Military commissar of the 316th Infantry Division. The real history of Panfilov's division

Thanks to the feat at the Dubosekovo crossing, the 316th Rifle General Panfilov's division became one of the most famous units of the Red Army. After just a month of fighting, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and renamed the 8th Guards. Although the widely circulated version of the feat of 28 Panfilov men was subsequently recognized as a literary fiction, there is no doubt about the massive heroism of the soldiers of the 316th division, shown in the most difficult defensive battles near Volokolamsk. The formation of the 316th division began after the invasion of the Nazi aggressors, in mid-July 1941 year in Kazakhstan. Since the priority divisions had already been mobilized, the 316th was created “above plan.” It included many volunteers and those who previously had a reservation from conscription. According to the recollections of senior lieutenant Bauyrdzhan Momysh-uly, battalion commander of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment, which was part of the division, the fighters were dominated by middle-aged family people, many of whom had not served in the army before.

Another feature of this unit was its multinationality, since residents of the city of Alma-Ata and its environs were drafted into the division. The main backbone of the 316th consisted of Russians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. For example, in the battalion commanded by Senior Lieutenant Momysh-uly, there were about a third of Kazakhs, the rest were Russians and Ukrainians. Most of the Kyrgyz conscripts from the city of Frunze (modern Bishkek) were in the 1077th regiment, which was called “Kyrgyz”. In addition, a significant number of fighters of the 316th division were Semirechensk Cossacks. The 1075th Infantry Regiment was formed from the residents of the villages of Lyubavinskaya and Vernenskaya, and the 1073rd from the Cossacks of the villages of Nadezhdenskaya and Sofia. Major General I.V. Panfilov, who held the post of military commissar of Kyrgyzstan, was appointed commander of the 316th division. In general, many responsible and party workers went to the front with Panfilov’s division: former instructors of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and the chairman of the regional trade union committee were listed as political commissars of the companies. Almost half of the rank and file and two thirds of the commanders were communists and Komsomol members.

The 316th Division was included in the 52nd Army of the North-Western Front, which defended on the right bank of the Volkhov River in the sector from Novgorod to Kirishi. Troops of the 52nd Army, Lieutenant General N.K. Klykov was supposed to prevent the development of the offensive of the German aggressors in the direction of Tikhvin. For more than a month, from the end of August to the beginning of October, General Panfilov’s division was in the second echelon of the 52nd Army, in positions near the village of Kresttsy, Novgorod region. Panfilov’s troops suffered their first, so far minor, losses from enemy air raids. By the beginning of October, a threatening situation had developed in the Volokolamsk sector of the Western Front, and the 316th Division, which was actually never involved in the battles, was transferred to the 16th Army under Major General K.K. Rokossovsky, which fought the hardest defensive battles on the Mozhaisk defense line.

Panfilov's division occupied a wide area of ​​defense in front of Volokolamsk, from the village of Bolychevo in the south to the village of Lvovo in the north - only about 40 km, although according to the regulations the division's defense front should not exceed 8-12 km. Panfilov had to greatly stretch the single-echelon defense line, placing the 1077th Infantry Regiment on the right flank, the 1073rd in the center and the 1075th on the left flank. The 857th artillery regiment was distributed in the most tank-dangerous directions between rifle units. In addition, the division created anti-tank fighter squads armed with anti-tank mines and petrol bombs. In reserve there was an engineer battalion and a tank company attached to the division: two T-34s and two light machine-gun tanks. General Panfilov's headquarters was located behind the positions of the 1073rd regiment, 2 km from the front line.

During the heaviest defensive battles from November 16 to 20 in the Volokolamsk direction, the 316th Rifle Division held back the advance of two tank and one infantry divisions from the 4th Panzer Group of Colonel General Erich Gepner. For the massive heroism shown by its personnel, on November 17 the division received the title of Red Banner, on November 18 - the 8th Guards, and after the death of the commander, General Panfilov, it was named after him. For military services, the division was awarded the honorary name "Rezhitskaya", awarded the Order of Lenin, Red Banner and Suvorov 2nd degree. Over 14 thousand soldiers of the Panfilov division were awarded orders and medals, and 33 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The general public has probably heard more about the actions of General Panfilov’s rifle division during the defense of Moscow than about any other episode of the Great Patriotic War. But the true details of how the 316th Infantry Division fought are known to few. Unfortunately, many of the materials written on this topic reflect primarily the position of the authors, who use a certain number of facts known to them, at best, as decoration. Based on operational documents of the Western Front, 16th Army, 316th/8th Guards Rifle Division, 1st Guards Tank Brigade and other units of the Red Army, as well as combat logs of the 5th Army Corps, 2nd Tank Division and the 35th Wehrmacht Infantry Division, the article restores with high accuracy the picture of the battles of the “Panfilov” division in November 1941.

Results of the October battles

On the table lay an issue of a magazine where an essay was printed about Panfilov’s men, about the soldiers of the very regiment commanded by Baurdzhan Momysh-Uly.

He abruptly pushed the magazine towards the lamp - all his movements were sharp, even when he threw the match after lighting a cigarette - he leafed through it, bent over the open page and threw it away.

I tried to argue, but Baurdzhan Momysh-Uly was adamant.

- No! - he snapped. “I hate lies, but you won’t write the truth.”

(c) Bek A. A. Volokolamsk highway.

The defensive battles near Moscow in the fall of 1941 are rightfully considered one of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War. In addition to the political significance of the capital of the USSR, Moscow was also the main industrial center of the country and the most important communications hub, primarily railway. Its possible loss actually divided the front into two loosely connected parts. This was perfectly understood both in Moscow itself and in Berlin.

Many articles and books have been written about the participation of the 316th Rifle Division, and since November 18, Panfilov’s 8th Guards Rifle Division in the defense of Moscow. For example, in the collection of tactical examples “Combat Operations of the Rifle Division” published after the war, the defense of the 316th in October 1941 was taken as one of such examples.

The commander of the 316th Rifle Division (later the Guards) Major General I. V. Panfilov (left), Chief of Staff I. I. Serebryakov and senior battalion commissar S. A. Egorov discuss the plan for combat operations on the front line
waralbum.ru

And this glory is well deserved - during the defense of Volokolamsk, Panfilov’s division successfully fought against several German divisions at once. But it is not always indicated that the successful defense of the division largely depended on the supporting 316th artillery:

"The division was reinforced by four cannon artillery regiments of the RVGK, three artillery and anti-tank regiments; Part of the artillery of the DD artillery group of the 16th Army, as well as the artillery of the 302nd machine gun battalion and the 1st division of the artillery regiment of the 126th Infantry Division, were supposed to operate in the division zone. In total, these units and groups had 153 guns."

The division was also supported by tankers.

“On 10/17/41, a separate tank company, placed at the disposal of the commander of regiment 1075, entered into battle with enemy tanks in the grove area southwest of the village of Soslavino (in 674 map m 1:100000), as a result of which 2 enemy tanks were destroyed from total number 5; the rest retreated towards the southwest. "

Panfilov’s troops defended Volokolamsk until the end of October. Usually on these dates the detailed story about the actions of the entire division somehow collapses on its own. When it comes to the battles in November, as a rule, only the “battle of twenty-eight heroes” at the Dubosekovo crossing is described in more or less detail. Meanwhile, it was the battles in mid-November that became one of the most difficult for the entire 316th Infantry Division.

But first, let's return to the end of October - to Volokolamsk.

"On 26.10, enemy attacks by division units in the southern sector were repulsed, the enemy on that day mainly pulled up forces and conducted force reconnaissance, but in the direction of the junction of the cadet regiment with the 1077th Rifle Regiment, the enemy was successful and forced the division commander to abandon 26.10. Alferyevo district, Spas-Pomazkino battalion 1073 from the [rifle] regiment, which restored the situation, but died as a reserve of the division commander. The division commander had only 1.5 companies of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment left in reserve.

