How to release the "Gate of the Caucasus." February 14 - Rostov-on-Don Liberation Day

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February 14 marks the 73 of the year from that momentous day when Rostov-on-Don was liberated from the Nazi invaders in 1943. The "Gates of the Caucasus" was occupied by the Nazis and their allies twice. For the first time, in the autumn of 1941, the Nazis were able to capture Rostov for just a week. However, even these days were remembered by the local population by the bloody murders of civilians. So, on November 28, 1941 was shot by the nazis young Viktor Cherevichkin, the fame of which later spread throughout the Soviet Union. Already 28 November 1941, the Soviet troops under the command of Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko could free Rostov-on-Don. This was the first large-scale victory of the Red Army at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War.

However, in July 1942, the German command again launched a massive attack on the Kuban and the Caucasus. July 24 The 1942 of the year 17 of the Wehrmacht Hitlerite Army entered Rostov-on-Don. Rostov-on-Don was once again under the authority of the invaders, which this time stretched for many months. The most tragic page in stories the occupation of Rostov-on-Don was the destruction of more than 40 thousands of residents of the city, 27 thousands of whom were killed on the outskirts of the then Rostov - in Zmievskoy gully. Among those killed were persons of Jewish and Gypsy nationality, members of their families, party and Komsomol workers, prisoners of the Red Army. The Nazis noted the killing of civilians in other parts of the city, among the victims of the invaders were many children and teenagers. Some of the young Rostovites tried to resist the invaders to the best of their ability, tried to deploy underground work, for which they paid with their lives.

Five pioneer boys, who were only 11-12 years old - Kohl Kizim, Igor Neygof, Vitya Protsenko, Vanya Zyatin and Kohl Sidorenko picked up about 40 wounded during the defense of Rostov in the Red Army. All the wounded boys were dragged away and hid in the attic of their home. For two weeks, the pioneers cared for the wounded. But not without betrayal. German soldiers and officers entered the courtyard of the house number 27 on Ulyanovskaya Street. They organized a search, during which wounded Red Army men hiding in the attic were discovered. They were thrown from the attic into the courtyard and finished off with bayonets. The Nazis ordered all residents of the house to line up and said that if they did not extradite those who hid the Red Army, then the death penalty would await all the inhabitants of the house. Five young pioneers themselves were out of order and said that they did it - to save the rest of the house residents. The Nazis dug a hole in the courtyard of the house, covered it with quicklime and threw five young heroes into it. Then they poured water into the pit. The guys died slowly. Their execution became exemplary for all residents of Rostov - the occupation authorities wanted to show their cruelty and readiness to crack down on all the recalcitrant Soviet people in the most barbaric ways.

The Rostov Rifle Regiment of the People’s Militia, assembled in 1941 and heroically defended its native city, covered itself with unfading glory. Despite the fact that yesterday's civilians served in the regiment, before the invasion of the Nazis peacefully worked in various areas of the Soviet economy, during the defense and assault of Rostov in the autumn of 1941, in the defense of Rostov in July of 1942, the militia regiment demonstrated the wonders of heroism. The names of many militias today called the streets and alleys of Rostov-on-Don, there is a square to them. Rostov rifle regiment of the national militia.

Legendary commander

How to release the "Gate of the Caucasus." February 14 - Rostov-on-Don Liberation Day


The re-liberation of Rostov began with the transition of the troops of the Southern Front to the offensive on January 1 and 1943. In two weeks of fighting, Soviet troops were able to reach the Manych basin, and a week later they were able to reach the shores of the Seversky Donets and the Don. First of all, units of the 28 Army attacked Rostov. From September 1942 to December 1943, the 28 Army, which fought as part of the Southern Front, was commanded by Lieutenant General Vasily Filippovich Gerasimenko (1900-1961). A talented and brave military leader, Vasily Gerasimenko was born in the village of Velikaya Buromka, which is now located in the Chernobay district of the Cherkassy region of Ukraine. At the age of eighteen, in the 1918 year, Vasily enlisted in the Red Army. He passed the Civil War - first a machine gunner, then became an assistant commander and platoon commander. Choosing for himself the path of a professional military, Vasily Gerasimenko entered and graduated from the Military Academy of the Red Army in 1924. He also graduated from the Minsk United Military School and the M. Frunze Military Academy in the period between the Civil and the Great Patriotic War. In 1935, Mr. Gerasimenko received the position of chief of staff of a rifle division, in August, 1937 became commander of the corps. In 1938-1940 Gerasimenko served as deputy commander of the Kiev Special Military District, and in July 1940 was appointed commander of the Volga Military District. In June-July, the 1940 of Gerasimenko commanded the 5-th army of the Southern Front, then, during the Great Patriotic War, commanded the 21-th and 13-th armies. In October-December, 1941, the city of Gerasimenko, served as an assistant to the Chief of Logistics of the Red Army, and in December, 1942 became commander of the troops of the Stalingrad Military District.

