Chapter 29 10.they did not lay down their arms

Colonel Zakhvatayev later told me that he quickly found the headquarters of the 21st Army Group and handed over the order of the head of the Front Army to Lieutenant General B. A. Kuznetsov.The commander of the group army assigned tasks to the respective armies without delay.After crossing the Udai River north of Piryatin, the armies should advance eastward between Romny and Lokhvica.Kuznetsov decided to follow up on horseback behind the 66th Infantry Corps with the Army Command. In the early morning of September 18, the group army's leading organization column was led by two generals Kuznetsov and Gordov and the division's political commissar Koronin. The chemical infantry resisted fiercely, forcibly crossed the Udai River, and rushed towards Ozeriani.During the day, the enemy again blocked the way by the small ravine in the Belotserkovtsi area, so a circular defense had to be organized.After dark, the commander of the group army led the units to break through.Flares turned night into day.Enemy machine guns, mortars and artillery fire heavily, but this time they stand out too.

During this battle, Zakhvatayev was knocked off his horse by a mortar shell.When he woke up, he found himself lying in the pile of dead horses.We could hear German soldiers advancing on the field, and from time to time, bursts of submachine guns and screams of people could be heard: the fascist bandits were killing the wounded.They treated Zakhvatayev as dead, which saved him.After the Hitlerites left, Zakhvatayev limped eastward with his last strength.Soon he met Captain Chayev, commander of the anti-aircraft artillery battalion, and a soldier from the guard company of the army headquarters.They went through a lot of hardships before returning to their own people.

Lieutenant General Kuznetsov overcame all obstacles and finally led part of the army out of the enemy's encirclement. General H. A. Belov's 2nd Cavalry Corps reinforced the assault carried out by several tank brigades of the headquarters reserve, which gave a strong cooperation.The cavalry and tank soldiers launched a swift attack on Romney, where Guderian's headquarters is located.According to Guderian's recollection, he saw the attackers on the upper floor of the tallest building in the city at that time-they were only 800 meters away from him in total.The fascist general's nerves couldn't bear it, and he fled to Konotop with the headquarters.

The conditions for the exhausted Fifth Army to break through were much more difficult.General Potapov was unable to organize a general retreat of the army in the direction of Lokhvica because the enemy was attacking too hard.Forced to retreat southward, the 15th Infantry Corps had to break out on its own led by General C.C. Moskalenko. General H.B. Kalinin's 31st Rifle Corps tried to clear the way for the Military Council and the headquarters, but they were unable to overcome the solid defenses of the German 4th Tank Division on the Udai River.The leading body of the army group was forced to join the second echelon of the front army headquarters in the area, and together with it turned south to Pilyatin.

Lieutenant General G. F. Kostenko, Commander of the 26th Army Group September 17 After receiving the order to break out in the middle of the night, J. E. Kolesnikov and B. C. Buterin, members of the Military Council (the latter was formerly Secretary of the Nikolaev State Committee of the Ukrainian Communist Party), and staff officers were invited. Colonel A. C. Varennikov, Colonel E. C. Shemenov, Director of Artillery, A. B. Zakoworotny, Director of the Political Department at the Political Commissar level of the regiment, and E. B. Vadis.After a short discussion on the situation at that time, Kos made a firm determination as follows: to withdraw the army to the Orzhica River under the cover of the rear guard, and to break out of the siege in the direction of Lubne by this regional organization, and to cooperate with the Kasbah attacking from the east. The 5th Cavalry Army of General Mkov and the tank brigades of the 38th Army faced each other.After the commander of the army group gave orders to the divisions, he immediately led the headquarters to move to the city of Orzhica, where all the troops were assembled.Vehicles and baggage clog the small Ukrainian city.After the commander ordered a small detachment led by A. A. Alexeyev to cover the city, he set about establishing a shock group.This is difficult due to lack of communication tools.Moreover, we must always pay attention to the exposed two wings of the army group, because Guderian's army is pressing from the north and the German 17th Army troops are pressing towards the two wings from the south.

-------- ① Especially the anti-reconnaissance agencies in the Soviet army. ——Translator's Note. On September 21, Kostenko made his first attempt to break through the front of the 1st group of Kleist tanks.After a short period of artillery preparation, the divisions began to forcibly cross the Orzhica River.The enemy put up fierce resistance.The advance detachments took hold on the left bank, but the fascist leaders kept bringing their tank units here.Our soldiers used artillery fire, Molotov cocktails and grenades to meet enemy tanks.People hit again and again. A person who took an active part in these battles later said that the battalions of the 69th Regiment of the 97th Infantry Division (formerly incorporated into the 38th Army) rushed to the enemy positions several times, but were hit by heavy fire from the fascist tanks hiding in the bunkers. , was forced to retreat.The same pitched battle took place in all the lots.

The divisions nearly exhausted their ammunition in unsuccessful attempts to cross the river.General Kostenko, without contact with the Front Command, contacted the headquarters and sent a wireless telegram to Marshal Shaposhnikov: "I continue the encircled battle on the Orzhica River. All attempts to cross the river have failed. Ammo is out.Please send aviation support. " Marshal Shaposhnikov ordered the airdrop of ammunition to the area of ​​​​operation of the Kostenko Army Group.Seeing that the army could not rush to Lubne, he informed the commander of the army on September 22 that Kirponos, Potapov and Kuznetsov were moving in the direction of Lokhvica, and Belov The cavalry army marched forward and asked him to also turn to the northeast and follow them to break through.

