Second front of World War II. Eastern European theater of operations of the Second World War Countries of the Eastern Front of the Second World War
Part XII. East European Front.
In the CIS countries, the war on the Eastern European front, which became the site of the largest military confrontation in history, is called the Great Patriotic War. Over 400 military formations of the German and Red Army fought for 4 years on the front, which stretched over more than 1600 km.
During these years, about 8 million Soviet and 4 million German soldiers laid down their lives on the East European front. The hostilities were especially fierce: the largest tank battle in history (Battle of Kursk), the longest siege of the city (almost 900-day siege of Leningrad), the scorched earth policy, the complete destruction of thousands of villages, mass deportations, executions ...
The situation was complicated by the fact that there was a split within the Soviet armed forces. At the beginning of the war, some groups even recognized the Nazi invaders as liberators from Stalin's regime and fought against the Red Army. After a series of defeats for the Red Army, Stalin issued order No. 227 "Not a step back!" Forbidding Soviet soldiers to retreat without an order. In case of disobedience of the military leaders, a tribunal awaited, and the soldiers could immediately receive punishment from their colleagues, who were supposed to shoot at everyone who ran from the battlefield.
This collection contains photographs of 1942-1943, covering the period of the Great Patriotic War from the blockade of Leningrad to decisive Soviet victories at Stalingrad and Kursk. The scale of the hostilities of that time is almost impossible to imagine, and even more so to cover in one photo essay, but we offer you pictures that have preserved for posterity the scenes of hostilities on the Eastern European front.
Autumn 1942. Soviet soldiers are on the streets of Stalingrad.
(Georgy Zelma/Waralbum.ru)
June 21, 1942. The commander of the detachment is watching the advance of his troops in the Kharkov region, Ukrainian SSR.
(AP Photo)
Late 1942. German soldiers are preparing an anti-tank gun for battle on the Soviet front.
(AP Photo)
Winter 1942. Residents of Leningrad collect water during the almost 900-day blockade of the Soviet city by the German invaders. The Germans failed to capture Leningrad, but surrounded it with a blockade ring, damaged communications and shelled the city for more than two years.
(AP Photo)
Spring 1942. Funeral in Leningrad. As a result of the blockade, famine began in Leningrad, and due to the lack of medicines and equipment, people quickly died from diseases and injuries. During the siege of Leningrad, 1.5 million soldiers and civilians died, the same number of Leningraders were evacuated, but many of them died on the way due to starvation, disease and bombing.
(Vsevolod Tarasevich/Waralbum.ru)
August 1942. The scene after a fierce battle on Rostov Street during the occupation of the Soviet city by the German invaders.
(AP Photo)
July 31, 1942. German motorized artillery crosses the Don River on a pontoon bridge.
(AP Photo)
1942. A Soviet woman looks at a burning house.
(NARA)
1942. German soldiers shoot Jews near Ivangorod, Ukrainian SSR. This photograph was mailed to Germany and intercepted at the post office in Warsaw by a member of the Polish resistance who was collecting evidence of Nazi war crimes. The original photo was taken by Tadeusz Mazur and Jerzy Tomaszewski and is now kept in the Historical Archives in Warsaw. The signature left by the Germans on the back of the photograph: "Ukrainian SSR, 1942, the extermination of Jews, Ivangorod."
Spring 1942. A German soldier takes part in the Battle of Stalingrad.
In 1942, soldiers of the Red Army entered a village near Leningrad and found there 38 bodies of Soviet prisoners of war, tortured to death by the German invaders.
(AP Photo)
Late 1942. Soviet war orphans stand near the ruins of their home. The German invaders destroyed their house, and their parents were taken prisoner.
(AP Photo)
August 4, 1942. A German armored car rides among the ruins of a Soviet fortification in Sevastopol, Ukrainian SSR.
(AP Photo)
October 1942. Soviet soldiers fight on the ruins of the Krasny Oktyabr factory, Stalingrad.
(Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
October 13, 1942. Red Army soldiers are preparing to fire anti-tank guns at the approaching German tanks.
(AP Photo)
German dive bomber Junkers Yu-87 "Stuka" takes part in the Battle of Stalingrad.
(Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
October 20, 1942. A German tank drives up to a broken Soviet tank on the outskirts of a forest, USSR.
(AP Photo)
End of 1942. German soldiers go on the offensive near Stalingrad.
(NARA)
A German soldier hangs a Nazi flag on a building in the center of Stalingrad.
(NARA)
November 24, 1942. The Germans continued to fight for Stalingrad, despite the threat of encirclement by the Soviet army. In the photo: Stuka dive bombers bomb the factory district of Stalingrad.
(AP Photo)
December 1942. A horse is looking for food in the ruins of Stalingrad.
(AP Photo)
December 21, 1942. Tank cemetery organized by the Germans in Rzhev. There were about 2,000 tanks in various conditions at the cemetery.
(AP Photo)
December 28, 1942. German soldiers walk through the ruins of a gas generating station in the factory district of Stalingrad.
(AP Photo)
December 16, 1942. Red Army soldiers fire at the enemy from the backyard of an abandoned house on the outskirts of Stalingrad.
(AP Photo)
January 1943. Soviet soldiers in winter uniforms took up position on the roof of a building in Stalingrad.
(Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
January 1943. A Soviet T-34 tank races through the Square of the Fallen Fighters in Stalingrad.
(Georgy Zelma/Waralbum.ru)
Early 1943. Soviet soldiers take cover behind the barricades of the ruins during the battle with the German invaders on the outskirts of Stalingrad.
(AP Photo)
Early 1943. German soldiers advance along the ruined streets of Stalingrad.
(AP Photo)
March 3, 1943. Red Army soldiers in camouflage go on the offensive against German positions across a snowy field on the German-Soviet front.
(AP Photo)
Early 1943. Soviet infantrymen are marching along the snow-covered hills in the vicinity of Stalingrad to liberate the city from Nazi invaders. The Red Army surrounded the 6th Army of Germany, consisting of about 300 thousand German and Romanian soldiers.
(AP Photo)
February 1943. A Soviet soldier guards a captured German soldier. After spending several months in the Soviet encirclement in Stalingrad, the German 6th Army capitulated, having lost 200 thousand soldiers in fierce battles and as a result of starvation.
(Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
March 1, 1943. German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus is interrogated at the headquarters of the Red Army near Stalingrad, USSR. Paulus was the first German field marshal to be taken prisoner by the Soviets. Contrary to Hitler's expectations that Paulus would fight to the death (or commit suicide after defeat), in Soviet captivity the field marshal began to criticize the Nazi regime. Subsequently, he appeared as a witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials.
(AP Photo)
1943. Red Army soldiers sit in a trench over which a Soviet T-34 tank passes during the Battle of Kursk.
(Mark Markov-Grinberg/Waralbum.ru)
April 14, 1943. The bodies of German soldiers lie along the road southwest of Stalingrad.
(AP Photo)
June 1943. Soviet soldiers fire at an enemy aircraft.
(Waralbum.ru)
Mid-July 1943. German Tiger tanks are involved in fierce fighting south of Orel during the Battle of Kursk. From July to August 1943, the greatest tank battle in history took place in the Kursk region, in which about 3 thousand German and more than 5 thousand Soviet tanks took part.
(Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
July 28, 1943. German tanks are preparing for a new attack during the Battle of Kursk. The German army had been preparing for the offensive for many months, but the Soviets were aware of Germany's plans and developed a powerful defense system. After the defeat of the German troops in the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army maintained superiority until the very end of the war.
(AP Photo)
July 23, 1943. Soviet soldiers advance on German positions in a smoke screen, USSR.
(AP Photo)
April 14, 1943. Captured German tanks stand in a field southwest of Stalingrad.
(AP Photo)
July 1943. A Soviet lieutenant distributes cigarettes to German prisoners of war near Kursk.
(Michael Savin/Waralbum.ru)
End of 1943. View of Stalingrad, almost completely destroyed after six months of fierce fighting, at the end of hostilities.
(Michael Savin/Waralbum.ru)
In the CIS countries, the war on the Eastern European front, which has become the site of the largest military confrontation in the world, is called the Great Patriotic War. Over 400 military formations of the German and Red Army fought for 4 years on the front, which stretched over more than 1600 km. During these years, about 8 million Soviet and 4 million German soldiers laid down their lives on the East European front. The hostilities were especially fierce: the largest tank battle in history (Battle of Kursk), the longest siege of the city (almost 900-day siege of Leningrad), the scorched earth policy, the complete destruction of thousands of villages, mass deportations, executions ... The situation was complicated by the fact that inside the Soviet the armed forces were split. At the beginning of the war, some groups even recognized the Nazi invaders as liberators from Stalin's regime and fought against the Red Army. After a series of defeats for the Red Army, Stalin issued order No. 227 "Not a step back!" Forbidding Soviet soldiers to retreat without an order. In case of disobedience of the military leaders, a tribunal awaited, and the soldiers could immediately receive punishment from their colleagues, who were supposed to shoot at everyone who ran from the battlefield. This collection contains photographs of 1942-1943, covering the period of the Great Patriotic War from the blockade of Leningrad to decisive Soviet victories at Stalingrad and Kursk. The scale of the hostilities of that time is almost impossible to imagine, and even more so to cover in one photo essay, but we offer you pictures that have preserved for posterity the scenes of hostilities on the Eastern European front.
Soviet soldiers go into battle through the ruins of Stalingrad, autumn 1942. (Georgy Zelma/Waralbum.ru)
The detachment commander watches the advance of his troops in the Kharkov region, Ukrainian SSR, June 21, 1942. (AP Photo)
A German anti-tank gun is being prepared for combat on the Soviet front, late 1942. (AP Photo)
Residents of Leningrad collect water during the almost 900-day blockade of the Soviet city by the German invaders, winter 1942. The Germans failed to capture Leningrad, but surrounded it with a blockade ring, damaged communications and shelled the city for more than two years. (AP Photo)
Funeral in Leningrad, spring 1942. As a result of the blockade, famine began in Leningrad, and due to the lack of medicines and equipment, people quickly died from diseases and injuries. During the siege of Leningrad, 1.5 million soldiers and civilians died, the same number of Leningraders were evacuated, but many of them died on the way due to starvation, disease and bombing. (Vsevolod Tarasevich/Waralbum.ru)
The scene after a fierce battle on the streets of Rostov during the occupation of the Soviet city by the German invaders in August 1942. (AP Photo)
German motorized artillery crosses the Don River on a pontoon bridge, July 31, 1942. (AP Photo)
A Soviet woman looks at a burning house, 1942. (NARA)
German soldiers shoot Jews near Ivangorod, Ukrainian SSR, 1942. This photograph was mailed to Germany and intercepted at the post office in Warsaw by a member of the Polish resistance who was collecting evidence of Nazi war crimes. The original photo was taken by Tadeusz Mazur and Jerzy Tomaszewski and is now kept in the Historical Archives in Warsaw. The signature left by the Germans on the back of the photograph: "Ukrainian SSR, 1942, the extermination of Jews, Ivangorod."
