War diary of K. Ya. Nayakshina
It seems that the fate of Professor Nayakshina was predetermined by some higher powers. He was born in 1900 in Tataria. The same age as the 20th century, he went through all the cataclysms of history with it. Moreover, K. Ya. Nayakshin, honorable Sir Samara, born October 25, old style. His whole life was connected with the October events. After graduating from parochial school, he worked as a furniture upholsterer in a craft workshop in Naberezhnye Chelny, and also sang in the church choir. He supported the Bolsheviks' rise to power and joined the Red Army. In the 20s he continued his studies and received a university education. He was involved in party and Soviet work, gave lectures at the Samara Pedagogical Institute, as well as at the Agricultural Institute. He became interested in antiquity and wrote a dissertation on history Ancient Rome. For this I read on Latin primary sources.
During collectivization, he was sent by party bodies to Volga villages as an agitator. Participated in suppressing peasant unrest. The family believed him killed several times. In one of the villages there is a monument where his name can be read on a plaque among those killed at the hands of kulaks. But he did not die, since fate had planned something else for Kuzma Nayakshina.
Since 1937, he was suspended from work. He, like many other potential victims of Stalinism, fished under the Vilonovsky descent. There were many unemployed people like him, hundreds at first, but every month their number dwindled. Article 58 worked and found new victims. K. Ya. Nayakshin found himself in demand by the Soviet authorities only after the invasion Hitler's troops to the territory of the USSR.
Military notes 1941-1943. We recently discovered Kuzma Yakovlevich Nayakshin:
History buff Stanislav Shanko helped read and decipher them. The diaries are published for the first time.
So, the diary of Major K. Nayakshin. The beginning of a brutal war. The entries are concise. No time to write. And only in moments of calm did I write more and more easily. He did not embellish the war; death and machine gun fire were simply everyday details. Someone behaved with dignity. Some couldn't stand it. But the strong moved forward, such as Nayakshin. And there were many of them. It was they who led the country to Victory.
June 22, 1941 Sunday. We were going to the dacha. We were walking with Vasily Zakharovich Smirnov and heard a speech by V. M. Molotov on the radio. The war with the Germans became a fact. I decided to immediately get involved in active defensive work.
June 1941 Wrote articles “The Patriotic War of 1812”, “Partisans of 1812”. Joined the lecture bureau of the regional committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.
July 1941 Wrote articles. Traveled to Privolzhsky, Radishchevsky, Syzransky, Novo-Buyansky and other areas with lectures about Patriotic War.
August 17, 1941 Summoned to the regional committee. Just returned from a trip to the Syzran region. He gave lectures at the Batraki station. August 19 to the military registration and enlistment office.
August 21, 1941 We are going to Volsk. Meeting with friend I.F. Savich - to form a division. Meeting with Abush. I recognized Polienko, Meshcheryakov and others.
August 23, 1941 Volsk. Cold barracks. - We sleep side by side. We are the first and main group of political workers. We went swimming and ate watermelons before going to the troops. We will form the 346th Infantry Division. I have been appointed senior radio propaganda officer for enemy troops.
September 1941 Troops were received. People from the Saratov region; from Tatarstan - political fighters; from Donbass - junior commanders.
September 14, 1941 The artillerymen had 915 artillery regiments, 1166 and 1164 rifle regiments. Took the oath. Solemnly. I got to know Divisional Commander Davydovsky and Commissar Kotov better. The division commander is a wonderful person, the commissar is petty. The head of food supply, Shchepkin, is dry and seems to be a careerist.
End of September 1941. Daily trips to units. Started studying German. We drank with Alexandrov. Tired of elder Mironov. We got rid of him. Savich is with us. Good conversation with Abush.
October 1941. Hard hikes - mud, cold, rain, and we didn’t sleep or eat for three days.
November 7, 1941 Blizzard. The holiday was celebrated in the 1166th Infantry Regiment. Wonderful party organizer Afanasyev and commissar Trifonov. We drank. Peskishev was there and went to visit the telephone operators. We walked around the dugouts and talked with the soldiers.
November 21, 1941 The alarm was raised at 4 o'clock in the morning. The order is to perform. Loading during the day. The division commander wanted to scold me for not loading the stoves, but he didn’t. I went with the first echelon of the 1164th Infantry Regiment (Commissar Shakurov). Up to 26 on the road.
November 26, 1941 Alexander Nevsky station. It was broken, there was a raid, there were casualties. In the evening, the city of Ryazhsk, unloading. We set out on a campaign. We took up defensive positions. They dug trenches. He walked, talked, cursed, hurried.
November 27, 1941 We moved forward.
November 28, 1941 Combat order to go to Askol. The 1st battalion of the 1164th rifle regiment came out... I'm there. He arrested the commander of a reconnaissance platoon - he was drunk and threatened the commissar. They took up defensive positions in the city.
November 29, 1941 Combat order - with the second battalion of the 1164th Infantry Regiment with Captain Sorokin to occupy Paveletsk. First losses. The Germans literally made a mess... the station was destroyed.
November 30, 1941 We are going to Gorchivo. The Germans are burning everything. They fired from cannons. They occupied the settlement. The Germans managed to escape in 30 minutes and took 230 cars and other property. Captain Sorokin was replaced, he arrived drunk, there was a quarrel. Together with the 1166th rifle regiment, they captured scouts and a car, killed six, and captured four. I tried to talk to the prisoners: Czechs and Germans are different people.
December 5, 1941 Moving forward. We were in Chernava. The night of December 5th is a terrible night. We got lost with Captain Zaitsev and almost ended up with the Germans. How many times have you fallen? The car slid into a ravine.
December 6, 1941 We launched an attack on Novo-Mikhailovskoye. I and the 1166th Infantry Regiment occupied a burning village. The village of Semenovka and the surrounding area - everything was burned. Troops are drawn into zones of gunpowder smoke. Fire, rain, slush, ice.
December 1941 A number of villages were occupied. We went with Abush to relax. Shchepkin watched.
December 16, 1941 Battle for Volovo - the Germans managed to escape. They captured a car with Germans and a lot of trophies. Commissar of the 1168th Infantry Regiment Terekhov is a flea dealer.
December 17, 1941 In the “commissar”, the commander of the 1166th Infantry Regiment beat the commander of the supply platoon, I arrested this supply officer. People are hungry, and he is drunk. Let's go ahead.
December 20, 1941 The Tula-Moscow, Meshcheryaki, and Baburine highways were occupied near Dairy Yards.
December 21, 1941 Battle for Teploe. I'm again with the 1168th Infantry Regiment. We took over this station.
December 23, 1941 Battle for Gorbachevo. We occupied this large junction station. Restored Soviet power. As in Teply, he himself appointed managers and a chairman. The villages are on fire, the elevator is on fire. Let's go forward to Oka.
December 30, 1941 Battle on the Oka River. The Germans were deeply entrenched. Big sacrifices. The wounded in the barn. Unloading, mobilization of people and supply.
December 31, 1941 In the 1166th Infantry Regiment. Peskishev, Dyadina - in the forest, met New Year. We congratulated each other. A volley of Katyusha rockets. Blizzard. The battle for the village of Fedyashevo began. They took it. At 4 o'clock - to the apartment. We drank to the New Year. There were Kravchenko, Lukin.
January 1, 1942 Shchepkin came for me. Peskishev asked to leave. A good conversation with the regiment commander at the stove on the straw about the nature of the fighting.
January 2, 1942 Heavy fighting near Tipichevo, Khmelevets, Bedrishchevo, Fedyashevo.. Late at night - alone across an open field in the moonlight he came to the political department. Sasha Izyumov reported the terrible news - Abush died. On the straw in the corner, turning away from everyone, I cried. Abush was a rare person, a smart, stern, loyal comrade, a Bolshevik.
January 3, 1942 Again unsuccessful battles. The foreman died. Savich behaved well in battle. He raised people to attack. They took Tolkachevo, but came under crossfire. Tanks. Forced to leave. Victims.
January 4, 1942 Again heavy fighting in the morning. He walked in a chain with soldiers under artillery and machine gun fire. Night. The young battalion commander lost control. I had to play the role of a link. The connection has been corrected. Political instructor Gorbachev fought heroically hand-to-hand. We retreated to our original positions.
January 5, 6, 1942 Again fighting, but unsuccessful.
January 7, 1942 Moving through Belyaev. Bathhouse. Colonel Zinoviev, the chief of staff, with his drunken eyes led him to the front line, almost to the Germans.
January 8, 1942 To Gryn. Terrible battles near the village of Gryn. Krotov and his battalion died. The entire village was burned. Kapustin behaved firmly. The signalman in the hut kept repeating: “Saturn.” There is no connection. Piles of the dead, Fire, snowstorm. We visited the division commander and the army commander - please go to them, since the Germans are two kilometers away, and I have 7 people in the headquarters security, seated under apple trees in the snow. The Germans are firing mortars. Hard day.
January 9-11, 1942 Days of fighting for Gryn. They took the territory where there was a village - not a single house. The barn is half broken. Night. There are corpses all around. The signalman in the corner is straining himself, shouting: “Saturn 2nd!” “Saturn 2nd!”... But “Saturn” is silent. Krotov's battalion was destroyed. Krotov himself died. Kapustin behaved heroically: he covered himself with corpses and shot. His overcoat was shot in several places and so was his holster. Dry, tall, weather-beaten - he is somehow extraordinary at these moments. Savich is with me. On the alarming night of January 10, at my request, he suggested that Divisional Commander Davydovsky and Army Commander Popov immediately leave the village, since the Germans were nearby.
January 11, 1942 They brought in a captured German - his head was tied with a woman's scarf, a chief corporal, without an overcoat, his machine gun was broken. He draws to attention. Thug. Sent to headquarters. The “circumstances” have fallen into the hands... It is clear from everything that they are unscrupulous, cowardly, and lying. I beat up one, he lies too blatantly, and besides, he confuses him. We moved towards Zheleznitsa.
January 12, 1942 Battle of Zheleznitsa. Shchepkin gathered political workers. I am extremely dissatisfied that few political workers are killed and injured, citing the fact that they do not go to the front line. Fool and bastard! Pakhomov, a nice, dapper guy, went with Belovodov’s group and was killed. An hour later, the commissar of the 1164th Infantry Regiment, Shakurov, was killed. They took the ironclad, but gave it back. There is no one to hold it.
