Chapter 24 5.total attack

The Fascists failed to follow the retreating divisions of the 64th Rifle Corps and rushed towards Kyiv.So they called in heavy artillery, concentrated the General Obstfeld assault group composed of four divisions reinforced with a large number of tanks on the narrow front, and resumed the attack on Kyiv from the southwest and south on August 4. Attacks on fortified areas.General Reichenau brought in a very powerful bomber group to support his army.In order to help the Obstfeld assault group, he ordered an attack on the rest of Kyiv's defensive sector. The Hitlerites made elaborate preparations for the assault on the city.In order to capture the Ukrainian capital, the Fascist High Command used everything.The shelling continued day and night.Violent aviation attacks came one after another.The enemy spared no aerial bombs and artillery shells.Later we learned from the German military documents that the Germans had prepared more than 4,000 tons of ammunition in Rivne in order to attack Kyiv, including a large number of concrete-destroying bombs.

The fascists carried out at the positions of the 175th and 147th Infantry Divisions, the mixed detachment of General G.H. Matkin, and the 28th Independent Machine Gun Battalion of Captain A.E. the most violent impact.After the fascists wedged into our defensive configuration at the junction of the two infantry divisions, they surrounded several permanent launch points, but the defense forces at the launch points continued to fight tenaciously.The 147th Infantry Division, located in the main direction of the enemy's assault, was in a difficult situation.The chief of security in the fortification area transferred his reserve team, the 132nd Tank Regiment (about 1,000 people, no tanks), to support the soldiers of the 600th Infantry Regiment on the right wing of the division who were exhausted in the battle of disparity in strength.The enemy was finally stopped.But at noon, Major General A. A. Martyanov, Chief of Staff of the Fortified Area (formerly Chief of Staff of the 4th Mechanized Army, who succeeded Lieutenant Colonel Yepifanov as of July 19) reported to Tupikov The general reported that the enemy had thrown fresh troops into the assault, this time against the 640th Regiment on the left wing of the 147th Infantry Division and General Mattkin's detachment.The front commander ordered Lieutenant Colonel C. G. Stein's 2nd Airborne Brigade to be transferred from the reserves to support Matkin—his detachment was in a particularly difficult position.Combats ended more and more often in hand-to-hand combat.The advance of enemy troops along the right bank of the Dnieper was stopped, but the enemy to the west captured Weta-Pochitovaya, Chabane.There were fierce battles for Lesniki, Khotiv, Gatnoye and Yurovka.

The chief of security in the fortified area ordered the immediate expulsion of the fascist intruders.The commanders of the 147th and 175th Infantry Divisions, C.C. Potekhin and C.M. Glovatsky, braved the enemy's artillery fire to drive around the regiments and established assault groups for counterattacks.Almost all political operatives have come to the front.Chief of the Political Department of the 175th Infantry Division, Political Commissar of the 2nd Battalion Kirill Vasilyevich Shtanev at the Young Political Commissar of the 632nd Infantry Regiment Georgi Pavlovich Pilato Accompanied by Rove, he walked around the battalions, explaining to the infantry, artillery, and engineers how important it is to support the comrades who are surrounded by the permanent launch point as soon as possible.

In the evening, the 632nd Infantry Regiment of the Glovatsky Division, the 632nd Infantry Regiment of the Potekhin Division The 600 and 640 regiments launched a resolute counterattack.When the movement was slowed down by the enemy's fierce shooting, the heads of the regiments and political commissars took the lead and led their subordinates forward.The artillery followed the infantry and pushed their own artillery with bare hands, aiming directly at the enemy's firing point.The report specifically mentions the artillery squad commanded by Sergeant Sergei Ivanovich Redko - a man of fortitude and resourcefulness.His artillery was always there where it was needed most and never missed a shot.

Major Ivan Semyonovich Brejko, commander of the 630th Light Artillery Regiment of the 175th Infantry Division, led his signal troops forward on the front line of the counter-shock, directing the artillery as he walked.With him was Anatoly Alexievich Tretyakov, the discreet and calm political commissar of the division headquarters.They are so engrossed that they do not realize that they have been separated from their own people.Then magically highlighted the enemy's encirclement circle. It has become the norm that even the higher command and political staff must go ahead of the attackers.They were justly blamed, as it would have cost the commanding staff unnecessary.But these actions of comrades are not meaningless braggadocio.The seriousness of the situation and a sense of responsibility are what motivate them to do so.

Fyodor Andreyevich Babenko, political commissar of the 147th Infantry Division and political commissar of the second battalion, was the kind of bold and passionate person who left an impression on everyone.He has a face that has been smashed by grenade shrapnel. He always wears a steel helmet and a submachine gun in his hand. He appears in the most intense places of the battle covered in dust.Everyone knew where to find him: wherever the situation was serious, he was there.The more experienced and calm Colonel Potekhin tried to rein in the young, impulsive commissar, but without success, and he himself was often drawn into the heat of battle. (Fyodor Andreevich was out of luck. He was badly wounded in the September breakout and had stopped breathing. The kolkhoz carried him back and nearly buried him in the martyrs' cemetery. They The commissar was finally taken care of. He was captured by the fascists on the way to the front. He escaped, but he had no strength to cross the front. So he went to Zaporozhye - before the war he was based on the Ukrainian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The mobilization of the Central Committee came from here to join the Red Army. In Zaporozhye, they helped him regain his strength and crossed the front. Now Fyodor Andreevich lives in his native Zaporozhye.)

Resolute counterattacks by the units of Tesin and Glovatsky forced the enemy back in many sectors.Fierce battles do not come without loss.In order to supplement these troops, the city party organization sent a large number of Communists to the divisions to serve as political fighters.Ivan Vasilyevich Belous, an employee of the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), was appointed head of the Kyiv fortification geopolitical department. -------- ①In the first few months of the Great Patriotic War, in order to strengthen the influence of the Communist Party on the combat troops, the Communist Party members and Communist Youth League members sent to the front as soldiers generally required two weeks to one month of special training. ——Translator's Note.

Pilots of the 19th and 62nd Bomber Divisions and the 16th and 36th Fighter Aviation Divisions provided great support to the Army units.Kyiv militia also took part in the fighting. On the night of August 3, two armored trains of the militia made a surprise attack on the Boyarka station, where they wiped out a column full of fascist infantry and blew up an ammunition depot. Artillery was mentioned in almost every report sent to Front Command.The commanders of the infantry and machine gun units defending the areas of the villages of Chabane and Khodiv were grateful to the artillery of the 344th Howitzer Regiment under the command of Major Kudry.The fighters of the anti-tank artillery company received the highest praise.The report mentioned the name of a platoon leader of the Independent Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion of the 175th Infantry Division, Ensign Fyodor Perevertello.When he and his subordinates fought against the impact of enemy tanks, they did not leave the firing position even when faced with the threat of being encircled.

