Outside the window is the 21st century. But, despite this, military conflicts do not subside, including those involving Russian army. Courage and valor, bravery and bravery are qualities characteristic of Russian soldiers. Therefore, feats Russian soldiers and officers require separate and detailed coverage.
How our people fought in Chechnya
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days do not leave anyone indifferent. The first example of boundless courage is the tank crew led by Yuri Sulimenko.
The exploits of Russian soldiers of the tank battalion began in 1994. During the First Chechen War, Sulimenko acted as a crew commander. The team showed good results and in 1995 took an active part in the assault on Grozny. The tank battalion lost 2/3 of its personnel. However, the brave fighters led by Yuri did not flee from the battlefield, but went to the presidential palace.
Sulimenko's tank was surrounded by Dudayev's men. The team of fighters did not surrender; on the contrary, they began to conduct targeted fire at strategic targets. Despite the numerical superiority of the opponents, Yuri Sulimenko and his crew were able to inflict colossal losses on the militants.
The commander received dangerous wounds to his legs, burns to his body and face. Viktor Velichko, with the rank of sergeant major, was able to provide first aid to him in a burning tank, after which he carried him to safe place. These exploits of Russian soldiers in Chechnya did not go unnoticed. The fighters were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Russian Federation.
Yuri Sergeevich Igitov - hero posthumously
Very often, the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers these days become publicly known after the death of their heroes. This is exactly what happened in the case of Yuri Igitov. The private was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously for performing a duty and a special task.
Yuri Sergeevich took part in the Chechen War. The private was 21 years old, but despite his youth, he showed courage and valor in the last seconds of his life. Igitov’s platoon was surrounded by Dudayev’s fighters. Most of the comrades died under numerous enemy shots. The brave private, at the cost of his life, covered the retreat of the surviving soldiers until the last bullet. When the enemy advanced, Yuri blew up a grenade without surrendering to the enemy.
Evgeniy Rodionov - faith in God until the last breath
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days cause boundless pride among fellow citizens, especially when it comes to young boys who gave their lives for the peaceful sky above their heads. Yevgeny Rodionov showed boundless heroism and unshakable faith in God, who, under threat of death, refused to remove his pectoral cross.
Young Evgeniy was called to serve in 1995. Permanent service took place in the North Caucasus, at the border point between Ingushetia and Chechnya. Together with his comrades, he joined the guard on February 13. Carrying out their direct task, the soldiers stopped an ambulance in which weapons were transported. After this, the privates were captured.
For about 100 days, the soldiers were subjected to torture, severe beatings and humiliation. Despite unbearable pain, the death threat, the fighters did not withdraw pectoral crosses. For this, Evgeniy’s head was cut off, and the rest of his colleagues were shot on the spot. For his martyrdom, Evgeniy Rodionov was awarded posthumously.
Yanina Irina is an example of heroism and courage
The exploits of Russian soldiers today are not only the heroic deeds of men, but also the incredible valor of Russian women. The sweet, fragile girl took part in two combat operations as a nurse during the First Chechen War. 1999 became the third test in Irina’s life.
August 31st became fatal. At risk to her own life, nurse Yanina saved more than 40 people by making three trips in an armored personnel carrier to the line of fire. Irina's fourth trip ended tragically. During the enemy counter-offensive, Yanina not only organized the lightning-fast loading of wounded soldiers, but also covered the retreat of her colleagues with machine gun fire.
Unfortunately for the girl, two grenades hit the armored personnel carrier. The nurse rushed to the aid of the wounded commander and 3rd private. Irina saved the young fighters from certain death, but did not have time to get out of the burning car herself. The armored personnel carrier's ammunition detonated.
For his valor and courage he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Irina is the only woman who was awarded this title for operations in the North Caucasus.
Maroon beret posthumously
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days are known not only in Russia. The story about Sergei Burnaev leaves no one indifferent. Brown - that’s what his comrades called the commander - was in the “Vityaz”, a special division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 2002, the detachment was sent to the city of Argun, where an underground weapons warehouse with numerous tunnels was discovered.