January 13, 1942 Battle for Zheleznitsa.
January 14, 1942 I’m going to the regiment to Peskishev, Vinogradov’s battalion. He goes to Leonovo, I stay in Ozerinsky with Peskishev.
January 15, 1942 In the morning, Vinogradov’s battalion was defeated, he himself was wounded, the remnants of the battalion were in Ozerinsky. An hour and a half later, 4 German tanks near Ozerinsky are shelling houses and the square. The convoy started to run. I had to stop with a revolver. Concentrated in a ravine. Strong mortar fire, then from tanks, German infantry breaks through. We are lying in the snow - the tank is 200 meters away. The explosion - he was stunned, the soldiers pulled him out, put him in a sleigh, and woke up in the village. Nothing. A shrapnel hit my arm and side. Bandaged in the 1168th Infantry Regiment. After many sleepless nights, I fell asleep dead in Shchepkin’s apartment. He took over the regiment after the deaths of Shakurov, Afanasyev, Abush and many others. He began to understand, and, most importantly, to fear that nothing would work out simply and easily.
January 16, 1942 The Germans attack Ozerinskoye. Tanks in the village are again setting houses on fire and shooting at point-blank range. Peskishev came out against them with bottles and was hit by four bullets. How I loved this simple, rough, abrupt soul. The regiment commander was wounded. Ozerinsky was defended.
On January 17, 1942, Peskishev was buried in the village of Gostkovo.
January 18-25, 1942 We moved with our things closer to Sorochinsk. Advance on the village of Teploye by the remnants of the division's forces. Lieutenant Glinkov, deputy. Political instructor Khadzhimuratov and 18 fighters fought desperately, everyone died, but the Germans were not allowed to take a single step. Heroic feat. The fearless medical instructor became the squad commander. 7 people held back the enemy, repelling attacks from entire companies. Scary nights in the village of Nogaya. There are dense forests all around and there are Germans in them. There are not many of us. The shelves are already depleted. We must go to Volkhov. Let's move. Zaitsev and I organized defense throughout the entire village. I organize everything myself - I drag down those who climbed onto the stoves to warm up. I swear, although I know that people are immensely tired. But here is the order - to leave. Unfortunately, I parted ways with Zaitsev forever - wonderful, kind, reliable.
On January 25-31, 1942, the village of Ivanovka was attacked 18 times, but could not be taken. We don’t have enough artillery fire, the Divisional Commander was cursing - why are Savich and I here, under fire?
February 1-6, 1942 In Sorokino we receive reinforcements from collective farmers of the Smolensk and Tulsk regions. They are not prepared, but must be thrown into battle immediately. Many die due to poor training. I go to Belets for reinforcements, have a row with the 387th Infantry Division, get 700 people at once, line them up on the outlying streets. German planes are firing. There is no mercy. I leave 20 people in cars, the rest on foot. They come together slowly. Polienko sends them to the regiments in batches.
February 7, 1942 Night at Polienko's. Popov intervened and said, “Shchepkin has been recalled.” Kapustin will be the boss. - I will be his deputy. So be it, I don’t chase ranks.
February 8, 1942 I am taking up a new position in Ukolitsa. Essentially the same, although there is more responsibility. I look through directives and other papers.
February 9 -28, 1942 Belovodov with 70 soldiers heroically defended the lines. 7 days and 7 nights. Continuous fighting - during the day they will move 100 meters away - at night they will move forward again. We fought well. Andrusenko (nachkhim) began to fight. He's not a bad commander at all, not a bad guy. Polienko drinks. Alexandrov is wounded. Savich caught a cold. Now Kapustin took a deep breath. We live together. Volodya cooks wonderfully. We just can’t divide the horses. We finally agreed: Kapustin – a bay, Savich – a black, and me – my own. We are going to Bolkhov. 7 kilometers left. We were tired and could not take the city. Essentially, this is active defense. On February 22, he received the medal “For Courage.” The political department workers handed it over.
March 1942. Trips to units, meetings, reports. Karpenko and Yevtushenko live nearby and drink at lunch.
April 1942 He evicted the residents of Ukolitsa within 24 hours himself. It's raining heavily. Kapustin fell from Pulka's horse and she broke her leg. They ordered us to cut, but we defended ourselves. Survived. It’s difficult to eat, I’m going to the army. People's Commissar Pavlov brought something worthless. Dirt, no roads. Polienko received a severe reprimand. They were going to judge - I defended myself." The units were on the defensive. The food began to improve.
May 1942 We had a good trip with Lubyanov. He set up a bathhouse in the forest. The Germans, three hundred meters away, play Vadim Kozin on the gramophone every day: “Let’s shake hands and go on a long journey for many years...”
June 1942 We went into the forest. The dugouts are landscaped. Savich and I are in our hut. Doesn't spill. Kapustin is nearby. You can live, but your soul is restless. Every night German planes bomb a little. Artillery fire daily.
July 1942 We are preparing for the celebration of the division. We wrote her story with Alexandrov. It turned out nothing. The division commander and Popov approved. I’m going to Lieutenant General Belov and Dubrovsky to sign documents on awarding the regiments. We received it well. I’m going to the headquarters of Zhukov, Bulganin, Makarov. Makarov takes it, although he is sick. We contact Bulganin. They promise support, I leave the documents. I spend the night in Maly Yaroslavets and go back. Fuel is running out in Tula; it was difficult to get it. It's hard on the fronts in the south.
August 1942 The first days are ordinary. The command post is now in a ravine - in a field. I go there every day. They're shooting all around. The whole Ukolitsa is on fire. Here it comes. 4 hours 55 minutes On August 11, the Germans began an artillery offensive - devilish fire. Up to 200 tanks marched towards Belovodov. Up to 80 Junkers. They were bombing, hell was all around. Belovodov's regiment is crushed. The Germans are coming, you can see everything around is burning. I’m at the command post, next to Popov and Kapustin (Savich at a meeting in the army). Alexandrov went to watch the Germans coming. The earth is shaking. Order to retreat. The Germans are approaching the village of Sorokino. There is no connection with Lubtsov and Lukin. They are already surrounded. The Junkers destroyed all our artillery, leaving only one howitzer with 14 shells. That's all. Popov ordered that all staff documents and files be immediately taken away. I get into a car. The mail was delayed and remained with the Germans. Through the ring of explosions I got to the rear. There is complacency there. They give the order - load, go, what cannot be captured - burn. Polienko arrived. German tanks are already nearby. I headed headlong onto the forest road. Break. The car was hit - the driver went in one direction, I ran in the other direction. At the turn, our horses are on them. Planes are bombing. The horses died. I run out onto another road. Our howitzer is being dragged there. I ran half a kilometer. The editorial office's car, which had been stuck earlier, catches up - I get into it. Oh damn, the whole convoy drove into the forest and got stuck. I saw wounded animals. A tribunal awaits them (for a crossbow - editor's note). The division commander's car drove out onto the road. A German bombs at the tail of the retreating column. There is impassable mud in the forest; carts and cars are being dragged along. When leaving the forest, I give the order to stop, set up a barrage detachment, the young UCHBZ students still run in panic. I drive up to Karpenko and Yevtushenko. We decided to hold the defense near the village of Kulikovo and expel everyone alive. Up to 300 people gathered. I appointed Karpenko commander, Yevtushenko commissioner. He ordered the rear to be taken 4 kilometers into the forest. We didn't sleep that night. It was restless.
August 12, 1942 Savich returned lighter. Terekhov came, but without people - it was suspicious. Some people from the environment made it out one by one. We formed detachments - three battalions, appointed commanders and political workers. Karpenko - in Kulikovo. Yevtushenko is in the ravine, I’m with him. Visited the rear. The Germans are advancing throughout the area. Villages are being burned. The Germans reached the Sukhinichi-Kaluga railway line. Detain at any cost! Kulikovo is holding on, but we are in a semicircle. Across the river, the Germans are in our rear, going around us through the forest. Difficult. I spoke with headquarters. They don’t know the details, and generally don’t know the matter. General Samfin arrived. They reported. I looked and left. Belov promised a tank brigade. The situation is becoming more critical with each passing hour. And then the bosses came and brought everything. The secretary of the district committee arrived, the workers were wonderful people, but not on time. We thanked them for the gifts. They understand our situation without words. Pale, alarmed, they somehow spent the night, and we asked them to leave, thanking them. Karpenko fights desperately near Kulikovo. He sent the former commander of the 66th Infantry Regiment to help him. The Germans surrounded his headquarters. Got lost. Tanks are humming. We are a bunch of people, and the direction is very important. Hold!
August 1942 Petrov's tank brigade arrived. Petrov took command of the site. He boasted, “I’ll show you how to fight.” The tanks were pulled into a forest road, into impassable mud. At night, the Germans set fire to 27 tanks. Petrov was wounded and confused. We are alone again. With Yevtushenko we are going to the approaching rifle regiment (1151). We inform you. It became easier as they covered our left flank.
August 17, 1942 Finally feeling better. Oh, these nights in the forest, on the roads, in the semicircle, without serious strength, and German tanks near. We didn’t sleep with Savich for four nights. The third tank corps and the 251st rifle division arrived. We rented out the plot. We're going with the whole division. There were 1,918 people left out of 10,000. 4,600 fighters died, the rest are unknown where, perhaps surrounded. Divisional Commander Popov died, the wonderful Kapustin died, the fate of the entire headquarters is unknown. Assigned to Rokossovsky's 16th Army. From there they were transferred to the 50th Army. Lubyanov returned. Wonderful. He behaved heroically. The wounded Alexandrov arrived again. He is not afraid, perhaps he does not even have fear! The wonderful Fishko and a number of others, almost all political instructors and party organizers, died. Belovodov returned. Everyone is brought together into one squad. Commissioner of one hundred Lubyans. The regiment number was saved. We are in the village, the regiment is fighting. Bad fame has gone. As if we retreated from the area, allegedly abandoned Ukolitsa. Yes, an unenviable fate. We could not resist when half the people died, there were no cannons and machine guns, they were broken. There is no ammunition, but the Germans have hundreds of tanks, dozens of aircraft and motorized infantry. But our people did not leave, they remained surrounded and, heroically, fighting their way, almost all of them died. Is it possible to scold people for staying alive after doing everything possible and impossible? I come to Lubyanov. Forest. There is a battle going on, dead Germans are lying around. No, Lubyanov and the fighters did not disappoint. When they saw our fighters in action, they began to say something different. The cavalrymen themselves drifted away, and the corps commander expressed gratitude to ours and held them up as an example to his units. New order again to the 61st regiment, we are going to Belev. Anchishkin arrived. An intelligent man, with erudition, with enormous experience in party work. They quickly got along, even Savich obeyed. We live in the village, putting ourselves in order. We count what is and what is not. I still have what I wore when I jumped out of the wrecked car: a uniform, an overcoat and a cap. Even before Anchishkin’s arrival, Polienko and I gathered all the officers and set tasks to understand what happened. Let's stop rumors. At this moment, it was out of the blue for Skalovsky. I’m glad, because this is a serious commander, an artilleryman, and a knowledgeable one. He was given command of the division, or rather I, as the eldest, gave it to him. Karpenko and Yevtushenko are offended, since they again remained in the same positions with their regiment.
