single-echelon defense line, placing the 1077th Infantry Regiment on the right flank, the 1073rd in the center and the 1075th on the left flank. The 857th artillery regiment was distributed in the most tank-dangerous directions between rifle units. In addition, the division created anti-tank fighter squads armed with anti-tank mines and petrol bottles. In reserve there was an engineer battalion and a tank company attached to the division: two T-34s and two light machine-gun tanks. General Panfilov's headquarters was located behind the positions of the 1073rd regiment, 2 km from the front line.
During the heaviest defensive battles from November 16 to 20 in the Volokolamsk direction, the 316th Rifle Division held back the advance of two tank and one infantry divisions from the 4th Panzer Group of Colonel General Erich Hepner. For the massive heroism shown by its personnel, on November 17 the division received the title of Red Banner, on November 18 - the 8th Guards, and after the death of the commander, General Panfilov, it was named after him. For military services, the division was awarded the honorary name "Rezhitskaya", awarded the Order of Lenin, Red Banner and Suvorov 2nd degree. Over 14 thousand soldiers of the Panfilov division were awarded orders and medals, and 33 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Connection history:
The division was formed in July - August 1941 in Alma-Ata as part of the control, 1073rd, 1075th and 1077th rifle and 857th artillery regiments. The commander, Major General I.V. Panfilov, served as military commissar of the Kirghiz SSR. The main core of the division was made up of residents of the city of Alma-Ata - the 1075th Infantry Regiment, residents of the villages of Nadezhdenskaya and Sofiyskaya - the 1073rd Infantry Regiment, as well as residents of the city of Frunze - the Kyrgyz 1077th Infantry Regiment. The formation of the division began on July 13, 1941. The division was staffed by the best representatives of Kazakhstan (members of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Komsomol members, Stakhanovites, order bearers, athletes, engineers and poets). When formed, the command and command staff consisted of 60-65% reserve personnel. The conscripts were mainly Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. The percentage of Russians was approx. 20-25% of the total number of hp. By social status: 27% workers, 58% collective farmers, 14% office workers, 1% others. Combat training continued from July 17 to August 17.
On August 18, 1941, the division was loaded into echelons and sent to Novgorod at the disposal of the 52nd Reserve Army planned for formation. On August 27, 1941, the division was completely unloaded in Borovichi and on the march came under an air raid, suffering its first losses. At this time, the enemy, having occupied Novgorod, developed an offensive along the river. Volkhov in the direction of Chudovo and Lyuban. By August 30, having completed a 100 km march, the division took up defense along the Msta River in the Bol area. Pekhovo-Mstinsky bridge. Due to the enemy’s breakthrough in sector 11A in the Demyansk area, the division marches to the Kresttsy area, where it takes up defensive positions with the possible involvement in a counterattack against the enemy units that had broken through. During long marches and while standing on the defensive, work was carried out to practice the tactical actions of the division in defense and attack. The division's units continued to improve in the use of weapons, shooting, and organizing marches. Here the division has been equipping the defense line for almost a month, taking up positions in the second echelon of the army (after the reception of the defensive site by representatives of the 11A Northwestern Front, however, poor equipment of the defensive line by the 316th regiments was noted). However, the NWF units managed to independently repel the enemy’s attack and prevent his breakthrough to Kresttsy.
At the beginning of October '41. After the German troops began their offensive on Moscow and broke through the defenses of the Western Front, an order was received to transfer the formation to the Moscow direction. On October 6, 1941, an order came to reassign the division to the Moscow Military District. Immediately after receiving the order, the division was to move to the station. Sacrums for loading into trains and transfer to Moscow, where they were originally supposed to join the 5th Army (by order of October 11, 1941). From October 7 to October 12, 1941 it was unloaded in Volokolamsk. Here, in the Volokolamsk direction, the 16A directorate of Lieutenant General K.K. Rokossovsky was deployed, emerging from encirclement in the Vyazma area. It occupied a 41-kilometer-long defense line from the village of Lvovo to the Bolychevo state farm in the Volokolamsk direction. Together with units of the 316th Infantry Division, the Volokolamsk section of the Mozhaisk Leningrad Region was defended by: 302nd Pulbat, Infantry School named after. Verkhovgogo Soviet, 488 and 584ap pto, bn. 108sp, 41back, division of Moscow art. schools, 41 and 42 flamethrower companies, tank company. According to the 1939 regulations, the division could defend a strip along a front of 8-12 km and a depth of 4-6 km. The defense zone allocated to the division was single-echelon.
