Caesar, the hero of "Little Land"
The memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War — the people to whom subsequent generations of citizens of the Soviet Union, Russia and many other countries owe their lives and peaceful skies — is never superfluous. In this article we will discuss one of these heroes - the legendary Caesar Kunikova. Compared with many other participants in the war, the feat of Caesar Lvovich Kunikov received sufficient fame. The heroic officer, a marine, distinguished himself in many front-line operations and died during the liberation of the Novorossiysk coast of February 14 of 1943. On the very “Little Land” about which Secretary General Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, among others, left his memories.
As is known, in winter 1943 of the year, and to be precise, in February, a military operation was planned to liberate Novorossiysk. It was to be carried out by the forces of the navy, which was supposed to be landed in the area of South Ozereyka. At the same time, in order to cover up the actions of a large landing force, one more amphibious landing force was to be landed near the village of Stanichka on the bank of the Tsemesskaya Bay, whose task was to divert the enemy’s forces from the landing of the main units of the Soviet troops. On the night of February 3, the 1943 of the year, a naval landing force landed on the bank of the Tsemesskaya bay. I must say that this place was defended by significant forces of Hitler's troops. The Germans tried to strengthen the area, rightly expecting that it could attract the attention of Soviet troops.
However, the Soviet marines managed to lightly knock the Germans off the coast and go on the offensive. On the morning of February 4, the Soviet marines were able to beat off three kilometers of the railway and part of the village of Stanichka, entrenched on the coast. In the midst of fierce battles, the avant-garde detachment under the command of Caesar Kunikov managed to suppress the resistance of one of the German artillery batteries, after which the German artillery guns were turned against the Nazis, which largely contributed to the success of the operation.
During the week, until February 10, Kunikov’s division maintained positions on the coast. By that time, it became known that the naval landing in the South Ozerijk, which was entrusted with the mission of the main detachment of the Soviet troops, could not gain a foothold and key functions in storming the German positions and liberating the Novorossiysk coast were transferred to the Caesar Kunikov detachment. It was Kunikov who carried out heroic leadership during the retention of the bridgehead, which was called the “Lesser Land”. However, in addition to securing to the coast, the tasks of the Kunikov detachment included receiving ammunition delivered from the sea by Soviet warships. During the reception of ammunition at night with 11 on 12 in February 1943, Caesar Kunikov was seriously wounded by a fragment of a Hitlerite mine. The major was urgently taken by boat to Gelendzhik, where the hospital was located, but the efforts of the military medics were in vain. 14 February 1943, Major Caesar Lvovich Kunikov passed away. He was only thirty-three years old - "the age of Christ."
About seven thousand people took part in the funeral of Caesar Kunikov, so much did the military and civilian people appreciate this heroic commander and beautiful person. 17 April 1943, Major Caesar Lvovich Kunikov was posthumously awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Who was this amazing person and for what he was so respected and even loved by colleagues? As early as December 1942, the arriving correspondent of the newspaper Pravda was commanded by the Black Sea Group of Forces Lieutenant-General I.Ye. Petrov recommended to meet with Kunikov necessarily: “an excellent commander and a good warrior,” as the military general of the thirty-three-year-old commended. Rear Admiral G.N. Bachelors, who commanded the Novorossiysk naval base, recalled Caesar Kunikov in the following way: “the mind, will, and life experience were felt in it”.
Mechanical Engineer
Meanwhile, this famous commander, to whom the military command had high confidence to lead the landing of the amphibious assault in Tsemessky bay, was not a professional military man. Before the war, he led a completely peaceful life, was an ordinary Soviet man - a civil engineer. Caesar Lvovich Kunikov was born in Rostov-on-Don 23 June 1909. His childhood fell on the years of the Civil War, which forced the Kunikov family to wander through the southern regions of Russia and even abroad. Her father, Lev Moiseevich Kunikov, was a mechanical engineer in the profession; his mother Tatyana Abramovna Kheyfets provided home comfort — she was a simple housewife. Sister Kunikova Elena Finkelstein subsequently became a famous theater expert. Together with his father, an engineer, Caesar Kunikov even managed to visit Persia. In 1920, Lev Kunikov worked in Vneshtorg and, as such, visited the Persian cities.
After the end of the Civil War, Lev Kunikov worked in Makeevka, at a metallurgical plant. In the same place Caesar Kunikov began his career. He worked as a laboratory student, mechanic, and turner at a metallurgical plant. At 16, he joined the Komsomol. When the Kunikovs family moved to Moscow, the young Caesar continued the work way of an ordinary worker - he worked as a mechanic and turner at Moscow enterprises, and in the 19-year age, in the 1928 year, he entered the Higher Naval School named after M.V. Frunze. As we can see, among many Soviet young men of that time, Caesar Kunikov dreamed of a naval service. The status of a naval officer was prestigious, and the service itself in those turbulent years allowed us to bring quite a bit of real benefit to the young Soviet power. However, in his youth, fate was not entirely favorable to Caesar. He fell ill, was placed in a hospital with perforated appendicitis, and soon he was stationed, having had only five months to go in the form of a naval cadet. That was how Caesar Kunikov’s dream of becoming a personnel naval officer ended (however, as his further biography suggests, his life in the Navy will be tied up very tightly and forever).