At 9:00 p.m. on September 22, Kostenko decided to try again to cross the river, but failed: Major A. C. Brai, deputy director of the Army's Operations Department, reported that the Germans had broken into Orzhica the eastern suburbs, and set fire there.To continue to wait is to wait for death.Kostenko called for the brigade A.B. Borisov, whose cavalry group was nearby and was now part of the 26th Army. Borisov was ordered to carry out a surprise attack on the intruding enemy.When his cavalry charged the Fascists, the battle was close to Army Group Headquarters. Kostenko picked up his submachine gun, stuffed a few grenades into his pockets, and said to the officers at the headquarters:

Let's go, comrades! " They rushed to the barrage behind the cavalry, and along the dam to the opposite bank.The horses that Borisov had set aside in advance were waiting for them.Kostenko's headquarters was originally the headquarters of the cavalry group, basically composed of experienced cavalry.As soon as they saw the horse, they immediately became more energetic.What a power a rider and a good horse are!Army headquarters fought and advanced together with Borisov's cavalry and other troops.They crossed several rivers by force.At night, on the east bank of the Sura River, a German mortar company firing position covered by an infantry detachment was encountered, and a battle broke out.The Soviet cavalry failed to attack twice, but rushed over for the third time!

At the beginning of October, the commander of the 26th Army finally led the rest of his troops to the 5th Cavalry Army. The zone of combat operations highlights the enemy's encirclement.Long afterward, the surviving commanders and fighters of the army continued to sneak across the front in small groups and even alone.Those who successfully broke through were J. E. Kolesnikov, member of the Military Committee of the Army Group, J.E. Kolesnikov at the political commissar level of the brigade, A. B. Zakoworotny, director of the Political Department, and many other commanders and political staff.Some soldiers and officers walked hundreds of kilometers behind the enemy before returning to their own people.A group headed by Captain Political Instructor Mikhail Trofimovich Taran traveled a total of six hundred kilometers and returned to his own people with weapons, documents and medals.There was also a woman in this group - Antonina Afanayevna Matviyenko, assistant medic to the 169th Infantry Regiment.She endured all the hardships of the march with as much determination as the man.Malaria tormented her, and the wounds in her legs were festering, but she continued to walk eastward doggedly, rejecting the advice of well-meaning kolkhoz women to stay and recuperate.When she was in a coma, those companions who could barely stand on their own carefully carried her away.

The commanders and fighters of the 37th Army who directly defended Kyiv withstood a difficult test.After studying the documents of those days and interviewing some of the combatants, I traced roughly the most difficult situation that the Army Group found itself in after the order to abandon Kyiv. In the first few days of mid-September, the right-wing corps of the 37th Army were turned by the enemy from the northeast and fought to defend every kilometer of land north of the town of Semipolki and south of the secluded Ukrainian city of Ostyr.During the battle for Kozelets, the 41st Infantry Division twice drove the fascist units out of the city.When the enemy broke in for the third time, the division commander Georgi Nikolaevich Mikushev, who was already known to the reader in the border battles, led another counterattack.He sacrificed.The units were under fresh enemy assault and might not have been able to hold out if Colonel C. C. Potekhin's division had not arrived from Kyiv to support them.The tenacious counterattack of these two corps delayed the enemy for two days and nights. But the battle lines changed again on September 16.The German 6th Field Army Assault Group tried to break into Kyiv from the northeast and seize the crossings of the Dnieper River. The leader of the City Defense Command asked the commander of the 37th Army to strengthen the troops covering this most important direction, but the commander said that he had no reserves to strengthen them.The decisive action of the leaders of the City Defense Command saved the situation.They sent a part of the 4th Division of the NKVD and 300 naval personnel from the Dnieper Squadron of the Armory Militia and the Pinsk District Fleet to establish a defensive area close to the bridges of Kyiv.The right-wing corps of the 37th Army, which had been repulsed by the enemy, and the troops of the City Defense Committee who came to support them consolidated in this defensive area on September 16 and stopped the enemy. On this day, the unit of the 227th Regiment of the 4th Division of the NKVD fought bravely under the command of Major Vakin.They not only repelled an enemy regiment with a swift counterattack, but also captured the regiment's flag. The Hitlerites launched a heavy artillery and aviation assault on our troops and threw infantry and tanks into the attack.Several times, they engaged in psychological