It was possible to reach the opponents only by going through an underground hole. Sergei Burnaev went first. The opponents opened fire on the fighter, who was able to answer the call of the militants in the darkness. The comrades were rushing to help, it was at that moment that Bury saw a grenade that was rolling towards the soldiers. Without hesitation, Sergei Burnaev covered the grenade with his body, thereby saving his colleagues from certain death.
Behind perfect feat Sergei Burnaev was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. The school where he studied was open so that young people could remember the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers in our days. The parents were given a maroon beret in honor of the memory of the brave soldier.
Beslan: no one is forgotten
The exploits of Russian soldiers and officers these days are the best confirmation of the boundless courage of men in uniform. September 1, 2004 became a dark day in history North Ossetia and all of Russia. The seizure of the school in Beslan did not leave a single person indifferent. Andrei Turkin was no exception. The lieutenant took an active part in the operation to free the hostages.
At the very beginning of the rescue operation, he was wounded, but did not leave the school. Thanks to his professional skills, the lieutenant took advantageous position in the dining room, where about 250 hostages were housed. The militants were eliminated, which increased the chances of a successful outcome of the operation.
However, a militant came to the aid of the terrorists with a detonated grenade. Turkin, without hesitation, rushed towards the bandit, holding the device between himself and the enemy. This action saved the lives of innocent children. The lieutenant posthumously became a Hero of the Russian Federation.
Combat Sun
During ordinary everyday life of military service, exploits of Russian soldiers are also often performed. or battalion commander Sun, in 2012, during an exercise, he became hostage to a situation, the way out of which was a real feat. Saving his soldiers from death, the battalion commander closed own body an activated grenade that flew off the edge of the parapet. Thanks to Sergei’s dedication, tragedy was avoided. The battalion commander was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
Whatever the exploits of Russian soldiers these days, every person should remember the valor and courage of the army. Only the memory of the actions of each of these heroes is a reward for the courage that cost them their lives.
Incomprehensible and incredible Russia. This is how our Motherland appears before the eyes of our opponents and enemies. Even those of them who initially underestimated the people inhabiting our country, at the cost of enormous losses, recognized the immutable truth: Russia is invincible. Our history contains many such examples.
“Never fight with the Russians. They will respond to your every military trick with unpredictable stupidity,” warned German Chancellor Otho von Bismarck back in the 19th century.
Only he called stupidity what those who attacked our land could not understand. This is courage, heroism, incredible self-sacrifice, and the fortitude of the people inhabiting our country.
So what do the losers say about us? Those who set out to conquer the freest people.
“My God, what are these Russians planning to do to us? We’ll all die here!”
The greatest feat was accomplished by the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. At the cost of millions of lives, the country won the bloodiest war in world history. The desperate resistance and heroism of Soviet soldiers amazed even the Germans, who initially considered the Slavs to be “subhuman.”
When the Nazis set foot on Russian soil, they immediately encountered fierce resistance. The Nazi army, which easily conquered all of Europe, did not expect such a rebuff at all.
German officer Erich Mende recalled the words of his superior, who fought with the Russians during the First World War: “Here, in these vast expanses, we will find our death, like Napoleon. Mende, remember this hour, it marks the end of the old Germany.”
From the first days of the war, German soldiers and unit commanders noted that the war with the Russians was radically different from what it was in Europe. The Germans were amazed by the tenacity and perseverance of the Russian soldier in defense - never giving up and always emerging victorious.
This is how the chief of staff of the Supreme Command described in his diary on June 22, 1941, when enemy forces took the defenders of the Brest Fortress by surprise ground forces Wehrmacht Franz Halder:
“Where the Russians were knocked out or smoked out, new forces soon appeared. They crawled out of basements, houses, sewer pipes and other temporary shelters, fired with precision, and our losses continually grew.”
One of the German soldiers who fought at Stalingrad surprisingly accurately reflected in his diary the incredible qualities of Soviet soldiers.
“October 1. Our assault battalion reached the Volga. More precisely, there are still 500 meters to the Volga. Tomorrow we will be on the other side and the war is over.”
"October 3. There is very strong fire resistance, we cannot overcome these 500 meters. We are standing on the border of some kind of grain elevator."