A German soldier takes part in the Battle of Stalingrad, spring 1942. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
In 1942, soldiers of the Red Army entered a village near Leningrad and found there 38 bodies of Soviet prisoners of war, tortured to death by the German invaders. (AP Photo)
Soviet war orphans stand near the ruins of their home, late 1942. The German invaders destroyed their house, and their parents were taken prisoner. (AP Photo)
A German armored car drives among the ruins of a Soviet fortress in Sevastopol, Ukrainian SSR, August 4, 1942. (AP Photo)
Stalingrad in October 1942. Soviet soldiers fight on the ruins of the Red October factory. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
Red Army soldiers prepare to fire anti-tank guns at approaching German tanks, October 13, 1942. (AP Photo)
German Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber takes part in the Battle of Stalingrad. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
A German tank drives up to a wrecked Soviet tank on the outskirts of a forest, USSR, October 20, 1942. (AP Photo)
German soldiers go on the offensive near Stalingrad, late 1942. (NARA)
A German soldier hangs a Nazi flag on a building in the center of Stalingrad. (NARA)
The Germans continued to fight for Stalingrad, despite the threat of encirclement by the Soviet army. In the photo: Stuka dive bombers bombard the factory district of Stalingrad, November 24, 1942. (AP Photo)
A horse looks for food in the ruins of Stalingrad, December 1942. (AP Photo)
Tank cemetery organized by the Germans in Rzhev, December 21, 1942. There were about 2,000 tanks in various conditions at the cemetery. (AP Photo
German soldiers walk through the ruins of a gas generating station in Stalingrad's factory district, December 28, 1942. (AP Photo)
Soldiers of the Red Army firing at the enemy from the backyard of an abandoned house on the outskirts of Stalingrad, December 16, 1942. (AP Photo)
Soviet soldiers in winter uniforms took up position on the roof of a building in Stalingrad, January 1943. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
A Soviet T-34 tank rushes through the Square of the Fallen Fighters in Stalingrad, January 1943. (Georgy Zelma/Waralbum.ru)
Soviet soldiers take cover behind barricades made of ruins during a battle with the German occupiers on the outskirts of Stalingrad in early 1943. (AP Photo)
German soldiers advance through the ruined streets of Stalingrad, early 1943. (AP Photo)
Soldiers of the Red Army in camouflage go on the offensive against German positions across a snow-covered field on the German-Soviet front, March 3, 1943. (AP Photo)
Soviet infantrymen walk along the snow-covered hills in the vicinity of Stalingrad to liberate the city from Nazi invaders, early 1943. The Red Army surrounded the 6th Army of Germany, consisting of about 300 thousand German and Romanian soldiers. (AP Photo)
A Soviet soldier guards a captured German soldier, February 1943. After spending several months in the Soviet encirclement in Stalingrad, the German 6th Army capitulated, having lost 200 thousand soldiers in fierce battles and as a result of starvation. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus is interrogated at the headquarters of the Red Army near Stalingrad, USSR, March 1, 1943. Paulus was the first German field marshal to be taken prisoner by the Soviets. Contrary to Hitler's expectations that Paulus would fight to the death (or commit suicide after defeat), in Soviet captivity the field marshal began to criticize the Nazi regime. Subsequently, he appeared as a witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials. (AP Photo)
Red Army soldiers sit in a trench with a Soviet T-34 tank passing over it during the Battle of Kursk in 1943. (Mark Markov-Grinberg/Waralbum.ru)
The bodies of German soldiers lie along the road southwest of Stalingrad, April 14, 1943. (AP Photo)
Soviet soldiers firing at an enemy aircraft, June 1943. (Waralbum.ru)
German Tiger tanks take part in fierce fighting south of Orel during the Battle of Kursk, mid-July 1943. From July to August 1943, the greatest tank battle in history took place in the Kursk region, in which about 3 thousand German and more than 5 thousand Soviet tanks took part. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
German tanks are preparing for a new attack during the Battle of Kursk, July 28, 1943. The German army had been preparing for the offensive for many months, but the Soviets were aware of Germany's plans and developed a powerful defense system. After the defeat of the German troops in the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army maintained superiority until the very end of the war. (AP Photo)
German soldiers walk ahead of a Tiger tank during the Battle of Kursk in June or July 1943. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
Soviet soldiers advancing on German positions in a smoke screen, USSR, July 23, 1943. (AP Photo)
Captured German tanks stand in a field southwest of Stalingrad, April 14, 1943. (AP Photo)
A Soviet lieutenant distributes cigarettes to German prisoners of war near Kursk, July 1943. (Michael Savin/Waralbum.ru)
View of Stalingrad, almost completely destroyed after six months of fierce fighting, at the end of hostilities at the end of 1943. (Michael Savin/Waralbum.ru)
The war on the eastern front, which we call the Great Patriotic War, was the greatest war in history. More than 400 divisions of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht met in battle during various operations on fronts with a total length of 1.5 thousand km. According to various estimates, in four years Germany lost 4 million soldiers on the Eastern Front, and the USSR lost 27 million soldiers and civilians. It was a brutal, furious war - the largest tank battle in history near Kursk, the most costly siege of the city (about 900 days near Leningrad), scorched earth doctrines, the devastation of thousands of villages, mass deportations, mass executions and other atrocities on both sides. In addition, even within the Soviet Union there were forces that supported Germany and considered the Germans to be liberators from the Stalinist regime. When the situation became hopeless, Stalin issued the famous order No. 227 “Not a step back!”, which forbade the troops to retreat without receiving a direct order - the commanders fell under the tribunal for this, and the soldiers faced with detachments, punitive units of the NKVD, who shot the retreating. The photographs from this collection were taken in 1942-1943 and tell about the siege of Leningrad, the Battle of Kursk and Stalingrad, and so on. The scale of this war is almost unimaginable, and it is impossible to give an idea of it with a few dozen photographs, so take these pictures as a brief digression into the history of the war on the Eastern Front.
(Total 45 photos)
1. Soviet soldiers advance through the ruins of Stalingrad, August 1942. (Georgy Zelma/Waralbum.ru)
2. The commander of the Cossack detachment in the Kharkov region, June 21, 1942, is watching the movement of his unit. (AP Photo)
3. Calculation of a German anti-tank gun, 1942. (AP Photo)
4. Winter 1942, Leningraders draw water from a broken water pipe during the 900-day siege of the city by German troops. The Germans failed to capture the city, and cut it off from the rest of the world, subjecting it to numerous artillery shelling over the course of two years. (AP Photo)
5. Last farewell in Leningrad. Spring 1942. The blockade caused famine, and the lack of medical supplies made sickness and injury more dangerous. About 1.5 million military and civilians died in Leningrad during the blockade, almost the same number were evacuated, but many of the evacuees did not survive the flight from the city. (Vsevolod Tarasevich/Waralbum.ru)
6. German troops in Rostov, August 1942. (AP Photo)
7. German artillery crosses the Don on a pontoon bridge, July 31, 1942. Remains of materials and equipment used to build the bridge are scattered around. (AP Photo)
8. A woman looks at a burning building, 1942. (NARA)
9. Execution of Jews by German soldiers near Ivangorod in Ukraine, 1942. This photograph was mailed from the Eastern Front and was intercepted in Warsaw by Polish partisans Tadeusz Mazur and Jerzy Tomaszewski. Now it is kept in the Historical Archives of Warsaw. Original German caption on the photo: "Ukraine 1942, Jewish operation, Ivangorod".
10. German soldier with Soviet PPSh, Stalingrad, spring 1942. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
11. German soldiers cross the river on a floating tank, Russia, August 3, 1942. (AP Photo)
12. Having captured a village in the Leningrad region, Soviet troops discovered 38 bodies of Soviet soldiers taken prisoner and tortured to death, 1942. (AP Photo)
13. Photo obtained by the Associated Press on September 25, 1942. The bomb falls on Stalingrad. (AP Photo)
14. Three orphans in the ruins of their house, late 1942. (AP Photo)
16. Stalingrad in October 1942, Soviet soldiers are fighting at the Krasny Oktyabr plant. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
17. An anti-tank battery is preparing to repel the German attack, October 13, 1942. (AP Photo)
18. October 1942. Dive bomber Junkers Ju 87 over Stalingrad. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
19. A German tank drives up to a destroyed enemy tank, Russia, October 20, 1942. (AP Photo)
20. The offensive of the German infantry on the outskirts of Stalingrad, the end of 1942. (NARA)
21. Autumn 1942, a German soldier hangs the flag of Nazi Germany on a house in the center of Stalingrad. (NARA)
22. Soviet troops surround the Germans until they stop trying to take Stalingrad. Junkers raid on the industrial area of Stalingrad, November 24, 1942
23. A horse against the backdrop of the ruins of Stalingrad, December 1942. (AP Photo)
24. Tank cemetery in Rzhev, December 21, 1942. About 2,000 tanks are reported to have been in more or less disrepair in this cemetery. (AP Photo)
25. German troops pass through the destroyed generator room in the industrial area of Stalingrad, December 28, 1942. (AP Photo)
27. Riflemen of the Red Army in the backyard of an abandoned house in the suburbs of Leningrad, December 16, 1942.
28. Soviet tank T-34 on the Square of Fallen Fighters, Stalingrad, January 1943. (Georgy Zelma/Waralbum.ru)
29. Soviet soldiers in camouflage on the roof of a house in Stalingrad, January 1943. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
30. Soviet riflemen fire at the Germans from behind a pile of rubble during a street fight on the outskirts of Stalingrad, early 1943. (AP Photo)
31. German troops in the devastated Stalingrad, early 1943. (AP Photo)
33. Soviet infantry on the snowy hills near Stalingrad during the lifting of the siege. The Soviet troops eventually surrounded the German 6th Army, and 300 thousand Romanian and German soldiers were in the ring. (AP Photo)
34. Red Army soldier and captured German. In February 1943, the 6th Army surrendered after several months of encirclement, when hunger, cold and fighting took the lives of almost 200,000 soldiers. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)
35. Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus at the Soviet headquarters in Stalingrad, March 1, 1943. Paulus was the first field marshal to be captured by Soviet troops. Hitler hoped that he would fight to the death or shoot himself if defeated. In captivity, Paulus criticized the Nazi regime, and after the war he was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. (AP Photo)
36. Red Army soldiers sit in a trench over which a T-34 tank passes, 1943. (Mark Markov-Grinberg/Waralbum.ru)39. "Tigers" during the Battle of Kursk, mid-July 1943, south of Orel. From July to August 1943, the largest tank battles in history took place during the counter-offensive on the Kursk Bulge, in which 3,000 German and 5,000 Soviet tanks took part. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)42. A Soviet anti-tank rifle crew changes position under the cover of a smoke screen, July 23, 1943. (AP Photo)
45. Ruins of Stalingrad - by the end of the siege, almost nothing remained of the city. Aerial photograph, late 1943. (Michael Savin/Waralbum.ru)
The pursuit of justice is one of the most important human aspirations. In any kind of complex social organization, the need for a moral assessment of interactions with other people has always been extremely great. Justice is the most important motivational motive for people to act, to assess what is happening, the most important element in the perception of oneself and the world.
The chapters written below do not pretend to be any complete description of the history of the concepts of justice. But in them we tried to focus on the basic principles from which people at different times proceeded, evaluating the world and themselves. And also on those paradoxes that they encountered when implementing certain principles of justice.
Greeks discover justice
The idea of justice appears in Greece. Which is understandable. As soon as people unite in communities (polises) and begin to interact with each other not only at the level of tribal relations or at the level of direct domination-subordination, there is a need for a moral assessment of such interaction.
Until then, the whole logic of justice fit into a simple scheme: justice is following the given order of things. The Greeks, however, also largely adopted this logic - the teachings of the sages-founders of the Greek city-states somehow boiled down to an understandable thesis: "Only what is in our laws and customs is fair." But as cities developed, this logic became noticeably more complex and expanded.
So, what is right is that which does not harm others and is done for the good. Well, since the natural order of things is an objective good, then following it is the basis for any criteria for evaluating justice.
The same Aristotle wrote very convincingly about the justice of slavery. Barbarians are naturally destined for physical labor and submission, and therefore it is very fair that the Greeks - naturally destined for mental and spiritual labor - make them slaves. Because it is good for barbarians to be slaves, even if they themselves do not understand this due to their unreasonableness. The same logic allowed Aristotle to talk about a just war. The war waged by the Greeks against the barbarians for the sake of replenishing the army of slaves is just, because it restores the natural state of affairs and serves for the good of all. Slaves receive masters and the opportunity to realize their destiny, and the Greeks - slaves.
Plato, proceeding from the same logic of justice, proposed to closely monitor how children play and, according to the type of play, determine them into social groups for the rest of their lives. Those who play war are guards, they must be taught the military trade. Those who govern are philosopher-rulers, they must be taught Platonic philosophy. And all the rest do not need to be taught - they will work.
Naturally, the Greeks shared the good for the individual and the common good. The second is certainly more important and significant. Therefore, for the common good there has always been primacy in the assessment of justice. If something infringes on other individuals, but presupposes the common good, this is certainly fair. However, for the Greeks there was no particular contradiction here. They called the common good the good for the policy, and the cities in Greece were small, and not at the level of abstraction, but at a very specific level, it was assumed that the one whose good was infringed, for the good of all, would return him as a member of the community, with profit. This logic, of course, led to the fact that justice for your own (the inhabitants of your policy) was very different from justice for strangers.
Socrates who confused everything
So, the Greeks figured out what good is. Understand what the natural order of things is. Understand what justice is.
But there was one Greek who liked to ask questions. Good-natured, consistent and logical. You already understood that we are talking about Socrates.
In Xenophon's Memoirs of Socrates there is an amazing chapter "A conversation with Euthydemus about the need to study." This chapter ends with the following words: "And many, driven to such despair by Socrates, no longer wanted to deal with him." questions that Socrates asked the young politician Euthydemus about justice and good.
Read this brilliant dialogue by Xenophon himself, or perhaps even better, by Mikhail Leonovich Gasparov. However, you can do it right here.
"Tell me: to lie, to deceive, to steal, to seize people and sell them into slavery - is this fair?" - "Of course, it's not fair!" - “Well, if the commander, having repelled the attack of the enemies, captures the prisoners and sells them into slavery, will this also be unfair?” - "No, perhaps that is fair." - "And if he plunders and devastates their land?" - "It's also fair." - "And if he deceives them with military tricks?" “That's also fair. Yes, perhaps I told you inaccurately: both lying, and deceit, and theft are fair in relation to enemies, but unfair in relation to friends.
"Perfectly! Now I think I'm starting to understand. But tell me this, Euthydemus: if the commander sees that his soldiers are discouraged, and lies to them that allies are approaching them, and this encourages them, will such a lie be unfair? - "No, perhaps that is fair." - “And if the son needs medicine, but he does not want to take it, and the father deceives him into food, and the son recovers, will such a deception be unfair?” - "No, also fair." “And if someone, seeing a friend in despair and fearing that he would lay hands on himself, steals or takes away his sword and dagger, what can I say about such theft?” “And that's fair. Yes, Socrates, it turns out that again I told you inaccurately; it was necessary to say: both lies, and deceit, and theft - this is fair in relation to enemies, but fair in relation to friends when it is done for their benefit, and unfair when it is done for them to harm.