The anti-tank artillery squads of the 231st Battalion of Independent Anti-Tank Artillery of the Potekhin Division fought bravely.Two guns belonging to Lieutenant Mikhail Ivanovich Vinogradov's platoon resisted enemy assaults in the section of the 600th Infantry Regiment.These two cannons blocked the way of the enemy submachine gunners as our infantry companies were forced back.Three times the Fascists charged at the guns in an attempt to capture them, and it was the precise shots of the artillery that drove the enemy back each time.After losing about forty soldiers, the enemy turned back the brave artillery from the flanks.Only then did they withdraw from their positions.The soldiers pulled the artillery and walked almost a kilometer in the forest, and finally returned to their own people.

To Vinogradov's left, soldiers from another platoon of the battery held.Fascist tanks are rushing upwards here.Aimer Ivan Trofimovich Afanasyev destroyed three enemy tanks with almost direct fire.Tanks began to fire at the artillery from a distance.The artillerymen died one by one.The enemy attacked again.Only the wounded gunner Troopam Minovich Troyan was left here, and he wiped his blood-smothered eyes and took aim himself.But the sight has been broken.So Troyan opened the breech breech and began aiming through the bore.He quickly loaded the cannonball and yanked the matchlock.The fascist tank stopped moving and smoke came out.With all his strength, Troyan climbed up to the cannon again.

He also shot three times, knocking out three fascist tanks. In order to enable the retreating troops to consolidate in the new area, several light armored vehicles of the Potekhin Division's reconnaissance battalion, led by the armored company commander Lieutenant Ivan Vasilyevich Shmegarev, charged against the enemy. go.Armored cars fought off the fascist submachine gunners with machine gun fire.But then came some tanks.Shmegarev ordered the armored company to retreat and took two armored cars (the second was driven by Sergey Nikolaevich Shamayev) to the battle.Both crews were killed, but they delayed the enemy tanks, making it possible for the company to retreat and consolidate. From the first day when the enemy attacked the city, the work of the front army headquarters became more intense.It's amazing how people can still stand.Communications with the army were disrupted from time to time.The Director of Communications of the Front, General Dmitry Mikhailovich Dobekin, had to overcome incredible difficulties to restore the damaged lines.He should be given his due - he did it.Where communication channels of any kind could not be established, contact with troops was maintained through dedicated officers.They risked their lives under enemy fire to send orders to the various units and regiments, and returned to the headquarters of the Front with reports.In this way, the chief can take timely countermeasures against changes in the combat situation. The fascist onslaught was particularly tenacious near Kyiv.We once asked a captured officer of the 95th German Rifle Division why they were so disregarding any losses. He replied: "The Fuehrer ordered us to open the gates of Kyiv in the next few days. So we will open it at all costs!" I don't know whether Hitler gave such an order to the desperadoes of General Obstfeld's group, but the fact that the head of state personally broke into Ukraine in the past few days and negotiated with the leaders of the "South" Army Group can already Proves that he attaches great importance to the engagement in the direction of Kyiv.Fascist generals desperately curry favor with their leaders.The prisoners said that it had been determined that a German military parade would be held in Kyiv on August 8, and that Hitler would personally participate. General Obstfeld, who was in charge of the 29th and 55th Armies of the German Army, was driven by his army to carry out new attacks again and again along the Vasilikov-Kyiv Highway because of the parade on Kreshchak Street. . Marshal C. M. Budyonny, who arrived at the command post of the Southwest Front, was still dissatisfied with the progress of the fighting near Kyiv.After hearing General Kirponos' report, he said angrily: "Dear comrades, what is needed is not to resist, but to fight the enemy personally." Kirponos argued that the Kyiv fortified area army has responded to the enemy with uninterrupted counterattacks.Today, the 2nd Airborne Brigade and the 3rd Airborne Brigade were transferred from the reserve -------- A battalion went into battle.The Kyiv militia and their two armored trains also took part in the battle. %%% "Don't prick it with a pin," Semyon Mikhailovich did not calm down, "hit him with a strong fist." He asked why the 206th Infantry Division and the 3rd Airborne Corps did not enter the battle. The commander of the front army explained that he was not using this division for the time being because the situation was getting tense, and this division was the only remaining reserve near Kyiv.The units of the Airborne Forces began to arrive one after another. C. M. Budyonny flew back to his command post after receiving assurances that he would strengthen counterattacks against the enemy from the next day. The next