Lacking combat experience, the division was reinforced by two artillery regiments and a tank company, and thus had powerful artillery: with the assets assigned to the division, there were 207 guns, of which: 25 mm - 4; 45 mm - 32; 76 mm regimental guns - 14; 76 mm divisional guns - 79; 85 mm - 16; 122 mm howitzers - 8; 122 mm guns - 24 and 152 mm guns - 30. For comparison, the division’s own artillery was: regimental artillery (45 mm cannons - 16 pieces, 76 mm PA-14 pieces) - a total of 30 guns, artillery in 857ap (76 mm DA-16 pieces, 122 mm howitzers - 8 pieces) - only 24 guns.
On the right flank of the division, farthest from the Volokolamsk highway, the 1077th Infantry Regiment under the command of Major Z. S. Shekhtman equipped its positions. This unit was the last to be formed and did not have time to undergo full training at the divisional training ground, so I.V. Panfilov placed it where a serious enemy attack was not expected.
In the center of the division is the 1073rd Infantry Regiment of Major G.E. Elin. Directly at the regiment's combat positions was located one of the attached artillery regiments - a regiment of 45-mm anti-tank guns.
On the left flank, where General Panfilov expected the attack of the main forces of the 4th Tank Group, the 1075th Infantry Regiment of Colonel I.V. Kaprov was stationed, along with an attached artillery regiment of 16 76-mm divisional guns and a battery of four 85-mm millimeter anti-aircraft guns.
The 857th artillery regiment under Lieutenant Colonel G. F. Kurganov was divided into divisions among rifle units. The 1st division (three batteries of four 76-mm cannons) was assigned to the 1077th rifle regiment, the second and third divisions (one battery of four 76-mm cannons and two batteries of 122-mm howitzers) were assigned to the 1073rd and the 1075th rifle regiments, respectively.
Based on the study of the experience of organizing anti-tank defense of Soviet troops in previous battles, anti-tank defense in the division zone was built on the principle of organizing anti-tank points and anti-tank areas with the allocation of anti-tank reserves in the main directions. The division's anti-tank defense system included all artillery located in closed firing positions, as well as all anti-tank barriers. A total of ten anti-tank strongholds were created in the division's zone. On average, the number of anti-tank guns in anti-tank strong points was slightly more than 8 guns, and in anti-tank strong points located in the most likely directions, it increased to 18 guns. Thus, having on average no more than three gun barrels per 1 km of front, General I.V. Panfilov concentrated up to 14 gun barrels per 1 km of front in the most tank-dangerous directions. Also, by order of the commander of the 16th Army, anti-tank fighter detachments were created in the division's regiments, consisting of a platoon and a company of sappers in vehicles with a supply of anti-tank mines and petrol bottles.
The division's reserve consisted of a separate engineer battalion and a tank company of two T-34 tanks and two light machine-gun tanks. The division headquarters was located directly at the positions of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment, two kilometers from the front line.
In the division zone, the enemy's 35th Infantry Division, 2nd, 5th and 11th Tank Divisions developed their offensive. The offensive of the German troops began on October 15, 1941, when the 11th Panzer Division of the XXXXVIMK began an offensive from the Gzhatsk area in the direction of Volokolamsk. The 316th Rifle Division entered into fierce battles. During October 16-17, units of the left flank 1075th Regiment fought off fierce attacks in the direction of the Bolychevo state farm. By the end of October 17, the Germans managed to capture Bolychev and wedged themselves in at the junction of the 16th and 5th armies. Due to the serious situation in zone 5A, the 552nd cannon-artillery regiment and 22tbr were transferred from 16A, and from the right flank, the 316th infantry regiment, where the enemy was not active, was transferred to the left 138th cannon-artillery regiment. Together with the tank crews of the 22nd Tank Brigade, on the evening of October 17, a counterattack was launched in the Knyazhevo area. The enemy was stopped, but on October 18, the 22nd Tank Brigade was transferred to the district. Mozhaisk, where the situation was even worse.
