Briefly about the Brest Fortress during the Second World War. Dossier: defense of the Brest fortress
However, let's look at her story first. The beginning of the construction of the Brest Fortress dates back to 1833. Note that the city is an important border garrison, it "blocks" the central highway leading to Belarusian Minsk. For this reason, it simply needed to be strengthened. In different years of its “life”, the fortress was both a barracks, a military warehouse, and a political prison. The city itself either fell into the possession of the Poles, then returned to the territory of Russia, then was again captured by its neighbors.
Shortly before the start of the bloody war (1939), Brest was included in the USSR. The fortress itself no longer carried the significance of a strategic military facility, but rather was a monument to past battles. On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, it housed the garrisons of military personnel, a hospital, premises for household needs, and the families of the commanders permanently resided in it. In total, there are about 8,000 military personnel and 300 "civilian" members of their families. Of course, there were weapons and food supplies here, but more “for show”. Rumor has it that the water in the fortress ran out two days before the start of the great confrontation...
The attack on the Brest Fortress coincided with. It is not difficult to guess that residential buildings and barracks were the first to come under fire. The Germans systematically destroyed the command staff with heavy artillery fire and air strikes. Their goals were ambitious: to panic the army, left without leadership, and to take the fortress into their own hands before noon.
In reality, the assault on the fortification lasted several days. The surprise factor did not work as Hitler had planned. Yes, most of officers died, but the living soldiers immediately oriented themselves, taking selfless defense. Did the Soviet high command know in advance about the impending attack on the country? There is no single answer. But before the start of the war, a decree was issued: to immediately leave the fortress in the event of an enemy attack and take a defensive position along the perimeter. In fact, only a few were able to get out, and most of the military remained inside the bastion.
The Germans planned to take the fortress by storm, but could only get to its central part. Eyewitnesses of the events counted up to 8 attempts by the Nazis to break through the defenses of our soldiers, but they all turned out to be fruitless.
Moreover, the German command suffered enormous losses. Hitler was not counting on such a start of the war! As a matter of urgency, the enemy changes tactics: the assault on the fortress changes to its siege. Troops are urgently recalled, which, at least a little, but advanced in the offensive, they are placed along the perimeter of the recalcitrant stronghold.
From now on, the task of the enemy is to completely block the entrances and exits of the fortress for the Soviet troops. The besieged were literally left without supplies, weapons and water. The absence of life-giving moisture was especially keenly felt in the stone walls. The brutality of the Germans reached the point that they took all nearby sources under special control, dooming the imprisoned to certain death.
Despite the constant bombing, shelling, foot offensives of the Germans, our soldiers adequately held the defense. Along with them, women and children showed fortitude. Many refused to leave the walls of the fortress and voluntarily surrender to the enemy for the chance to save their lives.
The Nazis tried to alternate the tactics of assault and siege, but made little progress in taking the Brest Fortress. Only by the end of June did the German army manage to take control of most of the bastion. However, individual scattered groups of our soldiers resisted the invaders even until the autumn.
Even though it still ended up in the hands of the enemy, the feat of the Soviet soldiers unpleasantly struck the German "top". To say the least, scared. Yes, and how not to shudder from such a will to fight, courage and selflessness! Of the 8 thousand fighters, almost no one remained alive.
Ours first learned about the feat of the hero-fortress ... from captured German reports in the winter of 1942. At the edge of the 40s and 50s. notes about the Brest Bastion in Soviet newspapers were based solely on rumors. The key role in the restoration of the historical picture was played by the historian S. Smirnov and the writer K. Simonov, with the filing of which the book "Brest Fortress" was published. Today, the place of great battles has turned into. Here, everyone can plunge into the picture of the events of terrible years.
After the start of the Great Patriotic War For a week, the garrison of the Brest Fortress heroically held back the onslaught of the German 45th Infantry Division, which was supported by artillery and aviation.
After a general assault on June 29-30, the Germans managed to capture the main fortifications. But the defenders of the fortress continued to fight courageously in separate areas for almost three more weeks in the face of shortages of water, food, ammunition and medicines. The defense of the Brest Fortress was the first, but eloquent lesson that showed the Germans what awaits them in the future.
