Who is Ivan Vasilievich Panfilov? Panfilov and Panfilovites

Biography of General I.V. Panfilova

Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, an outstanding Soviet military leader, hero of the Soviet Union, year of birth - 1892 according to the old style, and according to the new style - January 1, 1893. A native of the city of Petrovsk, Saratov province. The son of a small office worker. The difficult financial situation of the family and the death of his mother did not give Ivan the opportunity to graduate even primary school. At the age of twelve, he was forced to start working part-time in a shop as an “errand boy.”

In 1915, Panfilov was drafted into the tsarist army, and almost immediately sent to German front. By 1917, he became a company commander; after the February events, the soldiers elected him as a member of the regimental committee. His voluntary choice is to fight on the side of the Red Army during the civil confrontation, I.V. Panfilov made it in 1918. He fought with the White Guards as part of the 25th Chapaev Division. Became a member of the Bolshevik Party in 1920. After the war, he completed a two-year course at the Kyiv Infantry School and was sent to Central Asia, where he fought the Basmachi.

In the Central Asian Military District, Panfilov's career continued to develop rapidly until the start of the Great Patriotic War. By 1938, he became the military commissar of Kyrgyzstan, at next year receives the rank of brigade commander, and a year later - major general. At the beginning of the war, Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov was instructed to create the 316th rifle division. By the end of August, the division under the command of I.V. Panfilova joined the army of the North Western Front.

At the beginning of October 1941, Panfilov's division near Moscow was entrusted with the defense of a wide strip more than forty kilometers long in the Volokolamsk direction. The fierce battles in these positions glorified the division forever, the name of the major general himself became a household name, and his soldiers began to be called Panfilov’s men. Despite the fact that the division's fighters had not previously been tested in battle, their stamina and heroism amazed everyone - both our military leaders and the Germans. I.V. Panfilov actively and skillfully used artillery in defense, and in battles he used mobile barrage detachments. Ivan Vasilyevich raised the morale of the soldiers by constantly being in those parts of the division that experienced the most fierce pressure from the enemy. By personal example, Panfilov was able to demonstrate in his untrained and barely trained soldiers that mass heroism that made a decisive contribution to the victory of the Soviet people over fascism. Then Ivan Vasilyevich received the respectful and affectionate nickname “Dad” from his soldiers. In response, he always said to everyone before the battle: “I don’t need you to die, I need you to stay alive!”

Feat of 28 Panfilov men at the Dubosekovo crossing

Unequal battles led to Panfilov’s division leaving Volokolamsk, for which the general himself was almost court-martialed. Completely trusting Ivan Vasilyevich, army commander Rokossovsky stood up for him. Panfilov's division was attacked on November 16, 1941 by two German tank divisions. At the same time, one division attacked the central part of the defense, and the other in the Dubosekovo area, where the 1075th held the defense rifle regiment. It was near Dubosekovo that the events that were later called the “feat of 28 Panfilov men” unfolded. Military historians have different views on that battle, but are almost unanimous that there were still more Panfilovites and not all of them died. It is considered a fact that within 4 hours a small amount of The fighters were held back by 50 German tanks and even destroyed 18 of them (many researchers consider the number of destroyed tanks unreliable).

Over the course of several November days, Panfilov's division accomplished the almost impossible. Having opposed significantly superior forces enemy, Panfilov’s men stopped the attacks of 2 enemy tank and infantry divisions. For unparalleled heroism, the division becomes Guards and Red Banner. And on November 23rd he receives honorary title Panfilovskaya.

But Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov himself, by that time, had already died. This happened on November 18, 1941 near the village of Gusenevo. During the aimless shelling of the village by the Germans, the smallest fragment of a mine hit the head of the outstanding commander, who at that time, accompanied by Moscow correspondents, was inspecting the surroundings. I.V. Panfilov was buried with honors at the Novodevichy cemetery. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to him posthumously - in April 1942.

Today we want to tell you about the life of the legendary military leader General Panfilov. His biography seems to have been copied from the pages adventure novel or the film "Officers". The division commander, whom the fighters nicknamed Batya for his fatherly attitude towards soldiers, in 1941 formed and trained a division in Alma-Ata that played decisive role in the battle for Moscow.

That day Vanya woke up early. Even though it was November, it was warm outside. A nimble 12-year-old boy loaded his simple belongings onto a cart and, together with his uncle, set off on a long journey to the provincial city of Saratov. He left his father’s house in the city of Petrovsk, on the banks of the Medveditsa River. The boy thought about his future. However, even in his wildest dreams he could hardly have imagined that he would one day be a general, division commander and war hero. His surname will become a household name and go down in history. Ivan’s surname was not particularly remarkable - Panfilov...

Future major general, hero of the defense of Moscow Ivan Vasilievich Panfilov born on January 1, 1893 in the family of a modest office worker Vasily Zakharovich Panfilov. Whenever possible, the family always solemnly celebrated Vanyusha’s birthday. His mother, Alexandra Stepanovna, cooked delicious pies, roasted a goose. When Panfilov was in first grade, his mother fell ill and soon died. The father had a hard time bearing the loss of his wife. The family barely made ends meet, but Vasily Zakharovich managed to get Ivan into a city three-year school at public expense.

Vanya Panfilov studied well, loved the Russian language, arithmetic, history and geography. Only the Law of God was difficult for him. Despite his academic success, the boy was a real tomboy. Together with the neighboring guys, they formed a gang, and Vanya became its leader. The townspeople nicknamed them “panfilats”. Former teacher of Petrovsky City Primary School Nikolay Vlasov This is how he later recalled his student:

“In 1902, on the initiative of the city’s intelligentsia, the Society for Aid to Poor Students was created. It paid for their education. Among these children, I especially remember Vanya Panfilov - a black-haired, dark-skinned boy, like a gypsy. Smart and lively, sometimes even somewhat desperate. If there was a fire in the city, his gang was right there. Panfilov and his friends could be found in the forest, on the river, in haymaking, and at the harvest. During the railway workers’ strike in 1905, the “panfilata” ran to the workers and acted as their messengers.”

In 1905, employees joined the railway strike. Panfilov’s father also refused to go to work until his salary was raised. Instead, the owner drove Vasily Zakharovich from service, after which he became seriously ill. The family was in poverty, and it was decided to send Ivan to Saratov, where his aunt promised to find a job for the teenager.

In Saratov, Ivan lived in Glebuchevo ravine, an area of the urban poor. The boy was given a job in the store of a Saratov merchant Korotkova. All day he performed the duties of a laborer, and in the evenings he did housework in Korotkov’s house. For three years, the greedy merchant did not pay the boy a salary, and he actually worked for food. Having finally received a small amount, Vanya went home and bought gifts for his father and sister Linden trees and younger brother Dima.

Unable to endure humiliation and nagging, Ivan Panfilov left his employer Korotkov for a merchant’s hardware store Sokolova. Sokolov treated his employees no better, but paid wages carefully and on time. However, after being unfairly accused of theft, Ivan began looking for work again. He got a job as a clerk in the store of a merchant of the second guild. Bogolyubova. Bogolyubov paid his workers large salaries and treated them humanely. The merchant appreciated their honesty, and immediately noticed the young clerk.

Ivan worked all day in the store, serving customers. Panfilov loved flowers since childhood, and grew a small flower bed in his tiny closet. At this time his old love to literature. The guy spent all his free time reading a variety of books. Among them there were works about military campaigns, the lives and victories of great commanders.

In 1914 the First World War. Crowded demonstrations took place in Saratov, at which speeches were made about duty and defense of the homeland. In September 1915, a conscription notice arrived in the name of Panfilov. The shop owner tried to dissuade him from military service, saying that he could use his connections and “get a valuable employee out of service.” However, Ivan Vasilyevich did not even want to hear about it, and ran to the recruiting station.

At the beginning of October 1915, Ivan Panfilov went to the city of Insar, where he was enrolled in a training team. Here the young conscript underwent drill training, learned to shoot, dig trenches and overcome obstacles. In the unit, Ivan met his childhood friend - Vasily Melnikov, one of those same “panfilates”. Together they endured all the difficulties of learning. Ivan was eager to go to the front, but his superiors were in no hurry to part with him, making him an assistant in training recruits. Finally, in December 1916, Panfilov went to the front as part of the 638th Oltinsky Regiment, part of the 7th Army Southwestern Front. This regiment took part in the legendary Brusilov breakthrough, when Russian troops managed to crush the Austro-Hungarian defense.

Ivan Panfilov rose to the rank of sergeant major and was appointed commander of a marching company. The soldier witnessed morale rise and then fall. The winter of 1917 turned out to be difficult. The troops lacked supplies. The soldiers were embittered by three years of hard war. In the barracks the news of the overthrow of the tsar was greeted with delight. The army was overwhelmed by revolutionary changes. Panfilov was elected to the regimental soldiers' committee. In February 1918, Ivan Vasilyevich returned to his native Volga region. He worked in the Military Department of the Saratov Workers' Council, which was involved in the formation of units of the Red Army. The country was in the midst of a civil war.

Soon Panfilov himself enlisted in the Saratov regiment. He became part of the 25th Infantry Division, created Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev from scattered detachments of fighters for Soviet power. As part of the Chapaev division, Panfilov passed baptism of fire in the battles for the Semiglavy Mur station. He performed well during the first campaign against Uralsk and was promoted to company commander.

Panfilov found his military specialty. It was reconnaissance. Ivan Vasilyevich, being the commander of a reconnaissance squadron, made daring raids behind enemy lines. One day, Chapaev himself called him and gave him an important task: to scout out the situation in the area of the village of Lyubitsky. Panfilov successfully dealt with it and returned with valuable information that the White Guards were about to launch an unexpected blow. For Chapaev, such information was very valuable, and he singled out the young intelligence officer, entrusting him with the most dangerous missions. “Smart guy, reliable. I like his calmness and restraint in such a dangerous matter. Panfilov is cautious, but brave,” Chapaev spoke of his subordinate. One day, reconnaissance did not return from a raid for a long time. Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev was seriously worried about the fate of the scouts. He was very happy when Panfilov finally appeared at the door of the headquarters.

Colleagues spoke of Panfilov as an intelligent commander. He knew how to take care of his scouts without risking the lives of the soldiers. He took on the most dangerous tasks himself. After the liberation of Uralsk and the entire territory of Western Kazakhstan to the Caspian Sea from the White Guards, Panfilov as part of the division was transferred to the Dnieper, where battles with the Polish army took place. Even before this, he was nominated for the Order of the Red Banner for heroism shown in battle (with his squadron he captured seven machine gunners and four machine guns), but he never received this first award. Here Panfilov again continued his intelligence service. Many people remember Ivan Vasilyevich’s daring operation, when he, disguised as an ordinary peasant, walked right under the nose of Polish army, having reconnoitered her positions. In the battles near Soldau, Panfilov's squadron played a decisive role, striking behind enemy lines. For this feat he was still awarded the order Red Banner.

A Red Army detachment led by Panfilov was sent to the Ukrainian city of Ovidipol to fight various gangs. Here the commander met his love.

