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The exploits of tank heroes during the Great Patriotic War. The legendary feat of Soviet tankers

Even the most terrible for the Red Army, the first months of the Great Patriotic War showed us a large number of exploits of Soviet soldiers and officers. These exploits will forever be inscribed in our country. If we talk about tankers, then a considerable share of the merit in their exploits was also concluded in their combat vehicles. For example, the well-known battle of the commander of a tank company, Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov, ended with the destruction of a German tank column of 22 enemy vehicles, not only because of the professional choice of ambush site and the well-coordinated work of the entire tank crew, but also due to the outstanding characteristics of the KV-1 heavy tank, who did not let his crew down in that battle. All the Germans could do for him was to smash the observation devices and jam the turret traverse mechanism.

But far from all battles were decided only by the superiority of firepower and the record booking of Soviet tanks of those years. As the Polish writer Stanislaw Jerzy Lec rightly noted: “Often courage alone is not enough, impudence is also needed.” During the war years, this aphorism justified itself more than once. From the military arrogance of Russian soldiers and the atypicality of their actions and behavior in combat conditions, the soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht often had, as they would say now, "a break in the pattern." Already after the war, in their memoirs, many officers lamented that they could not understand how the enemy could attack an infantry battalion on the march from an ambush with just five soldiers, or how it was possible to attack an enemy in a city with just one tank. It was the latter in October 1941 that the crew of the T-34 tank Stepan Gorobets made, who alone broke into Kalinin (now Tver).

The life of the Hero of the Soviet Union Stepan Gorobets turned out to be inextricably linked with the Tver region, it was here, during the defense of Kalinin, that the tank crew under his leadership made a successful single tank breakthrough through the entire city. Here on this earth, during the offensive battles near Rzhev, this tanker laid down his head in 1942.

Stepan Khristoforovich Gorobets was born in the small village of Dolinskoye on February 8, 1913. He grew up in the Kirovograd region, was Ukrainian by nationality. Before the war, an ordinary Soviet guy from a peasant family worked as a gas turbine driver at a nitrogen-fertilizer plant. He met the war as an ordinary senior sergeant, a tanker who had just graduated from training. He took part in the battles from September 1941. By the time of the tank raid, which made his name immortal, Gorobets' entire combat experience was only one month. The battle that took place on October 17, 1941, will later be called a model of real courage, military arrogance and resourcefulness.

On October 17, 1941, the 21st separate tank brigade was given a difficult task: to carry out a deep raid behind enemy lines along the route Bolshoe Selishche - Lebedevo, defeating the German forces in Krivtsevo, Nikulino, Mamulino, and also to capture the city of Kalinin, freeing it from the invaders. The brigade had to carry out reconnaissance in force, breaking through the city and uniting with the units that had taken up defense on the Moscow highway. The tank battalion of the brigade under the command of Major Agibalov enters the Volokolamsk highway. At the forefront of the battalion are two T-34 medium tanks: the tank of senior sergeant Gorobets and his platoon commander Kireev. Their task is to identify and suppress the detected firing points of the Nazis. On the highway, two of our tanks overtake a German convoy of motor vehicles with infantry and armored vehicles. The Germans, noticing Soviet tanks, manage to deploy anti-tank guns and start a fight. During the battle, the T-34 Kireev tank was hit and slid off the highway into a ditch, and the Gorobets tank managed to slip forward and crush the positions of the German guns, after which, without slowing down, it enters the village of Efremovo, where it engages in battle with the retreating column. Having fired at the German tanks on the move, crushing three trucks, the tank numbered "03" flew through the village and again went out onto the highway, the path to Kalinin was opened.

However, at the same time, Agibalov's tank battalion, following the vanguard of two T-34s, came under an airstrike by enemy Junkers, several tanks were knocked out, and the commander stopped the advance of the column. At the same time, after the battle in the village, the walkie-talkie went out of order on the tank of senior sergeant Gorobets, there is no connection with him. Having broken away from the main column of the battalion by more than 500 meters, the tank crew does not know that the column has already stopped. Not knowing that he was left alone, the senior sergeant continues to carry out the assigned task, continues reconnaissance in battle in the direction of Kalinin. On the highway to the city, the T-34 catches up with a column of German motorcyclists and destroys it.

Just imagine the situation: the defensive battles for Kalinin had already been completed by that time, the Germans were able to occupy the city and entrenched themselves in it. They pushed back the Soviet troops and took up defenses around the city. The task assigned to the Soviet tank brigade - conducting reconnaissance in force - is actually a tank raid in the German rear from Volokolamsk to Moscow highway. Break through to the rear, make noise there, try to recapture Kalinin from the enemy and link up with other Soviet units on another sector of the front. However, instead of a tank column, a single tank is heading towards the city - the “troika” of senior sergeant Stepan Gorobets.

Having left the village of Lebedevo, on the right side of the highway, the tank crew identified a German airfield, which housed aircraft and tankers. Gorobets' tank entered the battle here, destroying two Ju-87 aircraft and blowing up a fuel tank. After some time, the Germans came to their senses, they began to deploy anti-aircraft guns in order to open fire on the tank with direct fire. At the same time, the senior sergeant, realizing that his attack was not supported by other tanks of his battalion, which should have already caught up with the detached vanguard and simply scattered the discovered airfield, makes a non-standard, bold and somewhat brazen decision.