On 27.10 the enemy launched an attack in the direction of Porokhovo and Volokolamsk with two infantry regiments supported by small groups of tanks. The attack was carried out in the area of ​​the 690th Infantry Regiment.
After strong air preparation and artillery and mortar fire, the enemy broke through the front of the 690th [rifle] regiment at 10.00 on October 27 and broke into the city at 13.30. By 16.00 on 27.10 the city was completely in enemy hands. Tanks for the most part did not participate in the attack on Volokolamsk and only entered the city at 22:00 on October 27.

By the morning of October 28, there were up to two infantry divisions and up to a hundred tanks in the city.
Simultaneously with the attack of the 690th Rifle Regiment by enemy infantry, the 1075th Rifle Regiment was attacked by two infantry battalions with 17 tanks, and the 1077th Rifle Regiment - [units] of the 110th Infantry Division. Attacks in the area of ​​the 1077th and 1075th rifle regiments were repulsed.

10. The 690th Rifle Regiment did not provide adequate resistance to the enemy attack and retreated in a disorderly direction to the east and northeast. There were no street battles organized in the city, and only isolated groups of Red Army soldiers tried to resist the enemy in the city. But this was only random resistance.

The disorganized units of the 690th Rifle Regiment were delayed and gathered northeast of Volokolamsk, and the remnants of this regiment organized a new front at the Gorki-Cheptsy line.

Units of the 1075th and 1077th from the [rifle] regiments held the occupied front and only retreated to a new line by order.
The division commander with the breakthrough [defense] of the 690th [rifle] regiment tried to restore the situation<…>throwing their reserve (1.5 companies) into a counterattack, but this counterattack was not successful: 1.5 companies were carried away by the wave of retreating fighters of the 690th rifle regiment and were unable to restore the situation.

11. As a result, the city was lost, up to 62 guns were lost, and 13 were completely removed from anti-tank guns.

The commander of the 690th [rifle] regiment, Captain Semiglazov, and the regimental commissar, battalion commissar Denisenko, lost control of the regiment, did not take measures to restore order in the regiment, and did not try to detain the enemy on the southern outskirts of the city or organize street battles in Volokolamsk."

The 690th regiment, temporarily subordinate to Panfilov, was a composite regiment made up of the “encirclement” that had broken through. A couple of weeks later, its new commander wrote: “Due to the lack of material parts of weapons (mounted and light machine guns), lack of shoes, warm foot wraps and warm uniforms (there are cases of frostbite), lice makes the regiment unfit for combat.”

In an operational report dated October 30, the headquarters of the 316th Infantry Division stated that the division's total losses were 50%. Every second fighter of those who began their first battle in October on the outskirts of Volokolamsk was killed, wounded or missing.

Counterattacks of the Red Army

If the enemy had retained the ability to attack, the losses could have been greater - but by this time the Germans themselves were already pretty exhausted, and the onset of the autumn thaw forced the divisions that had pulled ahead to starve rations. The front line temporarily froze a few kilometers from the city. The condition of the roads is more than eloquently evidenced by the order of the Western Front headquarters dated October 26 on the issuance of horses to liaison officers “due to the deterioration of the condition of the roads and the impossibility of using vehicles as a means of transportation.”

The Soviet command was not at all inclined to allow the Germans to calmly pull up forces and replenish fuel and ammunition supplies. The first target of Rokossovsky’s 16th Army was the so-called Skirmanovsky bridgehead - the German 10th Tank Division, which occupied it, could at any moment intercept the Volokolamsk Highway and go to the rear of the 16th Army. The initial attack by the 18th Infantry Division was unsuccessful.

The Germans knew how to not only attack, but also very quickly organized a strong defense. Skirmanovo and neighboring villages - Kozlovo and Maryino - were turned into strong points with a single fire system. For the success of the offensive, Rokossovsky had to assemble the most valuable parts of his army - anti-tank artillery regiments, three Katyusha divisions and three tank brigades - the 27th, 28th and 1st Guards. By November 15, the Skirman bridgehead was cleared of the Germans, but the losses of the attacking units were also very sensitive. For example, in the 28th Tank Brigade, out of 31 tanks (4 KV-1, 11 T-34 and 16 T-30), only 15 remained (1 KV, 4 T-34 and T-30).

However, the very fact of seizing the initiative and successful offensive inspired the command of the 16th Army to take active action. The next target was Volokolamsk, the attack on which was scheduled for November 16. The role of the main striking force was assigned to the 58th Tank Division, which arrived from the Far East, where there were almost two hundred tanks - although only light ones.

The 316th Division was assigned a supporting role in this offensive. After the battles for Volokolamsk, its battered regiments received marching reinforcements, but it was clearly premature to talk about a complete restoration of combat capability.

"3. The 316th Rifle Division with 768 and 296 anti-tank artillery regiments, 2/14 guards artillery regiment and 1/2 guards artillery regiment supports the attack of Dovator’s strike group and cavalry group with all types of fire. With units of the 58th Tank Division and 126th Rifle Division reaching the line: Ivanovskoye, Gorki, the 1073rd and 1075th Rifle Regiments attack the enemy in the Vozmishche, Nelidovo sector and, developing an attack on Zhdanovo, the southern outskirts of Volokolamsk, together with units The 20th Cavalry Division and the 58th Tank Division capture Volokolamsk.

4. The 1073rd (without 1/1073) rifle regiment with 768 and 296 anti-tank artillery regiments of the 1st engineer company of the 597th OSB supports the attack of the 126th Infantry Division and the 58th Tank Division with all types of fire. When they reach the Ivanovskoye and Gorki line, attack the enemy in the Gorki, Vozmishche sector with units of the 20th Cavalry Division and the 58th Tank Division, and capture Volokolamsk from the southeast.

Starting position – occupied defense line by 9:00 on 11/16.

5. The 1075th rifle regiment with the 1/857th artillery regiment (without one battery) battery of the 768th anti-tank artillery regiment of the 2nd engineer company of the 597th OSB supports the attack of Dovator’s cavalry group with fire of all types. With their arrival at the Ivanovskoye and Gorki line, attack the enemy in the area: Muromtsevo, Nelidovo, developing an attack on Zhdanovo, the southern outskirts of Volokolamsk, together with units of the 20th Cavalry Division, to capture Volokolamsk from the South.

Starting position - occupied defense line by 9.00 11.16."

Of particular interest in this document is the list of artillery units that were supposed to support the attack of Panfilov’s regiments - they would play the role of the backbone of the anti-tank defense the next day. The 768th and 296th anti-aircraft artillery regiments were armed with 37-mm anti-aircraft, 76-mm anti-tank and 85-mm anti-aircraft guns - the Soviet analogue of the famous German “aht-aht”. The artillery regiments were positioned in the most tank-dangerous direction, blocking the Volokolamsk highway, but, as can be seen from the document, their fire capabilities were quite sufficient to support the 1075th regiment, which occupied positions south of the highway, with fire. According to the report of the chief of staff of the 768th artillery regiment, after the retreat from Volokolamsk they managed to retain three 85 mm and four 37 mm guns. It was not possible to find data on the 296th artillery regiment, but judging by the layout, it retained at least two 85-mm anti-aircraft guns and three 76-mm cannons.

By the standards of the fall of 1941, this was quite a lot, but compared to the steel roller that was about to move towards the 316th Division, it was very little.

Scythe on a stone

The main enemy of the Panfilovites was again supposed to be the German 2nd Tank Division, familiar to them from Volokolamsk. One of the oldest units of the Panzerwaffe, whose commander was once the “fast Heinz” Guderian himself, entered the battle on the Eastern Front relatively recently. On November 11, the division's tank regiment included 31 PzKpfw II, 82 PzKpfw III, 13 PzKpfw IV and 6 command tanks. In addition, according to some reports, a company of flamethrower “twos” were transferred to the division before the start of the offensive. The “Vienna Division” (the 2nd Panzer received this nickname shortly after the Anschluss of Austria) was supposed to begin the last stage of the attack on Moscow. Following it, the 5th and 11th tank divisions, as well as the 35th and 106th infantry divisions, were to enter the battle - they were required to finally “clear” the area after the tanks struck.