On the morning of October 18, 1941, the Germans resumed their offensive in the direction of Knyazhevo-Ostashevo. Despite fierce fighting, by 2 pm Knyazhevo was taken and the Germans broke through to the bank of the Ruza River near Ostashevo. Units of the 1075th rifle regiment suffered heavy losses. 1st division 857ap supporting 1075sp retreat routes were cut off and the guns, which turned out to be impossible to remove off-road, had to be destroyed. In the current situation, the division commander ordered the 1075th rifle division to withdraw to the northern bank of the river. Ruza and prevent the enemy from crossing the Ruza River in the Ostashevo area. However, having a significant superiority in forces, he crossed to the northern bank of the Ruza River and by the end of the day the enemy managed to completely capture Ostashevo. Artillery units of the 138th and 523rd cannon artillery regiments and especially the 296th anti-tank artillery regiment suffered heavy losses in these battles. There was a threat of an enemy breakthrough to Volokolamsk from the south. Moreover, by this time the division commander had no reserves for maneuver left at his disposal.
From the 16A reserve, the 768th anti-tank regiment and several divisions of guards rocket mortars were transferred to the 316th infantry division, and through regroupings it was possible to somewhat strengthen the defense of the thinned 1075th infantry regiment.
On the morning of October 19, the Germans tried to resume their attack on Volokolamsk from the south. Enemy tank units managed to break through to Spas-Ryukhovsky, but the enemy was driven out by a counterattack with heavy support from artillery and guards mortars. From October 20 to 23, the enemy made no active attempts to attack, restoring damaged equipment and bringing up new forces. However, a new danger began to threaten parts of the division on the previously calm right flank. Units of the German 35th Infantry Division were concentrated here. Anticipating this threat, Panfilov returned units of the 138th cannon to the right flank of the division, and the 1st division of the 358th artillery regiment of the 126th rifle division, which emerged from the encirclement, was concentrated in reserve in the Volokolamsk area.
On October 18, the division was also assigned the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, urgently transferred from near Mtsensk on Stalin’s personal instructions.
On October 23, he went on the offensive with the forces of the 35th Infantry Division from the Sereda area in the defense sector of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment in the direction of Kr. Mountain, Klishino. At the same time, the enemy launched an offensive from the Ostashevo area against the 1075th Infantry Regiment in the direction of Stanovishte. By the end of the day, the Germans managed to cross the Ruza in the Kr region. Mountain and wedge into the defense of 1073sp. In sector 1075sp the attacks were repulsed. In the morning, units of the 1073rd Infantry Division attempted to restore the situation with counterattacks and push the enemy back beyond Ruza, but due to the superiority of the German troops in strength, the attacks were repelled, and the German 35th Infantry Division continued to expand the breakthrough and reached Safatovo and Gorbunovo towards the end. Due to the lack of communication with the left neighbor of the division (133rd Rifle Division of the 5th Army defending in the Ruza area), Rokossovsky asked to withdraw the left flank of the 316th Rifle Division or give it at least a rifle division from the reserve. The front commander replied that there was no new division. 16A was assigned to K.K., who had recently escaped encirclement along with K.K. Rokosovsky 18SD (formerly 18Dno) and was instructed to take forces from unattacked areas.
On the morning of October 25, the Germans went on the offensive along the entire defense front of the 316th Rifle Division. From the Ostashevo area, units of the 1073rd Infantry Division attacked the 2nd and 11th German tank divisions, and from the Gorbunovo area, the 35th Infantry Division continued to advance on Spas, while the positions of the 1077th Infantry Division and the infantry school on the right flank of the division were attacked by units of the 110th Infantry Division. Possessing an overwhelming superiority in forces, German troops broke through the defenses of the weakened previous battles of the 1075th and 1073rd infantry regiments, and the offensive on the right flank, where the 1077th infantry regiment and the infantry school were defending, was also successful. The 316th Rifle Division, which had suffered significant losses in previous battles, had difficulty holding back the onslaught of superior enemy troops. By the end of the day, parts of the division were withdrawn across the Lama River, where from October 26, together with the 690th Infantry Regiment of the 126th Infantry Division (approx. 1000 people, 4 mortars, 2 76mm, 2 45mm guns) organized a defense. The 1077th Infantry Regiment (approx. 2000 people, 6 mortars, 4 122mm, 12 76mm and 6 45mm guns) with the attached 525th anti-tank artillery regiment entrenched at Alferyevo, 1075th Infantry Regiment (approx. 700 people, 3 mortars, 2 45mm guns) with the 289th and 296th anti-tank artillery regiments in Zhdanovo, the 1073rd rifle regiment (approx. 800 people, 1 120mm mortar, 2 76mm mountain guns, 4 76mm, 4 45mm guns) was put into reserve as the most battered .