They met by chance. Panfilov knocked on the house Maria Ivanovna, in order to lodge two of her soldiers with her. The young girl, blushing, began to beg not to do this, citing the fact that her father had left and she was left in the house alone with the younger children. Ivan Vasilyevich, smiling politely, said that he would not bother them anymore. The girl was surprised when a few days later she met the same stately, mustachioed commander on the porch of her house. He greeted Maria as if he were an old acquaintance.

This is how their friendship and love began. The couple walked around the city on warm summer nights. One evening, a Red Army soldier brought a letter to the girl. At the end there were these lines: “I am single, and I need a lifelong friend like you. Therefore, I ask you to let me know how you feel about me. This is serious. I offer you my hand and heart." Maria was embarrassed and refused to answer the letter. When they met again, they did not mention this episode. However, at the end of the conversation, Ivan Vasilyevich said:

“I’m leaving on official business for two to three weeks. Don’t worry, Marusya, I’ll definitely come back.”

After a short silence, Panfilov took her hands and added that when he returned, they would get married. And so it happened.

Later school commissioner Alexander Vinokurov in his memoirs he wrote about Panfilov, characterizing him as a collected, energetic, restrained and reasonable student with a practical mind. Ivan Vasilievich studied excellently, took an active part in public life. Because of his combat experience, he enjoyed authority among listeners. Studying was easy for him, and he even managed to help his fellow students master military science.

On May 7, 1923, the first child, daughter Valentina, was born into the family of Ivan Vasilyevich and Maria Ivanovna. Panfilov was very happy, showed love for his daughter and always found time to tinker with her. After graduation, the officer was appointed company commander in the 52nd Infantry Regiment, located in Yaroslavl. A year later, the commander voluntarily signed up to participate in the fight against the Basmachi. The family moved again, this time to Central Asia.

Panfilov and his family arrived in Ashgabat. Coming out of the train carriage, they plunged into the thick of the eastern city. Hot weather, noisy crowds of tanned men in skullcaps and striped robes, women hiding from prying eyes in impenetrable stuffy burqas. The family did not have time to settle into the new house when shots were heard on the street. Panfilov pushed his wife and daughter into the house and rushed to the headquarters. At that time, Basmachi raids on the city occurred regularly. Ivan Vasilyevich, leading a detachment, participated in raids against the Basmachi. Often, as part of small groups, he prevailed over gangs many times larger in number. This service was dangerous, battles often took place in narrow mountain gorges, which the Basmachi knew like the back of their hands.

Often the commander left the family for several days. Once, after another raid on the city, he did not appear in the house for six days. Panfilov's wife was afraid that she would never see her husband again, but Ivan Vasilyevich returned from the campaign tired and sad, mourning the losses in his detachment. During his service in Central Asia, Panfilov's family was constantly nomadic. Ashgabat, Tashkent, Khorog, Uch-Kurgan, Kokand, Osh, Fergana, Chardzhou, Frunze... In many ways, the fate of Panfilov and his wife resembles famous film"Officers". Maria Ivanovna, like a real officer's wife, adequately endured all the hardships of such a life, raising children and providing home comfort.

The granddaughter of General Panfilov, director of the Military History Museum of the Army House, talks about this period in the life of Ivan Vasilyevich and his family.

— My mother, Panfilov’s eldest daughter Valentina, remembered well how the family lived in Central Asia. She remembers swimming in the river with other children, burying eggs in the sand. When they came out of the water, the egg was already baked - it was so hot. My mother told me that my grandfather was almost never at home. He left early in the morning and returned in the evening. One day he didn’t come for a long time, and his bullet-ridden tunic was brought into the house. Grandmother was afraid that he had died, but Ivan Vasilyevich was only captured by the Basmachi, and he was soon released.

Alua Baikadamova says that her grandfather was a very calm and balanced person in the family. He treated his wife and children with great warmth and never raised his voice to them.

“One day my mother did something wrong to him. Grandfather quietly reprimanded her, but mother was very ashamed, and she began to cry. Ivan Vasilyevich never punished children.

Panfilov's wife Maria Ivanovna was distinguished by her ability to create comfort even in difficult field conditions. She furnished each new home. However, Maria Panfilova was not an ordinary housewife. While her husband was in the service, she was actively involved in social work.

After serving in Ashgabat, Panfilov is assigned to command a detachment at the high-mountain post of Khorog, located in the Pamir Mountains, on the very border of the country. This area was considered very dangerous. The mountain gorges were swarming with Basmachis. Even the road to Khorog, which lies along winding mountain paths over a deep abyss, was considered impassable in itself. However, the commander’s wife wished to follow him on this journey. Together with two children, the eldest Valentina and the young Evgenia, in incredibly difficult conditions she walked with the detachment to a distant mountain post.

Local residents were very surprised when they saw the first woman of European appearance to reach such a remote area. Soon Maria Ivanovna began educational and educational work among local women, she organized a drama club. Panfilov received gratitude and a certificate of honor for his service in Khorog and the successful mission to protect the border.

In his free time from work, Ivan Vasilyevich loved to go out into nature. His passion was hunting and fishing. He enjoyed walking along mountain paths and meadows. During his service in the Kirghiz SSR, he gave his family new impressions, traveling with them around Lake Issyk-Kul. While vacationing at the Tamga sanatorium, Panfilov went hiking with his children, building a fire and cooking food in a pot.

Alua Baikadamova, according to her mother’s memoirs, says that her grandfather knew how to cook quite well.

— Sometimes he cooked pilaf. In addition, he always made tea himself. He had his own method of making excellent tea. It was a whole ceremony.

While serving in Tashkent, Maria Ivanovna entered the industrial academy. When Panfilov received an appointment to the Kyrgyz SSR, to the post of military commissar, he forbade his wife to leave her studies. Instead, he took five children with him to Frunze, taking care of them himself.

In the city of Frunze, modern Bishkek, Panfilov became the military commissar of the republic. For him, this position was not so high. After studying at courses in Moscow, he was offered to remain with the General Staff. Panfilov refused, saying that he wanted to serve in the East. Perhaps the general was bribed by the hospitality and mentality of the inhabitants of the Central Asian republics. It is also possible that he wanted to stay away from Moscow and the state security agencies. The year was 1938. More recently, a wave of repression of officers swept across the country, which did not escape even members of the top generals.

In Frunze, the general, despite his high position, lived quite modestly. The family settled in a government apartment located in the military registration and enlistment office building. Panfilov and his wife tried their best to create comfort. Soon the deserted and neglected courtyard in front of the military registration and enlistment office became a real garden. Ivan Vasilyevich planted flowers and fruit trees near the house. The whole family took part in removing garbage, dismantling an old barn, and equipping a volleyball court. Colleagues, guests of the general, admired the cleanliness and neatness of his home.

“The family had only two valuable Persian carpets.” Panfilov was not in the habit of accumulating material values. One day, when he came home, the general discovered that Maria Ivanovna was cutting carpets to make rugs for the children. “The grandfather did not scold her,” says Panfilov’s granddaughter.

In May 1941, the general decided to take his family on vacation. Together with his wife and two children, he went to a sanatorium in Sochi. After receiving medical procedures, Ivan Vasilyevich with his wife, daughter Maya and son Vladlen took walks on the sea by boat or steamer. He took his family for a drive around the resort town. Panfilov loved to swim and spent a lot of time in the water. Alua Baikadamova tells how suddenly this idyll was disrupted:

Panfilov was sent to the capital of the Kazakh SSR to form a rifle division from residents of Frunze and Alma-Ata. Having sent his family to Frunze, the general arrived in Alma-Ata. He went straight from the station to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. I discussed in detail the issue of forming the division with the leadership of the republic. The general asked to select more young activists, communists and Komsomol members. He outlined his thoughts on food supplies, the deployment of personnel, and the service of soldiers by theater and musical groups of the republic. Panfilov approached the formation of the division very carefully, taking into account every little detail.

In just a month, the general needed to form a combat-ready unit from inexperienced conscripts. He was personally involved in the selection of officers - from regiment commanders to platoon commanders. Panfilov met each of them, talked, and talked about responsibility for training personnel. Behind short term he demanded that commanders improve the stamina, discipline and skills of soldiers. Panfilov pointed to special approach to a division that will consist of young people of different nationalities.

A period of intense combat training for personnel began. It took place in the valley of the Talgar River in the gorges of the Trans-Ili Alatau. Units of the 316th Infantry Division conducted drills day and night, made long marches, crossed rivers and climbed onto hills. In one camp artillerymen, reconnaissance officers, sappers, orderlies, and signalmen lived and prepared for battle. They learned to shoot rifles and machine guns, load and aim guns, throw grenades, dig trenches and dugouts, build bridges and mine fields.

The general paid special attention to the nutrition, uniforms and equipment of his soldiers. Through the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, he was even able to obtain women's underwear, stockings instead of foot wraps, and skirts instead of trousers for girls from the division. Women's uniforms were sewn at factories in Almaty on special order.

There were cases when the division commander personally supervised the preparation of formations. He often visited shooting ranges, and when he saw mistakes, he himself picked up a rifle and showed how to hit the target. There was another remarkable case. The general arrived at the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th rifle regiment. It is this formation that will fight at the Dubosekovo crossing. Panfilov watched as the men of Lieutenant's platoon Shirmatova practiced bayonet fighting. It seemed to the general that they were not performing the techniques accurately enough. With his characteristic humor, he approached Shirmatov and said: “I’m waiting for the command, comrade platoon commander.” The lieutenant was at first taken aback by this treatment, but soon, understanding his commander’s idea, he began to give him commands. Panfilov energetically performed techniques with a bayonet, showing the fighters how to do it by personal example.

Panfilov paid special attention to preparing soldiers for defense against tank attacks. After his death, many books on the tactics and strategy of modern warfare were found in his personal library, including the works of such famous foreign commanders as the French Marshal Foch. This literature presented many theories about tank warfare. The general himself understood that cavalry was a thing of the past, and the new war would be determined by tanks. The soldiers were trained to handle grenades and Molotov cocktails. The soldiers practiced secretly approaching an armored vehicle and hitting it in vulnerable places. Ivan Vasilyevich also came up with a special way to train personnel in the fight against “tank fear”.

— Panfilov told the soldiers that a tank is essentially the same tractor, but with a cannon. On his orders, collective farm tractors drove over the heads of the fighters. Then they had to come out of the trench and iron the tractors with dummies of grenades, they tell Alua Baikadamova.

It is known that the division trained special detachments of tank destroyers of 20-25 people, who were trained and equipped to fight armored vehicles.

Shortly before the division was sent to the front, the general met with all his children, whom Panfilov’s wife had sent from Frunze, where the family lived, to Alma-Ata. Later, Maria Ivanovna herself came to her husband along with her eldest daughter Valentina. It was theirs last meeting. Valentina decided to enroll in the division and go to the front with her father. Ivan Vasilyevich and Maria Ivanovna tried to dissuade the girl from this step for a long time, but she was adamant. Alua Bakhytzhanovna recalls that her mother told her about this:

“Mom knew how to shoot very well, she even had a badge “Voroshilov shooter.” She wrote to her father that she wanted to go to the front. In response, a telegram arrived addressed to my grandmother. In it, Panfilov asked Maria Ivanovna to dissuade her daughter from this decision, and if it still didn’t work out, he ordered her to be sent to him. Grandmother had not yet had time to read this letter, and mother was already getting ready to go. In the division she became a nurse.