What a strike is like with the participation of even one German tank battalion against a Soviet rifle division can be seen, for example, from a fragment of the Military Operations Journal of the Western Front.

"82nd Rifle Division - having been attacked on 2.11 by two infantry regiments with 70 enemy tanks along the Mozhaisk highway, it was scattered. The commander and staff lost control.

By the morning of November 3, up to 3 battalions were assembled in Trukhanovka, Lyakhovo; up to 2 battalions of the 210th Infantry Regiment gathered in Boldino and up to 200 people of the 601st Infantry Regiment in the Lyakhovo area."

The “close-range” objective for the 2nd Tank was to be the heights east of Volokolamsk. It was planned to attack them from the south in the “classic” style of German tank attacks - attacking the flank and then “rewinding” the enemy’s defenses.

Although both our and the German offensives were scheduled only for the morning of November 16, reconnaissance in force began already on the 15th.

"1075th Infantry Regiment - occupies the previous defensive site. In Shiryaevo, one company fought with the enemy advancing from Morozovo to Shiryaevo. At 14:00 the enemy, operating with 6 tanks, occupied Shiryaevo with strong mortar artillery fire. At 17:00, the enemy was driven out of Shiryaevo by the 5th company, a group of machine gunners and a fighter squad. Losses: 6 killed, including the PTR platoon commander, 8 wounded.

... PTRs were used in Shiryaevo, one tank was knocked out, which was towed away to Morozovo. They were not used in other areas."

The first battle of the last German offensive on Moscow began the next day, November 16, 1941.

"Chief of Staff of the 16th Army.

Combat report No. 22 of headquarters 316 Shishkino

by 13:00 11/16/41 Map 100.00–38

1. At 8:00 the enemy on the left flank of the 316th Infantry Division launched an attack on Shiryaevo, Petelino. By 10:00 he captured Nelidovo and Petelino. At 11:00 Bolshoye Nikolskoye was captured. At 11:30, the enemy left 5 tanks in Bolshoye Nikolskoye and an infantry company, leading an offensive in the area of ​​​​height 251.0.

3. The division commander decided:

Persistently defend the area of ​​the station. Matrenino, Goryuny, not allowing the enemy to break through to the Volokolamsk, Novo-Petrovskoe highway.

4. The division commander asks to speed up the offensive of Dovator’s group, the 126th Infantry Division and the 58th Tank Division".

As can be seen from this document, Panfilov was most worried about a possible German breakthrough along the highway to the east. However, the German task on the first day of the offensive looked different.

In the operational report of the Western Front headquarters, this day looked like this:

"16th Army.

Developing the offensive with his right flank, he fights with advancing enemy tanks and infantry at the junction of the 316th Infantry Division of Dovator’s group.

Striking a blow with its right flank, the army captured Borniki, Sofievka, Bludi and is fighting on the line of Khrulyovo, Davydkovo.

In the Volokolamsk direction, the enemy, on the morning of November 16, went on the offensive to two battalions of the 109th infantry regiment (35 infantry division) with 25 tanks from the Gorki, Vozmishche line; to an infantry regiment with tanks (2 TD) from the Zhdanovo, Krasikovo line; over an infantry regiment and up to 40 tanks (5 tanks) from the Sosnino, Novopavlovskoye line and up to a company of tanks (5 tanks) from the Nemirovo, Pritykino area.

By the end of the day he had mastered: Lystsovo, Rozhdestvenno, Yadrovo, Bol. Nikolskoye, Detilino, Shirshevo, Ivantsovo, school 1 km south of Danilkovo, Shchelkanovo. The fight continues.

In front of the front of 316 infantry divisions and 50 cavalry divisions, the enemy went on the offensive in the morning of November 16, from the line of Gorki, Zhdanovo, Vasilyevskoye, Novo-Pavlovskoye, Shchelkanovo and by 15:00 reached the line of Yadrovo, st. Matrenino, Matrenino."

The report of the German tank crews, as expected, was presented in more rosy tones.

"7:40* Battle group 2 reached Nelidovo. Few enemies.

There is no support from the 5th Panzer Division; it must be provided by the 11th Panzer Division. But this will not happen earlier than noon on November 16th.

8:00 Combat Group 1 occupied Morozovo and Shiryaevo. Enemy resistance is still small.
9:13 Combat group 1 reaches Petelniki.

9:45 Message from battle group 2: Enemy positions north of Potinki have been taken. The southern outskirts of Nikolskoye have been reached. The enemy's defense line is north of Nikolskoye. The offensive continues.

10:12 Combat group 1 reached the edge of the forest 1 km north of Petelniki.

10:30 Message from the 74th artillery regiment: The front line in front of combat group 1 is 300 meters on the edge of the forest north of Shiryaevo. The enemy is in the forest. Patrols are looking for passage.

13:30 Current report to the 5th Army Corps: Combat Group 1 in battle with the enemy, who is stubbornly defending on the edge of the forest south of the road, on a line north of Shiryaev - 1.5 km south of Petelniki. Combat Group 2 advances 2,600 meters north of Nikolskoye, preparing to engage the enemy in the forest south of the Bessovka River. Combat Group 3 clears the area west of Nelidovo-Nikolskoye.

Impression: A not very strong enemy stubbornly defends himself using the forest south of the road.

Combat Group 2 reports: A battalion with 2 companies attacks the front line 800 meters south of the road to Yadrovo. Tanks ensure crossing of the Bessovka River. From Nikolskaya - only a weak enemy.

13:20 Combat group 1: Enemy positions in the forest north of Petelniki have been broken through. The advance is held back by tree debris and mines. The 1st and 2nd Battle Groups will be informed that the enemy is attacking with tanks from Bordinka in the direction of Peskalkov.

14:00 Battle Group 1 reached Rozhdestvenno.

14:15 Combat group 2 took Yadrovo. The streets are mined. The battalion clears the forest around Yadrovo. Reconnaissance was sent in a northern direction.

15:15 Combat group 1 occupied Lystsevo"

*German documents indicated Berlin time.

Advance of the 1st and 2nd battle groups of the 2nd Panzer Division on November 16, 1941

The villages mentioned in the German report were precisely those listed as the target of the day's offensive for the 1st Battle Group. The 2nd Tank reached the milestones planned for the first day. But can she move forward?

The 1075th Infantry Regiment took on the blow of the German tank division. At the same time, the Germans attacked not from the west, from Volokolamsk, but from the flank, from the south. Panfilov's men retreated deeper into the forest, using the rubble on the mined roads for defense. After the battle with the 1075th regiment, the Germans flanked the next one. The “front line south of Yadrovo” belonged to the 1073rd regiment - and in Yadrovo itself there were guns of the 296th anti-tank artillery regiment. The 85-mm anti-aircraft guns of the 768th anti-tank artillery regiment could also fire at the advancing Germans. Rubble and minefields on the roads in the forest were part of the defense system of the 1073rd regiment, which it began to create on November 1.

Battalion Commissar of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment of the 8th Guards named after. Panfilov rifle division P. V. Logvinenko
waralbum.ru

"Combat order No. 18 shtapolk 1073 Yadrovo village 11/1/41

Map 100000–41

1. Enemy units are operating in the division and regiment zone: the 106th Infantry Division, the 29th Motorized Division, the 35th Infantry Division and the 2nd Tank Division, which in the coming days are preparing a decisive offensive, completing the concentration of division units in front of the front.

On the right is the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the 1075th Infantry Regiment. Border with it: Nadezhdino, Pokrovskoye, Goryuny (excluding height 251.0), Muromtsevo.

2. The 316th Rifle Division, relying on anti-tank areas - Yadrovo, height 251.0, Goryuny - stubbornly defends the line: (excluding Popovkino), Maleevka, height 248.8, Chentsy, height 251.0, Petelino, Dubosekovo crossing. The border of the military outpost on the line Bolshoye Nikolskoye, Shiryaevo.