“Very well, Evfidem; now I see that before I can recognize justice, I must learn to recognize good and evil. But do you know that, of course?" - “I think I know, Socrates; although for some reason I'm not so sure about it anymore. - "So what is it?" - “Well, for example, health is good, and illness is evil; food or drink that leads to health is good, and that leads to illness is evil.” - “Very well, I understood about food and drink; but then, perhaps, it would be more correct to say about health in the same way: when it leads to good, then it is good, and when it leads to evil, then it is evil? - "What are you, Socrates, but when can health be evil?" - “But, for example, an unholy war began and, of course, ended in defeat; the healthy went to war and perished, while the sick remained at home and survived; what was health here - good or evil?
“Yes, I see, Socrates, that my example is unsuccessful. But, perhaps, we can already say that the mind is a blessing! - “Is it always? Here, the Persian king often demands smart and skilled artisans from Greek cities to his court, keeps them with him and does not let them into his homeland; Is their mind good for them?" - "Then - beauty, strength, wealth, glory!" - “But the beautiful ones are more often attacked by slave traders, because beautiful slaves are valued more; the strong often take on a task that exceeds their strength, and get into trouble; the rich are pampered, fall prey to intrigues, and perish; fame always arouses envy, and this also causes a lot of evil.
“Well, if that’s the case,” said Euthydemus despondently, “then I don’t even know what I should pray to the gods about.” - "Do not worry! It just means that you still don't know what you want to tell the people about. But do you know the people yourself?” “I think I do, Socrates.” - “Who is the people made of?” - From the poor and the rich. - "And who do you call poor and rich?" “The poor are those who do not have enough to live on, and the rich are those who have everything in abundance and beyond.” “But doesn’t it happen that the poor man can do very well with his small means, and the rich man is not enough of any wealth?” - “Right, it happens! There are even tyrants who lack their entire treasury and need illegal requisitions. - “So what? Shall we classify these tyrants among the poor, and the economic poor among the rich?” - “No, it’s better not to, Socrates; I see that here I, it turns out, know nothing.
“Don't despair! You will still think about the people, but you, of course, have thought about yourself and your future fellow speakers, and more than once. So tell me this: after all, there are such bad orators who deceive the people to their detriment. Some do it unintentionally, and some even on purpose. Which ones are better and which ones are worse? - "I think, Socrates, that intentional deceivers are much worse and more unjust than unintentional ones." - “Tell me: if one person deliberately reads and writes with errors, and the other not on purpose, then which one of them is more literate?” - "Probably the one that is on purpose: after all, if he wants, he can write without errors." “But doesn’t it mean that an intentional deceiver is better and more just than an unintentional one: after all, if he wants, he will be able to speak with the people without deception!” “Don’t, Socrates, don’t tell me that, even without you I now see that I don’t know anything and it would be better for me to sit and be silent!”
Romans. justice is right
The Romans were also concerned with the problem of justice. Although Rome began as a small settlement, it quickly grew into a huge state that dominates the entire Mediterranean. The Greek logic of polis justice did not work very well here. Too many people, too many provinces, too many interactions.
Law helped the Romans cope with the idea of justice. A rebuilt and constantly being built up system of laws to which all the citizens of Rome obeyed. Cicero wrote that the state is a community of people united by common interests and agreement in relation to laws.
The legal system combined the interests of society, and the interests of specific people, and the interests of Rome as a state. All this has been described and codified.
Hence the law as the initial logic of justice. What is right is what is right. And justice is realized through the possession of the right, through the opportunity to be the object of the right.
"Don't touch me, I'm a Roman citizen!" - the man included in the system of Roman law proudly exclaimed, and those who wanted to harm him understood that all the power of the empire would fall upon them.
Christian logic of justice or Everything has become more complicated again
The "New Testament" again confused everything a little.
First, he set the absolute coordinates of justice. The Last Judgment is coming. Only there will true justice be revealed, and only this justice matters.
Secondly, your good deeds and a just life here on earth can somehow affect the very decision of the Supreme Court. But these deeds and a just life must be an act of our free will.
Thirdly, the requirement to love your neighbor as yourself, declared by Christ as the main moral value of Christianity, is still something more than just a requirement to try not to harm or to have a disposition for the good. The Christian ideal presupposes the need to perceive the other as oneself.
And, finally, the New Testament abolished the division of people into friends and foes, worthy and unworthy, those whose destiny is to be a master, and those whose destiny is to be a slave: “In the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew , no circumcision, no uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but all and in all Christ ”(Epistle to the Colossians of the Holy Apostle Paul, 3.8)
Based on the logic of the New Testament, now all people should be perceived as equal subjects of justice. And the same criteria of justice must be applied to all. And the principle of "love of one's neighbor" requires more from justice than simply following the formal criteria of the good. The criteria of justice cease to be the same, for everyone they turn out to be their own. And then there is the Last Judgment in the inevitable future.
In general, all this was too difficult, it required too much mental and social effort. Fortunately, religious logic itself made it possible to perceive the world in the traditional paradigm of justice. Following the traditions and prescriptions of the church leads more reliably to the kingdom of heaven, for this is both good deeds and a just life. And all these acts of good free will can be omitted. We are Christians and believe in Christ (no matter what he says), and those who do not believe - our criteria of justice do not fit those. As a result, Christians, when necessary, justified the justice of any wars and any slavery no worse than Aristotle.
However, what was said in the New Testament somehow still exerted its influence. And on the religious consciousness, and on the whole European culture.
Don't do what you don't want to be done to you
“Therefore, whatever you want people to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets” (Matt. 7:12). These words of Christ from the Sermon on the Mount are one of the formulations of a universal moral maxim. Approximately the same formula is found in Confucius, in the Upanishads and in general in many places.
And it was this formula that became the starting point for thinking about justice in the Age of Enlightenment. The world has become more complicated, people speaking different languages, believing in different ways and in different ways, doing different things, are increasingly colliding with each other. Practical reason demanded a logical and consistent formula of justice. And found it in a moral maxim.
It is easy to see that this maxim has at least two very different variants.
"Don't do what you don't want to be done to you."
"Do as you would like to be treated."
The first was called the principle of justice, the second - the principle of mercy. The combination of these two principles solved the problem of who exactly should be considered the neighbor who should be loved (in the Sermon on the Mount, it is the second option). And the first principle provided grounds for a clear justification of just actions.
All these reflections were summed up and brought out into the categorical imperative by Kant. However, he had to (as the consistent logic of his reflections demanded) slightly change the wording: “Act in such a way that the maxim of your will could be a universal law.” The author of the famous “Critic” has another option: “Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, both in your own person and in the person of everyone else, as well as an end, and never treat it only as a means.”
How Marx put everything in its place and justified the struggle for justice
But with this formula, in any of its formulations, there were big problems. Especially if you go beyond the Christian idea of the highest (divine) good and the highest judge. But what if others do just the way you would not want them to do to you? What do you do if you are being treated unfairly?
And further. People are very different, "what is great for a Russian is a karachun for a German." Some passionately want to see the holy cross on Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, while others don’t care at all, for some it’s vital to control the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, and for others it’s important to find somewhere half a shot of vodka.
And then Karl Marx helped everyone. He explained everything. The world is divided into warring (no, no longer cities like Aristotle), but classes. Some classes are oppressed, while others are oppressive. Everything the oppressors do is unfair. Everything that the oppressed do is just. Especially if these oppressed are the proletariat. Because science has proven that it is the proletariat that is the highest class, behind which the future belongs, and which represents the objectively good majority and the logic of progress.
So:
First, there is no justice for all.
Secondly, what is done for the benefit of the majority is just.
Thirdly, that which is objective, immutable (cf. the objective laws of the universe among the Greeks) and progressive is just.
And finally, it is fair that for the benefit of the oppressed, and therefore requires a struggle. Requires the suppression of those who are against, those who oppress and stand in the way of progress
Actually, Marxism became for many years the main logic of the struggle for justice. Yes, and still is. True, with one important change. Justice for the majority has fallen out of modern Marxist logic.
The American philosopher John Rawls created the theory of "just inequality", which is based on "equality of access to fundamental rights and freedoms" and "priority in access to any opportunities for those who have less of these opportunities." There was nothing Marxist in Rawls' logic, rather the opposite - this is an obviously anti-Marxist doctrine. However, it was precisely the combination of the Rawls formula and the Marxist approach that created the modern foundations for the struggle for justice to annihilate
The Marxist logic of the struggle for justice is based on the right of the oppressed. Marx reasoned in the category of large groups and global processes, and the oppressed was the proletariat - the logic of progress was destined to be the majority. But if we shift the focus a little, then in the place of the proletariat there may be any other oppressed marginal groups, which are not necessarily the majority. And so, from Marx's desire to achieve justice for all, the struggle for the rights of any minorities grows, turning the ideas of the German from the century before last inside out.
This book is dedicated to the most dramatic moments of World War II: Smolensk, Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, Breslau... The battles for these cities went down in history as the most bloody and fierce, they became decisive and determined the further course of hostilities on the Eastern Front. But the main characters of the book are ordinary soldiers. Numerous vivid eyewitness accounts make the reader feel the horror of the military everyday life of ordinary ordinary soldiers ...
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by the LitRes company.
Smolensk
We must draw the enemy into battles if they involve heavy losses.
Lieutenant General A. I. EremenkoLieutenant Dorsch, commander of a Panzer III tank in the forward detachment of the 17th Panzer Division, raised the binoculars to his eyes and stared ahead. In front of him, at a distance of about a thousand meters, a Soviet tank was moving along the Minsk-Moscow highway.
Dorsch lowered the binoculars, wiped the eyepieces, and brought them up to his eyes again. No, he didn't think so. What crawled in front of him along the highway was indeed a Soviet tank. The red star was clearly visible on the armor of the tank. Still, Dorsch was shocked.
Beginning on June 22, 1941, the 24-year-old lieutenant saw many Soviet tanks. The advance detachment of the 17th Panzer Division fought them and destroyed many, because the Soviet tanks were significantly inferior in their capabilities to the German Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks.
However, the colossus, which in the first days of July 1941 moved along the Minsk-Moscow highway, appeared in front of the advance detachment of the 17th Panzer Division east of Borisov, was significantly different from the tanks with which the Red Army tried to stop the advance of Army Group Center on the central sector of the front .
The Soviet tank, which suddenly appeared 1000 meters from the Dorsch tank, was a real giant. It was about 6 meters long, on its wide “back” it carried a flat tower and moved forward heavily on unusually wide tracks. Tech monster, crawler fortress, mechanical hercules. An armored vehicle that no one had seen before on the Eastern Front.
Lieutenant Dorsch quickly collected his thoughts and shouted:
– Heavy enemy tank! Tower at eight o'clock! Armor-piercing... Fire!
A 5-cm projectile with a roar and a bright flash flew out of the gun barrel and flew towards the Soviet tank.
Dorsch raised the binoculars to his eyes and waited for the explosion.
Another shot followed. A shell whined along the highway and exploded in front of the nose of a Soviet tank. But the giant slowly continued on his way. Apparently, the shelling did not bother him. He didn't even slow down.
Two more Panzer-III tanks from the forward detachment of the 17th Panzer Division were moving along the highway to the right and left. They also saw the colossus and took it under fire. Shell after shell flew across the highway. The ground here and there was churned up around the enemy tank. There were occasional dull metallic sounds of impacts. One hit, a second, a third... However, this did not have the slightest effect on the monster.
Finally, he stopped! The tower turned, the barrel rose, a flash flashed.
Dorsch heard a piercing howl. He bent down and disappeared into the hatch. There's not a second to lose. Less than twenty meters from his tank, the shell hit the ground. A column of earth shot up. Again there was a terrible roar. This time the shell fell behind Dorsch's tank. The lieutenant swore viciously and gnashed his teeth. The driver, Chief Corporal Koenig, manipulating the control levers, brought the Panzer III out of the firing zone. Other tanks of the forward detachment circled the area, trying to dodge the continuously falling shells.
On the right side of the highway, a 3.7 cm anti-tank gun took up position. A few seconds later, the voice of the gun commander was heard:
The first shell exploded, hitting the turret of a Soviet tank, the second - over the right caterpillar in the bow.
And nothing! No effect! The projectiles just bounced off him!
The gun crew acted in a feverish rush. Shell after shell flew out of the barrel. The gun commander's eyes were focused on the monster with the red star. His voice cracked with tension.
But the Soviet tank continued to slowly move forward. It passed through the bushes on the side of the road, crushed it, and, swaying, approached the position of the anti-tank gun. He was about thirty meters away. The gun commander was seething with rage. Each projectile hit the target and each time flew off the armor of a huge tank.
The gun crew could already hear the roar of the tank engine. There were twenty meters to the tank ... fifteen ... ten ... seven ...
- From the road!
People bounced off the gun to the right, fell and clung to the ground.
The tank drove straight at the gun. He hooked it with his left caterpillar, crushed it with his weight and turned it into a cake. The metal cracked and cracked. As a result, nothing remained of the gun but twisted steel.
Then the tank turned sharply to the right and drove several meters across the field. Wild desperate cries rang out right from under its tracks. The tank reached the gun crew and crushed it with its tracks.
Rumbling and swaying, he returned to the highway, where he disappeared in a cloud of dust.
Nothing could stop the mechanical monster. He continued on his way, broke through the front line of defense and approached the positions of German artillery.