In September 1942 of Gerasimenko was appointed commander of the 28 army. Under his command, the army took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, in the Miussky, Donbass and Melitopol operations. Before the assault on Rostov-on-Don, the Military Council of the 28 Army, commanded by Gerasimenko, issued the following message: “We must not forget for a moment that the German executioners are tormenting our brothers and sisters in Rostov actively helped the Red Army knock the Nazis out of the city. Our urgent sacred duty to wrest them from the clutches of the Hitlerite pack ... We will take Rostov! ” At the meeting of the Military Council, Vasily Filippovich Gerasimenko stressed that the army under his command had never faced such a significant and difficult task - to take Bataysk, and then continue the attack on Rostov-on-Don and free this large southern city. A conditional signal for the start of the offensive - “Hello to the heroes” - was transmitted to all units that were part of the 28 Army, around 01.30 8 February 1943. Every day, approximately at 21.35 evenings, General Gerasimenko reported to the General Headquarters of Joseph Stalin about the immediate during the battles for Rostov-on-Don.

Having played an important role in the liberation of Rostov-on-Don and the Rostov region from the Nazi occupiers, General Gerasimenko continued to serve in the Red Army. In January, 1944 was appointed Commander of the Kharkov Military District, and two months later, the People's Commissar of Defense of the Ukrainian SSR (such a position existed in 1944-1946 and later was canceled) and commander of the Kiev Military District. From October 1945 to 1953, General Gerasimenko served as deputy deputy commander of the Baltic Military District. Grateful residents of Rostov called the street in the Oktyabrsky district of Rostov-on-Don after the name of General Gerasimenko.

The Nazis fiercely defended Rostov, not wanting to lose control of this large, strategically important center. Therefore, the capture of the city by Soviet troops was a complex and costly human life operation. The names of those people who were the first to break into the “capital of South Russia” are doubly valuable to us, freeing the city from the occupiers. 159-I infantry brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A.I. Bulgakov, advancing from the left bank of the Don River in the area of ​​the historical center of Rostov. In the evening of February 7, the 1943 rifle battalion of the separate rifle brigade of the 159 received a combat mission from a higher command - to capture part of the Rostov-on-Don station, the most important railway junction in the North Caucasus. The assault group included soldiers and officers of the three battalions of the 159 th rifle brigade. They were assigned the task of secretly crossing the frozen Don River on the ice, making their way to the city located on the right bank of the river.

The operation was scheduled for 01.30 at night. There was a strong wind and the Red Army came up with a very effective way to quickly cross the frozen river, using the weather element. The soldiers dipped into the ice hole shoes, which were covered with a crust of ice. After that, having opened the floors of the raincoat, the Red Army men, as if skating, driven by the wind, crossed the Don. The reconnaissance unit under the command of Lieutenant Nikolai Lupandin was able to silently cross the ice-covered Don and remove the German sentries. After that, the machine gunners quickly destroyed two German machine-gun points on the bridge and the control room. After that, Soviet soldiers were able to capture the site in the area of ​​Railway Station Square, including the Dolomanovsky and Bratsky lanes. But the night darkness still could not hide the passage of the Don so many soldiers. The Nazis noticed the movement of the Red Army. Machine guns began to work. Already in the center, to which the Red Army soldiers who had crossed Don came out, they were met by a large detachment of Nazis of 200 machine gunners and 4 tanks. In battle, the commanders of two rifle battalions were seriously wounded - the commander of the 1st battalion, major M.Z. Diablo and the commander of the 4th battalion, captain P.Z. Derevyanchenko, very large losses were suffered by the personnel of the three battalions crossing the river. The command was taken over by the surviving commander of one of the three battalions - senior lieutenant Ghukas Madoyan.

