Alexander Petrushin
FROM THE ENVIRONMENT
June 22, 2011 marks 70 years since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. It so happened that in the formations of the Red Army, which were the first to take the enemy's blow, there were many of our fellow countrymen who were called up for military service in 1939, 1940 and in the spring of 1941. Many served in the 137th rifle division.
The best of the best
This unit was formed in September 1939 in Arzamas on the basis of the 51st Ivanovo-Voznesensky regiment of the 17th Nizhny Novgorod named after the Central Executive Committee of the BSSR rifle division.
This city, according to the writer Arkady Gaidar, who was born in it, “was quiet, all in gardens enclosed by dilapidated fences. In those gardens there were a great variety of cherries, early-ripening apples, blackthorns and red peonies. The gardens, adjoining one another, formed continuous green massifs, restlessly ringing with the whistling of tits, goldfinches, bullfinches and robins ... Quiet flowering ponds stretched across the city, past the gardens. The Tesha river flowed under the mountain. "
The division consisted of three rifle regiments (771st, 624th, 409th) and two artillery regiments - 497th howitzer and 278th light, as well as special units: anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery battalions, signal battalions , sapper, reconnaissance, automobile, medical and sanitary.
All units were staffed with conscripts - Volzhans and Siberians.
The division distinguished itself in the summer maneuvers of 1940, indicative of the high command of the Red Army: Marshals Timoshenko, Budyonny, Shaposhnikov, General of the Army Meretskiy, Army Commissar of the 1st rank Mehlis.
The commander of the 137th Rifle Division, Colonel Grishin, was awarded the Order of the Red Star for the well-planned and conducted People's Commissar exercises. *
The archive of the Russian Ministry of Defense contains a speech by Colonel Grishin at a meeting with the People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko in December 1941:
“... The observation exercises carried out by you in our division laid a solid foundation for the training of units and created conditions for our fruitful work in the future. True, I have no experience in commanding a division, as the commander of the 99th division said ... "
Colonel Vlasov commanded the 99th Rifle Division, the leading one in the Red Army. The one who, on July 12, 1942, already in the rank of lieutenant general, commanding the 2nd Shock Army surrounded in the Novgorod forests and swamps, surrendered and began to cooperate with the invaders "to conduct an armed struggle against Soviet power."
Raised on alarm
The peaceful life of the Gorokhovets camp, where the 137th rifle division was located in the summer of 1941, was interrupted by the war. The former chief of the operations department of the headquarters of the 20th Rifle Corps, which included the 137th, I.A. Suetin recalled: “On the night of June 22, I was on duty at the corps headquarters. Early in the morning, a message came from the Moscow Military District that Nazi Germany had attacked our country. So in Gorky I was the first to learn that the war had begun. The commanders were immediately alerted. We just finished the meeting, opened the mobilization package - Molotov is speaking on the radio. "
Signal officer of the 771st Infantry Regiment A.M. Samoylenko: “... On the morning of June 22, the general formation of the regiment was appointed. We all stood in a line of two, waiting for a drill by some big commander. More than an hour passed, but not a single commander, not even a junior lieutenant, showed up. I volunteered to find out what was the matter. “Run,” someone in the ranks said, “you are the winner of regimental and divisional competitions. Indeed, I was ranked first in the regiment and second in the division in running. I quickly ran to the regiment's headquarters and I see how silent, anxious commanders come out of it and turn their heads to the loudspeaker plate. I listened to Molotov's speech and ran to the battalion. All the fighters remained in the ranks: discipline was then strict. But when people listened to my confused retelling of what they heard on the radio, where did the discipline go. Everyone began to disperse, and soon small bonfires appeared near the tents - they burned letters, papers, some things that they could not take to the war, even suitcases. "
The telephone operator of the 246th separate communications battalion of the division A.A. Korobkov: “At twelve o'clock we were in the dining room. As soon as they heard that there was a war, we got spoons ... "
After meetings, rallies, party and Komsomol meetings, an order came from the corps headquarters - to return to the place of permanent deployment.
Signal officer of the 771st Infantry Regiment A.M. Samoilenko: “On the evening of June 22, our regiment from the Gorokhovets camps went on foot to Gorky, to the Red barracks. At first they walked in an organized manner by the whole regiment, but gradually they stretched out. The commanders hurried, but no one reacted: each withdrew into himself, thinking about the outbreak of war.
Hour after hour go slowly, fatigue builds up along the way. Some fell asleep on the move, others fell anywhere during short rests, and still others began to invent diseases. There were other guys among us - hardy, strong, burning with the desire to get to the front as soon as possible. A village appeared, on its outskirts there was a well. One or two Red Army men rushed to the water, but they were stopped: "Comrades, have restraint, the people are looking at us." Indeed, half of the village gathered at the last house - women with children. Lagging fellow soldiers appeared in the distance. The closer they got, the more unattractive the picture: many hardly trudged, and such good fellows! Someone had rubbed his feet and was now kicking up dust with bare heels. And as they rushed to the well - the whole crowd, climb their heads into the trough. Others come up behind, the crowd even more. The first signs of war, with its difficulties and falling morals. "
From June 26, 1941, echelon after echelon from Gorky, Arzamas, Murom and Saransk went to the west of the regiments of the 137th rifle division.
Veterinarian of the 624th rifle regiment N.A. Nabe: “The tension of sending was building up every hour. When loading into the wagons, most of the soldiers and commanders said goodbye to their relatives and friends. They cried and lamented everywhere. To the command "On the wagons!" not everyone reacted. The locomotive puffed and whistled, calling for a landing, but the farewell continued. Finally, the echelon started and went forward. Women run to the carriages, many cry bitterly. I have never heard such a general cry, it seemed to hang in the air for a long time. "
The 137th Rifle Division then numbered over 14 thousand people, about three thousand horses, up to 200 guns and mortars, hundreds of cars, tractors, and carts. To transfer this formation to the front, it took 36 echelons.
First fight
At rare stops, everyone eagerly listened to the reports of the Sovinformburo, and they are all more alarming. Grodno, Baranovichi, Minsk were left. More and more ambulances were coming towards them. The front is getting closer.
ON. Nabe: “Six in the morning, a fine summer morning, almost everyone is still asleep. Suddenly a sharp roar shook the train. I jumped out of the car, and, falling to the ground, I noticed two German planes in the sky. One bomb hit the carriage, where seventy-five people were traveling, the second - into the hothouse with horses, the third hit the rail of the second track, so much so that a piece of the rail tore out, and the ends bent like a sled. Fighters jump out of the echelon, scatter into the forest. When the planes took off, I went to the head of the train, where the bombs fell. In the carriage with people, the bomb pierced the roof and the floor, mutilated corpses all around. The horse carriage is a mess of meat and bones. One horse was thrown onto the rails by the explosion, it has no front leg and its stomach is torn apart. I have to shoot the poor fellow, but I can't. The lieutenant approaches: "Well, what are you looking at, shoot!" - "Why, the gun stuck!" Finally fired. The eyes of this horse, full of tears, are still in my memory. "
On the evening of June 29, the first echelons with units of the 137th Infantry Division began to arrive at the Orsha station.
Chief of Staff of the 771st Infantry Regiment A.V. Shaposhnikov: “Orsha was on fire. German planes appeared in the air every now and then. It was necessary to unload the train. With difficulty I found the commandant of the station. He did not know the situation, where the front was - it is not known. The commandant was completely exhausted by the military and civilians who surrounded him. He just waved his hand at me: "Unload as you wish." He returned to the train, reported the situation to the regiment commander. Colonel Malinov ordered to unload. "
Assistant to the chief of the operational department of the headquarters of the 137th rifle division V.K. Reutov: “The stress and stress were terrible. Imagine the situation of Colonel Grishin: the unknown, the front is approaching, you need to gather the division into a fist, and its echelons stretched for hundreds of kilometers - the head was in Orsha, and the tail had just left Saransk. "
The situation on the Western Front was very difficult. On the Orsha-Mogilev sector, General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group, consisting of eight armored and motorized divisions, operated. After completing operations in the Minsk region on July 3, these formations crossed the Berezina and in five days covered the distance to the Dnieper, about 90 kilometers. Here they were opposed by the divisions of the 13th Army, which was commanded by Lieutenant General Pyotr Filatov, retreating from Minsk and suffering heavy losses. He died under enemy air bombs on July 8, when Guderian's tanks had already reached the Dnieper. Lieutenant General Fyodor Remezov took command of the 13th Army. By his order, the 137th Rifle Division was to withdraw from its positions near Orsha, to march on foot to the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Sukhari, east of Mogilev, and to take up defenses along the Resta River. Lieutenant Skvortsov, commander of the communications platoon of the 771st Infantry Regiment, wrote in his diary about this transition: “Terrible heat, dust, airplanes. Despite the two days of sleeplessness, the fighters feel cheerful. Oh, and a Russian soldier! "
At 5 o'clock in the morning on July 10, the Germans began crossing the Dnieper in the Bykhov area - the countdown of the Smolensk battle began. The headquarters of the 13th Army was not ready to repel the enemy's crossing. The counterattack of our troops was scheduled for the morning of 12 July. Colonel Grishin received the order to march from Sukhari only on the evening of 11 July. More than 30 kilometers had to go. Sleds drove horse teams with implements. The infantry kept running. All unnecessary property and equipment, even greatcoats and duffel bags were left in the Rusks. There were only a few hours left before the fighting began, and the division was never assembled into a full-fledged combat unit. Part of the batteries of artillery regiments and rifle battalions, unloaded on the Krichev-Orsha stretch, were subordinated to the commanders of other divisions. A separate anti-aircraft artillery division came under bombardment by German aviation and suffered such losses that it actually ceased to exist. Even before the war, the sapper battalion was taken for training in Maloyaroslavets, and never arrived in the 137th rifle division. On the way to the front, the medical battalion "got lost" - he only reached Roslavl, where he ended up in another army. The disruption of the precise work of the railways and the raids of enemy aircraft - all this led to confusion and mixing of military units.
For personal leadership of the counterstrike, Army-13 Remezov left for the troops. At dawn on July 13, German motorcyclists fired on his car. The wounded general was sent to the rear. Lieutenant General Vasily Gerasimenko, the third commander in a week, took command of the 13th Army.
At the same time, battalions of the 1st 37th Infantry Division reached the starting line for the attack. Only the enemy was ahead.
The squad leader of the 624th rifle regiment A.K. Kuchinsky:
“We went to get closer to the enemy. Through the grove along the road - we dashed further, and suddenly machine guns hit us. One shell exploded, then another. We lay down, trying to observe, but we couldn't see anything, and the German machine gun scribbled so that we couldn't raise our heads. We decided to change our position and moved to the rye field. We dug in. And so the day passed - running, shooting. I still have a notebook: “First battle. Of the 53 people in our platoon, 19 survived ... "
Marshal Biryuzov, who commanded the 132nd Infantry Division in those battles, recalled: “It was much harder for the left neighbor, the 137th Infantry Division, at the junction with which the enemy was delivering the main blow. Here the battle reached its highest tension. The whole area seemed to be covered in blood and flames. Everything burned: villages set on fire by the Germans, destroyed tanks, cars ... "
On the day of its first battle - July 13, 1941 - the division repulsed all enemy attacks and did not retreat a single step.
Then the enemy increased the pressure on the flanks, on the neighbors on the right and left. By nightfall, the rumble of tank engines and the roar of guns could be heard in the rear. Having broken through the defenses of the 13th Army, Guderian's tanks rushed along the dusty roads to Propoisk (now Slavgorod) and Chausy. So the 137th Rifle Division was surrounded.
Missing
There was no order to withdraw, and the division continued to occupy its positions. It was getting dark when our soldiers seized a German vehicle, which drove right into the battle formations. The Nazis either lost their way, or considered that there could no longer be Soviet troops here. The important passengers had valuable documents.
A.V. Shaposhnikov: “In the portfolio there was also a map with the designation of the borders on which the Germans were to be, and even the dates, up to Gorky. And, I must say, the Germans adhered to the schedule of movement to the east. "
The historiographer of the 137th Bobruisk Order of Suvorov Infantry Division Valery Kiselev visited in July 1976 that place of the first battle near the village of Chervonny Osovets: “... Everything was overgrown with weeds. On the outskirts of the village there is a monument: a bronze figure of a soldier, a fence, inside there are four wide mass graves. How many of our soldiers lie here? Old-timers believe: “There are two hundred people. But not everyone is here, there are many graves in the forest. They lay like sheaves in the field, like sheaves. " How many times later did I have to hear this expression from old women on the long journey of the division - "like sheaves."