warfare across the board—straight forward, shouting like a drunkard, shaking the wilderness.Our soldiers put them in front of the trench all the time, and put together bayonets.Fascists cannot stand hand-to-hand combat.The desperadoes who saved their lives withdrew. On the section of one regiment of our army, the Hitlerites went right up to the artillery emplacement.Artillery fired on them with cannonballs.In another area, the fascists approached the tank trenches.Corporal Yefimochkin, the machine gunner, dragged his machine gun from the half-destroyed civil firing point, mounted it on the parapet of the anti-tank trench, and conducted short-handed fire. Even after the enemy mortar company opened fire on him, he did not Stop shooting.In this battle, even political instructor Slesarev, members of the Komsomol, Corporal Aristalhoff, members of the Komsomol, Private Bokanov, Zverev, Knyazev and many others performed very well. outstanding. The wounded did not leave the battlefield until the fascists were driven back.Lieutenant Sirin was wounded twice in hand-to-hand combat, but he did not leave the company.It was not until the enemy's next attack was repelled that the company commander was almost forced to the ambulance station. Defenders were severely lacking in anti-tank guns and armor-piercing rounds.During a battle near Krasilovka.The commanders and fighters of the 3rd company of the 227th regiment stopped the enemy's armored vehicles at the cost of their lives. This is how Soviet soldiers fought.It never occurred to the defenders of Kyiv that they were abandoning the city. On September 17, when the German army was already far east of Kyiv, Ukrainian Pravda also expressed their sentiments, writing: "Kyiv was and will be Soviet Union!" The people of the Ukrainian capital, even under such difficult circumstances, live according to the customary lifestyle of front-line cities.There was no sign of panic.Businesses that have not been evacuated continue to work as usual.People labor under the slogan "Everything for the Front". The order to abandon Kyiv was received by radio on September 18. The order specified the general direction of the army's retreat to the head of the army group, and informed the very brief situation of the actions of the army's neighbors.At that time, carrying out this order was more difficult than defending the city.They have to walk hundreds of kilometers in enemy-occupied areas.Moreover, the retreat was carried out hastily, and the army commander made many mistakes.For example, he decided to lead the army to retreat along the main road and railway line from Kyiv to Priyatin. The leader of the "South" Army Group is counting on this, and has already cut off these roads in the Yagotin and Berezan stations in advance.It is a pity that the group army command did not know that there was a heavy enemy group here. The infantry divisions defending the right bank of the Dnieper and the fortified areas of Kyiv should begin their retreat first.The machine gun battalions of the permanent garrison were the last to leave their positions.After the troops defending the fortified area of ​​Kyiv pass through Boryspil, the troops fighting close to the bridges of the Dnieper River should withdraw thereafter. The rearguard consisted of Colonel H.A. Vasilyev's 87th Infantry Division and G.M. · Composition of the 4th Division of the NKVD under Colonel Ma Zhilin. The army set out on the night of September 18.The first enemy screen in the Boryspil area was repulsed.The columns meandered eastward. At this time, officers from the Fortification Area Command and the Political Department were inspecting the permanent launch points.Each person is responsible for patrolling a certain area.The garrison troops at each launch point withdrew quietly.When there was no one left in the position, there were explosions one after another: engineers blew up the fortifications. The commanders and fighters walked on the streets of Kyiv with their heads down, and stopped involuntarily.They had fought for the city for more than two months at the risk of their lives, and now it must be so painful to abandon it. The defenders of Kyiv have nothing to blame.They did their job.Kyiv was not conquered.The enemy thus cannot take it in open combat.It was only because the situation was not conducive to the Southwest Front Army that our officers and soldiers followed the orders of the base camp and abandoned their beloved city. They firmly believed that they must come back.Kyiv was and will always be Soviet! G.M. Mazhilin, commander of the 4th Division of the NKVD, was in charge of blowing up the No. Bridges over the Dieper.According to B. A. Sergiyenko, the Ukrainian NKVD, he was appointed "the last garrison commander of Kyiv". September 19 was overcast.Smoke billows over Kyiv.Commanders and political operatives, together with representatives of city organizations, went to shops and warehouses, opening the doors and allowing residents to stock up on daily necessities. De Kou didn't realize that our army was retreating until 11 am.They fired brutally on the southwestern outskirts of the city before moving forward.The army rear guard struggled to hold off the enemy's pressure.Enemy