On October 27, 1941, German troops broke through the defenses of the neighboring 690th Infantry Regiment, and the 316th Infantry Division was forced to leave Volokolamsk and take up defense east and southeast of the city at the line Maleevka - Chentsy - Bolshoye Nikolskoye - Teterino.
According to the head of the operational department of the headquarters of the Western Front, Lieutenant General Malandin, the main reasons for the surrender of Volokolamsk:
1) The weak composition of the 316th Infantry Division, which, having waged continuous battles for 12 days, suffered heavy losses and was not replenished. 2) The mistake of the division commander, who placed the unstable 690th Infantry Regiment in the main direction, which did not complete its formation. 3) The lack of direct organization of the defense of Volokolamsk on the part of the Military Council of the Army and the division command, which did not allow delaying the enemy on the approaches to the city and gaining time to bring the 690th Infantry Regiment into order and concentrate the necessary forces at the expense of the 1077th Infantry Regiment and Dovator’s group for organizing a counterattack. 4) Weak leadership of the command of the 690th Infantry Regiment, which lost control of the regiment and allowed the regiment to withdraw in disorder; failure by the division and regiment command to use the prepared defense line directly south of Volokolamsk and failure to comply with the conditions of the street struggle for the city. 5) Insufficient maneuver on the part of the division command with anti-personnel artillery fire at the expense of artillery operating in other sectors of the division. - On the approaches to Moscow / The hidden truth of the war: 1941: unknown documents. 1992
By the end of October 30, the battered 316th Rifle Division had retreated to the line: Bortniki, Avdotino, Chentsy, Petelino. The division's losses were estimated as: in the 1073rd rifle division 70% (198 killed, 175 wounded, 1,098 missing), 1077th rifle division 50%, 1075th division 50% (525 killed, 275 wounded, 1,730 missing), overall for the division 50%. 4th brigade Katukova came to the aid of 1077sp in the Avdotino area. On November 1, German troops stopped the offensive both in the 316th Rifle Division and along the entire Western Front. Convinced of the tenacity of the defense of our troops, the enemy troops were forced to take an operational pause to rest, replenish and regroup their formations.
On November 16, Army Group Center resumed its attack on Moscow. 316sd again found itself in the direction of the main attack of 4 TGr. The division was attacked by the forces of one infantry and two tank divisions of the Wehrmacht - the 2nd Panzer Division of the 40th Motorized Corps (General of Tank Forces G. Stumme) attacked the positions of the 316th Infantry Division in the center of defense, and the 11th Panzer Division of the 46th motorized corps (General of Tank Forces G. von Fittinghof-Scheel) struck in the Dubosekovo area, at the positions of the 1075th Infantry Regiment. In the south of the position, at the junction with the Separate Cavalry Group of Colonel L.M. Dovator, with the support of the tank battalion of the 5th Tank Division, the 252nd Silesian Infantry Division attacked.
Units of the division, together with tank crews of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, fought heavy defensive battles with superior enemy forces, in which the personnel showed massive heroism. It was on this day that events took place at the Dubosekovo crossing, which became known as the feat of the 28 Panfilov heroes.
At the Dubosekovo crossing, the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th Infantry Regiment was located under the command of Captain P. M. Gundilovich and political instructor V. G. Klochkov. On the morning of November 16, German tank crews conducted reconnaissance in force. According to the memoirs of the commander of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, Colonel I.V. Kaprov, “in total, 10-12 enemy tanks were in the battalion’s sector. I don’t know how many tanks went to the 4th company’s site, or rather, I can’t determine... In the battle, the regiment destroyed 5-6 German tanks, and the Germans retreated.” Then the enemy brought up reserves and attacked the regiment's positions with renewed force. After 40-50 minutes of battle, the Soviet defense was broken through, and the regiment was essentially destroyed. Kaprov personally collected the surviving soldiers and took them to new positions. According to the commander of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, Colonel I.V. Kaprov, “in the battle, Gundilovich’s 4th company suffered the most. Only 20-25 people survived. led by a company of 140 people. The remaining companies suffered less. More than 100 people died in the 4th Rifle Company. The company fought heroically."
