War on Lake Ilmen
In the western Novgorod region lies Lake Ilmen, or, as it was known in ancient times, the Slovenian Sea. It was to its bottom that the hero of the Russian epic, Sadko, dived on his journey to the Underwater Kingdom.
It is a glacial lake with an average area of approximately 982 km² (varies depending on water level fluctuations, which can reach 7,4 m), a length of approximately 45 km, a width of up to 35 km, and a depth of up to 10 m. About 50 rivers flow into the lake, but only the Volkhov flows out, flowing into Lake Ladoga.
Modern map of Lake Ilmen
The shores are predominantly low-lying, swampy, and in places deltaic, with numerous flat floodplain islands and channels. The lake freezes over from November to April.
Landscapes of Lake Ilmen
Lake Ilmen often becomes quite violent, especially in autumn, due to the "shelonik"—a strong wind blowing from the Shelon River. Every year, it claims many victims.
The largest shipwreck occurred in 1471. When a huge flotilla of 150 ships, carrying entire families with their belongings, livestock, and household goods, set out for Lake Ilmen, a sudden storm sank all the vessels. According to the chronicler, 7,000 people perished.
Peter the Great nearly fell victim to the "shelonik." In the summer of 1785, Empress Catherine II, aboard a yacht, was caught in a storm with squalls. Fortunately, the yacht washed ashore on the lake, where, by order of the empress, a church was subsequently built to commemorate her miraculous rescue.
The lake frequently became a battlefield. As early as 1916, the Russian War Department began work on establishing a naval flotilla on Lake Ilmen. This became especially urgent in the spring of 1918, when the Soviet government began forming so-called "screen detachments" to protect Petrograd from a possible attack by German and Entente forces.
On May 22, 1918, the Volkhov-Ilmen Military Flotilla was formed as part of the Northern Section of the curtain detachments (commander - A. F. Titov, commissar - A. D. Mamoshkin). Ships, weapons, and personnel for the flotilla were provided by the Baltic fleetThe main base of the flotilla being created was Veliky Novgorod.
"For the Ilmen Flotilla, based on the need for three divisions, two squadrons of six boats in each squadron: two squadrons in the Volkhov River and the northern part of Lake Ilmen, two in the Lovat River and the southern part of Lake Ilmen, one for the Meta River, and one for the Syas and Tikhvinka Rivers."
(From Report No. 210 of the Naval Department of the Military Council of the Northern Section of the Curtain Detachments and the Petrograd Defensive Region to the Supreme Military Council)
(From Report No. 210 of the Naval Department of the Military Council of the Northern Section of the Curtain Detachments and the Petrograd Defensive Region to the Supreme Military Council)
This flotilla did not last long: in February 1919, it was disbanded and transferred to the Onega Military Flotilla.
At the end of July 1941, in connection with the rapid advance of German troops in the Leningrad direction, a decision was made to re-establish a military flotilla on Lake Ilmen.
By this time, transportation on the lake and the Volkhov River was carried out by vessels of the North-Western Shipping Company, including 5 cargo-passenger steamships and 25 tugboats that towed barges and lighters.
On July 28, in accordance with a directive from People's Commissar of the Navy N. G. Kuznetsov and an order from Shtykov, a member of the Military Council of the Northwestern Front, the formation of the Ilmen Detachment of ships began in Veliky Novgorod. It was led by Captain 3rd Rank V. M. Drevnitsky, who had been urgently recalled from the academy. Captain 3rd Rank N. A. Kosko was appointed commissar.
The flotilla's combat core consisted of three gunboats—armed steamships of the Northwestern Shipping Company: Izhorets No. 9 (with one 45mm wheeled anti-tank gun, one 82mm mortar, a quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun mount, two M-1 machine guns, and a light machine gun), Ulyanovsk, and Karakozov (each with one 82mm mortar, one quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun mount, two Maxim machine guns, and a light machine gun). In addition, from August 3–5, nine KM-IV, ZIS-5, and Gazokhod-class boats were added to the flotilla, each armed with a single 7,62mm machine gun. The passenger gas-powered ship Soltsy, armed with a single machine gun, was mobilized as a dispatch vessel.
Steamship of the Izhorets type
The steamship "Karakozov" before mobilization
Soltsy gas flue
Some readers will be confused by the term "gas duct." In those days, due to a shortage of gasoline and kerosene for internal combustion engines, they ran on wood, or rather, on gas produced in gas generators from the incomplete combustion of that same wood.
The crews consisted of mobilized river workers and Red Army soldiers who serviced the weapons. One Red Army lieutenant was assigned to each vessel to command it. weaponsOperationally, the detachment was subordinated to the emerging 48th Army, and its rear bases were responsible for supplying ships and boats with ammunition.
The flotilla patrolled the lake, the Volkhov and Lovat rivers, and transported troops and military supplies. Over two months, it transported over 10 troops and a significant amount of weapons and ammunition.
On the evening of August 11, the flotilla suffered its first loss: at the source of the Volkhov River, KM No. 100 was attacked by German aircraft, the crew was killed, and the boat sank. Soon, the Germans broke through the Soviet defenses, and the flotilla was forced to fight at a distance of 12-20 kilometers from the army. Destroyed by enemy fire aviation The bridge on the Volkhov River prevented ships from returning to Ilmen.