day, when the 6th Brigade of the 3rd Airborne Corps arrived, General Kirponos decided to bring the 206th Infantry Division into action along with the brigade.They were given the task of helping Kyiv's fortified area forces stop enemy assault groups and then crushing them with a resolute counterattack. Commanding the 206th Rifle Division was Colonel Sergei Ilyich Gorshkov, a member of the party since 1920.After graduating from the cavalry school in 1922, he basically worked in the leadership.At the beginning of the war he was head of the Department of Command and Personnel in the Odessa Military District.But he begged to go to the army from the first days of the fighting.That's how I became a teacher.He has been severely tested.His 206th Division was incorporated into the 7th Infantry Army and was once encircled.With great difficulty Gorshkov brought the troops out of the encirclement.This is for July.Now the division, replenished with men and arms, was again sent to the most important areas. C. A. Gorshkov has proved that he is not inferior to other more experienced division commanders in organization, perseverance and motivation. We also have high hopes for Colonel Viktor Grigorievich Zholudev, commander of the 6th Airborne Brigade.The thirty-five-year-old officer is quick and well-proportioned like a boy, and already has a lot of military experience (he joined the army as a fifteen-year-old doll. He fought in the Middle East Road Incident, starting in 1934 In the airborne troops, he successively served as the detachment leader and regimental commander. Later, he served as the infantry division commander for a period of time, and returned to the airborne troops on the eve of the war.) Gorshkov and Zoludev brought their corps to the battle zone on time. At dawn on August 7, they, together with the 147th and 175th Infantry Divisions and the 2nd Airborne Brigade, carried out a counterattack against the enemy group with the support of artillery and aviation. The Fascists met them with heavy artillery fire.The enemy bombers broke through the sniper nets of a small number of our fighter planes, dropped aerial bombs on the counterattack troops, and brutally bombed the entire fortification area.The incessant sound of explosions was carried into the city, and the sun was blotted out by the smoke from the exploding large diameter bombs and large caliber artillery shells. We have suffered a loss.Among those wounded on that day were General C. C. Stepanov, Director of Artillery of the 37th Army①, Colonel Vasilyev, his chief of staff, Evdokimov, political commissar of the Kyiv fortification area, and Po Colonel Jessin.But none of them left the battlefield.After the political commissar of the 728th infantry regiment was injured, he was temporarily replaced by Tretyakov, the political commissar of the division headquarters and the political commissar of the second battalion. -------- ① The 37th Army was formed on the basis of the Kyiv fortification area during the battle to defend the Ukrainian capital. The defenders of Kyiv fought hard; the road was strewn with the dead bodies of Fascist soldiers. This is a difficult and dangerous road, but the commanders and fighters of our army walk along this road, walking, with only one burning desire in their hearts-to drive the enemy out of the city. Colonel C. M. Glovatsky's officers and fighters, especially those of the 632nd Infantry Regiment, were once again praised for their daring.The regiment was commanded by Latvian Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Kristianovich Zvaigzne.It happened that a battalion of the regiment was repulsed by the enemy.Just then, Zvaigzne and regimental political commissar B. E. Pilatorov appeared on the forest road.They ran silently from the battalion's exhausted fighters to the edge of the forest, where the sound of machine gun and rifle fire continued.The political commissar turned around and said briefly: "Your comrades are still there!" The words of the political commissar quickly spread to all units of the battalion, so the soldiers forgot about their fatigue, picked up their rifles and followed the regimental commander and the political commissar to fight back. The shooting intensified, and the bullets crackled on the tree trunk.The soldiers overtook the regiment leader and the political commissar in an instant, shouted angrily and rushed towards the enemy, engaging in hand-to-hand combat.The commissar snatched the rifle from a fascist.Several Hitlerites were killed by his bayonet.But the commissar also fell.The soldiers carried him carefully.The impact became more and more violent, and the enemy was driven back.You Neighbor Camp was rescued from the siege. Those of the regiment mentioned in the report who performed particularly well in this battle are: Scout Nukhchuk Kumukov, Artillery Lieutenant Nikolai Platonovich Tour, Battalion Commander Joseph Captain Afanasyevich Bedushchenko, machine gunners Ivan Maksimovich Laptev and Ivan Grigoryevich Avershin, infantry shooter Ivan Vasily Yevich Zhusevich, Ivan Ivanovich Siletsky, Semyon Isaevich Chernov, squad leader Yevgeny Mikhailovich Matthew gram. All the heroes of these battles are too numerous to count.There are thousands of them... The enemy