On July 30, the division's fighters took the oath. Among them were young Kazakhs Dzhumabai Kaidarov, Abdarakhman Altynbekov And Ishpay Isymov. They did not speak Russian and learned the words by heart. On August 18, 1941, the 316th Rifle Division arrived on the Northwestern Front, in the vicinity of Novgorod, and was transferred to the 52nd Army. Being part of the second echelon of defense, the soldiers continued their training. At Panfilov's insistence, from time to time they participated in reconnaissance operations, making raids behind enemy lines. So the platoon of Lieutenant Korolev was the first to receive baptism of fire. The scouts killed five Germans and captured a tongue and a light machine gun. Such daring attacks were periodically carried out by different parts of the division. Almost every one of them ended successfully.

Panfilov's division did not have the chance to fight near Leningrad. Soon she was transferred to the Moscow region and became part of the 16th Army of General Rokossovsky. The division covered Volokolamsk and occupied a defense line 50 kilometers long. October 14 Rokossovsky arrived in command post division and met Panfilov. The future marshal highly appreciated Panfilov's experience and knowledge. He noted: “There is a sense of ebullient energy and the ability to demonstrate an iron will.”

Panfilov was faced with the task of organizing a reliable defense with a lack of anti-tank weapons and guns. The 857th was placed at the disposal of the division. artillery regiment lieutenant colonel G. F. Kurganova, which was subdivisionally distributed between rifle units. Even anti-aircraft guns and Katyushas were used to counter the tanks. Ivan Vasilyevich used a special tactic: the battery positions were arranged in such a way that they could be deployed 180 degrees and, in addition, thanks to cars and horses, quickly be transferred to the most dangerous sections of the front.

The general preached the tactic that the best defense is an offensive. He advised the defending units to attack the enemy themselves at the first opportunity. October 15th started heavy fighting. The Germans attacked units of the division not only in the center, but also on the flanks. At a critical moment, the enemy threw about one and a half hundred tanks against the left flank of the 316th. Panfilov saved the units from encirclement by transferring a large amount of anti-tank artillery there. The fighting continued.

On October 19, on the left flank of the defense of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, the enemy occupied several villages. The path to the village of Ostashevo was blocked by the captain's battalion Lysenko. He repulsed all German attacks while surrounded. Almost all the soldiers of the battalion were killed. In two days, Panfilov's division inflicted significant damage on the enemy. During the fighting, the battalion of captain Molchanova, unexpectedly launching an attack on the Germans who were pressing them, destroyed six tanks.

The pressure intensified. The 316th Division was opposed by three German tank and one infantry divisions. On October 25, they threw more than 120 tanks into battle and occupied the Volokolamsk station. Panfilov decided to preserve the division and, having avoided encirclement and major losses, ordered the surrender of the city of Volokolamsk. Alua Bakhytzhanovna tells how he almost paid for this decision in court:

— Stalin and Zhukov were unhappy with the surrender of Volokolamsk. The commander of the 16th Army, Lieutenant General K.K. Rokossovsky, intervened in the situation, explaining the reasons for the retreat and stating: “I trust Panfilov. If he left Volokolamsk, then that means it was necessary!” Panfilov always tried to take care of his soldiers and did not abandon them to a senseless death. He told them: “I don’t need you to die heroically, I need you to stay alive!”

Panfilov supported a good relationship with the commanders of the units occupying defenses in the neighborhood. He became especially friendly with the brave horseman, commander of the cavalry group, Major General Lev Dovator. The dovator jokingly invited Panfilov to his group’s headquarters to take a steam bath; they supported each other during attacks and defenses. Ivan Vasilyevich was sincerely happy for his friend and envied him in a good way when Dovator’s cavalrymen were instructed to take part in the legendary historical parade on November 7, 1941.

The secret of the success of Panfilov's division in repelling attacks from superior forces was largely explained by the general's special tactics. The term “Panfilov’s Loop” has entered military history - the concentration of troops at key points in the battle, strongholds in the most likely places for enemies to pass through. Ivan Vasilyevich preferred not to stretch his formations along the entire line of defense, but to create defense nodes in the most likely places of enemy attack.

In one of last letters To his wife, the general noted the courage and professionalism of his fighters. In the letter, he expressed the hope that the division would soon earn the title of Guards. The general had no idea how soon this would happen... German operation the attack on Moscow continued. The Nazis gathered forces for the final decisive blow, which was to decide the fate of the capital. Later Zhukov in his memoirs he admitted that November 16-18 were the most difficult days in the battle for Moscow. It was at this time that two tank and one infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht went on the offensive in the Volokolamsk direction. Their path to Moscow was blocked by the 316th Infantry Division formed in Kazakhstan.

The division's fighters showed heroism en masse during these battles. On the morning of November 16, the Germans struck the positions of the 1075th Infantry Regiment. The 1st Battalion of the 1071st Infantry Regiment entered the battle under the command of Senior Lieutenant Baurzhan Momyshuly. The position of Momyshuly’s battalion, stationed on the Volokolamsk highway, was attacked by 14 tanks. One of the heights was occupied by the lieutenant's company Kraeva. She repelled three attacks, her soldiers knocked out three tanks. After being surrounded, Kraev took a daring and desperate step, raising his company to attack. Suddenly encircled, Kraev went on the attack. The Germans did not expect this, and the Red Army soldiers managed to knock out three tanks and break out of the ring. Momyshuly's battalion repelled tank attacks with cannon fire and grenades. Then he retreated to a reserve line at railway crossing. The enemy, confident of the extermination of the unit and rushing to attack, was met by machine gun fire. In this battle, Momyshuly’s battalion destroyed 400 Germans, and the commander was able to break the ring and lead him out of the encirclement.

One of the brightest pages in the history of the 316th division was the battle at the Dubosekovo junction. The 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th Infantry Regiment delayed the tank offensive on November 16. According to the memoirs of the commander of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, Colonel I. V. Kaprova, there were 10-12 tanks in the battalion’s sector. The battalion soldiers managed to knock out 5-6 tanks. Of the 120-140 soldiers of the 4th company, only 20-25 survived the battle. This battle went down in history as the feat of 28 Panfilov heroes. General Panfilov took part in these events direct participation. One of the surviving participants in the battle, Shemyakin, recalled:

— On November 15, we dug in at the Dubosekovo crossing. In the evening Panfilov came to see us. He looked at our trenches and said that the first air strike would cover us. He ordered a change of position. The soldiers, digging into the frozen ground with shovels, remembered him strong words. The next morning, when the enemy aircraft completely destroyed our first trenches, we began to thank Father.

Panfilov constantly traveled around the defending units. He did not sleep for days, directing the actions of his division. On the morning of November 17, he received information that for the courage shown during the defense of Moscow, the division received the title of Guards, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and was transformed into the 8th Guards Rifle Division. For the general it was his fulfillment cherished dream. He was in excellent spirits. It was then that he had a chance to see his eldest daughter in last time.

— Mom worked in an advanced first aid post. Having gone to check the sanitary condition of the soldiers, she found herself not far from the division command post and went to see her father. Despite sleepless nights, he was clean-shaven and was in good mood. Panfilov invited her to his place and made tea. He told her about the state of the division and heroic battles, in which his soldiers distinguished themselves. Ivan Vasilyevich hinted to his daughter that she would soon learn wonderful news from the newspapers. They called him, and after saying goodbye to his daughter, he ran away to personally lead one of the military operations,” says Alua Baikadamova.

All night the general was congratulated on the fact that his division had finally become a Guards division. On the morning of November 18, the general put himself in order and left the headquarters, accompanied by the chief of staff and the division commissar. On the way, they met a correspondent from the Pravda newspaper who had arrived at the unit. Mikhail Kalashnikov. He congratulated the general on the transformation of the division, took his photo and asked for an escort to the front line. After the journalist’s departure, Panfilov, together with the chief of artillery Markov and senior battalion commissar Rutes headed to the command post. On the way he met a company of sappers. Stopping, Ivan Vasilyevich scolded their commander: “It’s not time to walk in formation under mortar fire. Spread out the fighters. If a random shell hits, it will cause a lot of trouble.” A cannonade of shots was heard over the village of Gusenevo, where the division headquarters was located. The Germans had broken through to the village and were now firing from mortars. Suddenly an explosion thundered very close to Panfilov. The general wilted. A tiny mine fragment hit him in the chest. The satellites picked up Panfilov. He was taken to the hospital, but it was too late...

The general's eldest daughter was the first to learn about her father's death. She looked after the seriously wounded man and tried to calm him down. He told her that he was crying not because of his wounds, but because of the death of their Bati commander. The girl could not believe her father’s death for a long time until she saw his body in person. Panfilov's widow was stricken with grief. She was supported by numerous letters of condolences from the general’s colleagues and subordinates. Despite her grief, Maria Ivanovna had the strength to write letters to the division’s fighters with the desire to continue fighting the enemy in order to be worthy of their fallen commander.

The body of General Panfilov was taken to Moscow. The farewell ceremony for him took place in Great hall Central House of the Red Army. Panfilov’s eldest daughter stood in the first guard of honor along with the three generals. The Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper published an article signed by Zhukov, Rokossovsky and other generals. It said: “Major General Panfilov died by the death of a hero. Guards Division I lost my glorious commander. The Red Army has lost an experienced and brave military leader. In battles with the German occupiers, his military talent rendered considerable service to the Fatherland.”

At the request of the Military Council of the Western Front and the Council of the 16th Army, on November 23, 1941, five days after the death of the general, his division was named after Panfilov. The 8th Guards in the Red Army became the first named one since the days of the legendary Chapaev division. The Panfilov division continued to participate in the battles for Moscow, distinguishing itself in battles near the village of Kryukovo. In January-April 1942, the 8th Guards Rifle Division, together with other units, fought with the SS division “Totenkopf” and participated in the Demyansk operation. She completed her combat career in the Great Patriotic War on the Courland Front, during the attack on the city of Saldus in Latvia.

Panfilov was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. In the same row with him, under a common monument, rests his friend General Dovator, who outlived Panfilov by a couple of months. The pilot is buried here Victor Talalikhin rammed a German plane in the Moscow sky.

Until the end of her days, Maria Ivanovna Panfilova kept the memory of her husband alive, telling young people about the history of the Panfilov division and its commander. She wrote a book biography of General Panfilov.

Alua Baikadamova told how the fate of Panfilov’s children turned out. Her mother, the general's eldest daughter Valentina, remained in the Red Army units until the age of 44, was commissioned after being wounded and sent to Kazakhstan. She worked in the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the Kazakh SSR. Later she married famous composer, founder of choral singing in Kazakhstan Bakhytzhana Baikadamova. She worked as a draftswoman in a leather goods artel.

Panfilov's middle daughter, Evgenia, became a famous ceramic sculptor. Her works have won prizes at international exhibitions.

Younger daughters Galina And Mayan They also followed a creative path, working as makeup and costume artists in various Moscow theaters.

The only son of a general Vladlen followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a military pilot. He completed his service with the rank of aviation colonel.