The radio station on the tank is silent, Gorobets knows nothing about the fate of the battalion column, just as he does not know how far he broke away from the main forces. Under these conditions, when the Germans are already hitting the tank with anti-aircraft guns, the commander of the vehicle decides to withdraw from the battle and break through to Kalinin alone. Leaving from the shelling of German anti-aircraft guns, our tank on the way to Kalinin again meets a column of German troops. Thirty-four ram three German vehicles and shoot the fleeing infantry. Without slowing down, a medium tank breaks into a city occupied by the enemy. In Kalinin, on Lermontov Street, the tank turns left and rushes with firing along Traktornaya Street, and then along 1st Zalinenaya Street. In the area of the Tekstilshchikov park, the T-34 makes a right turn under the viaduct and enters the Proletarka yard: the workshops of plant No. 510 and the cotton mill are on fire, local workers were holding the defense here. At this moment, Gorobets notices that a German anti-tank gun is being aimed at his combat vehicle, but does not have time to react. The Germans shoot first, a fire starts in the tank.

Despite the flames, the mechanic-driver of the T-34 tank, Fedor Litovchenko, drives the car towards the ram and crushes the anti-tank gun with caterpillars, while three other crew members fight the fire using fire extinguishers, padded jackets, knapsacks and other improvised means. Thanks to their coordinated actions, the fire was extinguished, and the enemy's firing position was destroyed. However, from a direct hit on the tank turret, the gun jammed, leaving only machine guns in the formidable vehicle.

Further, the Gorobets tank follows along Bolshevik Street, then passes along the right bank of the Tmaka River past the convent. Tankers immediately cross the river on a dilapidated bridge, risking bringing down a 30-ton car into the river, but everything worked out and they went to the left bank of the river. The tank with the number three on the armor enters the target of the Golovinsky rampart, from where it tries to get out onto Sofya Perovskaya street, but encounters an unexpected obstacle. Rails dug deep into the ground are installed here, greetings from the workers who defended the city. At the risk of being detected by the enemy, tankers have to use their combat vehicle as a tractor, loosening the installed rails. As a result, they managed to move aside, freeing the passage. After that, the tank enters the tram tracks running along the wide street.

The tank continues on its way through the city occupied by the enemy, but now it is black, sooty from a recent fire. Neither the star nor the tank number is practically visible on it. The Germans do not even react to the tank, mistaking it for their own. At this moment, from the left side of the street, the tank crew sees a column of captured trucks, GAZs and ZISs with infantry, the vehicles are repainted, the Germans are sitting in them. Remembering that firing from a gun is impossible, Stepan Gorobets orders the driver to crush the column. Having made a sharp turn, the tank crashes into trucks, and gunner-radio operator Ivan Pastushin waters the Germans with a machine gun. Then the Germans begin to hastily radio about Soviet tanks breaking into the city, not knowing that only a single thirty-four entered the city.

Leaving for Sovetskaya Street, the T-34 meets a German tank. Taking advantage of the effect of surprise, Gorobets bypasses the enemy and rams the German into the side, throwing him off the street onto the sidewalk. After the impact, the thirty-four stalled. The Germans, leaning out of the hatches of their car, are yelling "Rus, give up," and the crew of the Soviet tank is trying to start the engine. It didn’t work out the first time, but at that moment a very good one appeared: the loader Grigory Kolomiets was able to revive the gun. Leaving the rammed enemy tank behind him, the T-34 jumps out onto Lenin Square. Here, a semicircular building opens up to the eyes of the tankers, on which huge fascist flags are installed, and sentries are posted at the entrance. The building was not left without attention, the tank fired high-explosive shells at it, a fire started in the building. Having completed the next task, the tank moves on and meets with a makeshift barricade. On the street, the Germans overturned a tram, because of which grenades fly into the tank. The thirty-four managed to get around this obstacle along a pile of stones (a blockage from a collapsed residential building), pushing the tram with the Germans who sat behind it, and continues to move further along Vagzhanova Street to Moscow Highway.

Here Stepan Gorobets discovered a disguised German artillery battery, the guns of which were deployed towards Moscow. The tank breaks into positions from the rear, destroys guns and dugouts with a ram, irons the trenches and enters the Moscow highway, breaking out of the city. After a few kilometers near the burning elevator, the tank begins to be heavily shelled from almost all sides. Here were the positions of one of the regiments of the 5th Infantry Division. At first, Gorobets' car was mistaken for the Germans, but they sorted out the accessories in time and ceased fire on the tank, meeting the tankers with shouts of "Hurrah!"

Later, Major General Khomenko, commander of the 30th Army, met personally with the T-34 crew. Without waiting for award documents, he removed the Order of the Red Banner from his tunic and handed it to Senior Sergeant Stepan Gorobets. Later, Gorobets was able to rise to the rank of junior lieutenant and was awarded the Order of Lenin. Tellingly, the Order of the Red Banner did not officially appear in the award documents, as it passed after General Khomenko. Later, on May 5, 1942, for the courage and heroism shown in battles, junior lieutenant Stepan Khristoforovich Gorobets was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but posthumously.