September 1942 An unexpected order - to the location of the main Headquarters. We load up, go to Tula, look - Michurinsk. They were sent to the Tishinsky camps, essentially for rest. Meetings, conferences. Colonel Komiluchovsky was warmed up. For cowardice he was sent to a penal battalion.
September 15, 1942 Again to Plavsk. We settled in villages. We are receiving a replenishment. We started working. A new divisional commander has arrived - he’s fat, I don’t like him. A new commissioner has arrived - an uncivilized man. It got boring. We are part of the Fifth Tank Army,
October 1942 I went to see Ushakov, the head of the Fifth Tank Army. Telegram from the Supreme Commander's Headquarters. They are recalling. I'm going.
October 26, 1942 From Shipov, which is near the city of Efremov, I go and go to the 15th air army. I have no idea about aviation. The environment is quarrelsome and dirty. Oh, it's worse here than here. But nothing. I’m going on a business trip to the 71st Aviation Battalion, and along the way I picked up my things at my former duty station in Plavsk. I saw Belovodov and said goodbye warmly. And here's the joy - Savich is here. We had lunch. We talked. It became sad. We said goodbye. Now that's it - I'm not in the 346th Infantry Division. I'm going to new places, to new surroundings, to new strangers - to aviators.
November 1942. The terrible month of Stalingrad. Additional pay in the aviation regiments of the 176th Aviation Division - one motive - to survive. The pilots are initially lukewarm about the additional payment, but then refuse, just like the infantry. This is unusual.
December 1942. I’m going home on a business trip. Here she is, military country. Life at home is difficult, as expected, but cheerful, and this is the main thing. I visited the Kruglovs and Gavrilovs - they are holding up well. Young people feel uncomfortable. They are afraid of the war and are ashamed to be at home, they work poorly, since everyone is absorbed in getting food. The line to the bread store (corner of L. Tolstoy and Chapaevskaya) starts from Krasnoarmeyskaya. They have been standing since 4 am, writing numbers on their palms. Many people still don’t get enough bread. Oh, and I don’t want to go back to the front, but I have to. I’ll get there in January 1943.
Further, as part of units of the 1st Belorussian Front, K. Ya. Nayakshin participated in Battle of Kursk. He fought his way to the western border of the USSR and liberated Poland. He ended the war in Berlin and was sent to the responsible position of commandant of Magdeburg. Having given four years of his life to the fight against German troops, he became at the origins of the formation of a new peaceful Germany. After demobilization, Kuzma Yakovlevich was engaged in teaching in Samara, wrote many books on the history of the region, and until the end of his days he retained his love for nature and fishing. In 1982, he was accidentally pushed on an iron ladder, which ultimately caused his death. The country began to prepare for renewal and restructuring. Old cadres, imbued with Bolshevism and Leninism, turned out to be like a bone in the throat. The fate of many was sealed.
Sidorov Pyotr Maksimovich, regiment commander (1944), lieutenant colonel
Kiselev Andrey Vasilievich, regiment commander (1945), lieutenant colonel
Kiselev Alexander Dmitrievich, chief of staff, lieutenant colonel
Kozlinsky Stepan Dmitrievich, deputy combatant, lieutenant colonel
Andreev Vladimir Alexandrovich. political officer (1944-1945), senior officer lieutenant
Muratov Stefan Andreevich, political officer (1945), major
The newspaper "Pacific Star" published an article by A. Chernyavsky "Destruction: from Koenigsberg to Mudanjiang." It talks about battle path veteran of the 346th Infantry Regiment Vladimir Iosifovich Hantsevich. Here are excerpts from the article:
On May 2, 1945, our 346th Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Rifle Regiment (commander - Lieutenant Colonel Andrey Vasilyevich Kiselev), part of the 63rd Vitebsk Red Banner Rifle Division of the Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov, loaded onto a train at Norkiten station and moved in an unknown direction.
On June 6, the train arrived at the Manzovka station (Primorsky Territory) and, after unloading, moved to the deployment area - to the field where the arrangement of the summer tent camp began. Soon the replenishment arrived. These were soldiers of the spring conscription, born in 1927, who completed a 2-month course for young fighters in educational units. All of them were from the North Kazakhstan region. Daily, painstaking study began. On July 15, the regiment left the camp and moved to the Grodekovo area. The movement took place at night, resting during the day, observing all camouflage measures. A few nights later, we arrived in the area of the upcoming battles, taking up positions in the area of the “Pear” height, located on the opposite side of the border, which ran along the creek. After the rains it turned into a raging river. They equipped trenches and dug dugouts.
Our 63rd Division had to break through the defenses on one of the 17 fortified areas that were built by the Japanese near our borders. Each fortified area is 50-100 km along the front and up to 50 km in depth, a territory filled with various defensive structures.
The Grusha height was the center of one of the most powerful fortified areas; pillboxes (long-term firing points) were built on it, capable of withstanding fire from large-caliber guns. The pillboxes were connected to neighboring heights by underground passages. At the top of the height there was an observation post, which allowed us to look far into our territory. A road was built to the height, connecting with the central regions of Manchuria.
In early August, a large group of officers from the division headquarters, led by the division commander, Major General B.B., arrived in the area where the regiment was located. Gorodovikov. He was in field uniform with sergeant's shoulder straps. After inspecting the border, the regiment commander, together with the division's engineer battalion, was ordered to connect our dirt road with the Japanese one, which runs near the Grusha height.
The next day, sappers arrived, two T-34 tanks arrived, and with their help they broke through a route that connected the two sections into one road. The tanks caused a stir on the Japanese side. The head of the Japanese border post appeared and demanded a meeting with the senior commander. After the “negotiations” the work continued. Our company was tasked with ensuring the safety of the sappers. The order was brief: “Do not use weapons.” By the end of the day, the sappers had completed their work, made some of the wood harvested on the Japanese side, and our dirt road was connected to the Japanese one. Later this road played big role in the offensive operation of the 5th Army.
The start of the war was approaching. An advance detachment was created on the basis of our battalion, reinforced by a platoon of sappers and a group of signalmen with a radio station. The detachment was faced with the task of moving forward at the maximum pace without getting involved in protracted battles. The company commander received the card.
On August 8, dinner took place two hours earlier than usual. After dinner there was a formation of the battalion, at which it was announced that the Soviet government had declared war on Japan. Everyone was given ammunition, grenades, dressing bags, and dry rations. Clouds appeared in the sky and it began to drizzle. At this time the border guards arrived. These were our guides. After some time, a group of soldiers with border guards left in the direction of the Japanese border post. Soon a messenger from this group appeared and informed the battalion commander that it was possible to move - the personnel of the Japanese outpost had been destroyed. Under pouring rain, with continuous flashes of thunderstorms, our advance detachment crossed the border.
The offensive began without artillery preparation, using the night and rain for a surprise attack. After crossing the border, it was necessary to quickly go to the area where object No. 1 was located (as it was marked on the map). It was a large garrison with a large communications center, a combat supply point and the headquarters of an army group.
Our first battle was so swift that the enemy did not have time to provide organized resistance. By disrupting the defense and communications system, our detachment created favorable conditions for the main forces to operate in breaking through the fortified area. Soon the cannonade of a strong battle began to be heard from the area of the Grusha height. It was the main forces of the division that entered the battle.
The detachment moved further, deeper. By evening, groups of Japanese began to catch up with us - these were border guards and soldiers from the defeated garrisons. They were aggressive, we had to use force, which caused losses on our part.
Night was approaching. We turned onto a country road, set up a guard, and settled down to rest. Judging by the map, we went 20-25 km from the border. We went to object No. 32 - it was a railway station. The main forces of the garrison, before our arrival, retreated towards the city of Mudanjiang, leaving a small detachment that entered into battle with our scouts and was completely destroyed. We received orders to guard the railway bridge and await the approach of the regiment. The next day the regiment's units arrived. Our detachment was given a place at the end of the column for “rest,” and the regiment moved forward to Mudanjiang. In the main direction of the 5th Army's advance, the Japanese retreated further and further. On August 13, fighting broke out on the outskirts of the city of Mudanjiang. This is where fierce fighting broke out.
The neighbors of our army, units of the 1st Red Banner, advancing on the cities from the north, burst into the outskirts of the city, and heavy street fighting ensued. Units of the Fifth Army, advancing on the city from the east, lingered on the heights in front of the Mudanjiang River. The Japanese, having firmly established themselves on the heights, blocked the advance of our artillery and tank units along the road. There were no other ways to get around. By this time, a critical situation had arisen among our neighbors who had entered the city. Under the pressure of superior enemy forces, they were forced to leave the city. The situation required intensifying the onslaught in order to help the neighbor. In the morning, our advance detachment was brought into battle with the task of knocking out the enemy from a commanding height and ensuring the passage of the pontoon unit to the Mudanjiang River and establishing a crossing.
They went on the attack, but when they reached the wire barriers that had not been destroyed by artillery, confusion occurred. At this time, a barrage of fire fell from the surviving bunker. The detachment lay down on an open slope among the numerous corpses of participants in yesterday's battle. There was a heavy cadaverous smell, which had a depressing effect on the soldiers. It was urgent to take action. The detachment commander decides to blow up the bunker with grenades. They sent two fighters from our platoon. Enough time passed without an explosion. Then the company commander orders me: take two soldiers and go ahead. Crawling towards the bunker, we soon came across the soldiers sent earlier - they both died not far from it. We took the grenades from them and crawled on. We managed to get relatively close; we could see a stream of deadly fire spewing out of the embrasure. They threw grenades. The explosion covered the bunker and the machine gun stopped firing.