Not far from the positions of German artillery, 12 kilometers from the front line of defense, a Russian tank came across a German armored personnel carrier. He turned off the highway and blocked the country road along which the German armored personnel carrier was moving. He suddenly got stuck. His engine howled. The caterpillars scattered dirt and roots, but the Russians could not free themselves. The tank landed in a swamp, which plunged deeper and deeper. The crew got out. The commander was busy near the open hatch.
From the side of the German armored personnel carrier, a machine-gun burst hit. The Soviet tank commander fell as if slain, the upper part of his body hanging from the hatch. The entire crew of the Soviet tank was killed under German fire.
A little later, German soldiers climbed into the Soviet monster tank. The tank commander was still alive, but he did not have enough strength to activate the mechanism for destroying the tank.
The first Soviet tank T-34 that appeared on the Eastern Front ended up in the hands of the Germans intact.
Some time later, the commander of a nearby artillery battalion looked at the steel monster in amazement. Soon the command of the corps received a message about the capture of a new Soviet tank by Army Group Center. The appearance of a completely new type of Soviet tanks produced the effect of an exploding bomb on the command of Army Group Center. This new 26-ton heavy tank, armored with 4.5 cm steel plates and with a 7.62 cm gun, was not only equal to all other types of tanks existing among the Germans and other warring countries, but also surpassed them. This fact worried Army Group Center, and, above all, the command of the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups, which were moving east.
However, the infantry and tank crews of the German divisions advancing east of Borisov were not to be disturbed. The T-34, which got stuck in the swamp, was not the only tank these days to appear on the front line of defense.
East of Borisov, the 1st Moscow motorized rifle division entered into battle with German units. Major General Kreiser, the commander of this division, had only arrived with his troops on this sector of the front the day before. Kreiser gathered the defeated infantry detachments retreating from the Germans to the east along the highway in disorder and stopped the tank columns, which in a panic pressed the fleeing infantrymen. Kreizer attached to his units the main forces of the Borisov Tank School, which stubbornly, but to no avail, defended themselves on the Berezina.
Major General Kreizer turned the Soviet formations 180 degrees and, together with 100 tanks of his own 1st Moscow Rifle Division, among which were several new T-34 tanks, struck at the 2nd Panzer Group under the command of Colonel General Guderian.
Heavy fighting was going on along the Minsk-Moscow highway. Soviet soldiers cold-bloodedly attacked German units. They marched in great numbers and died by the hundreds. To the east of Borisov, the Minsk-Moscow highway was literally littered with dead bodies. German dive bombers howled down from the sky and shot down pockets of Soviet resistance. Every position had to be won. Each Soviet tank fired until the explosion blew it apart. The wounded Red Army soldiers did not leave the battlefield and continued to fight until their last breath.
Hubert Goralla, corporal of the medical service of the 17th Panzer Division, said the following:
“It was pure madness. The wounded lay to the left and to the right of the highway. The third attack under our fire ended in failure, the seriously wounded moaning so terribly that my blood ran cold. After we had rendered medical assistance to our comrades, the company commander told me that there were many wounded Russians in the lowland located away from the highway. I took a few foot soldiers to help me and went to this lowland.
They lay close to each other, like herring in a barrel. One next to the other. They moaned and screamed. On our hands were the identification bandages of orderlies, and we were approaching the lowland. They let us get pretty close. Approximately twenty meters. Then they opened fire on us. Two orderlies-porters died at the same moment. We threw ourselves on the ground. I shouted to the porters to crawl away, as I saw wounded Russians appearing from the lowland. They limped and crawled towards us. Then they started throwing hand grenades at us. Threatening with pistols, we did not let them near us and returned to the highway. A little later, the wounded began to fire on the highway. They were commanded by a wounded staff captain, to whose left hand a stick was tied instead of a splint.
In ten minutes it was all over. The second platoon broke through to the highway. The wounded had no chance. The Soviet sergeant-major, who had lost his weapon and was seriously wounded in the shoulder, threw stones around him until he was shot dead. It was crazy, real crazy. They fought like savages - and died the same way ... "
What orderly Hubert Goralla called madness was in fact an elaborate plan. Major General Kreizer, who commanded the Soviet counterattack east of Borisov, led the 1st Moscow Rifle Division and reserve detachments subordinate to him with unrelenting brutality and ruthlessness.
Major General Kreizer, who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union after an entire regiment was sent under fire and sacrificed on his orders, was not alone. Behind him was another man.
This man was Andrei Ivanovich Eremenko, Lieutenant General of the Red Army.
Eremenko arrived at the headquarters of the Soviet Marshal Timoshenko in Mogilev on the afternoon of June 29, 1941.
On June 22, 1941, German troops crossed the German-Soviet demarcation line and moved east in a forced march. German tank wedges under the command of Colonel Generals Guderian and Goth hit the concentration of Soviet troops in the central sector of the front. Where Soviet resistance was particularly stubborn, divisions of dive bombers of the 2nd Air Fleet, under the command of Field Marshal Kesselring, stepped in and destroyed enemy positions with their precisely directed bombs.
The Soviet troops retreated. They blocked the streets and made it impossible to regroup. Meanwhile, the panzer groups of Hoth and Guderian were advancing further. There was no unity in the Soviet troops, since the centralized command was broken. Divisional commanders had no orders. When they finally received instructions, it was already too late. Although the Soviet troops assembled on the border outnumbered the Germans, it became clear already in the first days that it was impossible to hold back the German armored fists. It was about the principles of tank tactics, which were determined by the Soviet command.
Despite this, the command of the Red Army until that time was in the hands of qualified strategists.
The most important person in the leadership of the Red Army was Semyon Timoshenko. At that moment he was 46 years old.
Timoshenko was born in 1945, his father was a Bessarabian peasant. At first, the young man studied metalwork, and in 1915 he was accepted into the tsarist army. After the October Revolution, he was elected to the regimental committee, and shortly thereafter was appointed authorized commander of the regiment. In this post, he first demonstrated his military prowess, during the year defending the Bolshevik citadel of Tsaritsyn (later Stalingrad, Volgograd) from the white detachments of Denikin and Wrangel, and the counter-revolutionary troops were eventually driven back. After that, Tsaritsyn was named "Red Verdun", and Semyon Timoshenko received the title of "hero of Tsaritsyn".
Since then, Tymoshenko's military career has been on the rise. In 1919 he served as a division commander in Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army. Six years later, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks assigned him a dual function. Timoshenko became the commander and political commissar of the cavalry corps. In this capacity, he took part in the campaign against Poland, was wounded several times and received open recognition from Stalin for a successful breakthrough in the Zhytomyr region.
Semyon Timoshenko was the deputy commander of the Belarusian military district when the NSDAP came to power in Germany. In 1938 he was appointed commander of the strategically important Kiev Military District.
During the collapse of Poland, he, being the commander of the army, led the capture of eastern Polish territories. In the Finnish winter campaign of 1939–1940, Timoshenko commanded an army group and received the Order of Lenin and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for outstanding military merits. Shortly thereafter, he replaced the former military commissar Voroshilov, and he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Externally and internally, Semyon Timoshenko was the prototype of the leading communist functionary. He was tall and broad-shouldered. His face rarely showed emotion. In the Red Army, he was valued for his outstanding talent.
But the most important quality of Tymoshenko was his intellectual mobility. He grew up without proper education. He was taught to read and write by his comrades in the tsarist army. He used every free minute for self-education. He read a lot and had general ideas about different fields of knowledge, mainly dealing with analytical philosophy.
The next main figure in the leadership of the Red Army was Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. At that moment he was the commander of the Northern Front. Voroshilov was born in 1881 in the Yekaterinoslav region; by profession - a locksmith. His father worked as a railroad watchman. At the age of 18, he first attracted the attention of the public, becoming the organizer of the strike. He was arrested by the Okhrana - the tsarist secret police - and sent into exile. Voroshilov escaped from exile many times, but each time he was caught and eventually exiled to Siberia. From there he fled again. In 1917 he appeared in St. Petersburg, where he was elected to the first composition of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.
Then Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov joined the Bolshevik partisan army. He was the leader of the partisans and fought at the head of the 5th Ukrainian army in Tsaritsyn - "Red Verdun". The fact that Tsaritsyn defended himself for a year and managed to survive was not least Voroshilov's military merit.
Later, Voroshilov proved to be a good military commander in the bloody confusion of the Civil War. Together with Bela Kun, he liberated the Crimea, and with the legendary Soviet cavalry commander Budyonny, who later became Marshal of the Soviet Union, he fought against the white bands of Denikin and the Poles. In 1924 he became the commander of the Moscow Military District, then for a long time he was the commissar of internal affairs in Ukraine, where he became a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b).
The next outstanding personality in the leadership of the Red Army was the Chief of the General Staff, Boris Mikhailovich Shaposhnikov. He was strikingly different from Timoshenko and Voroshilov. This was a completely unusual type, since he originated from a caste with which comrades Timoshenko and Voroshilov waged a bloody war and which was almost completely destroyed by the Cheka.
Shaposhnikov was born in 1882 to an old Russian aristocratic family in Zlatoust in the Urals. The Shaposhnikov family gave the tsarist army many good officers.
Also, young Boris Mikhailovich was destined to become an officer. He passed all the steps of the ladder, which no young nobleman had passed: the Imperial Cadet Corps, the Moscow military school, service in the St. Petersburg Guards Regiment. Then - secondment to the military academy. There, the young senior lieutenant drew attention to himself with his outstanding talents. His undoubted talent, refined eloquence and ability for deep analysis contributed to the transfer to the General Staff. In 1918, then 36-year-old Shaposhnikov was the youngest colonel in the tsarist army.
At the beginning of the Bolshevik Revolution, Colonel Shaposhnikov went over to the side of the Reds. In 1929, he was already the head of the Red General Staff. Until that time, he, being the commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District, made people talk about himself as a remarkable political and military figure.
His main task was to create a Moscow military academy and train the leading corps of the Red Army. Then he became commander of the Leningrad Military District. The big purges and the crisis associated with the name of Tukhachevsky, of which many Soviet officers fell victim, he survived in prison. But soon he was free again. In 1937 he became head of the General Staff. In addition, he received the Order of Lenin and the rank of Marshal.
When the governments of Germany and the USSR concluded an economic treaty and a non-aggression pact in 1939, Marshal Shaposhnikov was relieved of his duties for alleged health reasons. In fact, this happened because he considered the connection with Germany to be false and dangerous and openly spoke about it.
However, Shaposhnikov did not stay away for long. When tensions began in the German-Soviet "friendly" relations, Stalin returned the marshal from disgrace. In a dangerous era, when German tanks smashed the central sector of the Soviet front and rushed to Moscow, he was appointed head of the Soviet General Staff for the third time.
Timoshenko, Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov understood the magnitude of the danger that was approaching from the west and approaching Moscow. They understood that the Soviet Union could perish if decisive changes did not take place in the near future. Then it turned out that General Pavlov - the tank specialist and Deputy Marshal Timoshenko - could no longer hold back the German tank wedges. He didn't make it. The devastating blows of German tanks against the army subordinate to him broke him morally. He couldn't decide on anything.
Timoshenko consulted with Shaposhnikov. Voroshilov spoke with the head of the General Staff. After that, Marshal Shaposhnikov went to the Kremlin and had a conversation with Stalin. What happened during this discussion is never known. However, it can be assumed that the shrewd Shaposhnikov drew Stalin's attention to one man who commanded troops in the Far East and whom almost no one knew.
This man was Lieutenant General Andrei Ivanovich Eremenko.
On the morning of June 29, 1941, a week after the start of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union, Eremenko entered the headquarters of Marshal Timoshenko in Mogilev.
In addition, Marshals Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov also arrived in Mogilev. Timoshenko, Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov explained the situation to an unfamiliar lieutenant general from the Far East. They outlined his tasks and expressed the hopes that Stalin and the Soviet Union had placed in him.
An hour later they were joined by the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus and the political commissar of the army group of the central sector of the front, Ponomarenko. Ponomarenko discussed with Lieutenant General Eremenko the economic measures that should be taken to solve the supply issue. In addition, the political commissar, being a member of the Military Council, informed Eremenko about the possible strengthening of the country's defense by the civilian population.
Lieutenant General Eremenko, a stocky man in his forties with a full face, high forehead and short hair, was laconic. He listened attentively, and his gray eyes glided thoughtfully over the map of hostilities. Soon after the discussion at headquarters, he left for the front. At the headquarters of the army group, he was met with incredulous surprise and pitiful favor.
What did the lieutenant general from the Far East want here? If only he were a colonel-general! So, who knows the name of this person? Eremenko? No, completely unfamiliar. We don't know him!
Eremenko acted decisively. First, he removed General Pavlov from command. Then he gathered all the officers of the General Staff and asked them to report on the situation.
A few minutes later, Eremenko established that all the staff officers were completely helpless. They didn't know exactly what was going on at the front. Even with the forces at their disposal, everything was not clear. The staff officers could not say exactly where the front was at the moment! Similarly, the supply situation was not clear. These comrades knew nothing, absolutely nothing!
Active Eremenko immediately launched a grueling activity. Connected motorcyclists went to the divisions. The field phones rang. Eremenko did everything at once. Sometimes he had three telephone conversations at the same time. Typewriters chirped.