Feat Commander Madoyana

By the time of the operation to capture Rostov-on-Don, Gukas Karapetovich Madoyan was no longer young for a senior lieutenant - he was 37 years old. He was born on January 15 1906 in the village of Kers of the Kara region, which is now in Turkey, in an Armenian peasant family. During the First World War, Hukas' parents died - the events of a century ago still remember with horror the Armenians of the whole world: too many of their fellow tribesmen were killed or died during deportation, organized by the Ottoman command. Nevertheless, Gukasu himself was fortunate enough to survive, although he received education only in an incomplete secondary. When Soviet power was established in Armenia, Gukas Madoyan volunteered for the Red Army. He was then just 14-15 years. A young boy from a peasant family participated in the battles on the territory of Georgia and Armenia, and then decided to become a professional soldier - however, what else was he to do? In 1924, the city of Gukas Madoyan graduated from an infantry school, and in 1925 he became a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). However, the military career at Gukas Madoyan did not work out. He left “as a citizen” and worked in Yerevan in the field of trade and cooperation for fifteen years. In 1928-1930 Madoyan headed the production department of one of the workers' cooperatives of Yerevan. In 1933-1937 Madoyan was the head of Yerevan Trade Department weapons, and in 1937-1940. He worked as a department head in a Yerevan grocery store. Nevertheless, when the international military-political situation became complicated, Gukas Madoyan returned to military service. In 1940, 34-year-old Madoyan graduated from the “Shot” commanding courses, where he updated his knowledge of military affairs, which 16 acquired years ago in an infantry school and while serving in the Red Army. From the first days of the start of the Great Patriotic War, Gukas Madoyan was in the army in the position of the company commander of the mountain rifle regiment. 19 November 1942. Senior Lieutenant Madoyan was appointed commander of the 3 battalion of the 159 separate infantry brigade, which was part of the 28 army. Gukas Madoyan proved himself during the Battle of Stalingrad, as well as during the liberation of Elista (now the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia).

When the Red Army soldiers of the rifle battalions of the 159 th brigade that had crossed the border faced the fire of an overwhelming enemy, it seemed that the plan to capture part of the Rostov-on-Don railway station was doomed to failure. Moreover, the 1 and 4 battalions were left without commanders. And here senior lieutenant Madoyan took command. Under his command, about 800 people gathered - the surviving fighters of three battalions. With a decisive attack, Madoyan and the soldiers beat the Nazis out of the building of the Rostov railway station and entrenched themselves in its territory. Right at the station, the Red Army managed to capture seven echelons of ammunition, four howitzers and several vehicles. The heroic defense of the Rostov station began, which lasted six days. Red Army soldiers under the command of Gukas Madoyan repulsed the enemy's 43 attacks. In just one day, 10 February, the Hitlerite units launched twenty attacks on the railway station, setting themselves the task of regaining control, but could not dislodge the Red Army men from the building. And this is despite the fact that from the side of the nazis, artillery guns and tanks were beating at the station. Desperate to break the resistance of the Red Army tank and artillery shelling, the German Nazis 11 February set fire to the buildings near the station square with the help of air bombs. The coal stored on the square caught fire.



In the current situation, Gukas Madoyan gave an order to his subordinates to immediately move to another defense sector, to the foundry of the Yev. IN AND. Lenin. The detachment overcame the area with a single throw, after which the Red Army men entrenched in the foundry workshop of Lenzavod, from where they continued to bombard the territory of the station square. Two days later, in the evening of February 13, the Madoyan fighters once again managed to seize the building of the Rostov-on-Don railway station and take positions in it. The defense of the Rostov station went down in history as one of the unique examples of operations of this kind. Throughout the week, a small detachment of Madoyan, deprived of the support of the main body of troops, managed to keep the station building under control, reflecting dozens of attacks by superior enemy forces. During the defense of the station, Madoyan’s fighters managed to destroy up to 300 people - Wehrmacht soldiers and officers, 35 vehicles and 10 enemy motorcycles, hit a 1 tank, and capture a significant amount of weapons and ammunition in the wagons stuck in the station. 89 locomotives and above 3 000 wagons with various cargoes were in the hands of the Red Army.