The 1073rd rifle regiment with an anti-tank rifle platoon, 6 guns of the 296th artillery regiment, 7 guns of the 768th anti-tank artillery regiment, a mortar company and a machine-gun platoon of a barrier detachment defends the site - (without height 141.4), the western edge of the forest, which is 2 km to the west Yadrovo, (excluding height 251.0), with equipment of anti-tank areas in the village of Yadrovo and Goryuny, PP 1073 - 1 battery of the 857th artillery regiment.

The 1st Infantry Battalion, 1075th Infantry Regiment operates jointly with the 1077th Infantry Regiment.

2nd combined battalion with an anti-tank rifle platoon, two 76-mm PA guns, two 45-mm battery guns, 1 - 120-mm mortar, a mortar company and a machine-gun platoon of a barrier detachment, stubbornly defend the area (without height 141.4), western edge forests, which are 2 km west of Yadrovo (excluding height 251.0). Pay special attention to the joint of the neighbor on the left.

The battalion commander is to arrange rubble in the forest at the junction with the 1075th Infantry Regiment and on the highway 300 m east of the booth.

Bury the entire battalion’s defenses deeper into the ground, build dugouts, stop all movement during the day, maintaining strict camouflage, deliver food in the dark, and do not light fires.

The regiment engineer, junior lieutenant Krasnousov, will draw up a work plan for the creation of anti-tank areas and provide his leadership with the work on barricading and equipping anti-tank areas in the Yadrovo and Goryuny areas.

Pay attention to the destruction of the road, the installation of anti-tank mines and anti-tank rubble to the west and east of the outskirts of Yadrovo and the roads leading to the highway from the south. Report progress of work daily by 18:00.

The chief of staff of the regiment shall organize control over the implementation of this order.

The rear of the 2nd echelon of the regiment is in the forest 1 km east of Shishkino.

K. P. Yadrovo.

Submit reports every 2 hours.

Alas, a miracle did not happen here either. An incomplete rifle regiment with several “artillery regiments”, and in actual numbers - anti-tank batteries, could only slow down the advance of the tank division, but not stop it. The battalions that came under attack were cut up and retreated in parts.

On the last frontier

In fact, on the first day of the enemy offensive, the first line of defense of the Soviet troops in the Volokolamsk Highway area was destroyed. The German divisions - the 2nd Panzer was now to be joined by the 5th and 11th Panzer and two infantry divisions - had an opening to Istra... and Moscow.

The danger of a breakthrough on the left flank of Panfilov’s division was well understood at Rokossovsky’s headquarters. But the commander of the 16th Army did not have much money to patch up the resulting hole and give the soldiers of the 316th Division, who had already experienced a German blow, the opportunity to retreat and somehow get a hold on the next line. At the last stage of the battle for Moscow, both the attackers and the defenders “gave their all.” All that was left was to do everything possible - and try to accomplish the impossible.

"Particularly important, hand over immediately to Efremov

11/17/41 03:30 front headquarters ordered 18 anti-tank rifles with personnel and ammunition to be immediately loaded onto vehicles and sent to Rokossovsky via Iskra to Novopetrovskoye and further to Chismena. Execution to convey"

Urgently

To the commander of the 316th Infantry Division

The army commander ordered:

1. Immediately regroup anti-tank artillery in order to place it in more tank-dangerous directions.

2. Group all anti-tank rifles you have in tank-dangerous directions.

3. At your disposal in Denkovo ​​18 anti-tank rifles from the 33rd Army should be used, which [should] be used in more tank-dangerous directions on your left flank.

Report execution.

5 hours 30 minutes 11/17/41"

However, it is unlikely that anyone at the 16th headquarters hoped that two dozen anti-tank rifles would be able to seriously delay the advance of the German tank divisions. In this sense, the tool that had already been tested in battle - tank brigades - inspired much more hope. But this was already the level of command of the front, which had enough other worries - the Germans were breaking through not only at Rokossovsky, but also through the defense line of the neighboring 30th Army.

To the commander of the 23rd Tank Brigade.

Combat order No. 26 Army headquarters 4:00 11/17/41.

Card: 100.00

1. Based on the telegraph order of the Commander of the Western Front No. 048/op 23, the tank brigade is transferred to the reserve of the Commander of the 16th Army.

2. The commander ordered:

Upon receipt of this, the brigade will immediately move to the Denkovo ​​area to interact with Dovator’s cavalry group and the 316th Infantry Division...

Upon arrival in the Denkovo ​​area, organize a anti-tank defense with a front to the south and southwest.

3. The platoon of tanks assigned to the 78th Infantry Division should be temporarily left under its subordination.

4. The second echelon of the brigade will echelon to Istra.

5. Report the time of the performance and departure to the Denkovo ​​area.

6. Upon arrival in the Denkovo ​​area, send liaison officers to the headquarters of the Dovator Cavalry Group - Yazvische and to the 316th Infantry Division in the Gusevo area.

5.30.17.11.41.."

By this time, the tank brigades of the 16th Army had long been drawn into the battle. So, at 10 am the 27th Brigade received an order to send its motorized rifle battalion forward in vehicles to drive the Germans out of Morozovo. Towards evening, Katukov’s 1st Guards Tank Brigade also joined Panfilov’s men.

"Enemy tanks and infantry, having occupied Petelino, appeared [at] Matryonino station by midday on November 16, 1941.

To destroy the enemy at Matryonino station and subsequently defend it, at 17:00 on November 16, 1941, a combined NKVD battalion with 6 tanks was sent from the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.

By the time the battalion reached the station area, the enemy had been driven out from there by units of the 316th Infantry Division.

Having occupied Matryonino station, units of the brigade positioned themselves:

a) Combined battalion of the NKVD - defends the highway line 0.5 km north of the Matryonino station, Matryonino station, mark 231.5. The 6 tanks assigned to the battalion from the tank regiment are located in ambushes in the highway area km north of Matryonino station, Matryonino station.

b) The remnants of the tank regiment, having a tank ambush in the Yazvische area, concentrated with the rest of the tank in Pokrovskoye.

c) The remains of the motorized rifle battalion are unchanged, in the area southeast of the edge of the grove north of Yazvische.

d) The anti-aircraft division at firing positions in the area of ​​Chismena, Gryady, covers the brigade's location from the air.

Brigade headquarters with reconnaissance company - Chismena."

Matryonino station was defended by the 1st battalion of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment, under the command of Senior Lieutenant Barudzhan Momysh-uly. According to his report, the battle for the station began at 12:00. The abandonment (deliberately in panic, with the aim of misleading the enemy) and recapture of the station is described by him in his memoirs. The battalion held the station for three days, from November 18 - in complete encirclement.

In fact, on the first day of the German offensive, only the 1077th and 690th regiments remained relatively intact. As noted in the report of the headquarters of the 316th division the next day:

" The 1077th and 690th rifle regiments occupy their previous position. They fire at the enemy's position. The 1077th Infantry Regiment created a perimeter defense in its area."

Moreover, the 1077th Regiment managed to repel an attack by units of the 35th Infantry Division.

"WITH holding the enemy's advance, being surrounded on three sides, he suffered losses of 50% of his personnel killed and wounded; 2 anti-tank guns, one 45 mm cannon, 3 heavy machine guns".

The defense of the 1077th regiment was “propped up” by 6 tanks of the 28th Tank Brigade, but this support did not last long - by the evening of the next day, 5 of them were knocked out. And the 690th regiment was surrounded.

On November 18, the 316th division received the honorary title “Guards”. On the same day, its first commander, I.V. Panfilov, was killed during a mortar attack. However, the part that went to his successor could be considered a division very conditionally.

"1075th Infantry Regiment - from November 16 to November 18, fought with enemy tanks and infantry in the [area] Bolshoye Nikolskoye, Shishkino, Gusenevo, during the days of fighting the regiment destroyed up to 1,200 infantry people and 4 tanks.