On the night of July 14, the 137th Rifle Division received an order to withdraw in four columns in the general direction of Chausy.
The Hitlerite command hoped that the Soviet troops encircled south of Chaus would begin to quickly disintegrate, and transferred its main forces to the Krichev area, where the reserve units of the Red Army were hastily defended along the Sozh River.
The gunner of the 45-mm gun battery of the 409th rifle regiment F.E. Petrov: “When we approached Krichev, the battalion commander ordered to take up defenses here. Our crew took up a position on the main street, on the right side of the roadway, the second gun was installed on another street, as tanks were waiting on the road from the Chausy station. A few minutes passed, the shelling began, a lorry rushed by, an unfamiliar commander standing on the step shouted that German tanks were following him. I saw how the shells hit the guns standing in front, how the fighters fell down there. Our platoon leader, seeing this, ordered to retreat. They fired the last round and ran down the street to the whistle of bullets. There were three of us, we ran into the yard, from there through the garden into the ravine. I didn't see the gun commander and platoon commander again, what happened to the second gun - I don't know either.
We passed the gardens, in the holes in the ravine we met and raised several more soldiers. There were seven or eight of us. The sun was setting. We were lying under a linden tree, a woman came up and asked her about the situation in the city. She said that Krichev was full of German cars. Early in the morning one of us went to look for somewhere in the ravine to drink, and he was stopped by a German with a machine gun. We also had to get up. He led us all through the hostess's yard, she still managed to give us a mug of milk. There were about twenty of us, they took us to the river, forced to build a pontoon bridge across the river. At first we were kept in the yard of the general store, then we were driven to the territory of the cement plant. In early August they drove to Mogilev. Before the start of the movement, the Germans announced that there were five thousand of us here. It took several days from Krichev to Mogilev. Those who erased their legs and could not walk were shot by the Germans. In Mogilev we were held near the House of the Red Army near the Dnieper. The officers who were captured in uniform were kept separately. Some junior commanders disguised themselves as privates. After Mogilev - Orsha, Novo-Borisov, then Germany. In early October we were taken to the south of Germany, to the Black Forest. We worked under the mountain, made a tunnel. Here I was severely beaten, miraculously survived. In February 1942, when I was swollen, they sent me to the infirmary. In May, after a correctional camp, he was sent to agricultural work, then ended up in Lorraine, in the coal mines. The Americans released us on April 14, 1945 ... "
Medical instructor of the 497th GAP V.P. Gaev:
“Before the breakthrough from the encirclement, we had a lot of wounded. It was impossible to evacuate them, so everyone was placed in the forest village of Kamenka, north of Varshavskoe highway, six kilometers from the Veremeyki station. With the wounded, they left me and medical instructor Grigory Malichev. The regiment went to the breakout, and we ... hid in the school. Local residents helped us in every way they could. In three months, 107 people recovered and went into the forest. Only one political worker died. And on October 14, 1941, 23 people were seriously wounded and we, doctors, were captured by the Germans. First there was a camp in Krichev, on the territory of a cement plant. Horrors and nightmares began. Then the camp in Mogilev, and then the 326th penalty camp in Alsace-Lorraine. In December 1944, the Americans liberated us ... "
The division continued on its way east: crossed the Pronya river north of the city of Propoisk and on July 18 reached the Warsaw highway. In anticipation of the remnants of the 132nd, 137th and 160th rifle divisions that broke through from the encirclement, enemy ambushes were already located there.
Assistant Chief of Logistics of the 20th Rifle Corps I.I. Zwick: *** “According to the plan to break through the highway, the 137th Infantry Division was put in the vanguard of the main forces, the 132nd was on the right, and the 160th on the left. I was sent to Colonel Grishin for observation and assistance. Personally, Grishin looked better than other division commanders. It was evident that this man - with an iron will ... "
A.V. Shaposhnikov:
“At that moment, a corps commander's car drove up to us. Major General Eremin came to personally verify the implementation of the breakthrough plan. He was all dusty, unshaven, deadly tired, so it was difficult to recognize him. I reported the situation. He: “We need to straddle the highway, make a gap to the Sozh and take up defenses on the other side of the river. Do it - well done, do not do it - I will shoot you. " He sighed and left. I never saw him again. "
The entire 771st Infantry Regiment, part of the 278th LAP, the battalion of the 409th Infantry Regiment, and the division's command led by Colonel Grishin reached the Sozh River. Other divisions failed to cross the Varshavskoe highway. The commander of the 20th Rifle Corps, Major General Sergei Illarionovich Eremin, and many staff workers were killed.
The commander of the auto-armored company of the reconnaissance battalion of the 137th rifle division V.G. Bakinovsky: “Before the war, our battalion was a serious force: about five hundred people, twenty motorcycles, ten armored vehicles, a company of amphibious tanks. During the first week of the war, they practically did not engage in intelligence, having no connection with the chief of intelligence, Major Zaitsev. We crossed the Varshavskoe highway first, there were no regiments yet. We went there in a passenger car, came under machine-gun fire, the car with the entire crew was shot, and we had to return alone. I returned to the battalion - everything was on fire: cars, tanks. "What's the matter?" - I ask. "Combat Solomin ordered to destroy everything and leave." He himself did not leave the encirclement. A sleek officer, he was a cavalryman, he did not understand anything in technology. Yes, and did not love his horse: he kicks first, and then sits down.
The commander of the 238th OITD, Major Makov, also disappeared, but they said that when a German column was walking along the highway, he jumped out and got into their tank. After breaking through from the encirclement, our reconnaissance battalion was disbanded, and I was transferred to the 771st regiment. "
The commander of the communications battalion of the 137th rifle division F.M. Lukyanuk: “The commissar and the chief of staff of the intelligence battalion were demoted to the rank and file by the decision of the tribunal. These were not the only cases of cowardice and betrayal. Then there was talk in the division that the chief of the division's artillery, the deputy chief of the political department for the Komsomol, turned out to be traitors. The division commander had many complaints about intelligence. Its chief, Major Zaitsev, in peacetime showed himself as a competent and trained commander, but at the front as a coward and alarmist. On reconnaissance, he did not carry out a single order of Colonel Grishin, moreover, with his lies he misled him. Zaitsev was tried by the tribunal, he was crawling on his knees, asking for forgiveness. "
When we crossed the Sozh, it turned out that the headquarters of our corps was almost completely destroyed. The division was left without a superior leadership. Then we went to the nearby village council and achieved direct communication with Moscow. Colonel Grishin spoke, as far as I know, with one of his comrades in the General Staff, reported on the situation and received an order, together with the airborne corps, to recapture Propoisk from the Germans. I was instructed to find the commander of this corps and agree with him on joint actions. When I found him, he told me: "I can't help you with anything, I have nothing but people ..."
Covering the crossing of the division's units across the Sozh, the 2nd battalion of the 771st infantry regiment was killed.
A.V. Shaposhnikov:
“All the following days, as soon as the wind blew from the Germans, it became impossible to breathe from the stench. Nobody removed the corpses, but it was hot.
Signal officer of the 771st Infantry Regiment A.M. Samoylenko:
“I, wounded, were sent from the battalion's command post to the regimental first-aid post. Moving 20-30 meters away, I heard that the shooting suddenly stopped. I looked around, and then I was seized by such shame and horror that I involuntarily shouted: 15-20 men from the second company - I could see - stood tall in their cells with their hands up. This is the last thing I saw in the battalion. "
All the Red Army soldiers who died in that battle and were taken prisoner are still listed as missing. The remains of those who remained forever in the place of the breakthrough from the encirclement for decades lay unburied next to the Varshavskoe highway, where the "Victory" and "Zhiguli" that swept past replaced Mercedes and Audi.
The fate of the commander of the 771st Rifle Regiment, Colonel Ivan Malinin, remained unclear. Either he died, or was he taken prisoner? .. The answer from the archives of the Russian Ministry of Defense is short: "He disappeared without a trace on July 19, 1941." That is, on the day of the breakthrough of the 137th rifleman from the encirclement. In the "Book of Memory" of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, there is another date of "disappearance" - "September 1942".
Divisional veterans considered the relationship between Malinin and Grishin not only difficult, but hostile. The regiment commander was much older than the division commander, in the same rank, considered himself worthy to command a division. Why did Colonel Grishin appoint Captain Shaposhnikov as the interim commander of the 771st Infantry Regiment on the afternoon of July 19, when Malinin was still at the unit's location? Shaposhnikov himself did not believe that Malinin had gone over to the side of the enemy: “He was very afraid of captivity, because in the First World War he was a prisoner of the Germans. Returning from captivity, Warrant Officer Malinin went to serve in the Red Army. They also said that Malinin was somehow connected with the NKVD: he quickly rose through the ranks, in 1937 he avoided reprisals. "
F.M. Lukyanuk recalled another very strange case: “In the spring of 1941, the division moved to new states, which were considered secret. And suddenly, these documents disappeared after one of the meetings at the division headquarters. And they found it from Malinin, who, according to his explanation, took them by mistake ... "
After the mysterious disappearance of the commander of the 771st Infantry Regiment, the chiefs of the special departments of the NKVD and the division, and the regiment Gorshkov and Potekhin, lost their posts as "not providing operational supervision in the units assigned to them."
Ten battalion commanders (out of twelve who left for the front from Gorky), many company and platoon commanders, two regiment commanders - 624th and 771st, chiefs of artillery and the operations department of the division headquarters did not leave the encirclement in the basins of the Dnieper, Prony and Sozh tributaries ... In August-September 1941, German patrols and local police officers overfished the encircled people who had lagged behind the main breakthrough forces. The names of Tyumen residents born in 1919-1921 who were drafted into the 137th Infantry Division before the war and who survived German captivity can be found in the book "Forbidden Soldiers". All of them were also reported missing.
The 137th units that made their way from the encirclement received reinforcements from the Tyumen residents mobilized for the war, born from 1885 to 1918. Then they did not yet know that they would find themselves in a different environment. Larger and more violent.
The essay uses documentary materials from the book of V.K. Kiseleva "Fellow soldiers".
* Grishin Ivan Tikhonovich was born in 1901 into a peasant family in the village of Vnukovichi of the Roslavl district of the Smolensk province. In the Red Army since 1920, he participated in the suppression of the Antonov movement. Graduated military academy named after Frunze. He commanded the 137th Infantry Division during the most difficult period of its history, until March 1942. Then, until the end of the war, he headed the 49th Army. For crossing the Dnieper and taking Mogilev he was awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union... After the war, Colonel-General Grishin was on diplomatic work in Albania. His life ended in 1950.
** In the post of commander of the 99th Infantry Division (it was stationed in the Kiev Special Military District), Vlasov spent only one year. On January 17, 1941, he was appointed commander of the 4th Mechanized Corps.
*** Before the war, the 20th Rifle Corps included the Gorky 137th and 160th Rifle Divisions and the Vladimir 144th Rifle Division. But on the way to the front, the 144th got to another sector of the defense. Instead, the Poltava 132nd Rifle Division of Major General Biryuzov arrived in Chausy.
“If tomorrow is a war,
If the hike is tomorrow…"
August 1939 ... The events in Spain, the capture of Czechoslovakia by Hitler, are still fresh in people's minds, and the world again smells of gunpowder. On Khalkhin Gol, there are battles with the Japanese, the armies of the Wehrmacht are pulled together to the borders of Poland. The non-aggression pact concluded between the USSR and Germany did not remove the threat of war. The Soviet government is making tremendous efforts to strengthen the country's defense. Military factories are being built, designers are developing new types of weapons. In connection with the growing threat of war, the General Military Obligation Law was adopted. The formation of dozens of new divisions began. So, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 9, 1939, the formation of the 137th rifle was started.
The division was born on the Nizhny Novgorod land. Its "mother" was the 17th Nizhny Novgorod Rifle Division named after the Central Executive Committee of the BSSR. The 17th regiments had military traditions from the time of the civil war. The formation of the new division began on the basis of the 51st Ivanovo-Voznesensky Regiment of the 17th Infantry Regiment, which was stationed in Arzamas.