Lieutenant-General Eremenko wanted under any circumstances to prevent the German advanced tank units from crossing the Berezina. He knew exactly how to stop the German offensive. He had to throw in front of the German troops all possible and impossible forces. He must build a wall of corpses in front of the Germans. He had to make many sacrifices, a lot of sacrifices. He must send entire divisions under German fire and leave them there to bleed. Ten divisions, twenty, thirty... It was necessary to throw everything against the Germans. But first you need to have these divisions. And this takes time. However, time could only appear when the Germans were stopped. The Germans could have been stopped on the Berezina, a natural barrier. Berezina had to be kept at any cost. Regardless of losses and under any circumstances.
Eremenko knew exactly what he wanted.
But there was something he didn't know. For example, that his order to hold was 24 hours late. Since the 3rd Panzer Division of the 2nd Panzer Group under the command of Colonel General Guderian took Bobruisk on the evening of June 28th. The division broke the resistance on the streets of the city and, after a stubborn struggle, reached the shore of the Berezina.
Lieutenant General Eremenko did not even know about it. On the evening of June 29, during a discussion of the situation at the front, no one informed him about this. Due to the rapid advance of the Germans and the heavy attacks of dive bombers, communication between individual units of the Red Army practically did not work. The surviving lines of communication were in such disarray that it was impossible to transmit an accurate message.
Even on the evening of June 30, Eremenko knew nothing about the breakthrough of the 3rd Panzer Division to the Berezina in the Bobruisk region. The division managed, despite fierce fighting, to create a bridgehead and transport the infantry battalion across the river. So the first Germans crossed the Berezina. Even on July 1, Eremenko was still confident that he would be able to keep the Berezina. The message of the disaster never reached his headquarters!
But the obscurity at least gave him confidence. The hope that the Russians would be able to actually hold the already lost position at the Berezina gave him strength.
Eremenko moved to the touch in the dark, but at the same time launched an active activity. He expected that the Germans would try to cross the Berezina at Bobruisk and further north at Borisov. Therefore, he raised all the people he could find and threw them on Bobruisk and Borisov.
And only on July 2, Eremenko learned about the scale of the disaster: on July 28, the Germans reached the Berezina near Bobruisk! And on July 1, Colonel-General Guderian completely took up positions on the Berezina.
On July 1, the 18th Panzer Division of General Nering approached the Berezina near Borisov. Intelligence went to the bridge over the river. It was found that the bridge was prepared for the explosion. The fuse was on the east bank. A simple push on the lever was enough to send the bridge flying into the air.
The 10th company of the 52nd Grenadier Regiment was ordered to take the bridge across the Berezina. Mounting their bayonets, the grenadiers rushed forward. From the western side of the bridge, machine-gun fire hit them. The attack quickly stopped. But then the soldiers of the 10th company continued the assault. Hand grenades flew through the heat-soaked air. Soviet machine gunners resisted fiercely, but were eventually destroyed.
Then the German boots clattered on the earthen surface of the entrance to the bridge. At the head was a group of non-commissioned officer Bukachik. Sweat ran down people's faces. But the reason for this was not only the heat. Somewhere very close, explosives were planted, which in the blink of an eye could destroy all life.
Bukachik's group fought for life. It was a race against death. They were supposed to be faster than the Russians. They needed to get to the fuse on the east bank of the river before the Soviet sappers stationed there pulled the lever. The count went on for seconds, fractions of a second.
While non-commissioned officer Bukachik was running ahead of his people across the bridge, the thought occurred to him: no, they will not achieve anything this way, everything needs to be done differently.
Bukachik immediately began to act. He could see the fuse cable at the bridge's right railing. The cable led to the pole. Bukachik jumped over the railing. Moving on his hands in a hanging position, he climbed onto the support. His hands were wet with sweat. He saw a cable trailing around a pole and disappearing into a hole. Bukachik stared at the freshly plastered hole for a fraction of a second. If Ivan pulls the lever on the other side of the river, it's all over.
It should not be! Bukaczyk grabbed the bottom rail of the railing with his left hand. He rested his knee on the support beam, which was located under the railing. Then he took a deep breath, grabbed the cable with his right hand and pulled it towards him. The sudden movement nearly threw him off the bridge. But he did it! He cut the cable. Now Ivan can safely press his lever! Nothing will happen!
Sergeant Bukaczyk let go of the cable. His hands and knees were trembling. He hesitated for a few more seconds and climbed back onto the bridge.
The soldiers of the 10th company reached the western side of the bridge and defended the bridge from the Soviet counteroffensive. Shortly thereafter, the advance detachment of the 18th Panzer Division linked up with detachments of the 18th Panzer Regiment under the command of Major Teege on the other side of the bridge. The 18th battalion of motorcycle riflemen drove by with rumbling engines, followed by an anti-aircraft battalion across the river.
The 2nd Panzer Group crossed the Berezina! The German breakthrough was accompanied by luck both at Bobruisk and Borisov, where Lieutenant General Eremenko was waiting for him! But Lieutenant General Eremenko knew nothing about this! He still thought that the Germans could be stopped at the Berezina.
Eremenko was not the only officer who cherished this hope. First of all, young cadets and very young officers from the Borisov Tank School were still confident that the Germans could be stopped.
They were in abandoned positions. They knew about it, because they did not receive any orders and orders. They simply grabbed their weapons and rushed to the ground when the Germans appeared on the Berezina. 15-year-old graduates, 17-year-old fenrichs and 20-year-old lieutenants got together and divided ammunition among themselves.
They dug in the basements, hid in doorways, set up positions on the roofs. From there they threw hand grenades and Molotov cocktails at the German tanks. They fired from basement windows and rushed from doorways to tanks.
But they could not stop the German offensive. The tanks moved on. They were followed by gunmen-cyclists. The air was filled with the roar of explosions, the screams of the wounded, the groans of the dying.
Cadets and lieutenants from the Borisov Tank School understood that they would die. But they didn't give up. They suffocated in basements, died in courtyards, and continued to fire from rooftops, even when flames blazed behind them. They stopped shooting only when the roofs collapsed, burying the young soldiers under them.
Only very few managed to cross the bridge over the Berezina. One group of wounded cadets and lieutenants took up position at the western end of the bridge. They couldn't run anymore because they were too weak and too exhausted. They should have died. And they knew it. Therefore, they wanted their death not to be in vain. They dragged the Maxim machine gun and opened fire on the 10th company of the 52nd Grenadier Regiment, which was storming the bridge. They fired to their last breath. Only then the way through the Berezina was open.
But not only the soldiers of the Borisov Tank School put up fierce resistance to the Germans. Pilots of Soviet attack aircraft and fighters fought no less stubbornly.
General Eremenko led them into battle. He hoped that they would be able to effectively resist the assault aircraft of the 2nd Air Fleet, which cleared the way for the tank units of Colonel General Guderian.
In fact, fighters such as Me-109 and Me-110 were indeed deadly for Eremenko's units. The planes were in the air from early morning until evening. They fired at all moving targets and thus had such complete control of the situation on the ground that the movement of troops was possible only with very heavy losses.
Losses Eremenko did not frighten. Before his people there was only one task - to bleed to death. But when it happened behind the front lines, their end didn't make sense. Their death was valuable only if at the front the enemy was blocked by a wall of human bodies.
Eremenko met with the commanders of the groups of air detachments fighting on the western sector of the front.
He also spoke to the pilots about their battles with the Germans. Yeremenko listened attentively to everyone, returned to his headquarters and carefully thought everything over. In the end, he came up with the following trick.
The pilots told him that the enemy had already brought fighter units into action, while the Soviet Union sent attack aircraft to the fleet. And in this Eremenko saw his chance.
On the morning of July 1, he ordered fifteen I-15 attack aircraft and five I-17 fighters to enter the battle. At about nine in the morning, these Soviet planes appeared over Borisov. Shapeless biplane stormtroopers hit the cluster of German tanks. Modern I-17 fighters circled high in the sky. A machine gun fired continuously, engines roared, bombs rumbled.
Soon, however, a roar came from the west. German Messerschmitt fighters approached headlong and attacked enemy planes. Russian attack aircraft were significantly inferior to German vehicles, since Me-109s were much faster and more maneuverable.
In a few minutes, German fighters shot down three enemy aircraft.
However, a little later, a new armada appeared on the air battlefield. Twenty-four Soviet I-16 aircraft attacked the Germans.
These Russian vehicles were somewhat more maneuverable in aerial combat, but this useful quality was offset by higher engine power and superior speed of the German Messerschmitt fighters. Compared to modern Me-109s with their heavy weapons, Russian fighters looked outdated. A real madness began over Borisov.
Chief Corporal Eshke from the 18th Panzer Division was an eyewitness to this:
“The cars seemed to be biting into each other. They broke into sharp turns, swept at a low altitude above the ground, soared up and flew at each other along such an impossible trajectory that it was not clear where to look. Several fat-bellied Russian biplanes, blazing, fell from the sky and exploded in the field.
But then we had to experience real horror. One of our fighters, leaving a long tail of smoke, flew over our position. It hit the ground and exploded. Following him, the second fighter fell to the ground. Earth clods fell on us. Then I saw another German fighter break into pieces in the air. A few seconds later, the flaming Messerschmitt plunged into the ground a few meters from the highway. Fuel spilled out. It flowed like a burning river across the highway and engulfed the APC. The unfortunate members of the crew ran like living torches across the highway. Another Messerschmitt made an emergency landing on the field, but one of the fat-bellied monsters with a red star on the fuselage flew up behind him and shot him down when he almost reached the ground ... "
What Ober-Corporal Eshke from the 18th Panzer Division experienced on the morning of July 1 in the Borisov area was the first success of the Soviet Lieutenant General Eremenko. The Soviet fighters brought into battle on his orders used the moment of surprise and shot down a total of five German aircraft in seven minutes.
However, the matter was not limited to five air victories. Soviet fighters attacked continuously that day. German cars fought back. As the day turned to evening, the Soviet pilots made impressive progress.
The air battle continued on 2 July. Again the Russians attacked in accordance with Eremenko's tactics. The Germans have arrived. Again a fierce battle broke out in the air. When it was over, Eremenko instructed his liaison officer to establish contact with Moscow. A few minutes later, the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Shaposhnikov, answered him. Eremenko spoke about the air battle. Shaposhnikov's quiet voice had an unmistakable note of jubilation when he asked again:
"So you're talking about sixty downed aircraft, Comrade Lieutenant General?"
“That’s right, Comrade Marshal. Our pilots in the air battle over Bobruisk and Borisov shot down sixty German aircraft.
Shaposhnikov coughed restrainedly:
“Are you absolutely sure, Comrade Lieutenant General?”
- Absolutely sure! This is absolutely accurate data, Comrade Marshal!
Although Boris Shaposhnikov passed Yeremenko's information to the Red Army High Command, he knew for sure that this report of success would be received with skepticism. And he turned out to be right. Therefore, the unprecedented success of the Soviet pilots in Bobruisk and Borisov was never officially confirmed. Apparently, this, with good reason, could not be believed.
However, the success of the Soviet pilots was short-lived. Already on July 3, German fighters learned their lesson and tuned in to the new Soviet tactics. Since then, Soviet planes kept falling from the sky, until Yeremenko had none left. So, one evening, near Bobruisk, nine German planes were shot down in a few minutes.
Soviet pilots fought with fanatical dedication. Even in hopeless situations, they tried to ram the German cars. Falling, they tried to hit targets on the ground.
General Nering, commander of the 18th Panzer Division, reported a Soviet pilot who left his wrecked vehicle by parachute. The soldiers of the tank division rushed to the place where, according to their assumptions, the Russian pilot was supposed to land. They only wanted to help the Russian, bandage him if he was wounded.
But the Russian pilot pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the Germans. Realizing that resistance was pointless, the pilot put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. A few seconds later, his feet touched the ground. He was dead. The German soldier was only able to remove his personal badge from the Russian.
It soon became more than obvious that a new man had taken over the command of the Red Army in this sector of the front, near Bobruisk and Borisov. The Russians fought there with unstoppable determination. They were ready to die rather than be captured.
What happened?
Eremenko simply realized that an army without soul and purpose is completely helpless.
So he began by giving the officers an idea. Resistance to the last breath! Only resistance to the last breath can save the Soviet Union. The one who fights for resistance and dies is a hero. The one who falls before the last breath has been taken is a dishonest scoundrel.
This idea soon found fertile ground.
However, Eremenko was not so naive as to try to keep the Germans in check with just one idea. He was well aware that the idea needed to be supported by manpower and technology.
Having learned about the breakthrough of Guderian's tank detachments at Bobruisk and Borisov, Eremenko immediately contacted Marshal Shaposhnikov and asked him to throw all the tanks located on the central sector of the front to him.
Shaposhnikov turned to Stalin. Oddly enough, the proletarian from Georgia and the aristocrat from the Tsar's General Staff were on friendly terms. He listened to Shaposhnikov's report and gave the order to supply Eremenko with enough tanks.
So the 1st Moscow Motorized Rifle Division appeared at the front under the command of Major General Kreizer. To reinforce Eremenko's troops, she brought 100 tanks, some of them of the T-34 type.
Eremenko immediately threw a new division into battle. Together with the cadets of the Borisov Tank School and other reserve formations retreating through the Berezina, Kreizer's soldiers were thrown across the path of the German advance detachment of the 17th Panzer Division, which they held back for two days.
It was during these battles that the first T-34 tank thrown into battle ended up in German hands completely safe and sound.
