Boeva \u200b\u200bDaria Gennadievna
MBOU "Gymnasium named after I.S. Nikitina ", student of grade 11" A "
head - Tarkovskikh Nadezhda Nikolaevna, teacher of literature and Russian language
"There are already a few of them left ..."
The Great Patriotic War died down long ago. Next year, our country will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the glorious Victory over the Nazi invaders.
This victory was hard for us. There is not a single family that would not lose a loved one in this war: father, brother, son, husband, grandfather ...
My family is no exception. My great-great-grandfather Danila Tikhonovich Degaltsev died in the battle near Moscow. He took a fellow villager out of the battle, went back under the bullets and never returned. I've never seen him. Eternal memory to him ...
On the eve of the great Victory Day, I thought that the time would come, and the last soldier of that great war will go to eternity. And we will not see more gray-haired heroes wearing orders and medals with red carnations in their hands and with tears in their eyes ... And there will be no one to ask about those terrible events of 1941-1945, there will be no one to express deep gratitude for our peaceful today and to bow ...
Thinking about this, I wanted to pay attention to at least one veteran, to congratulate him on the glorious Victory Day. Last year, Alexander Fedorovich Kondratyev, holder of the Orders of Glory of three degrees, celebrated his 90th birthday. I met with him, he shared his memories.
... The war began when Alexander Fedorovich was 17 years old. In 1942 he went to the front. “At first it wasn’t scary, but when heavy fighting began and fellow soldiers began to die around, then there was a feeling of fear,” the veteran recalls.
“... We took the regiment out of the encirclement, took the height. We dined in the trenches, but even during the meal we did not forget that there was a war around, ”says Alexander Fedorovich.
The division where A.F. Kondratiev, was placed in a train and sent to Belarus. The front-line soldier recalls: “Everyone unloaded from the cars and went to the front edge. The Germans gave a passage along the front, and in the depths they made a "bag". The first regiment went ahead. The second followed him. We walked through the woods. The commander ordered to rest, and he himself decided to ride a horse to the right. Suddenly there was a burst of automatic fire, but the commander was not hooked. It was decided to send the regimental reconnaissance ahead. After a while, the scouts brought in a German who fired from a tree. They began to interrogate - it turned out that now there is only one squad of them, and by the morning an infantry battalion will arrive. Then the regiment commander gave the order to take up defensive positions, dig in and wait. In the morning, barely light, the Germans went on the attack. The enemy was open, so the attack was repelled ... ”The regiment commander ordered Sergeant Major Kondratyev to find the first lost regiment at any cost. They walked across the lake and reeds. Two hours later, the first regiment was found and communications were made. For this A.F. Kondratyev was awarded the first Order of Glory.
A month and a half later in Latvia, the regiment approached the farm. There another offensive began. At night, the commander ordered a reconnaissance of the situation on the farm, since there was shooting from there. Kondratyev with his platoon of twenty people went to one of the courtyards from the rear. There was a German with a machine gun. Alexander Fedorovich ordered two fellow soldiers to destroy the enemy. A well-aimed knife throw - and the fascist machine gunner is ready! Then they started throwing grenades at the windows of other houses. The Germans began to jump out of their shelters and run into the forest. The farm was taken. After some time, for this feat A.F. Kondratyev was awarded the second Order of Glory.
The battle for the height, where the Germans were entrenched, was very terrible. The enemy cut down the forest for 15 meters so that it was impossible to get close unnoticed. For several hours, the soldiers crawled through the snow, choosing the intervals between the rockets. Then artillery preparation began, and the regiment went on the attack. For taking the height Kondratyev A.F. awarded the third Order of Glory. Alexander Fyodorovich was wounded in the head, arm and leg, but survived.
One morning, white flags were posted around the front edge. The soldiers, seeing this, began to shoot upward. All the cartridges with which their weapons were loaded were fired into the air. War is over!
Chevalier of three Orders of Glory, Hero Soviet Union A.F. Kondratyev is a living example for us today. An example of selfless love for their homeland, courage, perseverance.
Live long, veteran! Low bow to you from the younger generation!
The last of the "Mohicans"
He was the only one left. He was the only Hero of the Soviet Union who ever lived in the Voronezh Region, or full holders of the Order of Glory. Alexander Fedorovich Kondratyev is our fellow countryman, a native of the Talovsky district. We can say - lucky, because of the guys born in 1923, no more than 4% returned from the war (among them the largest number of full holders of the Order of Glory). As a 10-year-old boy, he and his family managed to somehow survive the famine of 1933. The war began when Alexander had just turned seventeen, and his first exploits, as well as his other fellow countrymen - young boys and girls, he performed on the labor front - built defensive structures on the banks of the Dnieper.
