Our fellow countryman, a native of the Kovylkinsky district, Alexey Kichkasov, saved a reconnaissance detachment of the 506th motorized rifle regiment during the assault on Grozny in December 1999. Under heavy fire from militants, he led out his children who were surrounded. This feat was written about by Komsomolskaya Pravda, the magazine of special forces units Bratishka, and featured on the ORT channel. Alexey was nominated for the title of Hero of Russia, but our fellow countryman still has not received the well-deserved award.
We met with Alexey in his native Kovylkino. In May last year he retired to the reserve. The officer's biography of our hero began simply and simply. After graduating from school, Lesha entered the Mordovian Pedagogical Institute named after Evseviev. I chose the Faculty of Physical Education, Department of Fundamentals of Life Safety. Kichkasov has been involved in martial arts for a long time. At competitions he managed to take prizes. At the end of his fifth year of study he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Kichkasov did not expect that the Motherland would call him under its banner. When he was studying, he had countless plans, but in none of them did his life intersect with military paths. He worked briefly as a teacher at the Kovylkino State Technical University, and was a Kyokushinkai karate coach.
Lieutenant's stars
Kichkasov did not manage to stay in civilian life for long. The Minister of Defense issued an order to call up reserve lieutenants. At the military registration and enlistment office he was offered to repay his civic duty to his homeland. Lesha agreed. So our fellow countryman ended up in one of the most famous Russian divisions - the 27th Totsk peacekeeping division. He ended up here among seven lieutenants from Mordovia. Most of them were assigned to the Guards 506th Motorized Rifle Regiment. He ended up in a reconnaissance company, then this unit, according to Alexei, was short-staffed with officers. The young lieutenant decided to take the most out of two years of military service, gain harsh army experience, and strengthen his character. Where else, if not in intelligence, can this be done? And that’s why he liked his stay in Totsk. Exercises and tactical exercises were replaced by field trips. Lieutenant Kichkasov took part in all this. He quickly mastered what cadets in military schools study for several years. There was no other way. The 506th regiment was a peacekeeper for a long time, went through Transnistria, Abkhazia and the First Chechen War, and became part of constant readiness. This meant: if the flames of a new war flared up somewhere, they would be abandoned first.
Second Chechen
In the fall of 1999, after the invasion of Basayev and Khattab’s gangs into Dagestan, it became clear that a new war could not be avoided. And so it happened. At the end of September, the regiment's echelons reached the North Caucasus. The columns of the 506th entered Chechnya from the direction of Dagestan. The first serious clashes with militants took place in the area of Chervlenaya-Uzlovaya station. The guards did not lose face. Corr. “S” managed to visit this area just then, and we witnessed that motorized riflemen actually carried out combat missions that the elite units of the internal troops could not cope with. Moreover, they managed to get out of the most dangerous situations with minimal losses. This is a great merit of regimental intelligence. The company was relatively small, it consisted of 80 people. At first, Kichkasov commanded a platoon of armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicles, and, in principle, could not participate in going behind enemy lines. But in one of the battles, the lieutenant of a neighboring platoon was wounded, and our fellow countryman took command of his platoon.
“Capital S” has written more than once about the depressing state of the Russian army. The troops are now equipped in some ways even worse than during the Afghan war. Satellite navigation systems, thermal imaging surveillance equipment, which make it possible to detect the enemy not only at night, but also in rain, fog, under an impressive layer of earth - all this has long become a common attribute of Western reconnaissance units. In the Russian army all this is known as exotic. And although our industry can produce systems no worse than foreign ones, there is no money to purchase them. And as during the Great Patriotic War, all hope lies in the sharp eyes and strong legs of our military personnel. And where the Americans would have sent a remote-controlled flying reconnaissance aircraft, ours were forced to go themselves, sometimes even into the thick of it. The only reconnaissance equipment was AKM assault rifles with a silencer and binoculars.
Mordvinians against militants
As Alexey recalls, at the beginning of the Second Chechen Company they managed to penetrate 10-12 kilometers into the enemy’s location. Beforehand, in order not to fall under their own fire, they warned the command about the direction of movement. The lieutenant took with him 7-11 the most trusted people. By the way, among them there were guys from Mordovia, for example, Alexey Larin Kichkasov now lives in neighboring houses. During one trip, his namesake stumbled and fell into the river, got very wet, and it was already frosty, but they continued on their way. After all, going back meant disrupting the combat mission, and in war, failure to follow an order is fraught with losses in the ranks of the attacking motorized riflemen. And the fighter, soaked to the skin, never complained once during the 14-hour sortie. This is where the well-known saying in peaceful life acquired a specific meaning: “I would go on reconnaissance with him.”