As a result of the battles, the 8th GCSD suffered losses and as of 11/19/41 has:

1077th Infantry Regiment - 700 people.

1075th Infantry Regiment - 120 people.

1073rd Infantry Regiment - 200 people.

690th Infantry Regiment - 180 people."

On this day, the lines of the song approached the 1075th and 1073rd regiments: “the remnants of the company that remained from the regiment.” But the 8th Guards “Panfilov” division continued to fight.

On November 21, the 11th Panzer Division reported that it had 11 PzKpfw IIIs, 10 PzKpfw IVs and 3 "twos" ready for combat. Judging by the report, a significant part of the tanks were out of action due to mines. The 2nd Panzer Division on November 28 reported 13 combat-ready PzKpfw II, 39 PzKpfw III, 2 PzKpfw IV and 2 command tanks. Instead of quickly breaking through the front line and dashing to Moscow, the Panzerwaffe had to break through the defenses of Soviet units again and again, exchanging kilometers for people and equipment, and most importantly, for time. The time that the Soviet command used to prepare reserve armies.

On November 30, the 2nd Tank Division captured Krasnaya Polyana. The 11th Tank, 35th and 106th Infantry Divisions operating nearby in early December again met their “old acquaintances” - Panfilov’s division and Katukov’s tank brigade - at Kryukovo station. There were two dozen kilometers left to the Moscow outskirts - but the Germans failed to overcome them.

Sources :

In preparing the article, operational documents from the headquarters of the Western Front, 16th Army, 316th Rifle Division (8th Guards), 1st Guards Tank Brigade and other units were used (from the “Memory of the People” website). The combat logs of the 2nd Panzer Division, 35th Infantry Division and 5th Army Corps of the Wehrmacht were also used.

The 316th Infantry Division was formed in the city of Alma-Ata in 1941 by Colonel Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov. The composition of the division was multinational. It included: Russians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, soldiers and officers of other nationalities. The division received its first baptism of fire in October 1941 while defending the city of Leningrad. And when a threat loomed over our capital, the division stood to the death near Moscow on the Volokolamsk highway.

The November days of 1941 were the most difficult for our capital. For three days and three nights, suffering heavy losses, the division held back the frantic onslaught of the enemy, preventing him from reaching Moscow. The feat of 28 fighters of this division at the Dubosekovo crossing is known throughout the world. It was here that political instructor Vasily Klochkov uttered significant words: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat! Moscow is behind us!” Inspired by these words, the soldiers boldly entered into single combat with dozens of fascist tanks, died the death of heroes, but did not retreat even a step back. In heavy defensive battles near Moscow, Major General Ivan Fasilievich Panfilov, commander of the 316th Infantry Division, also died a heroic death. In memory of the courageous division commander, the division was given the name “Panfilovskaya”, and a little later it became the 8th Guards! Number 316 remained vacant.

The second formation of the division was in May-June 1941 near the city of Vladimir. Upon completion of recruitment, the division was transferred to Kamyshin and from there sent to defend Stalingrad. The soldiers and officers of the division fought the enemy to the last bullet. Having suffered heavy losses, the division was disbanded. Number 316 remained free.
The 316th Rifle Temryuk Twice Red Banner Division is the third formation of the 316th Rifle Division, carried out from September 3 to 16, 1943 in the area of ​​​​the villages of Anastasievskaya and Slavyanskaya, Krasnodar Territory.
By decision of the Council of the North Caucasus Front and in accordance with the order of the 9th Army of August 8, 1943 No. 0019, it was formed from the 57th and 131st Red Banner Rifle Brigades, the 1014th Corps Artillery Regiment, which arrived from the 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps, and the 10th Reserve Rifle Regiment 9 armies.
The 57th and 131st Red Banner Rifle Brigades, which formed the backbone of the division, were formed in 1941 and became famous in battles on the Volkhov and Kalinin fronts. In 1942 they were transferred to the North Caucasus. The brigades were especially successful in fighting to repel the advance of groups of Nazi troops that had broken through and units of Kleist’s tank army. Having detained the enemy, the brigades took part in a successful offensive from the foothills of the Caucasus to the Kuban.
In particular, the 131st Red Banner Rifle Brigade took part in the defeat of the enemy group in the area of ​​the capital of North Ossetia, Ordzhonikidze (Dzaudzhikau). She advanced and liberated the cities: Georgievsk, Mineralnye Vody. Nevinnomyssk, Armavir, Krasnoarmeysk; the villages of Slavyanskaya and Anastasievskaya.

From these units, the divisions were formed: 1073, 1075, 1077 rifle regiments, 857 artillery regiment, 432 separate anti-tank fighter division (later transformed into a separate self-propelled artillery division), 278 medical battalion and other units. In a solemn ceremony, the division was presented with the battle banner of the famous 316th Infantry Division. The division became part of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 9th Army of the North Caucasus Front.

The division began its combat path with an offensive on September 16, 1943 on the Taman Peninsula, in the lower reaches of the Kuban River.
The conditions for the offensive were extremely difficult: on the left was the Kuban River, on the right were the swampy Kuban flood plains. The attack had to be carried out in a narrow zone, without the possibility of any maneuver or bypassing enemy positions. All this made it possible for the Nazi troops (50th Infantry Division) to create a deeply layered defense. The entire depth of the narrow defile, the space from the Kurka Canal (part of the “blue line” of defense) to the sea coast was mined.
In addition, the division did not have a sufficient amount of artillery, its average density did not exceed 20-40 guns and mortars per 1 km of the offensive sector (you must have at least 90-100), and there were no tanks. Therefore, parts of the division suffered heavy losses.
During three weeks of fierce fighting, the division broke through the powerful enemy defenses, liberated the village of Kurchanskaya and on September 26, 1943 reached the port city of Temryuk.

On the night of September 26-27, the division began an assault on a heavily fortified German resistance center on the outskirts of the city of Temryuk, captured it and broke into the eastern outskirts of the city. The enemy hastily began to retreat and by the morning of September 27, units of the division captured the city of Temryuk, then the Golubitskaya station and reached Chushka, thereby completing the liberation of the Taman Peninsula.
The offensive took place under extremely difficult conditions. Units of the division successively broke through several fortified enemy positions.

The division's personnel: officers, sergeants, and privates showed true heroism. Q: In these battles, engineer units and subunits and all rifle regiments suffered especially heavy losses.
The commander of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Arutyunov, the deputy commander of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Petrishev, two battalion commanders, Major Sokovishin, Captain Pirozhenko, and more than half of the company and platoon commanders died the death of the brave.
For successful military operations during the liberation of Taman, including the city of Temryuk, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of October 9, 1943, the division was thanked and given the name "Temryuk".
After the end of the fighting on the Taman Peninsula on November 17, 1943, the division, consisting of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 18th Army, was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front in the Svyatoshino area (a suburb of Kyiv).
The division, consisting of the 1st Guards, 18th and 38th armies, took part in operations to liberate Right Bank Ukraine. The fighting began in the area of ​​​​Radomyshl.

After a short defense from December 9 to December 25, 1943, the division as part of the 1st Guards Army was preparing for an offensive. It was necessary to break through the previously prepared enemy defenses. On December 25, 1943, after a 50-minute powerful artillery barrage, the division broke through the defenses and began to rapidly pursue the enemy retreating to the West. From December 24 to February 15, 1944, the division marched 160 km with heavy fighting, liberating the cities of Radomyshl, Zhitomir, Lyubar. On February 16, in the area of ​​Lyubar, the division temporarily went on the defensive.

On March 5, 1944, after ten days of preparation, units of the division went on the offensive as part of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 18th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. During the first day of fighting, in conditions of spring thaw, units of the division fought forward 20-25 km, broke through the enemy’s defenses to their entire depth (Ostropol fortified area) and captured the north-eastern part of the city of Ostropol. On March 9, 1944, the division reached the Southern Bug River and until March 18 occupied defenses on the southern bank of the river.
On March 18, 1944, the division resumed its offensive, its units crossed the Southern Bug River in the area of ​​the city of Novo-Konstantinov, captured it and developed an offensive in the direction of the city of Letichev (Letichevsky fortified area). Since March 20, 1944, the division fought heavy offensive battles to capture the city of Letichev, defended by the 20th German motorized division.