Now three granddaughters of Ivan Panfilov live in Almaty. Aigul Baikadamova majoring in economics and teaching at various universities. Baldyrgan became a musician and composer, taught at the conservatory. majoring in mathematics. Now she is the director of the Military History Museum, the foundations of which were laid by her mother.

“I could never imagine that I would continue my mother’s work.” This museum has a unique collection of exhibits related to the history of the Great Patriotic War and Kazakhstani heroes. Many exhibits were donated by the families of Kazakhstani front-line soldiers, as well as by participants search expeditions to the sites of famous battles. The exhibition displays a collection of banners and samples of weapons of those years. There is a headset with which the pilot flew Lugansk, and a banner found at the site of the ruins of the Brest Fortress.

Some time ago there was a question about the possible closure of the museum. intervened in the situation Imangali Tasmagambetov, who took over the post of Minister of Defense. Now the museum is a unique repository of artifacts from the life history of not only General Panfilov and the soldiers of his division, but also many Kazakhstanis who bravely fought on the fronts of the Great War.

Battles and victories

Outstanding Soviet military leader, major general, Hero of the Soviet Union (1942, posthumously).

He became famous during the battles for Moscow in the fall of 1941 in the Volokolamsk region. Showing personal courage and heroism, Panfilov skillfully organized resistance of units of the 316th Infantry Division to the Wehrmacht offensive in the Volokolamsk direction. Panfilov's soldiers stood to the death against superior enemy forces, holding their positions.

It was in these bloody battles for Volokolamsk and east of it that Panfilov’s division forever covered itself with glory. That’s what they called her in the army, and the soldiers of the 316th said about themselves: “We are Panfilov’s men!” Happy is the general who has earned love and faith from the mass of soldiers so simply expressed, but indelible in their hearts.

K.K. Rokossovsky

Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov was born in the city of Petrovsk (now Saratov region) in 1893. Already in 1905 he was forced to start working for hire. The death of his mother and the low income of his father (an office worker) did not allow him to graduate from a 4-grade city school.

He began his military service in the tsarist army, where he was drafted in 1915. He served on the Russian-German front of the First World War with the rank of non-commissioned officer. Then he received the rank of sergeant major and became a company commander. In 1917, after February Revolution, was elected a member of the regimental committee. In 1918 he voluntarily joined the Red Army. Participated in the Civil War as part of the 25th Chapaev Rifle Division. In 1920 he joined the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). For heroism on the Polish front in 1921 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In his autobiography (1938), I.V. Panfilov indicated: “He carried out agitation work at the front among soldiers for the end fratricidal war, for the overthrow of the Kerensky government. He waged direct armed struggle against the white armies and banditry.”

In 1923 he graduated from the Kyiv Higher United School of Red Army Commanders. Then he was sent to the Turkestan Front, where he took an active part in the fight against the Basmachi. In 1927 - head of the regimental school of the 4th Turkestan Rifle Regiment, from April 1928 he commanded a rifle battalion. In 1929, he was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner for military distinction. From December 1932 he commanded the 9th Red Banner Mountain Rifle Regiment. In 1937 he served as head of the headquarters department of the Central Asian Military District, and in 1938 he was appointed to the post of military commissar of the Kirghiz SSR. In the same year there was awarded a medal"XX years of the Red Army". In January 1939 he received the rank of brigade commander (since 1940 - major general).

In June 1941, Panfilov was entrusted with the formation of the 316th Infantry Division in Alma-Ata. Residents of the Alma-Ata, Dzhambul and South Kazakhstan regions, as well as residents of Kyrgyzstan (40% Kazakhs, 30% Russians, 30% representatives of another 26 peoples of the USSR) were recruited into it. These were people from civil life For example, since May 1941, the famous political instructor Klochkov worked as deputy manager of the Alma-Ata canteens and restaurants trust. At the end of August 1941, the division under the command of General Panfilov became part of the 52nd Army Northwestern Front. During the transfer, near Borovichi, the division suffered its first losses, coming under an air raid on the march. Intensive training of personnel took place at the training ground between Leningrad and Novgorod. In September 1941, the division equipped a defense zone in the second echelon of the army.

From Panfilov’s letter to his wife:

We have the honorable task of preventing the enemy from reaching the heart of our Motherland - Moscow. The enemy will be defeated, and Hitler and his gang will be destroyed. There will be no mercy for the bastard for the tears of mothers, wives, and children. "Death to Hitler!" - on every fighter’s lips. Moore, stop. I hasten to post the letter. Valya (eldest daughter, nurse - Ed.) rides ahead, with the train. She is in a cheerful, fighting mood. How do you live there, how is Maechka? Take care of her. I kiss you deeply. Folder who loves you... I kiss you. Yours Vanya.

In connection with the Wehrmacht's autumn offensive on Moscow, on October 5, 1941, Panfilov's division was transferred to the 5th Army, and then to the 16th Army, concentrated on the approaches to Moscow. At the beginning of October, the 316th Rifle Division held a 41-kilometer-long defense line (from settlement Lvovo to the Bolychevo state farm) in the Volokolamsk direction.

“On the left flank, covering Volokolamsk from the west and southwest to the Ruza River, stood the 316th Infantry Division, which arrived from the front reserve. It was commanded by General I.V. Panfilov, and the commissar was S.A. Egorov. We have not seen such a full-blooded rifle division - both in numbers and in support - for a long time, recalled the commander of the 16th Army K.K. Rokossovsky. - Already on October 14, I met with General Panfilov at his command post, and we discussed the main issues related to the actions of his formation. The conversation with Ivan Vasilyevich left a deep impression. I saw that I was dealing with a reasonable commander, possessing serious knowledge and rich practical experience. His proposals were well founded."

This is how K.K. Rokossovsky described Panfilov himself: “A simple open face, even some shyness at the beginning. At the same time, one could feel ebullient energy and the ability to demonstrate iron will and perseverance in right moment. The general spoke respectfully about his subordinates; it was clear that he knew each of them well.

It happens that you don’t immediately understand a person - what he is capable of, what his capabilities are. General Panfilov was clear and sympathetic to me, I somehow immediately believed in him - and I was not mistaken.”

Already from October 15, Panfilov's division took part in fierce battles with the enemy. Measures were needed that would help strengthen parts of the division that had no combat experience, and convince the personnel of the strength of their weapons in the fight against the enemy.

“He spent most of his time in regiments and even in battalions, and in those that at that moment were experiencing the most fierce pressure from the enemy. This is not ostentatious reckless courage, recalled S.I. Usanov, commissar of the artillery division of the 316th division. “On the one hand, the division commander’s personal command experience greatly helped correct the situation in difficult areas, on the other, his appearance at a critical moment in the battle greatly raised the spirit of soldiers and officers.” The division had quite powerful artillery (207 guns), and Major General Panfilov, making extensive use of a system of deeply echeloned artillery anti-tank defense, he used mobile barrage detachments in battle, which, despite the division’s lack of combat experience, allowed it to successfully hold back the onslaught tank units enemy. According to the recollections of his colleagues, Panfilov brilliantly knew how to motivate his soldiers, thereby increasing their stamina in battle. According to the recollections of the general’s daughter, V.I. Panfilova, who served in the medical battalion, all the soldiers loved the division commander and called him “father.”

“Giving an order must be approached wisely and creatively. The order, after being given, becomes the personal fate of the subordinate, the executor. This is very, very serious,” another colleague, Baurzhan Momysh-uly, recalled the words of Ivan Vasilyevich. “I have been a commander, one might say, all my life, but I have always believed and still believe: not the troops for the commander, but the commander for the troops.” One of the main tasks of the art of commanders is to hold the key to the hearts of the masses. The closer the commander is to the masses, the better and easier his work.”

On the initiative of the battalion commander of the 1073rd regiment, Senior Lieutenant Momysh-Ula, units of the division were created for bold and decisive attacks even as the enemy approached the division’s defense. The division commander approved this initiative and recommended that soldiers and officers be selected for the detachment not from one battalion, but from the entire regiment. The strongest and bravest soldiers and officers from each company were sent to the detachment. The combat operations of such detachments provided an opportunity to test the power of weapons, to recognize and see the enemy, and to be convinced that with skillful and courageous actions they could be defeated.

The 316th Division has many well-trained soldiers and puts up an amazingly tenacious defense. Her weakness- wide front location.

Report to the commander of the German Army Group Center von Bock

“On the morning of November 16, enemy troops began to rapidly develop an offensive from the Volokolamsk region to Klin,” recalled Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. “Fierce battles unfolded. The rifle divisions of the 16th Army fought especially stubbornly: the 316th of General I.V. Panfilova. 78th General A.P. Beloborodov and the 18th General P.N. Chernyshev, a separate cadet regiment S.I. Mladentseva, 1st Guards, 23, 27, 28th separate tank brigades and cavalry group of Major General L.M. Dovatora... The battles that took place on November 16-18 were very difficult for us. The enemy, regardless of losses, pressed ahead, trying to break through to Moscow with his tank wedges at any cost. But deeply echeloned artillery and anti-tank defense and well-organized interaction of all types of troops did not allow the enemy to break through battle formations 16th Army. Slowly, but in perfect order, this army was withdrawn to lines prepared in advance and already occupied by artillery, where again its units fought stubbornly, repelling the attacks of the Nazis.”

Soldiers of the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th rifle regiment of the 316th division, led by political instructor V.G. Klochkov, who occupied the defense in the area of the Dubosekovo junction, stopped the advance of 50 enemy tanks for 4 hours on November 16, destroying 18 of them. It was this event that went down in history as the feat of 28 Panfilov heroes. The next day, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its exemplary performance of combat missions of the command and mass heroism.

Memorial complex “28 Panfilov Heroes” at the Dubosekovo crossing

“Under the most difficult conditions of the combat situation, Comrade Panfilov always retained leadership and control of the units. In continuous month-long battles on the outskirts of Moscow, units of the division not only held their positions, but also, with swift counterattacks, defeated the 2nd Tank, 29th Motorized, 11th and 110th Infantry Divisions, destroying 9,000 enemy soldiers and officers, more than 80 tanks, a lot of guns, mortars and other weapons” (G.K. Zhukov).

K.K. Rokossovsky gave a high characterization to I.V. Panfilov as a military leader: “The division commander controlled the troops confidently, firmly, wisely. If things get really difficult here, I thought, then we need to help Panfilov only by reinforcing him with fresh forces, and he can use them without prompting from above.”

Today, by order of the front, hundreds of soldiers and division commanders were awarded the Order of the Union. Two days ago I was awarded the third Order of the Red Banner... I think that soon my division should be a guards division, there are already three heroes. Our motto is to be everyone's hero.

On November 18, the 316th Division was reorganized into the 8th Guards Rifle Division. The general did not live to see this glorious moment for just a few hours - on the same day, having received mortal wound, I.V. Panfilov died near the village of Gusenevo (now Volokolamsk district, Moscow region).