The harsh army days for Alexander Kondratyev began, which is symbolic, on February 23, 1942. Six months of training in a reserve regiment, then at a school for junior commanders near Moscow, and the newly minted sergeant Kondratyev got into his first battle on 15 August. And immediately a shrapnel wound in the arm, and in December 1942 - in the leg. The third, this time more serious, wound Alexander Fedorovich received in February 1943, almost immediately after returning from the hospital. A German sniper probably hit in the head, but because of the strong wind, the bullet passed tangentially, and the sergeant survived. Somehow I got to my own. And again the hospital. Then the reserve regiment. It was possible to return to the front only in the middle of the summer of 1943.
From that time on, Mrs. Luck, apparently, decided to fully repay the debt to Alexander Kondratyev. Not in the midst of fighting on Kursk Bulge, not only was he not wounded during the liberation of Belarus and Latvia, but he was not ill at all. And the fact that at that time the foreman was no longer hiding behind the backs of his comrades, they say him combat awards: Order Patriotic War II degree and, of course, three Orders of Glory. The future full cavalier received his first award at the end of 1943 for his participation in the operation to restore communications and release the Soviet infantry regiment. The second - a little later - for clearing a small Belarusian farm from the Nazis. And the third - Alexander Fedorovich received after the end of the war for the capture and retention of a strategic height during the offensive of our troops in Latvia. The fact that the award was so late is to blame for the military confusion with the papers. The introduction of the hero to the order was lost somewhere, and Alexander Kondratyev was mistakenly again awarded the Order of Glory of the III degree.
"I wasn't afraid a damn thing ..."
The military fate of another hero, Dmitry Grigorievich Proshchenko, who, unfortunately, is no longer with us, is in many ways similar to the fate of Sergeant Major Kondratyev. Almost the same age (Dmitry Proshchenko was born on October 18, 1921 in Voronezh), they both came to the front as very young people. The difference between them is only in relation to military operations. Both in their post-war interviews called the war a difficult and tragic affair. But if Alexander Fedorovich, when asked about his exploits, said “I did them because it was scary,” Dmitry Grigorievich noted: “Maybe he was catching what kind of courage? At that moment I was not afraid a damn thing. "
Memorial plaque on the house where Dmitry Proshchenko lived. Photo by the author
Senior Sergeant Proshchenko, commander of the pedestrian reconnaissance squad, his fighting started in June 1944, and until that time worked as an assembly fitter at an aircraft plant. In the first battle he managed to distinguish himself. In the battles for the settlement of Terebeshevo (Vitebsk region), he destroyed about 10 German soldiers and officers and already on August 10, 1944 awarded the order Glory 3rd degree. In September-October 1944, he participated in the Riga and Memel operations, then in the battles to block the enemy's Kurland grouping. For skillful actions in the capture of control prisoners in October he was awarded the Order of the Red Star, and in December of the same year - the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree.
Dmitry Proshchenko received his second "Glory" in February 1945 after he personally destroyed in the battles in the Groß-Friedrichsdorf region, Labiau (East Prussia) before the Nazis separated, and took more than 10 soldiers prisoner. Later, in the same place, in East Prussia, his squad skillfully organized an ambush, as a result of which more than 20 enemy soldiers were destroyed and eight were taken prisoner. Subsequently, the division fought its way to Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad). On April 6, 1945, on the outskirts of the city near the village of Tanenwalde, the commander of a foot reconnaissance platoon, Senior Sergeant Proshchenko, was the first to reach the water channel and crossed to the opposite bank. On the same day, in the battles for the city of Konigsberg, he found an enemy group of up to 30 people in one of the buildings. Throwing grenades at the basement, he destroyed six Nazis, and took the rest prisoner. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 29, 1945 for courage, courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, senior sergeant Proshchenko Dmitry Grigorievich was awarded the Order of Glory, 1st degree.
It is characteristic that, as in the case of Sergeant Major Kondratyev, Senior Sergeant Proshchenko did not become a full cavalier soon after the end of the war. Until that moment, there was one more remarkable stroke in his fate - Dmitry Grigorievich had a chance to participate in the Victory Parade, which took place on June 24, 1945 in Moscow. The full holder of the Order of Glory passed away in 2010. In Voronezh, a memorial plaque was installed on the house where he lived.
P.S. Heroes are different. Ours are simple and humble people... This material is an attempt to restore justice to them, to preserve their memory, to celebrate, perhaps with a delay, the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland.
Kondratyev Alexander Fedorovich - platoon commander of a company of machine gunners of the 272nd Guards Order of Suvorov infantry regiment (90th Guards Vitebsk-Novgrodsk twice Red Banner Infantry Division, 22nd Guards rifle corps, 6th Guards Army, 1st Baltic Front), guard petty officer.
Born on July 15, 1923 in the village of Shaninskaya, now the village of Kazanka, Talovsky District, Voronezh Region, in a peasant family. Russian. Graduated from 7 classes. He worked on a collective farm.