artillery fires heavily on the bridges.My troops covering the crossing suffered losses, but I continued to perform my duties bravely, covering the passage of the retreating troops. Guaranteeing the timely destruction of the bridges over the Dnieper was one of the most important measures to organize the evacuation of Kyiv.With the direct participation of the head of the 4th Division of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the 37th Army Corps of Engineers, preparations were made for the bridge bombing as early as the first few days of September. In the afternoon, the signal was given when the enemy's advance troops appeared on the right bank.Colonel Mazhilin said that from his observation post he saw smoke and fire rising from the B. A. Petrovsky railway bridge.The center truss is poured into the water. The E. Bosch Bridge also took to the sky.The Navodnitsky wooden bridge is the central bridge, and most of the rearguard troops have to cross this bridge.A. A. Finkelstein, Military Engineer 3, was in charge of blowing up the ferry. He waited for the last moment, trying to let the last batch of stragglers pass through.The engineer did not give the signal until enemy motorcyclists rushed ashore and fired heavily with machine guns.The wood, doused with tar and gasoline, burst into flames.The soldiers guarding the bridge on the right bank retreated along the burning bridge.Fascist submachine gunners followed them and rushed.After our soldiers set foot on the ground, the engineers detonated the TNT explosives fixed on the wooden piles. The burning bridge immediately fell into the Dnieper River, and the enemy soldiers were buried under the debris of the bridge.Almost at the same moment, the southernmost Darnitsky Bridge also heard an explosion.Crazy fascists attempted to force the river across on the march, but accurate machine-gun fire from the left bank drove them back. Ma Zhilin contacted the commander of the 87th Infantry Division in order to coordinate subsequent actions. -------- ①Equivalent to the rank of major of the commander. ——Translator's Note. The units of the rear were ordered to hold out until dark, and then retreat in the general direction of Boryspil. In the early morning of September 20, both corps advanced to the eastern edge of the Darnitsky Forest.The sun peeking out from the horizon shines through the mist on a shadowy city in the distance.This is Boryspil.On the road leading to the city, there was an endless stream of cars, horse-drawn carriages, and refugees pushing carts and carrying backpacks, still moving forward.Ma Zhilin sent a small detachment led by Major Jedov to Boryspol. This detachment has a radio station for communication and was ordered to find the army headquarters behind Borispol and further clarify the direction of travel. .About half an hour later, Dedov reported that enemy tanks had broken into the city, and he fought them.Thus, the road through Boryspil was cut off. It has been found that the main force of the 37th Army was divided into two parts in the Balyshevka area.Most of the troops were blocked by the enemy Yagodin Group at the Supoi River, and the rest of the corps were blocked at the Trubezh River west of Baryshevka.Our army launched an attack on the enemy.But the Hitlerites had hidden tanks on both banks of the river.Breaking through that defense was not easy without a sufficient number of artillery.Our army attacked again and again. On the night of September 21, an army group of the 37th Army crossed the Trubezh River after hard fighting and broke through the enemy's encirclement.The resolute onslaught was directed by T. A. Strokach, Deputy People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR.At the decisive moment he was in the leading skirmish line with some generals and officers.Colonels Sokolov, Kosarev and many other commanders died heroically.But the mission was accomplished, and the enemy screen was routed.Most of this army group returned to its own people.Lieutenant Colonel Mazurenko, head of the 56th Regiment of the 4th Division of the NKVD, led fighters to join Kovpak's partisans. The main force of the group army, which was surrounded by Berezan Station and the forest area south of it, continued to fight hard.General C. D. Dobrocheldorf, Chief of Staff of the Army Group, assumed command.The fascists advised the besieged to lay down their arms.My commanders responded with new shocks. Colonel M. G. Orlov, Major B. C. Blazyevski, and other commanders united some of the most effective troops, and on the night of September 22 made a sudden assault and broke through the encirclement , they did not go east as the enemy expected, but rushed south.There are also some army groups that stand out.However, a considerable part of our army almost exhausted all the ammunition in the tenacious impact, so they had to hide in the depths of the forest.The Hitlerites tried to get in several times, but they all suffered heavy casualties.Was beaten back. By the end of September, the maps of the German General Staff no longer showed the besieged areas of the 37th Army's main force: it seemed that they believed that all Soviet troops were starving to death there.Most of the troops that blocked