This 26-ton colossus attracted the general attention of the staff of Army Group Center.
But again, it was a simple soldier who paid the bill, since the 3.7-cm anti-tank guns and guns mounted on German tanks could not cause serious damage to the heavily armored T-34. Where this Soviet tank appeared at the front, it always caused fear and panic.
However, Eremenko was deprived of a decisive success, although he had a larger number of combat-ready tanks than the Germans. If the German infantrymen were defenseless against the T-34, then the Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks caused no less confusion among the Russians.
Eremenko wrote about this in his memoirs: “With the cries of “Enemy tanks!” Our companies, battalions and even entire regiments began to rush back and forth, looking for shelter behind the positions of anti-tank or field guns, breaking battle formations and accumulating near the firing positions of anti-tank artillery. Units lost the ability to maneuver, their combat readiness fell, and operational control, communication and interaction became completely impossible.
Why the Soviet armored forces, despite the presence of such magnificent tanks as the T-34, could not cope, Lieutenant General Eremenko understood a few days after he took command.
The reason for the German superiority was not so much in the material as in the moral side of the matter. More precisely, Eremenko's adversary, Colonel General Guderian, gave the soldiers of his tank troops an idea that far exceeded Russian military morality. And Eremenko knew what the idea was.
While serving in the Far East, he carefully studied the book "Professional Army", published in 1934.
The author of this work is a French officer named Charles de Gaulle. The book talks about the need to bring strong, fully motorized tank troops into battle. Eremenko carefully read the book and established that the opinions and ideas of Charles de Gaulle were strongly influenced by the book of a German Reichswehr officer named Heinz Guderian.
Guderian explained in his book that armored troops should, for the most part, be brought into action only on the condition that the soldiers want to achieve a decisive success. And it was this idea that Colonel General Guderian, Eremenko's opponent, used during the attack on the Soviet Union. Guderian's motto was: "Kick, don't spit!"
And the Red Army at that time did not just kick, but spat. Her tanks went to war not in large numbers and not in separate formations, but exactly the opposite. Together with the infantry, single tanks were brought into battle.
Also, the Soviet infantry acted completely wrong, since the Red Army men were not trained to fight tanks. As soon as German tanks appeared, the infantrymen immediately climbed into the trenches, allowed the tanks to pass, and either their own tanks or artillery left to fight. All this had simply catastrophic consequences: German tanks in whole detachments, and not one by one, passed the Soviet defensive lines. These were the first prerequisites for great encirclement battles.
Eremenko was well aware of all these facts. Therefore, he immediately set to work and gave several orders obliging the Soviet infantry to fight the German tanks. He also asked Marshal Shaposhnikov, in full agreement with Timoshenko, to talk with Stalin about Soviet technicians and engineers designing new means of fighting tanks. In the meantime, Eremenko ordered that Soviet detachments of attack aircraft fight German tanks from the air.
Eremenko's efforts brought success. On all Soviet training grounds, training of young soldiers to fight tanks was intense. From the supply depot near Gomel, Eremenko ordered the delivery of a self-igniting liquid, which is called KS, by cargo planes to the front. The liquid was poured into large bottles. Soviet frontline soldiers were supposed to use this liquid in the fight against German tanks. With its help, the tank had to be set on fire.
The expectations that Lieutenant General Eremenko had in connection with the appearance of new tanks of the T-34 type, of course, did not materialize. As strong as this steel giant was, he also had weak points. Weakness was associated with poor distribution of duties within the tank crew. Although the team consisted of a gunner, loader, driver and radio operator, there was no commander! In the T-34, this was done by the gunner. So at the same time he had to detect the target, aim and at the same time still monitor the environment.
The result was more than unfavorable: the gunner, who performed a dual function, could not fully concentrate on the actions of the enemy. The intensity of the shooting also suffered from this. For this reason, the German tanks managed to continue on their way. They approached Soviet tanks during breaks in firing, opened fire on the chassis and thereby deprived the Soviet giants of the ability to maneuver, and this despite the fact that the range of the Soviet 7.62-cm tank guns was much greater than the German ones.
Here again, the Soviet weakness was not in technology, but in organization.
The failure of the German anti-tank gun was quickly made up for by military ingenuity. It was quickly established that the 8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun was suitable for fighting the T-34. This gun was very maneuverable, had an unusually fast rate of fire and even pierced the 4.5 cm armor of the T-34 tank.
With the advent of German anti-aircraft guns at the front, the T-34 lost all its halo of horror. For Eremenko, this served as another proof that he needed to buy time. He had to wait until the reserve troops received the necessary training in close combat with tanks and until the Soviet military industry invented new means to fight tanks. And for this he needed to detain the Germans - to extend the time as much as possible.
At that moment, Eremenko was in a desperate situation. The Germans moved further and further inland. Their main goal was the heart of the Soviet Union - Moscow! And the Germans went through the remnants of the Soviet troops, as if through the waves running on the ocean shore. As for the unity of the front, it did not exist as such. The disunity became more and more noticeable.
Only on the night of July 7 at Eremenko's headquarters did they pay attention to all the anxiety of the situation. Exactly at midnight, the communications officer brought Lieutenant General Eremenko the following radiogram:
“At about 22:00, the enemy attacked the positions of the 166th regiment of the 126th rifle division. There were approximately 200 combat aircraft on the enemy side. Big losses. The 166th Regiment retreats.
I.P. Karmanov, Major General, Commander of the 62nd Rifle Corps.
Eremenko could not believe what Comrade Karmanov had told him. After all, at 22:00, communication with the 62nd Rifle Corps and the divisions subordinate to it was in perfect order.
Then the air force liaison officer at Eremenko's headquarters explained to the lieutenant general that, as far as radiograms are concerned, not everything needs to be trusted. Since before that the Luftwaffe had never attacked Soviet field positions at night. And besides, it is more than doubtful that the Germans attacked with 200 vehicles.
Eremenko left the headquarters and went to the command post of the 62nd Rifle Corps. When he arrived there, the corps commander Major General Karmanov just shrugged his shoulders. He certainly did not know anything about the German air attack. Yeremenko fixed him a hard look. He was furious. Still, this Karmanov, being the commander of a rifle corps, was 50 kilometers behind the front line of defense. And he knew nothing about what was happening with his divisions.
- Let's go together, Comrade Karmanov.
Together with the commander of the 62nd Rifle Corps, Eremenko got into the car and ordered the driver to go to the command post of the 126th Rifle Division.
When the car arrived at the desired command post, the lieutenant general almost gave vent to his rage. Comrades from the regimental headquarters hid in a copse located 28 kilometers from the front line. The regimental commander fled, and no one knew where. But he did not seek safety in flight when 200 bombers bombed the positions of his regiment. Only it wasn't true! Not a single German vehicle attacked the positions of the 166th Infantry Regiment! He withdrew from the battle only because the regimental command post came under light German artillery fire.
Eremenko seethed with anger, but tried to control himself. He didn't let himself explode. He appointed a new regimental commander. True, the regiment ran away in the meantime. After the flight of the commander, the soldiers also left their positions and headed east.
Eremenko drove onto the highway, which he blocked with the help of his driver, adjutant and Major General Karmanov. He took several officers and ordered them to gather the soldiers left without a commander and stop the fleeing.
Among the detained people was the commander of the regiment. He was all like a bundle of nerves - courage left this man. Eremenko did not return him to headquarters. Let, if destined, die at the front.
Therefore, he simply left the regiment commander in the crowd of stopped fugitives. The lieutenant general formed two battalions, calmed the officers and tried to instill courage in the soldiers. He eventually reinforced the new units with two reserve battalions and sent them forward.
Eremenko ordered the division commander to personally lead the attack. He knew that jokes were bad with Eremenko, besides, the lieutenant general, together with major general Karmanov, went to the front in order to be able to follow the attack.
Four battalions attacked the enemy between Senno and Tolochin. The presence of Eremenko inspired the Red Army. The division commander, holding a pistol in his hand, led his people to the enemy. Four Soviet battalions with loud shouts of "Hurrah!" attacked the German 17th Panzer Division.
Non-commissioned officer Edward Kister from the grenadier regiment, located between Senno and Tolochin, described this attack as follows: “They walked in close ranks without prior artillery preparation. The officers were ahead. They yelled in hoarse voices, and the ground seemed to tremble under the heavy tread of their boots. We let them within fifty meters and opened fire. Row after row the Russians fell under our fire. Before us was an area covered with bodies. Hundreds of Red Army soldiers died. Although the terrain was rugged and offered plenty of cover, they did not hide. The wounded screamed wildly. And the soldiers continued to advance. For the dead, new people appeared who took up positions behind the mountains of corpses. I saw a whole company go on the attack. Ivans supported each other. They ran towards our positions and fell as if they had been cut down under fire. Nobody tried to retreat. Nobody was looking for shelter. It seemed that they wanted to die and absorb our entire supply of ammunition with their bodies. In one day they attacked seventeen times. And at night they tried to approach our positions under the protection of a mountain of corpses. The air was filled with the stinking smell of smoldering - corpses quickly decomposed in the heat. The groans and cries of the wounded had a strong effect on the nerves. The next morning we beat off two more attacks. Then we received an order to withdraw to previously prepared positions ... "
Memory did not fail non-commissioned officer Edward Kister. Between Senno and Tolochin, Lieutenant General Eremenko managed to push the advanced units of the 17th and 18th Panzer Divisions a few kilometers to the west. He allowed the exhausted men to take their positions and ordered them to be held until their last breath. And the Russians did it. They beat off all German counterattacks. This was Eremenko's first success. He laid the foundation for the wall he wanted to build from corpses and seal with blood.
However, Eremenko's first success was due not only to his own energy and determination. He owed them to someone else.
That man was Adolf Hitler.
Hitler realized that the war against the Soviet Union was going on quite differently from the campaigns in France or the Balkans. In the east, the German Wehrmacht faced an enemy who, despite occasional panic attacks, did not lose his head. Again and again the Russians resisted. Again and again he had to send reinforcements and reserves to the east.
Perhaps the point was not that, as some modern publicists claim, Hitler, due to an unforeseen development of events, lost his composure. As a result of stubborn Soviet resistance, the appearance of wonderful Soviet T-34 tanks and the constant introduction of new reserves into battle, he concluded that his opponent, Stalin, had a potential that he had not previously suspected.
On the other hand, in the Minsk-Bialystok region, many Soviet armies were encircled. The encircled Russian armed forces did their best to avoid bilateral envelopment and break out of the cauldron to the east. With such a development of events, Hitler considered it right to detain the tank groups of Guderian and Hoth, so that they would ensure the encirclement of the enemy in the Minsk-Bialystok region. In addition, Hitler feared that he would spread too thin the forces of Army Group Center if he allowed Guderian's and Hoth's tanks to move further east.
Of all the tank commanders, Guderian protested most actively against these plans of Hitler. He demanded that both panzer groups advance as far to the east as possible, and he was even ready to take the risk of a lack of flank protection. Although he understood that a rapid advance to the east would cause considerable difficulties in organizing supplies, nevertheless he was of the opinion that it was necessary to use the moment of surprise in order to reach the Dnieper as soon as possible. Finally, he knew that Marshal Timoshenko intended to create strong defensive lines there.
Guderian agreed with Hoth that clearing the cauldrons was the sole task of the infantry.
Both Hitler and Guderian had strong arguments in support of their own opinions. Whose was right, only the future could show.
Hitler's position was shared by Field Marshal von Kluge, commander of the 4th Army. On July 9, he came to Guderian and tried to persuade him to Hitler's side.
Instead, Guderian convinced von Kluge. He explained to him that Lieutenant General Eremenko was sacrificing his men only to give Marshal Timoshenko time to build defensive lines on the Dnieper. To this, Kluge objected that it would be more correct to clean out the Minsk-Bialystok pocket first. Guderian put forward a counterargument, stating that his tank groups, in fact, had already reached the Dnieper and were fighting hard in the region of Orsha, Mogilev and Rogachev, from where it was simply impossible to withdraw them. The withdrawal of these units from the battle is associated with great dangers.
The Field Marshal realized that Guderian's arguments were weighty and convincing. Therefore, he joined his opinion. This time, the front-line generals managed to defend their point of view before Hitler.
Guderian followed the developments between Senno and Tolochin, where his adversary Yeryomenko stormed the German positions with fierce determination, regardless of casualties. Here he fought the hardest battles with the Russians, in which both sides suffered significant losses, while his advanced tank detachments had already reached the Dnieper.
Guderian decided to leave the flank positions in the area of Senno and Tolochin. He gathered the liberated tank detachments and sent them to the Dnieper.
Success proved Guderian right. On July 10 and 11, his tanks crossed the Dnieper. The second phase of the battle for Smolensk began.
Colonel-General Goth, commander of the 3rd Panzer Group, took Vitebsk. He struck in a southeasterly direction and began to threaten Smolensk. Eremenko understood how great the danger looming over the Soviet 20th and 22nd armies. Goth's troops threatened not only the connection area between the armies, but also their flanks and rear.
But despite this very real threat, Eremenko was convinced that the danger could be avoided through tactical success. From the south of Russia, the 19th Soviet army was transferred here. She was supposed to take positions east of Vitebsk and take the fight. With a battle group consisting of six divisions and a motorized corps, Eremenko wanted to create a barrier between Vitebsk and Orsha that would stop Hoth's tanks.