Fights in the Brest Fortress
Defense of the old, lost military value The fortress near the city of Brest, which was included in the USSR in 1939, is an undoubted example of resilience and courage. The Brest Fortress was built in the 19th century as part of a system of fortifications built on the western borders. Russian Empire. By the time of the German attack on the Soviet Union, it could no longer perform serious defensive tasks, and its central part, as part of the citadel and three adjacent main fortifications, was used to accommodate the border detachment, border cover units, NKVD troops, engineering units, a hospital and auxiliary units. By the time of the attack, there were about 8 thousand military personnel in the fortress, up to 300 families. commanders, a certain number of people who underwent military training, medical personnel and personnel of economic services - in all, in all likelihood, more than 10 thousand people.
At dawn on June 22, 1941, the fortress, primarily the barracks and residential buildings of the command staff, was subjected to powerful artillery fire, after which the fortifications were attacked by German assault detachments. The assault on the fortress was carried out by battalions of the 45th Infantry Division.
The German command hoped that the surprise attack and powerful artillery preparation would disorganize the troops stationed in the fortress and break their will to resist. According to calculations, the assault on the fortress was to be completed by 12 noon. However, the German staff miscalculated.
Despite the surprise, significant losses and death a large number commanders, the personnel of the garrison showed courage and stubbornness unexpected for the Germans. The position of the defenders of the fortress was hopeless.
Only a part of the personnel managed to leave the fortress (according to the plans, in case of a threat of the outbreak of hostilities, the troops were to take positions outside it), after which the fortress was completely surrounded.
They managed to destroy the detachments that broke into the central part of the fortress (the citadel) and take up defense in strong defensive barracks located along the perimeter of the citadel, as well as in various buildings, ruins, cellars and casemates both in the citadel and on the territory of the adjacent fortifications. The defenders were led by commanders and political workers, in some cases by ordinary soldiers who took command.
During June 22, the defenders of the fortress repulsed 8 enemy attacks. German troops suffered unexpectedly high losses, so by evening all the groups that had broken through to the territory of the fortress were withdrawn, a blockade line was created behind the outer ramparts, and hostilities began to take on the character of a siege. On the morning of June 23, after shelling and aerial bombardment, the enemy continued to attempt an assault. The battles in the fortress took on a fierce, protracted character, which the Germans did not expect at all. By the evening of June 23, their losses amounted to more than 300 people killed alone, which was almost twice the losses of the 45th Infantry Division for the entire Polish campaign.
In the following days, the defenders of the fortress continued to stubbornly resist, ignoring the calls for surrender transmitted through radio installations and the promises of truce truants. However, their strength gradually dwindled. The Germans pulled up siege artillery. Using flamethrowers, barrels of combustible mixture, powerful explosive charges, and according to some sources, poisonous or asphyxiating gases, they gradually suppressed pockets of resistance. The defenders experienced a shortage of ammunition and food. The water pipeline was destroyed, and it was impossible to get to the water in the bypass channels, because. the Germans opened fire on anyone who appeared in sight.
A few days later, the defenders of the fortress decided that the women and children who were among them should leave the fortress and surrender to the mercy of the winners. But still, some women remained in the fortress until the last days of hostilities. After June 26, several attempts were made to break out of the besieged fortress, but only separate small groups were able to break through.
By the end of June, the enemy managed to capture most of the fortress, on June 29 and 30 the Germans launched a continuous two-day assault on the fortress, alternating attacks with shelling and air bombardments using heavy bombs. They managed to destroy and capture the main groups of defenders in the Citadel and the Eastern redoubt of the Kobrin fortification, after which the defense of the fortress broke up into a number of separate centers. A small group of fighters continued to fight in the Eastern Redoubt until July 12, and later - in the caponier behind the outer rampart of the fortification. The group was headed by Major Gavrilov and Deputy Political Commissar G.D. Derevyanko, being seriously wounded, were captured on July 23.
Separate defenders of the fortress, hiding in the basements and casemates of the fortifications, continued their personal war until the autumn of 1941, and their struggle is covered with legends.
The enemy did not get any of the banners military units who fought in the fortress. The total losses of the 45th German Infantry Division, according to the divisional report, amounted to 482 killed on June 30, 1941, including 48 officers, and over 1000 wounded. According to the report, the German troops captured 7,000 people, which, apparently, include everyone who was captured in the fortress, incl. civilians and children. AT mass grave the remains of 850 of its defenders are buried on the territory of the fortress.
Smolensk battle
In the middle of summer - early autumn of 1941, Soviet troops carried out a complex of defensive and offensive operations in the Smolensk region, aimed at preventing the enemy from breaking through in the Moscow strategic direction and known as Smolensk battle.
