Battle of tankman Kolobanova, made history
Leningrad in August 1941 was in a very difficult situation, events at the front on the outskirts of the city developed according to a very bad, dramatic scenario for the defending Soviet troops. On the night of August 7-8, German units from the 4th tank the groups attacked in the areas of the settlements Ivanovo and Big Sabsk, advancing towards the settlements Kingisepp and Volosovo. In just three days of fighting, the enemy troops approached the Kingisepp-Leningrad highway, and on August 13, German troops managed to cut the Kingisepp-Leningrad railway and highway and force the Luga River. Already on August 14, 38 army and 41 motorized German corps were able to break into the operational space and advance to Leningrad. On August 16, the cities of Kingisepp and Narva fell, on the same day units from the 1st German Corps occupied the western part of Novgorod, the threat of a breakthrough of German troops to Leningrad became more and more real. Before the famous tank battle, which glorifies the name of Kolobanov, there were only a few days left.
18 August 1941, the commander of the 3 tank company from the 1 battalion of the 1 Red Banner Tank Division of Senior Lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanova, was summoned personally by Major General V. Baranov. At that time, the headquarters of the unit was located in the basement of the cathedral, which was one of the attractions of Gatchina, which at that time was called Krasnogvardeisky. Verbally, Baranov gave Kolobanov an order to block at any cost three roads that led to Krasnogvardeysk from Kingisepp, Volosovo and Luga.
At that time, there were 5 heavy tanks KV-1 in the company of Kolobonov. Tankers loaded two rounds of armor-piercing projectiles into the vehicles; they took a little high-explosive fragmentation. The main purpose of Kolobanov’s tank crew was not to let German tanks into Krasnogvardeisk. On the same day, August 18, Senior Lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanov led his company towards the oncoming German units. He sent two of his cars to the Ludsk road, two more sent to the road to Volosovo, and he set up his own tank in an ambush organized at the crossroads of the road that connected the Tallinn highway with the road to Marienburg - the northern outskirts of Gatchina.
Zinovy Kolobanov personally conducted a reconnaissance of the area with his crews, giving instructions on exactly where to equip positions for each of the tanks. At the same time, Kolobanov prudently forced tank crews to equip a caponier with 2 (one main and a spare one) and disguise positions carefully. It is worth noting that Zinovy Kolobanov was already quite an experienced tanker. He fought the Finnish war, burned three times in a tank, but always returned to the line. The task of blocking the three roads leading to Krasnogvardeysk could be managed only by him.
Kolobanov equipped his position near the State farm of Voyskovitsy, located opposite the Uchkhoz chicken farm - at the fork of the Tallinn highway and the road leading to Marienburg. He set up a position about 150 meters from the highway coming from Syaskelevo. At the same time, a deep caponier was equipped, which hid the car so that only the tower protruded. The second caponier for the reserve position was equipped not far from the first one. From the main position, the road to Syaskelevo was perfectly viewed and swept. In addition, on the sides of this road there were marshy areas of the terrain, which greatly hampered the maneuver of armored vehicles and played a role in the upcoming battle.
The position of Kolobanov and his KV-1E was located at a small height with clayey ground at a distance of 150 meters from the fork in the road. From this position, “Landmark No. 1” was clearly visible, two birch trees growing along the road, and approximately in 300 meters from the T-junction, which was designated as “Landmark No. 2”. Total sweep section of the road was about a kilometer. The 22 tank could easily fit in this area while maintaining a walking distance of 40 meters between them.
The choice of location was due to the fact that it was possible to fire from here in two directions. This was important, since the enemy could get on the road to Marienburg either on the way from Syaskelevo or from Troiskovits. If the Germans came from the Troops, they would have had to shoot in the forehead. For this reason, the caponier was dug directly opposite the intersection with the expectation that the course angle will be minimal. At the same time Kolobanov had to accept the fact that the distance between his tank and the fork in the road was reduced to a minimum.
After equipping the disguised positions, it remained only to wait for the approach of the forces of the enemy. The Germans appeared here only 20 August. In the afternoon, the tank crews of Lieutenant Evdokimov and Junior Lieutenant Degtyar from Kolobanov's company met a convoy of armored vehicles on the Luga highway, recording 5 destroyed tanks and 3 of the enemy armored personnel carrier at their own expense. Soon the enemy was seen by the crew of the Kolobanov tank. First, they noticed the scouts-motorcyclists, whom the tankers freely passed further, waiting for the appearance of the main forces of the German troops.