At around 02.00 at night of 14 in February of 1943, troops of the Southern Front broke into Rostov-on-Don. They managed to crush the resistance of the Nazis. The remaining fighters of the Madoyan detachment marched to join up with the main body of the Soviet troops. At the crossroads of Engels streets and Budennovsky Avenue, in the very center of Rostov-on-Don, Madoyan's fighters met with the servicemen of the 51 Army of the Southern Front. The commander of the Southern Front, Colonel-General Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky, a member of the Front Military Council Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev and the commander of the 28 Army, Lieutenant-General Vasily Filippovich Gerasimenko, drove up to Madoyan’s detachment in cars. General Gerasimenko, embracing Madoyan and thanking him for his bravery, introduced the officer to General Malinovsky. The feat of the heroic lieutenant and his fighters did not go unnoticed by the Soviet command. The commanders of the front and the army petitioned for the assignment of Senior Lieutenant Gukas Madoyan the title Hero of the Soviet Union. 31 March 1943. For the bravery and courage displayed in the battles for the liberation of Rostov-on-Don, Senior Lieutenant Gukas Madoyan was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It is noteworthy that the whole world learned about the feat of Senior Lieutenant Gukas Madoyan. In 1944, US President Franklin Roosevelt ordered Madoyan to be awarded the American Distinguished Service Medal. By the way, for the entire history of the Second World War, only twenty Soviet military men in the ranks from senior sergeant to colonel received this American medal. One of them was, in particular, Captain Alexander Pokryshkin - a renowned pilot, three times Hero of the Soviet Union. So, the modest senior lieutenant Madoyan was among a very narrow circle of Soviet soldiers, about the exploits of which even the American leadership was heard.

After the liberation of Rostov-on-Don, Gukas Madoyan continued to fight the enemy in the ranks of the active army. In 1944, after graduating from the Military Academy. Mv Frunze, Gukas Madoyan was appointed commander of the 1194 Infantry Regiment of the 359 Infantry Division, which was part of the 38 Infantry Army, which fought on the 1 Ukrainian Front. However, in October, 1944, during the liberation of Poland, in the battles near the city of Debica, Gukas Madoyan was seriously wounded. After treatment, it became clear that health would not allow a heroic officer to remain in the ranks of the army in the field. In the rank of lieutenant colonel Gukas Karapetovich Madoyan was demobilized. He returned to Armenia, where in 1945 he became head of a department in the Yerevan City Council of Deputies. Then Gukas Karapetovich returned to his pre-war profession. In 1946, the honored veteran took the post of Deputy Minister of Commerce of the Armenian SSR, and in 1948 he became Deputy Minister of Social Security of the Armenian SSR. From 1952, Mr. Gukas Madoyan served as Minister of Social Security of the Armenian SSR, and from 1961. - Advisor to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR. In 1946-1963 Gukas Karapetovich Madoyan was a member of the 2-5 convocations of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR. Do not forget about Gukas Madoyan and grateful Rostov-on-Don. Gukas Karapetovich became an honorary citizen of the city of Rostov-on-Don. The name of the Hero of the Soviet Union Madoyan is a large street in the Zheleznodorozhny district of the city of Rostov-on-Don, and on the territory of the Rostov Electric Locomotive Repair Plant (Lenzavod) a monument is erected to the soldiers of the Madoyan detachment who heroically kept the Rostov railway station. In 1975, at the age of 69, Gukas Karapetovich Madoyan died.



The Red Army forced the Don

While the heroic fighters of Madoyan defended the Rostov railway station, Soviet troops were getting closer to the city. At about 01.30 the night of February 8 began the assault from the south of the eastern districts of Rostov - the former Armenian city of Nakhichevan. The 152-I separate rifle brigade under the command of Major I.Ye. Hodosa was advancing through the famous Green Island. One battalion of the brigade was able to force the canal and capture a bridgehead in the coastal quarters of Nakhichevan. To the west of the Khodos Brigade, the 156-I infantry brigade under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.I. Sivankova. Her battalion was also able to gain a foothold on a small piece in the Andreevsky district of the city (now the territory of the Leninsky district of Rostov-on-Don). However, having spent the ammunition, within a day, the battalions of the 152 and 156 rifle brigades were forced to leave the captured bridgeheads and again retreat to the left bank of the Don River. Attempts at new attacks, during which Red Army soldiers forced the ice-covered Don, were choking, being suppressed by the fire of German artillery and machine guns. These days, from 8 to 13 February 1943, hundreds of soldiers and officers of the Red Army died on the outskirts of Rostov.