After serving after recovery, the emergency service as a mechanic at navy, Caesar Kunikov in 1930 returned to Moscow. He graduated from the Moscow Engineering Institute. Bubnova and the Moscow Industrial Academy, becoming, like his father, a mechanical engineer. At the same time, Kunikov actively participated in the activities of the Komsomol, even headed the defense industry sector in the Moscow City Komsomol committee. Perhaps this helped the young engineer in his professional career, although, as his subsequent life showed, Caesar can hardly be blamed for careerism in the modern sense of the word. He strove to actively participate in the formation of the machine-building industry of his homeland, and the leadership, noting his zeal and devotion to the country, put Kunikov in responsible posts. In March 1938, Caesar Kunikov became the chief technologist of the Moscow factory of grinding machines. In October, he was appointed to the post of head of the Technical Department of the People’s Commissariat of Mechanical Engineering, then he was transferred to a similar position in the People’s Commissariat of Heavy Engineering, and later became director of the Central Research Institute of Engineering Technology. At the same time, Kunikov was the editor-in-chief of the All-Union newspaper Mashinostroenie.
When the Great Patriotic War began, 31-year-old Caesar Kunikov, a well-known specialist in the field of heavy engineering, despite his years, was offered the position of Deputy Commissar for Ammunition. In those years, Stalin sought to strengthen the Soviet government with young and decent cadres, nurtured in the Soviet era. However, Kunikov could not imagine himself in a large rear position at the height of the hostilities. He persistently asked for the front. Having by this time the title of senior political officer of the reserve, Kunikov volunteered to join the army, and transferred to the Navy. About the naval service, as we know, our hero dreamed from a young age. Moreover, that he served as a mechanic in the Navy.
Water Barrage
Caesar Kunikov was appointed commander of the 14-th detachment of the water barrier of the Azov flotilla, which fought off the coast of the Azov Sea. The formation of the detachment took place in Moscow. Here, on the basis of the Water Rescue Society (OSVOD) Kunikov, and recruited a detachment at the expense of OSVOD activists. Together with Kunikov, other civilians also entered the detachment command — not the last in Moscow — the second secretary of the Baumanovsky District Party Committee, Vasily Nikitin, who occupied the post of political officer of the detachment, and the architect Veniamin Bogoslovsky, who became the chief of staff.
At the end of July, the 1941 squadron consisted of 186 fighters and was stationed in Khimki at the Dynamo water stadium, where the 21 cutter, the NKL and ZIS hydrofoil, entered its arsenal. 12 September 1941, the squad was sent to the front. In Rostov-on-Don, Caesar Kunikov’s hometown, the detachment joined the Separate Don Detachment and set about solving combat missions.
The task of the squad was to mine the entrance to the Taganrog Bay. A convenient place was the Don Delta in the Sinyavskaya region (now it is the Neklinovsky District of the Rostov Region). Here, in addition to the Don and the Dead Donets, there are numerous floodplains and ducts, very convenient for the hidden finding of boats. From the floodplains of the boat Kunikova, together with local partisans, attacked German troops at the Sinyavskaya station. The task of the detachment was to prevent the advance of German troops to Rostov-on-Don from the western direction. By rail, passing from Ukraine through Sinyavskaya, the Germans delivered military equipment, ammunition, food. From November 13 to 16, 1941, fighters of the Separate Don Detachment suffered significant damage to the enemy. Destroyed train with tanks10 trucks. As a result of the detachment’s actions, the Germans lost 500 officers and soldiers.
Nevertheless, despite the heroic efforts of the Soviet troops, the Nazis managed to occupy Rostov-on-Don on November 21 on November 1941. As winter came and the boats could no longer operate, the command decided to create a marine corps squad based on the Azov flotilla. His commander was Caesar Kunikov. The tasks of the detachment of the Marine Corps included attacks on enemy communications at the approaches to Rostov. On November 27, Kunikov’s detachment seized and held Sinyavskaya during the night, simultaneously destroying the railway track. On November 28, a Marine detachment took Sinyavskaya for the second time, establishing control over the roads and railways in order to prevent the German forces from retreating along this path. Thus, Kunikov’s fighters played an important role in the first liberation of Rostov-on-Don.
Pyotr Yakovlevich Mezhiritsky, the author of the remarkable book about Caesar Kunikove “Comrade Major”, cites the winter letter of the legendary commander to his uncle. In it, Caesar, in particular, writes about the specifics of his squad: “The squad, which I commanded, for almost 7 months at the front, were in many combat operations, battles, etc. The Nazis exterminated 1,5 times more than us fighters, lost 10 percent of their composition, replenished, well armed, well-equipped, mastered all kinds of weapons and the tactics of nighttime sabotage is our special de la meson (home specialty. - P. M.). The combat reputation of our squad in the army is good. I myself own a gun, a mortar, grenades and machine guns of all kinds and a new automatic weapon, I can mine, undermine, drive boats, drive a motorcycle and (badly) a car. I am sometimes surprised to recall that I was the director of a scientific institute, the head of a department in two people's commissariats, the editor of the central press. After the war, I can only teach my son with bayonet combat and throwing grenades lying. However, I can still teach him hatred. We are supplied with it in full ”(quoted in: Mezhiritsky P.Ya. Comrade Major. M., 1975).
For his valor during the command of a detachment of water barriers, Caesar Kunikov received the Order of the Red Banner. After the deployment of the Hitlerite offensive in the summer of 1942, the Soviet troops stationed in the Azov Sea region retreated to the south towards Taman. Detachment Kunikova followed there by boat. Upon arrival, Kunikov was appointed commander of a battalion of marines. In August 1942, in this position, Caesar Kunikov participated in the defense of the Taman Peninsula, in particular - in the defense of Temryuk. Here Kunikov received another award - the Order of Alexander Nevsky. After all, the Soviet troops on Taman fought fierce battles, almost completely destroying two Romanian cavalry divisions. A huge contribution to the defense of Taman made and marines.