cannot stand our counterattack.The troops began to retreat westward slowly, and in some areas, the Hitlerites had to flee in embarrassment.The fascist leader hastily threw a new infantry division into the fray.The division forced my troops back at some points, but not for long.In the afternoon of the same day, the Soviet army resumed its counterattack.The fighting reached a level of intensity never seen before.Some settlements changed hands repeatedly.News spread among the defenders of Kyiv that Hitler was planning to hold a military parade on Kreshchak Street on August 8, which made the soldiers even more angry. "Let's hold a 'military parade' for the fascist thugs!" they yelled, throwing themselves back again and again. Live and die with the city! —has become the norm among the defenders of Kyiv.I remember that a battalion of the 3rd Airborne Brigade was transferred to the enemy's breakthrough area. On this section of the battalion, the artillery commanded by Lieutenant Kucherov repelled the violent onslaught of the Hitlerites five times.Seeing that the artillery battery could not be captured from the front, the fascists detoured it.The paratroopers pulled the artillery to a new position along the knee-deep mud and began firing at the enemy again.In another section of the airborne battalion, six fascist tanks rushed towards the seven soldiers of Dan Bingke Sergeant, and submachine gunners quietly followed behind the tanks.The paratroopers concentrated all their fire on the submachine gunners, forcing them to lie down.Molotov cocktails and grenades flew at the first two tanks as they climbed to the parapet of the bunker.Both tanks caught fire, and the rest turned around and ran.This was repeated several times.After the tanks retreated to a safe distance, they launched heavy machine gun and cannon fire on the paratroopers.Our soldiers did not fight back.But as soon as the fascist submachine gunners stood up, the bunkers began to fire accurately.The enemy soldiers fled one after another, and the tank soldiers did not dare to attack after losing the submachine gunner. The fascists captured the village of Novoselitch.The company of the 600th Regiment of the 147th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant Yiliying, made a concealed detour to the village, pounced on the enemy from the rear, and fought hand-to-hand with them.Although the enemy infantry had a numerical advantage three times that of ours, they could not persist and had to flee under the cover of their own artillery, leaving dozens of corpses on the battlefield.At the same time, some fighters led by the head of the Division Komsomol, Captain Political Instructor Nikolai Kornev broke into the rear of one of the enemy regiments and attacked its artillery battery. In one section, some units of the 600th Regiment retreated under the onslaught of superior enemy forces.Fyodor Andreevich Babenko, Second Battalion Commissar, rushed there. "Comrades! Where are you retreating to?!" he shouted, pointing in the direction of Kiev: "That's Kyiv! We can't let the fascists in! Forward! follow me! " The Hitlerites were driven back by this swift counterattack. The division's 379th Light Artillery Regiment, commanded by Major Gennady Mikhailovich Bolobanov, was a headache for the enemy.The artillerymen of the regiment are not only good at carrying out sniper shooting, but also very courageous.They often set up an ambush with artillery, and then suddenly fired directly at the attacking fascists. The division's position once dropped some leaflets.The fascists told the defenders of Kyiv to lay down their arms.But one leaflet ended with the words: "Bolobanov's artillerymen, you do not have to surrender, because you will be hanged." "We made them suffer!" the soldiers said happily when they read the fascist's capitulation letter. The 206th Division of the Neighboring Infantry fought against the enemy's assault north of Gatny. In the sector of the division, all units fought tenaciously, especially the infantry battalion commanded by Captain Dmitry Afanasyevich Tkachenko. Be the best.The battalion had only eighty men and two regimental cannons, but there were several companies of Fascists facing its position.An infantry platoon from the company of Lieutenant Alexey Kuzmich Krivospicki infiltrated the enemy's formation and, with a surprise attack, stormed into the town where a company of the Fascists was stationed.Our soldiers completely wiped out the enemy's garrison in fierce fighting. Second Lieutenant Anufry Mikhailovich Fedorak, the commander of the artillery platoon of the 737th infantry regiment of the division, used his own artillery to directly aim at the attacking fascists.When one of the artillery squads was out of combat, the platoon leader himself stood on the battery and fired until he was killed by enemy mortar shrapnel. The permanent launch point garrison unit incorporated into Captain Kipolenko's Independent Machine Gun Battalion fought bravely and recklessly.They did not leave their firing points even after the infantry detachments were forced to retreat.This happened in the vicinity of Tarasovka and Yurovka, where the permanent firing points of the contingent of Lieutenant Sidor Terentyevich Negrey were