The scouts studied the places where the columns of infantry and tanks were supposed to pass. They found militant firing points and called in artillery and aviation fire. Artillery is the “God of War,” and it performed much better in this campaign than in the previous one. The howitzers began firing within five minutes after they were given the target coordinates. Anyone who knows even a little about military affairs will understand that this is an excellent result. Moreover, as a rule, the shells hit with high accuracy. And this is without any fancy laser guidance systems. In this battle for Grozny, the Russian army finally used for the first time the entire arsenal of defeat at its disposal. Starting from long-range Tochka-U missiles (range up to 120 km, accuracy up to 50 m) and super-powerful Tulip mortars (caliber 240 mm), which turned five-story buildings into a pile of ruins. Alexey speaks highly of the Buratino heavy flamethrower (range up to 3.5 km, ammunition - 30 thermobaric rockets). With its long “nose” it simultaneously fires two vacuum missiles, destroying all living things within a radius of several tens of meters.
Kichkasov did not specifically count how many times they had to go behind enemy lines. Sometimes the intensity of reconnaissance missions was so great that no more than two hours were allotted for rest. I slept a little - and again forward! The work in the Grozny region was especially difficult. Here it was even necessary to conduct reconnaissance in force. This is when, in order to identify firing points, they cause an attack on themselves.
Battle for Grozny
During the Grozny operation, the 506th regiment was in the direction of the main attack. Therefore, he suffered great losses. The press reported that almost a third of the personnel were out of action within a week. In companies of one hundred and twenty people there remained twenty to thirty. In battalions of four hundred there are eighty to one hundred. The scouts also got a hard time. On the morning of December 17, 1999, their company was given a combat mission: to advance and occupy strategic height 382.1. It rose near Grozny, and from it many areas of the Chechen capital were controlled. The matter was complicated by the fact that there were powerful concrete militant bunkers there. We left at night. The transition took about seven hours. And then we came across militants. An intense firefight ensued. Walking next to Alexei Kichkasov was Sergeant Major Pavlov, an experienced fighter who had already served in Tajikistan and received the Order of Courage. In 1996, in Chechnya, he was part of the personal security of the commander of the Russian troops. The sergeant major's crown was cut off by a fragment of an exploding grenade. The wound was severe; the brain was affected. Alexey bandaged his comrade and gave him an injection of promedol. Already bandaged, he could not fire from a machine gun, but tried in every possible way to help the commander. He loaded the magazines with cartridges, but soon lost consciousness.
Pavlov will die in a few days in a Mozdok hospital, but that will happen later, but for now his comrades were destroying the terrorists. Sniper fire began. One fighter was hit in the eye by a bullet. He didn't even have time to scream. Then five more people died. Alexei's best friend, Lieutenant Vlasov, was seriously wounded in the stomach by a machine-gun burst. A sniper killed a soldier who rushed to help. This time, due to some mistake, the artillerymen opened fire on their own. Alexey Kichkasov, together with several soldiers, carried out the wounded sergeant major, then returned back. The surviving soldiers gathered around the senior lieutenant. The militants, realizing that they were dealing with a small group of scouts, tried to surround them, but the fierce fire of ours thwarted their plan.
Lieutenant Vladimir Vlasov died in Larin’s arms. Unfortunately, the guys were unable to remove the bodies of the dead from the battlefield. Alexey Kichkasov brought out, or rather saved, twenty-nine people. For this battle, and his ability to act in a seemingly hopeless situation, Senior Lieutenant Kichkasov will be nominated for the title of Hero of Russia. Komsomolskaya Pravda will be the first to write about this. Then several more bloody battles will follow. And the ill-fated height 382.1 was occupied completely a week later, they found the bodies of their comrades, mutilated by spirits. The militants mined Vladimir Vlasov, taking out their impotent anger on him.