"October 10. Where are these Russians coming from? The elevator is no longer there, but every time we approach it, fire is heard from underground."
“It turned out that the elevator was defended by 18 Russians, we found 18 corpses.”
A battalion of 350-700 people could not break the resistance of eighteen soldiers for two weeks.
“I’ve never seen anyone more evil than these Russians. Real watchdogs! You never know what to expect from them. And where do they get tanks and everything else?!”, recalled another German military man.
What is good for a Russian is death for a German.
Many also noted the close communication with nature of Russian people and his unpretentiousness in food and comfort.
The chief of staff of the 4th Wehrmacht Army, General Günther Blumentritt, wrote: “Close communication with nature allows the Russians to move freely at night in the fog, through forests and swamps. They are not afraid of the dark, endless forests and cold. They are no stranger to winter when the temperature drops to minus 45.”
The cold and endless expanses of our Motherland did not really appeal to the German invaders. The same Blumentritt argued that the endless and melancholic expanses of Russia had a depressing effect on the Germans, accustomed to small territories. This influence was especially intensified in autumn or winter, when the landscape was transformed. At that time German soldier felt insignificant and lost.
Another Wehrmacht general, Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin, noted that the strength of the Russian soldier lies in his special closeness to nature. He wrote that for Russian people there are no such natural obstacles as swamps, swamps, or impenetrable forests. Under these conditions, the Russians felt at home, Mellenthin marveled. They easily crossed wide rivers using the most basic means at hand and could build roads everywhere.
“In a few days, the Russians build many kilometers of roads through impassable swamps,” Mellenthin wrote.
The Germans also noted with bewilderment that the Russians practically did not surrender and fought to the last soldier. This worried them very much, because a person for whom duty and Motherland are more valuable than life is invincible.
Thousands of partisans also stood up to defend our Motherland behind enemy lines. For the Germans, by their own admission, the fight against partisan movement turned into a real nightmare.
Never has the world known such mass heroism as during the Great Patriotic War. Such self-sacrifice has no analogues in the entire history of mankind. Similar heroic deeds, when soldiers covered the embrasures of pillboxes with their chests, were performed by hundreds of Soviet soldiers. Neither the Germans nor the representatives of the Allied forces did anything like this.
Russians do not surrender or “attack of the dead”.
The heroism of the Russian people was manifested not only during the Second World War. It was recognized by our enemies during the First World War. Then Germany easily defeated the armies of France and England, which were considered the strongest in Europe. At the same time, just as during World War II, it faced an “insurmountable obstacle” - Russia. The Germans could not help but note the fierce resistance of the Russian soldiers until their last breath, even when death was inevitable, which is why they fought even more courageously.
According to the recollections of many of our opponents, both in the First and Second World Wars, the Russians went on the attack, even knowing that the enemy’s forces significantly exceeded their own. However, despite the fact that our army in many wars was significantly inferior both in the technical component and in the number of soldiers, it managed to win incredible victories. History is replete with such examples. The Germans in both the First and Second World Wars were perplexed: how could the Russians win victories when the German army was technically much better equipped, when their forces outnumbered ours?
Major Kurt Hesse wrote: “Those who fought against the Russians in the Great War will forever retain in their souls deep respect for this enemy. Without those big ones technical means, which we had at our disposal, only weakly supported by our artillery, the sons of the Siberian steppes had to withstand the fight with us for weeks and months. Bleeding, they courageously performed their duty.”
The birth of the legendary phrase “Russians do not give up!” usually associated with an event that took place on the battlefields of the First World War.
In 1915, Russian troops held the defense of the Osovets fortress, which was located on the territory of modern Belarus. The command gave the order to hold out for 48 hours, but one small Russian garrison defended itself for 190 days.
For several months in a row, the Germans bombed the fortress day and night. Thousands of shells and bombs were dropped on the defenders of the fortress. There were very few of them, but there was always the same answer to the offer to surrender.
Then on the morning of August 6, 1915, the Germans used poisonous gases against the defenders. They deployed 30 gas batteries opposite the fortress. Our soldiers had almost no gas masks or any means of protection against chemical weapons at their disposal.