Monument to I.V. Panfilov at the scene of death in Gusenovo, Volokolamsk district, Moscow region

From the memoirs of a major general tank troops M.E. Katukova:

“We warmly congratulated our comrades, with whom we became close during these hot days. There was no time for ceremonial rallies: the division - now the 8th Guards - did not crawl out of the trenches, holding back the advancing enemy with the utmost effort. On the morning of November 18, two dozen tanks and chains of motorized infantry again began to surround the village of Gusenevo. Here at that time there was Panfilov’s command post - a hastily dugout next to the peasant hut. The Germans fired mortars at the village, but the fire was indirect and they did not pay attention to it.

Panfilov received a group of Moscow correspondents. When he was informed about the enemy tank attack, he hurried from the dugout to the street. He was followed by other division headquarters workers. Before Panfilov had time to climb the last step of the dugout, a mine crashed nearby. General Panfilov began to slowly sink to the ground. They picked him up. So, without regaining consciousness, he died in the arms of his comrades. They examined the wound: it turned out that a tiny fragment had pierced his temple.

According to the memoirs of M.E. Katukov, Panfilov’s death shocked the tank crews so much that in the next battle, “like madmen they rushed towards Hitler’s vehicles,” leaving the enemy in confusion for some time. Wehrmacht Colonel General Erich Gepner, who encountered the 8th Guards Division in the battles near Volokolamsk, in reports to the commander of the Center group, Fedor von Bock, wrote about it as a “wild division”, whose soldiers do not surrender and are not afraid of death The news of the death of Ivan Vasilyevich shocked both the division and the brigade, especially those who knew him well. For me it was a terrible loss. I managed to fall in love with the brave general and work with him. The only thing you can’t get used to in war is the death of loved ones.”

I.V. Panfilov was buried with military honors in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery, and a monument was erected over his grave.

On April 12, 1942, Major General I.V. Panfilov was posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin and he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union - for skillful leadership of division units in battles on the outskirts of the city of Moscow and the personal courage and heroism shown. At the site of his death, in the village of Gusenevo, a monument to the general was also erected. His name was immortalized in different parts of the Soviet Union, Panfilov streets appeared in Moscow, Alma-Ata, Bishkek, Perm, Lipetsk, Volokolamsk, Saratov, Yoshkar-Ola, Minsk, Omsk, Voronezh, Petrovsk and other cities. In Kazakhstan, the city of Zharkent in 1942-1991. In honor of the hero-commander he was named Panfilov, the Panfilov district of the Chui region was formed in Kyrgyzstan. Monument to I.V. Panfilov was installed in Bishkek, becoming the very first monument in the USSR erected in honor of the hero of the Great Patriotic War.

Panfilov

Ivan Vasilievich

Battles and victories

Outstanding Soviet military leader, major general, Hero of the Soviet Union (1942, posthumously).

It was in these bloody battles for Volokolamsk and east of it that Panfilov’s division forever covered itself with glory. That’s what they called her in the army, and the soldiers of the 316th said about themselves: “We are Panfilov’s men!” Happy is the general who has earned love and faith from the mass of soldiers so simply expressed, but indelible in their hearts.
K.K. Rokossovsky

He began his military service in the tsarist army, where he was drafted in 1915. He served on the Russian-German front of the First World War with the rank of non-commissioned officer. Then he received the rank of sergeant major and became a company commander. In 1917, after the February Revolution, he was elected a member of the regimental committee. In 1918 he voluntarily joined the Red Army. Participated in the Civil War as part of the 25th Chapaev Rifle Division. In 1920 he joined the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). For heroism on the Polish front in 1921 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In his autobiography (1938), I.V. Panfilov indicated: “He carried out agitation work at the front among soldiers for an end to the fratricidal war, for the overthrow of the Kerensky government. He waged direct armed struggle against the white armies and banditry.”

In 1923 he graduated from the Kyiv Higher United School of Red Army Commanders. Then he was sent to the Turkestan Front, where he took an active part in the fight against the Basmachi. In 1927 - head of the regimental school of the 4th Turkestan Rifle Regiment, from April 1928 he commanded a rifle battalion. In 1929, he was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner for military distinction. From December 1932 he commanded the 9th Red Banner Mountain Rifle Regiment. In 1937 he served as head of the headquarters department of the Central Asian Military District, and in 1938 he was appointed to the post of military commissar of the Kirghiz SSR. In the same year he was awarded the medal “XX Years of the Red Army”. In January 1939 he received the rank of brigade commander (since 1940 - major general).

In June 1941, Panfilov was entrusted with the formation of the 316th Infantry Division in Alma-Ata. Residents of the Alma-Ata, Dzhambul and South Kazakhstan regions, as well as residents of Kyrgyzstan (40% Kazakhs, 30% Russians, 30% representatives of another 26 peoples of the USSR) were recruited into it. These were people from civilian life, for example, the famous political instructor Klochkov, since May 1941, worked as deputy manager of the Alma-Ata canteens and restaurants trust. At the end of August 1941, the division under the command of General Panfilov became part of the 52nd Army of the North-Western Front. During the transfer, near Borovichi, the division suffered its first losses, coming under an air raid on the march. Intensive training of personnel took place at the training ground between Leningrad and Novgorod. In September 1941, the division equipped a defense zone in the second echelon of the army.

From Panfilov’s letter to his wife:
We have the honorable task of preventing the enemy from reaching the heart of our Motherland - Moscow. The enemy will be defeated, and Hitler and his gang will be destroyed. There will be no mercy for the bastard for the tears of mothers, wives, and children. "Death to Hitler!" - on every fighter’s lips. Moore, stop. I hasten to post the letter. Valya (eldest daughter, nurse - Ed.) rides ahead, with the train. She is in a cheerful, fighting mood. How do you live there, how is Maechka? Take care of her. I kiss you deeply. Folder who loves you... I kiss you. Yours Vanya.

In connection with the Wehrmacht's autumn offensive on Moscow, on October 5, 1941, Panfilov's division was transferred to the 5th Army, and then to the 16th Army, concentrated on the approaches to Moscow. At the beginning of October, the 316th Rifle Division held a 41-kilometer-long defense line (from the village of Lvovo to the Bolychevo state farm) in the Volokolamsk direction.

This is how K.K. Rokossovsky described Panfilov himself: “A simple open face, even some shyness at the beginning. At the same time, one could feel ebullient energy and the ability to show iron will and perseverance at the right moment. The general spoke respectfully about his subordinates; it was clear that he knew each of them well.

The division had quite powerful artillery (207 guns), and Major General Panfilov, making extensive use of the system of deeply layered artillery anti-tank defense, used mobile barrage units in battle, which, despite the division’s lack of combat experience, allowed it to successfully hold back the onslaught of enemy tank units . According to the recollections of his colleagues, Panfilov brilliantly knew how to motivate his soldiers, thereby increasing their stamina in battle. According to the recollections of the general’s daughter, V.I. Panfilova, who served in the medical battalion, all the soldiers loved the division commander and called him “father.”

The 316th Division has many well-trained soldiers and puts up an amazingly tenacious defense. Its weak point is its wide front location.
Report to the commander of the German Army Group Center von Bock

“On the morning of November 16, enemy troops began to rapidly develop an offensive from the Volokolamsk region to Klin,” recalled Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. “Fierce battles unfolded. The rifle divisions of the 16th Army fought especially stubbornly: the 316th of General I.V. Panfilova. 78th General A.P. Beloborodov and the 18th General P.N. Chernyshev, a separate cadet regiment S.I. Mladentseva, 1st Guards, 23, 27, 28th separate tank brigades and cavalry group of Major General L.M. Dovatora... The battles that took place on November 16-18 were very difficult for us. The enemy, regardless of losses, pressed ahead, trying to break through to Moscow with his tank wedges at any cost. But deeply echeloned artillery and anti-tank defense and well-organized interaction of all types of troops did not allow the enemy to break through the battle formations of the 16th Army. Slowly, but in perfect order, this army was withdrawn to lines prepared in advance and already occupied by artillery, where again its units fought stubbornly, repelling the attacks of the Nazis.”

The next day, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its exemplary performance of combat missions of the command and mass heroism.

On November 13, Panfilov wrote to his wife:
Today, by order of the front, hundreds of soldiers and division commanders were awarded the Order of the Union. Two days ago I was awarded the third Order of the Red Banner... I think that soon my division should be a guards division, there are already three heroes. Our motto is to be everyone's hero.

On November 18, the 316th Division was reorganized into the 8th Guards Rifle Division. The general did not live to see this glorious moment for only a few hours - on the same day, having received a mortal wound, I.V. Panfilov died near the village of Gusenevo (now Volokolamsk district, Moscow region).

From the memoirs of Major General of Tank Forces M.E. Katukov:

The news of Ivan Vasilyevich's death shocked both the division and the brigade, especially those who knew him well. For me it was a terrible loss. I managed to fall in love with the brave general and work with him. The only thing you can’t get used to in war is the death of loved ones.”

I.V. Panfilov was buried with military honors in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery, and a monument was erected over his grave.

Monument to I.V. Panfilov

Bishkek

On November 23, the division received the name of its deceased commander, becoming the second named division to participate in the battles of the Great Patriotic War. The battle flag of the Panfilov Guards Division flew among others at the Victory Parade in Moscow in 1945.

GLUKHAREV N.N., Ph.D.

Literature

Kuznetsov P. Hero of the Soviet Union I.V. Panfilov. 1948

Malinin G.A. General Panfilov. Saratov, 1981

Momysh-uly B. General Panfilov. Alma-Ata, 1965

Momysh-uly B. General Panfilov. “Kazakhstanskaya Pravda”, No. 302, 12/31/1967

Panfilova V.I. My father: memories. Alma-Ata, 1971

Panfilov's: Sat. memories of veterans of the 8th Guard. them. I.V. Panfilov rifle division. / Comp. A. Usenov et al. Alma-Ata, 1985

Usenov A., Trefilov A. We are from Panfilovskaya, Almaty, 1991

Medinsky V."War. Myths of the USSR. 1939-1945". Second edition. M., 2012

Internet

Movies

Current story

Recently, the topic of 28 Panfilov men has become very popular. The reason for this was the attempt of a group of enthusiasts, tired of the slop about the war, filmed by eminent creators with public money, to create a film about the legendary feat at the Dubosekovo crossing.

The idea is good - and deserves good implementation. But before enthusiasts had time to start collecting money for filming, “historical objectivists” raised a muddy wave: “there was no such feat, the reporter made it all up!!!” Although there is a huge distance between the reporter’s invention and the absence of a feat, and one does not follow from the other.

So let's try to look at least superficially at who Panfilov's men were and what happened near Dubosekovo.

...The division, number 316, was formed in Alma-Ata after the start of the war. It was formed within a month from Russians and Kazakhs, the majority of whom had not even served in military service. That is, in essence, from recruits who had neither combat experience nor military training.

Upon completion of formation, the division was transferred by rail to Novgorod, to the most intense at that moment, the North-Western direction. But a month later, in connection with the beginning of the German offensive on Moscow (Operation Typhoon), the 316th Division was transferred to the central direction. On October 5, the transfer began, and on October 12, the division was unloaded near Volokolamsk, where it began preparing its defensive line within the Mozhaisk defense line. total length This line, from the Bolychevo state farm to the village of Lvovo, was 41 km.