The squad rose and rushed forward. We quickly jumped into the trench that ran from the bunker deep into the defense. At that moment I was wounded. The soldiers provided first aid, took off their tunic - the wound turned out to be large, covering the shoulder and forearm. They bandaged it. They left me in the trench. Soon the shooting stopped. The height was taken and a column with pontoons and other equipment moved along the road to the river. The path to the city of Mudanjiang was open. The next day, August 16, the city was taken. Later in the hospital, when changing the bandage, the doctor said that such a wound occurs from a dum-dum explosive bullet.
For us who fought, the memory of the war is still alive. We will remember her until the end of our days. I will never forget all 25 young guys from the platoon with whom I had to fight in Manchuria with Japan. Five of them died on the fields of Manchuria, thirteen were wounded, seven remained in service. All of them are still in my army memory today.
From the memoirs of regiment veteran Sergeant Major Alexey Alexandrovich Khenov, provided by his granddaughter, Elena Koretko, Perm:
The formation of the 63rd Infantry Division began in the village of Navoloki. Here to generate profits from Northwestern Front 45 and 86 rifle brigades. From two brigades and reserve regiments, the 63rd Infantry Division was formed, which became part of the 3rd Reserve Army. The 346th Infantry Regiment was formed in the village of Selivanovo under the command of the regiment commander, Major Nikolai Alexandrovich Ivanov, and the chief of staff, senior lieutenant Peter Ivanovich Voskresensky. Khenov was assigned to a communications company, whose commander was Captain Gultyaev, his deputy in the combat unit was Senior Lieutenant Mocharny Nikolai Demyanovich. After the work of putting together the units was completed, on May 4, 1943, the regiment went to the Baldasovsky forest, where combat training of personnel began. On May 20-23, the regiment made a 100-km march and concentrated in the vicinity of the village of Trebushinki, Yukhnovsky district. The Germans burned the village back in 1941; all that remained of it was one house, which housed the regiment’s headquarters; all units were located in the forest. The regiment was again engaged in combat training, regimental and divisional exercises were held, everything was leading to the fact that they would soon go into battle.
On 07/10/1943 the third reserve army received the name 21 active army and on 07/12/1943 it marched to the Western Front. The division received its baptism of fire in the Spas-Demensky direction.
In the area of the village of Semenovka (height 237.3), the Germans tried to push back our troops and take possession of the highway. 08/20/1943, under the pressure of numerically superior enemy forces, our unit defending it began to retreat. The division entered the battle straight from the march.
Fierce battles raged for three days, the Germans brought fresh reserves into the battle, launched “tigers” into battle, and their aircraft dominated the air. Our artillery and infantry fought off 12 attacks a day, and the village of Semenovka changed hands several times. Convinced of the futility of their offensive, the attacks stopped on August 24, 1943. The regiment suffered heavy losses, but the highway remained in our hands. We were replaced by newly arrived units, and the regiment went to rest. After short rest and putting the units in order, on August 29, 1943, the regiment began an offensive in the Smolensk direction.
On the first day of the offensive, the regiment occupied the villages of Bushnya, Khotnizhets, Mikhailovka and Korobets station. 08/30/1943 at 19.00, together with other units, the regiment broke into the city of Yelnya and occupied it. German aircraft bombed the city with massive air raids for two days, but it remained in our hands. In the battles for the city of Yelnya, the chief of staff of the regiment, Captain Voskresensky Pyotr Ivanovich, was killed, the regiment commander, Major Nikolai Alexandrovich Ivanov, and the deputy regiment commander for combat units, Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Nikolaevich Zolotov, were seriously wounded. The regiment was temporarily commanded by the head of the division's intelligence department, Major Alexey Ivanovich Pirogov, and the chief of staff arrived from the personnel department of the guard division, Major Litvin. For the capture of Yelnya, the division was thanked by the Supreme High Command to Stalin.
On September 5-6, 1943, in the Smolensk direction, the regiment occupied the villages of Novo-Tishevo and Vys-Leonovo. In the area of the villages of Maloe Tishevo, Buda and Lyakhovo, the Germans tried to stop our advance. There, the Germans had a pre-prepared defense: three lines of trenches and a natural obstacle - a deep ravine. Having brought up reserves and artillery, on the afternoon of September 15, 1943, our offensive began again. In artillery preparation, the Katyusha rockets provided a particularly high density of fire, and our aviation was active. The German defense was broken through, the Germans suffered colossal losses, their trenches and logs were littered with corpses.
Retreating, the Germans burned Smolensk villages. When we entered settlements, there remained ashes and dying coals in place of the houses. As a rule, the Germans retreated at night and their retreat was accompanied by fires. Flames were burning everywhere ahead of us, and every soldier knew when the Germans were retreating. Walking through the Smolensk region, instead of villages and villages, we saw tablets or, as they were called then, “pointers” with the inscription that there was such and such a settlement. Often we saw such “settled areas” overgrown with weeds - a sure sign that the Germans burned them in 1941. A new command arrived at the regiment: regiment commander Major Anton Karpovich Lysenko, chief of staff Major Grigory Vasilievich Belov, deputy regiment commander for combat units Major Andrey Vasilievich Kiselev. The regiment rested in a ravine 200 meters south of the village of Zverovichi and prepared for new battles.
We were in the second echelon and went on the march on September 23, 1943. Darkness, rain, knee-deep mud, at dawn we reached the crossing of a small river, but there were so many units, and the crossing was weak, that we stayed in the pouring rain until the evening. In the evening we reached the village of Ptahovo, marched again, stopping in the village of Laptevo. 09/26/1943 crossed the Sozh River and marched again. On October 10, 1943, in the area of the village of Novoe Selo, the Germans took up defensive positions. The regiment occupied the starting line in the area of the former village of Baevo. On the approaches to the position occupied by the enemy, there was a marshy swamp. This was the border separating Smolensk region from Belarus. The Smolensk region was already almost completely liberated.
On 10/12/1943 the regiment began its offensive. On a narrow section of the front, the Germans concentrated a large number of artillery, brought up human reserves. On the approaches to their positions there was a marshy swamp, which was not conducive to our success. To our right the Polish division was leading the attack. The Germans resisted fiercely, their aircraft dominated the air and bombed our battle formations from sunrise to sunset. We fought in this area for six days. Finally, on October 19, 1943, we were taken out of the battle. After making a short march, we took up defensive positions in the area of the village of Nikitino.
While on the defensive, we exhausted the enemy and gave him no rest day or night. Our snipers performed well. The scouts, with their daring night searches, continually brought in German “tongues”.
On January 27, 1944, the regiment was withdrawn to rest in the miraculously surviving village of Suimishche. After a month's rest, on February 28, 1944, the regiment marched to Orsha, where it was again to launch an attack on Novoe Selo. Early in the morning, 03/07/1944, artillery preparation began. Heavy, stubborn fighting took place for nine days. The swamp turned into a huge puddle, water and mud during the day, frost at night. It’s impossible to dig in properly, there’s water. Big losses, no success. On March 10, 1944, the regiment commander, Major Anton Karpovich Lysenko, and his adjutant, Lieutenant Andrei Tikhonovich Levchenko, were killed. Command of the regiment was taken by Major Semyon Vasilyevich Baserov (later, November 1944-September 1945, commander of the 297th Infantry Regiment of the 184th SD, lieutenant colonel) from the 291st Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division.
Finally, we were replaced by newly arrived units and we marched towards Vitebsk. Exhausted by such long bloody battles, we could barely stand on our feet; everyone looked terrible. Near Vitebsk, in the area of the village of Sverchki, the regiment took up defense, command of the regiment was taken by Lieutenant Colonel Vodovozov Roman Naumovich (later, July-September 1944, commander of the 297th Infantry Regiment of the 184th SD), who arrived from the division's personnel department.
The defense we occupied was extremely unfavorable. We defended the Vitebsk-Orsha highway in a rather narrow area. This area was clearly visible to the enemy and, noticing the slightest movement, the enemy opened furious artillery fire. Their Rama reconnaissance aircraft appeared over our defenses every now and then, and each time it was followed by artillery attacks one after another. The Germans did not spare shells and, as we saw later, their reserves were enormous. We were in a state of tension all the time, the enemy is still strong and he is here, nearby, you can expect anything. The new regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr Maksimovich Sidorov, arrived, and preparations for new battles began.
The Western Front was divided into three Belarusian Fronts. Our 63rd Rifle Division, commanded by Major General Laskin, was part of the 5th Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Krylov, and the army was part of the 3rd Belorussian Front under the command of Army General Chernyakhovsky.
On June 22, 1944, a massive offensive of our troops began along the entire front. For us it was like this: on the night of June 22, reconnaissance in force was carried out, the operation was a success. In the morning, artillery preparation began, lasting two hours. The Germans offered weak resistance, their long-term defense was broken through, and the offensive began. The Germans hastily retreated, abandoning equipment, ammunition and various military equipment. On June 23, Vitebsk was taken, the division moved in the direction of Minsk.
For breaking through the deeply echeloned German defense and capturing Vitebsk, the division was thanked by the Supreme High Command, and by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR it was given the name “Vitebsk”.
During four days of offensive battles from June 22 to June 25, 1944, the regiment liberated 37 settlements from the German invaders, among them: Zavoroty, Antovil, Starobylye, Horovatka, Aleksandrovo, Obol, Khodorovka, Teplyaki, Zhartsy, Ostrovshchina, Ryabtsy, Pistons, Kaplany, Perebrody and others. We recaptured from the enemy 23 guns of various calibers, 7 machine guns, 3 ammunition warehouses and 2 warehouses with engineering equipment and a lot of other property and weapons. More than 10,000 people were freed from fascist slavery.
The advance of our troops was so rapid that the retreating Germans did not have time to blow up the bridges. Pursuing the retreating enemy, we marched 60-70 km per day. Inspired by our successes, we walked day and night without rest, sleeping on the move and during short rests, sweating on the hot July days.
The division took part in the encirclement and destruction of the German garrison in Minsk, as well as scattered enemy groups that found themselves in the rear of our troops.
On July 1, 1944 at 14:00 they crossed the Berezina River, at noon on July 2 they crossed the former border with Poland and entered western Belarus. On July 3 at 4-00 we entered the city of Butslav. Belarus is almost completely liberated from the German invaders, we are moving through Lithuania. The Germans are trying to stop our advance, but in vain. Where there was resistance to our units, artillery and aviation fell on the heads of the enemies.