Sports character
Alexey believes that he managed to survive this war only thanks to his sports training. Karate taught him to overcome fear and mortal fatigue. He adapted quickly enough to a combat situation. The worst thing in war is when complete indifference sets in, a person does not pay attention to the bullets whistling over his head. Military psychologists have described this condition; it is as dangerous as loss of control over oneself. Alexey did everything to prevent this from happening to him or his subordinates, because urban battles are the hardest. Here he received a concussion. He doesn’t even remember how it happened. Everything happened in a fraction of a second. The infamous Minutka Square was taken without Kichkasov. On ORT, in Sergei Dorenko’s program, there was a report about this event; looking into the camera lens, Alexei’s subordinates sincerely regretted that their commander was not nearby and said hello to him. This program was seen by the mother of our hero. Before this, she did not know that he was participating in hostilities. Our fellow countryman spent about a month in the Rostov hospital.
The senior lieutenant retired from the army in May 2000. Now he lives in his native Kovylkino. I wanted to get a job in the security forces, but it turned out that no one needed his combat experience. Just like before the army, Alexey devotes himself to karate and trains children. As for the Hero of Russia star, Kichkasov never received it. Although he was nominated for this title three times. The fact that he is not a career officer played a fatal role in this. It turns out that when they sent the guy into battle, no one understood that he only had studies at the military department, but when it came to awards, then according to the logic of the rear bureaucrats, it turns out that he was not supposed to be a hero. It’s hard to think of anything more absurd and offensive. In our country, only the dead are honored.
Andrey Seleznev was born in the town of Ufa on February 7, 1977. Since 1983, he lived and studied in Totskoye 2. Andrei’s father no longer lived with them since childhood.Lyudmila Simonova (Shcherbakova), a school teacher, talks about him: "
I taught Andryushka from the 7th grade,was their homeroom teacher from grades 7 to 11, teaching Russian language and literature. There were 43 people in the class at that time. His mother, Lyudmila Ivanovna, always took him to parent meetings with her - this was an educational moment: he listened to complaints about himself from teachers. And they complained about inattention, I couldn’t sit for a long time, something had to be done.
In class he enjoyed authority from his classmates, did not offend anyone, was polite with teachers, and respected adults. He was the leader in the class: he organized all the trips: he took us out into nature at any time of the year.We had a favorite place - not far from the Holy Spring: the boys from the class made a table and benches around it: we made a fire, played, sang songs. Each of us still remembers these events. Served honestly in the army. When I came on vacation, all the graduates in the town gathered at Andrey’s. We also saw him off from vacation together and went to the station. But when the news came, the guys and I again gathered at Andrei’s mother. They were waiting for confirmation of death and... They didn’t believe it... But then they brought a zinc coffin. Colleagues arrived and talked about our HERO: he never complained about anything, he was such a “live.” We watch a film where he stands with his colleagues on the mountain and says: “There’s not much left. Wait. I’ll be there soon.” And a heavy exhalation.... DIDN'T ARRIVE. They were also buried by the whole town. We try not to forget about our graduates: we go to the cemetery, introduce younger schoolchildren to boys who have not yet managed to start a family, but have bravely endured all the hardships of military service. They were written about in the book "Black Tulip."Andrei served his military service in the missile forces. After the emergency, I went on a contract to do reconnaissance in the division of my military town. Left for Chechnya on October 25, 1999.Andrey was a wonderful friend and person. He respected his parents. LyudmilaSelezneva (Plotnikova)
Mother,
On December 17, 1999, a reconnaissance group of seven people under the command of Senior Lieutenant Alexei Kichkasov conducted reconnaissance in a holiday village near the settlement. Suburban. From here the militants conducted harassing fire on units of the regiment's second battalion using sniper rifles, grenade launchers and ATGMs. Having discovered several firing points, bunkers and dugouts on the slopes, we received an order to withdraw. In the afternoon we returned to the temporary deployment point. battle for height 382.1 near Grozny. Two hours later, the company was given a new mission: to capture the strategically important height 382.1, as well as two high-rise buildings on the approaches to it and hold them until the arrival of units of the second battalion. Powerful artillery preparation was promised, including the use of volumetric explosion shells, as well as support with all available forces and means.
This hill towered over the Chechen capital. It offered an excellent overview of Prigorodnoye, Gikalovsky, the 53rd section of Grozny, Chernorechye. The mental hospital was also clearly visible - a strong cruciform building made of red brick, which, as it turned out later, was a powerful stronghold of the militants. At the very top there were once rocket men, and powerful concrete fortifications and deep bunkers are still preserved.