In early September 1939, the first commanders and political workers of the new unit began to arrive in Arzamas. Division commander was appointed division commander Danilov, chief of staff - Colonel Yamanov. Together with them, division headquarters workers and regiment commanders arrived in Arzamas.
It was necessary to form three rifle regiments, which received numbers: 771st, 624th, 409th, and two artillery regiments - 497th howitzer and 278th light. In addition, several special units and subunits were to be created: anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery battalions, communications battalions, sapper, reconnaissance, automobile, medical and sanitary battalions.
Aleksandrov A.A., political instructor of the company of the 624th rifle regiment, later the party organizer of the regiment, retired lieutenant colonel:
- When the formation of the 624th regiment began, I worked as a head of the department and a member of the bureau of the Arzamas district committee of the Komsomol. The fact that a division would be formed in Arzamas became known in the regional party committee at the end of August 1939. Soon the regional executive committee and the city military commissariat, together with the arrived representatives from the Moscow military district, began to implement the developed plan of measures. The tasks came to the fore: to ensure the deployment of units and their headquarters, to pick up command personnel from the reserve. It was necessary to provide a certain party-Komsomol stratum in the units being formed, and, finally, to provide housing for the families of the command staff. The district committee of the Komsomol was also involved in all this work. At the end of August, the premises of the railway technical school were vacated, in which the 278th light artillery regiment was then housed, and the Red barracks, where the first battalion of the 624th rifle regiment was quartered. The hotel on Leninskaya Street was vacated for the apartments of the commanding staff families. At that time, the district Komsomol committee had to work especially hard. At the direction of the regional party committee, we were obliged to select three hundred Komsomol members from the assigned composition for the two regiments to be formed. The district committee of the Komsomol successfully completed this task. More than three hundred Arzamas Komsomol members were called up to the 624th regiment alone, and about a hundred more to the 278th artillery regiment. The division's medical battalion was staffed with orderlies and nurses exclusively from the Arzamas Komsomol. In March 1940, I already served in the 624th regiment as the company's political instructor. The regiment commander, Major Frolenkov, and the commissar Mikheev, greeted me very warmly, like an old friend from work in the district committee. Could I then assume that I would have to go with the regiment all its combat path until the end of the war ...
On September 7, 1939, the first artillery division of the artillery regiment of the 17th rifle division arrived by train from Gorky to Arzamas. The first to get off the train was the battalion commissar Makarevich, who was appointed commissar of the regiment. Senior Lieutenant Yelesin built a division on the platform and read out an order to form the 278th Light Artillery Regiment, which was to be part of the 137th Infantry Division. Soon the village of Vyezdnoye near Arzamas began to turn into a military camp, noisy with neighing horses, commands and soldiers' songs. On September 15, the regiment's commander, Major Ryabkov, the chief of staff captain Polyantsev, the division commanders Lieutenant Lagoysky, Senior Lieutenant Khrushchev and Captain Yakushev arrived at the regiment's location. The regiment soon began to live a normal army life.
The 497th Howitzer Artillery Regiment was formed in the ancient village of Karacharovo near Murom. Major Malykh, appointed as the unit commander, battalion commissar Andreev, commissar of the regiment, and several middle commanders were the first to arrive at the premises of the Karacharovsky rest house, where the regiment's headquarters was supposed to be located ...
V. Sviridov, commander of the headquarters battery of the 497th GAP, Komsomol organizer of the regiment, retired lieutenant colonel:
- In Murom, in the 497th howitzer artillery regiment, I was sent after graduating from the Kiev military school. Lieutenant Silkin and I arrived in the city at night, where the regiment was located, of course, we did not know. They asked the first soldier who came across, he turned out to be the commander of the regiment, Major Malykh. It turned out that the regiment did not exist yet, we arrived first. This is how our service began. But before starting combat training, an enormous amount of work had to be done: to overhaul the premises, build workshops, equip a canteen and a club, a stable, and prepare firewood for the winter. Soon the first four howitzers arrived, forty horses, then they brought tractors and ammunition. At first there were only 25 of us in the regiment, then another 60 arrived, then a whole echelon came - with Ryazanians, Odessans, Siberians, Vinnytsia residents, Georgians. At the same time, they settled in and studied the material part. Many of the fighters had never seen artillery pieces before ...
The 771st Rifle Regiment began to form at the school on Barrikad Street in Sormovo, then it was transferred to Arzamas. Colonel Malinov was appointed commander of the regiment. Malinov was transferred to the regiment from the post of chief of the regimental school of the 17th rifle division, and before that he commanded a battalion. Captain Shaposhnikov became the chief of staff of the 771st regiment. Battalion commissar Vasilchikov was appointed commissar of the regiment. Political instructor Naumov became the party organizer of the regiment.
Companies and battalions were immediately formed from the arriving personnel. Many young workers from Sormov, the Gorky Automobile Plant, and Murom enterprises came to serve in the 771st Rifle Regiment.
By October 1, the formation of the 409th Infantry Regiment was completed, and Major Kornienko was appointed its commander. Previously, he taught tactics at the military school named after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and trained hundreds of Red Army commanders. Artyugin, commissar of the regiment, was with extensive service experience. He arrived in the regiment from the post of deputy chief of the political department of the 17th rifle division. At the same time, Artyugin was a member of the Mordovian Regional Committee and the Saransk City Party Committee. The 409th regiment was formed mainly from Cheboksary Komsomol members. The regiment, after being formed, was to be redeployed from Cheboksary to Saransk, and the first test for it was a forced pedestrian passage to this city.
The party and economic bodies of Gorky, Arzamas and Murom rendered enormous assistance in the formation of the new unit. The formation of the 137th rifle division took place under the personal control of the first secretary of the Gorky regional party committee, Rodionov, and the chairman of the regional executive committee, Tretyakov. They knew well the needs of the connection, from the very first days they got acquainted with the command, with which they were subsequently bound by a strong male friendship.
From the end of September, all units and subdivisions of the division began combat training. Classes in tactics, political training began, military weapons were studied. The personnel became more and more involved in army life every day.
In December 1939, the division headquarters from Arzamas moved to Gorky, and the 278th light artillery regiment was also redeployed there. The 771st Rifle Regiment, after training camps with an assigned staff, moved to Cheboksary, but soon returned to Gorky and settled in the Red Barracks under the Kremlin.
On February 23, 1940, the personnel of all regiments of the division took the Oath of Allegiance to the Motherland. And combat training went on its own course ...
Sviridov V.V .:
- Finally, live firing began and went into the field. The first results were pleasing. I remember how, after the shooting, they built huts, tired but satisfied sang: "My fire shines in the fog ...". Major Malykh treated the commanders to good cigarettes. He and the regiment commissar Andreev knew how to cheer up and treated us, young commanders, in a fatherly way ...
In the winter of 1940, the 1st and 6th batteries of the 497th GAP were at an all-army artillery training. The battery of Lieutenant Berezhnykh took first place there, for which the Marshal of the Soviet Union. Budyonny awarded him a personalized gold watch. The platoon commanders of this battery, Lieutenants Sakharov, Zhitkovsky and Frolov, were also awarded with personalized watches.
Zhukov S.N., company commander of the 3rd battalion of the 624th rifle regiment, retired captain:
- On February 6, 1940, we, graduates of the Ryazan Infantry School, arrived in Arzamas to replenish the regiment. The parts immediately joined in life, and it was interesting, exciting, as, indeed, all that time. In addition to combat training, the regiment went in for sports a lot. For example, in honor of the anniversary of the Red Army, a ski run was organized along the Arzamas - Gorky route and back. We went on skis about 250 kilometers, in a bitter cold. Then the cadets of the regimental school of the 624th regiment won ...
Makarevich Stanislav Matveyevich, son of the commissar of the 278th LAP:
- I was a boy then and, of course, I loved everything related to the army. We went after the formation of the Red Army soldiers, climbed into the dining room to taste army food. We were assistants in the stable, tried to get to the shooting range, loved to hold a saber, a carbine in our hands, and considered shooting at a shooting range for the highest happiness. I spent the day and slept in the regiment. The Red Army even hid me from my father, he swore that I was disappearing in the barracks all the time. I often heard the fighters respectfully talk about my father. He loved people, and the Red Army men reciprocated him. And what amateur performances were in the regiment! It had its own theater, they put on Ostrovsky's plays ...
They did not forget in the division and public work, they knew how to culturally rest. Regimental orchestras and amateur performances were well known not only to the soldiers, but also to local residents. It is characteristic that almost the entire command staff was elected as deputies of city and regional councils. The working people of the cities of Gorky, Arzamas, Murom, Saransk knew their deputies well, and they, in turn, found time to provide all possible assistance to their voters. Back in September 1939, a delegation of workers from the city of Gorky presented the personnel of the 771st regiment with the Red Banner, a testament to the unity of the army and the people. Thus began a strong friendship between the soldiers of the division and the workers of the Gorky region.
And on the Karelian Isthmus there were battles with the Finns. Groups of the most trained Red Army men and commanders were transferred there from the division to replenish the warring units several times. During this period, there were not enough people in the division, especially commanders, and those who remained had to work with maximum stress.
At the beginning of the summer of 1940, units of the division left for the Gorokhovets camps, where they continued to engage in combat training at training ranges and shooting ranges.
The summer exercises of 1940 were the real test for the division. These were demonstrative maneuvers for the entire high command of the Red Army. The exercises were personally conducted by the People's Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union Timoshenko. The exercises were also attended by Marshals Budyonny and Shaposhnikov, chief General Staff General of the Army Meretskov; Head of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army Mehlis; and a number of other top commanders.
Colonel Grishin, head of the combat training department of the Moscow military district, prepared the maneuvers. The exercises were as close as possible to the conditions of hostilities. After the report on readiness to Marshal Tymoshenko, the 771 rifle regiment went over to the offensive. The 409th and 624th regiments were the defending side. Personnel morale was exceptionally high at all stages of the exercise. The desire to do everything, as in a war, was permeated by everyone - from an ordinary soldier to a division commander. All units showed excellent combat skills during the exercises. The battalion of Captain Gusev from the 771st regiment was especially distinguished. At the analysis of the exercises by Marshal Timoshenko, the 1st and 3rd companies of senior lieutenants Ponomarev and Tsabut of this battalion were especially noted as skillfully conducting the maneuver. The machine gunners also proved to be excellent, delighting the command with accurate shooting. Marshal Tymoshenko was also pleased with the accurate shooting of the gunners. For a long time, the soldiers of the division remembered their meetings with marshals Timoshenko, Budyonny, Shaposhnikov.
After the exercises, they were analyzed in detail. The entire personnel of the compound was expressed gratitude from the People's Commissar of Defense, and the commander of the 624th Infantry Regiment, Major Frolenkov, was presented by Marshal Timoshenko with an honorary gift - a watch with a dedication. The People's Commissar was also encouraged by many other commanders and Red Army men of the division. The 497th GAP took first place in these exercises among 15 artillery regiments of the Moscow Military District. It was not for nothing that the regiment was soon given the honor of becoming a training base for the Red Army Artillery Academy.
For successes in combat training, the division, among the 15 best formations of the Red Army, was awarded two challenge Red Banners - from the People's Commissariat of Defense and from the command of the Moscow Military District. Such a high assessment of combat training speaks volumes. In a short time, the division became one of the best formations not only in the district, but also in the Red Army.
Good traditions were laid in 137. Even then, the regular soldiers had a sense of superiority as the best unit of the Red Army, which later allowed them to have the same feeling over the enemy.
The division was completely put together as a unit, felt like a cohesive collective, received the necessary pre-combat experience and hardening.
After the exercises, Marshal Timoshenko decided that even for such a large city as Gorky it was too rich to have such a well-trained regiment as the 771st, and ordered his rank and file to be sent to form one of the parts of the Moscow garrison. For the formation of the new 771st regiment, only the unit commander, the political officer, the chief of staff and several middle and junior commanders were left ...