The Germans held out in the town of Meishagola for three days, but it was completely swept away, miraculously only the church survived. Everything else has been turned into piles of bricks and rubble.
The division took part in the encirclement and destruction of the German garrison in the capital of the Lithuanian SSR, the city of Vilna. On July 13, the division was thanked by the Supreme High Command for the capture of Vilna.
On the night of July 13, 1944, the regiment forded the fast Viliya River. The successful crossing of the river was also facilitated by the fact that there was light rain, the sky was overcast and there were no enemy aircraft. The Germans, in all likelihood, directed their efforts to preserve the Vilnius garrison, and the regiment did not encounter any major obstacles at the crossing. But crossing the Neman on the night of July 16 required a lot of effort and ingenuity, since the German bank was heavily fortified and preparation was required to occupy a bridgehead. The crossing was facilitated by the fact that our shore was covered with forest, while the enemy’s shore had absolutely no vegetation, not even bushes. Artillery was brought up and placed at the edge of the forest for direct fire. When darkness fell, only one platoon of volunteers began crossing the Neman using improvised means. The Germans opened fire on them, discovering their firing points in the darkness. For our artillery, which was in direct fire, this was and was necessary. To suppress enemy firing points, our artillery unleashed all its might on the German positions, the platoon safely moved to the opposite bank, captured all the enemy's crossing facilities and returned to their shore with them. The enemy's firing points were suppressed, and a massive crossing of the Neman began. The Germans fired only weak rifle fire and our units had no losses.
Two battalions had already crossed the Neman and occupied a bridgehead on the enemy’s shore when the regiment received a new task: to destroy a group of Germans who were trying to break through to the aid of the garrison in Vilna, but who found themselves hemmed in by our units. Having left the military guard of the recaptured bridgehead beyond the Neman, the regiment began to carry out a new task. With the help of a tank unit that arrived in time, the encircled group was eliminated, after which the regiment moved to Kaunas.
Kaunas was a German fortress, its approaches were protected by reinforced concrete pillboxes and forts left over from the last World War and improved by the Nazis. But the Red Army already had enough experience and means to destroy such fortifications and this time they did it successfully. At about four o'clock in the morning on August 1, 1944, the regiment, together with other units, entered the city. Residents greeted us with flowers, treated us to fruits, wine, and invited us to visit.
Retreating, the Germans blew up all the bridges across the Neman River, but this did not stop the advance of our troops. A pontoon crossing was quickly established and units with military equipment crossed the Neman, beginning the pursuit of the retreating enemy.
Immediately after the liberation of Kaunas from the Nazi invaders, residents began building a temporary bridge across the Neman. A few days later it was ready, the movement of military cargo and equipment had no delay.
On August 1, 1944, for the capture of the fortress and the city of Kaunas, the division was thanked by the Supreme High Command, and by the Decree of the Supreme Military Command of the USSR it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
On August 17, 1944, Lithuania was liberated. Our regiment was the first to reach the border with East Prussia at 3:00 on August 17th. The company of senior lieutenant Ivan Evgenievich Korotitsky, in the area east of border tower No. 50 and north of tower No. 52, crossed the Sheshupa River and occupied the Prussian villages of Glabele, Berzheningnen and Groskeninsbruch on its eastern bank. But having received an order to withdraw to its territory, the company retreated back and the regiment took up defensive positions. On this day, Korotitsky died in battle. For being the first to reach the border with East Prussia, the Military Council of the front declared gratitude to the division.
On August 20, the regiment handed over its defense sector to the 558th Infantry Regiment and was transferred to a site near the town of Syntovty. Here, while on the defensive, during enemy shelling of our positions, the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr Maksimovich Sidorov, and his political commander, Major Ankudovich Vadim Ivanovich, were wounded. Major Andrey Vasilyevich Kiselev, who previously held the position of deputy regiment commander for drill training, was appointed commander of the regiment. Captain Korzhan Pyotr Makarovich arrived to the post of political officer.
Our division has already accumulated considerable experience in breaking through German defenses. Having rested well after the summer battles and campaigns, on October 16, 1944, the division again began breaking through the German defense on the border with East Prussia. But, taking advantage of our respite, the Germans further improved their defenses and considered them impregnable.
Our task was to break into the lair of the fascist beast. The first two days of fighting had little success. On October 19, the German resistance was finally broken and in the area of the small town of Naumistes (now Vladislavov), we, having broken through the enemy’s defenses, crossed the border and went deeper into the territory East Prussia at 30 km.
The German defense in this area was really strong: several lines of trenches, barbed wire, gouges, anti-tank ditches and a minefield. In the depths of the defense, powerful reinforced concrete pillboxes were built. In addition, in the border strip, buildings that seemed, at first glance, harmless, were in fact strongholds. There were no villages along the border, only farmsteads, mostly of brick construction, with walls of extraordinary thickness, basements made of concrete and special windows in them - embrasures. Attics are usually made of brick and contain living quarters. The Germans used them as observation posts, often there were machine-gun firing points that fired at our infantry.
On October 28, our offensive ended, the regiment was taken to rest in the town of Abschruten in East Prussia. For breaking through the powerful, deeply echeloned German defense in East Prussia, the division was thanked by the Supreme Commander.
Having gone to rest, we again began combat training.
On January 13, 1945, the offensive began along the entire 3rd Belorussian Front. Later we learned that the offensive had begun everywhere, on all fronts at the same time.
During our two and a half months of respite, the Germans were greatly strengthened and were not only preparing to repel our offensive. They were preparing to attack themselves with the intention of driving our troops out of East Prussia. Good intentions, but they were not destined to come true.
The artillery preparation, which lasted two hours, did not bring us success; for two days we could not move forward. The artillery had to work extra hard to break the enemy's resistance. Finally, he began to retreat, but as he retreated, he continually tried to gain a foothold on previously prepared defensive lines. In the first five days of fighting, we advanced only 40-45 km, and then the pace of the offensive began to increase every day. The division was again thanked by the Supreme High Command for its participation in breaking through the German defense.
We occupied the settlements of Pimkallen, Stalludenen, Gumbinnen and on January 21, 1945, captured the city of Insterburg - an important communications hub and a powerful fortified area of the Germans on the way to Königsberg.
In Insterburg, our units captured large trophies, a lot of different food and various military equipment. There were no residents in the city; the haste of their flight was felt everywhere. In many apartments one could see a table set and unfinished lunch. Merchants abandoned their shops and fled with the retreating Nazis. The Germans subjected the city to heavy shelling with long-range guns; day and night the city burned and collapsed, littering the streets with bricks and debris of buildings.
For the capture of the city of Insterburg, the division was thanked by the Supreme High Command. For breaking through the defense in East Prussia, the division was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd degree, and the 346th Infantry Regiment awarded the order Alexander Nevsky (Decree of 02/19/1945).
The population of East Prussia left with the retreating Nazi armies, leaving livestock and property. They finally experienced the fate of our people in 1941.
Soon they began to come across civilians. The Poles were coming towards us, returning to their homeland. There were Russians who had escaped from German slavery.
With the forces of two fronts - ours and the 2nd Belorussian, the Germans were squeezed into pincers and pressed against the Baltic Sea. We occupied settlements one after another. Finally, they occupied the city of Kreuzburg, the town of Tiefenthal. Despite the presence of spring mud and rain, the pace of the advance did not slow down; we were moving towards Konigsberg.
In the area of the town of Tiefenthal, the front commander, Army General, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Chernyakhovsky, died. Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasilevsky began to command the front.
The Germans were pinned to Friches Gough Bay. Their further withdrawal was possible only along the spit, the width of which in some places was no more than 400 meters. This only escape route from the shore was constantly under fire from our artillery. The ships of the Baltic Fleet fired from the sea along the spit, and the aviation of both fronts was not indifferent. The extermination of the fascist conquerors here was in in every sense this word.
On April 10, 1945, the last German fortress in East Prussia, the city of Königsberg, collapsed. For several days the division fought for the city in a southwestern direction. Finally, units of the 11th Army broke into the city on April 9 and, with the help of units of the 5th Army, captured the city on April 10. The Red Banner fluttered over Koenigsberg.
On April 17, the German group in East Prussia was completely defeated, the remnants German army surrendered. We have come close to the Baltic Sea.
For his participation in battles in East Prussia, Khenov was awarded the second Order of the Red Star.
So, from Kaluga to the shores of the Baltic Sea, our glorious 63rd Infantry Vitebsk Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division marched through fierce battles with the Nazi invaders.
On the way back from Frisches Gaff Bay through Rinau, Mettkoim, Nautzken station, Kailin, Wangen, Bendisen manor, Legitten farm, the city of Labiau, Tatenberg, Lukisken, Powangen, Krakau, Dedave, Kleinflies, Strindland. Having stopped on April 20 in the master's courtyard, they cleaned themselves up, really washed themselves in the bathhouse, and changed into summer uniform. Having celebrated May 1, on May 3 they marched to Narkitten station. Here the wagons were delivered to us, their equipment began, and then loading. We soon set off and, having passed Insterburg, which we had recently taken, we left East Prussia.
On May 9, 1945, at the Molodechnoye station - Western Belarus, the train was stopped and a rally was announced on the occasion of the victory over Nazi Germany. The head of the division's political department, Colonel Kuzmin, spoke at the meeting. There was no limit to the joy. A party began on the train; residents of the Molodechnoye station brought in moonshine. On this day, everything was forgiven to all of us, the day of the desired victory over fascism had arrived, we drank to the victory, the end of the war!
We passed Minsk, in Moscow the train was brought to the Kazan road, the path is clear - we are heading to the Far East.
We pass the cities of Kazan, Sverdlovsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk. Finally, on June 9, we arrived at Manzovka station, where we unloaded. We were stationed 7 km from Manzovka station, at the foot of large hills, in houses built from tents.
Reinforcements arrived and combat training began. We were preparing to settle scores with the Japanese samurai. The division was commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Gorodovikov, and again in the 5th Army under the command of Colonel General Krylov.
In July, they marched towards the border with Manchuria and concentrated in the area of Mount Medvezhya, 30 kilometers from the border and 12 km from Grodekovo station.
Our 5th Army was part of the 1st Far Eastern Front, commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union Meretskov.