December 18, 1999 at 7.15 they rushed forward in a long chain along a narrow path. About twenty minutes later, the lead patrol and the first group reached the outskirts of the plateau. There were no more than 150 meters left to the tower. At the bottom of the circular trench they found a large-caliber machine gun, carefully covered with a blanket. After ten or fifteen steps, the patrol came across a “spirit” that had grown up as if from underground. Private Yu. Kurgankov, who was walking first, reacted faster - a point-blank burst and a dash into the trench.
And immediately the plateau came to life, machine guns and machine guns started working. The lead patrol and the first group dispersed to the right of the direction of movement and occupied a shallow trench along the edge of the height.
The battle is already going on throughout the high-rise building. On the right, slightly ahead, were Sergeant N. Meleshkin, Senior Sergeant Seleznev, Company Foreman Edik, Sergeant E. Khmelevsky, Junior Sergeant A. Arshinov, Corporal A. Shurkin. Running onto the roof of the bunker, senior sergeant Andrei Seleznev throws a grenade down.
At this time, the “spiritual” snipers opened fire. In the second group, Corporal A. Shurkin was the first to die. The bullet hit him in the eye. Without crying out, he silently sank down. Senior Sergeant Seleznev died next - a sniper’s bullet pierced his arm and entered his chest. Andrei turned around before our eyes, the “unloading” on him began to smoke. Sergeant E. Khmelevsky also died. He almost reached the entrance to the hangar. The first bullet hit him in the chest, the second in the chin.
On the right flank, in the first group, private S. Kenzhibaev was killed by a sniper bullet, and a big man from Penza, junior sergeant S. Nedoshivin, was hit in the neck by a bullet, breaking an artery. Private A. Zashikhin radioed to the regiment that there was a battle going on, there were killed and wounded. The next moment he himself was wounded by a grenade fragment.
An order to withdraw comes over the radio station. The company commander, Lieutenant I. Ostroumov, is trying to bring it to everyone’s attention, but this is not easy to do. Soldiers in groups of several people are in different trenches. The radio station of the first group was destroyed by an explosion, the signalmen were injured, and the roar was so loud that you couldn’t stop shouting. And Ostroumov with the seven soldiers who were nearby, including the artillery gunner and signalman, retreats down. He returned to the regiment's location at about nine in the morning.
And the battle at the height continued. Lieutenant V. Vlasov was seriously wounded in the stomach by a machine-gun burst. Sapper Bulatov, who rushed to his aid, was killed by a sniper.
A week later, the regiment's reconnaissance chief, Major Ilyukhin, led the fighters to a height of 382.1. The height was occupied at night, without shots being fired. Within a week, aviation and artillery had plowed it beyond recognition.
In the morning, at the height, we found three of our comrades. The bodies of Senior Sergeant Seleznev and Sergeant Khmelevsky were mutilated.Andrei Seleznev's eyes were gouged out, his stomach was torn open, his ear was cut off, his throat was cut. Zhenya Khmelevsky had 17 knives, his ear was cut. His eyes were gouged out. The conscript was apparently killed and nothing was done with him. And two were later found in a holiday village - according to their badges .They were delivered on the 8th day.“Spirits” are afraid of dead scouts. Lieutenant Vladimir Vlasov was found three days later with a mine (F-1 under his head, RGD-5 in his pocket).
Sergeant Major V. Pavlov died in Mozdok on December 25, the very day when the height would become ours. Junior Sergeant S. Nedoshivin will be found by the Ministry of Emergency Situations in three months, and he will be buried in his homeland in Penza. Private Kenzhibaev and sapper Bulatov are still considered missing. I and several of my comrades were the last to see and carried them out from that height. That they could not bear it is our pain for the rest of our lives, and that they died heroically is a fact.
The head of intelligence, Major N. Ilyukhin, will die from a sniper’s bullet on January 21 in Grozny, on Minutka Square. Senior Lieutenant A. Kichkasov has already retired to the reserve. Alexey is not a career military man (he graduated from Saransk University, he is a teacher and coach in martial arts). Kichkasov has more than thirty combat reconnaissance missions to his name, he is an excellent officer and fearless commander. On January 23, Alexey will be seriously shell-shocked in Grozny and, after recovery in a Rostov hospital, will retire to the reserve. For the battle at an altitude of 382.1, for Grozny, Kichkasov will be nominated for the title of Hero of Russia. Thank you, Alexey, for not leaving us at that height, for bringing us to yours...