During the offensive on February 8, 1942, in the battle near the village of Petelino in the Rzhevsky district of the Kalinin (now Tver) region, acting in the combat formations of the advancing infantry, the crew of the T-34 tank, junior lieutenant Stepan Gorobets, managed to destroy 3 enemy guns, suppress more than 20 machine gun points and 12 enemy mortars, destroy up to 70 enemy soldiers and officers. In this battle, on the day of his 29th birthday, Stepan Gorobets was killed. He was buried in the village of Bratkovo, Staritsa District, Tver Region, in a mass grave not far from the church, 10 meters from the Staritsa-Bernovo highway, on the Pushkin Ring. In total, for the entire time of the fighting, the crew of the tank of Stepan Gorobets accounted for 7 wrecked and destroyed German tanks.

A few days before the death of Gorobets, turret sergeant Grigory Kolomiets was wounded, his fate is unknown. And the tank driver, senior sergeant Fedor Litovchenko, and the gunner-radio operator, Red Army soldier Ivan Pastushin, went through the whole war and lived to see victory. Subsequently, they met each other at the sites of past battles, including in the city of Kalinin, which they remember.

Later it became known that last days war near Berlin in Potsdam, the archive of the German General Staff of the Ground Forces was found. In this archive, among other documents, an order dated November 2, 1941 from the commander of the 9th German Army, Colonel-General Strauss, was found. On behalf of the Fuhrer, on this order, Colonel von Kestner, the commandant of the occupied Kalinin, was awarded the Iron Cross of the first degree. The award was presented "for valor, courage and energetic leadership of the garrison during the liquidation of the tank detachment of the Soviets, which, taking advantage of the snowfall, was able to break into the city." In fairness, it should be noted that 8 tanks of the 21st brigade were able to break through to Kalinin, which slipped to the city under constant bombardment. However, having reached the southern outskirts of the city, the surviving vehicles moved to Pokrovskoye along the Turginovsky highway, the tank of senior sergeant Gorobets was the only one that passed through the entire city with a fight.

After the war, the memory of Gorobets and his tankers was immortalized. One of the streets of Tver is currently named after the commander of the legendary thirty-four with tail number "03". A memorial plaque in memory of the legendary tank crew was installed at house number 54 on Sovetskaya Street in Tver. And 70 years after the events described, in November 2011, a monument was opened in the city in memory of the feat of the crew of the T-34 medium tank from the 1st separate tank battalion of the 21st tank brigade of the 30th Army of the Kalinin Front. Here, at the monument to the heroes-tankers, a memorial rally was organized on the 100th anniversary of Stepan Gorobets. Also, one of the streets in his native village was named after the tank hero.

Based on materials from open sources

"Stand to the death!"

In the early 1990s, a huge amount of literature appeared in Russia glorifying the exploits of German pilots, tank crews, and sailors. The colorfully described adventures of the Nazi military created a clear feeling in the reader that the Red Army was able to defeat these professionals not by skill, but by numbers - they say, they overwhelmed the enemy with corpses.

At the same time, the exploits of Soviet heroes remained in the shadows. Little has been written about them and, as a rule, their reality has been questioned.

Zinovy Kolobanov

Meanwhile, the most successful tank battle in the history of World War II was carried out by Soviet tankers. Moreover, it happened in the most difficult wartime - at the end of the summer of 1941.

On August 8, 1941, the German Army Group North launched an attack on Leningrad. Soviet troops, leading heavy defensive battles, retreated. In the region of Krasnogvardeysk (this was the name of Gatchina then), the onslaught of the Nazis was held back by the 1st Panzer Division.

The situation was extremely difficult - the Wehrmacht, successfully using large formations of tanks, broke through the Soviet defenses and threatened to capture the city. Krasnogvardeysk was of strategic importance, as it was a major junction of highways and railways on the outskirts of Leningrad.

On August 19, 1941, the commander of the 3rd tank company of the 1st tank battalion of the 1st tank division, senior lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanov received a personal order from the divisional commander: to block three roads that lead to Krasnogvardeysk from Luga, Volosovo and Kingisepp.

Stand to death! - cut off the commander.

Kolobanov's company was equipped with KV-1 heavy tanks. This combat vehicle could successfully fight the tanks that the Wehrmacht had at the beginning of the war. Strong armor and a powerful 76 mm KV-1 gun made the tank a real threat to the Panzerwaffe.

The disadvantage of the KV-1 was its not the best maneuverability, therefore, at the beginning of the war, these tanks operated most effectively from ambushes. There was one more reason for the "ambush tactics" - the KV-1, like the T-34, was scarce in the active army by the beginning of the war. Therefore, the available vehicles from fighting in open areas tried to protect as much as possible.

Professional

But equipment, even the best, is effective only when it is managed by a competent professional. The company commander, Senior Lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanov, was just such a professional.

He was born on December 25, 1910 in the village of Arefino, Vladimir province, into a peasant family. Zinovy's father died on civil war when the boy was not even ten years old. Like many of his peers at that time, Zinovy \u200b\u200bhad to join peasant labor early. After graduating from the eight-year school, he entered a technical school, from the third year of which he was drafted into the army.