Around 14: 00 20 in August, after the air reconnaissance ended unsuccessfully for the Germans, German motorcyclists drove along the coastal road to the Troops farm. Behind them, tanks appeared on the road. During the one and a half, two minutes, while the enemy's head tank covered the distance to the intersection, Zinoviy Kolobanov managed to make sure that there were no enemy heavy tanks in the convoy. Then the plan of the upcoming battle ripened in his head. Kolobanov decided to skip the entire column to the section with two birches (Landmark No. XXUMX). In this case, all the enemy tanks had time to go through the turn at the beginning of the bulk road and found themselves under the fire of his screened KV-1 gun. In the column, apparently, there were light Czech tanks Pz.Kpfw.1 (t) from the German 35-th tank division (in a number of sources the 6-th or 1-th tank division is also attributed to the tank). After the battle plan had been drawn up, everything else was a matter of technique. Killing in the head, middle and end of the column, Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov not only blocked the road on both sides, but also deprived the enemy of the possibility of moving onto the road that led to Troiskovitsy.
After a traffic jam in the enemy convoy began, a terrible panic began. Some tanks, trying to get out of the fire, went down the slope and got stuck in the marshland, where they were finished off by the crew of Kolobanov. Other enemy vehicles, trying to turn around on a narrow road, ran across each other, knocking down the tracks and rollers. Frightened German crews jumped out of burning and padded cars and rushed between them in fear. However, many were killed by machine gun fire from a Soviet tank.
At first, the Nazis did not understand where exactly they were shot from. They began to hit all the mounds of hay in sight, thinking that they were camouflaged with tanks or anti-tank guns. However, they soon spotted a disguised KV. After that, an unequal tank duel began. A whole hail of shells hit the KV-1E, but they could not do something that was dug around the tower by a Soviet heavy tank that was equipped with additional 25-mm screens. And although there was no trace of disguise, and the position of the Soviet tankmen was known to the Germans, this did not affect the outcome of the battle.
The battle lasted only 30 minutes, but during this time, Kolobanov’s crew was able to smash the German tank column, knocking out all the 22 vehicles that were in it. From the double ammunition taken on board, Kolobanov shot 98 armor-piercing shells. Later the battle continued, but the Germans no longer climbed ahead. On the contrary, they began to use for fire support tanks Pz.Kpfw.IV and anti-tank guns that fired from long distances. This stage of the battle did not bring any special dividends to the parties: the Germans could not destroy Kolobanov’s tank, and the Soviet tankman did not declare the enemy’s vehicles destroyed. At the same time, at the second stage of the battle, all observation devices were destroyed on the Kolobanov tank and the tower was wedged. After the tank got out of battle, the crew counted more than 100 hits on it.
The whole company Kolobanova that day destroyed the enemy's 43 tank. Including the crew of Junior Lieutenant F. Sergeev - 8, Junior Lieutenant V.I. Lastochkin - 4, Junior Lieutenant I. A. Degtyar - 4, Lieutenant M. I. Evdokimenko - 5. There was also a declared destroyed passenger car, an artillery battery and up to two enemy infantry companies, and one of the motorcyclists was captured.
Surprisingly, for such a fight Kolobanov did not receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In September, 1941, the commander of the 1 tank regiment of the 1 tank division, D. D. Pogodin, all crew members of the tank Kolobanov were presented to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union, this presentation was signed by the division commander V. I. Baranov. But for some reason, this decision was changed at the headquarters of the Leningrad Front. This change still defies a reasonable explanation and causes a lot of disputes and versions. Anyway, Kolobanov was presented to the Order of the Red Banner, and gunner A. M. Usov to the Order of Lenin. Perhaps the Lenfront command simply considered it impossible to assign the title of Hero to Kolobanov against the general background of major strategic failures, and Krasnogvardeisk was soon surrendered to the Germans. According to another version, in the Kolobanov case there was some information compromising him, something that prevented him from receiving the award. The truth, in any case, we will not know.
15 September 1941, Zinoviy Kolobanov was seriously wounded. This happened at night in the cemetery of the city of Pushkin, where the lieutenant’s tank was refueled with ammunition and fuel. Next to his HF, a German projectile exploded, a tanker was injured in the head and spine with splinters; in addition, Kolobanov received a contusion of the spinal cord and brain. At first he was treated at the Institute of Traumatology in Leningrad, but then he was evacuated and was treated in evacuation hospitals in Sverdlovsk before March 15. 1945 May 31, he was given the rank of captain.
Despite the serious injury and contusion, Kolobanov after the war again entered the service in the tank forces. Zinovy Kolobanov was in service until July 1958, after which he retired to the reserve already in the rank of lieutenant colonel. He worked and lived in the capital of Belarus. 8 died on August 1994 of the year in Minsk, buried there.