On the right is Nikolai Ilyukhin, company reconnaissance major. Andrey's friend,will die from a sniper’s bullet on January 21 in Grozny, on Minutka Square.
In Russia today, December 9, they celebrate a memorable date - the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland. More than 27 thousand military personnel of the division based in the region passed through the “hot spots”. For courage and heroism in carrying out the tasks assigned by the command, more than 2.5 thousand soldiers and officers were awarded military awards of the Motherland. Three streets of the military town - Sinelnik, Kobin, Petrikov - bear the names of fallen heroes. The title of Hero of Russia was awarded to 12 servicemen of the Totsk division, seven - posthumously.
On the eve of the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland, I would like to remind readers of the exploits of those who continued the glorious traditions of the Russian army, beat the enemy without mercy, and at the cost of their own lives, defending peace and tranquility in the homes of their compatriots.
In the battle during the capture of the mountain village of Shali, one of the largest centers of Dudayev’s formations, on March 28, 1995, a difficult situation arose. One of the advancing companies was ambushed.
The chief of staff of the motorized rifle battalion of the 506th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Ural Military District, Guard, Major Igor Anatolyevich PETRIKOV replaced the wounded company commander. The militants, local residents, chose a very convenient position, practically not allowing the Russian fighters to raise their heads or even move away. Under these conditions, Petrikov made a decision that was unexpected for the enemy: to attack! With a swift throw, the company knocked the enemy out of fortified positions, which not only saved itself from destruction or humiliation in captivity, but also allowed other units to move forward. This daring, victorious breakthrough saved others, but cost the life of the commander himself - Igor Petrikov died the death of the brave. For the courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation (posthumously), and the Gold Star medal was awarded to his relatives. Hero of Russia I.A. Petrikov was forever included in the lists of the commandant company of the 27th Motorized Rifle Division.
In February 1995, a motorized rifle battalion of the 506th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, with the support of tanks from the 3rd Tank Company, commanded by Guard Captain Alexander Vladimirovich SINELNIK, captured a commanding height in the Novye Promysla area, which led to the final encirclement of Grozny. For 15 hours, the militants made furious attempts to dislodge the motorized riflemen and tankers from the heights. At a critical moment in the battle, Sinelnik led an armored group consisting of a tank and two infantry fighting vehicles, reached an advantageous position and struck the enemy. By calling fire on himself, the commander gave the motorized rifles the opportunity to gain a foothold on their lines. Six shots were fired at his tank from a grenade launcher, but, skillfully maneuvering, the captain continued to fight. And even being mortally wounded by a shot from an ATGM, he took the tank to a safe place, ordered the crew to leave the burning car, and he himself died. He posthumously received the title of Hero of Russia and was forever included in the lists of the 3rd tank company of the tank battalion of the 506th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment.
A few months later, in October 1995, the head of the engineering service of the same regiment, Major Alexander Ivanovich KOBIN, also stepped into eternity. The convoy of vehicles with fuel, which he commanded, was ambushed. In a difficult battle under heavy enemy fire, the column commander covered the withdrawal of personnel, trying to prevent the enemy from approaching the vehicles. In this battle, 10 militants were killed, but one shot from an enemy grenade launcher was accurate - it hit a fuel tanker. Burning fuel poured onto the officer. Kobin rushed to the river with a living torch and knocked out the flames. Then he fought his way to the soldiers who had taken up a perimeter defense and commanded them until aviation arrived. Major Kobin was evacuated to the hospital, where he died from his wounds and burns. The title of Hero of Russia was awarded posthumously. He was also awarded the Order of Courage and the medal “For Courage”.
Another Hero of Russia from the 506th Motorized Rifle Regiment, guard squad commander junior sergeant Alexey Nikolaevich MOROKHOVETS, showed courage and military skill in the battles of the second Chechen war. Acting as part of a motorized rifle platoon of junior lieutenant Konstantin Sitkin, Alexey distinguished himself in battle on November 26, 1999. At night, the platoon secretly bypassed the bandits and began the battle from the rear. Seeing one of the militants aiming at the commander, Morokhovets covered the officer with himself. A street in his native village was named after the hero, a memorial plaque was installed on the house, and a bronze bust was unveiled in the center of the village.