On the night of February 9, also crossing the Dead Donets River, one of the branches of the Don in its delta, parts of the 11th Guards Cossack Cavalry Don Division broke into the territory of the village of Nizhne-Gnilovskaya (now part of the Zheleznodorozhny and Sovetsky districts of Rostov-on-Don) under the command of General S.I. Gorshkova. Cossacks managed to gain a foothold in Nizhne-Gnilovskaya and keep it until the approach of the main reinforcements - the rifle units of the Red Army. To the west of the railway bridge over the Don Rostov River, units of the 248th Infantry Division stormed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel I.D. Kovaleva. Despite the fierce resistance of the Nazis, already on the morning of February 10, units of the 899th, 902nd and 905th Infantry Regiments of the division managed to break into the city. A detachment of two regiments of the 248th Infantry Division of Lieutenant Colonel Kovalev and the reserve units of the 159th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Major A.D. Olenin, entrenched in the area of ​​the slate plant and were able to capture several quarters of the village of Verkhne-Gnilovskaya between the Don River and Portovaya Street. For four days, the Red Army fought fierce battles in the Portovaya area with superior Wehrmacht forces. On the evening of February 13, the Portovaya street district and the surrounding quarters were liberated from the Nazis. Parts of the 248th division tried to break through to the Rostov-on-Don railway station, in which the detachment of Gukas Madoyan was entrenched, but faced strong resistance from the Nazi troops. At the same time, units of the 34th Guards Rifle Division under the command of Colonel I.D. Dryakhlova, who was assigned the 6th Guards Tank Brigade and the 98th Separate Rifle Brigade. After bloody battles, the Red Army managed to break into the village. Together with parts of the 52nd separate rifle brigade, Colonel I.S. Shapkin and the 79th Separate Rifle Brigade, Colonel Rogatkin, units of the 34th Guards Division managed to capture the southwestern outskirts of Rostov-on-Don. In the floodplain of the Don and the Dead Don, Hitler aviation inflicted serious blows on the advancing units of the 4th Kuban and 5th Don Cossack Guards Cavalry Corps, commanded by generals N.Ya. Kirichenko and A.G. Selivanov. Since there was nowhere for Soviet cavalrymen to hide on the snowy ice of the floodplain, the corps suffered heavy losses - Luftwaffe aircraft using airfields in the hands of Nazi Taganrog launched air strikes on advancing corps.

The battery of the 2 Guards separate equestrian artillery battalion of the 4 Guards cavalry corps of the Southern Front was fixed in the hamlet of Semerniki of the Nizhne-Gnilovskaya stanitsa (now Sovetsky district of Rostov-on-Don). The task at first seemed very difficult to force the Don and drag heavy artillery pieces across the ice. The horses could not pull over the slippery ice with artillery, so the soldiers put down their overcoats and the horses had already dragged two 45-mm anti-tank guns on them. The battery had only 20 people and 2 artillery guns instead of the four. Only incredible heroism helped the Soviet soldiers take up positions on the right bank of the Don and engage in battle with the superior forces of the enemy - only the Wehrmacht’s tanks against the battery had 16 units. The gunners commanded by the guard, Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Mikhailovich Peskov (1914-1975), managed not only to gain a foothold, but also heroically repelled the enemy’s tank attacks. The fire was fought along the line of the railway in the area of ​​the West junction - to prevent the possibility of the retreat of the Nazis from Rostov. Peskov's battery was able to repel enemy attacks, destroying three enemy tanks, and the battery commander himself, despite being wounded, did not leave the battlefield and continued to lead the fire. In the battle with the Nazis, the entire battery perished, only four fighters survived, among them the commander of the artillerymen Peskov. For the courage shown by the guard, Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Peskov in March 1943 was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. After entering the reserve in 1946, Dmitry Peskov did not go to his native Leningrad, but remained in the Rostov region - he worked in the Office of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Rostov region, as Madoyan was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Rostov-on-Don. 21 May 1975 d. Dmitry Mikhailovich Peskov died. He was just 61 year. And in 1978, on the map of Rostov-on-Don, in the Soviet district of the city, a street appeared, named after the heroic participant of the liberation of Rostov.