Marines
However, Temryuk failed to defend. Caesar Kunikov became the commander of the 305-th separate battalion of marines, which was part of the Black Sea Group of Forces. In this capacity, he commanded the cover of the retreat of Soviet troops from Taman. The end of August - the beginning of September 1942 - the time of fierce fighting on the Taman Peninsula, in which the marines took an active part. 5 September 1942, the Soviet troops were evacuated to Gelendzhik. The retreating 305 battalion of the marines did not manage to evacuate. It seemed that he would be completely destroyed by the superior forces of the enemy. However, the Marines managed to stay in the reeds for three days, after which they were evacuated by the approaching Soviet warships.
Novorossiysk naval base was destined to play a key role in the events described and in the fate of Caesar Lvovich Kunikov himself. The base was commanded by Rear Admiral Georgy Nikitich Kholostyakov. He was a very experienced naval officer with a large and tragic biography. At the time of fighting for Taman, he was 40 years old. He was born in 1902, and in 19 years he volunteered to serve in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Fleet. He was deputy political instructor in the company of the 2 Baltic fleet crew, graduated from the Naval Preparatory School and the Naval Hydrographic School. He served as a watch officer of the battleship Marat, a platoon commander of the naval crew, navigator of the submarine Kommunar, senior assistant commander of the submarine Proletariy, Krasnoarmeets, Batrak, L-55. In 1031-1932 was the commander of the submarine "Bolshevik". After graduating from the Tactical Courses at the Naval Academy, he continued his service as a commander of a submarine division, as commander of the 5 brigade of submarines on the Pacific Fleet. In 1938, he was arrested, sentenced to 15 years in the camps, but in 1940 he was released for lack of proof of accusation, restored to the rank and returned to service. In the Black Sea Fleet, he served as commander of the 3 submarine brigade, head of the diving department of the fleet headquarters. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, he became chief of staff, and then commander of the Novorossiysk naval base.
When the command decided to disembark in the Novorossiysk area, by the forces of the marines delivered by ships from Gelendzhik, the choice of the commander of the unit carrying out a diversion in Tsemesskaya bay became particularly relevant. Rear Admiral G.N. Bachelors chose Major Caesar Kunikove, who by this time had already recovered from the injury sustained between the Taman battles and the described preparations for the operation - the officer pressed the truck and he had to spend some time in a military hospital.
The intrepid task was entrusted to the intrepid officer — the command of the detachment who was to land in Tsemesskaya Bay. However, before the squad to lead, it was necessary to equip the most combat-ready and brave fighters. Kunikov, meanwhile, put his conditions for Kholostyakov.
First, the major demanded that the amphibious assault force and its support should be subordinated to one commander on the principle of unity of command, so that ambiguous situations did not arise during the disembarkation and the subsequent operation, which, given the importance of the planned actions, could lead to their disruption. Secondly, according to Kunikov, before disembarking, the detachment had to undergo special training, which would focus on the ability of individual actions and decision-making, not to mention combat and physical training. Thirdly, the recruitment of the detachment should have been exclusively voluntary, so that each of his Marine or commander had a clear idea of the essence of the planned operation and was not a forced, obviously poorly fighting fighter. Finally, Kunikov demanded the establishment of an effective connection between the detachment and the command, including through the use of conventional signals. The rear admiral agreed with the requirements of Caesar, because he understood their importance for the success of the planned operation.
Rear Admiral G.N. The bachelors, who were responsible for the formation of the detachment, gave the order to all the subordinate commanders of the units to release volunteers who wish to take part in the operation to the detachment of Kunikov. Naturally, the commanders reluctantly did this, because they understood that the most prepared and brave fighters would leave for the detachment, but there was nothing to do - first, everyone understood the importance of the operation being prepared, and secondly, the order of the higher command. First of all, a company of intelligence officers of the Novorossiysk naval base was included in the squad of Kunikov, they also began to select the Marines from other units. At the same time, the personal qualities of a fighter and the permission of his commander allowed him to become only a candidate for selection in a squad. Caesar Kunikov himself made the selection, and here the primary role was played by whether the commander deemed the candidate ready to participate in the operation or not. And Kunikov was guided by his own life experience, since by that time he had already learned very well to understand people and to determine who he was dealing with and what each individual person was capable of in a critical situation.
During the week Kunikov scored 272 fighter. These were sailors and officers with combat experience, many participated in the battles for the defense of Sevastopol, Odessa and other Soviet cities. Special attention in the selection of officers and soldiers of the detachment was given to athletes. The battalion commander spoke with each of the applicants for service in the detachment. The most prepared and spiritually selected guys were selected. However, even for these experienced people, training in combat and physical training was organized. The training program included shooting, hand-to-hand fighting, cold weapons, physical exercises. The classes were led personally by Kunikov, who, despite his civil past, showed masterly possession of all types of weapons. Rear-Admiral G.N., the commander of the Novorossiysk naval base, personally oversaw the training of the detachment. Bachelors. More senior commanders who had heard about the training system for marines, developed by Kunikov, also came.