The commander, who was saved from machine gun fire by Alexey Morokhovets, did not survive the junior sergeant for long. Konstantin Vasilyevich SITKIN fought in Chechnya during his military service. Then, under a contract, he went to Tajikistan to the 201st division. In 1999, he graduated from the junior lieutenant course at the Kazan Tank School, found himself back in Chechnya, and commanded a platoon in a guards motorized rifle regiment that crushed gangs as part of the Northern Group of Forces. After the capture of the Terk ridge, Sitnik was nominated for the title of Hero of Russia, but did not have time to receive it: he died a heroic death in another fierce battle.
The squad commander of the 506th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 27th Motorized Rifle Division, Guard Private Alexey Viktorovich ZHAROV, also died heroically. When taking fortified positions of militants on the Terksky ridge at night, Alexei Zharov was the first to break into the position, destroy four militants with machine gun fire, which caused confusion in the enemy’s ranks and contributed to the advancement of his comrades. Having been wounded, he continued to fight. He shielded the battalion commander from machine-gun fire.
Zharov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia. In the village of Lysva, Perm Territory, one of the streets is named after him. On the school building where Zharov studied, there is a memorial plaque in his honor.
The senior technician of the 1st company of the 81st Guards Small Rifle Regiment of the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the Volga Military District, senior warrant officer Grigory Sergeevich KIRICHENKO was lucky enough to receive a high well-deserved award from the hands of President B.N. Yeltsin in the winter of 1996 in the Kremlin. And he was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for the courage shown on New Year’s Eve 1995 during the storming of Grozny. Under fire from bandits, he carried out wounded soldiers and officers in his infantry fighting vehicle, including the seriously wounded regiment commander, Colonel Yaroslavtsev. A total of 68 people were saved.
In October 1999, the 506th SME carried out a cleanup on the slopes of the Terksky ridge. The deputy platoon commander, Sergei Anatolyevich OZHEGOV, together with his platoon commander Sitkin, approached the enemy from the rear and struck the main unit - this decided the victorious outcome of the battle. Later examining the territory, we discovered a whole well-organized defensive system, with underground passages and two-story bunkers. The terrorists could resist there for a long time. In June 2000, in the Kremlin, Hero of Russia Ozhegov also received a special insignia - the Gold Star medal.
Three months earlier, the same state honors were given to Andrei Igorevich MOROZOV, guard colonel, commander of the 506th Guards Regiment. Since October 1999 - in the battles of the second Chechen campaign. Morozov's battalion climbed the mountain ridge without heavy weapons, in complete radio silence and under the cover of darkness carried out a combat mission - destroyed the last center of bandit resistance and completely liberated the village of Khankala. The militants had 70 killed, 8 mortars were captured and destroyed; in Morozov's battalion there were six wounded, no killed.
Thanks to the competent actions of the assistant commander of the 81st Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment for educational work, Guard Colonel Igor Valentinovich STANKEVICH, who took command because the regiment commander and chief of staff were seriously wounded in battle, the complete defeat of the regiment was avoided. Under the leadership of Stankevich, the units, which had previously fought from the administrative border of Chechnya to Grozny, defended for two days in complete isolation in the center of the Chechen capital, then the guard colonel organized a breakthrough from the encirclement. Yes, the units suffered significant losses, but if not for the decision to break through, there would have been nothing left of the military unit except its name and number. The soldiers who escaped the encirclement, together with Stankevich, continued to fight near Shali and Gudermes. In October 1995, the valiant colonel was awarded the title of Hero of Russia with the Golden Star medal, and previously he was awarded the Order of the Red Star, “For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces,” III degree, and medals.
In the zone of armed conflict in Abkhazia in the summer of 1998, the life of Roman Genrikhovich BERSENEV, senior lieutenant, deputy commander for educational work, was cut short. His demining group, which was part of the peacekeeping forces, was entrusted with reconnaissance and demining of patrol routes of military units in the security zone. Once, during an inspection, an explosion occurred from a controlled landmine installed five meters from the road. The explosion was followed by fire from an ambush. Being seriously wounded, Bersenev organized a repulse of the bandit group’s attack, covering the retreat of the wounded soldiers. As a result of a long battle, the ambush was scattered, but the senior lieutenant himself and four of his subordinates died on the spot and on the way to the hospital from numerous shrapnel wounds and heavy loss of blood. The title of Hero of Russia was awarded to him posthumously.