Every living thing on the territory of the fortress was poisoned. The grass turned black, and a toxic layer of chlorine oxide lay on the surface of the guns. Immediately after the gas attack, the enemy used artillery and 7,000 soldiers moved to storm Russian positions.
The Germans believed that the fortress had already been taken; they did not expect to meet anyone alive on its territory...
And at that moment, a Russian counterattack fell on them from a poisonous green fog. The soldiers, who numbered a little more than sixty, walked to their full height. For every Russian warrior there were more than a hundred opponents. But they walked to the bayonet quarters, shaking with coughing and spitting out pieces of their lungs onto their bloody tunics. Everyone moved forward as one, with the sole purpose of crushing the Germans.
The Russian soldiers, who, it would seem, should have already been dead, plunged the Germans into such genuine horror that they rushed back. They fled in panic, trampling each other, hanging on barbed wire fences. At this time, the revived Russian artillery hit them.
Several dozen half-dead Russian soldiers put several well-equipped enemy battalions to flight.
Another example where incredible fortitude and courage accomplished the seemingly impossible. “Attack of the Dead” became an immortal feat of the Russian people.
We say Russians, but we mean many nationalities, because our country is a multinational and multi-religious state, united under the banner Great Russia. On the battlefields of both the First and Second World Wars, representatives of various nationalities died and performed great feats. All of them created the history of Russian military glory.
Pravoslavie.fm is an Orthodox, patriotic, family-oriented portal and therefore offers readers the top 10 amazing feats of the Russian army. The top does not include […]
Pravoslavie.fm is an Orthodox, patriotic, family-oriented portal and therefore offers readers the top 10 amazing feats of the Russian army.
The top does not include single exploits of Russian warriors like captain Nikolai Gastello, sailor Pyotr Koshka, warrior Mercury Smolensky or staff captain Pyotr Nesterov, because with the level of mass heroism that has always distinguished the Russian army, it is absolutely impossible to determine the top ten best warriors. They are all equally great.
Places in the top are not distributed, since the feats described belong to different eras and it is not entirely correct to compare them with each other, but they all have one thing in common - shining example triumph of the spirit of the Russian army.
- The feat of the squad of Evpatiy Kolovrat (1238).
Evpatiy Kolovrat is a native of Ryazan; there is not much information about him, and it is contradictory. Some sources say that he was a local governor, others - a boyar.
News came from the steppe that the Tatars were marching against Rus'. First on their way lay Ryazan. Realizing that the Ryazan residents did not have enough of their own forces to successfully defend the city, the prince sent Evpatiy Kolovrat to seek help in neighboring principalities.
Kolovrat left for Chernigov, where he was overtaken by the news of the destruction of his native land by the Mongols. Without hesitating for a minute, Kolovrat and his small squad hurriedly moved towards Ryazan.
Unfortunately, he found the city already devastated and burned. Seeing the ruins, he gathered those who could fight and, with an army of about 1,700 people, rushed in pursuit of Batu’s entire horde (about 300,000 soldiers).
Having overtaken the Tatars in the vicinity of Suzdal, he gave battle to the enemy. Despite the small number of the detachment, the Russians managed to crush the Tatar rearguard with a surprise attack.
Batu was very stunned by this frantic attack. Khan had to throw his best parts into battle. Batu asked to bring Kolovrat to him alive, but Evpatiy did not give up and bravely fought with an enemy outnumbered.
Then Batu sent a parliamentarian to Evpatiy to ask what the Russian soldiers want? Evpatiy answered - “just die”! The fight continued. As a result, the Mongols, who were afraid to approach the Russians, had to use catapults and only in this way were they able to defeat Kolovrat’s squad.
Khan Batu, amazed by the courage and heroism of the Russian warrior, gave Evpatiy’s body to his squad. For their courage, Batu ordered the rest of the soldiers to be released without harming them.
The feat of Evpatiy Kolovrat is described in the ancient Russian “Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu.”
- Suvorov's crossing of the Alps (1799).