We can not say about those people who became the closest assistants of Caesar Kunikov in the command of the detachment. Deputy lieutenant Nikolai Vasilyevich Starshinov was appointed deputy for political affairs - deputy commander of the reconnaissance company of the Novorossiysk naval base. Captain Fyodor Evgenievich Kotanov, an experienced officer who was the battalion commander and then deputy commander of the marines, became the chief of staff. Lieutenant-captain Nikolai Ivanovich Sipyagin, commander of the 4 division of the patrol boats of the Novorossiysk naval base, was in charge of the landing. All these people were distinguished not only by great military experience, but also by their personal courage, high professionalism, which made them the best officers in their units.
The detachment structure was also focused on the specifics of the upcoming operation and is maximally adapted to ensure the mobility of the units and the ability to act in isolation from each other. The headquarters of the assault force was minimized and consisted of the head of communications (senior lieutenant VM Kateschenko), the commander of the correction post (lieutenant NA Voronkin), two radio operators, two hidden communications experts, and connected combat groups. Also in the headquarters included physicians - senior medical assistant M. Vinogradov, medical assistant I. Potapova and nurse N. Maruhno. The combat units of the detachment were five groups, in turn, consisted of branches.
Late in the evening of February 3, Kunikov’s detachment arrived in Tsemesskaya Bay. Commanding a drop-off group, Sipagin, using green and red rockets, gave signals to boats moving to the coast. At the same time, the artillery batteries of the Novorossiysk naval base commanded by Captain E.N. Shkirman. On 1.11, the landing of the landing party began. Marines landed within two minutes of the boats. Over the next ten minutes, the entire first line of defense of the German troops was crushed. Thus began the legendary landing on the “Little Land”. At 4 o'clock in the morning of February 4, second and third tier battle groups landed on the shore. 4 and 5 in February, Caesar Kunikov’s detachment held its hold. The marines fought against the superior forces of the Nazis, including tanks and infantry. Against tanks - with ATGM, against infantry - often in hand-to-hand combat. Only in 22.30 5 February came the long-awaited help. On the coast captured by Caesar Kunikov, the 255-I brigade of the marines, units of the 165-th rifle brigade and a separate parachute regiment landed. Now, the marines were not alone and the Soviet troops were able to successfully defend the captured bridgehead from the Nazi troops, ensuring the liberation of the Novorossiysk coast.
After the capture of the bridgehead, Caesar Kunikov was appointed senior naval commander in charge of disembarking and landing on ships. In parallel with the performance of combat tasks, he became an engineer, returning to his pre-war profession. No matter how tragic, but this position was the last for Caesar Lvovich. The combat officer who commanded the landings, half past the war in the detachment of water obstacles and marines, did not die in open battle, but exploded in a mine, providing unloading of tanks from ships that approached the coast. M. Vinogradova recalled: “I want to inform you about the great loss. Major Kunikov died. It happened to me, most recently. When a squad was formed, I got along with it. We completed our task, and we were removed from the front line. At night, he went to take tanks on the "Spit" and hit a German mine. He went under the shells, and one of them, hitting a minefield, blew up a mine. The fragment is very small, but it injured the bone and injured it in the lumbar region with its fragments. It happened about three o'clock in the morning, and at four I came to him, he was two kilometers from the headquarters. She tied him up, changed into clean linen and evacuated him to the hospital. They made him an operation "(Mezhiritsky P.Ya." Comrade Major ").
Memory
Caesar Lvovich Kunikov was buried in Gelendzhik at the city cemetery. After the war, he was reburied in Heroes Square in Novorossiysk. 17 April 1943, two months after his death from injuries, Major Caesar Lvovich Kunikov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet. Caesar Kunikov has a son, Yuri Tsezarevich, grandchildren Yuri Yuryevich and Natalya Yuryevna. Granddaughter Kunikova - Natalya Yuryevna - became the wife of the famous journalist Alexander Lyubimov.
The spouse, Natalya Vasilyevna, after the war, married Admiral George Nikitich Kholostyakov, the commander of the Novorossiysk naval base, in whose subordination was the squad of the legendary Marines. It is difficult to blame her for this, for life takes its. Georgy Nikitich Kholostyakov for a long time continued to serve in the Navy of the USSR. At the end of the war, he commanded the Danube military flotilla that liberated Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, after the war he commanded the Caspian flotilla, the 7 fleet in the Far East, and was deputy head of the combat training department of the General Staff of the USSR Navy. He retired in 1969, at the age of 67.
The fate of the Bachelors, unfortunately, was tragic. In 1983, a retired admiral and his spouse were killed by a robber in their Moscow apartment, taking possession of the admiral's uniform and the orders of the victim of crime. Professional thieves of the awards G. Kalinin and I. Kalinin 21 July 1983 came to Kholostyakov. Kalinin killed Admiral mount and his wife. At this time I. Kalinina kidnapped the admiral's jacket with the awards. Fortunately, the Soviet police worked professionally. In October 1983, the famous MUR arrested the villains. It turned out that in the meantime Kalinin had time to make a signet out of the Admiral's Golden Star. Kalinin was sentenced for his crimes to capital punishment - execution, and Kalinin - to 15 years in prison.
In the name of Caesar Kunikov, streets in Rostov-on-Don, Azov, Gelendzhik and Novorossiysk are named, a square in Moscow. Monuments and busts of Kunikov were installed in Azov, in Sevastopol, near the village of Sinyavsky on the M-23 highway between Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog. The name of Caesar Kunikov is carried by several secondary schools and gymnasiums in Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Gelendzhik, as well as the minor planet 2280. In honor of Kunikov, a large landing ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy was named. Caesar Kunikov was forever enlisted in the lists of personnel of the military unit 13140 (810-I separate brigade of marines). Several books and articles have been written about Caesar Kunikov, which tell about various milestones in the life of this amazing man.