the forest were diverted to attack eastward.Taking advantage of the significant weakening of the enemy's encirclement, the besieged Soviet troops began to divide into small groups, some crossed the front eastward, and some rushed to the nearby forests, and later became the core of a large number of guerrillas. After being cut off from the main force in the Boryspil area, the army rearguard stubbornly opened the way for itself. On September 24, both divisions entered the Rogozov area and fought with the Hitlerites entrenched there.The first few impacts were unsuccessful.The sun was already sinking below the horizon, when the scouts saw that a large new force of the enemy was coming from Pereyaslav.Our troops were flanked, and hastily turned to defense, digging trenches and organizing firepower.Fighting raged during the night.Supported by tanks, the Hitlerites threw their infantry into the shock.To save bullets, the Red Army soldiers did not fire.From their positions there was only the occasional sound of artillery fire.Every shell was regarded as precious, and the artillerymen only fired when they were absolutely sure that none of them missed.Burning fascist tanks lit up the fields.When the Hitlerites approached the trenches, Konovalov, commissar of the 4th Division of the NKVD, stood up, shouted: "For the motherland!" and rushed forward.Also rushing out with him was Leliuk, the captain's political instructor.Like electricity passing through a trench, the commanders and fighters all fought bravely to surpass the political commissar.The violent onslaught drove the fascists away. The enemy estimated that our troops would break through to the east.However, according to the suggestion of Colonel Ma Zhilin, the head of the group army's rear guard decided to withdraw the army to the west to the forest along the Dnieper River for rectification and prepare to participate in a new tough battle. At dawn on September 25, the advance troops of the rear guard entered the village of Staroye.The scouts reported to the regimental commander, Major Vagin, that a column of Hitlerites was moving on the road from Pereyaslav.The major quickly organized an ambush.Artillery and machine guns fired at the Fascists, who marched recklessly, gradually into the forest roads.The enemy suddenly panicked.The soldiers jumped out of the bushes and wiped out the enemy, capturing dozens of vehicles loaded with supplies.Among the trophies was the flag of the regiment that was wiped out by the German army. Fierce fighting took place everywhere the enemy attempted to intercept Soviet troops. In the evening, all the troops of the army rearguard reached the forests along the Dnieper River.Then there is the continuous sand.Car wheels idling on the sand, consuming what was left of the fuel.They got some horses and wagons at the sugar factory, and put the wounded, ammunition, and provisions in the wagons.A few cars were left to pull artillery and mortars, and the rest had to be destroyed.Scouts discovered a prisoner-of-war camp hastily set up by the fascists.The advance detachments carried out a swift and violent attack to eliminate the guards and liberate the Red Army soldiers.At dusk they reached the Everglades.There is a forested oasis in the middle of the swamp.The engineers and soldiers paved the firewood road.The troops crossed to the oasis to organize a ring defense. The number of defenders of the "Swamp Fortress" is constantly increasing.The engineers who blew up the bridges of the Dnieper River, the last evacuated Kyiv fortification area detachment, the naval personnel of the River District Fleet, and the railway employees of the Kyiv railway junction all gathered here. The fascists attacked the island several times, but they were unable to take it.In October, the soldiers in summer clothes began to suffer from the cold.Ammunition is almost out.The reconnaissance revealed that the Hitlerites were preparing a new attack.So he decided to act ahead of the enemy. On the night of October 4, the troops left the isolated island and spread out into skirmish lines.Everyone walked in silence, while the artillerymen pushed the cannons with their hands.Intense fighting took place near the village of Javicki.The enemy met our shock troops with heavy artillery and machine gun fire.But nothing can stop our soldiers from advancing.They wanted to get as close to the enemy as possible.Artillery advancing in the skirmisher line ahead calculatedly fired at enemy firing points. Hand-to-hand combat broke out everywhere.The enemy's encirclement was finally broken through.Then, the Soviet army decided to advance in small detachments and try not to get involved in the battle, because the shells and bullets were almost exhausted.The road is long and difficult.Many sacrificed.But many commanders broke through all obstacles. The Military Council and Headquarters of the Front Army set off on the night of September 17.It was decided to break out via Lokhvica.In order to achieve greater mobility, the leadership of the Front Army was divided into two echelons.The author of this book is in the first echelon, and included in this echelon are the military committee, the headquarters, the political department, and the