In the Red Army since October 1941. He graduated from the school for junior commanders. In the army since August 1942. He fought on the Central, Kalinin (from October 20, 1943 - the 1st Baltic), 2nd Baltic and Leningrad fronts. He took part in the Smolensk, Vitebsk-Orsha, Polotsk, Shauliai and Memel offensive operations, the blockade of the Kurland group of German troops. In battles he was wounded six times.
When repelling a German counterattack in the area of \u200b\u200bBychikha station (now Gorodoksky district of Vitebsk region, Belarus) on December 18, 1943 A.F. Kondratyev, machine gunner acted boldly and decisively, destroying the attacking enemy from his machine gun. When the Germans approached his position, he rose from the trench and entered hand-to-hand combat... He destroyed up to 15 enemy soldiers with grenades. The line occupied was held.
Pby the order of the commander of the 90th Guards rifle division on May 28, 1944, the guard sergeant was awarded the Order of Glory, 3rd degree.
With the beginning of the Vitebsk-Orsha offensive operation when breaking through the enemy's defense in the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Pligovka (now the Shumilinsky district of the Vitebsk region, Belarus) on June 22, 1944, the squad leader A.F. Kondratyev with his subordinates burst into the settlement, knocked the enemy out of it and held the main forces of the regiment until the approach. In battle, he personally destroyed 5 German soldiers. During the continuation of the offensive on the outskirts of the village of Sirotino in the same area on the night of June 28, 1944, the machine gunners repelled all enemy counterattacks, destroying up to 15 German soldiers. The regiment commander A.F. Kondratyev was presented for rewarding with the Order of Glory, 2nd degree. However, through the fault of the personnel authorities, a misunderstanding occurred.
By order of the commander of the 90th Guards Rifle Division of July 12, 1944, the guard sergeant was awarded the second Order of Glory, 3rd degree.
On September 24, 1944, A.F. Kondratyev was appointed as a senior cover group when performing reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines. The submachine gunners started a battle with the enemy, ensured the capture of valuable documents by the scouts and returned to the location of their regiment without loss. On January 23, 1945, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Purmsati (now the Virgas volost of the Priekuli region, Latvia), when breaking through the enemy's defense, platoon commander A.F. Kondratyev raised his platoon to attack the enemy and seized a trench, destroying up to 30 German soldiers.
By order of the commander of the 6th Guards Army on February 22, 1945, the guard foreman was awarded the Order of Glory, 2nd degree.
In November 1945 he was transferred to the reserve. He lived in the city of Voronezh. He worked as a carpenter at the Elektropribor plant.
Haveby the kaz of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on December 19, 1980, in the order of rewarding, he was awarded the Order of Glory, 1st degree. Became a full Knight of the Order of Glory.
He was awarded the Orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (03/11/1985), Glory 1st (12/29/1980), 2nd (02/22/1945) and 3rd (05/28/1944) degrees, medals.
I was born in 1923, in the Taldom district of the Voronezh region. Our family consisted of 6 people - mother, father and four children. Sister since 1921, me since 1923, brother since 1925 and sister since 1928. In 1933, there was a severe famine in the Voronezh region. I went to school about three kilometers. You walk out of school and think, what am I going to have lunch. We dried the grass, pounded, mixed with flour and made cakes from this, and we lived like that. Many were dying of hunger. Some went to Ukraine, it was good there, there was no hunger. But our parents didn't go. But in 1934 there was already a good harvest. They have already healed well.
In 1940 he graduated from the 7th grade, wanted to enter the school, but it did not work out, did not pass the exams in the Russian language. Returned home. In winter and spring he worked on a collective farm.
And then the war began. I was 17 years old. On July 2, I was called to the labor front. We took food for a day, shovels and went to the military registration and enlistment office. We arrived at the military registration and enlistment office and stayed there until the evening. In the evening, they put us in freight cars and said that we would work in our area. The night passed. In the morning we see that we are no longer in the region, we are being taken somewhere further. I must say that there were still girls with us and now we drove through the day - we see the girls were put in some cars, the guys in other cars. Their car is in the back. In the morning we get up, already the carriage with the girls is gone. After we learned that they were all returned back.
They brought it somewhere near Smolensk. The train was driven into a dead end, we were unloaded, and we were ordered not to go anywhere - because planes fly, they will notice, they will bomb. It was at night. We spent the night in the landings, during the day, too, in the landings, we don't go anywhere. Another night is approaching - we were lined up and led. We walked 15-20 kilometers for the night and stopped in a village, which was 2 kilometers from the railway. We spent a day in this village, and the next morning, about 150 of us, returned back to railroad... We spent the night there and again we go back to the village from which we left. So they took us. The third day went, and for the third day we did not eat anything, they told us: "Look, there are flowers along the road, eat them, there will be nothing more for you." We look, there are fewer and fewer of us, the guys who were more intelligent than us, began to disperse on the railroad home. We walked around for another day, and then decided to leave too, how long can you walk back and forth? We entered the forest, then a passenger car was catching up with us. A military man comes out.