As is known, in winter 1943 of the year, and to be precise, in February, a military operation was planned to liberate Novorossiysk. It was to be carried out by the forces of the navy, which was supposed to be landed in the area of South Ozereyka. At the same time, in order to cover up the actions of a large landing force, one more amphibious landing force was to be landed near the village of Stanichka on the bank of the Tsemesskaya Bay, whose task was to divert the enemy’s forces from the landing of the main units of the Soviet troops. On the night of February 3, the 1943 of the year, a naval landing force landed on the bank of the Tsemesskaya bay. I must say that this place was defended by significant forces of Hitler's troops. The Germans tried to strengthen the area, rightly expecting that it could attract the attention of Soviet troops.
However, the Soviet marines managed to lightly knock the Germans off the coast and go on the offensive. On the morning of February 4, the Soviet marines were able to beat off three kilometers of the railway and part of the village of Stanichka, entrenched on the coast. In the midst of fierce battles, the avant-garde detachment under the command of Caesar Kunikov managed to suppress the resistance of one of the German artillery batteries, after which the German artillery guns were turned against the Nazis, which largely contributed to the success of the operation.
During the week, until February 10, Kunikov’s division maintained positions on the coast. By that time, it became known that the naval landing in the South Ozerijk, which was entrusted with the mission of the main detachment of the Soviet troops, could not gain a foothold and key functions in storming the German positions and liberating the Novorossiysk coast were transferred to the Caesar Kunikov detachment. It was Kunikov who carried out heroic leadership during the retention of the bridgehead, which was called the “Lesser Land”. However, in addition to securing to the coast, the tasks of the Kunikov detachment included receiving ammunition delivered from the sea by Soviet warships. During the reception of ammunition at night with 11 on 12 in February 1943, Caesar Kunikov was seriously wounded by a fragment of a Hitlerite mine. The major was urgently taken by boat to Gelendzhik, where the hospital was located, but the efforts of the military medics were in vain. 14 February 1943, Major Caesar Lvovich Kunikov passed away. He was only thirty-three years old - "the age of Christ."
About seven thousand people took part in the funeral of Caesar Kunikov, so much did the military and civilian people appreciate this heroic commander and beautiful person. 17 April 1943, Major Caesar Lvovich Kunikov was posthumously awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Who was this amazing person and for what he was so respected and even loved by colleagues? As early as December 1942, the arriving correspondent of the newspaper Pravda was commanded by the Black Sea Group of Forces Lieutenant-General I.Ye. Petrov recommended to meet with Kunikov necessarily: “an excellent commander and a good warrior,” as the military general of the thirty-three-year-old commended. Rear Admiral G.N. Bachelors, who commanded the Novorossiysk naval base, recalled Caesar Kunikov in the following way: “the mind, will, and life experience were felt in it”.
Mechanical Engineer
Meanwhile, this famous commander, to whom the military command had high confidence to lead the landing of the amphibious assault in Tsemessky bay, was not a professional military man. Before the war, he led a completely peaceful life, was an ordinary Soviet man - a civil engineer. Caesar Lvovich Kunikov was born in Rostov-on-Don 23 June 1909. His childhood fell on the years of the Civil War, which forced the Kunikov family to wander through the southern regions of Russia and even abroad. Her father, Lev Moiseevich Kunikov, was a mechanical engineer in the profession; his mother Tatyana Abramovna Kheyfets provided home comfort — she was a simple housewife. Sister Kunikova Elena Finkelstein subsequently became a famous theater expert. Together with his father, an engineer, Caesar Kunikov even managed to visit Persia. In 1920, Lev Kunikov worked in Vneshtorg and, as such, visited the Persian cities.
After the end of the Civil War, Lev Kunikov worked in Makeevka, at a metallurgical plant. In the same place Caesar Kunikov began his career. He worked as a laboratory student, mechanic, and turner at a metallurgical plant. At 16, he joined the Komsomol. When the Kunikovs family moved to Moscow, the young Caesar continued the work way of an ordinary worker - he worked as a mechanic and turner at Moscow enterprises, and in the 19-year age, in the 1928 year, he entered the Higher Naval School named after M.V. Frunze. As we can see, among many Soviet young men of that time, Caesar Kunikov dreamed of a naval service. The status of a naval officer was prestigious, and the service itself in those turbulent years allowed us to bring quite a bit of real benefit to the young Soviet power. However, in his youth, fate was not entirely favorable to Caesar. He fell ill, was placed in a hospital with perforated appendicitis, and soon he was stationed, having had only five months to go in the form of a naval cadet. That was how Caesar Kunikov’s dream of becoming a personnel naval officer ended (however, as his further biography suggests, his life in the Navy will be tied up very tightly and forever).
