Battle for the Caucasus. Stavropol region

The battle for the Caucasus is one of the longest (442 days) and important battles of the Great Patriotic War, which contributed to the completion of a radical turning point in the course of the war.

In a number of works, we have already touched upon the events that took place in the south of our country in the summer-autumn of 1942, when the enemy who seized the strategic initiative with the forces of Army Group B tried to capture Stalingrad, while the units of Army Group A during the offensive in the North Caucasus reached the Caucasian ridge.

"The death of the medical personnel of the 414th rifle regiment near the farm of Bolshoi Nabatov near Stalingrad"

"Soviet aviation in the sky of Stavropol in August 1942 "

"General Timofeev's group in the battles for the Caucasian Mineral Waters"

"Defense of Mozdok in August 1942"

"Defensive actions of Soviet troops in the Battle of the Caucasus: Stavropol direction"

"The work of evacuation hospitals in Stavropol during the Great Patriotic War"

"The Fifth Guards Don Cavalry Corps in the battles for the liberation of Stavropol at the end of November - December 1942"

One of the most significant episodes of the Battle of the Caucasus, which was a complex of defensive and offensive military operations, was the battles in the Stavropol Territory.

This material differs from our previous works on this subject, published in the form of articles in scientific journals, as well as in the form of documentaries.

It represents fragments of the speeches of the staff of our center during the round table "Stavropol in the war: defense, occupation, liberation", dedicated to the day of the liberation of Stavropol from the Nazi invaders:

The initial and final parts are largely devoted to the course of hostilities in the Stavropol (Ordzhonikidze) Territory during the Battle of the Caucasus.

In the central part, the events of the period of the occupation of the region are covered, fragments of the documentary film “The Semester That Wasn't. Occupation ", created by the staff of the center:

Comments

[bairat]

I read the memoirs of one veteran, in his words, more chaos, chaos and hopelessness than in the summer of 42 in the south of the country, he did not remember. Although from the first days I was in the war.

[Andrey and Igor Kartashyovy]

The situation, for example, in Stavropol, is described by witnesses of the capture of the city by the Germans - in the film "The Semester That Was Not" - from 03:20 and 14:00. We are talking about this during the Round Table - 14:50, 17:57 ...

[Mountain shooter]

Quote: bairat

I read the memoirs of one veteran, in his words, more chaos, chaos and hopelessness than in the summer of 42 in the south of the country, he did not remember. Although from the first days I was at war

Alas, order 227 did not appear at that time from scratch ... there were good reasons for it to appear ...

[Andrey and Igor Kartashyovy]

yes, Kharkov, Rostov ... and the enemy rushes to Stalingrad and the Caucasus
On July 31, Salsk was taken, on August 2, they invaded the Stavropol Territory - here the uncertainty and delay in the start of evacuation measures were perhaps most affected

[Glory1974]

I heard that Pyatigorsk was captured by German paratroopers. The city woke up in the morning, and the Fritzes were leaving Mashuk on motorcycles.

[Andrey and Igor Kartashyovy]

there was undoubtedly an element of surprise - the Germans conquered the region quite rapidly
As for Pyatigorsk, some details of its capture through the eyes of the Germans are given by V. Tike in his book "March to the Caucasus. Battle for Oil 1942-1943".
a more detailed description, based on the recollections of the inhabitants of the city and the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army who participated in the defense of the city, is given by S. I. Linets in the book "The City in the Dark ... (Pyatigorsk during the Nazi occupation. August 1942 - January 1943 g. "
both books are freely available
here, unlike a number of other settlements of Stavropol, there was a defense, serious battles between Mineralnye Vody and Pyatigorsk, both sides confirm this
the Germans have tanks, armored vehicles, a motorcycle battalion
judging by the available descriptions, they entered Pyatigorsk along Kalinin Avenue and from the direction of Novopyatigorsk ... there were battles on the slopes of Mashuk on August 9-11 - the cadets of the Poltava Tractor School put up serious resistance

[Dzungar]

While serving in Chechnya, I constantly had to travel through Mozdok. There I stayed with Baba Masha, a girl who survived the war .... She told how they buried the dead Soviet soldiers: "ALL THE FIELDS WERE AS BURNED BY THEM ... AND ALL OF THEY WERE BURNED. , I have no strength, but it was necessary to bury them all ... "Once in Mozdok the talk about the fact that the Germans are people too. The soldiers who carried out the order ... Baba Masha spoke out about this - "YOU WOULD BE ALL SUCH KIND IN 42 YEAR. IT WOULD LIKE ANOTHER ELSE" ... This moment was shown on TV ....