Preparations for the offensive were entering the final stage; some of our units were already on the border and monitoring the enemy. On August 6, after a short march, we reached the border and concentrated in the area of the Potato hill.
Between the Potato hill and the hill occupied by the enemy, there was a swamp. The enemy's hill was covered with forest, but we only had sparse bushes. A day before the offensive, one of the companies, having received an order from the regiment commander, moved to the enemy hill, cut down the forest and paved the above-mentioned swamp. At the same time, not a single shot was fired from the Japanese.
Early in the morning of August 8, without any artillery preparation, as was always the case in the war with the Germans, our units, together with the border guards, quietly crossed the border, destroyed the Japanese border posts and began to delve deeper into the territory of Manchuria. We walked several kilometers when the Japanese tried to delay our units. They opened fire on us from the hills where the pillboxes were built, but our self-propelled guns quickly cleared the way for the infantry, destroying them.
Climbing the hill and looking back, it was clear what an avalanche of troops and equipment was moving deep into Manchuria and it was clear that no force could stop it.
The Japanese Kwantung Army, praised throughout the world, began to retreat on the very first day of our offensive without offering resistance. But the roads from the border inland were bad. The Japanese, apparently, only thought of attacking and did not build roads. The first days we advanced slowly, then the pace of the offensive began to increase every day, but the march was not easy: hills, swamps, mountain rivers - this was the path of our troops.
On August 10 we occupied Khobei station, on August 11 “Gold Mine”, on August 13 the city of Mulin, on August 15 Madaoshi station. Already here, individual units of the Kwantung Army began to surrender. We see entire columns of samurai heading to the collection points of prisoners. Among the prisoners there are many Japanese women, apparently wives of officers, walking in columns with children behind them.
On the approaches to the station and the city of Mudanjiang on August 18, the Japanese tried to resist. With the interaction of artillery and aviation, the resistance was broken and our units took possession of it. On August 20, they occupied Dunhua station, and on August 21, they entered the city of Jilin, where they disarmed the Japanese garrison and settled in their military town on the outskirts of Jilin.
The Kwantung Army capitulated. Our regiment ended the military operations at this point, and soon they were finished everywhere. In 13 days, through hills and swamps, in unbearable heat, we walked almost 500 km.
On August 23, 1945, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Comrade Stalin, thanked the division for participating in the breakthrough of the Border fortified area, overcoming difficult-to-reach, mountainous taiga terrain stretching 500 km and capturing the city of Girin in Manchuria.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 19, 1945, the division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd degree, and our 346th Infantry Regiment was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner.
So, the 63rd Vitebsk Rifle Order of “Suvorov” 2nd degree, the Order of “Kutuzov” 2nd degree, and, consequently, the 346th Rifle Twice Red Banner Order of “Alexander Nevsky” regiment, for their military path have 8 thanks from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Comrade Stalin and 1 letter of gratitude from the Military Council of the front.
On October 23, we leave Manchuria and, boarding the carriages, proceed to the Soviet Union. On October 29, we arrived at the Hun-Chun station, 20 km from the state border, and on October 31, in the Soviet Union, we settled in a village with a Chinese name - Hun-Chun. On November 10 we arrived in the town of Barabash, and on November 11 we arrived at the designated point of Pogran-Petrovka, settling in the Soviet military town, with our Soviet name.
But we didn’t stay on Soviet soil for long. Less than two weeks later we were taken back to Manchuria, this time to the city of Yangtze and returned to our military town of Pogran-Petrovka on April 21, 1946. We returned here through Vanqing and Tumen. We soon heard the good news: on the basis of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, demobilization of older soldiers from the army was announced. I also belonged to this category.
In the first half of May 1946, the dispatch of demobilized soldiers began from Pogran-Petrovka. We were presented with certificates noting feats of arms and warm words of encouragement signed by the division commander, Colonel Samarin, and the head of the political department, Colonel Deinega.
But not everyone waited for Victory Day and these joyful days of returning to their homeland. Many, very many remained on the battlefields and I will never forget my well-known comrades, among them:
Senior sergeant, head of the radio station Lekomtsev Nikolai Semenovich, 1917, cheerful, good accordion player, originally from Kirov, killed on 08/05/1944 by a sniper bullet in Lithuania.
The battalion commander, Captain Garnaev Ivan Vasilyevich, 1922, was killed on 04/18/1944 during an artillery raid on the regiment's command post in the Sverchkov area.
Chief of Staff of the Regiment, Captain Voskresensky Pyotr Ivanovich, 1902, who died on 08/30/1943 during a German air raid in Yelnya
Battalion adjutant captain Zolotov Viktor Nikolaevich, 1910, died 06/23/1944
Regiment commander Major Lysenko Anton Karpovich, 1903, died 03/10/1944
Head of the chemical service, senior lieutenant Petr Ivanovich Salnikov, 1921, died on September 19, 1945 in a car accident
Sergeant Klyauzov Alexey Vasilyevich, 1904, escaped from fascist captivity, fought in the West and died on 08/13/1945 in Manchuria in a battle at the Pelinskhe crossing.
On the fields of Lithuania on October 17, 1944, the regiment’s agitator, Captain Bayadilov Abulkhair, 1913, and many, many others, died.
Over the years there were many good friends and comrades who remained alive. Some are still in the ranks Soviet army, and the majority works for the glory of our Fatherland.
We have good memories of Sergeant Major Vasily Chebotarev, we have known him since 1943, he comes from Rostov region. In 1965, 19 years after our separation in Pogran-Petrovka in 1946, I found him through the Rostov address office. He lives in Taganrog, worked as the city's communications chief. While at the resort in Kislovodsk, we agreed to meet at way back and on May 15, 1965, the meeting took place in Taganrog. This unforgettable meeting brought so much joy and memories.
Alexey Khenov, 1966, Perm
"..Northwest and west of the city YELGAVA (MITAVA) our troops repelled attacks by large forces of enemy infantry and tanks. By order of the command, our troops left the city of TUKUMS and retreated to more advantageous positions..."
From the Sovinformburo report for August 21, 1944.
German soldiers pass by an immobilized Soviet IS-2 tank, during the fighting in Jelgava (Mitau) central Latvia. In 1944.
Probably just as connoisseurs of Russian poetry sometimes like to “at random” open one of the volumes of the complete works of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in order to read a few lines, simply to choose from, so I “wander” from time to time through archival documents OBD website - Memorial.
All you need to do is write some words at random, for example. Hungary, 1945, a different cause of death and you read the fates of soldiers and officers. Who committed suicide, who was run over by a car, who was poisoned with methyl alcohol.
The day before I thought. But I wonder - which of our fellow Penza residents was unlucky at the end of the war? Let's say, already in the rank of officer, I fell into the clutches of the Nazis.
I’m typing the text 1944 in the OBD request, captain, Penza, captured.
The site returned several names. My choice fell on the captain of the medical service, Malkin Isaac Naumovich, born in 1919. Captain of the medical service of the 346th Infantry Division. On August 20, 1944 he was captured. And immediately an addition - released.
That's it!??!
Judging by the officer's name, he is Jewish! And he survived captivity. Maybe appearance didn’t indicate nationality?? And the fellow soldiers taken prisoner with him did not hand him over??
Lucky, needless to say. According to documents, the captain served in the 437th medical battalion of the 346th division.
I then thought - how could a medical battalion doctor, not being on the front line, be captured?? I started looking for information. And I immediately realized that there was one less blank spot in the Great Patriotic War for me. In August 1944, the entire division in which Malkin was located was surrounded.
Anatoly Fedorovich Novikov, commander of the sanitary platoon of the 437th medical san. baht 346 SD
Pavel Petrovich Maryukhin Deputy for Political Affairs 437 medical san. baht 346 SD
Isaac Naumovich Malkin, captain, resident doctor, 437 medical san. baht 346 SD.
But only Malkin survived and returned. And apparently he behaved with dignity in captivity. After release and inspection, he continued to serve in the Red Army.
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By the way, according to the information given on the website "Feat of the People", before the 346th division was transferred from Crimea to the Baltic states, the captain of the medical service was awarded the medal "For Military Merit" and the Order of the Red Star.
As stated in the presentation for the last award, Isaac Naumovich Malkin, having crossed the Sivash ford and carrying surgical instruments, having reached the shore, immediately began to operate on the wounded, which saved many lives. A normal guy, to be sure!
And then the division, replenished with local conscripts, was transferred from the Soviet Crimea to the Soviet Baltic states. At first everything went well, and then....
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"..On August 19, the enemy concentrated the 168th and 314th Infantry Divisions in the Kauguri, Sloka, Kalnciems sector and went on the offensive against units of the 346th Infantry Division. Along the coast at the line of Kauguri, Lapmezciems, Ragaciems, Klapkalnciems, Apšutciems, Plienciems landed numerous enemy naval landings. Enemy warships supported the landing with fire from naval guns. Enemy aircraft bombed the coastal defenders. Over a regiment of Nazi infantry with tanks broke through to Milzkalne and Smarde. They destroyed the HOSPITAL located there (emphasis mine) of the 346th Infantry Division with wounded soldiers, doctors and nurses...."
"On August 20, after strong artillery preparation and with the support of a large number of tanks, self-propelled and assault guns, the enemy forces of the 93rd infantry division and the individual combined battalions attached to it went on the offensive throughout the entire division's defense sector. Having transported up to 14 companies of infantry across the Lielupe River, the Germans began an offensive along the road in the direction of the Sarmas farm. At the same time, the Germans moved up to 20 tanks and a motorized infantry battalion from the west to join the troops that had crossed over. The battle took place in difficult forested and swampy conditions with clear German superiority. At the same time, on the coast of the Gulf of Riga, the regiment M.P. Sydko fought with the landing amphibious assault. By 12 noon, the Germans, with fire support from the cruiser Prince Eugene, managed to land infantry and military equipment from 36 ships and barges in the area of Asari and Lielciems.
The Jelgava-Tukums road by this time was cut by enemy tanks and armored personnel carriers. The Germans created the so-called “Courland Corridor” 30 kilometers wide from the Gulf of Riga to the Berze River, north of Jelgava, and restored communications between Army Group North and East Prussia.
The 346th Division found itself completely surrounded on a large extended front. ..."
To further, you can read on the links I provided above. Some of the troops broke through in battle, several hundred retreated into the swampy swamps. And then a group of scouts was sent who brought out up to 90% of the fighters from this group. But of course not everyone. Hundreds were left lying on the ground, hundreds were captured. By the way, many Penza residents were among those missing on August 20th. I checked on OBD-Memorial - the mark is cleared, alive - only a few.