Shaposhnikov A.V., Chief of Staff of the 771st Infantry Regiment, retired colonel:
- It was a pity to part with such excellent soldiers. We were allowed to leave only rear and special units in Gorky. By hook or by crook, we transferred the best Red Army men and sergeants there in order to preserve the backbone of the unit. The new composition of the regiment was again recruited from Gorky residents, conscripts from Vyksa, Gorodets, Kulebak, Pavlov, Bogorodsk, Shakhunya. The guys were, as if on selection, almost all were Komsomol members ...
Soon the regiment again became the best in the division, it was considered the lead in the formation. No wonder, when in the spring of 1941 in the General Staff they planned to transfer the division to the airborne states, the 771st regiment was supposed to become a parachute regiment, as the best regiment of the formation.
Lyashko P.A., senior clerk of the 771st regiment, retired colonel:
- We were lucky to have commanders. Colonel Malinov knew his job perfectly, an experienced methodologist - educator, a very restrained, calm person. The chief of staff, Captain Shaposhnikov, enjoyed authority in the regiment. He never raised his voice, he would always figure it out, think over a decision, never threw words to the wind. Shaposhnikov knew the staff work very well, he knew how to organize well any complex business. Respected in the regiment and commissar Peter Alexandrovich Vasilchikov. A man of Bolshevik training, he was able to quickly win the authority and love of the regiment's personnel ...
Soon after the People's Commissar's exercises, Divisional Commander Danilov was recalled to Moscow for a new position. It was not easy for him to part with the union in which he had invested so much work and soul. A hard fate awaited General Danilov in the first months of the war. Commanding another division, in one of the battles he was wounded and taken prisoner. But in captivity, he courageously performed his duty, and died true patriot Homeland.
Colonel Grishin was appointed the new commander of the 137th Infantry Rifle. Colonel Grishin came to the division with solid experience as the head of the operations department of the 17th rifle division, head of the combat training department of the Moscow military district. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star for the perfectly planned and conducted People's Commissar's exercises.
Behind Colonel Grishin's shoulders was a solid and at the same time usual biography for a division commander. Ivan Tikhonovich Grishin was born in 1901 in a peasant family, in the village of Vnukovichi in the Roslavl district of the Smolensk province. In the Red Army since 1920, he participated in the suppression of Antonovism, in the 20s he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy. He went through all the steps of military service, starting from the platoon commander. The command appreciated him as a skillful methodologist-educator. Colonel Grishin commanded the 137th division during the most difficult period of its history, until March 1942. Then he worked as chief of staff of the army, until the end of the war he commanded the 49th army. For the crossing of the Dnieper and the capture of Mogilev, General Grishin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. One of the streets of Mogilev bears his name. After the end of the war, Colonel-General Grishin was in diplomatic work in Albania, then worked as head of the combat training department Ground forces... Ivan Tikhonovich's life was cut short in 1950.
After the people's commissar exercises, the division continued to intensively engage in combat training. There was a war going on in Europe, everyone understood that it was not far off for our country. The Red Army men and commanders studied intensively in military affairs, who often did not have time to be at home on weekends with their families ...
Pokhlebaev G.G., commander of the 76-mm guns battery of the 771st Infantry Regiment, retired colonel:
- The whole last year before the war remained in my memory as a period of constantly growing tension in my work. In September 40, they transferred to another part of the chief of artillery of the regiment, senior lieutenant Yegorychev. Without being relieved of my post as battery commander, I was left to work for him too. In October 1940, the secretary of the regiment's party bureau, Naumov, left for courses. As a member of the bureau, I was assigned to carry out his duties. It's a good thing that my deputy for combatant Lieutenant Boris Tereshchenko helped me a lot. Colonel Malinov once said: "Comrade senior lieutenant, in the first half of the day you work with the artillerymen (the battery was located in the Tobolsk barracks), and the second - in the regiment's party bureau." Every day I had to make five-kilometer marches along Sverdlov Street. In February 1941, Senior Lieutenant Merkulov arrived from artillery courses. He worked a little at the division's artillery headquarters, and then he was transferred to our unit for the position of the regiment's artillery chief, but I still had to teach the calculations. In May, Naumov returned from courses, this made my service easier, but it turned out to be too early to rejoice: Senior Lieutenant Tereshchenko was taken away from me and transferred to command the battery. And so no respite before the start of the war ...
The archive of the Russian Ministry of Defense contains Colonel Grishin's speech at a meeting with the People's Commissar of Defense in January 1941. This document conveys a peculiar spirit of the pre-war period:
“Comrade People's Commissar of Defense! The observation exercises you conducted in our division and the awarding of a high award - the Red Banner of the Red Army - laid a solid foundation for the training of divisional units and created conditions for our fruitful work in the future. We are now firmly on this foundation. True, I have no experience in commanding this division in the past, as the commander of the 99th division said. But I have experience in preparing this division for the observation exercises of the People's Commissar of Defense. Therefore, I will talk about how our studies are going now. We have taken into account all the instructions that you gave during the analysis of the tactical exercises of our division, as well as those of other divisions, and are reconstructing the entire system of our work according to them.
We started perestroika with such questions. The question would seem very simple - to carry out studies in the field. It couldn't be easier. But it turned out to be a very difficult matter. This case did not work out for us right after the camp studies. What have we done to move this case? We took as a basis the instructions that you made at the tactical exercises of our division, as well as of other divisions in other districts. Once again, we worked them out with all the command staff - senior, middle and now we are bringing them to a new replenishment, to each fighter.
Second, we rebuilt our internal routine in such a way that we study for two hours in the morning until breakfast, then we have breakfast and go out into the fields for the entire six hours. This gives us the opportunity to rationally use daylight hours and not keep soldiers near the barracks. What do we meet here? You can't turn this case right away. We are facing great difficulties. The remnants of the past, the pattern, the conventions that existed in this matter are repeated now. Here it is necessary in some cases to resort to individual measures. This is especially true of those commanders who even now want to manage the issues of combat training from the chancellery, from the office. There are such cases.
I must emphasize that in our 137th division we have a large shortage and, mainly, of the main link - the company commander, the shortage is expressed in 12 people. In addition, in the entire division there is not a single company commander of higher rank, like a lieutenant. The bulk are junior lieutenants. We have to work very hard with this group in order to correct the shortcomings. This creates great difficulty for us.
We are now finishing solo training. A number of commanders have spoken here that it remains unfinished. Yes, it remains largely unfinished in our country. I would like to report on how we are doing. Replenishment in our division arrived in late October and early November. We were not able to carry out a single training of a fighter in a month and a half. We have a lot of work ahead of us to refine a single soldier during the preparation of a squad, platoon and company.
For today, training in the division has developed in all parts, but it is uneven. Where people have understood perestroika for real, this business is progressing much faster. We have one such regiment, which fulfills all the tasks that are laid down according to the plan exactly in time. True, the quality is still lacking. We are working on this. We checked the tactical training of the young replenishment in one regiment for endurance. The result was great.
Along with the single training of a fighter, we adopted a system that is practiced by the commander of the 99th division. We conducted a 10-kilometer march with the platoon with the theme "Actions of the head marching outpost." Today, the company’s 15-kilometer march on the same topic ends, and December will end with a 25-kilometer march of a reinforced battalion. In January, we planned a five-seven-day march between the two garrisons with a separation of 50-60 kilometers. This will give us the opportunity to involve our troops, both in marches and in winter conditions.
Fire training. In terms of fire training, this regiment, which is going ahead, has completed the first initial exercises and proceeded to the second. On the rest of the shelves, the exercises are over. The results are as follows: excellent - 268 out of 647 people, good - 191, mediocre - 145, bad - 43 with a total percentage of 93.5. IN separate shelveswhere there is only talk about perestroika, they only think about it, this task has been completed by 50 percent.
In order to improve the quality of combat training - what we are doing. We are doing the following activities. Today we set ourselves the goal of identifying individual commanders who are now teaching fighters by show. We found such a commander, but several days have passed - and in each regiment we have not one, but dozens of such commanders who teach by show. This is a positive development for the quality of learning. Then the best platoon of the division was identified, popularized, and now each platoon leader is trying to bring his platoon to the level of this exemplary platoon. The same work was launched in regimental schools.
Then the secretaries of the party bureaus after the 15th district party conference sharply reorganized their work. There are party bureau secretaries such as Comrades. Bashmakov and Kazakov, who have a definite plan, when, in which battery, in which company they will be in class. They are not only present in the classroom, but also actively involved in studies. Returning from the company, they report to the regiment commander and help to eliminate the shortcomings. The Komsomol organizations also found the Komsomol members who really restructured the work and, popularizing their samples, are doing the work. This pulls the rest forward.
Work with excellent students. This is an important section of the work, especially during the solo training period. At first, they abandoned this case, abandoned honors, who were awarded the People's Commissar with the badge "Excellent Worker of the Red Army" and awarded with valuable gifts for training, etc. Now we have collected this army of honors, carried out the appropriate work, showed young soldiers, company commanders and platoons. We have not yet fully conducted this event, but each of the company and platoon commanders have set certain tasks - to have plans to raise these excellent students. For example, each company commander must prepare 2-3 excellent students by a certain date, which in general will lead us to the opportunity to train excellent students in the future. Thus, we will raise the quality of combat and political training.
The lieutenant general of the armored forces said that people who do not know the Russian language should not be sent to the tank units. I must say that there are up to 32 nationalities in our division, so there is nowhere to put them. You cannot take into the infantry, but we need to put international education in the center of our attention. We decided to do this: in order to quickly teach the Russian language, we assigned no more than 2 nationals to departments. Then they trained the Komsomol members and attached them to these persons, raising the question that each fighter would memorize five words of the Russian language every day. In the communications battalion we had 5 people, in the ORB - 15 people. Some commanders put the question before me: "Remove these people." I said that we have many nationalities and there will be no translations. And what? Now signalmen work perfectly on the key and transmit several dozen words. Moreover, not a single battalion commander asks to take them off. This exercise is extremely helpful. A person sees an object, for example, a hand, which is called a hand until he learns.
In order to prepare a full-fledged corporal and provide our detached commander with an assistant, we held such an event - we collected a 45-day training camp from senior servicemen of the 2nd year of service and by January 1 we will finish this training camp. This will provide approximately 50-60 instructors for each regiment. I personally attended every training camp. I must say that the quality of the classes is quite high, and we will get full-fledged corporals who will ensure the quality of the classes conducted in the department.
Of colossal importance are the measures that we are carrying out to retrain the command staff by order of the People's Commissar No. 0259. In short, I would like to note, as a drawback, one stroke. We get some overload of the division. The district conducts training - it takes leaders from the division, the corps conducts - it takes leaders from the divisions, or simply the training of battery commanders was transferred to me, and my division artillery chief with headquarters has been sitting at corps training for more than a month.
There is insufficient control on the part of the leadership of these gatherings, and the quality of the company commander's training turned out to be weaker than the quality of the battery commander's training. We are currently gathering platoon leaders. There is still a lot to work with company commanders in order to train them as real masters. The company commander is the main person who trains the fighter, squad and platoon directly. This category turned out to be younger in age, less in knowledge, and the training camp was somewhat lower than the category of battalion commander and platoon commander.
This is how perestroika is proceeding, this is how we understand the instructions of the Comrade People's Commissar, which were given to us during the analysis of tactical exercises.
Our discipline is not entirely safe. We have not overcome such shameful phenomena as desertion - there was such a case in December. Self-absences take place, there are cases of drunkenness, and at the level of a junior lieutenant. What's the matter here? The fact is that we considered him to be a fully trained commander and quit working with him, but he had not yet developed as a commander, but we left him to himself. Now we have reviewed this case and outlined a number of measures in order for us to raise the category of junior lieutenants.
We understand the regulations of the disciplinary service in a division correctly and conduct disciplinary practice correctly, but some of the command staff have a simple administration. Let me name one such example. There is a deputy commander of the battery Ilchenko - in November and 10 days of December he did not give a single encouragement, he gave 53 detachments and 15 days of arrest. We have now carried out a thorough examination of the state of discipline in this regiment and a number of other units and have given exhaustive instructions to correct this deficiency.