Gunboats and cutters continued to serve in the lower Volkhov River until mid-October, transporting the 27th Cavalry Division, two rifle divisions, and a large number of vehicles, horses, and equipment to the left bank. They also escorted barge convoys, protected the railway bridge across the Volkhov River from air raids, landed reconnaissance and sabotage groups on the enemy-occupied coast, and provided fire support to friendly troops.
On October 15, an order was received from the People's Commissar of the Navy regarding the relocation of the Ilmen detachment of ships to Lake Ladoga and their inclusion in the Ladoga military flotilla, and the next day the ships arrived in Novaya Ladoga.
In the fall of 1941, the enemy also acquired a "fleet" on the lake—six small engineering boats with a crew of five armed with a machine gun. The boats provided transportation services for the ground forces, performed patrol duties, and protected local fishing vessels—the Ilmen sailing soymas. The Germans controlled approximately 50 soymas.
Ilmensky Soymas
The following year, the Germans established a force of armed, mobilized boats and ships on Lake Ilmen, and also transferred four PiLF 40-type Siebel ferries (SF62, SF63, SF64, and SF65) there from the Baltic. The total number of personnel in the Ilmensee-Flottille (Lake Ilmen Flotilla) was approximately 300.
After dismantling, the ferries were sent by rail from Tallinn to Soltsy station, and then along the Shelon River to the lake, where they came under the command of the 10th Army Corps. By this time, the southern and southwestern shores of the lake were under enemy control.
Main performance characteristics of PiLF 40 type ferries
Full displacement, t — 130
Main dimensions, m - 21,75 x 14,20 x 1,20
Power plant - 4 automobile engines with a total capacity of 312 hp, 4 propellers
Maximum speed, knots - 7,5
Carrying capacity: 50–60 tons of cargo or 120 soldiers with full equipment.
PiLF 40s were armed with an 88mm FlaK 36 anti-aircraft gun, three 20mm machine guns and four anti-aircraft machine guns.
In addition, the German lake flotilla included four boats constructed from two fishing boats connected by a platform. They were armed with an 88mm anti-aircraft gun, a 20mm machine gun, and a searchlight—a sort of "Ersatz Siebel." However, they were extremely poorly seaworthy.
In October, the Germans began preparing for winter: the Siebel hulls were dismantled and pulled ashore, the equipment was dismantled and sent to the rear, and the guns were used to defend the coast.
In May and June 1943, the German flotilla was again ready for action. By the end of July, it consisted of a heavy flotilla (four Siebels) and a light flotilla (mobilized fishing vessels). The former was based in the village of Golino, the latter in Ustrika. The flotillas typically carried out tasks such as protecting fisheries and providing anti-landing defense of the coast. They also provided support for the lakeside flank of their troops, disrupted the Soviet crossing of Tuleblin Bay, landed sabotage groups, and bombarded the enemy coast.
On August 20, after shelling the coastal road, the German ships were attacked by aircraft, one ferry was holed, and five crew members were wounded. After this, the German flotilla did not engage in active operations again.
In November, in connection with the advance of the Red Army, the German flotilla was relocated to Tartu for use on Lake Peipus.
In further description of the actions of the Soviet side, the “Chronicle of military operations on Lake Peipus and on Lake Ilmen in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union in 1941, 1943 and 1944” / People’s Commissariat of the USSR Navy was used. Historical Department of the Navy. - Moscow; Leningrad: Administration of the Military-Naval Publishing House of the NKVMF USSR, 1945.
In 1942, Soviet troops had no forces on the lake, but on April 24, 1943, the Military River Detachment was created by order of the commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Corps of the 34th Army of the Northwestern Front to counter the enemy and provide patrol duty. Its personnel consisted of officers and Red Army soldiers from the 34th Army (14 officers and 61 sergeants and privates).
The detachment included five BMK-70 tugboats (patrol boats No. 1–No. 5) and four NKL-27 semi-gliders (No. 1–No. 4) from the front's engineer corps. The BMK-70 had a five-man crew and was armed with one 12,7mm and one 7,62mm machine gun. The NKL-27 had a two-man crew and was armed with machine guns.
BMK-70 type boat
Semi-glider type NKL-27
By April 24, the flotilla, under the command of Guards Captain A.K. Matonin, was fully formed. According to the plan approved by the 34th Army command on May 14, the detachment faced the following tasks:
a) patrolling Lake Ilmen along the south-eastern and eastern coasts with the task of observation and protection, as well as prohibiting enemy boats from approaching the southern and eastern Lake Ilmen and sailing in the waters of the eastern basin;
b) reconnaissance of the coast occupied by the enemy in the southern and western parts of Lake Ilmen, with the task of promptly notifying of the approach of enemy ships, their movement, and using fire to identify the fire system of the coast occupied by the enemy;
c) carrying out mobile guard duty along the direct route from Lake Nikolskoye to Zheleznye Vorota Avenue;
d) combat with boats and motor boats with the aim of destroying them or capturing them;
d) guarding the flanks at water boundaries during infantry combat operations.