The 506th regiment, which included a motorized rifle battalion under the command of Major Hasan Rajab ogly NAJAFOV, took part in the offensive of Russian troops on Grozny. The battalion received orders to drive the militants out of the fortified area. Having made a rapid forced march, Najafov led the unit into the gap between enemy positions, and, dividing into two groups, the fighters began cleaning up. In December 1999, the major’s battalion was one of the first to reach the approaches to Grozny as part of the “North” group. During the battle, the officer received a severe concussion, but after treatment he returned to duty. At the end of June 2000, Najafov was awarded the title of Hero of Russia, with the presentation of the Gold Star medal.
On the memorial stele of Heroes, installed at the House of Officers of the Volga-Ural Military District in Samara, the names of many of those about whom we told our readers are also engraved. To the dead - eternal peace, to the living - health and success, and to all the Heroes of Russia - glory and great gratitude to their native Fatherland!
Company "E" (Easy [i:zi] - light) of the 506th Parachute Regiment was formed on July 1, 1942 at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. It was the first parachute regiment to complete basic and parachute training. The “light” company consisted of 132 conscripts and eight officers, and was divided into three platoons and a headquarters section. Each platoon was divided into three rifle squads of 12 people and one mortar squad of 6 people. Each mortar squad was armed with a 60mm mortar, and each rifle squad had a .30 caliber machine gun. Individual weapons consisted of M1 Garand rifles, M1 Carbine rifles, Thompson submachine guns and Colt M1911 pistols.
Light Company began jump training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in December 1942. The unit successfully completed all stages of parachute school. Thanks to their excellent physical condition, achieved as a result of training at Camp Toccoa, they were even able to skip the first stage of training at parachute school, which consisted, in fact, of physical training. The "light" company became the only parachute unit that was able to do this.
March 1943 Light Company met in North Carolina at Camp McCal, named after Private John McCal of the 82nd Airborne Division, who became the first American paratrooper to be killed in action during World War II. Here training began with a vengeance, as everyone understood that they were preparing for an already inevitable invasion. On June 10, 1943, while at Camp McCal, Company E and the rest of the 506th officially became part of the 101st Airborne Division.
Company E arrived in England on the troop transport Samaria on September 15, 1943. The company settled in Aldebourne, where they began to conduct grueling jumping and tactical training. While in England, Light Company, like the rest of the 101st Division, honed its skills before the invasion of Europe. At the end of May 1944 E Company moved to Uppottery. Here was their sorting area, as well as the airfields from which they were to take off. From this moment on, the analysis and practice of tasks began and the study of the landscape using mock-ups began, until everyone from the general to the private knew by heart all the details of the combat mission in its entirety. At 23:00 on June 5, the “Light” company was already rolling along the takeoff field in its transport aircraft, which, taking off and lining up with the rest of the landing aircraft, began their journey to Normandy.
On June 6, 1944 at 1:10 am the "Light" company crossed the coast of Cherbourg. Their wing passed through thick clouds, causing the planes to become widely scattered. This was also facilitated by heavy air defense fire, so that few of the paratroopers landed in the intended zones. By the morning of June 6, the “Light” company consisted of nine riflemen and two officers, with two machine guns, one bazooka and one 60mm mortar at its disposal. The company was tasked with capturing a battery of 105mm howitzers aimed at the Utah coast, located 4-5 km to the northeast. Eleven men attacked and captured the entire battery and scattered the infantry covering it. The battery was directed by an observer stationed on the Utah coast, who directed the guns toward the positions of the Fourth Infantry Division on the beach. By destroying the battery, the young paratroopers saved countless lives that day. From June 6 to July 10, the “Light” company as part of the battalion fought incessant battles. After the capture of Carentan, the company was sent to the Utah coast for subsequent shipment back to England.
Returning to Aldebourne, the company patched up holes in personnel that appeared after operations in Normandy and restored lost weapons and equipment. Training began again to bring the newly arrived fighters up to the level of now battle-hardened D-Day veterans. At least 16 different operations involving landings were planned and canceled due to the speed with which Allied forces advanced across France. Some were canceled while the paratroopers planned and prepared for another drop. But then the command came up with a plan that they were not going to cancel.
Marshall Montgomery conceived the operation that became known as Market Garden. In the English name, the word Market was supposed to mean landing, and Garden - ground forces. The task for the three parachute divisions was to capture bridges over the main water obstacles in Holland, the main one being the bridge over the Rhine leading to Germany. The 101st Division was to capture the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal near the village of Sohn and the road running north to south from Eindhoven to Veghel and further to the 82nd Division's area of responsibility in Nijmegen.