In 1799, Russian troops who participated in battles with the French in Northern Italy as part of the Second Anti-French Coalition were recalled home. However, on the way home, Russian troops were supposed to assist Rimsky-Korsakov's corps and defeat the French in Switzerland.
For this purpose, the army was led by Generalissimo Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. together with the convoy, artillery and the wounded, she made an unprecedented transition through the Alpine passes.
During the campaign, Suvorov's army fought through St. Gotthard and the Devil's Bridge and made the transition from the Reuss Valley to the Muten Valley, where it was surrounded. However, in the battle in the Muten Valley, where she defeated the French army and broke out of encirclement, she then crossed the snow-covered, inaccessible Ringenkopf (Panix) pass and headed towards Russia through the city of Chur.
During the battle for the Devil's Bridge, the French managed to damage the span and bridge the gap. Russian soldiers, under fire, tied the boards of a barn nearby with scarves of officers and went into battle along them. And while overcoming one of the passes, in order to knock the French down from a height, several dozen volunteers, without any climbing equipment, climbed a steep cliff to the top of the pass and hit the French in the rear.
The son of Emperor Paul I took part in this campaign under the command of Suvorov as an ordinary soldier. Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich.
- Defense of the Brest Fortress (1941).
The Brest Fortress was built by the Russian military in 1836-42 and consisted of a citadel and three fortifications that protected it. Later it was modernized several times, became the property of Poland and again returned to Russia.
By the beginning of June 1941, units of two Red Banner rifle divisions of the Red Banner and 42nd Rifle Divisions and several small units were located on the territory of the fortress. In total, by the morning of June 22, there were about 9,000 people in the fortress.
The Germans decided in advance that the Brest Fortress, located on the border with the USSR and therefore chosen as one of the targets of the first strike, would have to be taken only by infantry - without tanks. Their use was hampered by forests, swamps, river channels and canals surrounding the fortress. German strategists gave the 45th division (17,000 people) no more than eight hours to capture the fortress.
Despite the surprise attack, the garrison gave the Germans a tough rebuff. The report said: “The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the Citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles. The fire of Russian snipers led to heavy losses among officers and non-commissioned officers." In one day, June 22, 1941, the 45th Infantry Division lost 21 officers and 290 lower ranks in killed.
On June 23, at 5:00, the Germans began shelling the Citadel, while trying not to hit their soldiers blocked in the church. On the same day, tanks were used for the first time against the defenders of the Brest Fortress.
On June 26, on the North Island, German sappers blew up the wall of the political school building. 450 prisoners were taken there. The East Fort remained the main center of resistance on the North Island. On June 27, 20 commanders and 370 soldiers from the 393rd anti-aircraft battalion of the 42nd Infantry Division, led by the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment, Major Pyotr Gavrilov, defended there.
On June 28, two German tanks and several self-propelled guns returning from repairs to the front continued to fire at the East Fort on the North Island. However, this did not bring visible results, and the commander of the 45th division turned to the Luftwaffe for support.
On June 29 at 8:00 a.m., a German bomber dropped a 500-kilogram bomb on the Eastern Fort. Then another 500 kg bomb was dropped and finally an 1800 kg bomb. The fort was practically destroyed.
However, a small group of fighters led by Gavrilov continued to fight in the Eastern Fort. The major was captured only on July 23. Residents of Brest said that until the end of July or even until the first days of August, shooting was heard from the fortress and the Nazis brought their wounded officers and soldiers from there to the city where the German army hospital was located.
However, the official date for the end of the defense of the Brest Fortress is considered to be July 20, based on the inscription that was discovered in the barracks of the 132nd separate battalion NKVD escort troops: “I’m dying, but I’m not giving up. Goodbye, Motherland. 20/VII-41".
- Campaigns of Kotlyarevsky's troops during the Russian-Persian Wars of 1799-1813.
All the exploits of the troops of General Pyotr Kotlyarevsky are so amazing that it is difficult to choose the best, so we will present them all:
In 1804, Kotlyarevsky with 600 soldiers and 2 guns fought off Abbas Mirza’s 20,000 soldiers for 2 days in an old cemetery. 257 soldiers and almost all of Kotlyarevsky’s officers died. There were many wounded.