- Guys, are you far?
- To the station, let's go home.
- You came to work, how will you go home?
- We've been walking back and forth for a week now, they don't feed us, they said eat flowers. We decided to go home.
- Okay, guys, come back. Cars came up there, they load you into the cars, and we go to work.
We decided - let's go back. We arrive - there are really three cars, then two more came. At night we sank and drove, drove for three hours. We arrived at some village, in it a three-story house, from which we were unloaded. It was like some kind of headquarters, they rewrote us, broke into teams of 30 people, gave us dry rations, bread, herring and said: "Go now to rest." Where should I go? We look there, not far away, stables, a barnyard. We came there, there is hay, and there we spent the night. We get up in the morning. Breakfast was prepared for us in the kitchen. We had breakfast, after which we were given shovels and we went to dig trenches on the banks of the Dnieper.
On our side, the bank was gentle, we were digging, and we were throwing the earth into the river. We worked before lunch, went to dinner. First, second, tea. So good. We come to dig again. First we took a dip, then we started to work. By 5-6 o'clock the order: “Everyone to shoot, quit all work. Do not throw the shovels. Everyone should return to the village. " We come to the village, screaming, noise, some on carts loaded, some on a cart. It turns out that the Germans have landed troops. We started to leave at night, the Germans opened fire on us, but we managed to get away. Still with us locals went out - abandoned their housing and went with us. We went out and again began to dig trenches, build a dugout, bunkers, bunkers. We finished this line, they took us further to the rear, about 5 kilometers. We started digging there.
So we dug until September, and then we approached the chief and said: "We need to go to school." “Guys, you will go to school in October. September we will work here. " We worked the whole September. Numbers October 8-10 we were all gathered, issued a document that we were working on defensive work and released. At the end of October I came home, did nothing for 10 days, took a break, and then the foreman comes: “Go to the collective farm yard. There a horse and a saddle are ready for you, and then you will be on duty at the village council for the night. " There, summons came from the military registration and enlistment office and we had to deliver these summons to the villages. On a day, there were two or three summons, you take them to the villages, and the day was resting at home. So I worked for a month, and then I come to the village council in the evening, they give me a summons: “That's it, leave the horse, here’s a summons for you, go home. Tomorrow at 9 o'clock in the military enlistment office. " They gave me food for two days and sent me to the military registration and enlistment office. There were 6 of us since one year. The village council gave us a cart and we went to the military registration and enlistment office. We arrive at the military registration and enlistment office, we stayed there until lunchtime. And then we drove on. At that time the German was already approaching the Lizki, and there was a plant there, and so we took part in the evacuation of this plant. We worked there for a month, and then we were loaded onto a train and sent further east - now to restore the plant. We arrived, the pits were already there, we had to clean, trim. They began to lay the foundation, put the machines. We worked there for a month, and on February 23, 1942, we, all the young people, were sent to a reserve regiment.
We spent three months in the reserve regiment. We were engaged in drill, studied materiel studied. And then we were put in wagons and sent to Moscow, where the 20th division was being formed and so, while it was being formed, we were sent to the school of junior commanders, where we studied for 3-4 months. At the end of July, we were awarded the rank of sergeants and sent to the units. There were only 6 of us - 3 people at the school got into the artillery, I never saw them again, and three others - into the infantry. Our troika ended up in one battalion.
On August 15, our division went on the offensive. At night, they approached the front edge, there was some part of it. We were 200 meters away from them, in the forest. As dawn broke, we went there, in the trenches. In the morning, a little light, it began. The Germans were hit by artillery and the command to us: “Forward! Fight!" We are going. Swamps, hummocks. There is no experience. We agreed with the Germans. The battle stopped at night, and in the morning it began again. So they attacked. Five days came, and then I was wounded in the arm, a shrapnel wound.