In July 1941, the German Army Group Center (commander - Field Marshal T. von Bock) sought to fulfill the task set by the German command - to surround the Soviet troops defending the line of the Western Dvina and Dnieper, to capture Vitebsk, Orsha, Smolensk and open the way to Moscow .
In order to frustrate the enemy's plans and prevent his breakthrough to Moscow and the central industrial regions of the country, the Soviet High Command from the end of June concentrated troops of the 2nd strategic echelon (22nd, 19th, 20th, 16th and 21st I army) along the middle reaches of the Western Dvina and the Dnieper. In early June, these troops were included in the Western front(commander - marshal Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko). However, only 37 divisions out of 48 took up positions at the start of the German offensive. 24 divisions were in the first echelon. Soviet troops were unable to create a solid defense, and the density of troops was very low - each division had to defend a strip 25–30 km wide. The troops of the second echelon were deployed 210-240 km east of the main line.
By this time, formations of the 4th tank army, and on the site from Idritsa to Drissa - the infantry divisions of the 16th German Army from Army Group North. Over 30 infantry divisions of the 9th and 2nd armies of the German Army Group "Center", delayed by battles in Belarus, lagged behind the mobile troops by 120-150 km. Nevertheless, the enemy launched an offensive in the Smolensk direction, having a 2-4-fold superiority over the troops of the Western Front in manpower.
and technology.
The offensive of the German troops on the right wing and in the center of the Western Front began on July 10, 1941. A strike force consisting of 13 infantry, 9 tank and 7 motorized divisions broke through the Soviet defenses. Mobile formations of the enemy advanced up to 200 km, surrounded Mogilev, captured Orsha, part of Smolensk, Yelnya, Krichev. The 16th and 20th armies of the Western Front found themselves in an operational encirclement in the Smolensk region.
On July 21, the troops of the Western Front, having received reinforcements, launched a counteroffensive in the direction of Smolensk, and in the zone of the 21st Army, a group of three cavalry divisions raided the flank and rear of the main forces of Army Group Center. From the side of the enemy, the approaching infantry divisions of the 9th and 2nd German armies entered the fight. On July 24, the 13th and 21st armies were merged into the Central Front (commander - Colonel General F.I. Kuznetsov).
It was not possible to defeat the enemy's Smolensk grouping, however, as a result of intense fighting, the Soviet troops thwarted the offensive German tanks th groups, helped the 20th and 16th armies to get out of the encirclement across the Dnieper River and forced the Army Group Center on July 30 to go on the defensive. At the same time, the Soviet High Command united all the troops of the reserve and the Mozhaisk line of defense (39 divisions in total) into the Reserve Front under the command of General of the Army G.K. Zhukov.
On August 8, German troops resumed their offensive, this time to the south - in the zone of the Central, and then the Bryansk Front (created on August 16, commander - Lieutenant General A. I. Eremenko), in order to secure their flank from the threat of Soviet troops from the south. By August 21, the enemy managed to advance 120-140 km and wedged between the Central and Bryansk fronts. In view of the threat of encirclement, on August 19, the Headquarters allowed the withdrawal of the troops of the Central and the troops of the Southwestern Fronts operating south of the Dnieper. The armies of the Central Front were transferred to the Bryansk Front. On August 17, the troops of the Western Front and two armies of the Reserve Front went on the offensive, which inflicted significant losses on the Dukhovshchinskaya and Yelninskaya enemy groups.
The troops of the Bryansk Front continued to repel the offensive of the 2nd German Panzer Group and the 2nd German Army. A massive air attack (up to 460 aircraft) on the 2nd Panzer Group of the enemy could not stop its advance to the south. On the right wing of the Western Front, the enemy delivered a strong tank attack on the 22nd Army and on August 29 captured Toropets. The 22nd and 29th armies retreated to the eastern bank of the Western Dvina. On September 1, the 30th, 19th, 16th and 20th armies launched an offensive, but did not achieve significant success. By September 8, the defeat of the enemy grouping was completed and the dangerous ledge of the front in the Yelnya region was liquidated. On September 10, the troops of the Western, Reserve, and Bryansk Fronts went over to the defensive along the Subost, Desna, and Western Dvina rivers.