Then Kotlyarevsky, wrapping the wheels of the cannons with rags, made his way through the besiegers’ camp at night, stormed the nearby Shah-Bulakh fortress, knocking out the Persian garrison of 400 people, and settled in it.
For 13 days he fought off the corps of 8,000 Persians besieging the fortress, and then at night he lowered his guns down the wall and left with a detachment to the Mukhrat fortress, which he also took by storm, knocking out the Persians from there too, and again prepared for defense.
To pull the cannons through the deep ditch during the second march, four soldiers volunteered to fill it with their bodies. Two were crushed to death, and two continued the hike.
In Mukhrat, the Russian army came to the rescue of Kotlyarevsky’s battalion. In this operation and during the capture of the Ganja fortress a little earlier, Kotlyarevsky was wounded four times, but remained in service.
In 1806, in the field battle of Khonashin, 1644 soldiers of Major Kotlyarevsky defeated the 20,000-strong army of Abbas Mirza. In 1810, Abbas Mirza again marched with troops against Russia. Kotlyarevsky took 400 rangers and 40 horsemen and set out to meet them.
“On the way,” he stormed the Migri fortress, defeating a 2,000-strong garrison, and captured 5 artillery batteries. Having waited for 2 companies of reinforcements, the colonel took battle with the Shah’s 10,000 Persians and forced him to retreat to the Araks River. Taking 460 infantry and 20 mounted Cossacks, the colonel destroyed Abbas Mirza's 10,000-strong detachment, losing 4 Russian soldiers killed.
In 1811, Kotlyarevsky became a major general, crossing the impregnable Gorny ridge with 2 battalions and a hundred Cossacks and storming the Akhalkalak fortress. The British sent the Persians money and weapons for 12,000 soldiers. Then Kotlyarevsky went on a campaign and stormed the Kara-Kakh fortress, where military warehouses were located.
In 1812, in the field battle of Aslanduz, 2,000 Kotlyarevsky soldiers with 6 guns defeated the entire army of Abbas Mirza of 30,000 people.
By 1813, the British rebuilt the Lankaran fortress for the Persians according to advanced European models. Kotlyarevsky took the fortress by storm, having only 1,759 people against a 4,000-strong garrison and during the attack almost completely destroyed the defenders. Thanks to this victory, Persia sued for peace.
- Capture of Izmail by Suvorov (1790).
The Turkish fortress of Izmail, which covered the Danube crossings, was built by French and English engineers for the Ottomans. Suvorov himself believed that this was “a fortress without weak points.”
However, having arrived near Izmail on December 13, Suvorov spent six days actively preparing for the assault, including training troops to storm models of the high fortress walls of Izmail.
Near Izmail, in the area of the current village of Safyany in as soon as possible earthen and wooden analogues of the moat and walls of Izmail were built - the soldiers trained to throw fascist weapons into the moat, quickly set up ladders, and after climbing the wall they quickly stabbed and chopped down the stuffed animals installed there, simulating defenders.
For two days, Suvorov conducted artillery preparation with field guns and cannons of the rowing flotilla ships; on December 22, at 5:30 a.m., the assault on the fortress began. Resistance on the city streets lasted until 16:00.
The attacking troops were divided into 3 detachments (wings) of 3 columns each. Major General de Ribas's detachment (9,000 people) attacked from the river side; the right wing under the command of Lieutenant General P. S. Potemkin (7,500 people) was supposed to strike from the western part of the fortress; the left wing of Lieutenant General A. N. Samoilov (12,000 people) - from the east. Brigadier Westphalen's cavalry reserves (2,500 men) were on the land side. In total, Suvorov's army numbered 31,000 people.
Turkish losses amounted to 29,000 killed. 9 thousand were captured. Of the entire garrison, only one person escaped. Slightly wounded, he fell into the water and swam across the Danube on a log.
The losses of the Russian army amounted to 4 thousand people killed and 6 thousand wounded. All 265 guns, 400 banners, huge reserves of provisions and jewelry worth 10 million piastres were captured. M. was appointed commandant of the fortress. I. Kutuzov, future famous commander, winner of Napoleon.