But only Goth had already taken Vitebsk and was moving towards Smolensk. Therefore, Eremenko was forced to immediately throw the arriving units of the 19th Army against Hoth. He instructed Lieutenant General Konev to lead the attack, for which he subordinated the hastily created combat groups and units of the 20th Army to the latter.
On July 10, the troops of Lieutenant General Konev attacked in the Vitebsk direction. They struck at Gotha's tanks. They showed fanatical tenacity and suffered huge losses. But they didn't achieve anything. Goth's tanks were never stopped. They only managed to somewhat slow down the advance of the enemy.
But this is exactly what Eremenko wanted. He knew he couldn't stop Goth. And I wanted to at least slow it down a bit. If Hoth could be held back until the main units of the 19th Army, moving from the south of Russia, arrived, the situation would look much more encouraging.
Eremenko was sure of himself. He believed in success. But he could not know that his plan was already known to the enemy.
On the morning of July 9, scouts of the 7th German Panzer Division captured a Soviet senior anti-aircraft gunner. During a personal search, it was found that he had with him officer orders of great importance. One of these orders was dated July 8, 1941. According to the order, the Soviet anti-aircraft unit was sent to the Rudnya region, located halfway between Vitebsk and Smolensk. It also became clear from the order why the anti-aircraft unit was going to this particular area. It was there that the 19th Army, following from the south of Russia, was supposed to arrive in order to take up positions between Vitebsk and Orsha, becoming a barrier for the Germans.
Eremenko's plan was no longer a secret.
Immediately, Colonel General Goth sent the 7th, 12th and 20th tank divisions to Rudnya. His tanks were to strike at the heart of the 19th Soviet Army.
When freight trains with formations of the 19th Army approached the platform in Rudna, all hell broke loose. Dive bombers of the 2nd Air Fleet hit the trains. Bombs howled and exploded on the tracks. The trains were on fire. Heinkel (He) bombers entered the battle, their bombs turned the earth around. In the end, more attack aircraft and fighters got involved in the general chaos, while German artillery shelled Rudnya. Having done their job, Hoth's panzer divisions headed northwest.
Soviet soldiers, despite huge losses, rushed to the Germans. But even when unloading under fire, they lost a large amount of ammunition. And from the west, more and more groups of dive bombers flew at them and dropped heavy bombs. The units opposing Goth suffered heavy losses. Entire regiments perished in defense.
Upon learning of the disaster, Eremenko immediately went to the command post of the 19th Army, located in a copse north of Rudnya. The commander of the 19th Army, Lieutenant General I. S. Konev, the Chief of Staff, Major General P. V. Rubtsov and the division commander Shcheklanov appeared before him with gloomy expressions. They could not explain this collapse that happened to the 19th Army. Yes, and Eremenko did not understand how such a catastrophe could happen. However, now the most important thing was to understand exactly what the situation at the front was. Therefore, Eremenko ordered Lieutenant General Konev to immediately visit the front line, located east of Vitebsk. Yeremenko himself went in the direction of Surazh to the north of Rudnya. There, allegedly, the rifle division of the 19th Army was supposed to fight with the Gotha tank wedge.
Not far from Surazh, the lieutenant general's car stumbled upon fast-moving infantrymen. The soldiers reported that the rifle division was surrounded by the Germans, and Surazh was lost.
Eremenko was unable to stop the retreating Red Army. However, he still managed to avert a greater misfortune. From Rudnya, two regiments were heading towards him: artillery and rifle. Both military formations were ordered to take up positions in Surazh. Eremenko deployed both regiments and sent them in the direction of Vitebsk. They were to reinforce the right flank of the 19th Army.
After passing through waves of retreating soldiers and broken streets, Eremenko's car returned to the command post. Entering the room, the tired commander collapsed onto the bed to death. But he was not allowed to rest. As soon as he stretched out on his bed, the chief of staff of the 19th Army, Major General Rubtsov, entered and said that a courier had arrived from the command of the army group with an order for the 19th Army to retreat from the enemy and pull its troops back about 60 kilometers.
Yeremenko, deadly pale, immediately jumped up. This order would lead to simply disastrous consequences in this already difficult situation! If the withdrawal of troops fully engaged in battle were to begin now, the Germans would rush after them, and the retreat would turn into chaos! In addition, these 60 kilometers would mean the end of Smolensk and the greatest danger for Moscow! This order was dangerous not only for the security of the entire central sector of the front, but for the security of the entire Soviet Union.
Eremenko should have tried to cancel the order. But how? Communication between the various formations of the Red Army was very poor and outdated. And telephone communication, which was impeccable in all respects, was not yet widespread among the troops. There was nothing left but to go to the location of the command of the army group in Yartsevo himself and ask Marshal Timoshenko to cancel the order.
The car sped off into the night. Having passed Smolensk, in the predawn twilight, Eremenko reached Yartsev. Entering Timoshenko's headquarters, Eremenko learned that the marshal was very exhausted and lay down to rest. However, Eremenko insisted that the marshal be awakened. After some hesitation, the adjutant agreed.
Timoshenko immediately got up when he learned that Eremenko had come from the front to Yartsevo to discuss an important issue with him. Without delay, the lieutenant general was escorted to the marshal and immediately expressed his fears associated with a dangerous order.
Timoshenko immediately woke up and explained that there must have been some kind of misunderstanding about the order for the retreat of the 19th Army. He turned to Eremenko:
- Please, Andrey Ivanovich, return immediately to the front! Stop the troops and let them continue the fight!
When Eremenko left the headquarters and went to his car, the commander of the 19th Army, General Konev, appeared. He also demanded an explanation for the completely incomprehensible retreat order. Marshal Timoshenko and he was immediately sent back to the front. The general also had to stop the retreat.
When Eremenko was driving along the Vitebsk-Smolensk highway in the direction of Rudnya, the retreat was already in full swing. First of all, headquarters moved to the east.
Eremenko immediately seized the initiative. He parked the car across the road and, with the help of two adjutants and two liaison officers, stopped the flight. A group of ten motorcycle shooters who were rushing to the east, he took under his command. He immediately wrote several orders and gave them to motorcyclists to deliver them to headquarters. All orders sounded the same: “Forward! Against the enemy! The enemy must be stopped!"
In the end, Eremenko went to his command post, located in a rye field immediately behind the front, about 150 meters north of the Vitebsk-Rudnya highway. Before he had time to enter, other tragic news fell upon him: the infantrymen could not stand it! They are retreating! German tanks demoralized the Red Army with their massive offensive! The cavalry is running too! They can't compete with German tanks!
The front, where the heavily exhausted 19th Army fought, resembled a living organism staggering from side to side, and the flanks simply crumbled. But Eremenko was unshakable. He again and again collected the retreating military formations and threw them into battle. The 19th Army had to sacrifice itself. Only through these sacrifices, through these monstrous sacrifices, could the Germans be stopped.
Was Eremenko himself supposed to become a victim of his fanatical desire to fight?
- Lieutenant General Andrei Ivanovich Eremenko died!
Around noon, this message arrived at the headquarters of the army group in Yartsevo. General Konev was the man who brought the news to Marshal Timoshenko.
In the early hours of the morning, tanks appeared in front of Rudnya. It was the 12th Panzer Division under the command of Major General Harpe. The German attack was so unexpected that Eremenko only saw the enemy tanks when they were on the highway 150 meters from his command post. Unexpectedly, cars belonging to Eremenko's headquarters came under fire. The shooting came from somewhere on the other side of the field. The entire headquarters, including Eremenko, took refuge in the field. Everyone heard the roar of German tanks approaching them. Once again the general took the lead. He crawled through the arable land and reconnoitered the situation. A fallow field extended to the east. Behind him began another arable land. It was necessary to first go through the field, then to hide in the field. It was the only way to leave. The German tanks were getting closer.
Eremenko returned to his driver Demyanov:
- Comrade Demyanov, get your car ready. We must disappear. You must zigzag until we reach the field!
The driver pulled the car out immediately. Eremenko drove the others away as well. He ordered Parkhomenkov and Hirnykh, his adjutants, to get into his car. Some other staff members left in another car. Since there was not enough space for everyone, the rest had to get out on motorcycles. No one was to be left behind! Anyone who did not have a car, a motorcycle, or any other means of transportation had to run!
Having received the order of the lieutenant general, everyone immediately began to fuss. Cars roared. Cars and motorcycles zigzagged across the field. Some officers fled. After all, only 150 meters remained to the German tanks!
The impossible has happened! All vehicles of the headquarters passed the field unharmed and disappeared into the adjacent field.
However, Lieutenant General Eremenko and the trace caught a cold. He dissapeared. Based on this fact, General Konev informed the command of the army group that Eremenko had died.
Meanwhile, the forces of the Soviet army at Rudnya were weakening. The tank wedges of Colonel-General Goth managed to separate the 16th and 20th Soviet armies. The Russian flanks were open. The German formations were exactly behind the back of the Soviet army. Although the Red Army defended itself, the resistance was unorganized and therefore very weak.
At the same time, Guderian's divisions were getting closer and closer to Gorki. And Smolensk was only 120 kilometers southwest of Gorki!
It has always been said about Smolensk in Russia that it is a "key city" and a "gate city" of Russia.
The significance of this city with a population of 160,000, lying on both sides of the Dnieper, is already clear from its geographical position. This city is the right pillar of the gate that blocks the way to Moscow between the parallel rivers Dnieper and Zapadnaya Dvina. Smolensk is also an important crossroads for the railway lines that run between Vitebsk and Tula and between Kaluga and Minsk. In addition, a significant number of manufacturing enterprises of the leather and textile industries, factories for the production of ammunition and aircraft manufacturing enterprises are located in Smolensk.
And it was to this city that Colonel-General Guderian was now approaching, along with his 2nd Panzer Group. Who can hold him now?
The day after the fall of Rudnya, the man whom Lieutenant General Konev declared dead appeared. It was Lieutenant General Eremenko!
He didn't die. And he didn't even get hurt. And not a single member of his headquarters received a single scratch during the retreat. Eremenko came to Timoshenko. A more opportune time could not be imagined.
After all, Timoshenko received an order from the headquarters of the Red Army in Moscow, which read:
“The 20th Army must attack Gorki on the night of July 14-15 and cut off the tank wedges of the German General of the Tank Forces Guderian from most of his formations. Slides must be captured and held.
The 22nd Army must immediately advance in the direction of Gorodok and stop the advancing enemy tank spearheads.
The 19th Army is to attack Vitebsk and retake the city. By July 16, it is necessary to report on the execution of the order.
This grandiose retaliatory strike was supposed to save Smolensk and save Moscow from the attack of German tank formations.
The Soviet counterattack came as a complete surprise to the supply columns of the German 18th Panzer Division.
As a result of the Russian counterattack that night, the supply column of General Nering's 18th Panzer Division suffered heavy losses. It was inflicted by the 1st Soviet motorized division. However, Nering's tank formations remained unscathed and moved further east. Their goal was Smolensk, to which there was very little to go.
In fact, the massively conceived Soviet counterattack was unsuccessful from the very beginning. It was planned on the basis of operational reports, which by the time of the counterattack had long been outdated. Gorky was already in the hands of the Germans, and Guderian's tank wedges rushed forward with such power that they simply split the Russian resistance. Only the already mentioned 1st Soviet motorized division managed to temporarily delay the 18th Panzer Division of Nering in front of Orsha and even push it back about 15 kilometers.
What was a temporary stop for the Germans was another misfortune for the Russians in those catastrophic days. In the early morning of July 15, Field Marshal Kesselring brought down his air force formations on the Soviet troops.
Columns of wrecked and burned vehicles stretched for many kilometers on the roads. Broken regiments marched in a continuous stream, pursued by low-flying aircraft. Trees burned to the ground. Artillery positions ceased to exist under the precise blows of German dive bombers. Soviet commanders were losing their heads and power over their subordinate units. Confusion and confusion reigned in the ranks of the Russians.
And only one person in these terrible days retained his composure - Lieutenant General Eremenko. Despite the general chaos, he tried to have an accurate picture of the situation, which was truly terrible.
Colonel General Gott, together with the 7th Panzer Division, moved from the Rudny area north to Smolensk and had already approached the settlement of Yartsevo, located about 40 kilometers northeast of Smolensk. Tymoshenko's headquarters were there. When Goth managed to take Smolensk, the Soviet troops located in the Smolensk region were blocked and cut off from the Smolensk-Vyazma supply line. There were no more reserves located on this side of the Dnieper.
That was the situation. Eremenko was fully aware of how great the impending danger was. The terrible threat to Moscow posed by a German tank attack in the direction of Vyazma prompted him to take immediate action. The Germans must be stopped in the Yartsev area. In addition, he himself had to go to Yartsevo to tell Marshal Timoshenko about the situation west of Smolensk. There were still parts of the 20th and 16th armies. They must stop the Germans! They must sacrifice themselves.
In the early morning of July 16, Eremenko broke through to Yartsevo. Only extreme necessity forced him to get out on the Minsk-Moscow highway right in front of the advancing advanced units of the 7th German Panzer Division. Overtaking the retreating headquarters, pursued by German attack aircraft, he nevertheless reached the city. Timoshenko's headquarters was empty. An unfamiliar captain, wandering between piles of burning papers, told him that Marshal Timoshenko had transferred his command post to Vyazma. The lieutenant general realized that he had only one thing to do. He is obliged to keep Yartsevo, protect Vyazma and save Moscow. He quickly dictated a report on the situation and handed it over to a motorcyclist liaison who was to deliver the document to Marshal Timoshenko in Vyazma.