located.Many machine gunners died heroically, but the survivors held on to the end. Participants in the epic defense of Kyiv remember the monumental feats of the garrison of permanent launch point No. 205.I want everyone to know about these people.There were fifteen of them: Lieutenant B. E. Vetrov, Sergeant Muzichenko, Sergeant Muzichenko, Lieutenant B. E. Vetrov, Chief of Guard of the permanent launch point, Rybakov, a political soldier, Andrienko, Volkotrub, a Red Army soldier, Grobovoi, Kvaldzic, Klocchko, Mereshko, Netonsky, Romanchuk, Osadich, Opanashchenko, Soroka and Yaroshenko - ten Three Ukrainians, two Russians. The Hitlerites who besieged them repeatedly urged them to surrender under "decent conditions", but the besieged had only one answer-shoot.Neither the salvos of directly aimed Fascist artillery nor the lack of food or even water could bring the fearless garrison to its knees.The soldiers of our army who were cut off from their own units were on the verge of extinction. By the sixth day of the siege, the misery of the besieged seemed to have reached its climax: there was not even a sip of water left for the wounded, and the bullets had run out, except for a few hand grenades.But no one thought of surrendering to the enemy.Rybakov, an elderly political fighter, nailed the battle bulletin written by everyone to the brightest wall of the permanent launch point.The bulletin may not be well written, but every sentence, starting with the headline "Never give up the launch site to the enemy" written in large calligraphy, sounds like an enthusiastic call. On the night of August 8th or 9th, I cannot remember the exact date, the Infantry No. A few brave men from the 175th Division, led by Second Lieutenant Grigory Nikiforovich Zimbal, hit the blocked permanent launch point and brought food, water, ammunition and abandoned weapons to the besieged. Licensing of launch points.However, all fighters of the garrison, including the wounded, steadfastly refused to abandon their small fortress.Lieutenant Wetrov said on behalf of everyone: "We have sworn not to give up the permanent launch point to the enemy, and we cannot violate our oath." For several more days and nights they stood under enemy fire.It was not until August 12 that Colonel C. M. Grovatsky's 175th Infantry Division finally rushed to the permanent launch point, and the defenders of the launch point returned to the ranks of the defenders of Kyiv. For a long time I knew nothing of the fate of these heroes.It is believed by all that they were killed in the ensuing battle.But some time ago, when I was about to finish writing this book, I was told that two men were still alive in the hero's garrison.Former junior commander Ivan Petrovich Muzichenko works on a collective farm in the village of Remeshovka in the Yagodin district of Kyiv Oblast; Alexander Ivanovich Kvaldich in Minsk a factory job. Among the honorable participants in the battles of those days was the former commander of the 28th Independent Machine Gun Battalion (in which the garrison of the permanent launch point No. 205 was formed) Ivan Yevseyevich Kipolenko Still alive.He lived in the village of Levukha in the Letichev district of the Khmelnytsky region. When the defenders of Kyiv were fighting against the enemy's strong attack, not only the political staff of each unit and corps, but also the political staff of the newly formed 37th Army Political Department were active in the combat formations of the combat battalions.In the main direction of the enemy's assault, the staff of the Political Department of the Army Group - the fifty-year-old Konstantin Moiseyevich Kuznetsov, the political commissar of the second battalion, and Alexander Georgier, the political instructor of the captain Vich Bolotov, the unit of the 147th Infantry Division who has never left the most dangerous area.In the 206th Rifle Division there was Captain Political Instructor Ivan Davidovich Slenko, in the 6th Airborne Brigade there was Semyon Yeremyevich Zelitich, Political Commissar of the 1st Battalion And the head of the Communist Youth League of our front army, Hassangby Cherkesov, the political commissar of the second battalion.The political staff of the group army and the front army encouraged the soldiers with their exemplary words and deeds.Slenko arrived at the position of a battalion. When the battalion was repulsed, the captain political instructor and the battalion commander commanded a counterattack and drove the fascists away.The enemy unit that broke into the rear of the 6th Airborne Brigade was met with a swift counterattack by various rear units (including a military music platoon) convened and led by the first battalion political commissar Zelidzic. The communists charged forward everywhere.I remember that the political staff of the Political Department once showed me a party card.This is the party certificate of a commander who has died.Inside was a small note with a poem written on it: I swear - never let the enemy Break into my position. If sacrifices are required, I die in battle. May thousands of years later, people with affection stare at me The blood-stained party card... I don't know the author of the poem.But these verses expressed the thoughts of all defenders