The fierce battle for Rostov went on until February 14 1943. The 2-th Guards and 51-th 12-13 armies of February 1943 were able to liberate Novocherkassk and the village of Aksay from Hitler’s forces, and in the morning of February 14 went to the eastern outskirts of Rostov-on-Don - on the Rodionovo-Nesvetai line - Voloshi. - Kamenny Brod - the eastern outskirts of Rostov. Four Nazi divisions and auxiliary units defended Rostov from the advancing units of the Red Army. They were surrounded by Soviet connections from three sides. On the night of February 14 1943, the Hitlerites, unable to withstand the onslaught of the advancing Soviet forces, began to retreat to the north-west. The 28 and 51 armies of the 14 February 1943 managed to completely clear the territory of the city of Rostov-on-Don and the surrounding area from the Nazi invaders. Around 14.00 14 February, the last points, in which Hitlerite soldiers and officers continued their attempts at resistance, were crushed by units of the 28 Army. A telegram was sent to the Supreme Commander’s Headquarters: “The troops of the 28 Army of the Southern Front against the German invaders marched from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of ​​Azov. Your order is fulfilled - Rostov-on-Don was taken by the troops of the February 14 army. ”

In the liberation of the underground participated

A large contribution to the liberation of Rostov-on-Don, in addition to units of the regular army, was made by underground activists operating in the city, as well as ordinary residents of Rostov-on-Don. So, it is known that the ordinary Rostov girl named Lydia brought food and water to the fighters of Madoyan. During the onslaught of the foundry during the onset of the Hitlerite fighters of Madoyan, the engine driver who worked on the railroad led him - then he was killed by a Hitlerite sniper. All that is known about the man is that he lived on Republican Street. Major M.I. Dubrovin, who served in the 159 Infantry Brigade, recalled: “I remember with great love ... the residents of the city, who helped us break the resistance of the Nazis. I especially remember the boys. They knew about the enemy, it seems, everything: where, how many fascists, what weapons they have. They showed us workarounds, and we struck sudden blows at the enemy from the flanks and from the rear. ”

Organized underground fighters acted on the territory of Rostov-on-Don, causing considerable damage to the Hitler troops during the occupation. By January 1943, the largest underground group in Rostov-on-Don was the so-called “Yugovtsy” - an extensive organization, which was led by “Yugov” - Mikhail Mikhailovich Trifonov (in the photo), a former lieutenant-border guard, later transferred to military intelligence . As a military intelligence officer, Yugov-Trifonov was entrusted with the creation in Rostov-on-Don of an underground organization for sabotage, reconnaissance and agitation and propaganda work. Yugov successfully coped with this task — for the months of his existence and vigorous activity, Yugov's underground organization was never exposed. By January YNugov’s 1943 underground, more than 200 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Nazi structures were killed, 1 mortar destroyed, 1 artillery gun and 24 of a car, a water purification filter was blown. Immediately before the liberation of Rostov, the Nazis prepared for a retreat from the city and drew up a plan for the destruction of the urban infrastructure. It was supposed to blow up several buildings of the Rostselmash plant, which is known to the whole country, a bakery, a paper mill. It was the underground workers of Yugov who then entered into direct combat contact with the Nazis, not allowing them to carry out the planned sabotage. As you know, the detachment of Yugov was based in the private sector in the east of Rostov-on-Don - in the villages of Mayakovsky and Ordzhonikidze. In the same place, the underground fighters began the destruction of the Nazi soldiers and officers.

On the night of February 14 1943, the underground fighters engaged in battle with the Nazis in the area of ​​the railway crossing West. The battle of poorly armed underground workers, most of whom were civilians, took six hours to complete with the Hitlerite division. The battle ended with the victory of the underground workers, who managed to destroy the 93 of a German soldier and officer, three Nazi mortars, and also to undermine the warehouses with Wehrmacht ammunition. The detachment of the underground workers, commanded by Vasily Avdeev, is a man with a difficult fate (he served in the NKVD, where he rose to be a major of state security - that is, a commander in command, by analogy with the army, and then was repressed, he was imprisoned for three years, but he was asked to go to the front, where served as a simple medical assistant), managed to encircle a prisoner of war camp, destroy the Nazi guards and release Soviet soldiers and officers.