After serving after recovery, the emergency service as a mechanic at navy, Caesar Kunikov in 1930 returned to Moscow. He graduated from the Moscow Engineering Institute. Bubnova and the Moscow Industrial Academy, becoming, like his father, a mechanical engineer. At the same time, Kunikov actively participated in the activities of the Komsomol, even headed the defense industry sector in the Moscow City Komsomol committee. Perhaps this helped the young engineer in his professional career, although, as his subsequent life showed, Caesar can hardly be blamed for careerism in the modern sense of the word. He strove to actively participate in the formation of the machine-building industry of his homeland, and the leadership, noting his zeal and devotion to the country, put Kunikov in responsible posts. In March 1938, Caesar Kunikov became the chief technologist of the Moscow factory of grinding machines. In October, he was appointed to the post of head of the Technical Department of the People’s Commissariat of Mechanical Engineering, then he was transferred to a similar position in the People’s Commissariat of Heavy Engineering, and later became director of the Central Research Institute of Engineering Technology. At the same time, Kunikov was the editor-in-chief of the All-Union newspaper Mashinostroenie.
When the Great Patriotic War began, 31-year-old Caesar Kunikov, a well-known specialist in the field of heavy engineering, despite his years, was offered the position of Deputy Commissar for Ammunition. In those years, Stalin sought to strengthen the Soviet government with young and decent cadres, nurtured in the Soviet era. However, Kunikov could not imagine himself in a large rear position at the height of the hostilities. He persistently asked for the front. Having by this time the title of senior political officer of the reserve, Kunikov volunteered to join the army, and transferred to the Navy. About the naval service, as we know, our hero dreamed from a young age. Moreover, that he served as a mechanic in the Navy.
Water Barrage
Caesar Kunikov was appointed commander of the 14-th detachment of the water barrier of the Azov flotilla, which fought off the coast of the Azov Sea. The formation of the detachment took place in Moscow. Here, on the basis of the Water Rescue Society (OSVOD) Kunikov, and recruited a detachment at the expense of OSVOD activists. Together with Kunikov, other civilians also entered the detachment command — not the last in Moscow — the second secretary of the Baumanovsky District Party Committee, Vasily Nikitin, who occupied the post of political officer of the detachment, and the architect Veniamin Bogoslovsky, who became the chief of staff.
At the end of July, the 1941 squadron consisted of 186 fighters and was stationed in Khimki at the Dynamo water stadium, where the 21 cutter, the NKL and ZIS hydrofoil, entered its arsenal. 12 September 1941, the squad was sent to the front. In Rostov-on-Don, Caesar Kunikov’s hometown, the detachment joined the Separate Don Detachment and set about solving combat missions. The task of the squad was to mine the entrance to the Taganrog Bay. A convenient place was the Don Delta in the Sinyavskaya region (now it is the Neklinovsky District of the Rostov Region). Here, in addition to the Don and the Dead Donets, there are numerous floodplains and ducts, very convenient for the hidden finding of boats. From the floodplains of the boat Kunikova, together with local partisans, attacked German troops at the Sinyavskaya station. The task of the detachment was to prevent the advance of German troops to Rostov-on-Don from the western direction. By rail, passing from Ukraine through Sinyavskaya, the Germans delivered military equipment, ammunition, food. From November 13 to 16, 1941, fighters of the Separate Don Detachment suffered significant damage to the enemy. Destroyed train with tanks10 trucks. As a result of the detachment’s actions, the Germans lost 500 officers and soldiers.
Nevertheless, despite the heroic efforts of the Soviet troops, the Nazis managed to occupy Rostov-on-Don on November 21 on November 1941. As winter came and the boats could no longer operate, the command decided to create a marine corps squad based on the Azov flotilla. His commander was Caesar Kunikov. The tasks of the detachment of the Marine Corps included attacks on enemy communications at the approaches to Rostov. On November 27, Kunikov’s detachment seized and held Sinyavskaya during the night, simultaneously destroying the railway track. On November 28, a Marine detachment took Sinyavskaya for the second time, establishing control over the roads and railways in order to prevent the German forces from retreating along this path. Thus, Kunikov’s fighters played an important role in the first liberation of Rostov-on-Don.
Pyotr Yakovlevich Mezhiritsky, the author of the remarkable book about Caesar Kunikove “Comrade Major”, cites the winter letter of the legendary commander to his uncle. In it, Caesar, in particular, writes about the specifics of his squad: “The squad, which I commanded, for almost 7 months at the front, were in many combat operations, battles, etc. The Nazis exterminated 1,5 times more than us fighters, lost 10 percent of their composition, replenished, well armed, well-equipped, mastered all kinds of weapons and the tactics of nighttime sabotage is our special de la meson (home specialty. - P. M.). The combat reputation of our squad in the army is good. I myself own a gun, a mortar, grenades and machine guns of all kinds and a new automatic weapon, I can mine, undermine, drive boats, drive a motorcycle and (badly) a car. I am sometimes surprised to recall that I was the director of a scientific institute, the head of a department in two people's commissariats, the editor of the central press. After the war, I can only teach my son with bayonet combat and throwing grenades lying. However, I can still teach him hatred. We are supplied with it in full ”(quoted in: Mezhiritsky P.Ya. Comrade Major. M., 1975).
For his valor during the command of a detachment of water barriers, Caesar Kunikov received the Order of the Red Banner. After the deployment of the Hitlerite offensive in the summer of 1942, the Soviet troops stationed in the Azov Sea region retreated to the south towards Taman. Detachment Kunikova followed there by boat. Upon arrival, Kunikov was appointed commander of a battalion of marines. In August 1942, in this position, Caesar Kunikov participated in the defense of the Taman Peninsula, in particular - in the defense of Temryuk. Here Kunikov received another award - the Order of Alexander Nevsky. After all, the Soviet troops on Taman fought fierce battles, almost completely destroying two Romanian cavalry divisions. A huge contribution to the defense of Taman made and marines.