And then he started to act. First of all, he took command of all the Soviet formations that were in the Yartsev area. He also gathered numerous headquarters and tried to take a cut-off position on the highway leading to Vyazma, and from there to Moscow. Everyone who could only hold a weapon in their hands had to join the ranks. Ranks and titles have lost their meaning. From staff officers, he formed officer companies, armed them with explosives and sent them against German tanks. Unemployed generals and colonels quickly found themselves on the front line next to ordinary Red Army soldiers from Georgia and Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
Then General Gorbatov received an order to gather the remnants of the 38th Infantry Division and take up positions on the western outskirts of Yartsevo.
General Yushkevich, the former commander of the sacrificed 44th Rifle Corps, received three infantry regiments, and later three more artillery regiments, to take up a cut-off position on the eastern bank of the Vop River and hold them until Eremenko could get reinforcements.
General Kiselev received three battalions and eight tanks. With their help, he had to hold the highway, along which the units located in Smolensk could go east. Meanwhile, Colonel-General Goth had already seized the highway. Nevertheless, General Kiselev led his battalions and tanks against the Germans. He managed, contrary to expectations, to the south of the highway to make a breach in the ring of the Germans.
But that was only half the success. Since Kiselev was able to achieve it only because Guderian, due to an erroneous order, sent his tanks against the Soviet battle groups south and southeast of Smolensk, instead of turning them north and leading them to the highway, where they could connect with Goth's tanks .
Martial law was introduced in Smolensk. The military commandant of the city instructed the city authorities to mobilize the entire population, including women, the elderly and children, for the defense of the city. Barriers were built on all roads leading into the city. On the hills on both sides of the Dnieper, earthen fortifications and a system of trenches were created. For the first time in modern military history, the difference between soldiers and civilians, between soldiers and civilians, was eliminated. The military commandant ordered that every house be defended to the last bullet, that people defend every inch of their land from the Germans.
Since the commandant was determined to defend the city to the end, he taught the civilian population the basics of street warfare. And so that the inhabitants would not give up the fight ahead of time, he also attracted police and NKVD detachments to the defense of the city. The workers of the Smolensk industrial enterprises were armed with rifles and hand grenades and united in work brigades that took up defense on the hills in the southern part of the city. Children were used to fill prepared bags with sand and earth, from which barricades were built. The whole of Smolensk became one huge fortress, which was defended by every inhabitant. Here, for the first time since the beginning of the Second World War, the Geneva Convention was deliberately not respected and was canceled by order. The man behind all these measures was Lieutenant General Eremenko.
While preparations for the defense were in full swing in Smolensk, units of the German General Boltenstern fought heavy battles on the Dnieper. The 15th and 71st regiments of the 29th Infantry Division of General Boltenstern, together with an artillery regiment and a battalion of riflemen-motorcyclists of the division, managed to capture the railway bridge across the Dnieper, located east of Smolensk, preventing its explosion.
True, this bridge could not be used for an offensive, since Soviet artillery was constantly firing on it. In addition, constant Soviet attacks had to be repelled. Lieutenant Hentz, commander of the 2nd company, defended the bridge from the many times superior enemy forces. Despite this, he and his men failed to use the bridge to advance.
But another person, thanks to sophisticated cunning, was able to break into the southern part of Smolensk.
The man was Colonel Thomas, commander of the 71st Infantry Regiment.
The reconnaissance group found out that the road leading from the Loveya point to Smolensk was guarded by a dug-in tank. In addition, units of the 34th Soviet Rifle Corps lay on both sides of it, which had only a few days earlier arrived through Vyazma to Smolensk.
Here Colonel Thomas could not get through. He had to find another way. Around seven in the morning on July 15, Thomas withdrew his regiment. He carefully led his men around the huge earthen fortifications. They were heading east. Soon the Germans reached the country road and found themselves 16 kilometers southwest of Smolensk. From there they continued on their way to the city. Shortly after ten, the regiment reaches the high ground near Konyukhov, where the Soviet batteries are stationed. Without thinking twice, Thomas sent the 2nd company to attack. Shortly after eleven the hill was occupied by the Germans.
Colonel Thomas ordered that captured Soviet artillerymen be brought to him. He asked them about the defensive structures on the southern outskirts of the city. The prisoners unanimously answered that the explosions had destroyed this part of the city, and, therefore, it was impossible to move there. However, in fact, the southern outskirts of the city was occupied by large forces of the Smolensk garrison.
Then Colonel Thomas decided that the Russians needed to be attacked from the side from which they least expected the Germans to attack. He withdrew his men from the high ground, sent them to the southeast, and from there ordered an attack on the southern outskirts of the city.
The plan was good. At first, the Russians did not see the Germans at all. And by the time they finally noticed their approach, it was already too late. By that time, the battalions of the 71st Infantry Regiment were already approaching the Soviet fortifications on the outskirts of the city. It was at 17:00.
Shortly before nightfall, the assault group of the regiment passed through the Soviet defenses. They made their way through them and reached the streets of the southern part of Smolensk. Under the protection of the darkness, the infantry companies advanced further into the city. Rows of houses were on fire, illuminating eerie images of the war.
During the night, the 15th Infantry Regiment managed to drag batteries of mortars, assault guns and heavy artillery to the southern part of the city. Eventually the 88mm gun was also delivered. While the assault groups cleared the streets, the detachments were preparing to cross the Dnieper in the northern part of the city.
Crossing the Dnieper was very difficult. It was not possible to use the huge bridge connecting the two banks of the Dnieper in the city center. Soviet sappers poured kerosene on the wooden bridge deck and set it on fire. On the bridge, a bright flame rose high into the sky. Even through the glow of the fire, you could see flashes from exploding grenades.
Under the cover of darkness, the German engineering troops set to work. Landing boats, kayaks, rowboats with outboard motors and pontoons were drawn to the south coast. The 15th and 71st regiments gathered on the shore. Orders passed in an undertone from one to the other. The engines hummed softly. The regiments were preparing to force the Dnieper.
At the same time, engineers were pushing pontoons and rafts together, tying them together with ropes and steel cables, and laying boards and beams on top of the resulting structure. The night was filled with the thud of many hammers and the shrill whining of saws.
However, not only the suffocating heat greatly complicated the work of the engineering troops. First of all, they were not allowed to work quietly by the Soviet artillery, which was constantly shelling the bridge construction site.
Boats and pontoons carrying soldiers from the 15th and 71st Infantry Regiments made their way through the incessant artillery fire. The landing craft zigzag along the Dnieper and approached the northern bank. The infantry jumped ashore and organized the first pockets of resistance. The boats turned back, and soon the next groups of military men arrived on them.
Here is what the former corporal Mishak said about this:
“It was very stuffy that night. However, when I jumped into the landing craft, it seemed to me that it became much colder. I noticed that my teeth began to chatter. To the right and to the left, in front and behind, the earth heaved up with a roar. Even on the river, explosions were heard again and again. I felt a strange pressure in my stomach. I didn't feel very well. Baby Tevez stood with his mouth open. His eyes were wide open, the guy was breathing hard. As I sat next to him in the boat, I noticed that he was trembling.
There was something strange about this trembling. I can't say that I was scared. Also, little Tevez was not afraid. But we were all trembling. The reason for this was monstrous fatigue and constant tension, which drove me crazy.
We quickly reached the middle of the Dnieper. Not far from us, a pontoon crammed to capacity with people swayed on the waves. There was a whistle of an approaching grenade. She exploded next to the pontoon and overturned it.
Everything happened very quickly. People screamed. Then there was another crash, and it was all over.
Suddenly we ran into each other. Baby Tevez jumped up, screamed and fell back into the boat. We got to the north coast. In front of us were Soviet machine-gun positions. The shooting went on arriving boats. From all the landing sites there were shouts: “Order, orderly!” We crawled out of the boats, pressed to the ground and began to look around for cover. Behind us came the sound of motor boats leaving for the next batch of soldiers. The company commander sent us to attack. There was blood on his face, he had lost his helmet somewhere. With a machine gun in his hand, he went on the offensive. He was ahead of us. We ran through the furious defensive fire. There were many wounded. Twice I myself was wounded, the bullets pierced both shoulder blades. I was lucky that the Smolensk hell spared me ... "
Hell began in the early morning of July 16th. In the northern part of the city, occupied by industrial enterprises, two infantry regiments, crossing the Dnieper in boats, stumbled upon unprecedentedly strong resistance.
Military units of the NKVD and work brigades occupied positions there. For the workers of the NKVD, there was only one way out: fight to the last breath. If they retreated, they would be killed by the barrage detachments of the Smolensk garrison. And after all they've heard, capitulation to the Germans they should also be afraid of.
So they held on. They, hiding in attics and doorways, shot at the enemy. They didn't take a step back. The human losses were simply monstrous.
But also civilian work brigades under the command of fanatical communists fought with desperate courage in the northern part of Smolensk. They defended every street, every house and every floor to the last, although they were poorly trained and had practically no military equipment. They helped buy time, which Tymoshenko and Eremenko so needed.
Although exhausted, the German assault groups were still faster. In an incredible impulse, they overcame the formations of the NKVD and the work brigades.
July 16 at 20:1 °Smolensk fell. In fierce street fighting, the northern part of the city was taken. However, the battle around the city continued. On the night of July 17, Eremenko gave the order to set fire to all the remaining intact buildings. Soon a huge smoky cloud grew over Smolensk. Due to the many fires, it continued to grow in size. Civilians ran back and forth in the ruins, trying to save their belongings. Often they came under artillery fire from their own Soviet soldiers.
At dawn, Eremenko gathered his rifle divisions. They were supposed to take Smolensk, drive the Germans out of the northern part of the city and force them to cross the Dnieper. The remnants of the 20th and 16th armies, which had already suffered huge losses to the west of Smolensk, he also sent to the city. However, all Soviet attacks perished in German defensive fire, and again mountains of corpses rose everywhere.
Since the attacks were completely unsuccessful, the Soviet military leaders resorted to tactics that can be briefly described as suicide by order. The advancing infantry must constantly attack the German positions.
The end goal was clear. After all, it was not necessary to capture the German positions. Soviet soldiers needed to stay under fire in order to deplete the German ammunition supply. Never before in all of modern history have so many human lives been sacrificed anywhere as in the Battle of Smolensk.
However, Eremenko used not only barbaric methods. He tried to apply the methods of warfare used in the tsarist army. So on July 18, the 129th Soviet Rifle Division, lining up, went on the attack with rifles at the ready. On the battlefields, as in the old days, horns were blown. The division commander walked ahead, raising his sword, he led his people into battle. They were going to die. Such open attacks against machine guns, as well as tank and infantry guns, could not end in anything but a bloody massacre.
The replenishment arriving from Moscow immediately went into battle. Eremenko himself was on the road all the time. He traveled from division to division, mingled with people and tried to explain to them the meaning of these sacrifices. He was convinced that one day the Germans must inevitably succumb to the Soviet troops. And when this happens, they will already be kept from taking Moscow for a long time. To stop the Germans, no casualties seemed too great. While in the Yelnya area nine rifle divisions and two tank brigades under the command of Marshal Timoshenko attacked Guderian's tank groups, Eremenko sent seven divisions against Goth's tank groups. He sent them to their deaths.
Soviet losses were unprecedentedly high. And still, more and more new forces went against the German soldiers. The most unpleasant word for the German ear was the Soviet battle cry "Hurrah!".
Despite everything, Eremenko tried to return the railway bridges leading across the Dnieper. With enormous human losses, he still managed to retake control of the Smolensk freight station. However, the 2nd company of the 29th battalion of motorcycle riflemen under the command of Lieutenant Henz continued to hold the railway bridges.
However, Eremenko still achieved his goal. All German military formations on the territory of Smolensk had a lack of ammunition. And German losses were high. One German 10th Panzer Division lost a third of its tanks. Under the influence of the incessant heavy fighting, the strength of the German divisions gradually weakened. Taking this fact into account, OKW Directive No. 34 of July 30, 1941 was issued, which stated: “Army Group Center is going on the defensive, using the most convenient areas of the terrain for this. In the interests of carrying out subsequent offensive operations against the 21st Soviet Army, advantageous starting positions should be taken, for which offensive operations with limited goals can be carried out.
On the same day, in the Yelnya area, Eremenko ordered his formations to attack Guderian's tank formations three times in twelve hours! He sacrificed all the technical and human forces that were sent to him from Moscow. Only when ten Soviet divisions had suffered enormous losses did he admit defeat. He wrote about this in his memoirs: “As a result of the measures taken, the exit from the encirclement took place in an organized manner ... The retreat and the crossing across the Dnieper began on the night of August 4.”
Smolensk was completely in German hands. The journalist Michelaren, a Berlin correspondent for the monarchist newspaper ABC published in Madrid, described what he saw during his visit to captured Smolensk:
End of introductory segment.
* * *
The following excerpt from the book "Witch's Cauldron" on the Eastern Front. Decisive battles of World War II. 1941-1945 (W. f. Aaken) provided by our book partner -
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