Despite the significant losses suffered during the Battle of Smolensk, the Soviet army managed to force the German troops for the first time during the Second World War to go on the defensive in the main direction. The battle of Smolensk became milestone disruption of the German plan lightning war against the Soviet Union. The Soviet army gained time to prepare the defense of the capital of the USSR and subsequent victories in the battles near Moscow.
Tank battle in the area of Lutsk-Brody-Rivne
From June 23 to June 29, 1941, during border clashes in the Lutsk-Brody-Rivne area, an oncoming tank battle took place between the advancing German 1st Panzer Group and the mechanized corps of the Southwestern Front, which launched a counterattack, together with the combined arms formations of the front.
Already on the first day of the war, the three corps that were in reserve received an order from the front headquarters to advance northeast of Rovno and strike, together with the 22nd mechanized corps (which was already there), on the left flank of the von Kleist tank group. While the reserve corps approached the place of concentration, the 22nd corps managed to suffer heavy losses during the battles with German units, and the 15th Corps, located to the south, failed to break through the dense German anti-tank defenses. The reserve corps approached one by one.
The 8th corps was the first to approach the place of the new deployment with a forced march, and he immediately had to go into battle alone, since the situation that had developed by that time in the 22nd corps was very difficult. The approaching corps included T-34 and KV tanks, and the military contingent was well prepared. This helped the corps to maintain its combat effectiveness during the battles with superior enemy forces. Later, the 9th and 19th mechanized corps approached and also immediately entered into fighting. The inexperienced crews of these corps, exhausted by 4-day marches and continuous German air raids, found it difficult to resist the experienced tankers of the German 1st Panzer Group.
Unlike the 8th Corps, they were armed with the old T-26 and BT models, which were significantly inferior in maneuverability to the modern T-34, moreover, most of the vehicles were damaged during air raids on the march. It so happened that the front headquarters was not able to collect all the reserve corps for a powerful strike at the same time, and each of them had to join the battle in turn.
As a result, the strongest tank grouping of the Red Army lost its striking power even before the really critical phase of the fighting on the southern flank of the Soviet-German front arose. Nevertheless, the front headquarters managed to preserve the integrity of its troops for a while, but when the forces of the tank units were running out, the headquarters gave the order to retreat to the old Soviet-Polish border.
Despite the fact that these counterattacks did not lead to the defeat of the 1st Panzer Group, they forced the German command, instead of attacking Kyiv, to turn its main forces to repulse the counterattack and prematurely use their reserves. The Soviet command won time to withdraw the Lvov group of troops, which was under the threat of encirclement, and to prepare defenses on the outskirts of Kyiv.
The famous Brest Fortress has become synonymous with unbroken spirit and resilience. During the Great Patriotic War, the elite forces of the Wehrmacht were forced to spend 8 full days, instead of the planned 8 hours. What motivated the defenders of the fortress and why this resistance played an important role in the overall picture of the Second World War.
Early in the morning of June 22, 1941, the German offensive began along the entire line of the Soviet border, from the Barents to the Black Sea. One of the many initial goals was the Brest Fortress - a small line in the plan of Barbarossa. The Germans took only 8 hours to storm and capture it. In spite of loud name, this fortification, once the pride of the Russian Empire, turned into simple barracks and the Germans did not expect to meet serious resistance there.
But the unexpected and desperate rebuff that the Wehrmacht forces met in the fortress went down in the history of the Great Patriotic War so vividly that today many believe that the Second World War began with an attack on the Brest Fortress. But it could happen that this feat would remain unknown, but the case decreed otherwise.
History of the Brest Fortress
Where the Brest Fortress is today, there used to be the city of Berestye, which is mentioned for the first time in The Tale of Bygone Years. Historians believe that this city originally grew around the castle, the history of which has been lost for centuries. Located at the junction of Lithuanian, Polish and Russian lands, it has always played an important strategic role. The city was erected on a cape formed by the Western Bug and Mukhovets rivers. In ancient times, rivers were the main communications for traders. Therefore, Berestye prospered economically. But the location on the very border entailed dangers. The city often moved from one state to another. It was repeatedly besieged and captured by the Poles, Lithuanians, german knights, Swedes, Crimean Tatars and troops of the Russian kingdom.
Important fortification
The history of the modern Brest Fortress originates in imperial Russia. It was built by order of Emperor Nicholas I. The fortification was located at an important point - on the shortest land route from Warsaw to Moscow. At the confluence of two rivers - the Western Bug and Mukhavets - there was a natural island, which became the location of the Citadel - the main fortification of the fortress. This building was a two-story building, which housed 500 casemates. There could be 12 thousand people at the same time. Two-meter-thick walls reliably protected them from any weapons that existed in the 19th century.