According to the memoirs of Zinovy Shekhtman, the former commander of the 1077th regiment, only “in two days of fighting, the regiment lost 400 people killed, 100 wounded and 600 missing. Of the 4th company that defended Dubosekovo, barely a fifth remained. In the 5th and 6th companies, the losses were even heavier."
Thus, it was not possible to stop the enemy at the Dubosekovo junction; the positions of the 1075th Infantry Regiment were crushed by the enemy, and its remnants retreated to a new defensive line. According to Soviet data, in the battles of November 16, the entire 1075th regiment knocked out and destroyed 9 enemy tanks.
On November 18, the enemy offensive continued. The division, conducting fierce defensive battles, retreated to Novo-Petrovskoye. German tanks reached the division headquarters, which was located in the village of Gusenevo (Volokolamsk district, Moscow region). As a result of the mortar shelling, the division commander, Major General I.V. Panfilov, was killed by fragments of a German mortar mine. On the same day, the division was reorganized into the 8th Guards Rifle Division. In difficult defensive battles near Moscow, the division will prove its belonging to the Soviet guard...
The 316th Infantry Division was formed in the city of Alma-Ata in 1941 by Colonel Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov. The composition of the division was multinational. It included: Russians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, soldiers and officers of other nationalities. The division received its first baptism of fire in October 1941 while defending the city of Leningrad. And when a threat loomed over our capital, the division fought to the death near Moscow on the Volokolamsk highway.
The November days of 1941 were the most difficult for our capital. For three days and three nights, suffering heavy losses, the division held back the frantic onslaught of the enemy, preventing him from reaching Moscow. The feat of 28 fighters of this division at the Dubosekovo crossing is known throughout the world. It was here that political instructor Vasily Klochkov uttered significant words: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat! Moscow is behind us!” Inspired by these words, the soldiers boldly entered into single combat with dozens of fascist tanks, died the death of heroes, but did not retreat even a step back. In heavy defensive battles near Moscow, Major General Ivan Fasilievich Panfilov, commander of the 316th Infantry Division, also died a heroic death. In memory of the courageous division commander, the division was given the name “Panfilovskaya”, and a little later it became the 8th Guards! Number 316 remained vacant.
The second formation of the division was in May-June 1941 near the city of Vladimir. Upon completion of recruitment, the division was transferred to Kamyshin and from there sent to defend Stalingrad. The soldiers and officers of the division fought the enemy to the last bullet. Having suffered heavy losses, the division was disbanded. Number 316 remained free.
The 316th Rifle Temryuk Twice Red Banner Division is the third formation of the 316th Rifle Division, carried out from September 3 to 16, 1943 in the area of the villages of Anastasievskaya and Slavyanskaya, Krasnodar Territory.
By decision of the Council of the North Caucasus Front and in accordance with the order of the 9th Army of August 8, 1943 No. 0019, it was formed from the 57th and 131st Red Banner Rifle Brigades, the 1014th Corps Artillery Regiment, which arrived from the 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps, and the 10th Reserve Rifle Regiment 9 armies.
The 57th and 131st Red Banner Rifle Brigades, which formed the backbone of the division, were formed in 1941 and became famous in battles on the Volkhov and Kalinin fronts. In 1942 they were transferred to the North Caucasus. The brigades were especially successful in fighting to repel the advance of groups of Nazi troops that had broken through and units of Kleist’s tank army. Having detained the enemy, the brigades took part in a successful offensive from the foothills of the Caucasus to the Kuban.
In particular, the 131st Red Banner Rifle Brigade took part in the defeat of the enemy group in the area of the capital of North Ossetia, Ordzhonikidze (Dzaudzhikau). She advanced and liberated the cities: Georgievsk, Mineralnye Vody. Nevinnomyssk, Armavir, Krasnoarmeysk; the villages of Slavyanskaya and Anastasievskaya.
From these units, the divisions were formed: 1073, 1075, 1077 rifle regiments, 857 artillery regiment, 432 separate anti-tank fighter division (later transformed into a separate self-propelled artillery division), 278 medical battalion and other units. In a solemn ceremony, the division was presented with the battle banner of the famous 316th Infantry Division. The division became part of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 9th Army of the North Caucasus Front.