Here we need to make a small digression. According to tactical instructions and the military views adopted in the Red Army in 1940, the rifle division was supposed to receive a 6-8 km strip when defending in the direction of the enemy’s main attack, and 10-12 km in the secondary direction. The 316th Division, unfired, made up of recruits and not having a full roster, received a strip of 41 km. And this is in the direction of the main attack. That is, the length of the division’s front was 5(!) times greater than the standard, and for each kilometer of the front there were 5 times fewer soldiers and firepower than was considered necessary to create a sufficiently strong defense.

The lack of guns in the “Panfilov” division itself (54 guns), on the one hand, was more than covered by the reinforced artillery units (another 141 guns). But, on the other hand, this gain was greatly devalued by the lack of ammunition. That is, in general, the defense, although very well organized, was very “liquid”, having several times less than the required density of troops and firepower.

German troops, building on their initial success, reached Mozhaisk line defense by October 15. In the Volokolamsk area, formations of the 5th Army and 46th Motorized Corps were advancing. Opposed to the 316th division were the German 2nd and 11th tank and 35th infantry divisions. All units were well armed and had extensive combat experience. The Germans hoped to easily, on the move, knock Panfilov’s men off their occupied line.

On October 16, the 2nd Tank Division unsuccessfully attacked the left flank of the “Panfilov” division - the positions of the 1075th regiment. The German attacks were repulsed. On October 17, the blow was delivered by large forces. During several attacks, the Germans managed to advance literally a kilometer, and Panfilov’s defense held firm. On October 18, the Germans further strengthened the attacking group and forced the 1075th Regiment to withdraw. But the Germans were stopped by the heroic resistance of artillery units and only managed to reach Ruza.

Total: in three days of fierce fighting, having enormous numerical and fire superiority and relying on complete air supremacy, the Germans managed to advance only a few kilometers. Panfilov's division held out.

Having failed on the left flank of the division, the Germans struck on the right, against the 1077th regiment, repeating the attack on the left flank. The Germans again managed to advance a little on both flanks. But again they were unable to overthrow the 316th Division. Despite heavy losses, an acute shortage of ammunition, and the enemy's multiple superiority, Panfilov's men continued to hold the front. They left Volokolamsk only at the end of October, when the Germans broke through in other sectors and there was a threat of encirclement of the division.

What happened before Dubosekovo? The Germans, conducting a rapid (according to plans) attack on Moscow, managed to advance less than two dozen kilometers in the Volokolamsk direction in half a month of fighting. And they stood up, pulling up reinforcements and rear forces. On November 2, the front line stabilized.

Was this a feat?

Yes, it was actually a miracle.

When a division of recruits, stretched out in a thin line and lacking ammunition, stopped a far superior, experienced enemy for a long time. And those recruits who retreated under terrible pressure one day tightly held onto their positions the next.

...On November 16, the next stage of the German offensive began. At the same time, the German attack turned out to be counter.

From Stalin’s conversation with Zhukov on November 10: “Shaposhnikov and I believe that it is necessary to thwart the enemy’s impending strike with our preemptive counterstrikes. One counterattack must be launched bypassing Volokolamsk from the north... In the Volokolamsk area, use the right-flank formations of Rokosovsky’s army, a tank division and cavalry, which is located in the Klin area.”

On November 15, a tank-cavalry group struck north of the positions of the 316th division. The strike of inexperienced and small units, although it had initial success, did not develop. On November 16, the 316th Division was supposed to strike in support of its advancing neighbors. And she was preparing for the attack. But she herself found herself on the cutting edge German strike.

At the time of the German attack, the neighbors of Panfilov’s division were already in a desperate situation, and the division itself, which was about to attack, was attacked by at least three times the enemy forces. 4th tank group The Wehrmacht was rushing to Moscow.

In theory, with such introductions, the 316th Division should have been swept away outright. Three Germans attacked our division. The positions of the 1075th regiment stretched from the exit from Volokolamsk to the Dubosekovo junction. That is, for one incompletely equipped regiment there was a larger front than was required for the defense of a full-blooded division. On the Novo-Nikolskoye (now Bolshoye Nikolskoye) - Dubosekovo section, that is, on a front of 4 km, the 2nd battalion of the 1075th regiment held the defense. Actually, at Dubosekovo-Petelino the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th regiment held the defense, the same one in which the legendary Klochkov was political instructor. That is, the company, which consisted of less than one and a half hundred soldiers, accounted for more than a kilometer of front in an open field.

The positions of the 1075th regiment were attacked by 11 TDs. In this case, the main blow fell on the 2nd battalion. With the indicated density of defense, with such a difference in forces, it is impossible to hold the front in the event of a counter attack. But Panfilov’s division held out. The 2nd Battalion also held out for long, impossibly long hours. The first German attack was repulsed. With the second blow, the German tank division crushed the battalion. But the units retreated fighting, with terrible losses, but delaying the enemy. There were 20-25 people left in the 4th company. That is about one out of every six. From November 16 to November 20, in 5 days of fighting, the Germans managed to advance only to Chismena, that is, 12 km.

It was during these battles that the division was awarded and became an example to follow. On November 17 she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and on November 18 she was awarded the rank of Guards.

Were these battles heroic? Was it a feat of Panfilov's men?

Well, what else? What other name can you come up with?

Well, now about “yeah, but there were not 28 of them, the journalist gave other details.” Well, in reality, the feat never strictly coincides with newspaper descriptions in hot pursuit. Newspaper descriptions are not a report from a commission from headquarters.

There was a feat of Panfilov's men.

There was a feat of individual companies.

And that a journalist from the front line (from the front line, and not from a computer screen in a cozy office! in the middle of a fierce battle, and not between cups of coffee!) inaccurately listed the names - what, if not a secret, does it matter in assessing the feat?

One way or another, the number “28” is forever imprinted in our history.

AND historical science is powerless here, not to mention arithmetic and statistics.

The fact that there were not exactly 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, the fact that the Phocians remained with them, the fact that the Greeks exaggerated the strength of the Persians - does it somehow cancel the feat of the people who died for the freedom of their country and delayed their many times superior enemy with their death?

The feat of Panfilov's men is greater than the feat of ancient heroes. It is larger, because it was committed by recruits against an experienced enemy, and not by recognized best warriors of its time. And these recruits fought day after day, for months, becoming veterans in a short time, and then the guard.

And it is no longer possible for us to know all the details of this feat, the feat of each company. And when there is no way to find out all the facts, a legend remains.

But this legend is true, because it speaks of real feat real people.

Because German tanks no one made it up. And they were never seen in the capital of our country - also because they were met by unimaginative Panfilovites.

I personally want a film to be made about Panfilov’s men. And so that this would be a film about heroes whose glory is immortal. And it doesn’t matter exactly how many heroes the film will talk about. It is important not to forget - the ENTIRE division was heroic. And such a division was not the only one in the Red Army.

And it was these heroes who died for the freedom of our country and our people who saved it.

YULIN Boris, in military historian, author of the book “Battle of Borodino”,
leading Historical Forum on Goblin's Dead End ,
livejournal author sha_julin

Stalin (Dzhugashvili) Joseph Vissarionovich

Comrade Stalin, in addition to the atomic and missile projects, together with Army General Alexei Innokentievich Antonov, participated in the development and implementation of almost all significant transactions Soviet troops in the Second World War, brilliantly organized the work of the rear, even in the first difficult years war.

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

October 3, 2013 marks the 80th anniversary of the death in the French city of Cannes of the Russian military leader, commander of the Caucasian Front, hero of Mukden, Sarykamysh, Van, Erzerum (thanks to the complete defeat of the 90,000-strong Turkish army, Constantinople and the Bosporus with the Dardanelles were withdrawn from Russia), savior Armenian people from the complete Turkish genocide, Knight of the Three Orders of George and highest order France Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

A prominent military figure, scientist, traveler and discoverer. Admiral of the Russian Fleet, whose talent was highly appreciated by Emperor Nicholas II. The Supreme Ruler of Russia during the Civil War, a true Patriot of his Fatherland, a tragic man, interesting fate. One of those military men who tried to save Russia during the years of turmoil, in the most difficult conditions, being in very difficult international diplomatic conditions.

Romodanovsky Grigory Grigorievich

There are no outstanding military figures on the project from the period from the Time of Troubles to northern war, although there were such. An example of this is G.G. Romodanovsky.
He came from a family of Starodub princes.
Participant in the sovereign's campaign against Smolensk in 1654. In September 1655, together with Ukrainian Cossacks defeated the Poles near Gorodok (near Lvov), and in November of the same year he fought in the battle of Ozernaya. In 1656 he received the rank of okolnichy and headed the Belgorod rank. In 1658 and 1659 participated in hostilities against Hetman Vyhovsky, who betrayed him, and Crimean Tatars, besieged Varva and fought near Konotop (Romodanovsky’s troops withstood a heavy battle at the crossing of the Kukolka River). In 1664, he played a decisive role in repelling the invasion of 70 thousand army Polish king on Left Bank Ukraine, inflicted a number of sensitive blows on it. In 1665 he was made a boyar. In 1670 he acted against the Razins - he defeated the detachment of the chieftain's brother, Frol. The crowning achievement of Romodanovsky’s military activity was the war with Ottoman Empire. In 1677 and 1678 troops under his leadership inflicted heavy defeats on the Ottomans. An interesting point: both main figures in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 were defeated by G.G. Romodanovsky: Sobieski with his king in 1664 and Kara Mustafa in 1678
The prince died on May 15, 1682 during the Streltsy uprising in Moscow.

Margelov Vasily Filippovich

Creator of modern airborne forces. When the BMD with its crew parachuted for the first time, its commander was his son. In my opinion, this fact speaks about such a wonderful person as V.F. Margelov, that's it. About his devotion to the Airborne Forces!

Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich

Successes in the Crimean War of 1853-56, victory in Battle of Sinop in 1853, defense of Sevastopol 1854-55.

Karyagin Pavel Mikhailovich

Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble real military history. It looks like a prequel to "300 Spartans" (20,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet attacks, "This is madness! - No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). A golden, platinum page of Russian history, combining the carnage of madness with the highest tactical skill, amazing cunning and stunning Russian arrogance

Udatny Mstislav Mstislavovich

A real knight, was recognized as a great commander in Europe

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

One of the most successful generals in Russia during the First World War. The Erzurum and Sarakamysh operations carried out by him on Caucasian Front, carried out in extremely unfavorable conditions for Russian troops, and ending in victories, I believe, deserve to be included among the brightest victories of Russian weapons. In addition, Nikolai Nikolaevich stood out for his modesty and decency, lived and died as an honest Russian officer, and remained faithful to the oath to the end.

Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich

In World War I, commander of the 8th Army in the Battle of Galicia. On August 15-16, 1914, during the Rohatyn battles, he defeated the 2nd Austro-Hungarian Army, capturing 20 thousand people. and 70 guns. On August 20, Galich was captured. The 8th Army takes an active part in the battles at Rava-Russkaya and in the Battle of Gorodok. In September he commanded a group of troops from the 8th and 3rd armies. From September 28 to October 11, his army withstood a counterattack by the 2nd and 3rd Austro-Hungarian armies in battles on the San River and near the city of Stryi. During the successfully completed battles, 15 thousand enemy soldiers were captured, and at the end of October his army entered the foothills of the Carpathians.