service heads of various arms.From the village of Upper Yarovka we took the road to Piryatin, where a bridge spans the Udai.Arrived by the river in the middle of the night.The enemy air force bombed the ferry, and it was very difficult to maintain formation.After crossing the river, under the cover of the units of the 289th Infantry Division of Colonel J. G. Markshanov, the column of the headquarters crossed Piryatin and rushed to the residential area of ​​​​Chernukh, but was attacked by German tanks from the north before dawn. The impact of the attack cut off the connection of the synchronous unit.So I had to change direction and turned to the country road passing along the left bank of the Udai River, driving under bombardment and shelling.The fascists tried several times to throw us over the river, but their entire onslaught was repulsed.We lost quite a few cars here: partly by shells and bombs, partly by ourselves, to make the columns leaner and stronger. On the morning of September 19, we arrived at the village of Gorodish at the confluence of the Udai and Mnoga rivers.The commander of the front army ordered the advance to be stopped in order to reorganize the column, ascertain the situation and formulate a subsequent action plan.In this village, the column of the 5th Army headquarters joined us.The column arrived here under the cover of the remnants of General Kalinin's 31st Infantry Corps. In Gorodshih, I counted my own troops, about 3,000 people, and six armored vehicles of the guard regiment, and several anti-aircraft machine guns.The enemy aviation does not give us a moment of peace.Fortunately, there were not many casualties.What distressed us most was that the radio station was destroyed by a bomb.Thus the last thread linking us to the armies and the headquarters of the commander-in-chief was broken. Kirponos called a meeting of the leaders who had come to Gorodishh in a farmhouse.General Tupikov reported the situation.Enemies are approaching from all directions.The Germans fortified their frontal north-facing defenses on the south bank of the Udai (we are at the mouth of the river); Guderian's tank and motorized troops occupied the east bank of the Mnoga; All the large settlements to the north and northwest of us have also been captured by the enemy. Everyone fell silent after hearing this disturbing information.General Kirponos broke the silence. "One thing is clear: we must break out. Now we need to clarify in which direction to break out." I do not remember now who suggested to cross the Mnoga River near Gorodishchi at night and go to Lokhvica overnight.General Tupikov firmly opposed this suggestion: "The Germans are waiting for us to do this. They must have laid an ambush at the bridgehead. I think we should go upriver and force the Mnnoga near Chernukha, which is twelve kilometers northwest from here." General Potapov supported him: "We have already confirmed that the Germans will not pass any of the bridges on this river unnoticed. The advantage of breaking out near Chernukha is that it can surprise the enemy. Besides, there are some treacherous grounds there, so it is not necessary to The bridge needs to be captured." This suggestion was adopted.It was decided to create three battlegroups: an advance battlegroup to clear the way for the front headquarters columns and two flank battlegroups. General M. A. Potapov was in charge of the vanguard group.I was ordered to command a company of the NKVD to cover our entire column from an enemy attack from behind. ...I ordered my subordinates to stand in line.There were one hundred and fifty lads in all--mighty, handsome, and well-behaved.It seems that I am luckier than everyone else, because I command a team that is truly capable of fighting.I brought most of the officers from our operations department to form a command group. I silently patrolled the lines, looking at the faces of the commanders and fighters.Everyone is very tired, and it would be nice if they could rest for a while, but there is no time.I spelled out the task and told them in advance that the situation was going to be difficult. "But I believe that none of you will embarrass the Soviet soldiers." When I fell silent, a young soldier with a blackened bandage on his head standing opposite me said: Rest assured, Comrade General, we will not disappoint. " The voice of approval resounded over the queue.At this moment, General Kirponos' adjutant came running: the commander told me to go. I ordered the group to disband and prepare for battle, and hurried to the center of the village.Kirponos, Burmistenko, Lykov, and Tupikov were standing among a group of generals and officers.Burmistenko said something to his comrades in a low and calm voice.Incredibly, he was talking while literally within range of the enemy gauge.Burmystenko, the honored son of the Ukrainian people, maintained his composure without pretentiousness, full of confidence.As I approached, I heard him say: "The main thing is to be calm, comrades. There are no difficulties and dangers that our people cannot overcome. Communists should set an example in the performance of military duties." I report to the commander that I have been called. "Comrade Baghramyan," he