The wound is not particularly severe, the bone is not affected, so I was sent to a field hospital. After the recovery, I ended up in another division, I think in the 95th. There, too, were advancing, again forests and swamps. In December 1942, I was wounded in the leg. Again the hospital. After the hospital I ended up in another division, it was badly battered, so we stood in formation for two months, received reinforcements, and then, somewhere in early February, went on the offensive. A little light our artillery began to hit his village, where the Germans were. Our command: "Forward!" We poked our heads into the log, the German let us through and squeezed us with machine guns from three sides - there was no forest, only some bushes, snow, and we were in full view. We lay down. My friend and I huddled under a bush, lying. We lay there for 15 minutes, shouting: "Who is here?" Silence, no one is heard. The second time I shout, they are silent, there is no one. I say: “Vasily. We probably only stayed here with you. Either they beat everyone, or retreated, you and I did not notice how. Come on, let's go, retreat too. Come on, get up, run, and I'll be behind you. But don't leave each other. If anyone is hurt, pull out. If he kills, then both. " He jumped up, ran, ran 20-25 meters away from me, shouting: "Sasha, I was wounded!" "Where to?" "In leg". "Crawl, I'll cover you." He crawled. I watch him. I'm lying behind a bush. He crawled, crawled, I looked, nuzzled into the snow and fell silent. I shout: "Vasily, Vasily!" Is silent. I think that's all. I got up, ran to him, I looked - an explosive bullet hit him in the back of the head. I ran 15 meters away from him, and then, tangentially, I hit my temple. The sniper beat. I fell. I don't know how long I was lying. He woke up, turned his ears at the cap, covered the wound. I look to where the Germans are. I can not see anything. Frozen. I think we should run again. How many ran, ours lies, killed. I lie down for him. The bullet won't pierce. I lay for 15 minutes, caught my breath a little. I get up, run again. I run up, a big crater from the shell, I jumped there. I lay in this crater, I hear our conversation, from where we went on the offensive. I pop out of the funnel. I run to the trench and fall there. There are two soldiers there. Everything is swollen, my eyes are not visible. I went to the barn, there was a nurse, bandaged me up and said: “There is a medical battalion, 3-4 kilometers away. If you can, go yourself, don't wait. " I went slowly. Came there. I go in, there are orderlies, a doctor. They bandaged me anew, washed the wound. The field hospital is 15 kilometers away, in a village. I say, I won't go there, they won't get there. “Wait until evening. There will be cars, then we'll send them. " I sat there until evening. In the evening, cars arrived.
They brought me to a field hospital, which is about 25 kilometers from the front. We were stripped and sent to the bathhouse. We washed ourselves. Once again they bandaged up and rest, sleep. In the morning they woke up, we had breakfast and went to sleep again. Sleep off. We stayed there for three days. There was a station 20 kilometers away. We were put in cars and taken to the station. From there they sent us in a train to the rear, to the Ivanovo region, Boloshevo station. There is a hospital 15 kilometers from this station, where we were brought. They accepted, processed, washed in a bath, cut their hair. I lay there for more than two months. After being discharged, I was sent to the reserve regiment. Then they came from near Voronezh, the fighting was in full swing at the Kursk Bulge, and we were sent to the Voronezh Region. They stood there for 20 days, formed, and then moved closer to the front edge. In the morning we had to go on the offensive. Before the morning the Katyusha started playing, artillery preparation began. Heard nothing, the artillery was so strong.
They fought for an hour and a half or two, then moved the fire further, deep into the Germans, and our infantry went. They burst into the first trenches, and did not find anyone there. Let's move on. Here the Germans began to resist. But we still broke his defense and moved on. At the third line, he already met us properly. He gave us a light there! We stayed there until evening. In the evening, the division was withdrawn from there, another division approached, by that time only a quarter of our division remained. Many were killed who were wounded. We were sent for replenishment, both with people and materiel, especially it was necessary to replenish with people. We were in formation for about a month.
Then from there our division was transferred to the echelon and transferred to Belarus. 1943 year. We unloaded from the car and went to the front edge. Germans, what did the bastards do? Along the front he gave us a passage, he freed 5 kilometers, and in the depths he made a bag, 15 kilometers. The first regiment of our division unloaded ahead of us and left. Our second regiment followed him. We go through the forest, the clearing ends, a transverse clearing has gone. The regiment commander says, halt, rest. We sat down to rest, and the regimental commander, chief of staff and chief of the regimental intelligence rode a little to the right on horseback. Maybe they drove 50-100 meters and a line from a tree from machine guns. But it was lucky, nobody was hooked. They're right back. We sent a regimental reconnaissance ahead to find out what was going on. There must be our regiment, and we ran into the Germans. Where is our regiment then? The reconnaissance has gone. We walked for half an hour, leading a German who was sitting in a tree. They began to interrogate him, he says, there is one squad of us now, and in the morning a battalion of infantry will come here. Then the regiment commander ordered - the battalion to the right, the battalion to the left, our automatic company to the front, I was in the automatic company. We took up the defensive, dug in, we sit. We sit at night, wait, it begins to dawn. We see - the Germans attacked us. They were open, and we were sitting in the trenches, so we repulsed the attack. Our regiment commander says: “Good. And where is that regiment of ours, how to find it, where? " The shooting is not heard and the regiment commander tells me: "So, foreman, take your platoon, go as you want, but