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich

Karyagin Pavel Mikhailovich

Colonel, chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment. He showed himself most clearly in the Persian Company of 1805; when, with a detachment of 500 people, surrounded by a 20,000-strong Persian army, he resisted it for three weeks, not only repelling the attacks of the Persians with honor, but taking fortresses himself, and finally, with a detachment of 100 people, he made his way to Tsitsianov, who was coming to his aid.

Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich

A commander who had no defeats...

Skopin-Shuisky Mikhail Vasilievich

A talented commander who distinguished himself during the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1608, Skopin-Shuisky was sent by Tsar Vasily Shuisky to negotiate with the Swedes in Novgorod the Great. He managed to negotiate Swedish assistance to Russia in the fight against False Dmitry II. The Swedes recognized Skopin-Shuisky as their undisputed leader. In 1609, he and the Russian-Swedish army came to the rescue of the capital, which was under siege by False Dmitry II. He defeated detachments of adherents of the impostor in the battles of Torzhok, Tver and Dmitrov, and liberated the Volga region from them. He lifted the blockade from Moscow and entered it in March 1610.

Dragomirov Mikhail Ivanovich

Brilliant crossing of the Danube in 1877
- Creation of a tactics textbook
- Creation of an original concept of military education
- Leadership of the NASH in 1878-1889
- Enormous influence in military matters for a full 25 years

Antonov Alexey Innokentievich

He became famous as a talented staff officer. He participated in the development of almost all significant operations of the Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War since December 1942.
The only one of all Soviet military leaders awarded the Order of Victory with the rank of army general, and the only Soviet holder of the order who was not awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Personally took part in the planning and implementation of ALL offensive and defensive operations of the Red Army in the period 1941 - 1945.

Loris-Melikov Mikhail Tarielovich

Known mainly as one of the minor characters in the story “Hadji Murad” by L.N. Tolstoy, Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov went through all the Caucasian and Turkish campaigns of the second half of the mid-19th century.

Showed himself well during Caucasian War, during the Kars campaign of the Crimean War, Loris-Melikov led reconnaissance, and then successfully served as commander-in-chief during the difficult Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878, having won a number of important victories over the united Turkish troops and for the third time captured Kars, which by that time was considered impregnable.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army, which repelled the attack of Nazi Germany, liberated Europe, author of many operations, including “Ten Stalinist Strikes” (1944)

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky (September 18 (30), 1895 - December 5, 1977) - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), Chief of the General Staff, member of Headquarters Supreme High Command. During the Great Patriotic War, as chief General Staff(1942-1945) took an active part in the development and implementation of almost all major operations on the Soviet-German front. From February 1945 he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front, led the assault on Königsberg. In 1945, commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East in the war with Japan. One of the greatest commanders of World War II.
In 1949-1953 - Minister armed forces and Minister of War of the USSR. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), holder of two Orders of Victory (1944, 1945).

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich

Marshal of the Soviet Union. From June 1942 he commanded the troops of the Leningrad Front, and in February-March 1945 he simultaneously coordinated the actions of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts. He played a big role in the defense of Leningrad and breaking its blockade. Awarded the Order of Victory. Universally recognized master combat use artillery.

Generals of Ancient Rus'

...Ivan III (capture of Novgorod, Kazan), Vasily III(capture of Smolensk), Ivan IV the Terrible (capture of Kazan, Livonian campaigns), M.I. Vorotynsky (battle of Molodi with Devlet-Girey), Tsar V.I. Shuisky (battle of Dobrynichi, capture of Tula), M.V. Skopin-Shuisky (liberation of Moscow from False Dmitry II), F.I. Sheremetev (liberation of the Volga region from False Dmitry II), F.I. Mstislavsky (many different campaigns, repulse Kazy-Girey), There were many commanders during the Time of Troubles.

Future major general, hero of the defense of MoscowIvan Vasilievich Panfilovborn on January 1, 1893 in the family of a modest office workerVasily Zakharovich Panfilov. Whenever possible, the family always solemnly celebrated Vanyusha’s birthday. His mother,Alexandra Stepanovna, cooked delicious pies, roasted a goose. When Panfilov was in first grade, his mother fell ill and soon died. The father had a hard time bearing the loss of his wife. The family barely made ends meet, but Vasily Zakharovich managed to get Ivan into a city three-year school at public expense.

Teachers and students of the Petrovsky City Primary School (Ivan Panfilov in the center)

Vanya Panfilov studied well, loved the Russian language, arithmetic, history and geography. Only the Law of God was difficult for him. Despite his academic success, the boy was a real tomboy.

Ivan Panfilov with friends (1915)

He got a job as a clerk in the store of the merchant of the second guild, Bogolyubov. Bogolyubov paid his workers large salaries and treated them humanely. The merchant appreciated their honesty, and immediately noticed the young clerk.
Ivan worked all day in the store, serving customers. Panfilov loved flowers since childhood, and grew a small flower bed in his tiny closet. At this time, his long-standing love of literature emerged. The guy spent all his free time reading a variety of books. Among them there were works about military campaigns, the lives and victories of great commanders.

Panfilov during military training in Insar

In 1914, the First World War began. Crowded demonstrations took place in Saratov, at which speeches were made about duty and defense of the homeland. In September 1915, a conscription notice arrived in the name of Panfilov. The owner of the shop tried to dissuade him from military service, saying that he could use his connections and “get a valuable employee out of service.” However, Ivan Vasilyevich did not even want to hear about it, and ran to the recruiting station.
In December 1916, Panfilov went to the front as part of the 638th Oltinsky Regiment, which was part of the 7th Army of the Southwestern Front. This regiment took part in the legendary Brusilov breakthrough, when Russian troops managed to crush the Austro-Hungarian defense.
Ivan Panfilov rose to the rank of sergeant major and was appointed commander of a marching company. In February 1918, Ivan Vasilyevich returned to his native Volga region. He worked in the Military Department of the Saratov Workers' Council, which was involved in the formation of units of the Red Army. The country was in the midst of a civil war.
Soon Panfilov himself enlisted in the Saratov regiment. He became part of the 25th Infantry Division, createdVasily Ivanovich Chapaevfrom scattered detachments of fighters for Soviet power. As part of the Chapaev division, Panfilov underwent a baptism of fire in the battles for the Semiglavy Mur station. He performed well during the first campaign against Uralsk and was promoted to company commander.

Panfilov found his military specialty. It was reconnaissance. Ivan Vasilyevich, being the commander of a reconnaissance squadron, made daring raids behind enemy lines.

In 1921, a Red Army detachment led by Panfilov was sent to the Ukrainian city of Ovidipol to fight various gangs. Here the commander met his love - Maria Ivanovna.

In October 1921, Panfilov was sent to the Kyiv Military Joint School for advanced training. According to the regulations, it was necessary to arrive to study without a family, but Ivan Vasilyevich did not want to send his young wife away. The family settled right in the school building, in a gloomy isolation room, which became their home for some time. Maria Panfilova was hired as a cleaner at the school. For an additional fee, together with other spouses of students, she washed clothes for bachelors.
Later school commissionerAlexander Vinokurovin his memoirs he wrote about Panfilov, characterizing him as a collected, energetic, restrained and reasonable student with a practical mind. Ivan Vasilyevich studied excellently and took an active part in public life. Because of his combat experience, he enjoyed authority among listeners. Studying was easy for him, and he even managed to help his fellow students master military science.

“One day my mother did something wrong to him. Grandfather quietly reprimanded her, but mother was very ashamed, and she began to cry. Ivan Vasilyevich never punished children.

Ivan Panfilov - commander of the 9th Red Banner Mountain Rifle Regiment in Chardzhou

Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov rose in career. He was sent to Moscow, where, after advanced training courses at the Frunze Academy, he received the rank of colonel and appointment to the city of Chardzhou. Here he contributed to the construction of the railway.
In his free time from work, Ivan Vasilyevich loved to go out into nature. His passion was hunting and fishing. He enjoyed walking along mountain paths and meadows. During his service in the Kirghiz SSR, he gave his family new impressions, traveling with them around Lake Issyk-Kul. While vacationing at the Tamga sanatorium, Panfilov went hiking with his children, building a fire and cooking food in a pot.

Alua Baikadamova, according to her mother’s memoirs, says that her grandfather knew how to cook quite well.

— Sometimes he cooked pilaf. In addition, he always made tea himself. He had his own method of making excellent tea. It was a whole ceremony.
While serving in Tashkent, Maria Ivanovna entered the industrial academy to study. When Panfilov received an appointment to the Kyrgyz SSR, to the post of military commissar, he forbade his wife to leave her studies. Instead, he took five children with him to Frunze, taking care of them himself.

Despite the fact that Panfilov’s position was considered almost a retirement position and was more suitable for an old warrior than for a young and ambitious commander, the general took on his duties with his characteristic energy. He personally visited most of the regional and district military registration and enlistment offices. He checked the situation on the ground and ordered to eliminate the observed shortcomings. Panfilov did not disdain everyday rough work. He listened carefully to the suggestions of his subordinates. The general periodically communicated with young conscripts and spoke to them. In addition to his main duties, he performed various cultural and educational work. Ivan Vasilyevich traveled almost the entire republic, looking even into distant pastures and winter quarters. Local shepherds, herd keepers and herdsmen were glad to receive him at home and knew that they could turn to the general with any need or problem, which was soon resolved. Panfilov was keenly interested in the education of youth in the republic, their physical and cultural training.

In Frunze, the general, despite his high position, lived quite modestly. The family settled in a government apartment located in the military registration and enlistment office building. Panfilov and his wife tried their best to create comfort. Soon the deserted and neglected courtyard in front of the military registration and enlistment office became a real garden. Ivan Vasilyevich planted flowers and fruit trees near the house. The whole family took part in removing garbage, dismantling an old barn, and equipping a volleyball court. Colleagues, guests of the general, admired the cleanliness and neatness of his home.

“The family had only two valuable Persian carpets.” Panfilov did not have the habit of accumulating material values. One day, when he came home, the general discovered that Maria Ivanovna was cutting carpets to make rugs for the children. “The grandfather did not scold her,” says Panfilov’s granddaughter.

In May 1941, the general decided to take his family on vacation. Together with his wife and two children, he went to a sanatorium in Sochi. After receiving medical procedures, Ivan Vasilyevich with his wife, daughter Maya and son Vladlen took walks on the sea by boat or steamer. He took his family for a drive around the resort town. Panfilov loved to swim and spent a lot of time in the water. Alua Baikadamova tells how suddenly this idyll was disrupted:

— One day, a nurse handed a telegram to Ivan Vasilyevich. It contained an order to urgently leave for Moscow. Together with their family, they boarded the train and spent several days on the road. The general understood that they were calling him for a reason, and he was tense on the road. The train arrived in Moscow on June 22. Coming out to the station, Panfilov and his family heard the news about the start of the war. Having placed the children in a hotel, the general immediately went to the People's Commissariat of Defense.
Panfilov was sent to the capital of the Kazakh SSR to form a rifle division from residents of Frunze and Alma-Ata. Having sent his family to Frunze, the general arrived in Alma-Ata. He went straight from the station to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. I discussed in detail the issue of forming the division with the leadership of the republic. The general asked to select more young activists, communists and Komsomol members. He outlined his thoughts on food supplies, the deployment of personnel, and the service of soldiers by theater and musical groups of the republic. Panfilov approached the formation of the division very carefully, taking into account every little detail.