Today, a monument has been erected at the site of the famous battle of Soviet tankers on the outskirts of Gatchina. On the monument stands a heavy tank IS-2. Unfortunately, by the time the monument was erected, the same KV-1E tanks, on which Kolobanov fought, could no longer be found, so I had to use what was at hand. A sign appeared on a high pedestal, which says: “The tank crew under the command of Senior Lieutenant Z. G. Kolobanov destroyed 19 enemy tanks in the battle on August 1941, 22. The crew included: driver foreman Nikiforov N. I., gun commander senior sergeant Usov A. M., gunner-radio operator senior sergeant Kiselkov P. I., loading Red Army soldier N. F. Rodenkov.
Based on materials from open sources
18 August 1941, the commander of the 3 tank company from the 1 battalion of the 1 Red Banner Tank Division of Senior Lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanova, was summoned personally by Major General V. Baranov. At that time, the headquarters of the unit was located in the basement of the cathedral, which was one of the attractions of Gatchina, which at that time was called Krasnogvardeisky. Verbally, Baranov gave Kolobanov an order to block at any cost three roads that led to Krasnogvardeysk from Kingisepp, Volosovo and Luga.
At that time, there were 5 heavy tanks KV-1 in the company of Kolobonov. Tankers loaded two rounds of armor-piercing projectiles into the vehicles; they took a little high-explosive fragmentation. The main purpose of Kolobanov’s tank crew was not to let German tanks into Krasnogvardeisk. On the same day, August 18, Senior Lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanov led his company towards the oncoming German units. He sent two of his cars to the Ludsk road, two more sent to the road to Volosovo, and he set up his own tank in an ambush organized at the crossroads of the road that connected the Tallinn highway with the road to Marienburg - the northern outskirts of Gatchina.
Zinovy Kolobanov personally conducted a reconnaissance of the area with his crews, giving instructions on exactly where to equip positions for each of the tanks. At the same time, Kolobanov prudently forced tank crews to equip a caponier with 2 (one main and a spare one) and disguise positions carefully. It is worth noting that Zinovy Kolobanov was already quite an experienced tanker. He fought the Finnish war, burned three times in a tank, but always returned to the line. The task of blocking the three roads leading to Krasnogvardeysk could be managed only by him.
Kolobanov equipped his position near the State farm of Voyskovitsy, located opposite the Uchkhoz chicken farm - at the fork of the Tallinn highway and the road leading to Marienburg. He set up a position about 150 meters from the highway coming from Syaskelevo. At the same time, a deep caponier was equipped, which hid the car so that only the tower protruded. The second caponier for the reserve position was equipped not far from the first one. From the main position, the road to Syaskelevo was perfectly viewed and swept. In addition, on the sides of this road there were marshy areas of the terrain, which greatly hampered the maneuver of armored vehicles and played a role in the upcoming battle.
The position of Kolobanov and his KV-1E was located at a small height with clayey ground at a distance of 150 meters from the fork in the road. From this position, “Landmark No. 1” was clearly visible, two birch trees growing along the road, and approximately in 300 meters from the T-junction, which was designated as “Landmark No. 2”. Total sweep section of the road was about a kilometer. The 22 tank could easily fit in this area while maintaining a walking distance of 40 meters between them.
The choice of location was due to the fact that it was possible to fire from here in two directions. This was important, since the enemy could get on the road to Marienburg either on the way from Syaskelevo or from Troiskovits. If the Germans came from the Troops, they would have had to shoot in the forehead. For this reason, the caponier was dug directly opposite the intersection with the expectation that the course angle will be minimal. At the same time Kolobanov had to accept the fact that the distance between his tank and the fork in the road was reduced to a minimum.
After equipping the disguised positions, it remained only to wait for the approach of the forces of the enemy. The Germans appeared here only 20 August. In the afternoon, the tank crews of Lieutenant Evdokimov and Junior Lieutenant Degtyar from Kolobanov's company met a convoy of armored vehicles on the Luga highway, recording 5 destroyed tanks and 3 of the enemy armored personnel carrier at their own expense. Soon the enemy was seen by the crew of the Kolobanov tank. First, they noticed the scouts-motorcyclists, whom the tankers freely passed further, waiting for the appearance of the main forces of the German troops.
Around 14: 00 20 in August, after the air reconnaissance ended unsuccessfully for the Germans, German motorcyclists drove along the coastal road to the Troops farm. Behind them, tanks appeared on the road. During the one and a half, two minutes, while the enemy's head tank covered the distance to the intersection, Zinoviy Kolobanov managed to make sure that there were no enemy heavy tanks in the convoy. Then the plan of the upcoming battle ripened in his head. Kolobanov decided to skip the entire column to the section with two birches (Landmark No. XXUMX). In this case, all the enemy tanks had time to go through the turn at the beginning of the bulk road and found themselves under the fire of his screened KV-1 gun. In the column, apparently, there were light Czech tanks Pz.Kpfw.1 (t) from the German 35-th tank division (in a number of sources the 6-th or 1-th tank division is also attributed to the tank). After the battle plan had been drawn up, everything else was a matter of technique. Killing in the head, middle and end of the column, Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov not only blocked the road on both sides, but also deprived the enemy of the possibility of moving onto the road that led to Troiskovitsy.