find the regiment." And we went, regimental intelligence and my platoon. And there is a lake, reeds, but you have to go so that the Germans do not notice, do not touch the reeds. We passed. Two hours passed. Two scouts are walking ahead, will pass slowly so that we can see them. Then they wave to us. We are coming. And so they walked. And then they stopped and sat down. So someone was noticed. They wave to us: "Stop!" We stopped, and they crawled on. They crawled a little and wave to us: "Go!" And we went to full height. We found our regiment. He went on and the Germans cut him off. The regiment took up a perimeter defense and is sitting, but the Germans are not advancing. We approached the battalion commander, the major, and began to talk to him. He says we have taken up a perimeter defense, we are sitting, doing nothing. We were brought to the regiment commander. We talked to him. Then the intelligence commander says, we went, we will report that we have found the regiment. We returned back. They reported. Our regiment commander shouted obscenities: “He, what a boy? Doesn't he understand anything? Why didn't you pull the connection ?! " He ordered the scouts to rest, and I and two signalmen to pull communication to them. And we went back, my platoon and two signalmen with us. We pulled the cable to the regiment commander. They began to negotiate, and we stayed there overnight. We dug cells for ourselves, trenches. One is standing with a gun, and the other is resting. I am standing with a gun. Night, dark. Two hours have passed. I say: "Come on, now I will lie down and rest." Just dozed off a little. They wake me up, get up. What? We leave here. And they went back on the cable and so the whole regiment was taken out, only the carts remained there, and all the people were taken out. We crossed over to another area and began to attack there. For the fact that we found the regiment, took it out, I was awarded the Order of Glory of the third degree, and the soldiers were awarded medals.
In a month and a half, another attack. We approached the farm, the regiment commander ordered me to scout the farm at night. They fired hard from there. I had to find out what kind of technique was there. I walked around this farm with my platoon, went from the rear to the last house. I looked - a German was sitting at this house, a trench had been dug for him, there was a machine gun. It was in May, it was raining a little, so the German covered himself with a raincoat and chirped on an accordion. I say take it without a sound and finish it. Stabbed him in the heart, ready. The farm has 5 yards, but there are 5 yards to the side. We part there, part here, and let's - grenades in the windows and fire from machine guns. The Germans in their underpants jumped out and fled, there weren't many of them. We knocked them out of this farm, then took up defensive positions. I sent one to the regiment commander to report that the farm was liberated, and we took up defenses behind the farm. The battalion went beyond this farm and took up defensive positions. In the afternoon they began to attack. And we especially did not take part in these battles, we rested. For this I was given the second Order of Glory, third degree. It so happened - the regiment commander sent a report to the division for the first order. Month no answer. He decided that the documents were missing. Writes the second report. Three days passed, the first order of the third degree comes, a week later the second order of the third degree comes. What to do?!
Then again the offensive. We took one height. The Germans were strongly fortified, did not allow the attack. We have an order, at night the submachine gunners get out, closer to this height. In the morning, a little light will begin artillery preparation, it is necessary to start a battle in his trenches, and then the infantry will approach. And so they did. We laid down near the German trenches, in the morning artillery preparation. And we immediately, a company, about 60 people, in the trenches to them. The Germans were driven out. For this height I was given the Order of Glory of the second degree.
The war is over, I came home, I have two orders of the third degree and one order of the second degree. And my sister's husband was a communications colonel, he told me that it was not supposed to, go to the military registration and enlistment office, they will replace the order of the third degree with the order of the first degree. He sent me a clipping from the newspaper, they told about the same case. I went to the military registration and enlistment office, they made a request to the archive, they confirmed it from the archive. I wrote a statement and sent it to Moscow. For a month they waited for an answer, then they called me from the military registration and enlistment office, come. They have been awarded the Order of Glory of the first degree, and the order of the third degree, they say, must be sent. And I had lost it by that time.
You were sent to a reserve regiment in the winter of 1941, what was the situation there? How were they fed there?
They were fed normally. At 8 o'clock we got up, got up, washed ourselves, exercise. We had breakfast for classes. If it is very cold indoor activities. Studied materiel or political studies. We studied the PPSh machine gun, studied the rifle. We had no machine guns. In addition, we studied the regimental gun. If the day was less warm, we went to tactical classes. Learned to attack, take up the defense
Shoot?
Yes. There were special shooting ranges, they went there and fired rifles at targets. I have a good impression of this preparation.
But it was hard, especially in tactical training. Dressed in sweatshirts, greatcoats, boots with windings, wadded trousers, caps with earflaps on our heads, and we run up to our waist in the snow.
August 1942. Who do you remember from your department? Someone remained in the memory of those with whom the war began?
I don't remember anyone.
In this situation, with whom did friendship arise? On a local basis - for example, did the Voronezh guys stick together?
No. More on the national, Russians with Russians. When I got into a rifle company, there were more ethnic groups, there were all kinds of Uzbeks. They don't understand Russian. You start something, he is not belle ... Oh, your mother, I'll give you, not belle.