Rostov entered the top ten most affected cities

Having entered Rostov-on-Don, the Soviet troops saw what the once flourishing city had become during the German occupation. Virtually the entire city center was a sheer ruin - Rostov was among the ten cities of the Soviet Union that suffered the most destruction during the Great Patriotic War. If before the war about 567 000 inhabitants lived here, then by the time of liberation only 170 000 people remained in the city. The rest - who was drafted into the ranks of the army, who evacuated, who died during the bombings. From the 665 000 residents of the Don, the 324 549 people did not return from the battlefields. Almost every tenth resident of the city, regardless of gender, age, national or social affiliation, was killed by the Nazi invaders. Over 27 000, the Rostovites were killed by the Nazis in Zmievskaya Gully, 1500 people were executed by executioners in the courtyard and in the cells of the famous “Bogatyanovskaya Prison”, on Kirovsky Avenue - when they left the city, the Nazis chose to destroy the prisoners. On Volokolamskaya Street, thousands of unarmed prisoners of war were killed. The memorandum of the NKVD of the USSR in the Rostov region of 16 in March 1943 stated: “The wild outrage and atrocities of the occupants of the first days were replaced by the organized physical extermination of the entire Jewish population, the Communists, the Soviet activists and Soviet patriots ... In the 14 city prison alone February February 1943 - On the day of the liberation of Rostov - 1154 corpses of the citizens of the city, shot and tortured by the Nazis, were found by the Red Army units. Of the total number of corpses, 370 was found in a pit, 303 - in different parts of the yard, and 346 - among the ruins of a blown up building. Among the victims are 55 minors, 122 women. ”



The special state commission Rostov-on-Don, which investigated the crimes of the Nazi invaders, was rated among the 15 cities of the Soviet Union, which were the most affected by the actions of the aggressors. According to the commission, 11 773 buildings were completely destroyed, of the 286 280 enterprises operating in the city were destroyed during the bombing. After liberation from the invaders, it was necessary to restore the city destroyed by the war in the shortest possible time, including industrial enterprises, transport and communications infrastructure, residential and administrative buildings. 26 June 1943 was adopted by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On the priority measures for the restoration of the economy of the city of Rostov and the Rostov region." Virtually the entire population of the city has been involved in the process of rebuilding the city’s economy - after studying and working, doing household chores, workers and office workers, students and housewives, retirees and people with disabilities went to work on debris, taking out rubbish and restoring urban infrastructure. It was also necessary to restore the infrastructure of the liberated city because the industrial enterprises of Rostov could make a serious contribution to bringing the victory over Nazi Germany closer. So, already in the spring of 1943, the repair of automobile and armored vehicles, airplanes, and artillery guns was organized at Rostov factories. From March to September, 1943 aircraft, 465 tanks, 250 trucks were repaired for the needs of the Southern Front at the enterprises of Rostov-on-Don, production of spare parts for vehicles in the amount of 653 million rubles was arranged. All this information was given in a memorandum of the military department of the Rostov Regional Committee of the CPSU (b).