Now we have launched a broad socialist competition within ourselves, have called a number of our divisions of the Moscow Military District to compete with us for primacy. We set as our task at all costs to keep the banner of the People's Commissar, which the division received last year and we will fight for the primacy of our Moscow military district to make it the foremost district in the Red Army. "
Lukyanyuk F.M., commander of the communications battalion of the division, lieutenant colonel:
- In April 1941, I was at a big meeting at the headquarters of the Moscow Military District. The commander of the Moscow Military District, General Tyulenev, in his closing speech gave us a stern order: “The air smells like a thunderstorm, the war can break out unexpectedly, therefore, when you arrive at your units, make all the calculations for lifting and loading property and food into the wagons, including that appoint superiors for the carriages ...
The summer of 1941 was approaching. In connection with the difficult international situation in May, part of the assigned personnel was called up to the division. These were mainly participants in the Finnish campaign, fired upon fighters. Immediately after the replenishment, the division moved to summer camps to continue combat training. In the evenings, returning from shooting ranges and ranges, the Red Army men sang: "If tomorrow is war, if tomorrow is on a campaign ...". The division was ready to fulfill its duty, but still the news of the war came unexpectedly.
The Neruch River
By the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the 137th Rifle Division was part of the 42nd RC of the 48th A and was in the second echelon near the village of Alekseevka and the Korsun forest. The division received a replenishment and consisted of up to 6 thousand personnel. From the beginning of the Battle of Kursk until July 23, the 137th Rifle Division was in the second echelon of the army. The division was brought into battle on 23 July, having orders to force the Neruch River and capture the Zmievka station. Extremely bloody battles broke out for Vasilyevka, Nakhlestovo, Bohodukhovo, Stepanovka, Pirozhkovo. On July 25, in cooperation with the 170th Rifle Division, the division captured Zmievka station.
From a letter to the Museum Council of the 137th Rifle Division from retired senior lieutenant Nigruta Alexander Kirillovich.
Dear friends! I have a photograph of the best mortar crew of the first platoon of the 120mm mortar battery of the 624th rifle regiment. I happened to command this platoon from June 1942 to January 1944. The composition of the calculation remained almost unchanged. They were photographed by a photojournalist of the divisional newspaper "For the Motherland" in early August 1943, when a large group of soldiers, sergeants and officers of our battery was awarded orders and medals for military exploits. Among those awarded with the medal "For Courage" were the commander of the crew, Sergeant Shchegolev (in the photo he is with a notepad in his hands and a cap), and the gunner, corporal Nechaev (standing at the mortar and holding the aiming handle) and corporal Gubaidullin (he inserts a mine into the barrel of the mortar). Unfortunately, I don’t remember three more soldiers who were awarded medals "For Military Merit". On the account of this calculation of the mortar were 4 vehicles with enemy infantry, two armored personnel carriers, two bunkers, 6 machine-gun nests, up to a company of fascist soldiers. In the fall of 1943. we saw off corporal Nechaev, who had a general secondary education, to the artillery school. I don't know the further fate of my dear brothers-in-arms, whom I happened to command in the hot days of 1943. Former platoon commander of the 120mm mortar battery of the 624th Infantry Regiment, retired senior lieutenant Nigruta Alexander Kirillovich. Let this photocopy add to your museum.
They distinguished themselves in these battles: the platoon commander of the 624th rifle regiment O. Stepanov, posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Komsomol leader of the 624th rifle regiment battalion Yu. Gorchakov, awarded the Order of Lenin, adjutant of the commander of the 409th rifle regiment M. Spivak, posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, as well as hundreds of other soldiers and commanders.
The 137th Rifle Division made a worthy contribution to Operation Kutuzov. Zmievka was a key enemy stronghold on the southern approaches to Orel. The 137th Rifle Division defeated units of the 299th, 283rd, 92nd and 78th Infantry Divisions of the enemy. In two weeks of fighting, 90 km were fought, more than 70 settlements were liberated, 4,100 Nazis were destroyed, about 200 were taken prisoner, 20 tanks and self-propelled guns were destroyed, 30 guns, dozens of mortars, 142 machine-gun points. For these battles, only the medal "For Courage" in the division was awarded 250 people, dozens of soldiers and officers were awarded orders.
Major Grebnev's 409th battalion destroyed in these battles up to 1,000 enemy soldiers, 9 tanks, 19 guns, 23 vehicles. Particularly distinguished in this regiment were battalions A. Siryakov, A. Komkin, officers Grishchishin (regiment chief of staff), Melnik (chief of the regiment's artillery, battery commanders Ratin and Postavnichy, company and platoon commanders Belostotsky, Bobunov, Andreev, Stepanov , Skipochka, Reznik, Povedsky, Chernikov.
Lieutenant Colonel Suschitsa's 624th Rifle Corps destroyed more than 1,350 Nazis, 6 tanks. Major Ya.Beshkok (regiment chief of staff), battalion commanders N. Uvarov, V. Lagodny, S. Vlasov, officers Kurpas, Sirichenko, Gorchakov, Stepanov, Danshin, regiment party organizer Alekseev, regiment Komsomol organizer Pilipenko, battalion party organizer Aleksandrovsky, battery commander Krylov, company commander Khramov.
In this operation, the 771st Rifle Regiment destroyed 850 Nazis, 8 guns. The scouts of the 176th Orr Art. l-ta P. Kurusya took 76 "tongues" only in the first week of the offensive. In the course of this operation, communications worked without interruption, the chief of which in the division was Major V. Kachkalda.
For two weeks of the offensive, the 137th Rifle Division lost more than 900 people killed and over 2 thousand wounded.
On August 26, the Central Front launched a new offensive. The 137th Rifle Division as part of the 48th A was transferred to the Sevsk region and entered into battle on September 1, with the task of capturing a bridgehead on the Desna River. Pursuing the retreating enemy, the battalion of Captain Komkin from the 409th rifle division on the night of September 8 was the first to cross the Desna and seize a bridgehead near the village of Rogovka. The 771st rifle regiment seized a bridgehead near the village of Leskonogi. From 9 to 17 September exceptionally stubborn battles took place on the bridgehead. Parts of the division repulsed dozens of enemy attacks. The companies of the 409th rifle regiment were especially distinguished in these battles.
For successful battles to hold the bridgehead and for the fact that the 137th Rifle Division was the first of the Central Front troops to cross the Desna, she was commended by the Supreme Commander. Hundreds of soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals. The division commander, Colonel A. Alferov, was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd degree, and the Order of Suvorov, 3rd degree. The commanders of the 771st and 624th rifle regiments Kadiro and Sushchits, the chief of artillery of the division Yavorsky, the commander of the 17th ap Savchenko, the chief of the engineering service Major Dancich, the Order of the Red Banner was awarded to the party organizer of the battalion of the 624th rifle regiment A. Alexandrov, the orders of Alexander Nevsky - battalion and company commanders Medvedev, Alimov, Uvarov, Vlasov, Antonov, Kaun, Lisitsyn, Ilchenko, Mikhin, Skulsky. The heroism of the warriors of the division on the Desna River was massive. These battles went down in the history of the 137th Rifle Division as the brightest and most heroic page.
From July 23 to December 12, 1943, the 137th Rifle Division alone lost more than 2.5 thousand people. From the beginning of the summer offensive to the end of December 1943, 2,320 people were awarded in the division, including the Order of the Red Banner - 44 people, Alexander Nevsky - 19, Patriotic War - 27, Krasnaya Zvezda - 390, about 1880 people were awarded medals. Six people received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By the New 1944, the 137th Rifle Division received 3 wagons of gifts from the Gorky chiefs. At the end of 1943, the 137th Rifle Division had 4.5 thousand personnel.
Gorchakov Yu.M.
From the memoirs of the veteran Gorchakov Yu.M., the Komsomol organizer of the 1st battalion of the 624th rifle regiment, later the Komsomol organizer of the regiment, senior lieutenant:
At first they went up to the attack in unison, but the Germans fired so terrible that the closer to the river, the more they had to crawl. The Germans were hitting especially hard on the descent to the river - machine gunners from the trenches, and a self-propelled gun, it was good that it was quickly knocked out, by someone from the battery of senior lieutenant Yudin. During this attack I was in the company of Lieutenant Kodin, together with the Komsomol organizer of the company Danshin, in the platoon of Lieutenant Oleg Stepanov. We had already approached the river, but the fire was so dense that the company lay down ... - Everything happened very quickly, and we did not even notice what and how we were doing. They burst into the trench - turn left and right, threw a couple of grenades and farther forward. Danshin ran into a machine-gun burst - literally cut him off, Oleg Stepanov throws grenades, he destroyed two machine guns with the calculation, Azelkhanov - a grenade into the dugout, Intagaliev immediately shoots at the Germans in a trench. Some of them are running, someone is hitting us, someone is already raising their hands. A German jumped out of the church - I got him out of a machine gun, he also had a sniper rifle and a Parabellum behind his belt ...
Sirichenko Nikolai Trofimovich - commander of a fighter-anti-tank battery of 45-mm cannons of the 624th Infantry Regiment (137th Infantry Division, 29th Infantry Corps, 48th Army, 1st Belorussian Front), senior lieutenant.
Born on December 9, 1921 in the village of Mandrovo, nowadays Valuisky District, Belgorod Region, in a peasant family. Russian. In 1936 he graduated from 7 classes of incomplete secondary school in this village. He began his labor activity in 1937 as an apprentice, and then as a miner in the Donbass mines.
In the ranks of the Red Army since March 25, 1941. In the army since August 1, 1941. In 1942 he completed courses for junior lieutenants and retraining courses for battery commanders.
On July 23-28, 1943, supporting the combat actions of rifle subunits in the battles for the villages of Vasilyevka and Lykovo (Oryol Oblast), N.T. Sirichenko's battery suppressed the fire of six enemy machine guns and an anti-tank gun. The battery commander, under enemy fire, personally cleared the bridge, removed 25 anti-tank mines, thereby ensuring the timely crossing of his battery and the fulfillment of the combat mission. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star by order of the commander of the 137th Infantry Division No. 053 / n of September 12, 1943.
On the night of September 11-12, 1943, the 624th Rifle Regiment began crossing the Desna River near the village of Rogovka. N.T.Sirichenko promptly ferried the battery across the river, chose firing positions and specified combat missions all fire weapons. On the morning of September 12, the regimental artillery opened sudden and accurate fire on the enemy. As a result, three guns, 12 machine-gun points with crews, 30 German soldiers who sat in the school were destroyed. The accurate fire of the artillerymen contributed to the successful actions of the rifle battalions, which with a swift rush captured the enemy stronghold of Rogovka. By order of the commander of the artillery of the 48th Army No. 34 / n dated October 17, 1943, Senior Lieutenant N.T.Sirichenko was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
On December 5, 1943, near the village of Dobrogoshcha, Zhlobin district, Gomel region, the fire of his battery destroyed 4 enemy firing points and near a platoon of enemy manpower, which made it possible for the regiment's units to cross the swamps and capture an advantageous height. The artillerymen ferried the guns across the swamp and took up firing positions in time. Fighting off the enemy's counterattack, the battery destroyed 2 self-propelled guns and more than 60 fascists. In the following days, when the enemy pressed the rifle units, the artillery battery fought bravely in the same firing position, not retreating a single step. Thanks to the perseverance, perseverance and courage of the battery commander, the counterattack was repulsed and destroyed up to 200 Nazis. N.T.Sirichenko was wounded in both legs, but did not leave the battlefield and continued to control the battery fire.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 16, 1944, the senior lieutenant Sirichenko Nikolay Trofimovich awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 3925).
Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1944.
Since 1945 Captain N.T. Sirichenko is in reserve. He lived in the city of Valuyki, worked at DOSAAF. Then he moved to the city of Kopeysk Chelyabinsk region, worked as a commandant in ZHKO "Chelyabshakhtstroy". He died on April 30, 1949. Buried at the Central Cemetery in Kopeisk.
He was awarded the Orders of Lenin (05/16/1944), Alexander Nevsky (10/17/1943), Red Star (09/12/1943), medals.
In the cities of Valuyki and Kopeysk, there are busts of N.T. Sirichenko, on the building of the Kopeisk city military registration and enlistment office - a memorial plaque. A street in the village of Mandrovo is named after him.