Was this division more consisted of conscripts from Central Asia?
Most are from there.
What kind of soldiers are they?
At first, I myself did not understand what was needed. You say run ahead. They are running. Get down! Lie down. Obeyed the order.
How was your rifle squad armed?
Everyone has rifles.
Was there a machine-gun squad?
It was. Easel machine guns. The calculations were, the commander and the first number of the machine gunner, the second number and three carriers. The heavy machine gun had five men in the crew.
This is separate. Machine-gun company. And I mean, was there a Dyagtyarev machine gun in your squad?
Did not have.
And in the platoon?
I do not remember. In my opinion, it was not. We didn't have a machine gun in our department, only a rifle.
In August 1942, what was your outfit? What were you wearing? And what was in the sidor?
In summer, there were no greatcoats, tunics, trousers or sweatshirts. Cotton trousers, boots, windings, cap. In winter they gave me a sweatshirt. What's in the sidor? When going on the offensive, they were given dry rations for a day. Bread or crackers, sausage or salted fish, sugar. More ammunition. Cartridges, RGD grenades with a long handle.
Anti-tank grenades?
Did not have. Then F-1 grenades.
Have they always been dragged around? And on the march too?
Always with you. On the march, they were not thrown out. They hung on the belt.
Mask?
It was the first time. We threw it away, it is not needed.
What did you put in your gas mask bag?
Thrown away right with the bag. They didn't carry it with them. The foreman will pick up.
The death medallion was filled?
Yes. In it you write your address, where, where you were born. And here they sewed into the tunic where the button was. If they kill, they will find and report.
There was no such superstition, if you fill it, then they will kill you?
I didn't have that.
Was there a change of linen?
It was, but rarely. This is when you get out of the battles for the formation, a bathhouse was organized there, a roasting machine came. You go to the bathhouse, take everything off yourself, hand it over there. While you wash in the bathhouse, clothes are fried there.
Was there a lot of lice?
A lot of. Once we went to the bathhouse, took everything off ourselves, passed it. There they warn, do not leave anything leather, God forbid, leave matches in your pocket. Apparently someone left the matches. We washed ourselves, but they don't give us laundry - it all burned out. They waited until another was brought from the rear.
Were there matches or lighters?
The first battles, summer 1942, what was your personal attitude towards the Germans?
Malicious. What are you bastard doing? What do you want? There was anger throughout the war.
Have you taken prisoners?
They took it. They did not kill them, they sent them on.
What did you take from the trophies?
If you have one, take off your watch.
You took from the dead?
You were wounded, you were taken to a field hospital. What was the mood there?
You rest, everything is fine, clean, lice do not bite, warm. But at the same time, you think, it's not long, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow to go there again. Sometimes you don't think anything. And at one time he will attack, go there again. There was no particular panic.
And those who were in the hospital wanted to go to the front, or wanted to stay?
To escape - it was not.
There was no desire to leave the infantry, to join the artillery, the signalmen?
After the hospital, you find yourself in a company of machine gunners?
Yes. We had an automatic rifle company in our regiment. The regiment also had a security platoon, they guarded the regiment's banner. They were not touched anywhere, they were with the chief of staff all the time. Not with the regiment commander, he is always closer to the front line, but the chief of staff a kilometer or a half away, and they were guarding the regiment's banner with him.
And the submachine gun company was closer to the regiment commander and we were always thrown into the breakthrough.
Were the losses in the submachine gunner company more or less than in the rifle one?
Less than in the rifle. They took care of us. But I had to go on the attack.
Does the company of submachine gunners move on foot on the march?
On foot, like everyone else. Only the commander of the regiment, the chief of staff of the regiment and the commander of the regimental intelligence can ride horses, and the rest can all on foot.
How was the selection of reinforcements for the company of submachine gunners?
Younger, more energetic. They won't take the old man any more, there are submachine gunners.
Regimental reconnaissance from the company of machine gunners replenished?
Didn't you go?
No. I only went with reconnaissance twice, then there were few scouts left, about 8 people, but I had to take the "language". Our department gave them help. It was in the cover group, the scouts were taking the "language", and we were covering it. They leave with the "tongue", and we cover from behind, like their guards.
Did the intelligence service enjoy certain privileges? Did they attack?
No. We are on the defensive, it is imperative to take the "language", find out what units are there, how many infantry. And then the exploration goes. The sappers make a passage in the barbed wire, and the reconnaissance has begun. About 15 people are walking. From the dugout or trench they seize a German, close it up and drag him.
They brought a "tongue", handed it over, and are resting. They can rest for half a month, they are not touched anywhere.
Did your company enjoy the same privileges or not?