Judging by the memoirs I have read, these events did not go unnoticed by the “controlling authorities.”
“September 1944. Difficult battles surrounded nevertheless affected the mood of the soldiers and even the commanders. I noticed this immediately as soon as I visited the regiments of the 346th Infantry.
Naturally, the gloomy and even, one might say, depressed mood of people alarmed me. After all, this had never happened before in the division. Of course, I began to look for reasons for this. ...
It turned out that as soon as the division left the encirclement, several army representatives immediately arrived at its units. Unfortunately, they saw their task not as to cheer people up, but as... to conduct something like an investigation. So they began to ask the soldiers who, in their opinion, was to blame for the fact that the company or battalion was surrounded, and how certain soldiers behaved in that situation. In a word, people seemed to be divided in advance into courageous people and cowards, which, quite understandably, led some to great embarrassment, while others were offended to the core.
The tactless attitude of senior comrades towards the soldiers and commanders of the division in trouble was, to say the least, puzzling. Therefore, I considered it necessary to invite zealous “investigators” to my place. ..."
Well, that's all about the 346th Infantry Division for now.
By the way, judging by the same site “Feat of the People,” in 1985 Isaac Naumovich Malkin was still alive. He was awarded the "anniversary" Order of the Patriotic War.
And further. There is such a "Book of Memory of Jewish Soldiers Fallen in Battles with Nazism 1941-1945, Volume 2"
If people read me in Israel, please correct me. Isaac Malkin is not missing. The captain survived captivity and continued to practice medicine.
By the way, and that Jelgava. ours were released. BUT this already happened on October 10, 1944. According to Internet information, during the fighting the city was destroyed by 90%, for which it received the name “Baltic Stalingrad.”
Submachine gunners of the First Baltic Front clear Jelgava of Germans. 1944
The 1164 Infantry Regiment (1164 SP) was called up to the front and was part of the 346 Infantry Debaltsevo Red Banner Division (346 SD) - 51 Army, 4 Ukrainian Front.
The division was formed in August 1941 in the Saratov region. She took part in the battles near Moscow, fought on the Kulikovo field, near Stalingrad, Donbass, crossing Sivash, in the Crimea.
For military services she was awarded the honorary title "Debaltsevskaya" and the Order of the Red Banner.
The 346th Infantry Division also took part in the Battle of Stalingrad...
In the second echelon of the 5th Tank Army there was the 159th Infantry Division, in the 0th echelon of development of success - the 1st and 26th Tank Corps, the 8th Cavalry Corps and the 8th Motorcycle Regiment, in the holding group - the 14th Guards rifle division and 1166th rifle regiment of the 346th rifle division. Reserve - 346th Infantry Division.
Debaltsevo, a city in Ukraine, Donetsk region.
Abandoned by the Red Army on December 7, 1941. Liberated on September 3, 1943 by troops of the Southern Front during the Donbass strategic offensive operation.
Released connections:
Southern Front: 51st Army - 54th Rifle Corps (Major General Trofim Kalinovich Kolomiets) - 346th Rifle Division (Major General Dmitry Ivanovich Stankevsky);
By order of the Supreme High Command, the name Debaltsevskaya was assigned to the following formations and units - the 346th Infantry Division.
The troops who participated in the liberation of Donbass, during which they captured Debaltsevo and other cities, were thanked by order of the Supreme High Command on September 8, 1943, and a salute was given in Moscow with 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns. Nikitovka (now part of the city of Gorlovka), a city in Ukraine, Donetsk region. Abandoned by the Red Army on November 2, 1941. Liberated on September 5, 1943 by troops of the Southern and Southwestern Fronts during the Donbass strategic offensive operation.
The 54th Rifle Corps, reinforced by the 125th Mortar Regiment, advanced on the left flank. The 116th fortified area bypassed Debaltsevo from the south with the task of capturing the city of Uglegorsk and going to the rear of the enemy’s Debaltsevo group. From the east, the 346th Division under the command of General D.I. Stankevsky approached Debaltsevo.
Having defeated the Nazis in Chernukhino, the 1168th Infantry Regiment under the command of Major I.P. Pavlyucheikov burst into Debaltsevo at 12:30 p.m. Having repulsed two counterattacks and destroyed seven tanks, he began to storm the station area and railway station. The 1164th Infantry Regiment came to his aid. The company of Senior Lieutenant V. Solovyov showed exceptional courage and perseverance. She bypassed the city from the south, on its western outskirts she captured the heights dominating the surrounding area, and cut off the path of the retreating fascists. Hemmed in on three sides by the Nazi troops, they left Debaltsevo.
For the courage shown by the personnel and successful actions to defeat the Nazis in the Debaltsevo resistance center of the 346th Infantry Division, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief awarded the honorary name Debaltsevo.
Connection history:
It was formed according to the order of NKO No. 15 from August 15, 1941 in the city of Volsk, Saratov Region, Volga Military District. During the period from August 15 to December 1, the division underwent combat training and its combat equipment. On August 27, the division commander, division commander I.E. Davydovsky, arrived. He had extensive combat experience and was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner. During the Soviet-Finnish War he commanded 10SK, then was a teacher of tactics at the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. By September 1, the division numbered 12,000. Each rifle regiment consisted of 3,200 people. Intense combat training was underway. However, there was a lack of swearing. parts, teaching aids. Commanders and soldiers strived for one goal - to defeat the enemy. In November, the commission of Gen. The staff and members of the Armed Forces of the PrivVO accepted the division's readiness for battle. The unit was considered sufficiently prepared to be sent to the front. On November 25, an order was received to be sent in trains to the Ryazhsk area. On November 26, the division's echelons began to leave for the front. We were ordered to take with us two refills of fuel and the entire available supply of ammunition. On December 1, 41 units of the 346th Rifle Division numbered 12,035 people, 8,122 mm, 28 76 mm, 6 37 mm guns, 18 45 mm, 18 1,200, 72 50 mm mortars, 8,757 rifles, 108 easel, 163 light machine guns, 464 ppsh, 2,657 horses.
By December 1, 1/1164sp was the first to arrive in Ryazhsk. The last trains unloaded on December 7 and 8, 1941. The motorized units of Guderian's 2TA broke through into this area and occupied Pavelets station. From mid-November 41 the direction to Ryazhsk was practically open to the enemy, because A large front gap formed between units 50A and 3A. The enemy's advanced motorized detachments advanced to the northern railway. Ryazhsk, but at the end of November they were defeated in the area of the station. Zheltukhino with parts of the fresh 84th Motorized Rifle Brigade moving towards Moscow along the railway. On November 28, Colonel Moleev’s marines from the 84th Mechanized Infantry Rifle also drove out the enemy’s advanced units from the city of Skopin. The 10th and 29th infantry divisions of Guderian's army, which flanked his armies, retreated to the station. Pavelets did not make any further advance to the east. Severe frosts hit at the beginning of December 41. limited the activities of enemy units that did not have winter uniforms. In addition, the German command did not at all expect a blow to the hitherto calm flank of its troops. On Guderian’s flank, the Red Army command concentrated two fresh armies at once (10A and 61A).
346SD became part of 61A Colonel General F.I. Kuznetsov. 61A included 342, 346, 350, 356, 385, 387, 391SD, 83 and 91CD. However, only the 346th, 350th and 356th Rifle Division were the most combat-ready and armed. The remaining divisions had few mortars and machine guns. Some units had no artillery or mortars at all. Two divisions also lacked rifles. So in 83kd for 3404 people. there were only 570 rifles and 5 machine guns. The 342sd operated on the right, and the 350sd on the left. By December 4, concentrated units of the division took up defensive positions in the Skopin area, preparing to repel tank attacks. Defensive structures were built. Reconnaissance was sent ahead. Concentrating in the Shelemishevskoye-Zezyulino area, the division went on the offensive in a westerly direction. The German 2TA in this area operated on a wide front, 10md, occupying defenses in the area of the station. Pavelets.
The attack of the fresh 10th and 61st armies on the right flank of the German 2TA was completely unexpected for the enemy. Units 61A began an attack on several. days later 10A - December 9. The enemy, under attack from 10A, has already begun to retreat beyond the Don River. Having captured Pavelets, he quickly advances to the west. direction. Occupied Gorokhovka and Novo Aleksandrovka. Having cleared the Chernavsky area, I pursued the retreating units of the 10th infantry division. Under pressure from our fresh formations, German troops retreated beyond the Don. By December 14, she reached the Don River. The enemy retreated, abandoning hundreds of vehicles, ammunition depots and weapons. Having crossed the Don, divisions 61 (346 and 350 SD) turned to the southwest. In the second echelon, behind the 346th division, the 342nd division advanced. On December 18, Volovo and Teploye stations were liberated. At the line of Palchikovo, Fursovo, Bolvanovo it encountered fierce enemy resistance, but the enemy’s defenses were crushed. In Palchikovo, 7 guns and an ammunition depot were taken. The captured shells opened fire on the enemy from captured guns. By December 20, the 346th Rifle Division approached Plavsk. Hit south-west The enemy's defenses were broken through in Plavsk. At Gorbachevo station on December 21, more than 100 vehicles, trains with military equipment, fuel and ammunition depots were captured. The division intercepted the highway south of Plavsk, then spent several days at the station. Gorbachev bringing its units in order. In the last days of December 41. units of the German 2TA withdrew their troops beyond the Oka and Zusha rivers, where they intended to switch to a tough defense. On December 27th she reached the Oka River between Belev and Mtsensk.
After reaching the Oka River on January 1, she received an order to relieve the 350th Rifle Division and the defense line of Ukolitsa, Ivanovka, and Ozerna was occupied. Having crossed the river line Oka division reached the Ukolitsa area. Here, having already suffered serious losses during the long offensive, the division went on the defensive. Carrying out attacks, she took possession of the Top. and Nizh. Radomka. From the end of March to August 42. occupied and fortified a defense area 34 km wide. On June 14, reconnaissance of the battles was carried out during which parts of the division captured the village. Zhelezinsky and captured big trophies.