By March 24, 1944, units of the division, blocking and bypassing the pillboxes, broke through the enemy’s defenses, captured the city of Letichev, and, developing an offensive in the southwestern direction, liberated the cities of Letichev, Derazhnya, Tikhampol, Zinkov. During the March offensive in muddy conditions, the division fought 150 km.
On March 30, 1944, the division was marching from the village of Yarmolintsy and in the area of ​​​​the village of Bzerzhany southeast of Chortkiv it was suddenly attacked by a large enemy group emerging from encirclement in the Skala-Podolskaya area. The division had to fight to eliminate this group.

On April 5, 1944, the division resumed its offensive, reached the Seret River, crossed it and advanced further to the West 20 km southwest of the city of Chortkiv. Here the division became part of the 52nd Rifle Corps of the 1st Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
From April 28, 1944 to July 14, 1944, the division was in the second echelon as part of the 38th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front and was preparing for the offensive in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation.

On July 14, 1944, the division went on the offensive. After heavy 5-day battles, she broke through the enemy’s defenses, developing an offensive in the Western direction, crossed the Stripa River, Zolotaya Lipa reached the city of Pomarzhany, having fought 18 kilometers south of the city of Lvov. The 1073rd Infantry Regiment and the first division of the 857th Artillery Regiment fought directly for the liberation of the city of Lvov.
In the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief dated July 27, 1944, among the units and formations that distinguished themselves in the battles for the capture of the city of Lvov, the 316th Temryukov Rifle Division was noted. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the 1073rd rifle regiment was given the name "Lvov"; The 1075 and 1077 rifle regiments were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
On July 22, 1944, the division reached the Rotten Lipa River with two regiments and crossed it. In this area, the division was replaced by units of the 52nd Rifle Corps and moved to the Bobrovka area. The division resumed its offensive as part of the 67th Rifle Corps of the 38th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front in very rough terrain in the foothills of the Carpathians.
On August 12, 1944, at 10 a.m., the division crossed the state border with Poland, crossed the San River, fought in the area of ​​the city of Sanok, and fought its way to the Carpathian Mountains.

On September 2, 1944, by order of the 38th Army, the division was withdrawn from the Sanok and Carpathian region to the second echelon and concentrated in the Rava-Russkaya region. Then the division became part of the 23rd Rifle Corps, which was removed from the front and transferred to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. From September 15 to October 10, 1944, the division was replenished with personnel and equipment and carried out intensive preparations for the upcoming battles.
By order of the Supreme High Command, on October 11, 1944, the division, consisting of the 23rd Rifle Corps, was transferred to Hungary by rail along the route: Rava-Russkaya, Lvov, Ternopil, Chortkov, Chernivtsi, Buzau, Ploesti, Brasov, Arad and on October 27, 1944 it was unloaded at Mezhegyes station (Hungary). And at the end of the month it was transferred to the northern bank of the Tisza River in the Polmanashtora region.
On November 1, 1944, by order of the commander of the 23rd Rifle Corps, the division moved to the area west of the city of Kecskemét and, having covered 75 km, immediately entered the battle with the vanguard regiment in the area west of Fillersallás and advanced along the eastern bank of the Danube River in the direction of Budapest, having the task of capturing the southern part of the city by November 5th. However, here the enemy created a strong fortified defense and the vanguard stopped. The main forces of the division followed the march in the second echelon and by the morning of November 3, 1944 they concentrated in Alshanemedy, 12 km south of Budapest.

On November 1, 1944, the division, consisting of the 23rd Rifle Corps, came under the control of the 46th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and was given the task of crossing the Danube branch - Csepel-Dunaag.
From November 1 to November 4, 1944, the vanguard 1077th Infantry Regiment completely cleared the eastern bank of the Chepel-Dunaag River to Tokshani from the enemy.

By order of the command of the 23rd Rifle Corps, from November 5 to November 23, 1944, the division continued its offensive. On the night of November 21-22, the division crossed a rather serious water barrier - the Csepel-Dunaag channel in the Majoshahaz-Demshed area, and during two days of fighting, defeated the first Hungarian cavalry division and captured the north-eastern and southern part of the island of Csepel. In this operation, the division captured more than 950 enemy soldiers and officers. The enemy lost more than 800 people killed and wounded.
The division was preparing to cross the Danube in winter conditions. The Danube was an exceptionally difficult water barrier. At the crossing site, the river width reached 800 m, depth - 8-10 m, flow speed - 5-10 meters per second. The opposite shore is a ridge of heights. All floodplains were filled with water. On the heights, during the previous month, German-Hungarian troops had been intensively preparing for defense. The water in the river is cold, ice floes floated along it, slush and snow lumps. It was decided to cross the Danube at night in pitch darkness.
December 1944. After careful preparation, on the night of December 4-5, 1944, the division, without artillery preparation, with two battalions, the first and second, of the 1077th Infantry Regiment, crossed the Danube in the area south of Budapest (8-15 km) and broke through the enemy’s defenses on its western bank. After persistent bloody battles, a bridgehead was captured in the area of ​​the southern outskirts of Erd, Sazholombatta, Franciszka.

Throughout the history of the existence of the armed forces of the Soviet Union only two divisions were named after their commanders. During the Civil War it was the Chapaev Division, during the Great Patriotic War it was the 8th Guards Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rezhitskaya Rifle Division named after I.V. Panfilov.

On July 12, 1941, by order of the government, the formation of the 316th Infantry Division, later the heroic Panfilov Division, began in Alma-Ata. Within a month, the division was replenished with teams of conscripts from different regions of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The division consisted of three rifle regiments, an artillery regiment, a communications battalion, a separate engineer battalion, a separate auto company, a medical battalion, a separate reconnaissance motorized rifle company, a field bakery, a field postal service and a herd of cattle. The 316th division was formed and headed by the military commissar of Kyrgyzstan, Major General I.V. Panfilov. Personal acquaintance with Stalin allowed the general to select the best personnel when forming the division. So its ranks included not boy recruits, but mature family men - representatives of 28 nations of the USSR.

Guard Major General Ivan Vasilievich P Anfilov began his military career in the First World War, in 1915, when he was drafted into the 168th reserve battalion (Inzara, Penza province). With the rank of non-commissioned officer, he was sent to the active army on the Southwestern Front in the 638th Olpinsky Infantry Regiment, where he rose to the rank of sergeant major (senior sergeant in modern forces).

After the February Revolution of 1917, Panfilov was elected a member of the regimental committee. Voluntarily joining the Red Army in October 1918, he was enlisted in the 1st Saratov Infantry Regiment, which later became part of the 25th Chapaevskaya Rifle Division. Commanding a platoon and a company of the legendary division, from 1918 to 1920 he fought against formations of the Czechoslovak corps, the White Guards of generals Denikin, Kolchak, Dutov and the White Poles. In September 1920, Panfilov was sent to fight banditry in Ukraine, and in 1921 he led a platoon of the 183rd border battalion.

After graduating from the Kyiv Higher School of Red Army Commanders in 1923, Panfilov was sent to the Turkestan Front, where he actively participated in the fight against the Basmachism. From 1927 to 1937 he headed the regimental school of the 4th Turkestan Rifle Regiment, commanded a rifle battalion, and then the 9th Red Banner Mountain Rifle Regiment. In 1937, he was appointed to the post of head of the staff department of the Central Asian Military District, and a year later - to the post of military commissar of the Kirghiz SSR. In January 1939, Panfilov received the rank of brigade commander (from 1940 - major general).