On July 10, 6 kilometers west of the Zhelezny lighthouse, a boat of the Naval River Detachment collided with four enemy sail-motor boats. One enemy boat was damaged and taken in tow by another; under cover artillery fire from the shore, all four boats were able to escape to their coast.
In the first ten days of August, five Ya-5 (Yaroslavets) minelayers, Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, armed with a 24-M-8 twelve-tube multiple launch rocket system (Katyusha) and a 12,7mm machine gun, were transferred from the Volga Military Flotilla to Ilmen. The group of VVS sailors that arrived with them completely replaced the military personnel of the Riverine Military Detachment.
Mine boat type Ya-5
According to the order of the 34th Army commander, by August 20, the detachment was reorganized into the 25th Separate Boat Division. Captain 2nd Rank Alexander Fyodorovich Arzhavkin became its commander. According to the new organization chart, it included:
1. Detachment of mine-laying boats – five Ya-5 type boats.
2. Patrol boat detachment – five BMK-70 type boats.
3. Squad of semi-gliders - 4 semi-gliders of the NKL-27 type.
Later, a detachment of five sailing schooners "captured from the enemy" (most likely simply taken from local fishermen living in the occupied territory) was formed. Four of them were armed with captured 45mm or 37mm cannons and 12,7mm DShK machine guns.
By September 18, all Ya-5 boats were armed with captured 37-mm guns.
Alexander Fedorovich Arzhavkin
On September 15, the 25th Joint Corps Division joined the Navy, reporting to the 96th Rifle Corps of the 34th Army. The division's main base was located in the village of Tulitovo, three miles from the nearest railway station.
A detachment of mine-laying boats was based at the Raplya maneuver base, while detachments of patrol boats and semi-gliders were based at the Vzvad maneuver base. Armed schooners were stationed at the river mouths. The boats primarily patrolled the lake.
On the morning of September 17, four BMK-70 boats and a semi-glider set out into the lake to search for the enemy. Soon, 14 "enemy" sailing vessels, likely local soymas, were discovered. One of them was captured, resulting in a brief firefight with two German boats. On board the captured vessel were three fishermen from the village of Ustriki: one man and two women.
On the night of September 30, three Ya-5 boats detained and towed two sailboats with four fishermen to the base.
On the evening of October 2, three Ya-5s captured two sailing ships with four fishermen, two of whom offered resistance.
From interrogations of captured fishermen, it was established that an enemy flotilla with a personnel of about 200 people was based in the village of Ustriki.
By order of the commander of the 96th Rifle Corps, the 25th Joint Strike Force, together with the 661st Light Bomber Aviation Regiment (U-2 aircraft), were to strike the German base.
The operation took place on the night of October 8th-9th. First, 14 U-2 aircraft dropped flares and incendiary bombs on Ustriki, illuminating the target. Then, five Ya-5 boats launched 100 RS-82 rockets at the village from a distance of 4000 meters. Massive fires broke out in the village, and six explosions were observed.
According to Soviet counterintelligence, this operation resulted in the destruction of 43 sailing schooners and several boats, and the death of up to a platoon of soldiers and officers. German documents make no mention of this raid, but in any case, the civilian fishermen were the primary victims.
In the first half of October, the boat division made several attempts to land reconnaissance parties with the aim of capturing prisoners, but only one was successful. On October 14, a 20-man reconnaissance party landed behind enemy lines and managed to capture the village headman and a German non-commissioned officer.
On the night of October 30, two Ya-5 cutters and two semi-gliders were tasked with approaching the enemy shore undetected, capturing the schooners moored there, and taking them back to their base. The operation was unsuccessful—due to low water levels, the seims were stuck in the sand and could not be moved.
On November 12, due to the formation of ice, the division's boats began to be relocated to the main base and wintered. On November 20, the 25th Joint Strike Corps was transferred to the 1st Shock Army of the 2nd Baltic Front.
On November 22, the division's patrol duties ceased. Its personnel subsequently engaged in repairs, combat training, and deployment to the ground front.
On April 6, 1944, the 25th Joint Forces Corps was transferred to the Baltic Fleet with operational subordination to the commander of the Leningrad Front. Since the enemy had been pushed westward after the Leningrad-Novgorod Operation, the need for a boat division on Lake Ilmen was eliminated. The boats were transferred to Lake Peipus, where they fought as part of the River Ship Brigade of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.
Sources of
1. Chronicle of military operations on Lake Peipus and Lake Ilmen during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union in 1941, 1943 and 1944 / People's Commissariat of the USSR Navy. Historical Department of the Navy. - Moscow; Leningrad: Directorate of the Military-Naval Publishing House of the NKVMF USSR, 1945.
2. Meister Jurg. Eastern Front. War at Sea, 1941-1945. Eksmo, 2005
3. R.V. Lapshin. Volkhov River Workers in the Initial Period of the Great Patriotic War. Military Collection, 2019, 7(1)
4. Soviet river transport during the Great Patriotic War. Moscow: Voenizdat, 1981
5. Curious documents part 10.
6. Other Internet resources
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