The division began its combat path with an offensive on September 16, 1943 on the Taman Peninsula, in the lower reaches of the Kuban River.
The conditions for the offensive were extremely difficult: on the left was the Kuban River, on the right were the swampy Kuban flood plains. The attack had to be carried out in a narrow zone, without the possibility of any maneuver or bypassing enemy positions. All this made it possible for the Nazi troops (50th Infantry Division) to create a deeply layered defense. The entire depth of the narrow defile, the space from the Kurka Canal (part of the “blue line” of defense) to the sea coast was mined.
In addition, the division did not have a sufficient amount of artillery, its average density did not exceed 20-40 guns and mortars per 1 km of the offensive sector (you must have at least 90-100), and there were no tanks. Therefore, parts of the division suffered heavy losses.
During three weeks of fierce fighting, the division broke through the powerful enemy defenses, liberated the village of Kurchanskaya and on September 26, 1943 reached the port city of Temryuk.
On the night of September 26-27, the division began an assault on a heavily fortified German resistance center on the outskirts of the city of Temryuk, captured it and broke into the eastern outskirts of the city. The enemy hastily began to retreat and by the morning of September 27, units of the division captured the city of Temryuk, then the Golubitskaya station and reached Chushka, thereby completing the liberation of the Taman Peninsula.
The offensive took place under extremely difficult conditions. Units of the division successively broke through several fortified enemy positions.
The division's personnel: officers, sergeants, and privates showed true heroism. Q: In these battles, engineer units and subunits and all rifle regiments suffered especially heavy losses.
The commander of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Arutyunov, the deputy commander of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Petrishev, two battalion commanders, Major Sokovishin, Captain Pirozhenko, and more than half of the company and platoon commanders died the death of the brave.
For successful military operations during the liberation of Taman, including the city of Temryuk, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of October 9, 1943, the division was thanked and given the name "Temryuk".
After the end of the fighting on the Taman Peninsula on November 17, 1943, the division consisting of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 18th Army was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front in the Svyatoshino area (a suburb of Kyiv).
The division, consisting of the 1st Guards, 18th and 38th armies, took part in operations to liberate Right Bank Ukraine. The fighting began in the area of Radomyshl.
After a short defense from December 9 to December 25, 1943, the division as part of the 1st Guards Army was preparing for an offensive. It was necessary to break through the previously prepared enemy defenses. On December 25, 1943, after a 50-minute powerful artillery barrage, the division broke through the defenses and began to rapidly pursue the enemy retreating to the West. From December 24 to February 15, 1944, the division marched 160 km with heavy fighting, liberating the cities of Radomyshl, Zhitomir, Lyubar. On February 16, in the area of Lyubar, the division temporarily went on the defensive.
On March 5, 1944, after ten days of preparation, units of the division went on the offensive as part of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 18th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. During the first day of fighting, in conditions of spring thaw, units of the division fought forward 20-25 km, broke through the enemy’s defenses to their entire depth (Ostropol fortified area) and captured the north-eastern part of the city of Ostropol. On March 9, 1944, the division reached the Southern Bug River and until March 18 occupied defenses on the southern bank of the river.
On March 18, 1944, the division resumed its offensive, its units crossed the Southern Bug River in the area of the city of Novo-Konstantinov, captured it and developed an offensive in the direction of the city of Letichev (Letichevsky fortified area). Since March 20, 1944, the division fought heavy offensive battles to capture the city of Letichev, defended by the 20th German motorized division.
By March 24, 1944, units of the division, blocking and bypassing the pillboxes, broke through the enemy’s defenses, captured the city of Letichev, and, developing an offensive in the southwestern direction, liberated the cities of Letichev, Derazhnya, Tikhampol, Zinkov. During the March offensive in muddy conditions, the division fought 150 km.
On March 30, 1944, the division was marching from the village of Yarmolintsy and in the area of the village of Bzerzhany southeast of Chortkiv it was suddenly attacked by a large enemy group emerging from encirclement in the Skala-Podolskaya area. The division had to fight to eliminate this group.
On April 5, 1944, the division resumed its offensive, reached the Seret River, crossed it and advanced further to the West 20 km southwest of the city of Chortkiv. Here the division became part of the 52nd Rifle Corps of the 1st Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
From April 28, 1944 to July 14, 1944, the division was in the second echelon as part of the 38th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front and was preparing for the offensive in the Lviv-Sandomierz operation.