said with a haste that was out of character. "A large fascist motorcycle convoy came from Mellieha. After it forcibly crossed the Mnoga River, it repelled my detachment that occupied those highlands," the commander pointed to the very prominent one kilometer to the east. "It's about to break into here. You immediately deploy your team and charge towards the enemy. Your task is to capture this high ground, seize the bridge over the river, and advance to Xiancha. Please do it!" " That said, everything has changed.We will fight to Sencha, and my ranks have become the first echelon... I cannot help thinking of yesterday when the Fascists forced the front headquarters' columns away from the troops of the 298th Rifle Division advancing in front of us.I was worried that this kind of thing would happen again today, so I said, if my team is successful, the main force should be closer to us.The commander waved his hand impatiently: "Well, let's go, Comrade Baghramyan." What I found: Never before has the Commander been so tired and melancholy. I ran back to my team, asked everyone to form a team, and told them about the new combat mission, then led them out of the village quickly, and spread out into a skirmish line in the bushes.The Hitlerites entrenched on the hill began to shoot.But we keep moving.Many people stood up from the ground when they saw us.These are the soldiers of those detachments which the enemy knocked down from the hills.They cheerfully joined our skirmisher line.My team is like a snowball, with more and more people.I heard someone shouting: "Comrades, the general is with us! Go!" We rushed to the top of the mountain.What cannot be solved with bullets can be solved with bayonets and butts.Hitlerites fell a lot.We took forty prisoners, several mortars and several motorcycles.After sending all these to Gorodish, he hurried to the river.Fortunately, the fascists did not have time to blow up the bridge, and it fell into our hands.It was dark, but haystacks were burning all around.This is the best orientation for the main force of our army.But they didn't know why they didn't move.I sent Military Technician 2nd Class Stepanov to report the results of the battle and to report that we would follow the order to advance to Schencha. At this time, we have more and more supplementary personnel.General Alexeyev, the director of oil supply of the Front Army, and Colonel Luo Jiajing, the chief of the rear guard of the Front Army, brought a group of border guards.The commanders and fighters of various logistics agencies arrived alone, in groups of two, or in groups of three.But the headquarters column has never been seen. Late at night, we approached the village of Iskovtsy-Senchanskye (Yuskovtsy).Despite the darkness, we quickly took our bearings from the Hitlerite signposts (they have the German attention to detail and signposts at almost every intersection).We stopped so that the line could be tighter and get in line.While Alexeyev and I were doing this, officers from the War Department went around the various farmhouses.When the residents in hiding heard that it was not the Germans who had suddenly entered the village, but the Red Army, they came to the street one after another, rushing to entertain the soldiers with various foods. A staff officer of the Operations Department that we sent to communicate with the headquarters of the Front Army has returned.He brought unexpected news: no one came with us.He met some fighters who had broken through the blockade of the enemy screen by Gorodish.They said in unison: None of our people stayed there, and all the cars drove west.I don't understand at all.But we were ordered to go to Xiancha, so we had to go there.It is possible that the Front Army Command went there by another road.It is impossible for the headquarters not to pass through Sencha, because there is a bridge across the Sura River there.This troublesome little river has a large swampy swamp, with bridges only at Sentcha and Lochvica.But it is unwise to go to Lochvica - such a large settlement may already be full of enemy troops. Our team broke into the western outskirts of Xiancha Village from the road before dawn.There are no Germans.But as soon as they approached the bridge, the enemy on the other side launched violent machine guns, artillery, and mortar fire.Everyone had to lie down.I discussed with Alexeyev and Rogatin and decided to carry out the shock.The ferry and the entire village must be seized and held until the column of the Front Army Command arrives.The shooting didn't stop, but the soldiers jumped up and rushed to the bridge according to my password.At this time, German tanks also appeared.Firing cannons and machine guns, they galloped toward me.And we didn't even have Molotov cocktails, so we had to abandon the village.It is clear that we cannot take this village.于是准备绕过去。 我们把队伍分成两部分。阿列克谢耶夫将军率自己的那群人向北走，我率其他人向南面的小村庄卢奇卡走。两群人都应准备就便器材渡河，黎明以前要等候司令部纵队到来。 我们失去了与方面军司令部会合和任何希望，拂晓前分乘几条船过了河。当地居民送我们沿难以辨认的泥泞小路走过了沼泽河滩地。我们顺利穿过公路，隐蔽到麦垛间。我派年轻的中尉多罗霍夫去侦察。他回来时很高兴： “将军同志！离这儿不远有一个国营农场。那里一个德国人也没有。居民们请我们去。” 在国营农场的这个镇子里，妇女、老头和孩子们（所有能拿起武器的男子都上前线了）把我们团团围住，提出了当时通常会提的一连串问题：我们的红军究竟在哪里？为什么德国鬼子会侵入我国国土这么远？ 我讲了我们方面军的困难处境和苏军战士的英雄气概，并说我们一定会回来的。妇女们开始抢着请我们“到寒舍吃一点”，并把包着各种食物的纸包塞给我们。 