You can say and use it and at the same time, no. We arrived and the next day we went to class. I didn’t see the scouts doing it. And we worked hard - tactical exercises, drill. Let's go into the forest, disassemble the machine and sit.
One case. I was on duty in a submachine gun company. The night went well, and in the morning the company commander took the company to classes. In the summer we lived in huts, and there was an orderly at the hut, and I was in the company. I hear: "Duty officer, on the way out!" I come running. The regiment commander is walking. I give the command, the company is at attention, I go out myself and report. Comrade Colonel, duty officer of the first submachine gun company, foreman so-and-so, during my duty no incidents happened, the company is in class. He: "At ease" - and left the company.
Didn't you have freemen, like scouts?
No. We were freer than ordinary soldiers, but we did not have such freemen as the scouts.
- Who enjoyed authority in the company?
Was vodka given in winter?
They did, but not always, on holidays. Not given daily. In the hospital for some holiday they gave.
Superstitions, omens, premonitions?
We didn't think about anything. We thought we would go into battle tomorrow. Only this thought was.
From the winter of 1943 to the summer of 1943, what has changed in the army? Introduced shoulder straps, what else?
No changes.
Mood?
As we served, so we served, the same daily routine. The mood did not change, as it was, and remained so.
Did you go to Königsberg?
No. South.
Courland group?
I do not know. I have not been to Germany. We were in the Baltics, we went to Riga. We did not reach Riga, the war is over.
Was the fighting in May 1945 heavy?
Yes. The Germans resisted well. Sometimes it will press so hard that you think you can't get out of here. But then it turns out somehow ...
What weapon did you have?
PPSh, and then with a folding PPS
Comfortable?
PPP is much more convenient, easier.
Is the PPSh a reliable machine gun?
Reliable, normal. When you take care of him, all weapons are reliable, they do not fail. When you do not clean, it may refuse, it may not shoot. You clean it, clean it, grease it, it works like a clock.
What was the most dangerous weapon of the Germans? What did you dislike the most?
The Vanyusha, a six-barreled mortar, appeared. When it fires, it makes such a hoarse sound. But we did not particularly encounter tanks.
Did you use captured weapons?
Did you take anything from edible trophies?
What do you remember?
They took cheese, bread, canned food, sweets. But they were afraid that they were poisoned. The German left a lot of the poisoned, many children were poisoned ...
Have you had any cases of alcohol poisoning?
No. The Germans did not have it, we never found it. Flasks of vodka were found in the dugouts. Yes, in 1943, they recaptured the dugout before the New Year. There are flasks of vodka, come on, little by little ...
What feelings did you experience in a combat situation?
Who knows.
Didn't you think about anything?
You don't think about anything, you just know that you have to go, beat, you have to kick him out and that's it.
What was the most difficult and terrible incident in your war?
When he was wounded in the head. When I came out ... It was scary. Snow, open field, it is at a height, and I have to go to the height.
There were no maskhalats?
Did the allies help? Do you remember anything about Lend-Lease?
Canned food, bread ...
Was there any entertainment? What did you do in your free time?
No. I do not remember. Artists, girls, dances came to the hospital, but there was nothing at the front.
Front voltage, when does it leave? How long does it take for it to go away?
After the battles - a day or two. And only then you feel freer.
Were the women in the regiment?
We had one woman in our company, a nurse. Then they sent two female snipers. But they stayed with us for a week, and they were taken away somewhere. But this nurse was with us for a long time. And then she was wounded. She left, never came back. Then the men were orderlies.
Were there any more women in the regiment?
Sure. But we had no access to them.
What was the attitude towards them then?
Ordinary.
PPG, was it not like that?
We didn't have it in the company, maybe they were higher ...
Our division was then in formation. From 8 to 9 May we received a dry ration for a day, ammunition, grenades, cartridges and on the 9th we had to go on the offensive. Team - step march. And we went to the front line to go on the offensive on the morning of the 9th. We were standing, and here the officers fled somewhere, we were left alone, sergeants, foremen. We stand for an hour, we stand for two, there is no command. We do not disperse, so we stand in formation. We hear the shooting began at the camp, the main thing is that they are shooting upwards. We think what it is, or the Germans are surrounding, the main thing is to shoot up. About five minutes later: “Comrades, the war is over! Lie down to rest. " We went to bed, wake up in the morning, the company commander has built, he says, now to this clearing, and there was a large clearing in the forest, the whole division will gather there, and we will go there as well. The division commander will speak and say that the war is over, we have won. The machines were loaded properly. After some words from rifles, three shots upward, from machine guns, three short bursts upward, like a salute. We were standing, the division commander was speaking, comrades, we won, the war was over, the Germans surrendered ... And they started firing from rifles. How many cartridges were, all in the air.
Thank you, Alexander Fedorovich.
| Interview: | A. Drabkin |
| Lit. processing: | N. Anichkin |
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