Formed in 1941 by Panfilov 316th Infantry Division in August of the same year, it began its combat journey near Novgorod, and in October it was transferred to the Volokolamsk direction. Waging continuous battles, for a month units of the division not only held their positions, but with swift counterattacks they defeated the 2nd Tank, 29th Motorized, 11th and 110th Infantry Divisions, destroying a total of up to 9,000 German soldiers and officers , more than 80 tanks and other enemy equipment. On October 27, the situation at the front no longer allowed holding the occupied line; Volokolamsk had to be abandoned. Despite the retreat, for services in the October battles The 316th division was one of the first to be called the Guards Division, number 8.

In November the 8th Guards became famous for the feat of 28 Panfilov heroes. According to the version published in the same year in the central press, on November 16, a group of 29 tank destroyers met their death at a railway siding Dubosekovo, destroying 18 enemy tanks. The enemy struck from the south at the junction of the division and the 50th Cavalry Corps, trying to surround Panfilov's men and capture the headquarters. Despite the exceptional resilience of the soldiers of the 1075th regiment, the Germans broke through to the headquarters. Our units were drained of blood: in the 4th company, out of 140 fighters, no more than 25 remained, in other companies there were even fewer. Having accepted the battle, the 8th Guards Division managed to stop the enemy in the Volokolamsk direction. A week later, reporters learned about this feat; Krasnaya Zvezda published several articles on the events at the Dubosekovo crossing.

The day after the terrible battle, the division received the Order of the Red Banner.

And on November 18, the division commander died - he was wounded by shrapnel during a mortar attack. This was a real tragedy for the division's fighters, who treated Panfilov very warmly, calling him Batya.

On November 23, at the request of the division’s fighters, the 8th Guards was named after Major General I.V. Panfilova.

The media have “promoted” the story of the 28 Panfilov men so much that only a few know the real truth about it. In 1948 the military prosecutor's office conducted an inspection the authenticity of the feat of 28 Panfilov men described in the press. Based on the inspection carried out by the chief military prosecutor of the USSR Armed Forces, Lieutenant General of Justice Afanasyev, on May 10, 1948, a “Certificate-report “About 28 Panfilovites” was compiled.

From which it follows that the number of Panfilov heroes in the “Red Star” of November 28, 1941 was determined approximately.

Young people are now well aware of popular actors and singers, prominent politicians, but not everyone is interested in people who accomplished something great decades ago. But the older generation is well aware of the 316th Infantry Division of General Panfilov, which thwarted the capture of Moscow by the Nazis at the cost of their own lives. During the war and post-war years, many newspapers wrote about the division, and all 28 Panfilov men posthumously became Heroes of the Soviet Union. It would seem that what could be wrong here? After all, the feat of these fearless people is obvious. But there were materials proving that the 316th Infantry Division was no worse and no better than other units holding back the Nazis on the approaches to Moscow. In each of them, our soldiers died heroically, about whom for some reason no one says anything, but not all of the 28 Panfilov men died. Moreover, not all of them were heroes; some of them even became traitors. What is this - slinging mud at the feat of Soviet soldiers or a desire to reveal the truth to people? In this article, based on authentic documents, we restore the course of events of those years, so that both young people and the older generation learn the whole truth about the heroes.

General Panfilov

The commander of the 316th Infantry Division, the famous I.V. Panfilov, was an extraordinary person. He was born on 12/20/92 (old style) or 01/01/93 (new style), so he witnessed both the revolution and the First World War. In 1915, he fought in the tsarist army, but from 1918 he became a Red Army soldier, fought alongside the great Chapai, and knew him personally.

The legendary commander appointed young Panfilov as a scout and more than once noted his courage, audacity, bravery and ability to cope with the most dangerous missions with virtually no losses. The commander of the 316th Infantry Division and simply a wonderful person will retain this commanding and human talent - to take care of his soldiers and at the same time achieve victories over the enemy - until the last minutes of his life. In any circumstances, he will take care of each of his fighters as if he were his own son, for which they will call him Aksakal, and later Batya. Even 3.5 years after Panfilov’s absurd death, one of the soldiers of his division would write on a wall in captured Berlin that he was a Panfilovite and add the words: “Dad, thank you for the felt boots.”

Birth of the 316th Infantry

After graduating from the Kyiv Infantry School, Panfilov ended up in Central Asia, where he fought the Basmachi. And everywhere, even in the most dangerous mountainous regions infested with Basmachi, his dear wife and most faithful friend Mashenka, Maria Ivanovna, was next to him. A battle-hardened, brave, courageous and at the same time wise fighter of the Soviet army, I.V. Panfilov was appointed military commissar of the Kyrgyz Soviet Republic in 1938. And in this position, he paid the lion’s share of attention to young soldiers, but not only to their drill training, but also to ordinary everyday needs, which is not typical of all commanders.

At the beginning of July 1941, I.V. Panfilov left for Alma-Ata, where he began to form a strong combat unit, called the 316th Rifle Division. Panfilov personally selected people for it, giving preference to Komsomol activists and young communists. Creating such a large unit, the main task of which was the fight against the Nazis, Panfilov did not forget that his fighters were first of all people, and only then soldiers, so he extracted for them normal accommodation conditions, food supplies, suitable household amenities, and even organized for there were musical concerts, and all women were given stockings and skirts instead of foot wraps and trousers.

Military training

The legendary 316th Infantry Division, which accomplished hundreds of feats, at first was not a coherent combat unit, since its fighters had little understanding of the art of war, many were even afraid of tanks. Therefore, I.V. Panfilov made the main task the military training of his divisional personnel, for which he was allocated only one month. He demanded that company and battalion commanders teach people discipline and endurance, and at the same time, given that the 316th Infantry Division included people of 34 nationalities (there were even people who didn’t understand a word of Russian), he pointed to a special approach to the soldiers to unite them all into a friendly family. The training consisted of long forced marches, crossing rivers, taking high-rise buildings, digging trenches and trenches, fighting, and building crossings. To overcome the fear of tanks in his soldiers, Panfilov organized training tractor attacks, during which the soldiers sat in the trenches, waited for the tractors to pass over them, and then threw training grenades at them.

Baptism of fire

The soldiers of the 316th Infantry Division took the oath on July 30, and on August 18 they arrived near Novgorod and joined the 52nd Army. While not on the front line, the division's fighters conducted a number of reconnaissance operations. Lieutenant Korolev especially distinguished himself with his platoon, capturing a “tongue” and a machine gun and destroying several Germans. This was their first combat mission, which ended with success that greatly raised the spirits of the fighters.

But the 316th Infantry Division did not conduct large-scale military operations near Leningrad and at the beginning of autumn it was transferred to the Moscow direction, to Rokossovsky’s 16th Army. The Panfilov 316th Rifle Division was supposed to block the Nazis’ path to Volokolamsk and took up defensive positions along a 50-kilometer segment of the front. Here the artillery 857th regiment of Kurganov became part of the division, but Panfilov still did not have enough anti-tank military equipment, although even anti-aircraft guns and our glorious Katyushas were used.

Panfilov's military tactics

Panfilov, a beloved general both by commanders and soldiers, paid a lot of personal attention to the 316th Infantry Division, because he well understood the complexity of the task. To increase the chance of victory, he used what he himself had developed to convince his personnel that attack, even in the most unpredictable situations, was preferable to defense. Later, this technique would save the lives of hundreds of fighters, in fact confirming the main law of his Father, who more than once told the fighters that he did not want them to die, he wanted them all to survive.

Here is just one of many glorious examples where Lieutenant Kraev distinguished himself. His company occupied a high-rise building, but was surrounded by enemy tanks and infantry. Kraev, being doomed to die, suddenly went on the offensive and not only broke through the ring, but also destroyed 3 tanks and a large number of fascists, and he and his company escaped from the encirclement. Later, one of the Germans wrote that it was very difficult to defeat the fighters of the “wild” 316th division, since they always acted suddenly, not obeying any rules of warfare.