After a traffic jam in the enemy convoy began, a terrible panic began. Some tanks, trying to get out of the fire, went down the slope and got stuck in the marshland, where they were finished off by the crew of Kolobanov. Other enemy vehicles, trying to turn around on a narrow road, ran across each other, knocking down the tracks and rollers. Frightened German crews jumped out of burning and padded cars and rushed between them in fear. However, many were killed by machine gun fire from a Soviet tank.
At first, the Nazis did not understand where exactly they were shot from. They began to hit all the mounds of hay in sight, thinking that they were camouflaged with tanks or anti-tank guns. However, they soon spotted a disguised KV. After that, an unequal tank duel began. A whole hail of shells hit the KV-1E, but they could not do something that was dug around the tower by a Soviet heavy tank that was equipped with additional 25-mm screens. And although there was no trace of disguise, and the position of the Soviet tankmen was known to the Germans, this did not affect the outcome of the battle.
The battle lasted only 30 minutes, but during this time, Kolobanov’s crew was able to smash the German tank column, knocking out all the 22 vehicles that were in it. From the double ammunition taken on board, Kolobanov shot 98 armor-piercing shells. Later the battle continued, but the Germans no longer climbed ahead. On the contrary, they began to use for fire support tanks Pz.Kpfw.IV and anti-tank guns that fired from long distances. This stage of the battle did not bring any special dividends to the parties: the Germans could not destroy Kolobanov’s tank, and the Soviet tankman did not declare the enemy’s vehicles destroyed. At the same time, at the second stage of the battle, all observation devices were destroyed on the Kolobanov tank and the tower was wedged. After the tank got out of battle, the crew counted more than 100 hits on it.
The whole company Kolobanova that day destroyed the enemy's 43 tank. Including the crew of Junior Lieutenant F. Sergeev - 8, Junior Lieutenant V.I. Lastochkin - 4, Junior Lieutenant I. A. Degtyar - 4, Lieutenant M. I. Evdokimenko - 5. There was also a declared destroyed passenger car, an artillery battery and up to two enemy infantry companies, and one of the motorcyclists was captured.
Surprisingly, for such a fight Kolobanov did not receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In September, 1941, the commander of the 1 tank regiment of the 1 tank division, D. D. Pogodin, all crew members of the tank Kolobanov were presented to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union, this presentation was signed by the division commander V. I. Baranov. But for some reason, this decision was changed at the headquarters of the Leningrad Front. This change still defies a reasonable explanation and causes a lot of disputes and versions. Anyway, Kolobanov was presented to the Order of the Red Banner, and gunner A. M. Usov to the Order of Lenin. Perhaps the Lenfront command simply considered it impossible to assign the title of Hero to Kolobanov against the general background of major strategic failures, and Krasnogvardeisk was soon surrendered to the Germans. According to another version, in the Kolobanov case there was some information compromising him, something that prevented him from receiving the award. The truth, in any case, we will not know.
15 September 1941, Zinoviy Kolobanov was seriously wounded. This happened at night in the cemetery of the city of Pushkin, where the lieutenant’s tank was refueled with ammunition and fuel. Next to his HF, a German projectile exploded, a tanker was injured in the head and spine with splinters; in addition, Kolobanov received a contusion of the spinal cord and brain. At first he was treated at the Institute of Traumatology in Leningrad, but then he was evacuated and was treated in evacuation hospitals in Sverdlovsk before March 15. 1945 May 31, he was given the rank of captain.
Despite the serious injury and contusion, Kolobanov after the war again entered the service in the tank forces. Zinovy Kolobanov was in service until July 1958, after which he retired to the reserve already in the rank of lieutenant colonel. He worked and lived in the capital of Belarus. 8 died on August 1994 of the year in Minsk, buried there.
Today, a monument has been erected at the site of the famous battle of Soviet tankers on the outskirts of Gatchina. On the monument stands a heavy tank IS-2. Unfortunately, by the time the monument was erected, the same KV-1E tanks, on which Kolobanov fought, could no longer be found, so I had to use what was at hand. A sign appeared on a high pedestal, which says: “The tank crew under the command of Senior Lieutenant Z. G. Kolobanov destroyed 19 enemy tanks in the battle on August 1941, 22. The crew included: driver foreman Nikiforov N. I., gun commander senior sergeant Usov A. M., gunner-radio operator senior sergeant Kiselkov P. I., loading Red Army soldier N. F. Rodenkov.
Based on materials from open sources
[media=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfCisV9HpAA]
Information