Kolobanov began his service in the infantry, but the Red Army needed tankers. A capable young soldier was sent to Oryol, to the Frunze armored school. In 1936, Zinovy Kolobanov graduated from the armored school with honors and was sent to serve in the Leningrad Military District with the rank of lieutenant.

Kolobanov received his baptism of fire in the Soviet-Finnish war, which he began as the commander of a tank company of the 1st light tank brigade. During this short war, he burned three times in a tank, each time returning to service, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army was in dire need of people like Kolobanov - competent commanders with combat experience. That is why he, who began his service on light tanks, urgently had to master the KV-1, so that later he would not only beat the Nazis on it, but also train his subordinates in this.

ambush company

The crew of the KV-1 tank, senior lieutenant Kolobanov, included gun commander senior sergeant Andrey Usov, senior driver foreman Nikolai Nikiforov, junior Red Army soldier Nikolai Rodnikov, and gunner-radio operator senior sergeant Pavel Kiselkov.

The crew was a match for their commander: well-trained people with combat experience and a cool head. In general, in this case the merits of the KV-1 were multiplied by the merits of its crew.

Having received the order, Kolobanov set a combat mission: to stop enemy tanks, so two armor-piercing shells were loaded into each of the company's five vehicles.

Arriving on the same day at a place not far from the Voiskovitsy state farm, Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov distributed forces. The tanks of Lieutenant Evdokimenko and Second Lieutenant Degtyar took up defense on the Luga Highway, the tanks of Second Lieutenant Sergeev and Second Lieutenant Lastochkin covered the Kingisepp road. Kolobanov himself got the seaside road located in the center of defense.

The crew of Kolobanov arranged a tank trench 300 meters from the intersection, intending to fire at the enemy "head on".

The night of August 20 passed in anxious anticipation. Around noon, the Germans tried to break through along the Luga highway, but the crews of Evdokimenko and Degtyar, knocking out five tanks and three armored personnel carriers, forced the enemy to turn back.

Two hours later, German reconnaissance motorcyclists drove past the position of Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov's tank. The disguised KV-1 did not reveal itself in any way.

22 destroyed tanks in 30 minutes of combat

Finally, the long-awaited "guests" appeared - a column of German light tanks, consisting of 22 vehicles.

Kolobanov ordered: - Fire!

The first volleys stopped the three lead tanks, then the gun commander Usov shifted his fire to the tail of the column. As a result, the Germans lost their ability to maneuver and could not leave the firing zone.

At the same time, Kolobanov's tank was discovered by the enemy, who unleashed heavy fire on him.

Soon there was nothing left of the KV-1 camouflage, German shells hit the turret of the Soviet tank, but it was not possible to break through it.

At some point, another hit disabled the tank turret, and then, in order to continue the battle, the driver Nikolai Nikiforov took the tank out of the trench and began to maneuver, turning the KV-1 so that the crew could continue to fire on the Nazis.

Within 30 minutes of the battle, the crew of Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov destroyed all 22 tanks in the column.

A similar result during one tank battle no one could reach, including the vaunted German tank aces. This achievement was later included in the Guinness Book of Records.

When the battle subsided, Kolobanov and his subordinates found traces on the armor from more than 150 hits by German shells. But the reliable armor of the KV-1 withstood everything.

In total, on August 20, 1941, five tanks of the company of senior lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanov knocked out 43 German "opponents". In addition, an artillery battery, a passenger car and up to two companies of the Nazi infantry were destroyed.

Unofficial hero

In early September 1941, all members of the crew of Zinovy Kolobanov were presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But the high command did not consider that the feat of the tankers deserved such a high appraisal. Zinovy Kolobanov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, Andrei Usov - the Order of Lenin, Nikolai Nikiforov - the Order of the Red Banner, and Nikolai Rodnikov and Pavel Kiselkov - the Orders of the Red Star.

For another three weeks after the battle near Voiskovitsy, the company of Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov held back the Germans on the outskirts of Krasnogvardeysk, and then covered the withdrawal of units to Pushkin.

September 15, 1941 in Pushkin, while refueling a tank and loading ammunition, a German shell exploded next to the KV-1 of Zinovy Kolobanov. The senior lieutenant received a very serious wound with injuries to the head and spine. The war is over for him.

But in the summer of 1945, having recovered from his wound, Zinovy Kolobanov returned to duty. For another thirteen years he served in the army, having retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel, then he lived and worked in Minsk for many years.

With the main feat of Zinovy Kolobanov and his crew, a strange incident occurred - they simply refused to believe in him, despite the fact that the fact of the battle near Voiskovitsy and its results were officially documented.

It seems that the authorities were embarrassed by the fact that in the summer of 1941, Soviet tankers could smash the Nazis so cruelly. Such exploits did not fit into the generally accepted picture of the first months of the war.

But here's an interesting point - in the early 1980s, it was decided to erect a monument at the site of the battle near Voiskovitsy. Zinovy Kolobanov wrote a letter to the Minister of Defense of the USSR Dmitry Ustinov with a request to allocate a tank for installation on a pedestal, and the tank was allocated, however, not the KV-1, but the later IS-2.