Battles near Volokolamsk

Many innovations were introduced by the commander of the 316th Infantry Division. One of the techniques was even dubbed the “Panfilov loop” and began to be used in other sectors of the front. However, despite all efforts, the 316th also experienced defeats. So, on October 15, the Germans launched a powerful attack, throwing a large number of tanks at Panfilov’s division. On the left flank alone, where the 1075th regiment fought courageously, there were more than 150 of them. The fighting was incredibly difficult, but the 316th Infantry Division avoided encirclement, destroying the plans of the Nazis, since Panfilov managed to help his 1075th in time with a large amount of anti-tank artillery.

After 4 days, the Germans got closer to Moscow and occupied individual villages. In these battles, the highest heroism was shown by Captain Lysenko, who held the defense of the village of Ostashevo, and Captain Molchanov, who with his soldiers knocked out 6 tanks. But the Germans rushed to Moscow, regardless of their losses. Already on October 25, they threw about 120 tanks at Panfilov’s division. To save his soldiers, Panfilov ordered a retreat and surrender of Volokolamsk. Rokossovsky saved him from the tribunal for this act, and Zhukov saved him from execution.

Battle for Moscow

Inspired by success, the Nazis continued to attack. November 16 came, the day of the heaviest (according to Zhukov) battle for Moscow and the day when 28 soldiers of the 316th Infantry Division accomplished their unprecedented feat. The Germans went all-in, the Wehrmacht sent as many as 2 such divisions to the Volokolamsk direction. An infantry division helped them. According to the recollections of the surviving soldiers, tanks were coming towards them, on which infantry sat and fired incessantly. Our soldiers couldn’t even raise their heads to see where to throw the grenades. At the same time, planes bombed them from above. This entire avalanche of death was resisted by one 316th rifle

At dawn, a powerful attack began on Dubosekovo, where the 1075th Infantry Regiment was located. They were commanded by Ilya Vasilyevich Kaprov. At the same time, the 6th company defended Shiryaevo, the 4th - Dubosekovo itself, the 6th - the area between Petelino and height 251. The enemy threw about 60 tanks at the 4th company, and ours had only 1 anti-tank gun and 2 anti-tank gun platoons !

The battle lasted 4 hours. During this time, Panfilov's men knocked out 18 enemy tanks and killed several hundred soldiers. The official version is this: all 28 company soldiers died, but the enemy was stopped. Also killed was a thirty-year-old political instructor who wrote the famous phrase that Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat, since Moscow is behind.

Death of Panfilov

For this great feat, Panfilov’s 316th Rifle Division became the Eighth Guards Rifle Division on November 17. In addition, Panfilov was very happy about this, since he had long dreamed of his division becoming a guards division. On November 18, he met with his daughter Valentina, a nurse in his own division. During the meeting, Ivan Vasilyevich was called to the headquarters, located in the village of Gusenevo, for a conversation with Moscow correspondents. The conversation took place in the dugout and was interrupted by a message about a new tank attack by the Nazis. Panfilov hurried outside to his soldiers and jumped out of the dugout. At that moment a shell exploded nearby. In front of the amazed eyes of the people, the general began to sag. By a diabolical coincidence, a tiny fragment hit him right in the temple. The glorious hero was buried in Moscow, at the Novodevichy cemetery, and his division was named after Panfilovskaya.

Trophies and losses

During the most difficult military operation of World War II, which took place on November 16-19, not only the beloved commander of the 316th Infantry Division, who defended Moscow, died. The homeland lost thousands of its heroes in these battles. So, at the beginning of its formation, the 316th division consisted of 11,347 soldiers, and by November 16 there were about 7,000 of them left. In particular, in the 1075th regiment there were 1,534, in the 1073rd - 1,666, and in the 1077th - 2,078 soldiers and commanders. After the fatal battle, 120 people remained in the 1075th regiment, including the wounded, in the 1073rd - 200, and in the largest regiment, the 1077th, there were only about 700 fighters. The losses are, of course, terrible. In the famous 4th company, only 20 people out of 140 survived. In total, Panfilov’s men “cooked” for two months in the hellish cauldron of Dubosekovo - Kryukovo. During this time, they destroyed 9,000 fascist soldiers, about 100 tanks, and defeated 4 German divisions - 1 tank, 1 motorized and 2 infantry.

Afterword to the feat

Materials indicate that on November 16, several thousand of our glorious soldiers who defended Moscow died. Why is only the feat of 28 soldiers of the 316th Infantry Division known throughout the world? This happened at the suggestion of the workers of the newspaper “Red Star” Otenberg, Krivitsky, Koroteev. Krivitsky admitted that he invented his essay under pressure from circumstances. The commander of the 1075th, I.V. Kaprov, who survived the battle, officially stated that the journalists did not meet with him personally and did not receive any information and that in that famous battle not 28, but more than 100 Panfilov men died. They all fought like devils, defending every inch of their native land, but there was no feat of 28 people. All the names (as I remembered) of his fighters, who became famous Panfilovites, were dictated to Krivitsky by the captain of that same 4th company Gundilovich, and this happened 2 months after the battle, and Krivitsky composed Klochkov’s phrase himself.

Fatal and annoying mistakes

Undoubtedly, the 316th Infantry Division fought not just heroically, but at the limit of human capabilities, only not the famous 28 people, but every single one. But thanks to the dishonesty of those who did not personally risk their lives, the feat of all the fighters was reduced to the heroism of a small group of people. So, Krivitsky lied that he managed to hear about the battle in the hospital from one of Natarov’s 28 Panfilov men, who soon died. But he could not do this, since at the time of the famous battle he had been dead for 2 days. Among the Panfilov soldiers who died and were posthumously awarded is Daniil Kuzhebergenov (Kozhabergenov), who was captured by the Germans during the battle. Subsequently, he fled into the forest, wandered there until he was found by Soviet horsemen. The title and the award had already been issued to him by that time, so in the documents his name and surname were urgently replaced by Askar Kuzhebergenov, who was awarded it. But this fighter also did not participate in the famous battle, since he arrived in the 316th division only in January 1942.

The following errors are lucky ones. Thus, Panfilov’s men Pavel Gundilovich (commander), Illarion Vasiliev, Dmitry Timofeev, Grigory Shemyakin, Ivan Shadrin were posthumously awarded. All of them survived the battle and received their awards, being in good health. Gundilovic, unfortunately, died in April 1942, the rest managed to survive the war.

Hero or traitor?

The most glaring fact darkening the glory of the 316th Infantry Division is the episode with Ivan Evstafievich Dobrobabin, the former squad commander. Gundilovich, when he called his last name, did not know that Dobrobabin was captured and went to serve as a policeman and even became the chief of police, so zealously he performed his duties, although he was considered a Hero of the Soviet Union, like the rest posthumously. When he was arrested, the decree conferring the title on him was canceled, and the traitor was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Later, Dobrobabin petitioned to have the stigma removed from him, but was always refused. He was rehabilitated only in 1993, after the declaration of independence of Ukraine.

Other Panfilovites

Not only the 4th company of the 316th Infantry Division distinguished itself on November 16th. For example, 120 soldiers of the 1st company defended the village of Matrenino. They were commanded by Lieutenant Filimonov. They destroyed several tanks and 300 fascists. From the 6th company, which was stationed near Petelino, only 15 people survived the attack. This handful held the defense for several hours, blew up 5 tanks, but all 15 soldiers died. Under the command of the young lieutenant Kraev, the 2nd company held high-rise 231.5 and had no anti-tank shells or weapons at all, but somehow managed to blow up 3 tanks, destroy 200 Nazis, and take a trophy of 3 machine guns and 1 passenger car. Near the village of Yadrovo, 20 of our soldiers, commanded by lieutenants Islamkulov and Ogureev, defeated a battalion of fascist machine gunners.

Feats were performed on other days as well. On November 17, 17 soldiers of the 1073rd regiment fought to the death near the village of Mykanino. 15 soldiers were killed, but 8 of the 25 tanks attacking them were destroyed. On November 18, 11 soldiers of the 1077th regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Firstov, fought off attacks of an entire battalion of fascists and tanks near the village of Strokovo for several hours (until the last living person). It is a pity that so little is known about the exploits of these heroes.