of Kyiv. Front, army and division newspapers wrote about the exploits of the defenders of Kyiv.These reports encouraged commanders and fighters to strike hard at the enemy.The combat enthusiasm of the 5th Army and the 27th Infantry Army regiments fighting close to the northwest of the city has increased.They used violent assaults to prevent the German 6th Army from advancing out of the Dnieper River. Filippi, already known to readers, was compelled to say of the 37th Army defending Kyiv and the 5th Army, which continued to cover the approach northwest of Kiev in the first half of August: "Both armies are very capable of the tasks assigned to them. "On August 8, General Halder also had to point out in his diary: "The enemy has put us in a disadvantageous situation" (he refers to the German army northwest of Kyiv).It should be noted that until the end of August, that is, before the headquarters of the "Centre" army group was deeply wedged in the direction of Gomel, the headquarters of the "Centre" ordered the commander of the Southwestern Front to withdraw the 5th Army across the Dnieper River. Both continued to tenaciously put the fascist army in a "disadvantageous situation". The regiments of the 26th Army, which stubbornly prevented General Schweedler from rushing to the crossings of the Dnieper River south of Kyiv, also continued to cause a lot of trouble to the fascist leaders. Marshal C. M. Budyonny tried to help the 6th and 12th armies that were in trouble in the Uman area, so he ordered the head of the front army to use the 26th army to attack Boguslav and Zvenigorod while fighting against the enemy's Kyiv attack. Carry out a new assault in the direction of the card.Unfortunately, the chances of completing the mission are extremely slim.However, our army's resolute actions in this area even alarmed the Fascist Supreme Command in the past few days.This was confirmed by Halder, Chief of the German Army General Staff himself. On August 8, he uneasily stated in his diary: "We must pay attention to the enemy's courage in carrying out the breakthrough campaign. The breakthrough that has already been carried out (referring to August 7 The breakthrough of the 26th Army to Boguslav (note by the author of this book) not only shows the boldness of the enemy, but also caused a lot of trouble for our army." In this way, the Soviet army fighting in the direction of Kyiv tightly contained the enemy's superior forces everywhere, and exhausted these forces in the fierce battle.Hitler's high command did not stop there.From the morning of August 8, it put new troops into battle, and launched another attack along the Vasilikov-Kyiv highway.It was here that the most brutal battles took place, involving a large number of fascist tanks.The main responsibility for the fight against tanks fell on the artillerymen of the various anti-tank artillery battalions.In order to save shells, they put the fascist tanks until they were 400 to 500 meters away from them before firing.The 231st Battalion of Independent Anti-Tank Artillery repelled several tank attacks.The enemy suffered heavy casualties, but our artillerymen also died one by one.There was only one man left beside some of the guns, and he was still wounded.Sergeant A. A. Ivashkov, the gunner of the 2nd Artillery Company, had been operating the artillery alone in place of the whole squad until his legs were broken and he fell down. The intensity of the battle increased hour by hour.Exhausted and weakened by casualties, the regiments of the 147th Rifle Division began to retreat in many sectors under enemy assault.The division commander Po Tekhin asked the army headquarters for help.The 212th Airborne Brigade, commanded by Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Zatevakhin, was brought in to support his unit.When Zatevakhin arrived with the advance battalion of his brigade, Potekhin's infantry had been pushed behind the artillery firing positions. Soldiers of the 344th Howitzer Regiment and the 379th Light Artillery Regiment tried to rescue their infantry comrades regardless of their own safety.Under the enemy's artillery fire, they used rapid fire to hit the intruding enemy's skirmish line, forcing the enemy to lie down.An officer of our war department came back from the army and said that at the most critical moment of the battle, the artillerymen were amazed to see a colonel wearing an air force collar walking around their firing positions in high spirits.This is Zatevashin.After the colonel asked the artillery to increase their firepower, he deployed his battalions.He stood in the bunker, watching intently through the smoke of shells and mortar explosions where the enemy skirmishers lay.Zatevakhin was so engrossed that he ignored the shrapnel and bullets whizzing past his head. "Comrade Colonel," the commander of the 1st Battalion standing next to him couldn't help it, "it can't be like this..." "What did you say?" Zatevakhin asked without hearing clearly. "It will kill you..." "Suvorov said bullets are stupid. They don't hit every head..." At this time, my attack plane passed by, dropped bombs on the fascists, and shot them with machine guns.Zadevashin put on his helmet and nodded to the chief of staff standing beside him: "Send signal!" Three red flares rose into the sky.The airborne brigade commander jumped out of the bunker and rushed forward with his submachine gun in his hand without looking back.The commanders and fighters wearing sky-blue collar badges rushed to the front of the colonel as if they had come out of the ground, and blocked the colonel with their bodies to prevent the enemy's bullets from hitting him.Their impact was so swift that the Germans had no time to organize their fire.And the paratroopers had already put on their bayonets.The Hitlerites turned around and ran, and the paratroopers began to follow.But the enemy fired machine guns and submachine guns at our soldiers from the next foxhole.The battalions of Zatevakhin had to lie down.After letting the soldiers take a breather, the colonel ordered to rise up and attack, and again drove the enemy away. This is the case throughout the war zone.Time and time again, commanders and political operatives have people carry out counter-shocks.We have lost many comrades in arms.Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Filippovich Kosenyuk, chief of staff of the 3rd Airborne Corps, a clever and very sweet man, died a heroic death.Many of his friends affectionately called him "our Sasha". ① -------- ① Sasha is Alexander's nickname. ——Translator's Note. I had known Aleksander Filippovich since the eve of the war, and we often met and talked on the phone while fighting near Kyiv.I am as close to our jovial and sympathetic Sasha as anyone who has ever met even once.But now he's gone... The Political Commissar of the 2nd Airborne Brigade and the Political Commissar of the Second Battalion, Dmitry Ivanovich Klimov, also died heroically. During the intense counterattack near Weta-Litovskaya, Major General Mattkin, the famous mixed detachment leader, was wounded.Everyone carried the general from the battlefield to the rescue station by hand.After the soldiers learned that their beloved commander was injured, they redoubled their violent counterattacks against the enemy. The enemy broke into the Kyiv suburbs of Myshelovka and Sovki, took the Goloseyev Forest and the Agricultural Institute, and advanced to some heights overlooking the southern part of the city.This news made the base camp very worried.Stalin called the commander of the front army to talk directly.I was there.Kirponos read the telegram and frowned even more. "Information has reached us," typed a note on the telegraph, "that the Front has decided to surrender Kyiv to the enemy rashly, as if for lack of troops capable of holding Kyiv. Is this true?" Kirponos shrugged in bewilderment, and ordered the Hakata pilot to send a message: "The report you have received is untrue. We will defend it. But we have no reserves in this direction." The Supreme Commander proposed to rely on General Kostenko's army to draw some reserves. （可怜的第26集团军哪！大本营后来还长时间——一个多月——地指望着它那些人数很少的师，把它们视为用之不竭的预备队哩！） 看来，斯大林在确信方面军司令员已深刻理解守住基辅对左岸乌克兰交战的结局所具有的全部意义后，以较温和的口气结束了谈话：“国防委员会和大本营迫切请求他们采取一切可能和不可能的措施保卫基辅。” 基尔波诺斯为这次谈话所感动，充满了立即和不惜一切代价把德国人逐离基辅的决心。幸好在此之前，由苏联英雄A·A·罗季姆采夫指挥的空降第5旅已开到我们这里。 亚历山大·伊里奇·罗季姆采夫上校的名字战争爆发前在各军区就已尽人皆知。他在西班牙作战勇敢，具有丰富的战斗经验。（后来亚历山大·伊里奇不只一次在大规模交战中驰名，成了将军和两次苏联英雄）。 方面军司令员命令罗季姆采夫旅在敌人突破地段从行进间进入战斗。第二天，空降兵与各步兵师部队协同，对敌人实施了极其激烈的反冲击。他们在自己勇敢能干的旅长指挥下，很快就取得了显著战果。 在索夫基地域，有两个炮兵连对我反冲击部队提供了极其宝贵的支援，这两个连是由基辅筑垒地域炮兵主任，一个即使在最危险情况下也不会失掉其特有的镇静的少校帕维尔·安德烈耶维奇·谢尔久克从其他地段调出并亲自带到这里来的。 到8月9日日终前，争夺基辅的交战达到了最高峰。敌人尽管仍在逞凶，但已能看出它张皇失措，对自己的力量失去了信心。例如，法西斯分子越来越经常在喝得酩酊大醉后进行冲击，就足以证明这点。 成千上万的基辅人响应市党组织的号召，补充了战士的行列。该市莫斯科区、铁路区、十月区和其他区的民兵队伍参加了交战。全市各种组织不断关心着军队一切战斗必需品的保障。 越来越多的兵力被调到基辅接近地投入交战，我们相当困难地把防守基辅的一切部队合并成了一个新集团军——第37集团军。在战斗过程中开始了将基辅筑垒地域司令部改组成新集团军司令部的工作，但进行得不十分顺利，并且影响了军队指挥。8月9日晚，图皮科夫将军听完我关于一日战斗行动总结的报告后，命令我到基辅去帮助新集团军司令部。 我一分钟也没耽搁就上路了。集团军司令部正进行紧张工作。我碰到的一些军官的脸色，看起来都更加忧虑了。新集团军司令员不在。我向参谋长A·A·马尔季亚诺夫将军作了自我介绍。 我早在伏龙芝军事学院就认识了亚历山大·亚历山德罗维奇·马尔季亚诺夫。1934年我在那里当学员，他是教员。人们都称赞他。马尔季亚诺夫从红军建军之日起就参加了红军。由于我过去是一个骑兵，所以对他也是一个曾领导骑兵部队和兵团司令部多年的骑兵，感到肃然起敬。1937年，他领导一个骑兵军的司令部，战争前夕则领导机械化第4军司令部。从1941年7月下半月起，他顺利地领导了基辅筑垒地域司令部。 我谈了自己的来意，请将军给我介绍日终前的军队态势。 马尔季亚诺夫告诉我一个令人兴奋的消息：法西斯分子已被赶出戈洛谢耶夫森林和农学院，现在，他们再也不可能从那里校正其炮兵对基辅的射击了。 参谋长逐渐活跃起来，他开始谈战斗过程，谈集团军首长采取的抗击敌人冲击的措施。基辅西南接近地的情况仍然非常紧张。敌人还有很多兵力，正在猛烈冲击。 马尔季亚诺夫赞扬罗季姆采夫上校的空降旅。在奋战在这一地段的其他部队支援下，该旅各营实施的反冲击把法西斯分子赶出了戈洛谢耶夫森林和梅舍洛夫卡。 “民兵真使我们感到惊奇。”将军说。“他们是些训练差经验少的战士，可是打仗都很英勇。由库兹涅佐夫指挥的莫斯科区民兵连，甚至在陷入重围时也不后退。机枪班伤亡很大，但只要还有子弹，机枪就不会哑。由厂长H·H·斯洛博茨基和M·B·阿瓦萨夫扬率领的捷尔任斯基工厂和卡尔·马克思工厂的民兵，表现了大无畏和坚韧不拔精神。阿瓦萨夫扬在战斗中多次负伤，但仍继续指挥自己的队伍。” 我说，方面军司令员很为各空降旅遭到重大损失担忧。马尔季亚诺夫沉重地叹了口气： “是啊，空降兵在战斗中确实不顾自己安危，指挥员也处处做表率。因此，各旅伤亡很大，其中特别令人伤心的是指挥人员伤亡也很大，不过，正如俘虏供称，法西斯分子对穿空军服的我军战士已经闻风丧胆了。法西斯宣传机构为了鼓舞士气，散布谎言说俄国人在基辅附近已经完全没有军队，他们甚至已被迫把飞行员当步兵用了。让他们去瞎扯吧。而我们佩带天蓝色领章的指战员们正在创造奇迹。现在只要阵地上留下一个空降兵，这个阵地对敌人来说就是无法攻破的。而且不只是空降兵才这样奋战。各步兵部队、筑垒地域常驻守备部队战士、炮兵、工兵和民兵，都象是在比勇敢。为了制止敌人进入基辅，每个人都会毫不犹豫地牺牲自己的生命。” 我看了集团军司令部明日要下发军队的战斗号令，提出了自己的建议。同我一起来的方面军司令部军官检查了集团军司令部各处的工作，并去通信枢纽进行了必要的帮助。直到夜里，我们才和参谋长亲切告别，匆匆回布罗瓦雷。 我们回到方面军司令部时，已是凌晨。我甚至来不及洗洗脸就去见图皮科夫将军。在走廊里碰见了我在总参军事学院的老熟人格列博夫中校。那时，伊万·谢苗诺维奇比我晚一年去学习。入学前的职务是炮兵团长。顺利毕业后，他和我一样留在学院里当合同战术教研室教员。他是很能干和很有教养的军官，因此我对他总是怀着由衷的敬意。 我曾听说他在战争前夕由学院到我们军区来实习。战斗开始后，格列博夫也就留在步兵第6军当炮兵副主任了。不久他就当了该军参谋长，仗打得很好。现在，由于解散几乎所有军领率机关，他要由大本营调遣。和格列博夫相遇使我很高兴。当我问他为什么到这儿来，现在干什么时，他苦笑着说： “我已经打完仗了，伊万·赫里斯托福罗维奇。要派我去后方，但我不想去。我来求方面军炮兵主任。可能他会把我重新调回炮兵。我愿担任任何职务，只要留在前线就行。” 我脑子里闪过一个念头：我若能有这样的助手该多好！ 我问他是否愿意在作战部工作一段时间。他高兴地说： “很乐意！” 