However, the very fact that the minister granted Kolobanov's request suggests that he knew about the tank hero and did not question his feat.

Legend of the 21st century

Zinovy Kolobanov passed away in 1994, but veteran organizations, social activists and historians are still trying to get the authorities to award him the title of Hero of Russia.

In 2011, the Russian Ministry of Defense rejected the application, deeming a new award for Zinovy Kolobanov "unreasonable". As a result, the feat of the Soviet tanker in the homeland of the hero was never appreciated.

Restore justice undertook the developers of the popular computer game. One of the virtual medals in the tank-themed online game is awarded to a player who single-handedly won a victory against five or more enemy tanks. It is called the Kolobanov Medal. Thanks to this, tens of millions of people learned about Zinovy Kolobanov and his feat.

Perhaps such a memory in the 21st century is the best reward for a hero.

The most productive Soviet tankmen of the Great Patriotic War

Guard Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko

Guards Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko - his military service lasted only six months, but during this time he won 52 victories - a result that not a single Soviet tanker could surpass during the entire war. Lavrinenko fought in the ranks of the famous 1st Guards Tank Brigade of Katukov and died in battles near Moscow on December 18, 1941 - in the midst of the Moscow offensive operation. He was 27 years old. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union Dmitry Lavrinenko was awarded in 1990.

Captain Vladimir Alexandrovich Bochkovsky - a master of tank combat, won 36 victories.

Vladimir Bochkovsky burned down in a tank five times. Like Dmitry Lavrinenko, he served in the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, where he arrived after graduating from a tank school in the summer of 1942. In 1944-1945 he took an active part in tank raids behind enemy lines. For one of these raids, as a result of which the city of Chortkov was liberated in the rear of the Germans on the Dniester and held until the approach of the main forces, the deputy commander of the tank battalion of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of the Guard, Captain V. A. Bochkovsky was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Bochkovsky reached Berlin, where he was seriously wounded during the assault on the Seelow Heights. After the war, Bochkovsky continued his military service. In 1954 he graduated military academy armored forces, in 1964 - the Military Academy of the General Staff. Since 1980, Lieutenant General of the Tank Forces V. A. Bochkovsky has been retired. Passed away May 8, 1999.

Major Ivan Ivanovich Korolkov

Major Ivan Ivanovich Korolkov destroyed 34 German tanks. He began his combat career as a driver of a heavy KV-1 tank, and ended his service as a commander of a tank regiment. In the summer of 1942, the commander of a company of heavy tanks KV-1 of the 1st Tank Battalion of the 133rd Tank Brigade of the 64th Army of the Stalingrad Front, Senior Lieutenant Korolkov, as part of the crew, knocked out 8 enemy tanks. At the critical moment of the battle on August 18, he led the attack of rifle units and, despite being wounded, continued to command a tank company until the combat mission was completed. During the period of battles from June 22 to September 20, 1942, on the combat account of the KV-1 crew of I. I. Korolkov - 26 enemy tanks were knocked out and destroyed. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 8, 1943, "for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism shown at the same time," Senior Lieutenant Korolkov Ivan Ivanovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and a medal " Golden Star".
The Korolkov regiment went through the entire war, which ended for him on May 1, 1945 with a severe wound in the battles for the German city of Rathenow.
Since 1946, Major Korolkov has been in reserve. Lived and worked in the urban-type settlement of Solntsevo, Kursk region. Died in 1973.

Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Petrovich Kuchenkov

Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Petrovich Kuchenkov went through the entire war, destroyed 32 German tanks.
From the award list: “Working as a platoon commander of the SU-85 (4th battery), he skillfully drove and maneuvered his guns on the battlefield behind Cape Fridrikhovka. Accurate fire guns comrade. Kuchenkov burned a German tank "Tiger" and several soldiers and officers.
From the award list: “July 19, 1944 in the battle for Mitulin comrade. Kuchenkov destroyed a mortar battery, a transporter, and 5 enemy machine-gun emplacements. On July 21, 1944, in the battle for Pogoreltsy, he destroyed up to a company of enemy infantry with fire from a cannon, machine guns and caterpillars.
From the award list: “On January 22, 1945, in the Zharnow region, he destroyed an enemy grouping with his self-propelled gun: 1 Artshturm self-propelled gun, 1 tank, 3 armored personnel carriers, up to an infantry platoon, captured 48 enemy soldiers and officers. When forcing the river. Oder and the destruction of the enemy grouping in the area of the city of Steigau and with. Kreyshau from January 24 to January 29, 1945 on the western bank of the river. Oder destroyed with fire and caterpillars of his self-propelled gun: 2 tanks, 1 self-propelled gun, 3 armored personnel carriers, 1 machine-gun point, 2 command posts, at least an enemy infantry platoon.