我们在这好客的镇上休息了一整天。战士们擦拭武器，洗脸，缝补衣服，有人还刮了脸。可是我们一分钟也没有忘记危险，派出了环形警戒。 到处都乱扔着法西斯的传单。我看了其中几张，都是欺骗性和语无伦次的。其中一张是写给“乌克兰先生们”的，答应从今以后给他们这些“自由臣民的后代”真正的自由。至于这个自由意味着什么，却解释得极为含糊。讲得非常明确的只是进行以下选择的权利：假如“自由臣民”胆敢不服从德国当局，是上绞架还是被枪毙。接下去是一列长长的清单： 禁止干什么和干了什么会被处死。 我召集指挥员共同研究尔后行进路线。 幸好我身上有一张小比例地图（百万分之一）和指北针。我们决定尽可能离开道路行动，以减少同敌人遭遇的可能性。 每一段路都要测定准确的方位角，以便于夜间判定方位。 晚上，我们和镇上居民亲切告别，向大村庄科梅什尼亚进发，希望在那里遇上我军先遣部队。我们避开居民地悄悄地赶路，到科梅什尼亚村口时停住了脚。我派勇敢的多罗霍夫和另两名军官前往侦察。半小时后传来了冲锋枪射击声，并升起了信号弹。多罗霍夫中尉气喘吁吁地飞跑回来报告： “村里有德国鬼子！差点落入他们的魔掌。” 我们抓紧时间绕过了村子。当我们走近霍罗尔河畔的小镇梅列什基时，天已微明。最边上一间农舍的主人告诉我们，这时没有希特勒分子。他确信我们是苏军指挥员后，便给我们指示了徒涉场。我们渡河时天已大亮。再往前走就危险了，因为周围是一片开阔地。于是决定在离红库特镇不远的沿岸灌木丛中渡过一天。我们占领了环形防御。镇里的淘气孩子到处乱钻，在这里撞上了我们。起初他们被当兵的吓坏了，但看到领章和军帽上的红星后，便壮起胆子和我们谈开了。这些大眼睛的小淘气知道很多情况。他们说，现在只有别列佐瓦亚卢卡村和祖耶夫齐村，即我们以北和以南几公里处的两个沿河村庄有德国人。至于村子以东有什么情况，可惜的是这些小宝贝不知道。我们问孩子们能不能到镇子里弄到吃的东西。他们答应去问问。我派我的审慎而老成的助手索洛维约夫中校同他们一起走。不一会他就和两个上了年纪的集体农庄庄员回来了。三个人拿来了几口袋食物和几桶牛奶。其中一个庄员送我们去据说昨天还有人看见红军战士的拉希夫卡村。我们在黄昏时出发。四周静悄悄的“听不见打枪，也看不见法西斯的照明弹！我们在拉希夫卡村旁告别了向导，继续赶路。到达萨兰奇纳多利纳镇附近时天已破晓。我们在沿普肖尔河延伸的一个森林里隐蔽起来，占领了环形防御，并向道路派出了侦察群。中午侦察群报告，有一个不大的汽车纵队正由北面开来。我命令准备战斗。 头车还未驶到镇子就停下了。车厢里坐的是红军战士！我们欢呼着朝他们奔去。一个年轻的中士从驾驶室跳下来。他惊讶地看着我们这些疲惫不堪、长满胡子的人。看见我后，他敬礼报告： “我们是侦察支队侦察群。我是侦察群长莫罗佐夫中士。” 我们得知这个侦察支队是一个独立工兵营的营长由加佳奇市派出的，目的是察明敌人位置及其兵力部署。侦察群从我们这里了解到希特勒军队各先遣支队位置后，继续赶自己的路，我们则愉快和精神抖擞地向东走去。到大村庄萨雷后，人们盛情接待我们，把我们分到各户吃饭。在这个只有我侦察兵可以渗透进去的中间地带村庄中，村苏维埃和集体农庄管理委员会仍然在行驶职权。它们简直是在希特勒匪徒的鼻子底下对突围的战士们提供帮助。我由村苏维埃同驻加佳奇市的工兵营长通了电话。他派汽车来接我们。我们被接到一个不大的楼前。一个军官大步朝我走来。清晰地自我介绍（一下就可看出是个基干指挥员）： “库列绍夫大尉，加佳奇市卫戍司令员。” 他请我去办公室，同时命令自己分管物质、保障的助手立即安置和我一起到达的人们休息。 我惬意地坐在包着颜色不分明的人造革的松软旧圈椅上，仔细听取大尉报告。他报告了守备部队行动地域的情况，介绍了他的兵力编成。从大尉的叙述中我了解到如下情况。 库列绍夫大尉是独立工兵第519营营长。他的部队正在加佳奇组建时，法西斯分子分割了我方面军。大尉得知此情并与营政委梅德韦杰夫商量后，定下了组织城市防御的决心——该市现在突然处于战斗行动前沿了。他作为卫戍司令员，把米申大尉的道路修筑队和由市民警局长格尔琴科指挥的地方歼击营收归自己指挥。立即开始了构筑防御地区的作业，市民积极参加了构筑。 库列绍夫定时派到洛赫维察的侦察组，曾多次与阻挡我军退却的敌坦克第3师个别分队发生小战斗，抓到一些俘虏，缴获了第一批战利品：汽车、电台、司令部文书等。 “还有这个”。威武的大尉把大约二十枚德国铁十字勋章撒到桌上。 在法西斯各坦克集团前出西南方面军后方以后的最初日子里，加佳奇市守备部队是在几十公里地段阻挡敌人东进的唯一部队。库列绍夫大尉行动时责任自负，因为同上级首长没有通信联络。现在他开始直接由A·P·波克罗夫斯基少将任参谋长的新西南方面军司令部接受指示。 加佳奇守备部队对突围者不断提供很大帮助。由阿列克谢耶夫和戈尔恰科夫领导的守备部队经济管理人员不知让多少衣衫褴褛的、饥饿的和受伤的人穿上了衣服、鞋子，吃上了饭。我们的队伍也体会到了这种亲切关怀。 我们在加佳奇曾企图打听到我们没有碰上的司令部纵队。可是任何人都不能告诉我们任何确切的情况。后来我遇见了我的副部长A·C·格列博夫中校和方面军司令部的其他同志，才得知令人悲痛的细节。我首先问格列博夫，当初方面军司令部纵队为什么在戈罗季希迟迟不动，而且没有跟随我们的队伍。格列博夫惊愕地看了我一眼： “难道基尔波诺斯将军没预先告诉您？他只是想用您的队伍向先恰方向实施佯动冲击，把敌人的注意力引开。当时纵队应向北行进，并在沃龙基村附近强渡姆诺加河……” （原来是这么回事……不，我不能抱怨基尔波诺斯对我隐瞒自己的企图。对部下隐瞒企图，这是司令员的权利，更不用说他要实施佯动冲击了——得让他象在主要突击方向行动一样全力以赴。） 格列博夫接着说，起初还算顺利，大家沿姆诺加河右岸隐蔽前进，夺占了沃龙基村，并渡了河。9月20日拂晓，到了洛赫维察西南约十五公里的德留科夫希纳镇。在舒梅伊科沃小树林停下来进行全日休息。 方面军司令部纵队中一共有一千多人，其中八百名是军官。仍然同他们在一起的有M·P·基尔波诺斯上将，方面军军事委员会委员M·A·布尔米斯坚科和军事委员会委员、师政委级E·P·雷科夫，B·A·图皮科夫少将，J·M·多贝金，A·A·达尼洛夫，B·B·帕纽霍夫，第5集团军司令员M·A·波塔波夫少将，该集团军军事委员会委员、师政委级M·C·尼基舍夫和军事委员会委员、旅政委级E·A·卡利琴科，集团军参谋长J·C·皮萨列夫斯基少将，兽医勤务主任A·M·佩尼翁日科及其他同志。同纵队一起行进的有六辆装甲汽车、两门反坦克炮和五挺四联装高射机枪。 小树林被一个峡谷切成了两半。车辆和人员集中在小树林边缘。战斗车辆在林缘占领了阵地。遗憾的是，队伍又暴露出组织性不强的弱点。占领防御的只有格列博夫中校指挥的方面军军事委员会警卫队和弗拉基米尔斯基少校指挥的第5集团军司令部警卫队。许多军官各自走到镇上农舍去洗脸、弄食物和稍事休息。 而法西斯分子已经发现了夜间消失的方面军司令部。晨雾消散后，侦察兵报告：德军坦克正从东面和东北面开来。从西南面来的掉队战士说，这一方向也有敌人的摩托车和坦克正在接近。 大约过了二十分钟，敌人从三面对小树林实施冲击。坦克用加农炮和机枪射击，后面跟着冲锋枪手。在雷鸣般的炮声和机枪的哒哒声中，也夹杂着我们两门火炮稀疏的射击声——炮少得可怜，而且还要珍惜每一发炮弹。敌坦克突到了东林缘。装备手榴弹和燃烧瓶的军官们同它们进行搏斗。两辆敌坦克起火燃烧，其余退回去了。 方面军司令员、两位军事委员会委员、图皮科夫将军和波塔波夫将军开始商量接下去怎么办：是在小树林等到晚上呢，还是马上突围。可是敌人又发起了新的冲击。乘车接近的德军步兵从行进间展开成散兵线，在坦克火力掩护下扑向小树林。当他们到达林缘时，被围者在基尔波诺斯、布尔米斯坚科、雷科夫、图皮科夫、波塔波夫和皮萨列夫斯基率领下，投入了反冲击。希特勒分子经不住这种白刃冲击，又退下去了。 基尔波诺斯将军在反冲击中腿部受了伤。人们把他抬到峡谷底部泉水边。负伤加严重震伤的集团军司令员波塔波夫也被送到这里。他的参谋长皮萨列夫斯基将军已英勇牺牲在战场上。 师政委级雷科夫和图皮科夫将军同格列博夫中校一起绕过了林缘。他们同人们交谈，并鼓励他们。 大约在晚上六点半钟，基尔波诺斯、布尔米斯坚科和图皮科夫召集指挥员讨论了突围方案，预定天黑后进行突围。就在这时，敌人开始实施猛烈的迫击炮射击。一颗迫击炮弹在司令员身旁爆炸。基尔波诺斯一声不哼地扑在地上。同志们朝他奔过去。将军胸部和头部都负了伤。两分钟后他就逝世了。司令员副官格年内少校含着眼泪从将军的上衣取下了金星奖章和各种勋章。 夜间，图皮科夫带领人们冲击。他们突然而且不放一枪地扑向敌人。等惊慌失措的法西斯分子清醒过来时，我军很多指战员已为自己杀开了一条血路。他们受长时间痛苦折磨后终于回到自己人那里。他们之中有多贝金、达尼洛夫和帕纽霍夫几位将军、格列博夫中校和我们的其他同志。图皮科夫将军没能和他们一起回来——他在距舒梅伊科沃小树林两公里的奥夫季耶夫卡镇旁的对射中牺牲了。 没能从小树林突围的我们其他同志的下落，一直到1943年左岸乌克兰解放后才知道。附近几个镇的居民说，小树林中的对射还持续了一个多昼夜。9月21日，当一切都已沉寂，希特勒分子也已离去后，集体农庄庄员们来到战斗地点，看见了苏军指战员的遗体，他们虽已牺牲，但手里还握着武器。 手枪和步枪的弹仓里一粒子弹也没剩下。 现在，这里的阵亡将士公墓上耸立着一座雄伟的纪念象——这是一个强壮的手拿冲锋枪的苏军士兵雕象。清泉旁立了一块大理石板，上写：“1941年9月20日，西南方面军司令员M·P·基尔波诺斯上将在此牺牲”。 1943年，基尔波诺斯和图皮科夫两位将军的遗骨移葬基辅。他们长眠在光荣陵园无名战士墓旁的雄伟方尖碑基座前，长明火在墓上熊熊燃烧，象征着为人民立下的功勋永垂不朽。 一些负了重伤的指战员落入希特勒分子手中。他们中间有方面军军事委员会委员、师政委级雷科夫。流血过多的雷科夫遭到了凶残的拷打，并被杀害。哈萨克斯坦的卡通－卡拉盖村居民虔诚地纪念自己光荣的同乡。在他上过学的学校大楼上设了一块纪念牌。大理石上雕着他的浮雕象，下面刻着题词： “西南方面军军事委员会委员、师政委级雷科夫·叶夫根尼·巴甫洛维奇曾在此学习。他是为祖国英勇牺牲的。1906— 1941年” 法西斯侩子手们抓走了昏迷中的波塔波夫将军。我们都以为他牺牲了。但是，无论是伤口，还是内伤，还是法西斯拷问室的可怕折磨，都没有摧折这位年轻集团军司令员强壮的肌体和不屈不挠的精神。战争结束时，苏军从希特勒集中营里救出了他。波塔波夫将军回到了我们的队伍，在自己生命的最后几年（他于1965年去世）任敖德萨军区第一副司令员。 当我就要叙述完西南方面军被切断与自己基地联系的那些兵团怎样坚韧不拔地为自己开辟道路时，我不能不提到我们军队医务人员的功勋。不少受伤军人陷入了合围。军医、助理军医和护士们自愿分担他们的苦痛。他们没有扔下自己的护理对象，而是尽最大可能帮助他们，并且经常为此牺牲自己的生命。从敌人合围圈里突围的指挥员对我们说了许多英雄的医务人员，遗憾的是没能记住他们的名字。不久前有一封读者来信向我提起了其中一些人。 列昂尼德·伊格纳季耶维奇·帕先科夫1941年9月曾 住在洛赫维察。他写道，当时附近各村子里来了很多受伤的指战员。把他们送到后方已经不可能了：法西斯分子切断了所有道路。于是来到这一地区的军队和地方医务人员便急忙收容伤员，建立了一些地下医院。D·A·帕先科夫怀着深深的敬意写到的这些奋不顾身的人中，有C·M·哈杰米罗夫教授、B·X·沙赫巴江教授和外科医生C·C·韦利卡诺夫。爱国医生们为了使伤员能站起来和免于被俘虏献出了全部力量。他们曾使多少士兵和军官伤愈归队呀！ 西南方面军指战员们在1941年整个夏季和秋季开始时给法西斯德国侵略者造成了不可弥补的损失，拖住了敌人几个集团军的庞大兵力。该方面军长时间地威胁着已经向东深深楔入的“中央”集团军群南翼。正是这一情况迫使希特勒于8月下半月在基辅方向集中了自己军队的基本力量。敌人只是因为占了巨大的兵力优势，特别是占了巨大的坦克和航空兵优势才有可能在这里以惨重损失的代价得逞于一时。西南方面军军人的坚韧不拔和英雄主义精神，在相当大程度上促使希特勒“闪击战”计划遭到破产，并且对后来莫斯科会战中的战事发展无疑产生了重大影响。 1941年9月11日，《真理报》写道：“苏联爱国者在反对法西斯匪军的卫国战争中建立了无数功勋，其中以列宁格勒、基辅、敖德萨的保卫战最为出色，它是无限热爱祖国和自己城市的动人范例，是群众大无畏精神和集体英雄主义的十分令人惊叹的体现。”