The conquest of Ishmael was of great political significance. It influenced the further course of the war and the conclusion of the Peace of Iasi between Russia and Turkey in 1792, which confirmed the annexation of Crimea to Russia and established the Russian-Turkish border along the Dniester River. Thus, the entire northern Black Sea region from the Dniester to the Kuban was assigned to Russia.
Andrey Szegeda
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From the memoirs of Bruno Winzer
“We completed the task of the first day, although only on the third day, in the second half. The task for which the war was started turned out to be unattainable.
Before my company had time to move a few hundred meters, it was detained. The road along which the company was supposed to advance led through a forest area. Soviet border guards serving on guard towers built shelters for themselves in conveniently located bunkers. The lead first platoon, under the command of Lieutenant Steinberg, with one cannon and one machine gun, came under intense rifle and machine gun fire, which was met from cover. The lieutenant ordered the other gun crews to dismount and try to bypass the firing point, while the lead gun came under fire from the border guards. But wherever Steinberg sent his unit, it always encountered energetic resistance. It seemed that the Russians had concentrated a company, if not an entire battalion, in the forest. Apparently, our intelligence made a deep miscalculation.
Then I ordered the 2nd Platoon to dismount and advance to the right through the forest in a wide arc, while the 3rd Platoon fought its way to the left through the grove to attack the enemy from the rear. We have used such purely infantry tactics more than once in the exercises of anti-tank units. It was successful this time too, but the attack lasted more than four hours. Meanwhile, the road along which the troops were moving was blocked. Behind us were the vehicles of the regimental headquarters and two other anti-tank companies, an engineer battalion and an artillery unit.
We've already had losses.
Lieutenant Steinberg was wounded and two machine gunners were killed. Command of the platoon was taken by the squad commander Ballerstedt, a career sergeant major from Mecklenburg.
The firefight resumed once again: the Soviet border guards fired with all their guns, then there was silence. Undoubtedly, both platoons outflanked the enemy and forced him to cease resistance. Slowly, from cover to cover, we approached the wooden and earthen structure. But what we saw there greatly amazed us. The bunker was not a fortified structure at all, but only a primitive shelter, knocked together from light tree trunks on which earth was poured; there was only enough room in the shelter for eight shooters.
Camping canteens, kitchen utensils and a lot of empty cartridges were scattered around the hut. Behind a small earthen rampart lay three dead Soviet soldiers.
The machine gun they fired from disappeared. Their comrades took him with them when they ran out of ammunition. Consequently, we were not fighting against a battalion, or against a company, or even against a full platoon. A small group of border guards delayed us for four hours, forced us to turn around, and the battery behind us to take a combat position, inflicted losses on us and then disappeared. Similar situations were repeated many times during the first day of the campaign. And each time it turned out that it was only a few Red Army soldiers who settled in extremely skillfully chosen positions and forced us to take the fight.
On the third day, when the 2nd platoon was at the head of the column, we came under intense machine-gun fire from the flank. It was simply impossible to drive along the road. Two non-commissioned officers and three soldiers were already lying dead between the vehicles. We took cover in ditches and behind cars and examined the area with binoculars. Finally we found a machine gun behind a haystack. Four guns and eight machine guns opened fire. The gaps were clearly visible. But the Soviet machine gun continued to fire. We were delayed for almost two hours. Again other large units of the division stood waiting behind us. Finally, the commander of the 2nd company put the crews of two machine guns on motorcycles so that they would drive along the dirt road and bypass the enemy. Suddenly we saw one soldier run from the stack, picking up a machine gun. Everyone raised their rifles and, standing, began to shoot at the fugitive, but he still managed to reach the forest and escape. A single soldier paralyzed MOST OF THE DIVISION for two hours; after all, no bodies were found near the haystack. There were only empty shell casings and a duffel bag. He threw the bag, but not the machine gun."
//Bruno Winzer, “Soldier of Three Armies”//
*The photo shows Soviet border guards on patrol. The photograph is interesting because it was taken for a newspaper at one of the outposts on the western border of the USSR on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the war. Time taken: 06/20/1941