Guard Captain Nikita Prokhorovich Dyachenko

Guard captain Nikita Prokhorovich Dyachenko destroyed 31 German tanks, becoming the fifth most effective tank ace of the Red Army. From the first day of the war, Dyachenko fought on T-34 tanks of various modifications. He ended the war as deputy commander of a tank battalion of the 61st Guards Tank Brigade. Three times wounded. Awards: Order of the Red Banner (02/20/1945), Order of Alexander Nevsky (05/26/1945), Medal "For the Defense of Leningrad", Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" (09/15/1945)

Even the most terrible for the Red Army first months of the Great Patriotic War showed us a large number of exploits of Soviet soldiers and officers. These exploits will forever be inscribed in our country. If we talk about tankers, then a considerable share of the merit in their exploits was also concluded in their combat vehicles. For example, the well-known battle of the commander of a tank company, Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov, ended with the destruction of a German tank column of 22 enemy vehicles, not only because of the professional choice of ambush site and the well-coordinated work of the entire tank crew, but also due to the outstanding characteristics of the KV-1 heavy tank, who did not let his crew down in that battle. All the Germans could do for him was to smash the observation devices and jam the turret traverse mechanism.

Further, the tank of Gorobets follows Bolsheviks Street, then passes along the right bank of the Tmaka River past the convent located here. Tankers immediately cross the river on a dilapidated bridge, risking bringing down a 30-ton car into the river, but everything worked out and they went to the left bank of the river. The tank with the number three on the armor enters the target of the Golovinsky rampart, from where it tries to get out onto Sofya Perovskaya street, but encounters an unexpected obstacle. Rails dug deep into the ground are installed here, greetings from the workers who defended the city. At the risk of being detected by the enemy, tankers have to use their combat vehicle as a tractor, loosening the installed rails. As a result, they managed to move aside, freeing the passage. After that, the tank enters the tram tracks running along the wide street.

Later it became known that in the last days of the war near Berlin in Potsdam, an archive of the German General Staff of the Ground Forces was found. In this archive, among other documents, an order dated November 2, 1941 from the commander of the 9th German Army, Colonel-General Strauss, was found. On behalf of the Fuhrer, on this order, Colonel von Kestner, the commandant of the occupied Kalinin, was awarded the Iron Cross of the first degree. The award was presented "for valor, courage and energetic leadership of the garrison during the liquidation of the tank detachment of the Soviets, which, taking advantage of the snowfall, was able to break into the city." In fairness, it should be noted that 8 tanks of the 21st brigade were able to break through to Kalinin, which slipped to the city under constant bombardment. However, having reached the southern outskirts of the city, the surviving vehicles moved to Pokrovskoye along the Turginovsky highway, the tank of senior sergeant Gorobets was the only one that passed through the entire city with a fight.

Based on materials from open sources

After the attack on the USSR, the Nazis, brainwashed by Hitler's propaganda, were confident in their superiority over the soldiers of the Red Army. And the first successes of the Wehrmacht, it would seem, confirmed this confidence. However, they soon had to be convinced of the fallacy of their ideas. The heroic deeds of Soviet tankers helped to bring down the arrogance of the Nazi invaders. We will talk about the most outstanding episodes in this post.

The feat of the tankers near Rasseiniai

The first days of the war passed. The German army group "North" invaded the Baltic states, having a significant numerical superiority over the Soviet troops in this direction. The Germans planned a quick breakthrough, but near the Lithuanian city of Raseiniai they faced a counterattack by Soviet KV tanks. These new heavy tanks came as an unpleasant surprise to the Germans. Conventional anti-tank artillery was useless against them, so the KV simply drove up to the German guns and crushed them with their tracks. As a result, only 20 Soviet tanks destroyed dozens of German tanks, and in addition many anti-tank guns and even heavy howitzers. Although the overall superiority in forces allowed the Germans to still repel a counterattack and soon resume the offensive, at that time one of the tank crews performed a truly heroic feat, the details of which were then restored from the notes of a German officer.

Heavy tank KV-1

On June 24, 1941, a lone KV drove out onto the road, which was already in the rear of the advancing German troops. For some reason, perhaps because of a breakdown or lack of fuel, he stopped there. From the side, the stationary tank looked abandoned, but when a German convoy appeared on the road, it opened fire. After destroying 12 trucks, the tank continued to block the road. The peculiarity of the situation was that the tank blocked an important road that connected the advanced units of the German 6th Panzer Division with the rear, and on both sides of the road there were forests and swamps through which vehicles could not pass. The advanced German units were thus cut off from the rear, difficulties arose with the supply of supplies and the evacuation of the wounded. A single tank stopped the advance of an entire German tank division. At first, the Germans feared that the appearance of the KV was part of the Soviet counterattack, but when they conducted reconnaissance and it became clear that the tank was alone and, moreover, motionless, the Germans decided to destroy it.

To begin with, 4 anti-tank 50-mm guns were directed against the tank. They moved into position and opened fire, scoring several hits. The German soldiers who watched this applauded, confident that the tank was over. But it was not there! 50 mm shells could not penetrate the armor. The tank turned the turret and destroyed all 4 guns with return fire. The Germans were shocked. It became clear that the only hope of destroying the tank was a heavy 88mm anti-aircraft gun. In the afternoon, the anti-aircraft gun was delivered and they began to bring it into position for firing. This powerful weapon, however, took a long time to bring to combat readiness. This brought the Germans down. Despite all their caution, the KV crew noticed the anti-aircraft gun and, after waiting for the Germans to install it, fired first! The anti-aircraft gun was destroyed along with part of the calculation. The road remained blocked.