Marines
However, Temryuk failed to defend. Caesar Kunikov became the commander of the 305-th separate battalion of marines, which was part of the Black Sea Group of Forces. In this capacity, he commanded the cover of the retreat of Soviet troops from Taman. The end of August - the beginning of September 1942 - the time of fierce fighting on the Taman Peninsula, in which the marines took an active part. 5 September 1942, the Soviet troops were evacuated to Gelendzhik. The retreating 305 battalion of the marines did not manage to evacuate. It seemed that he would be completely destroyed by the superior forces of the enemy. However, the Marines managed to stay in the reeds for three days, after which they were evacuated by the approaching Soviet warships.
Novorossiysk naval base was destined to play a key role in the events described and in the fate of Caesar Lvovich Kunikov himself. The base was commanded by Rear Admiral Georgy Nikitich Kholostyakov. He was a very experienced naval officer with a large and tragic biography. At the time of fighting for Taman, he was 40 years old. He was born in 1902, and in 19 years he volunteered to serve in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Fleet. He was deputy political instructor in the company of the 2 Baltic fleet crew, graduated from the Naval Preparatory School and the Naval Hydrographic School. He served as a watch officer of the battleship Marat, a platoon commander of the naval crew, navigator of the submarine Kommunar, senior assistant commander of the submarine Proletariy, Krasnoarmeets, Batrak, L-55. In 1031-1932 was the commander of the submarine "Bolshevik". After graduating from the Tactical Courses at the Naval Academy, he continued his service as a commander of a submarine division, as commander of the 5 brigade of submarines on the Pacific Fleet. In 1938, he was arrested, sentenced to 15 years in the camps, but in 1940 he was released for lack of proof of accusation, restored to the rank and returned to service. In the Black Sea Fleet, he served as commander of the 3 submarine brigade, head of the diving department of the fleet headquarters. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, he became chief of staff, and then commander of the Novorossiysk naval base. When the command decided to disembark in the Novorossiysk area, by the forces of the marines delivered by ships from Gelendzhik, the choice of the commander of the unit carrying out a diversion in Tsemesskaya bay became particularly relevant. Rear Admiral G.N. Bachelors chose Major Caesar Kunikove, who by this time had already recovered from the injury sustained between the Taman battles and the described preparations for the operation - the officer pressed the truck and he had to spend some time in a military hospital.
The intrepid task was entrusted to the intrepid officer — the command of the detachment who was to land in Tsemesskaya Bay. However, before the squad to lead, it was necessary to equip the most combat-ready and brave fighters. Kunikov, meanwhile, put his conditions for Kholostyakov.
First, the major demanded that the amphibious assault force and its support should be subordinated to one commander on the principle of unity of command, so that ambiguous situations did not arise during the disembarkation and the subsequent operation, which, given the importance of the planned actions, could lead to their disruption. Secondly, according to Kunikov, before disembarking, the detachment had to undergo special training, which would focus on the ability of individual actions and decision-making, not to mention combat and physical training. Thirdly, the recruitment of the detachment should have been exclusively voluntary, so that each of his Marine or commander had a clear idea of the essence of the planned operation and was not a forced, obviously poorly fighting fighter. Finally, Kunikov demanded the establishment of an effective connection between the detachment and the command, including through the use of conventional signals. The rear admiral agreed with the requirements of Caesar, because he understood their importance for the success of the planned operation.
Rear Admiral G.N. The bachelors, who were responsible for the formation of the detachment, gave the order to all the subordinate commanders of the units to release volunteers who wish to take part in the operation to the detachment of Kunikov. Naturally, the commanders reluctantly did this, because they understood that the most prepared and brave fighters would leave for the detachment, but there was nothing to do - first, everyone understood the importance of the operation being prepared, and secondly, the order of the higher command. First of all, a company of intelligence officers of the Novorossiysk naval base was included in the squad of Kunikov, they also began to select the Marines from other units. At the same time, the personal qualities of a fighter and the permission of his commander allowed him to become only a candidate for selection in a squad. Caesar Kunikov himself made the selection, and here the primary role was played by whether the commander deemed the candidate ready to participate in the operation or not. And Kunikov was guided by his own life experience, since by that time he had already learned very well to understand people and to determine who he was dealing with and what each individual person was capable of in a critical situation.
During the week Kunikov scored 272 fighter. These were sailors and officers with combat experience, many participated in the battles for the defense of Sevastopol, Odessa and other Soviet cities. Special attention in the selection of officers and soldiers of the detachment was given to athletes. The battalion commander spoke with each of the applicants for service in the detachment. The most prepared and spiritually selected guys were selected. However, even for these experienced people, training in combat and physical training was organized. The training program included shooting, hand-to-hand fighting, cold weapons, physical exercises. The classes were led personally by Kunikov, who, despite his civil past, showed masterly possession of all types of weapons. Rear-Admiral G.N., the commander of the Novorossiysk naval base, personally oversaw the training of the detachment. Bachelors. More senior commanders who had heard about the training system for marines, developed by Kunikov, also came.
We can not say about those people who became the closest assistants of Caesar Kunikov in the command of the detachment. Deputy lieutenant Nikolai Vasilyevich Starshinov was appointed deputy for political affairs - deputy commander of the reconnaissance company of the Novorossiysk naval base. Captain Fyodor Evgenievich Kotanov, an experienced officer who was the battalion commander and then deputy commander of the marines, became the chief of staff. Lieutenant-captain Nikolai Ivanovich Sipyagin, commander of the 4 division of the patrol boats of the Novorossiysk naval base, was in charge of the landing. All these people were distinguished not only by great military experience, but also by their personal courage, high professionalism, which made them the best officers in their units.