Three more islands were created artificially, using the waters of the Mukhovets River and a man-made system of ditches. Additional fortifications were located on them: Kobrin, Volyn and Terespol. Such an arrangement suited the generals defending in the fortress very well, because it reliably protected the Citadel from enemies. It was very difficult to break through to the main fortification, and it was almost impossible to bring wall-beating guns there. The first stone of the fortress was laid on June 1, 1836, and on April 26, 1842, the fortress standard was raised over it in a solemn ceremony. At that time it was one of the best defensive structures in the country. Knowing the design features of this military fortification will help you understand how the defense of the Brest Fortress took place in 1941.
Time passed, and weapons improved. The range of artillery fire was increasing. What had previously been impregnable could now be destroyed without even getting close. Therefore, military engineers decided to build an additional line of defense, which was supposed to encircle the fortress at a distance of 9 km from the main fortification. It included artillery batteries, defensive barracks, two dozen strongholds and 14 forts.
unexpected find
February 1942 turned out to be cold. German troops rushed deep into the Soviet Union. The Red Army tried to hold back their advance, but most often they had no choice but to continue to retreat inland. But they didn't always fail. And now, not far from Orel, the 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division was utterly defeated. We even managed to capture documents from the headquarters archive. Among them, they found a "combat report on the occupation of Brest-Litovsk."
Accurate Germans day after day documented the events that took place during the protracted siege in the Brest Fortress. The staff officers had to explain the reasons for the delay. At the same time, as was always the case in history, they went out of their way to exalt their own bravery and downplay the merits of the enemy. But even in this light, the feat of the unbroken defenders of the Brest Fortress looked so bright that excerpts from this document were published in the Soviet edition of Krasnaya Zvezda to strengthen the spirit of both the front fighters and the civilian population. But history at that time had not yet revealed all its secrets. The Brest Fortress in 1941 endured much more of those trials, which became known from the documents found.
Word to the Witnesses
Three years have passed since the capture of the Brest Fortress. After heavy fighting, Belarus was recaptured from the Nazis and, in particular, the Brest Fortress. By that time, stories about her had become almost legends and an ode to courage. Therefore, interest in this object was immediately increased. The powerful fortress lay in ruins. Traces of destruction from artillery strikes, at the first glance, told experienced front-line soldiers what hell the garrison stationed here had to face at the very beginning of the war.
A detailed survey of the ruins gave an even more complete picture. Literally dozens of messages from participants in the defense of the fortress were written and scratched on the walls. Many came down to the message: "I'm dying, but I don't give up." Some contained dates and last names. Over time, eyewitnesses of those events were also found. German newsreel and photo reports became available. Step by step, historians reconstructed the picture of the events that took place on June 22, 1941 in the battles for the Brest Fortress. The graffiti on the walls revealed something that was not in the official records. In the documents, the date of the fall of the fortress was July 1, 1941. But one of the inscriptions was dated July 20, 1941. This meant that the resistance, albeit in the form of a partisan movement, lasted almost a month.
Defense of the Brest Fortress
By the time the fire of the Second World War flared up, the Brest Fortress was no longer a strategically important object. But since it is not worth neglecting the material resources already available, it was used as a barracks. The fortress turned into a small military town where the families of commanders lived. Among the civilian population permanently residing in the territory were women, children and the elderly. About 300 families lived outside the walls of the fortress.
Because of the military exercises planned for June 22, rifle and artillery units and the highest commanders of the army left the fortress. The territory was left by 10 rifle battalions, 3 artillery regiments, air defense and anti-aircraft defense divisions. Less than half of the usual number of people remained - approximately 8.5 thousand people. National composition defenders would do honor to any UN meeting. There were Belarusians, Ossetians, Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Tatars, Kalmyks, Georgians, Chechens and Russians. In total, among the defenders of the fortress were representatives of thirty nationalities. They were approached by 19 thousand well-trained soldiers who had considerable experience behind them. real fights in Europe.
Soldiers of the 45th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht stormed the Brest Fortress. It was a special unit. It was the first to triumphantly enter Paris. Soldiers from this division went through Belgium, Holland and fought in Warsaw. They were considered practically the elite of the German army. The 45th division always quickly and accurately carried out the tasks assigned to it. The Fuhrer himself singled her out among others. This is a division of the former Austrian army. It was formed in Hitler's homeland - in the district of Linz. It diligently cultivated personal loyalty to the Fuhrer. A quick victory is expected of them, and they do not doubt it.