The 409th rifle regiment as part of the 137th rifle division was formed by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 9, 1939. Places of formation of the regiment - the city of Cheboksary, then the city of Saransk, Gorky region. At the beginning of October 1939, units of the division began routine combat training. On February 23, 1940, the division's personnel took the Oath of Allegiance to the Motherland. During the battles with the White Finns, some of the soldiers and commanders were sent to the Karelian Isthmus. In the summer of 1940, parts of the 137th rifle division took part in a demonstration exercise, which was personally conducted by the People's Commissar of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko. The exercises were attended by Marshals S.M.Budyonny, B.M.Shaposhnikov, Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army General of the Army K.A.Meretskov, Chief of the GlavPUR of the Red Army L.Z. Mekhlis. The exercises were as close as possible to the conditions of hostilities. In October 1940, Colonel I.T. Grishin, who previously served as head of the combat training department of the Moscow Military District. In May 1941, the 137th Rifle Division departed for the Gorokhovets camps, where part of the enrolled personnel was called up. On the night of June 23, 1941, units of the division went to their places of permanent deployment and began to prepare to be sent to the front.Of award sheet on N.T.Sirichenko:
"Comrade. Sirichenko - a participant in repeated battles with the German invaders - in the battles for the Motherland showed himself to be a staunch, courageous, strong-willed officer who always fulfills the assigned combat missions.
Under the command of Comrade Sirichenko, a battery of 45 mm cannons during battles with the German invaders in 1943 destroyed: 7 tanks, 4 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", 2 guns, 2 cannons, 3 mortars, 8 heavy and 9 light machine guns, 8 fortified in buildings firing points and 854 enemy soldiers and officers.
In October 1943, in battles for the village of Zherebnaya, Gomel region, when superior forces Our infantry was pressed against the enemy, and only the battery under the command of Comrade Sirichenko repulsed four counterattacks by infantry and three counterattacks by enemy infantry and tanks.
On December 5, 1943, in the battles for the village of Dobrogoshcha, Gomel region, for the height 152.0, which served the enemy as an exit line for defense and, in turn, to capture our troops, which is a bridgehead for our further offensive, the battery destroyed 4 firing points and to a platoon of enemy infantry, which made it possible for our infantry to advance.
Our rifle units, having successfully crossed the swamp, quickly went over to the offensive to a height of 152.0.
The enemy had a crossing over the swamp (the road going through the swamp from the village of Dobrogoshcha to the village of Yashchitsy).
The swamp was difficult to pass. For the fastest crossing of artillery, Comrade Sirichenko personally made a thorough reconnaissance of the swamp and used the means at hand (brushwood, straw, etc.), quickly paved the way for the advancement of the guns. Due to the fact that the road for the horses was impassable, Comrade Sirichenko's fighters literally dragged the guns on their hands and took the indicated firing positions in time.
Soon, the enemy launched a counterattack with superior forces, supported by tanks and self-propelled guns. The battery under the command of Comrade Sirichenko knocked out two self-propelled guns with accurate group fire and destroyed 63 German soldiers and officers. The enemy broke down and rolled back.
On December 8, 1943, at dawn, the enemy, supported by tanks and self-propelled guns, with superior forces resumed a counterattack with a forehead strike and an approach from the flank and rear through the junction of neighboring units. The enemy managed to push our infantry out, but the battery held firmly in occupied firing positions.
comrade Sirichenko quickly ran from gun to gun, inspiring soldiers and commanders by personal example, showing an example of perseverance and courage.
And when the crew of one of the guns was completely incapacitated, Comrade Sirichenko instantly jumped to the gun, began to shoot at close range the Germans who were advancing from all sides.
comrade Sirichenko was wounded in both legs, but did not leave the battlefield and, inspiring the soldiers with his personal heroism, continued to shoot at close range the advancing German invaders.
Unable to withstand the destructive fire of Comrade Sirichenko's battery, the enemy, having lost up to 200 soldiers and officers, rolled back. The counterattack was repulsed.Comrade Sirichenko is a fearless warrior, a faithful son of the Motherland, for his heroic, selfless deed he deserves the highest government award - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Having received additional personnel and weapons from Gorky, Saransk, Murom, regions of the region, parts of the division on June 26, 1941, 29 echelons began to go to the front. On the day of departure, the front 409th rifle regiment was commanded by Colonel M.P. Kornienko.
The baptism of fire of the 137th rifle division received as part of the 20th rifle corps of the 13th army Western Front July 13, 1941, immediately engaging in a counter engagement with units of 4 TD and 10 MD of the enemy in the area of \u200b\u200bChervony Osovets and Empty Osovets south-west of the town of Chausy, Mogilev region. During the day of fighting, the enemy was thrown back 5-7 km, lost up to 30 tanks and up to 10,000 infantry. Parts of the 137th rifle division liberated the headquarters of the 45th rifle corps, headed by its commander, from the encirclement. The first battle was organized and carried out competently. Nevertheless, by the evening of July 13, 1941, units of the 137th rifle division were outflanked and, as a part of only 20 rifle corps, were surrounded. On the night of July 14, 1941, parts of the 137th rifle division began to exit the encirclement in the general direction south of the city of Chausy to the west. By the end of July 18, 1941, units of the division, having passed up to 70 km, reached the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Khodorovo north-west of the city of Propoisk (now the city of Slavgorod) of the Mogilev region on the approaches to the Varshavskoe highway. The section of the highway from Propoisk to Krichev was occupied by units of 4 TD and 10 MD of the enemy. The 137th rifle division, consisting of the 20th rifle corps, began a breakthrough from the encirclement in the morning of July 19, 1941. Within two days, the main forces of the division broke through the highway across the Sozh River. The division headquarters as a whole competently and skillfully carried out this operation. Parts of the 137th Rifle Division during a breakthrough through the Varshavskoe highway from the encirclement destroyed 15 tanks, 35 vehicles, 6 guns, 21 mortars and up to 200 Nazis. The main result of the battles on the Varshavskoye Highway: the 137th Rifle Division broke out of the encirclement, survived as a combat unit, provided a breakthrough for the main forces of the 20th Army Corps and the rear units of the 13th Army, although it suffered huge losses. At the beginning of August 1941, the 137th Rifle Division, consisting of 45th sc, was transferred to the right flank of the 13th Army in order to cut the Warsaw highway in the Krichev area of \u200b\u200bthe Mogilev region - Roslavl of the Smolensk region. On August 7, 1941, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Miloslavichi, Klimovichi district, Mogilev region, the 137th rifle division launched an offensive against units of the 7th infantry division of the enemy. Exceptionally stubborn and bloody battles lasted three days. Parts of the division captured the settlements of Neznan, Kiseleva Buda, but failed to fully fulfill the task. For three days in the vicinity of the village of Miloslavichi, the enemy in battles with units of the 137th Rifle Division lost up to 2.5 thousand people, 20 tanks, dozens of guns and mortars. The division also suffered heavy casualties. Colonel Kornienko, the commander of the 409th rifle regiment, was killed. On August 16, 1941, units of the 137th Rifle Division, which escaped encirclement, crossed the Besed River near the village of Belinkovichi in the Kostyukovichi District and took up defensive positions here. From the village of Belinkovichi, avoiding encirclement, parts of the division began to retreat to the city of Surazh, Bryansk region. On August 28, 1941, the surviving units of the 137th Rifle Division emerged from the encirclement into the forests south of the city of Trubchevsk, Bryansk region. For several days, parts of the division defended the city of Trubchevsk, without having an elbow connection with the neighbors, for which the 137th Infantry Division was marked by the gratitude of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief IV Stalin. On September 10, 1941, units of the 137th Rifle Division undertook an offensive, reached the Sudost River near the village of Baklan, Pochep District, Bryansk Region, where they took up defensive positions. By the end of September 1941, the 137th Rifle Division had significantly restored its combat effectiveness. The personnel numbered 5200 people. There were 130 vehicles. Major P. Knyazev took command of the 409th Infantry Regiment. On September 30, 1941, the Nazis launched a general offensive against Moscow, as a result, at the beginning of October, the 137th Rifle Division of the 3rd Army was surrounded in the area west of the city of Trubchevsk. On October 7, the 137th Rifle Division left the border of the Sudost River, on the night of October 8, made a 60-kilometer march and on October 9, 1941, crossed the Desna River.
137 sd, part of the forces covered the crossing of parts of the 3rd army, and also, acting in the vanguard, pierced the encirclement ring. The 409th Infantry Regiment, covering the villages of Svyatoye, Saltanovka, Navlinsky District, Bryansk Region, ensured a breakthrough of the 3rd Army units from the south. On October 12 and 13, units of the 3rd army fought stubborn battles with 10 MD and 3 TD of the enemy on the Navlya River. As a result of this situation, the control of the units was disrupted. On October 14, 1941, the 409th rifle regiment, cut off from the division headquarters, broke through and left the encirclement on its own. By October 30, 1941, units of the division, detachments and groups began to leave the encirclement in the area of \u200b\u200bthe city of Shchigry, the village of Kosorzha, Shchigrovsky district of the Kursk region. The 409th rifle regiment left the encirclement in the Tula region, where its rank and file were transferred to active units, and the command staff was subsequently transferred to the 137th rifle division.
From the city of Shchigry, parts of the division were transferred to the city of Yelets, Lipetsk region, where its number was 806 active bayonets. On November 5, 1941, the 137th Rifle Division was transferred to the city of Efremov, Tula Region, with the task of taking up defenses along the Krasivaya Mecha River west of the city and covering the highway leading to Tula from the south. Until November 14, 1941, the 137th Rifle Division did not have contact with the enemy and was preparing defense. On November 14, fighting began in the area of \u200b\u200bthe city of Efremov. For a week of fighting, 137 rifle divisions, having only about 1000 personnel, without an elbow connection with neighbors, repulsed all attacks of the enemy's 293 divisional divisions, reinforced with 18 tanks. In these battles, several hundred Nazis and 25 tanks were destroyed. In these battles, the division repulsed tank attacks of up to 40 armored vehicles each. Particularly stubborn battles were fought in the area of \u200b\u200bthe settlements of Yablonevo, Krestishche, Kadnoe, Verkhniy Izrog, Ereminka, Zakopy, Kamensky district, Tula region. The division commander, Colonel I. Grishin, skillfully maneuvered the available forces, as a result of which the enemy's attacks did not reach the target. The entire personnel of the division acted excellently these days, showing unparalleled courage and heroism. By the beginning of December 1941, the 409th Infantry Regiment of Major G. Tarasov was again included in the 137th Infantry Division, but the number of the personnel of the division was just over 3 thousand people. By order of the commander of the 3rd Army, Major General Y. Kreizer, on December 12, units of the 137th Rifle Division went on the offensive in order to seize the enemy's stronghold in the village of Burelomy, Efremovsky District, Tula Region. For 6 hours of battle, the enemy in Burelomy, with up to two infantry battalions, was defeated. More than a hundred Nazis were destroyed, 20 vehicles, 8 guns and other equipment were seized. Parts of the division in this battle lost 24 people killed. Securing the success, the 137th Rifle Division recaptured the villages of Medvedki, Yablonevo, Zakopy. In the second half of December 1941, units of the division continued their successful offensive in the direction of the city of Mtsensk, Oryol region. For two weeks of the offensive, the 137th Rifle Division passed more than 80 km with battles, reached the approaches to Mtsensk. More than 140 villages were liberated, the corpses of 1880 Nazis, 19 knocked out tanks, 29 guns remained in the fields. By the end of December 1941, the division had no more than 1,500 people, it operated with five rifle battalions at the front up to 30 km.
Having reached the Zusha River in the Mtsensk region on December 28, 1941, the 137th Rifle Division began heavy battles for crossings against constantly counterattacking enemy units. During the day on December 28, 1941, up to 250 Nazis were destroyed. The 409th Infantry Regiment by the New Year did not reach the city of Mtsensk, only 700 meters. In early January 1942, units of the 137th rifle division were transferred north of Mtsensk to the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Kuznetsovo Pervoe. There was a relative calm for two weeks. The division received reinforcements. On January 30, 1942, the 409th Infantry Regiment unsuccessfully conducted reconnaissance in force. The enemy firmly defended the western bank of the Zusha River with two regiments of 28th Infantry Division.