Until August '42. The division occupied defense in the area south of Kozelsk in an area 34 km wide. On June 14, reconnaissance in force was carried out during which the village was recaptured from the enemy. Zhelezninsky. On August 11, German troops launched Operation Smerch at the junction of the 61st and 16th armies. In the 346th division sector, the enemy introduced 11 and 20 infantry divisions and 56 infantry divisions. The defense of the 346th Rifle Division was broken through and the division, along with the 350th and 387th Rifle Division, was surrounded. However, the soldiers of the 346th Rifle Division did not flinch, but even in the conditions of encirclement they continued to offer fierce resistance to the enemy. By August 27, the remnants of the division, consolidated into 1166 rifle regiments, emerged from the encirclement in the Volosovo area.
After leaving the encirclement, she was sent to reformation. From September 6 to October 24, the division was in the Tesninsky camps near Tula, where it received reinforcements, checkmate. part and prepared for new battles. Here the division became part of the 5TA of Lieutenant General Romanenko. On October 24, she was loaded into trains and sent along with units of 5TA to the Don in the Serafimovichi area.
Arrived at Southwestern Front at the beginning of November 42. Participated in the offensive near Stalingrad as part of the 5TA SWF. In the first days of the offensive on November 19-20, she was in reserve (only the division’s artillery regiment participated in artillery preparation). 1166sp covered the flank of the strike force advancing from the Serafimovich bridgehead, occupying an area of 12 km. It advanced in the second echelon and fought in the Bol area. Donshchinki with surrounded units of the German 22td. Up to 600 enemy soldiers and large trophies were captured and 718 were captured.
On November 27, she marched to the Sloboda Russkaya area. I borrowed it at the beginning of December '42. defense along the Chir River on the extreme right flank of 5TA. On December 16, the right-flank 3GvA went on the offensive during Operation Saturn. 346 advanced its right flank on the opposite bank of the Chir. By December 20, the defense of the Romanian-Italian group on the Don had completely collapsed, and from December 23, having come under the control of the 3GvA, the division began pursuing retreating enemy units along the entire front. The enemy left Chernyshevskaya and began to retreat south along the Chir. By the end of the day the division had advanced to Klinovoy. By the end of December 28, the division reached the Peschanka line, Sivolobov having the task of attacking together with the 8KK on Chernyshkovskaya.
After several days of fighting, Chernyshkovskaya was liberated by 8KK cavalrymen. 346, advancing on the right flank of the army, continued to pursue the retreating enemy units in the direction of Morozovsk. On January 5, Morozovsky was released. Huge trophies were captured at the station. By January 6, having advanced to the station. Valkovo division continued its attack on Tatsinskaya. During January 8-14, the division fought in the Sennaya area. On January 15, 5TA launched a general attack on Tatsinskaya. Mastered 346sd once. The refugees and by the evening burst into Tatsinskaya together with the cavalrymen of the 8KK and cleared the station of the enemy. Pursuing the enemy, the cavalrymen reached the Bystraya River. Without stopping here, the Germans retreated across the river. North Donets, where the division reached the origin. January 18.
From January 20, 1943 The 346th Rifle Division began crossing the North. Donets. After capturing a small bridgehead in the Kamenev area, the Germans launched fierce counterattacks using tanks against our bridgehead. All enemy attacks were repulsed and the bridgehead was held. From January 22, the 54th Guards Infantry Division was also transferred to the bridgehead, which made it possible to tighten the battle formations. The division went on the offensive to height 148.5, for which fierce fighting broke out. Since January 24, it was withdrawn from the bridgehead and occupied defense along the eastern bank of the river.
On February 8, having handed over its sector to the 47th Guards Infantry Division, the division completed a 50 km march and concentrated in the Orekhovy area, Rosa Luxemburg. On February 14, it went on the offensive against Chernov. On February 21, the division occupied the station. Kolpakovo. Having handed over its section to the 61st Guards Division on February 28, by March 2 it concentrated on the Kamyshevakha, Elizavetovka line. Here the division occupied the defensive until July 11, 1943.
On July 13, it was transferred to the reserve and became part of 54SK 51A. On July 18, the Southern Front went on the offensive on the river. Mius. Having broken through the enemy's defenses, the division reached the heights. 232.2., but by July 22, as a result of an enemy counterattack, it was forced to retreat to its original position.
She went on the offensive again on September 1, 43. in the direction Shterovka-Krasnoselye. The enemy's defenses were broken through and, having begun to pursue the enemy, on September 3 the division captured a large railway. Debaltsevo station, capturing a large number of trophies. September 9, 1943 For the capture of Debaltsevo, the division was given the honorary name "Debaltsevo".
Since September 10, it has been pursuing the retreating enemy across the Donbass. Having reached the line, Novo-Alexandrovka took up defensive positions, after which on September 22 it was transferred to reserve. By September 29, having completed the march, it concentrated in the Efimovka area in the rear of the 2GvA. Participated in breaking through enemy defenses on the river. Dairy. It was brought into battle on October 10, replacing units of the 24th Guards Airborne Forces. After a powerful artillery barrage, she broke through the enemy’s defenses and crossed the river. Dairy in the Wainau region. On October 11, it was withdrawn from this area and transferred south of Melitopol. On October 13, she crossed the river. Dairy. Having overcome the enemy defenses on October 22, she cut the railway from Melitopol to the southwest. From October 24, going on a decisive offensive, she pursued the retreating enemy on the way to Sivash.
Having covered 85 km on October 30, she concentrated on the morning of November 1 to cross Sivash. The division was the first to cross the Sivash and provided crossing for other formations of 10SK. After crossing the Sivash, it takes up a bridgehead in the area of Tarkhany, Novo-Alexandrovka, and Voinka.
At the end of January '44. the division was relieved at the bridgehead on Sivash and moved to the rear for preparation. Transported again to the bridgehead on February 28. On April 8, the Crimean operation began. 51A, which included 10SK, moved from its bridgehead to the offensive. On April 9, the 346th Infantry Division crossed the lake. Aigulskoe (crossing by infantrymen took place waist-deep in water, only artillery was transferred by pontoons). The successful crossing of the lake and the division's breakthrough to Tomashevka provided a breakthrough for the 19th Tank Corps. On April 11, the division entered the operational space in northern Crimea and, continuously walking 60-80 km a day, pursued the retreating Germans to the river. Belbek near Sevastopol, which she reached on April 15. Unfortunately, immediately break into Sevastopol from the north through the station. Mekenzie failed. The division's losses during the breakthrough of the defense on Sivash amounted to 254 killed and 1,182 wounded. During the assault on Sevastopol from May 7 to 10, she captured the settlements of Dergachi and Lyubimovka, then fought in the southern part of Sevastopol.
On May 13, the division marched north and, having covered 350 km, arrived in Kherson by May 25. Here, having become part of the 2GvA, the division was loaded into echelons and by June 9 it was transferred to the city of Yelnya. From June 9 to June 28, the division was engaged in intensive combat training for 12 hours a day. The main topic classes were offensive operations: enveloping, bypassing and destroying enemy strongholds.
On June 28, the division as part of the 2nd Guards Army advanced behind the fronts advancing in Belarus and the Baltic states along the route Yelnya, Smolensk, Sventsyany, Patsumeli. Here, on July 28, the division entered into battle with attacking enemy tank units. The German command sought to close the gap between Army Groups North and Center. Fierce defensive in the Gudzyuny area during July 29-30, 1944. The division survived with honor. On August 1, the enemy retreated beyond the river. Shusla was unable to break through the division's defenses.
By August 5, the division was transferred to the north. Shaulia and by August 6 approached Mitava, where it became part of 1GvSK 51A. Back at the end of July, the 3rd GvMK reached the Gulf of Riga and thereby cut off the main forces of the GrA "North" from the main forces of the German army. Transferred to 51A on August 9, the division drove the enemy out of Temeri and Sloka on the shores of the Gulf of Riga. On August 13, she was transferred to occupy a defensive line along the river. Lielupe sev. Mitavi front to the east. The division, like the entire 1GvSK, was tasked with preventing the enemy from breaking through from Latvia to the west. Until August 20, the division defended the line along the river. Lielupe. On the morning of August 20, the enemy began crossing the Lielupe River under cover of fog. Troops were also landed on the coast in the Asari area. The division's defense was broken through. Motorized units also reached the rear of the division from Tukums, breaking through the defense of the left flank 63SK on August 19th. Under these conditions, the division was forced to leave its defensive line and leave the encirclement to the south. By August 21, the division retreated to the western area. Mitavi. Thus, the German troops managed to restore a narrow corridor along the Gulf of Riga with the North grapnel, but the enemy was unable to return Mitava and expand the resulting corridor. If on August 20 the division numbered 5327 people, then by August 24 the division's strength was reduced to 2967 people. Losses in artillery amounted to: 11 122 mm guns, 33 76 mm guns, 24 45 mm guns and almost all mortars (that is, almost all of the division's artillery was lost). More than 800 people from the encircled units of the 346th SD and other formations at the beginning of September 44. were withdrawn by a specially directed reconnaissance group from the area of the Tyrelyu-Purvz swamps behind enemy lines to the location of the 347th Rifle Division.
After leaving the encirclement, the division was withdrawn to the second echelon to put itself in order, and then, as part of 60SK and 1GvSK, it occupied the northern defense. Mitavi. On October 3, having handed over her plot, she marched to the Mickiskiai region. On October 5, 1PribF began the Memel offensive operation. The 346th Rifle Division concentrated in the second echelon and on October 7 was introduced into the created breakthrough. By October 11, the division reached the area of the station. Yeechi (southern Libau), where it was stopped by increased enemy resistance. It went on the offensive again at the end of October - beginning of November 1944, but failed to break through the enemy’s defenses.
December 22, 44 was subjected to a powerful attack by motorized German units, which managed to break through the division's defenses. Some of the rifle battalions were surrounded and fought their way south. During December 23-24, several more enemy attacks were repelled, after which the division was withdrawn to the second echelon. It again attacked the enemy’s Courland group at the end of January 45. in the Kalnishti area. A bridgehead on the river was captured. Bart, but the offensive had no further success. At the beginning of February, she was again withdrawn to the corps reserve, and then to the Pozhera region as part of the 14th Rifle Corps of front-line subordination of the 2nd Baltic Front, from April as part of the Belarusian-Lithuanian Military District.
At the end of April, she was transferred by train to Eastern Pomerania, where she became part of the 2nd Belorussian Front, but no longer participated in combat operations, being in the front reserve. I met my victory in the area of Kheirinkhsru.