Fully prepared for a fast assault
The Germans had detailed plan Brest fortress. After all, just a few years ago they had already won it from Poland. Then Brest was also attacked at the very beginning of the war. The assault on the Brest Fortress in 1939 lasted two weeks. It was then that the Brest Fortress was bombed for the first time. And on September 22, the whole of Brest was pompously handed over to the Red Army, in honor of which they held joint parade Red Army and Wehrmacht.
Fortifications: 1 - Citadel; 2 - Kobrin fortification; 3 - Volyn fortification; 4 - Terespol fortification Objects: 1. Defensive barracks; 2. Barbicans; 3. White Palace; 4. Engineering management; 5. Barracks; 6. Club; 7. Dining room; 8. Brest gates; 9. Kholmsky gate; 10. Terespol gates; 11. Brigid Gate. 12. Building border outpost; 13. Western fort; 14. Eastern Fort; 15. Barracks; 16. Residential buildings; 17. North-Western Gate; 18. North gate; 19. East gate; 20. Powder magazines; 21. Brigid Prison; 22. Hospital; 23. Regimental school; 24. Hospital building; 25. Strengthening; 26. South gate; 27. Barracks; 28. Garages; 30. Barracks.
Therefore, the advancing soldiers had all the necessary information and a diagram of the Brest Fortress. They knew about the strengths and weaknesses of fortifications, and had clear plan actions. At dawn on June 22, everyone was in their places. Installed mortar batteries, prepared assault squads. At 4:15 the Germans opened artillery fire. Everything was very clearly defined. Every four minutes, the line of fire was advanced 100 meters forward. The Germans diligently and methodically mowed down everything that could be obtained. detailed map The Brest Fortress served as an invaluable help in this.
The bet was made primarily on surprise. Artillery bombardment was to be short, but massive. The enemy needed to be disoriented and not given the opportunity to put up a cohesive resistance. For a short attack from nine mortar batteries, they managed to fire 2880 shots at the fortress. No one expected a serious rebuff from the survivors. After all, in the fortress there were rear guards, repairmen, and families of commanders. As soon as the mortars subsided, the assault began.
South Island attackers passed quickly. Warehouses were concentrated there, and there was a hospital. The soldiers did not stand on ceremony with bedridden patients - they finished off with rifle butts. Those who could move independently were killed selectively.
But on the western island, where the Terespol fortification is located, the border guards managed to orient themselves and adequately meet the enemy. But due to the fact that they were scattered in small groups, it was not possible to hold back the attackers for a long time. Through the Terespol Gate of the attacked Brest Fortress, the Germans broke into the Citadel. They quickly occupied some of the casemates, the officers' canteen and the club.
First failures
At the same time, the newly appeared heroes of the Brest Fortress begin to gather in groups. They draw their weapons and take up defensive positions. Now it turns out that the Germans who have broken through ahead are in the ring. They are being attacked from the rear, with undiscovered defenders waiting ahead. The Red Army purposefully shot officers among the attacking Germans. Discouraged by such a rebuff, the infantrymen try to retreat, but then they are met with fire by the border guards. German losses in this attack amounted to almost half of the detachment. They retreat, and settle in the club. This time already as besieged.
Artillery cannot help the Nazis. It is impossible to open fire, as the probability of shooting your own people is too high. The Germans are trying to get through to their comrades stuck in the Citadel, but Soviet snipers careful shots force them to keep their distance. The same snipers block the movement of machine guns, preventing them from moving to other positions.
By 7:30 in the morning, it would seem that the shelled out fortress literally comes to life and completely comes to its senses. The defense is already organized along the entire perimeter. The commanders hastily reorganize the surviving fighters and place them in position. No one has a complete picture of what is happening. But at this time, the fighters are sure that they just need to hold their positions. Hang on until help arrives.
Complete isolation
The Red Army soldiers had no connection with the outside world. Messages sent over the air went unanswered. By noon the city was completely occupied by the Germans. The Brest fortress on the map of Brest remained the only center of resistance. All escape routes were cut off. But contrary to the expectations of the Nazis, the resistance only grew. It was quite clear that the attempt to capture the fortress immediately failed. The advance faltered.