On February 4, 1942, the 3rd Army of the Bryansk Front began an operation with the forces of five rifle divisions and one tank brigade with the aim of capturing the city of Bolkhov, Orldovskaya Oblast. Attached to the 137th RD 150 tank brigade at the beginning of the battle suffered serious losses, the enemy's defense was not suppressed by artillery fire, and the infantry offensive was not successful. The enemy fired powerful and constantly counterattacked. For several more days, the division undertook attacks in the direction of Kuznetsovo-1, Krivtsovo, Babinkovo-1, Mtsensk region, but to no avail. Neighbors were also unsuccessful. For four days of continuous fighting, the division lost over 1,000 people killed and wounded. Major Tarasov, the commander of the 409th rifle regiment, was seriously wounded, and Major Filimonov, who replaced him, was commanded by the regiment commissar Vorotyntsev. These battles abounded tragic eventsbut also examples of courage and heroism. In late February - early March 1942, the hardest battles unfolded on the Berezuyka River in the direction of Fatnevo and Chegodaevo, Bolkhovsky District. The battles were not successful.
On March 20, 1942, the 137th Rifle Division was transferred to the army reserve for replenishment. By this time, Major Knyazev's 409th rifle regiment had only 57 people in the ranks. The main result of the spring battles in the Bolkhov area: the enemy in this sector of the front was exhausted, suffered significant losses and used up his reserves. After March 20, 1942, units of the 137th rifle division were concentrated in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Chern station of the Tula region, where they settled down for rest and replenishment. At the end of April 1942, the 137th Rifle Division took part in a private operation to capture the city of Mtsensk. The division was supposed to directly storm the city. Due to the lack of small arms, only one combined regiment could take part in the battles. The operation began on April 29, 1942. The divisions of the consolidated regiment managed to seize the bridge over the Zusha River and break into the streets of Mtsensk, but the enemy, pulling up reserves, drove them out of the city. The consolidated regiment failed to turn the tide of the battle in its favor due to the lack of reserves and ammunition. The Nazis crossed Zushu and attacked the positions of the consolidated regiment. Their attack was repulsed. The Katyusha salvo called out by the battalion commander forced the Nazis to stop their attacks. But the next day, the attacks of the division's units were unsuccessful and the operation was terminated. After these battles, the 137th Rifle Division was transferred to the area between the cities of Mtsensk and Novosil Orlovskaya, where it took up defenses along the eastern bank of the Zusha River opposite the village of Vyazhi, Novosilskiy District. A long defensive period began. Parts of the division conducted artillery attacks, conducted reconnaissance, intensively engaged in combat and political training, and replenishment training was underway.
In January 1943, the 137th Infantry Division was transferred to the newly formed 48th Army of the Bryansk Front and, after a 200-kilometer march, arrived at a new sector of the front. 48 army was tasked with advancing in the direction of Pokrovskoe - Zmievka (Sverdlovsk region) - Orel. The Nazi army, which was defending in this sector, 2, due to the unfavorable situation on its right flank, began to withdraw in early February. On February 2, 1943, the 137th Infantry Division began pursuing units of the 45th Infantry Division of the enemy. Stubborn battles broke out for every village, especially for the settlements of Markino, Shalimovo, Leski, Kolpnyansky District, Droskovo (Pokrovsky District), Oryol Region. Operating in mobile groups of 50-60 people, the division successfully moved west. These battles were replete with examples of military skill and courage. The machine gunner of the 409th Infantry Regiment M. Chekhovskoy, who destroyed 151 Hitlerites, the battery commander Lieutenant I. Postavnichy, battalion commanders Captain L. Galushkin, Major L. Bezbakh, Captains G. Tarusin, G. Polyansky, V. Golovkin especially distinguished himself in the February battles. The climax of the winter offensive of the 137th rifle division was the fighting on February 5, 1943 for the regional center of Pokrovskoye, Oryol region, which the Nazis turned into a powerful defense center. In the battle for Pokrovskoe, up to 350 Nazis were destroyed, 11 guns, 18 vehicles, and a large number of other equipment were captured. After the battles for Pokrovskoe, enemy resistance increased sharply and by the end of February 1943 the front had stabilized. In 16 days of fighting, the division covered 80 kilometers, liberated 53 settlements, up to 3,500 Nazis were destroyed and incapacitated, and significant trophies were captured. In mid-March, units of the division made several more attempts to advance in the direction of Zmievka, but were unsuccessful. Since the end of March, the front along the Kursk Bulge has finally stabilized.
During the winter-spring offensive of 1942-43, the 409th rifle regiment of Major A.F. Grebnev. had great successes: he liberated 29 settlements, inflicted great losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment, and captured large trophies. Major Grebnev A.F., as a strong-willed, tactically competent commander with extensive combat experience, set tasks correctly, did not get lost in the most difficult moments of the battle and quickly made decisions. The successes of the 409th Infantry Regiment were largely achieved thanks to the competent and courageous actions of its commander, Major A.F. Grebnev.
By the beginning of the Battle of Kursk (July 5 - August 23, 1943), the 137th Infantry Division was part of the 48th Army of the Central Front and was in the second echelon near the village of Alekseevka and the Korsun Forest in the Pokrovsky District of the Oryol Region. The division received replenishment and numbered up to 6,000 personnel.
From the beginning of the Battle of Kursk until July 22, 1943, the 137th rifle division was in the second echelon of the army. During the Oryol strategic offensive operation (Operation Kutuzov, July 12 - August 18, 1943), the division was put into action on July 22, 1943, having an order to force the Neruch River and capture the Zmievka station of the Sverdlovsk district of the Oryol region. Extremely bloody battles flared up for Vasilyevka, Nakhlestovo, Bohodukhovo, Stepanovka, Pirozhkovo of the Sverdlovsk region. On July 25, 1943, in cooperation with the 170th Rifle Division, the division captured Zmievka station. After the capture of Zmievka, the 137th RD continued to develop the offensive to the west. Captured in battles: Reutovo, Khomuty, Putimets, Tolubeevo, Oryol district, Oryol region.
During the offensive of the division from 22 to 31 July 1943, the 409th rifle regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.F. in fierce battles he liberated 13 settlements of Pokrovsky, Sverdlovsky, Oryol districts of the Oryol region: Stepanovskoe-1, Nakhalovka, Khoruzhevsky, Sorochi Kusty, Grachevka, Glebovo, Troitskoe, Bakinsky, Bakino, Beklemishchevo, Reutovo, Novaya Derevnya, Rzhavets. For the villages of Novaya Derevnya, Glebovo and Khomuty in the Sverdlovsk region, the battles were especially fierce. The enemy several times went over to counterattacks, but, thanks to the skillful control of the battle, the rapid maneuver of the subunits, the concentration of artillery and mortar fire, the regiment inflicted a heavy defeat on the enemy in all battles and the Germans were forced to retreat under the blows.
In the battles for the village of Pirozhkovo in the Sverdlovsk region, the enemy, having unleashed the entire force of artillery and mortars on the regiment's units, supported by 15 heavy tanks and Ferdinand self-propelled guns, launched a counterattack. The regiment soldiers did not flinch, exhausting the enemy's manpower, knocking out 2 "Ferdinands" and 5 heavy tanks. The enemy retreated, leaving hundreds of corpses of soldiers and officers and a large amount of weapons on the battlefield.
Where the most difficult situation was created in the battle, the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel A.F. traveled in person, immediately restored the situation and achieved an unconditional victory over the enemy. During the offensive battles from 22 to 31 July 1943, the 409th rifle regiment destroyed 1,019 enemy soldiers and officers, 67 horses, 9 tanks, 23 vehicles, 19 cannons, 12 mortars, 69 machine guns.
By August 5, 1943, the division reached the Oka River near the city of Kromy, Oryol Region.
On August 8, 1943, the division liberated a large enemy defense stronghold Almazovo Soskovsky district of the Oryol region. By August 18, 1943, the entire Oryol salient was cleared of the enemy and our troops approached the enemy's line of defense "Hagen", where the offensive of the Red Army units was suspended due to a lack of forces and the increased resistance of the Nazis.
On August 26, 1943, the Central Front launched a new offensive. The 137th Rifle Division, consisting of the 48th Army, was transferred to the area of \u200b\u200bthe city of Sevsk, Bryansk Region and entered into battle on September 1, 1943, with the task of capturing a bridgehead on the Desna River. Pursuing the retreating enemy, the battalion of Captain Komkin from the 409th Infantry Regiment on the night of September 8, 1943 was the first to cross the Desna River and seized a bridgehead near the village of Rogovka (Novgorod-Seversky District, Chernigov Region, Ukrainian SSR). From 9 to 17 September 1943, extremely stubborn battles were fought on the bridgehead. Parts of the division repulsed dozens of enemy attacks. For the successful battles to hold the bridgehead and for the fact that the 137th Rifle Division was the first of the Central Front troops to cross the Desna, she was commended by the Supreme Commander. The heroism of the warriors of the division on the Desna River was massive. These battles went down in the history of the 137th Rifle Division as the brightest and most heroic page.
On September 18, 1943, units of the division captured Rogovka and Leskonogi sala and began to rapidly advance west. Near the village of Zhelezny Most, Semyonovsky District, Chernihiv Region, the 409th Infantry Regiment utterly defeated the enemy battalion. In the first three days alone, moving off-road, the division advanced 50 km and liberated 30 villages. More than 300 Nazis were killed. In cooperation with its neighbors, the 137th Rifle Division liberated the regional center Semenovka of the Chernigov region, which was a major enemy stronghold on the Snov River. Moving through the forest zone, often through swamps, on September 24, 1943, the division with the forces of 624 and 409 rifle regiments, after a skillful maneuver, liberated the village of Klimov, and on the night of September 25, 1943, the city of Zlynka, Bryansk region. On September 26, 1943, the division occupied M. Vyshkov and thus entered the land of Belarus. On September 28, the 137th Rifle Division reached the city of Dobrush, Gomel Region, and after several days of stubborn battles captured it.
For 11 days of the offensive, 137th Rifle Division covered 172 km, liberated 126 villages and large settlements. The enemy lost in these battles more than 1200 people, 11 guns, 9 mortars, 53 machine guns. Considerable trophies were captured. the main task divisions - to prevent the enemy from going beyond the Sozh River in order - was carried out successfully.
At the beginning of October 1943, the 137th Rifle Division was deployed to the region southwest of Gomel with the task of crossing the Sozh River and creating a bridgehead for the development of success in the city of Gomel.
On October 10, 1943, the division crossed the Sozh River and occupied a small foothold near the village of Zherebnaya (now the village of Chkalovo, Gomel District), but all attempts to expand it were unsuccessful.
On November 7, 1943, the 137th Rifle Division was transferred to a bridgehead on the western bank of the Dnieper River in the area of \u200b\u200bthe city of Loev, Gomel region, with the task of advancing in the direction of the city of Rechitsa, Gomel region. On November 13, 1943, the division entered the city of Kholmech, Gomel region. The advancement of divisional units was extremely difficult both by stubborn enemy resistance and by difficult natural and weather conditions. After the capture of Rechitsa, the enemy began to quickly retreat to the Berezina. Developing the overall success, the 137 Rifle Division in four days fought 50 km and, on the night of November 27, 1943, forced the Berezina River at its confluence with the Dnieper, while capturing the village of Gorval, Gomel Region. The captured bridgehead was of great operational importance. The complete absence of roads and continuous swamps significantly delayed the offensive. On December 4, 1943, units of the division, passing the swamp, took the village of Veliky Bor in battle and reached the Zhlobin-Kalinkovichi railway near the Mormal station of the Zhlobin district of the Gomel region. Until December 15, 1943, the division fought in the area of \u200b\u200bMormal station, but cross the road railroad failed and the offensive was terminated due to extreme fatigue and shortage of personnel.
On December 15, 1943, units of the 137th Rifle Division surrendered their sector of the front to their neighbors and were withdrawn to the second echelon for rest and replenishment.
On January 16, 1944, the 137th Rifle Division was brought into battle in the Parich direction in the Svetlogorsk district of the Gomel region. The offensive in the conditions of the damp Belarusian winter developed slowly. For 12 days of fighting, the division advanced 20 km, up to 2,000 Nazis, 11 guns, 18 mortars, 25 machine guns were destroyed and incapacitated. On February 19, 1944, after a short respite, the 137th Rifle Division was again put into battle. Exhausting battles broke out for skyscrapers, edges, burned-out farms. On February 19, 1943, the commander of the 409th rifle regiment, Colonel Alemasov, was killed, who replaced Lieutenant Colonel A.F. Grebnev, who had been transferred to another division, and Colonel Kulikov, who replaced him, died a week later.