我答应立即帮助解决这一问题。 我在图皮科夫那里呆了不多一会儿。我告诉他，新集团军司令部的工作还没搞好。将军答应派一些有经验的参谋人员去加强它。我利用这个机会谈到了格列博夫，介绍了他的最大优点。图皮科夫同意了我的建议。格列博夫成了我的助手。 从此，伊万·谢苗诺维奇也开始在高级司令部从事作战工作了。 我已经打算走开了，但参谋长没让我走。 “我还有您的好消息。” 他走过来，紧紧握住我的手： “祝贺您被授予将军军衔。我刚刚收到电报……” 这是个大喜事。我忘记了疲劳，忘记了已度过几个不眠之夜…… 不久，我又感受到了更大的喜悦。方面军司令部的共产党员们接收我加入了列宁的党。这样，在1941年8月的困难日子里，我早就梦寐以求的理想终于实现了。 敌人不顾损失，不想放弃突向基辅和第聂伯河渡口的希望。8月10日晨，法西斯分子再度沿瓦西里科夫－基辅公路发起冲击，在此集中的兵力不下五个师。 于是，各空降旅指战员又以其英勇精神使一切人惊叹。A·A·罗季姆采夫旅初级指挥员学校的学员们，镇静地放敌坦克一直开到自己的掩体上，并一齐开火消灭尾随坦克的步兵。接着，他们和炮兵一起对付突入的坦克。空降兵用炮弹、手榴弹、燃烧瓶消灭了敌人十辆坦克。在另一个地段，法西斯分子突到空降第6旅司令部前。司令部人员很少，但是每个人都当五个人用。旅长不止一次率领部下实施反冲击。他们在援兵赶到之前一直坚持着。这时，该旅第二营营长C·A·加拉诺夫大尉率所属分队打到突入的法西斯分子后方。这群希特勒分子被消灭了。勇敢的营长不幸牺牲。他的参谋长K·B·斯莫林大尉把战斗进行到底。 总的说，第37集团军这天的情况是那样的严重，以致不得不派内务人民委员部第4师一些分队和方面军铁道兵一些部队来支援它。铁路建筑第75、76、77营和铁路桥第31营在基辅西南郊迎击敌人。 第76营营长B·C·库茨大尉和政委B·M·伊利英率 领部下——养路工兵、钳工、木工、挖土工——在梅舍洛夫卡地域发起冲击。他们和法西斯分子一个对一个地拚杀，损失了不少同志，但打退了敌人。一些大胆的战士在C·E·莫罗佐夫率领下深入敌人后方，俘获了一个迫击炮连，并用德军的迫击炮对希特勒分子实施射击，更加剧了敌人队伍中的混乱。斯列普科夫大尉和科米连科、尤林、罗西上尉及其他光荣指挥员的铁路建筑分队，都进行了英勇战斗。 平斯克区舰队的海军军人对我军部队提供了很大支援。这个舰艇中队是由E·C·克拉韦茨海军上校指挥的。民兵和正规部队的军人并肩英勇作战。由A·B·华西列夫斯基指挥的基辅民兵的装甲列车实施了勇猛袭击，使敌人大为惊恐。 每天的战斗都使法西斯分子断送几千名士兵的生命。但我们也损失了许多优秀指战员。在许多部队中，人数已经很少很少了。例如在步兵第147师各团，现在每团都只有一百五十到二百人（我这里指的是战斗分队，即步兵射手和机枪手）；空降第3旅还有三百七十五人；马特金将军的光荣支队还有三百名战士。步兵第206师的人稍多一些。考虑到这点，C·M·布琼尼元帅于8月10日把步兵第284师从自己的预备队调到基辅附近。晚上，该师师长根纳季·彼得罗维奇·潘科夫上校率司令部军官组匆匆来到第37集团军指挥所，一天后，该兵团所属部队已在梅舍洛夫卡镇地域进入战斗，这个镇对于敌庞大兵力来说，成了真正的“捕鼠器”①——几百名法西斯士兵始终没有从这个“捕鼠器”里挣脱。 -------- ①在俄文里，地名“梅舍洛夫卡”与“捕鼠器”是同一个词，作者在这里是借同音词说诙谐话。 ——Translator's Note. 步兵第284师进入战斗后，第37集团军就更有力地恢复了反冲击，到8月12日，敌人被击溃了。基辅保卫者们开始缓慢，但却不断地把敌军部队逐向南方。 这几天，我们这里到了几门当时在西南方面军还没人知道的“卡秋莎”。8月15日晨，它们在步兵第147师进攻地带进行了急袭射击。“卡秋莎”的歼灭性齐射对敌人起了震撼作用。第二天，波捷欣报告，在实施齐射的那些地段，法西斯分子仓皇逃离自己的阵地。 火箭炮的出现，对我军指战员是多么巨大的鼓舞啊！ 我光荣的高射炮兵和飞行员尽管在很困难的条件下作战，但却对顺利抗击敌人的总攻击起了积极的促进作用。 法西斯航空兵十分猖獗。“南方”集团军群头目一天天失掉了夺取城市的希望，便竭力从空中实施突击，破坏桥梁，切断前送路，企图以此挫折基辅保卫者的士气。一群群轰炸机在歼击机掩护下向城市和各渡口冲击。航空兵的数倍优势并不能帮敌人的忙。我飞行员与高射炮兵紧密协同，警惕地捍卫着基辅的天空。如果有一些敌机飞近桥梁，那么我赶到的歼击机就用准确的射击和坚决的攻击，不让其实施瞄准轰炸。法西斯分子慌忙把炸弹随便投下，拚命逃脱。结果，在基辅防御的全部时间里，敌人始终未能对城市进行会破坏其和谐的生活节奏的突击。 方面军防突领导人A·A·达尼洛夫将军和B·A·佩 尼科夫斯基少校对在基辅上空建立可靠的对空防御，立下了不小的功勋。在对基辅来说很困难的8月份，由保障乌克兰首都防空的军队所辖的歼击航空兵第36师飞行员们，再次在基辅附近空域的空战中大显身手。 大家都记得发生在8月10日的情景。中午，一架苏军歼击机正在基辅南郊上空巡逻。突然从阳光后冒出了七架“梅塞施米特”飞机。在地面观察的我军步兵都希望苏军飞行员避开战斗，等待支援。可是，有红星标志的雄鹰突然急升，象箭一样迎着法西斯飞机飞去。敌歼击机旋风似地打旋儿。苏军飞行员是那样英勇善战，只见头几秒钟就有两架“梅塞施米特”栽下地去。其他敌机见我歼击机赶来援救自己的同志，急忙掉头逃遁了。 后来我们得知，这个勇士原来是航空兵第36师歼击航空兵第2团飞行员、共青团员B·B·卡列林中尉。 不久，基辅人又成为同样惊人的一次空战的见证人了。三个苏军飞行员——A·A·穆科莫洛夫中尉、A·A·鲍里索夫少尉和我们已经认识的J·A·扎伊采夫少尉——与十五架“梅塞施米特”进行战斗。一大群混战的飞机在空中转着圈。飞机发动机的怒吼声，不停顿的机枪点射声交织在一起。有一架飞机从混战机群中坠落，一边往下掉一边翻着跟头。我们的吗？不，是德寇的。接着，第二架“梅塞施米特”又旋转着栽到第聂伯河去了。而我们有红星的飞机却奇迹般地完好无损，继续攻击。法西斯分子看到苏军飞行员的同志们赶来支援他们，便逃走了。 敌人十八架轰炸机和九架歼击机曾来袭击航空兵第15师所驻机场。升空迎击敌机的只有歼击航空兵第28团的五名飞行员：苏联英雄A·F·费奥多罗夫中尉、博恰罗夫中尉、帕尔费诺夫中尉·特里福诺夫中尉和负责的飞行大队政委、上尉政治指导员级A·B·鲁坚科。五位勇士毫不犹豫地展开攻击。法西斯轰炸机的队形散了，有几架飞机着了火，其余急忙把炸弹随便投下，掉头逃遁。 有一个被打下来的法西斯架驶员在被带进司令部后，惊叹说： “你们的飞行员真是疯子！在力量那样悬殊的情况下竟敢冒冒失失地发起攻击！” 人们向他提起了这次“冒失”攻击的结果。他企图把一切都说成是偶然的，说德军飞行员只不过被这少见的粗鲁行为惊呆了，这些行为只有疯子才会去干。 他怎么能理解苏联人的心灵呢！我们的飞行员看到了力量的悬殊，也清楚意识到了他们所冒的生命危险。是疯子吗？ so what!伟大的高尔基曾写过这种人： “我们歌颂勇者的奋不顾身！” 几十万勇者为保卫基辅而战，由于作出了难以置信的努力，于8月16日把法西斯各师差不多赶回了它们对城市发起强击的那一道地区。 尔后，法西斯分子再也没能在基辅近接近地向前推进一步，虽然他们在8月底又一次力图突入城市。 挫折使“南方”集团军群司令大为惊恐。他已经开始考虑在基辅地域转入防御了。据菲利皮将军说，龙德施泰特元帅曾紧急向德国陆军总司令部报告，俄国人在基辅附近“打算粉碎集团军群北翼”。这位元帅央求立即从预备队中给他调来哪怕一个坦克师，同时令“中央”集团军群从戈梅利方面实施突击，给他帮助。被拒绝后，龙德施泰特决定紧急从克莱斯特坦克集群调一些部队到基辅附近。 8月上半月基辅面临的致命危险，并未动摇基辅人的勇敢精神，反而激励他们加紧支援前线。共产党员和平时一样站在最前列。虽然城里只剩下四分之一的党组织（其余党组织已去红军和游击队），但共产党员是一切爱国主义创举的主要人物。 根据他们的倡议，各工厂开始制造移动性防坦克障碍物、铁丝网、防坦克地雷、燃烧瓶，修理枪械、火炮、坦克、汽车甚至飞机。仅在7、8两月，基辅各企业就修复了各种战斗车辆九百零五辆。许多工厂学会了迫击炮和其他军械的生产。 运输工作人员英勇劳动着。铁路员工和河运人员在射击和轰炸下给军队不间断地前送弹药、粮食，后送伤员。 在基辅以南一个第聂伯河渡口，尼古拉·尼古拉耶维奇·杜德卡冒着敌人的射击和轰炸驾驶渡船。后来他和我们的部队一起搬走了，两年后又回到亲爱的第聂伯河。他是首批强渡这条大河的人之一，还当了苏联英雄。在那些日子里，谢尔盖·德米特里耶维奇·霍缅科也同样忘我地在基辅港工作。后来，他也获得了荣誉，由于立了战功而被授予英雄称号。他俩一直没有离开第聂伯河。尼古拉·尼古拉耶维奇·杜德卡现在还在基辅内河港口工作，谢尔盖·德米特里耶维奇·霍缅科在基辅共青团水力发电站工作。 难道可以忘记火车司机B·A·卡赞斯基的功勋吗？ !他两条腿都负了伤，可是没有离开自己的岗位，流着鲜血，到底把军列开到了指定地点。 苏维埃乌克兰劳动者以其忘我精神鼓舞了指战员，增强了他们的坚韧不拔精神和争取胜利的意志。 我记得在1941年7、8两月艰苦的日子里，各集团军司令员、各兵团指挥员和政治工作人员不断向方面军军事委员会报告，他们简直被志愿者包围起来了。那些未能被正式送进部队的人，常常成为某种“地下”战士。指挥员常在战斗最激烈的时刻突然发现他的人多起来。 他们是从哪里来的呢？原来，那些因年龄因素而不能被征入伍的少年和老头捡了牺牲者的武器后，同红军战士一起冲击。正如法律家和外交家常说的那样，他们成了事实上的战士。尔后，一个个代表团便来问指挥员：新手们已表现出是个勇敢的士兵，能否把他们留在我们那里？于是只好在“法律上”承认这些志愿者，按一整套手续把他们记入连花名册。 步兵第45师师长加夫里尔·伊格纳季耶维奇·舍尔斯秋克将军曾对我说过一个那样的志愿者。 在进行夺取马林市战斗时，奥列夫斯克区拉采沃村中学十五岁的学生廖尼亚·齐巴尔缠上了他那个师的一个步兵连。战士们收留并爱上了这个温柔而又机灵的小鬼，总让他离前沿远一些，离厨房近一些，他便在那里快乐地帮炊事员干活。有一天，这个连发起冲击后，敌人一挺机枪突然从翼侧开火，挡住了他的进路。就在这时，卧倒的战士们看到了一个小小的身影：有一个少年正紧贴着地面向机枪爬去。他藏在离法西斯机枪手仅几步远的小丘后。小鬼利用他们的注意力已被吸引到其他方向的机会，站起身来投了一颗手榴弹。机枪哑了，全连一齐发起冲击。战士们跑到小伙子身边，他受伤了。 “他们向我报告了这件事。”将军笑了笑。“我当然把收留小鬼的连司务长骂了一顿，可是他却有他的一套：'将军同志，他是个英雄哪，我们的廖尼卡！'我也于心不忍，就准许把小伙子留在连里了……” 看来，周围城市和村庄的男、女学生也都一心想着怎样才能到前线去。当然，人们不放他们走。可是许多人克服了一切障碍，和自己的父兄并肩参加了战斗。 第26集团军司令员科斯坚科将军曾呈请上级授予女卫生员、基辅兵工厂锻工的女儿斯克沃尔钦斯卡亚勋章。这位十六岁的女共青团员千方百计到了骑兵第14师。集团军司令员报告，这位年轻的女爱国者从敌火下救出了几十名受伤的指战员。 我在自己的一本旧笔记本里发现了一则简短的札记：“1941年8月12日。科尔孙区佩什基村。女庄员亚历山德拉·卡尔波夫娜·索布琴科从死亡中救出我十四名军人。”这则言简意赅的札记使我想起了在那严酷的岁月里曾经使我由衷激动的事。8月上半月，在科尔孙地域作战的我军被打退了，当时在佩什基村旁田野上还留下受伤的十二个红军战士和两个指挥员。女庄员亚历山德拉·索布琴科看到了这一情景。当时她二十二岁或二十三岁。她虽然很知道自己冒着生命危险，但还是把所有伤员都转移到自己的农舍。法西斯分子冲进村了。夜里，亚历山德拉又把全部伤员转移到安全地点。要在驻满了法西斯军队的村里藏匿和护理受伤的苏军士兵，是极端困难的一件事。这位年轻的妇女经受了多少忧虑和不安啊！况且，警宪人员很快就进村替换了那些后勤分队的士兵，他们使用警犬到处搜索。但他们始终没找到这个地下医院。不久，第26集团军赶走了敌人，亚历山德拉·卡尔波夫娜把自己保护的人转交给了我军医务人员。 乌克兰共产党中央委员会和共和国政府高度评价基辅保卫者们的英雄气概。8月17日，他们对战功卓著的部队和兵团全体人员表示感谢，并授予他们荣誉红旗。第二天乌克兰首都劳动者代表来到前线，以便在隆重气氛中授旗。 基辅举行了有军队党组织代表参加的全市党的积极分子大会。积极分子的决议激励基辅保卫者们去建立新的英雄业绩。