At 13:15, the German command throws a reserve into battle - the 133rd infantry regiment. It does not bring results. At 14:30, the commander of the 45th division, Fritz Schlieper, arrives at the site of the Kobrin fortification occupied by the Germans to personally assess the situation. He becomes convinced that his infantry is not able to take the Citadel on their own. Schliper gives the order at nightfall to withdraw the infantry and resume shelling from heavy guns. The heroic defense of the besieged Brest Fortress is bearing fruit. This is the first retreat of the illustrious 45th division since the start of the war in Europe.
The Wehrmacht forces could not just take and leave the fortress as it is. In order to move forward, it was necessary to occupy it. The strategists knew this, and this has been proven by history. The defense of the Brest Fortress by the Poles in 1939 and the Russians in 1915 served the Germans good lesson. The fortress blocked important crossings over the Western Bug River and access roads to both tank highways, which had crucial for the transfer of troops and providing the advancing army with supplies.
according to plans German command through Brest, troops were supposed to march non-stop, aimed at Moscow. The German generals considered the fortress a serious obstacle, but they simply did not consider it as a powerful defensive line. The desperate defense of the Brest Fortress in 1941 made its own adjustments to the plans of the aggressors. In addition, the defending Red Army soldiers did not just sit in the corners. Time after time they organized counterattacks. Losing people and rolling back to their positions, they reorganized and again went into battle.
Thus passed the first days of the war. The next day, the Germans gathered the captured people, and, hiding behind women, children and the wounded from the captured hospital, began to cross the bridge. Thus, the Germans forced the defenders to either let them through or shoot their relatives and friends with their own hands.
Meanwhile, artillery fire resumed. To help the besiegers, two super-heavy guns were delivered - 600 mm self-propelled mortars of the Karl system. It was such an exclusive weapon that they even had proper names. In total, only six such mortars were produced in history. Two-ton projectiles fired from these mastodons left craters 10 meters deep. They knocked down the towers at the Terespol Gate. In Europe, the mere appearance of such a "Karl" at the walls of a besieged city meant victory. The Brest fortress, how long the defense lasted, did not even give the enemy a reason to think about the possibility of capitulation. The defenders continued to shoot back even when seriously wounded.
The first prisoners
However, at 10 a.m., the Germans take their first breather and offer to surrender. This continued in each of the subsequent breaks in the shooting. Persistent proposals to surrender sounded from German loudspeakers throughout the area. This was supposed to undermine the morale of the Russians. This approach has borne some fruit. On this day, about 1900 people came out of the fortress with their hands up. There were many women and children among them. But there were also soldiers. Basically - reservists who arrived at the training camp.
The third day of defense began with shelling, comparable in power to the first day of the war. The Nazis could not but admit that the Russians were defending themselves courageously. But they did not understand the reasons that made people continue to resist. Brest was taken. Help is nowhere to be found. However, initially no one planned to defend the fortress. In fact, it would even be a direct disobedience to the order, which said that in the event of hostilities, the fortress should be immediately abandoned.
The soldiers who were there simply did not have time to leave the facility. narrow gate, which were the only way out then, were under aimed fire from the Germans. Those who failed to break through initially expected help from the Red Army. They did not know that German tanks were already in the center of Minsk.
Not all women left the fortress, heeding the exhortations to surrender. Many stayed behind to fight their husbands. German attack aircraft even reported to the command about the women's battalion. However, the fortress never had women's divisions.
premature report
On the twenty-fourth of June, Hitler was informed about the capture of the Brest-Litovsk fortress. On that day, stormtroopers managed to capture the Citadel. But the fortress has not yet surrendered. In the evening of the same day, the surviving commanders gathered in the building of the engineering barracks. The result of the meeting is Order No. 1 - the only document of the besieged garrison. Because of the assault that had begun, they did not even have time to finish it. But it is thanks to him that we know the names of the commanders and the numbers of the fighting units.
After the fall of the Citadel, the eastern fort became the main center of resistance in the Brest Fortress. The attack aircraft try to take the Kobrin shaft repeatedly, but the artillerymen of the 98th anti-tank division firmly hold the line. They knock out a couple of tanks and several armored vehicles. When the enemy destroys the guns, the fighters with rifles and grenades go into the casemates.