Night fell, and the Germans decided to send sappers to destroy the tank. The sappers got close to the tank, planted explosives, thundered powerful explosion, but the tank remained intact, opening fire from machine guns in different directions. Only in the morning the German sappers, who hid under the bottom, returned back, reporting the failure of the mission. The Germans were frantically looking for another way to destroy the tank. The division commander even tried to call the Junkers to destroy the tank with the help of aviation, but he was refused - there were no extra attack aircraft to fight the only tank.

Finally, we managed to get another anti-aircraft gun. This time, taught by bitter experience, the Germans decided to act differently. To distract the crew, German tanks were sent, which a short time came out of the forest, shot and hid. They could not cause harm to the KV, their only task was to divert attention from the anti-aircraft guns. And this time the plan of the Germans still worked. The anti-aircraft gun managed to fire and knock out the tank. Nevertheless, the heroic crew, which did not leave the tank and defended the road, managed to delay the advance of an entire division for 2 days. For the summer of 1941, this was a huge achievement.

Memorial plaque in honor of the feat of the KV tankers (inscriptions in Lithuanian and Russian)

The feat of Zinovy Kolobanov

In August 1941, German units broke through the front and moved towards Leningrad. Often the Germans did not meet resistance and rapidly advanced in columns along the roads. There was a threat of capture by the Germans of Gatchina. There were almost no forces for the defense of the city, only one tank company under the command of Zinovy Kolobanov was thrown into the defense, which the day before received 5 KV tanks that had just been released in Leningrad. These tanks had to block three roads leading to the city. Kolobanov decided to send two cars each to the outer roads, and he himself, with one tank, took up a position on the central one.

Kolobanov with crew

Kolobanov correctly chose a position on a site where there was a wetland on both sides of the road, and the tank itself was carefully camouflaged. On August 20, the Germans appeared. They started with reconnaissance - German aircraft flew by, motorcyclists drove by, but they could not find the camouflaged tank. Finally, a German tank column appeared. Having let the enemy in, the KV opened fire. First, the first and last vehicles were destroyed, then Kolobanov began to methodically shoot the rest. Not immediately realizing where they were being fired from, the Germans finally discovered the KV and returned fire. But everything was useless. After 30 minutes, all 22 German tanks were destroyed, and then the same fate befell the anti-tank guns that tried to fire from the tail of the column. Although the tank suffered damage, the turret was wedged, observation devices were broken, the armor survived. After the battle, more than 100 hits were counted on it. In total, Kolobanov's company destroyed 43 enemy tanks that day.

The feat of Grigory Naidin

The successes of the Soviet tankers described above can be partly explained by the advantages of the heavy KV tank and its powerful armor. However, among the tank heroes there are those who fought on light tanks.

The BT-7, commanded by Sergeant Grigory Naidin, was already outdated by the start of the war and had rather weak armor that any German anti-tank gun could penetrate. But despite this, Naidin, who on June 23 the command set the task of detaining the Germans moving towards Vilnius, managed to teach the Germans a lesson.

Naidin set up an ambush on a section of the road, on both sides of which there was a swampy meadow. He managed to disguise the tank well, so the German column that appeared on the road did not suspect anything until the last moment. There were 12 tanks in the column, dragging attached guns behind them. The BT-7 fire was completely unexpected for the Germans. They panicked, firing indiscriminately in all directions, but could not understand where they were being fired from until the entire column was destroyed.

Following it, another column of German tanks appeared, which, noticing the defeated first one, turned back and tried to pass by another road. But Naidin did not give them such an opportunity. He set up a second ambush on another road and managed to knock out three German tanks before the Germans turned around and retreated. Thus, in one day one light tank destroyed 15 tanks and 10 enemy guns. Only three years later, for this fight, Naidin received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Raid T-28 through Minsk

The 1930s were a time of experimentation in tank building. One of the fruits of these experiments was the appearance of multi-turreted tanks. First, such machines appeared in the West. And then the three-turret T-28 and the five-turret T-35 appeared in the USSR. "Land battleships", as they were then called, looked spectacular in parades, but it soon became clear that they were not suitable for a real war. The sheer size made the tanks an excellent target, and the armor could not be made thick due to its large size. The production of multi-turreted tanks was discontinued, but by the beginning of the war, some of the tanks were still in service with the Red Army.

Most of the multi-turreted tanks were lost at the very beginning of the war, but one T-28 is truly connected amazing story. On August 26, Senior Sergeant Dmitry Ivanovich Malko returned to Minsk, to the warehouse he was in charge of. There were 2 armored cars and one T-28 tank, which had just passed overhaul. The evacuation was in full swing in the city, the German units that had broken through the front were already approaching Minsk. The tank had no crew, so it was supposed to blow it up, but Malko felt sorry for the tank, and he got permission to take it with him. Sitting in the driver's seat, he moved with the retreating Soviet units to the east. On the way, the tank had to be repaired, and because of this, and also because of several other incidents, Malko was late. It turned out that there was nowhere to move further - the road to the east had already been cut by the Germans. But Malko still did not abandon the tank. On the way, he met a major and 4 young soldiers, who replenished the crew of the tank. Together they decided to implement a truly crazy idea - to go back and break through to their own through Minsk, already occupied by the Germans. In an abandoned military town, they replenished their supplies of fuel and ammunition, and then moved towards Minsk.