On July 14, 1944, the division went on the offensive. After heavy 5-day battles, she broke through the enemy’s defenses, developing an offensive in the Western direction, crossed the Stripa River, Zolotaya Lipa reached the city of Pomarzhany, having fought 18 kilometers south of the city of Lvov. The 1073rd Infantry Regiment and the first division of the 857th Artillery Regiment fought directly for the liberation of the city of Lvov.
In the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief dated July 27, 1944, among the units and formations that distinguished themselves in the battles for the capture of the city of Lvov, the 316th Temryukov Rifle Division was noted. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the 1073rd rifle regiment was given the name "Lvov"; The 1075 and 1077 rifle regiments were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
On July 22, 1944, the division reached the Rotten Lipa River with two regiments and crossed it. In this area, the division was replaced by units of the 52nd Rifle Corps and moved to the Bobrovka area. The division resumed its offensive as part of the 67th Rifle Corps of the 38th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front in very rough terrain in the foothills of the Carpathians.
On August 12, 1944, at 10 a.m., the division crossed the state border with Poland, crossed the San River, fought in the area of the city of Sanok, and fought its way to the Carpathian Mountains.
On September 2, 1944, by order of the 38th Army, the division was withdrawn from the Sanok and Carpathian region to the second echelon and concentrated in the Rava-Russkaya region. Then the division became part of the 23rd Rifle Corps, which was removed from the front and transferred to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. From September 15 to October 10, 1944, the division was replenished with personnel and equipment and carried out intensive preparations for the upcoming battles.
By order of the Supreme High Command, on October 11, 1944, the division, consisting of the 23rd Rifle Corps, was transferred to Hungary by rail along the route: Rava-Russkaya, Lviv, Ternopil, Chortkov, Chernivtsi, Buzau, Ploesti, Brasov, Arad and on October 27, 1944 it was unloaded at Mezhegyes station (Hungary). And at the end of the month it was transferred to the northern bank of the Tisza River in the Polmanashtora region.
On November 1, 1944, by order of the commander of the 23rd Rifle Corps, the division moved to the area west of the city of Kecskemét and, having covered 75 km, immediately entered the battle with the vanguard regiment in the area west of Fillersallás and advanced along the eastern bank of the Danube River in the direction of Budapest, having the task of capturing the southern part of the city by November 5th. However, here the enemy created a strong fortified defense and the vanguard stopped. The main forces of the division followed the march in the second echelon and by the morning of November 3, 1944 they concentrated in Alshanemedy, 12 km south of Budapest.
On November 1, 1944, the division, consisting of the 23rd Rifle Corps, came under the control of the 46th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and was given the task of crossing the Danube branch - Csepel-Dunaag.
From November 1 to November 4, 1944, the vanguard 1077th Infantry Regiment completely cleared the eastern bank of the Chepel-Dunaag River to Tokshani from the enemy.
By order of the command of the 23rd Rifle Corps, from November 5 to November 23, 1944, the division continued its offensive. On the night of November 21-22, the division crossed a rather serious water barrier - the Csepel-Dunaag channel in the Majoshahaz-Demshed area, and during two days of fighting, defeated the first Hungarian cavalry division and captured the north-eastern and southern part of the island of Csepel. In this operation, the division captured more than 950 enemy soldiers and officers. The enemy lost more than 800 people killed and wounded.
The division was preparing to cross the Danube in winter conditions. The Danube was an exceptionally difficult water barrier. At the crossing site, the river width reached 800 m, depth - 8-10 m, flow speed - 5-10 meters per second. The opposite shore is a ridge of heights. All floodplains were filled with water. On the heights, during the previous month, German-Hungarian troops had been intensively preparing for defense. The water in the river is cold, ice floes floated along it, slush and snow lumps. It was decided to cross the Danube at night in pitch darkness.
December 1944. After careful preparation, on the night of December 4-5, 1944, the division, without artillery preparation, with two battalions, the first and second, of the 1077th Infantry Regiment, crossed the Danube in the area south of Budapest (8-15 km) and broke through the enemy’s defenses on its western bank. After persistent bloody battles, a bridgehead was captured in the area of the southern outskirts of Erd, Sazholombatta, Franciszka.