In just a month, the general needed to form a combat-ready unit from inexperienced conscripts. He was personally involved in the selection of officers - from regiment commanders to platoon commanders. Panfilov met each of them, talked, and talked about responsibility for training personnel. In a short time, he demanded that commanders improve the endurance, discipline and skills of soldiers. Panfilov pointed out a special approach to the division, which will consist of young people of different nationalities.
A period of intense combat training for personnel began. It took place in the valley of the Talgar River in the gorges of the Trans-Ili Alatau. Units of the 316th Infantry Division conducted drills day and night, made long marches, crossed rivers and climbed onto hills. In one camp artillerymen, reconnaissance officers, sappers, orderlies, and signalmen lived and prepared for battle. They learned to shoot rifles and machine guns, load and aim guns, throw grenades, dig trenches and dugouts, build bridges and mine fields.

The general quickly won the love and respect of the officers and soldiers of his division. He could communicate on equal terms without barriers with his subordinates, talk with commanders and ordinary soldiers. Panfilov treated people very kindly and warmly, never raising his voice against his own personnel. Soon Panfilov’s nickname, Dad, spread throughout the division. He received it back in the civil war, for his fatherly attitude towards the soldiers. The division commanders and rank and file did not call him anything else. Later, in 1945, when four years had passed since the death of the general, one of the Panfilov soldiers would write on a wall in Berlin: “We are Panfilov’s men. Thank you, Dad, for the felt boots.”
The general paid special attention to the nutrition, uniforms and equipment of his soldiers. Through the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, he was even able to obtain women's underwear, stockings instead of foot wraps, and skirts instead of trousers for girls from the division. Women's uniforms were sewn at factories in Almaty on special order.
— Panfilov told the soldiers that a tank is essentially the same tractor, but with a cannon. On his orders, collective farm tractors drove over the heads of the fighters. Then they had to come out of the trench and iron the tractors with dummies of grenades, they tell Alua Baikadamova.

It is known that the division trained special detachments of tank destroyers of 20-25 people, who were trained and equipped to fight armored vehicles.
Shortly before the division was sent to the front, the general met with all his children, whom Panfilov’s wife had sent from Frunze, where the family lived, to Alma-Ata. Later, Maria Ivanovna herself came to her husband along with her eldest daughter Valentina. This was their last meeting. Valentina decided to enroll in the division and go to the front with her father. Ivan Vasilyevich and Maria Ivanovna tried to dissuade the girl from this step for a long time, but she was adamant. Alua Bakhytzhanovna recalls that her mother told her about this:

General Panfilov's daughter, Valentina

Later, Maria Ivanovna will write a touching letter to her husband. In it she will express hope for the successful return of her husband and daughter from the war. The following lines hit home: “... This is war, and it is unknown how long it will separate, and I gave you my word, no matter what happens to you, whether you are wounded, whether you remain crippled, I will still meet you with the same love and respect and will always be with the children.” At the same time, Maria did not exclude the possibility that she would never see her husband again: “Vanya, still, if you have to die for your Motherland, then die in such a way that you can sing songs and write poems, as about a glorious hero.” Panfilov kept this letter with him during battles until his death.
Soon she was transferred to the Moscow region and became part of the 16th Army of General Rokossovsky. The division covered Volokolamsk and occupied a defense line 50 kilometers long. October 14 Rokossovsky arrived at the division command post and met Panfilov. The future marshal highly appreciated Panfilov's experience and knowledge. He noted: “There is a sense of ebullient energy and the ability to demonstrate an iron will.”

Panfilov was faced with the task of organizing a reliable defense with a lack of anti-tank weapons and guns. The 857th artillery regiment under Lieutenant Colonel G. F. Kurganov was placed at the disposal of the division, which was distributed subdivisionally among rifle units. Even anti-aircraft guns and Katyushas were used to counter the tanks. Ivan Vasilyevich used a special tactic: the battery positions were arranged in such a way that they could be deployed 180 degrees and, in addition, thanks to cars and horses, quickly be transferred to the most dangerous sections of the front.

The general preached the tactic that the best defense is an offensive. He advised the defending units to attack the enemy themselves at the first opportunity. On October 15, heavy fighting began. The Germans attacked units of the division not only in the center, but also on the flanks. At a critical moment, the enemy threw about one and a half hundred tanks against the left flank of the 316th. Panfilov saved the units from encirclement by transferring a large amount of anti-tank artillery there. The fighting continued.

On October 19, on the left flank of the defense of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, the enemy occupied several villages. The path to the village of Ostashevo was blocked by the battalion of Captain Lysenko. He repulsed all German attacks while surrounded. Almost all the soldiers of the battalion were killed. In two days, Panfilov's division inflicted significant damage on the enemy. During the fighting, Captain Molchanov's battalion, unexpectedly launching an attack on the Germans who were pressing them, destroyed six tanks.

Panfilov maintained good relations with the commanders of the units occupying the defense in the neighborhood. He became especially friendly with the brave horseman, commander of the cavalry group, Major General Lev Dovator . The dovator jokingly invited Panfilov to his group’s headquarters to take a steam bath; they supported each other during attacks and defenses. Ivan Vasilyevich was sincerely happy for his friend and envied him in a good way when Dovator’s cavalrymen were instructed to take part in the legendary historical parade on November 7, 1941.

In one of his last letters to his wife, the general noted the courage and professionalism of his soldiers. In the letter, he expressed the hope that the division would soon earn the title of Guards. The general had no idea how soon this would happen... The German operation to attack Moscow continued. The Nazis gathered forces for the final decisive blow, which was to decide the fate of the capital. Zhukov later admitted in his memoirs that November 16-18 were the most difficult days in the battle for Moscow. It was at this time that two tank and one infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht went on the offensive in the Volokolamsk direction. Their path to Moscow was blocked by the 316th Infantry Division formed in Kazakhstan.

Salute to the soldiers who died at the Dubosekovo crossing

One of the brightest pages in the history of the 316th division was the battle at the Dubosekovo junction. The 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th Infantry Regiment delayed the tank offensive on November 16. According to the recollections of the commander of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, Colonel I.V. Kaprova, there were 10-12 tanks in the battalion’s sector. The battalion soldiers managed to knock out 5-6 tanks. Of the 120-140 soldiers of the 4th company, only 20-25 survived the battle. This battle went down in history as the feat of 28 Panfilov heroes. General Panfilov took direct part in these events. One of the surviving participants in the battle, Shemyakin, recalled:

— On November 15, we dug in at the Dubosekovo crossing. In the evening Panfilov came to see us. He looked at our trenches and said that the first air strike would cover us. He ordered a change of position. The soldiers, digging into the frozen ground with shovels, remembered him with strong words. The next morning, when the enemy aircraft completely destroyed our first trenches, we began to thank Father.

Panfilov constantly traveled around the defending units. He did not sleep for days, directing the actions of his division. On the morning of November 17, he received information that for the courage shown during the defense of Moscow, the division received the title of Guards, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and was transformed into the 8th Guards Rifle Division. For the general, this was the fulfillment of his cherished dream. He was in excellent spirits. It was then that he had a chance to see his eldest daughter for the last time.

— Mom worked in an advanced first aid post. Having gone to check the sanitary condition of the soldiers, she found herself not far from the division command post and went to see her father. Despite the sleepless nights, he was clean-shaven and in good spirits. Panfilov invited her to his place and made tea. He told her about the state of the division and the heroic battles in which his soldiers distinguished themselves. Ivan Vasilyevich hinted to his daughter that she would soon learn wonderful news from the newspapers. They called him, and after saying goodbye to his daughter, he ran away to personally lead one of the military operations,” says Alua Baikadamova.

The last photo of Panfilov, taken a few hours before his death

All night the general was congratulated on the fact that his division had finally become a Guards division. On the morning of November 18, the general put himself in order and left the headquarters, accompanied by the chief of staff and the division commissar. On the way, they met a correspondent from the Pravda newspaper who had arrived at the unit.Mikhail Kalashnikov. He congratulated the general on the transformation of the division, took his photo and asked for an escort to the front line. After the journalist’s departure, Panfilov, together with the chief of artillery Markov and senior battalion commissar Rutes headed to the command post. On the way he met a company of sappers. Stopping, Ivan Vasilyevich scolded their commander: “It’s not time to walk in formation under mortar fire. Spread out the fighters. If a random shell hits, it will cause a lot of trouble.” A cannonade of shots was heard over the village of Gusenevo, where the division headquarters was located. The Germans had broken through to the village and were now firing from mortars. Suddenly an explosion thundered very close to Panfilov. The general wilted. A tiny mine fragment hit him in the chest. The satellites picked up Panfilov. He was taken to the hospital, but it was too late...

The body of General Panfilov was taken to Moscow. The farewell ceremony for him took place in the Great Hall of the Central House of the Red Army. Panfilov’s eldest daughter stood in the first guard of honor along with the three generals. The Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper published an article signed by Zhukov, Rokossovsky and other generals. It said: “Major General Panfilov died by the death of a hero. The Guards Division lost its glorious commander. The Red Army has lost an experienced and brave military leader. In battles with the German occupiers, his military talent rendered considerable service to the Fatherland.”
At the request of the Military Council of the Western Front and the Council of the 16th Army, on November 23, 1941, five days after the death of the general, his division was named after Panfilov. The 8th Guards in the Red Army became the first named one since the days of the legendary Chapaev division.
Panfilov was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. In the same row with him, under a common monument, rests his friend General Dovator, who outlived Panfilov by a couple of months. The pilot is buried hereVictor Talalikhinrammed a German plane in the Moscow sky.
Until the end of her days, Maria Ivanovna Panfilova kept the memory of her husband alive, telling young people about the history of the Panfilov division and its commander. She wrote a book biography of General Panfilov.

Alua Baikadamova told how the fate of Panfilov’s children turned out. Her mother, the eldest daughter of General Valentin, remained in the Red Army until the age of 44, was discharged after being wounded and sent to Kazakhstan. She worked in the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the Kazakh SSR. Later she married a famous composer, the founder of choral singing in Kazakhstan Bakhytzhana Baikadamova. She worked as a draftswoman in a leather goods artel.

Panfilov's middle daughter, Evgenia, became a famous ceramics sculptor. Her works have won prizes at international exhibitions.

The younger daughters Galina and Maya also followed a creative path, working as makeup and costume artists in various Moscow theaters.

The general's only son, Vladlen, followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a military pilot. He completed his service with the rank of aviation colonel.

Now three granddaughters of Ivan Panfilov live in Almaty. Aigul Baikadamova majoring in economics and teaching at various universities. Baldyrgan became a musician and composer, taught at the conservatory. Alua Baikadamova majoring in mathematics. Now she is the director of the Military History Museum, the foundations of which were laid by her mother.