It was already noon on July 3, 1941, and the Germans had been in the city for several days. They didn’t even have the thought that the T-28 that appeared on the road was not some kind of trophy, but a tank with Soviet tankers. Perhaps, moving without noise, it was really possible to pass through Minsk and return to their own in a tank, but the tankers had other plans.

The T-28 crew found their first target near the distillery. Next to him, the Germans were loading crates of liquor into a truck. But the Germans failed to try it - about 20 Nazis died under machine-gun fire. Moving on, the tankers saw a column of motorcyclists moving towards them. Soon all of it was crushed and shot with machine-gun fire.

But the worst was in store for the Nazis in the center of the city. Upon reaching there, the tankers saw that the street was crammed with enemy soldiers and equipment. T-28 opened heavy fire from all towers. The Germans fled in panic, the enemy vehicles were engulfed in flames. Having driven further, the tank shot German equipment and soldiers in the park. The shells were almost over, but the outskirts of the city were already close, and hundreds of Nazi corpses remained behind the tank.

However, the tankers still failed to break through. Already on the very outskirts of Minsk, the tank was met by an anti-tank battery. Several shells ricocheted off the armor, but one did penetrate it, hitting the engine compartment. The tank stopped, the Germans opened fire from machine guns. Of the six crew members, three died, one was captured by the Germans, but two managed to escape, including Dmitry Ivanovich Malko. Moreover, he managed to cross the front line and return to his own. He continued to fight on a tank and met victory in the rank of senior lieutenant, deputy commander of a tank company. In more detail, the whole story about the Minsk raid, told by the hero in the first person, can be read.

Raid T-34 through Kalinin

What Dmitry Malko and the crew of the T-28 failed to do, the crew of the T-34 under the command of Stepan Gorobets succeeded.

The T-34 in 1941 was a new tank that had recently entered service. He had good armor, but was also reliable and fast. It is no coincidence that this particular machine was subsequently recognized as the best tank of the Second World War.

In October 1941, the Germans were rapidly advancing towards Moscow. So swiftly that information about the capture of certain cities by them was late, and units that believed that they were in the deep rear unexpectedly encountered the enemy. By October 17, the Germans had already occupied Kalinin with large forces, but the command, believing that in the city, at best, the avant-garde, sent a tank battalion there under the command of Agibalov, setting the task of driving the Germans out of the city and uniting with the units defending on the Moscow highway.

Two T-34s are moving ahead, one of which is commanded by Gorobets. On the way, they overtake a German column and open fire, but the Germans fire back from anti-tank guns. One of the T-34s was hit, but Gorobets breaks through and destroys the guns, after which he continues to move towards Kalinin alone. The radio on the tank goes out of order and communication with the battalion is lost. Meanwhile, the battalion lagging behind is being attacked by German aircraft. Several tanks are knocked out and Agibalov stops the movement. T-34 Gorobets advances on Kalinin alone, not knowing about it.

Moving towards Kalinin, tankers first destroy a column of motorcyclists, and then suddenly leave for a German airfield. Here they destroy two planes and a fuel tank. The Germans open fire on the tank with anti-aircraft guns, but do not hit. The T-34 leaves the battlefield and continues to move towards Kalinin. At the entrance to the city, tankers shoot German infantrymen and ram several cars. Firing on the move, the tank moves through the streets of the city, but in the vicinity of the plant comes under fire from an anti-tank gun. The Germans achieve a hit, a fire breaks out in the tank, and the cannon jams. But the tankers cope with the threat - while the rest of the crew puts out the fire, the driver crushes the German cannon with caterpillars.

The way forward is not easy. First, the tank drives over a shaky wooden bridge, risking falling into the river, then the tankers have to wade through anti-tank barriers, pulling the rails out of the ground. Moving through the center of the city, the tankers meet the Germans, who, as in Minsk, at first mistake the T-34 for their own or captured. But despite the faulty cannon, the tankers are not trying to get through Kalinin quietly. A column of met trucks T-34 crushes and shoots with machine guns. Seeing a German tank ahead, the T-34 bypasses it and rams it from the side. From the impact, the engine stalls, the Germans surround the tank, but then it still starts. Leaving for Lenin Square, the tank fires at a building on which German flags are hung and continues to move towards the outskirts of the city and the Moscow highway.

The last accomplishment of the tankers was the destruction of the German battery, which they suddenly drove into from the rear. Having crushed the guns and trenches, the tank finally makes its way to the Soviet positions. They did not immediately recognize the T-34s and opened fire on the tank, but then they figured it out. And the commander of the 30th Army, General Khomenko, having learned about the adventures of the tankers, without waiting for a decision on the award, removed the order from his tunic and gave it to Gorobets.

Monument to the legendary crew of Gorobets in Tver