Only on January 22, 1944, units of the division in the Veliky Bor area of \u200b\u200bthe Svetlogorsk district of the Gomel region repelled 21 enemy counterattacks. Lieutenant Colonel Vasiliev was appointed commander of the 409th Rifle Corps. Until March 1, 1944, there were protracted battles, the enemy lost up to 2,000 soldiers, 19 guns, 4 tanks, 54 machine guns in them.
From 1 to 11 March 1944, the division was in the second echelon of the 48th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. On March 29, 1944, the division took part in the offensive in the direction of the Sutoki village of the Minsk region. After the artillery preparation, the regiments of the division crossed the Budlyanka river in battle, started a battle on the southern outskirts of the Sutok, but, having met fierce resistance and not having the strength to overcome it, were withdrawn from the battle. On April 15, 1944, by directive of the Headquarters, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front were ordered to go on the defensive. 137 RD as part of General Kalganov's 42 rifle corps was part of General Romanenko's 48 army and from the end of April 1944 was in the second echelon of the 1st Belorussian Front near the city of Rogachev, Gomel region.
Taking part in the Belarusian strategic offensive operation from June 23, 1944, the 137th Rifle Division was in the second echelon, and on June 27, 1944, after a 20-kilometer march, was put into battle, building on the success of the army's forward divisions. During the day of June 27, 1944, the division crossed the Ola River, passed 9 km, liberated 17 settlements. 165 serviceable vehicles, 23 guns were captured, up to 800 vehicles were destroyed in the division zone, 700 Nazis were taken prisoner. On the day of June 28, 1944, divisional units destroyed 860 enemy soldiers and officers, captured huge trophies with minor losses.
At 5 o'clock in the morning on June 29, 1944, the 409th rifle regiment, using improvised means and over the broken trusses of the bridge, crossed the Berezina River and started fighting on the streets of the city of Bobruisk near the railway station. Heroism in street battles was massive, the division fighters fought with unprecedented enthusiasm. By the morning of July 1, 1944, the remnants of the enemy's Bobruisk grouping were eliminated. On the march to the west, part of the division caught up with the good news: on June 29, 1944, by the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, it was given the honorary name "Bobruiskaya".
After the capture of Bobruisk, the 137th Rifle Division caught up with the front, making a march of 400 km. On July 12, 1944, the division moved to the line of the Zelvyanka River in the Volkovysk district of the Grodno region, forced it and captured the towns of Medyzhech and Lapenitsa-Mala. On July 21, 1944, with a blow from the 409th Infantry Regiment, the division intercepted the Narew - Belsk highway in the present Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland, the main route of the enemy's withdrawal in this sector of the front. In the town of Kleiniki (Hainowski County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland) a large group of Nazis with self-propelled guns and tanks was surrounded. The battalion of Major A. Siryakov 409th joint venture did not allow the Nazis to break through from the encirclement. During July 1944, units of the 137th Rifle Division covered 710 km, of which 234 km were fought. 94 settlements were liberated, 2890 enemy soldiers, 8 tanks, 24 self-propelled guns, 8 armored personnel carriers, 16 guns, 110 machine guns were destroyed, 357 Nazis were captured.
On August 8, 1944, the offensive was continued. The 137th RD attacked at the forefront of the main attack of the 48th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. On August 22, 1944, the 409th Infantry Regiment captured the town of Andrzeevo in the Ostrow District of the Mazovian Voivodeship of Poland. Part of the forces of the 137th regiment fought for the town of Ostrow Mazowiecki, Mazovian Voivodeship of Poland, where the battalion of Major M. Zuev of the 409th Infantry Regiment especially distinguished itself. On August 30, 1944, the division was withdrawn to the second echelon of the corps, where it solemnly celebrated the fifth anniversary of its formation.
On September 6, 1944, regiments of the 137th Infantry Division crossed the Narew River, taking up positions in the second echelon of the corps. For several days, the 137th Rifle Division conducted engineering work for the entire 48th army, and its artillery helped the forward divisions of the corps to repulse enemy attacks on the bridgehead. For a month, preparations for the offensive were going on at the Narevsky bridgehead. On October 11, 1944, the 42nd Rifle Corps began an operation with the aim of capturing the city of Pultusk in the present Mazovian Voivodeship of Poland. On October 21, 1944, the infantry of the 137th division was brought into the battle at the Narevsky bridgehead. October 24, 1944 with the support of two heavy self-propelled artillery regiments, division 409 and 624 rifle regiments forced the Pelta River in the area of \u200b\u200bthe settlement of Pshemyarovo north of the city of Pultusk, but its further advance was stopped by counterattacks by 6 td of the enemy. For four days of fighting, the division managed to advance only 10 km. From the beginning of November, combat activity on the Narevsky bridgehead began to subside, the attacks stopped. By mid-November 1944, the front in this sector had stabilized. At the end of November 1944, the 137th Rifle Division was withdrawn to the second echelon of the army for resupply. The whole December was spent in intensive preparation for new battles.
On the night of January 14, 1945, the 137th Rifle Division took up its starting position for an offensive in the second echelon of the 42nd Infantry Corps of the 48th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front. On January 14, 1945, the 48th Army launched an offensive. On January 19, 1945, the 137th Rifle Division, having passed through the battle formations of the 170th Rifle Division, was put into battle, passed the town of Mlawa of the Mazovian Voivodeship of Poland and, developing the offensive, invaded East Prussia (now the Warmia-Masurian Voivodeship of Poland). In the first hours of the offensive, the 137th Rifle Division took the Itovo station, where huge trophies were captured. On the same day, January 19, the division broke into the city of Soldau (now the city of Dzialdowo, Warmia and Mazury Voivodeship in Poland). In the following days, the 137th Rifle Division, operating in difficult conditions of rough terrain with ravines, lakes and streams, moved 16-17 km per day.
On January 21, 1945, the division took the city of Loken (now Lukta of the Ostród district of the Arminsko-Mazury province), on January 24 - the city of Morungen (now the city of Morung of the Ostród district of the Warmia-Mazury province), on the 25th - Mulhausen (now the town of Mlynary of the Elblгg-Mazury province) voivodeship). On January 26, 1945, parts of the division began to reach the imperial highway Konigsberg (Kaliningrad - Elbing (Elblag).
By the end of January 26, on the outskirts of the city of Braunsberg (now the city of Braniewo, Warmia and Mazury Voivodeship), the 137th Rifle Division met strong and organized enemy resistance. Having transferred large forces to the area of \u200b\u200boperations of the 48th army, the enemy began an operation with the aim of breaking through a corridor from East Prussia to Germany. In the 137th Rifle Division, stubborn battles unfolded in the area of \u200b\u200bTidmannsfdorf, Gross-Rautenberg, Fürstenau, Lauk, Ebersbach (now the settlements of Khruszel, Vezhno-Wielke, Ksienzno, Lavki, Stare Sedlisko of the Braniewo district of the Warmia-Mazury region). The Nazis attacked with fanatical stubbornness, regardless of losses. 137 RD at the same time repulsed enemy attacks and advanced, while not having an elbow connection with neighbors. At the same time, some parts of the division acted in an encirclement, separate enemy detachments that had broken through to the west were operating in its rear. In fact, by the end of January 1945, the 137th Rifle Division was operating in a semi-encirclement, but it acted confidently and continued to advance in the given direction. Until February 10, 1945, 771 and 624 cn continued to repulse enemy attacks, and 409 cn was advancing. During these days, units of the division reached the Passarga River (now the Paslenka), but it was not possible to cross it because of the extremely stubborn resistance of the enemy. The city of Braunsberg (Braniewo), the division's target in this operation, was only 3-4 km away. After February 17, 1945, units of the division stopped attacks and went on the defensive. The division completed its task - to reach the imperial highway and prevent the enemy from breaking through from East Prussia to Germany. The division has shown itself in the full sense of the hero. For excellent combat qualities and successes in the January battles of 1945, the 137th infantry Bobruisk division was awarded the Order of Suvorov II degree, and the 409th rifle regiment was awarded the Order of Kutuzov II degree.
On the night of February 24, 1945, the 137th Rifle Division, as part of the 42nd Rifle Corps, received an order to surrender its positions near the city of Braunsberg to its neighbors and relocate to the area of \u200b\u200bthe city of Elbing (now the city of Elblag, Warmia and Mazury Voivodeship of Poland). The division received the task to force the Weichsel-Half-Canal - the final task, and the next task was to force the Nogat River and take the city of Tigenhof (now the city of Nowy Dwur-Gdansk of the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland). The direction of the offensive was replete with strong points in stone buildings, was cut by canals and the forces of the Nazis in this sector of the front were practically not inferior to the forces of the division.
The operation began on the night of February 27, 1945. A battalion of Major Zuev from 409th rifle regiment crossed the Nogat River and started a battle for Horstenbusch. As a result of bold and decisive actions, an important bridgehead was captured up to 1 km in depth and 1.5 km in front. For several days there were heavy battles for Horsterbusch, the main brunt of the battles for him fell on the 409th regiment of Lieutenant Colonel N. Artyugin. On the morning of March 7, 1945, units of the division resumed their offensive. After a hard battle, Widau and Gross-Mausdorf (now the settlement of Myshevo, Novodvursky district of the Pomorsky voivodeship) were taken, by the morning of March 9, 1945, the 137th regiment reached the city of Fürstenau (now Kmetsin of the commune of Nowy Dwur-Gdansk, Novodvursky district of the Pomorsky voivodeship). After the capture of Fürstenau, the offensive continued non-stop. The enemy, skillfully maneuvering, put up extremely stubborn resistance. The advancement of the division's units was hampered by canals; strong points were set up in stone buildings everywhere. By the evening of March 9, 1945, units of the division, having advanced 3-5 km, reached the approaches to the city of Tigenhof (Nowy Dwur Gdansky). After a 6-hour battle, Tiegenhof was taken. Parts of the 137th regiment with respect to the neighbors broke forward and immediately crossed the Weichsel-Half-Canal. Until March 18, 1945, units of the division fought offensive battles, but did not have much success. On March 18, 1945, the 137th Rifle Division was withdrawn to the second echelon and transferred to the city of Elbing (Elblag) to carry out garrison service and prepare for new battles. Berlin surrendered on May 2, 1945. But at the mouth of the Vistula, the 75,000-strong group of the Nazis still resisted. 48 army had to complete its defeat. 137 RD received the task of striking Tigenart, Fischerbabke, Steegen (now Tuisk Rybina, Stegna commune Stegna, Novodvursky district of the Pomeranian Voivodeship) to cut off the enemy from the Lower Vistula and prevent him from retreating to the coast in the direction of Danzig (Gdansk, Poland).
On May 1, 1945, the 137th Rifle Division entered the starting area.
On May 3, 1945, an amphibious landing force crossed the channel and began to develop the offensive, overcoming extremely stubborn enemy resistance. On May 7, the fire of the entire artillery of the division was brought down on the enemy with exceptional power. The fighting went on all day on May 7 and until darkness on May 8.
At 4.30 a.m. on May 9, 1945, a group of divisional headquarters officers and envoys were sent in the direction of the enemy positions, demanding surrender. At 12 noon on May 9, 1945, the enemy began to lay down arms and surrender in an organized manner. The infantry of the 137th Rifle Division occupied the Frische-Nerung Spit (Vistula Spit) and went out to the Baltic Sea.
At the 137th Rifle Division, 17,126 Nazis surrendered, including Lieutenant General Rapport, the commander of the grouping in this sector of the front, and 41 senior officers. Trophies were taken: 380 trucks, 59 - cars, 30 armored personnel carriers, 4 self-propelled guns, 40 guns, 42 Me-109 aircraft. 16 thousand Soviet citizens, 7 thousand Poles and Romanians were released from captivity in the division's sector.
On May 12, 1945, parts of the division were transferred to the city of Elbing (Elblag) to carry out garrison service.
In August 1945, the 137th Infantry Bobruisk Order of Suvorov II degree, the division received an order to disband. The personnel of the 409th Infantry Order of Kutuzov II degree of the regiment was transferred to other formations, and most of them were demobilized.