The detachment structure was also focused on the specifics of the upcoming operation and is maximally adapted to ensure the mobility of the units and the ability to act in isolation from each other. The headquarters of the assault force was minimized and consisted of the head of communications (senior lieutenant VM Kateschenko), the commander of the correction post (lieutenant NA Voronkin), two radio operators, two hidden communications experts, and connected combat groups. Also in the headquarters included physicians - senior medical assistant M. Vinogradov, medical assistant I. Potapova and nurse N. Maruhno. The combat units of the detachment were five groups, in turn, consisted of branches.
Late in the evening of February 3, Kunikov’s detachment arrived in Tsemesskaya Bay. Commanding a drop-off group, Sipagin, using green and red rockets, gave signals to boats moving to the coast. At the same time, the artillery batteries of the Novorossiysk naval base commanded by Captain E.N. Shkirman. On 1.11, the landing of the landing party began. Marines landed within two minutes of the boats. Over the next ten minutes, the entire first line of defense of the German troops was crushed. Thus began the legendary landing on the “Little Land”. At 4 o'clock in the morning of February 4, second and third tier battle groups landed on the shore. 4 and 5 in February, Caesar Kunikov’s detachment held its hold. The marines fought against the superior forces of the Nazis, including tanks and infantry. Against tanks - with ATGM, against infantry - often in hand-to-hand combat. Only in 22.30 5 February came the long-awaited help. On the coast captured by Caesar Kunikov, the 255-I brigade of the marines, units of the 165-th rifle brigade and a separate parachute regiment landed. Now, the marines were not alone and the Soviet troops were able to successfully defend the captured bridgehead from the Nazi troops, ensuring the liberation of the Novorossiysk coast.
After the capture of the bridgehead, Caesar Kunikov was appointed senior naval commander in charge of disembarking and landing on ships. In parallel with the performance of combat tasks, he became an engineer, returning to his pre-war profession. No matter how tragic, but this position was the last for Caesar Lvovich. The combat officer who commanded the landings, half past the war in the detachment of water obstacles and marines, did not die in open battle, but exploded in a mine, providing unloading of tanks from ships that approached the coast. M. Vinogradova recalled: “I want to inform you about the great loss. Major Kunikov died. It happened to me, most recently. When a squad was formed, I got along with it. We completed our task, and we were removed from the front line. At night, he went to take tanks on the "Spit" and hit a German mine. He went under the shells, and one of them, hitting a minefield, blew up a mine. The fragment is very small, but it injured the bone and injured it in the lumbar region with its fragments. It happened about three o'clock in the morning, and at four I came to him, he was two kilometers from the headquarters. She tied him up, changed into clean linen and evacuated him to the hospital. They made him an operation "(Mezhiritsky P.Ya." Comrade Major ").
MemoryCaesar Lvovich Kunikov was buried in Gelendzhik at the city cemetery. After the war, he was reburied in Heroes Square in Novorossiysk. 17 April 1943, two months after his death from injuries, Major Caesar Lvovich Kunikov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet. Caesar Kunikov has a son, Yuri Tsezarevich, grandchildren Yuri Yuryevich and Natalya Yuryevna. Granddaughter Kunikova - Natalya Yuryevna - became the wife of the famous journalist Alexander Lyubimov.
The spouse, Natalya Vasilyevna, after the war, married Admiral George Nikitich Kholostyakov, the commander of the Novorossiysk naval base, in whose subordination was the squad of the legendary Marines. It is difficult to blame her for this, for life takes its. Georgy Nikitich Kholostyakov for a long time continued to serve in the Navy of the USSR. At the end of the war, he commanded the Danube military flotilla that liberated Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, after the war he commanded the Caspian flotilla, the 7 fleet in the Far East, and was deputy head of the combat training department of the General Staff of the USSR Navy. He retired in 1969, at the age of 67.
The fate of the Bachelors, unfortunately, was tragic. In 1983, a retired admiral and his spouse were killed by a robber in their Moscow apartment, taking possession of the admiral's uniform and the orders of the victim of crime. Professional thieves of the awards G. Kalinin and I. Kalinin 21 July 1983 came to Kholostyakov. Kalinin killed Admiral mount and his wife. At this time I. Kalinina kidnapped the admiral's jacket with the awards. Fortunately, the Soviet police worked professionally. In October 1983, the famous MUR arrested the villains. It turned out that in the meantime Kalinin had time to make a signet out of the Admiral's Golden Star. Kalinin was sentenced for his crimes to capital punishment - execution, and Kalinin - to 15 years in prison.
In the name of Caesar Kunikov, streets in Rostov-on-Don, Azov, Gelendzhik and Novorossiysk are named, a square in Moscow. Monuments and busts of Kunikov were installed in Azov, in Sevastopol, near the village of Sinyavsky on the M-23 highway between Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog. The name of Caesar Kunikov is carried by several secondary schools and gymnasiums in Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Gelendzhik, as well as the minor planet 2280. In honor of Kunikov, a large landing ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy was named. Caesar Kunikov was forever enlisted in the lists of personnel of the military unit 13140 (810-I separate brigade of marines). Several books and articles have been written about Caesar Kunikov, which tell about various milestones in the life of this amazing man.
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