On a wonderful autumn day on September 17, 1944, the “Light” company, consisting of 154 people, landed in Holland. Having encountered almost no resistance, the armada of paratroopers took their positions, not knowing what they would endure in the coming days. For almost ten days, the “Light” Company fought not only for their lives, but also for the lives of the paratroopers located up the road from them. The company managed to capture and hold the intended objectives, as well as keep the road open. However, as often happened to paratroopers, they were surrounded and had no firepower to counter the advancing enemy. When they were freed from encirclement, 132 people remained alive.
From October 2 to November 25, 1944, the company occupied a defensive line in Holland, in an area known as "The Island". The 506th Regiment, which included Light Company, occupied the gap between the British units, which had previously been held by a British division approximately 4 times larger than the landing force. The company, consisting of 130 people, was supposed to hold a sector 3 km long. By November 25, 1944, when the company was sent to regroup and rest in France, 98 officers and soldiers remained in its ranks.
At this point, along with reinforcements, old comrades begin to return to the company from hospitals, who, although they had been absent for quite a long time, were not forgotten. Battle veterans did not quite understand the need to train replacements; they did not take field training seriously, finding it boring and even humiliating. While the replenishment and regrouping of paratroopers was underway, the division commander, General Taylor, flew to Washington to participate in drawing up an updated organizational structure and principle for equipping parachute units. At the same time, the deputy commander, Brigadier General Gerald Higgins, was called to England to lecture on Operation Vegetable Garden, and General Anthony McAuliffe, commander of the 101st Division's artillery, became acting division commander.
On December 17, 1944, the “Light” company and the rest of the 101st division were alerted, loaded into vehicles and sent to the vicinity of the small Belgian town of Bastogne. Having not spent even two weeks in France, the “Light” company was sent into battle without sufficient winter uniform, ammunition and provisions. The 101st division surrounded the city with a defensive ring. The 506th Regiment occupied the northeastern part of the defensive ring, and the “Light” Company fortified itself in the forests east of the Bastogne-Foy road.
An extremely difficult situation has developed in this zone, because... The regular American infantry units were exhausted, panicked and abandoned their positions, retreating behind the 506th Regiment's defensive line. Once again the company found itself in a familiar situation - completely surrounded and in dire need of ammunition. The next twelve days turned out to be the days of the most brutal fighting in the history of the US Army. It was one of the harshest winters in Europe - on December 21, 1944, 30 cm of snow fell. The cold, which led to frostbite on the soldiers' feet, caused damage comparable to the German attacks. On December 22, 1944, the Germans asked the 101st Division to surrender, to which General McAuliffe responded: “Nuts!” (roughly “Bullshit!”). And on December 26, 1944, General Patton’s 3rd Army broke through the encirclement and reached the “battered Bastogne scum.”
This breakthrough allowed the 101st to breathe more freely and finally receive ammunition and provisions. However, the "Light" company was immediately thrown into the attack. When they arrived in Bastogne there were 121 people, and by New Year 1945 there were less than 100 left. The first two weeks of January 1945, the “Light” company fought to regain the territory around Bastogne. By mid-January, the 506th regiment was sent to the divisional reserve.
From February 18 to 23, 1945, the “Light” company took part in the battles in the city of Hagenau, where frequent bombing was accompanied by short skirmishes with the enemy, characteristic of urban combat.
On February 25, 1945, the 506th Parachute Regiment was sent to Mourmelon, France. There they were finally able to shower, eat a hot meal, and go to bed in their beds for the first time since December 17, 1944. While they were there, General Eisenhower personally presented the 101st Airborne Division with the Supreme Presidential Citation, the first time in Army history. an entire division.
April 1945 found the "Light" Company in Germany, where they remained until Victory Day in May 1945. At this time they were given the privilege of guarding Hitler's residence "Eagle's Nest" in the vicinity of Berchtesgarden. On the eve of the end of the war, this became the last military achievement of the "Light" company.
When the "Light" Company entered the war on June 6, 1944, it consisted of 140 people. By the end of the war, 48 people who served in the company during this period died in battle. More than a hundred men serving in the company were wounded, some more than once. Their battle cry was “Currahee!”, which means “alone,” but none of the fighters were alone—they all stood and fought together, shoulder to shoulder.
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