Even after the liberation of Rostov-on-Don, in the spring of 1943, the aviation had to repel enemy air raids on the liberated city. During one of these raids, Senior Lieutenant Peter Korovkin (1917-1943), who served as deputy squadron commander of the 9 Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 268 Fighter Aviation Division of the 8 Air Force of the Southern Front, died. 25 March 1943 Korovkin flew on alert to repel the Nazi air raid on the liberated Rostov-on-Don. More than 200 aircraft participated in the big air battle. When Korovkin's plane ran out of ammunition, the pilot caught sight of a German bomber. Not wanting to miss the enemy, Korovkin deployed his Yak-1 and hit the enemy with a wing. Both German and Soviet aircraft began to fall. Korovkin jumped out of the plane with a parachute, but the Messerschmit came in time and opened fire on him. Peter Korovkin died and was buried in Rostov-on-Don, in the Aviators park, not far from the Rostov airport. The name of the pilot who died after the liberation of Rostov-on-Don also named a street in the Leninsky district of the city. 5 May 2008 President of Russia V.V. Putin signed a decree awarding the city of military glory the honorary title of the Russian Federation to the city of Rostov-on-Don.
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  1. +8
    15 February 2016 07: 09
    Thank! Strong article !!!! Eternal Glory - To Heroes - Liberators !!!! Glory yes Our Memory !!!!
  2. +2
    15 February 2016 07: 50
    Thank you, Ilya .. Good article ..! Such details .. Low bow to all those who saved us from the "brown" plague ..
  3. +5
    15 February 2016 08: 25
    Somewhere I heard that, whether for the Hungarians, or the Romanians who fought for the Nazis, Voronezh became the same as Borodino is for the French. It was in the battle for Voronezh that everyone was killed, in general, all their troops. After that battle, they did not have troops capable of fighting in the ranks of Nazi Germany.
    And so here our Grandfathers beat the enemy, to complete destruction. Everlasting memory.
    1. 0
      15 February 2016 12: 14
      In Bataisk, across the Don from Rostov, I saw a plaque in the industrial zone that there was a camp "either for Hungarians or Romanians who fought for the Nazis."
    2. +1
      15 February 2016 13: 22
      Well, I don't know what about Voronezh, but as my grandmother and the grandmother of my friend (in the Rostov region) said: "Hungarians and Romanians were not taken prisoner. There was no one worse than them. Even the Germans were treated better." ... " The Romanians robbed all houses, took away the last, the Germans did not do this like these .. "
      1. +1
        15 February 2016 14: 48
        Yes, yes, who did not ask from the survivors of the occupation - they all told about it.
    3. BAI
      0
      17 November 2016 13: 17
      There were Hungarians in Voronezh. Near Stalingrad - Romanians.
  4. +2
    15 February 2016 09: 15
    The Hungarians were killed in Voronezh for the atrocious attitude towards our wounded in two hospitals we left on the right bank, there was a tacit order: do not take the Magyars prisoner!
  5. +2
    15 February 2016 11: 10
    I read a lot about the atrocities of the Magyars in our territory. The same cats as the Germans. It was necessary to mow them all to zero. Yes, Comrade Stalin did not allow it.
  6. UVB
    +7
    15 February 2016 11: 57
    On the same day, February 14, 1943, Lugansk was also liberated!
  7. +1
    15 February 2016 13: 24
    The last photo in the article in this house is now a cafe. I always liked cakes and coffee in it. :)
    1. +1
      15 February 2016 16: 30
      You can’t drink coffee with cakes there since this is the building of the City Administration, unless of course you are the head of the city. This is the corner of Bolshaya Sadovaya (Engels) and Cathedral
      1. 0
        16 February 2016 12: 29
        ))) Well, where I just did not drink coffee :)

        And also: Star Bucks cafe and many other objects :)
  8. +1
    15 February 2016 17: 12
    Powerful article! That's what children need to be raised on. And it seems that the rage and bitterness of the Soviet soldiers who stormed Rostov without sparing themselves is presented personally. Eternal glory to the heroes! Low bow from descendants.
  9. 0
    15 February 2016 18: 16
    The horror that was happening under the occupation am there are no words how people could endure it, not knowing when the nightmare would end ...
  10. 0
    April 20 2016 11: 42
    "Despite the fact that yesterday's civilians served in the regiment" - the Cossacks served there. It was because of them that the Germans had to take Rostov-on-Don for the second time
  11. 0
    7 November 2016 09: 34
    November 28, 1941 Soviet troops under the command of Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko was able to free Rostov-on-Don. This was the first large-scale victory of the Red Army at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War.

    The author is certainly right - in the most difficult period of the war, our troops under the command of Marshal Tymoshenko managed to liberate the first large city from the invaders. Moreover, Timoshekno did not beg from Stalin and the Headquarters for additional forces and reserves, he understood that they were all given to Zhukov, who headed the defense of Moscow. In addition to the fact that Rostov was liberated, in the battles for it, for the first time since September 1, 1939, the whole German army was defeated, and moreover a tank army, and moreover at the expense of the skill of the enemy commanders. The Germans did not expect this from the "old marshal". I will repeat again - in 1941, Marshal Tymoshenko was the only one of the Soviet military leaders whose troops liberated the first Soviet large city and, having surrounded, completely destroyed a large German formation near the town of Yelets. The chief of the German General Staff of the Army F. Halder on this occasion again sadly wrote: "The command of the troops on the front section between Tula and Kursk went bankrupt."

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