The Nazis combine assaults and shelling with psychological treatment. With the help of leaflets scattered from aircraft, the Germans call for surrender, promising life and humane treatment. Through the loudspeakers they announce that both Minsk and Smolensk have already been taken and there is no point in resistance. But the people in the fortress simply do not believe in it. They are waiting for help from the Red Army.
The Germans were afraid to enter the casemates - the wounded continued to shoot. But they couldn't get out either. Then the Germans decided to use flamethrowers. Brick and metal melted from the terrible heat. These streaks can still be seen on the walls of the casemates today.
The Germans put forward an ultimatum. His surviving fighters are carried by a fourteen-year-old girl - Valya Zenkina, the daughter of a foreman, who was captured the day before. The ultimatum says that either the Brest Fortress up to last defender surrenders, or the Germans will wipe the garrison off the face of the earth. But the girl did not return. She chose to stay in the fortress along with her.
Current Issues
The period of the first shock passes, and the body begins to demand its own. People understand that they have not eaten anything all this time, and the food warehouses burned down during the very first shelling. Worse, the defenders have nothing to drink. During the first artillery shelling of the fortress, the water supply system was disabled. People suffer from thirst. The fortress was located at the confluence of two rivers, but it was impossible to reach this water. Along the banks of rivers and canals are German machine guns. The attempts of the besieged to reach the water are paid with their lives.
The cellars are overflowing with the wounded and the families of command personnel. It is especially difficult for children. The commanders decide to send women and children into captivity. With white flags, they get out into the street and go to the exit. These women did not stay in captivity for long. The Germans simply let them go, and the women went either to Brest or to the nearest village.
On June 29, the Germans call in aircraft. This was the date of the beginning of the end. Bombers drop several 500kg bombs on the fort, but it holds its own and continues to snarl with fire. After lunch, another super-powerful bomb (1800 kg) was dropped. This time, the casemates pierced right through. Following this, attack aircraft broke into the fort. They managed to capture about 400 prisoners. Under heavy fire and constant assaults, the fortress held out in 1941 for 8 days.
One for all
Major Pyotr Gavrilov, who led the main defense in this area, did not surrender. He took refuge in a hole dug in one of the casemates. The last defender of the Brest Fortress decided to wage his own war. Gavrilov wanted to hide in the northwestern corner of the fortress, where there were stables before the war. During the day, he buries himself in a pile of manure, and at night he carefully crawls out to the canal to drink water. The major feeds on the compound feed left in the stable. However, after several days of such a diet, acute abdominal pains begin, Gavrilov quickly weakens and begins to fall into oblivion at times. Soon he is captured.
About how many days the defense of the Brest Fortress lasted, the world will learn much later. As well as the price the defenders had to pay. But the fortress began to acquire legends almost immediately. One of the most popular was born from the words of one Jew - Zalman Stavsky, who worked as a violinist in a restaurant. He said that one day, while going to work, he was stopped German officer. Zalman was taken to the fortress and led to the entrance to the dungeon around which the soldiers gathered, bristling with cocked rifles. Stavsky was ordered to go down and take the Russian soldier out of there. He obeyed, and below he found a half-dead man, whose name remained unknown. Thin and overgrown, he could no longer move independently. Rumor attributed to him the title of the last defender. This was in April 1942. It has been 10 months since the beginning of the war.
From the shadow of oblivion
A year after the first attack of the fortification, an article was written about this event in the Red Star, where the details of the protection of the soldiers were revealed. In the Moscow Kremlin, they decided that she could raise the militant ardor of the population, which had subsided by that time. It was not yet a real memorial article, but only a warning about what kind of heroes those 9 thousand people who fell under the bombing were considered. Numbers and some names were announced dead soldiers, the names of the fighters, the results of the fact that the fortress was surrendered and where the army is moving further. In 1948, 7 years after the end of the battle, an article appeared in Ogonyok, which already looked more like a memorable ode to the dead people.
In fact, the presence of a complete picture of the defense of the Brest Fortress should be credited to Sergei Smirnov, who at one time set out to restore and organize the records that were previously stored in the archives. Konstantin Simonov took the initiative of the historian and a drama, a documentary and a feature film were born under his direction. Historians conducted a study in order to get as many documentary shots as possible and they succeeded - the German soldiers were going to make a propaganda film about the victory, and therefore the video material was already there. However, he was not destined to become a symbol of victory, because all the information was stored in the archives.
Around the same time, the painting “To the Defenders of the Brest Fortress” was painted, and since the 1960s, poems began to appear where the Brest Fortress is exhibited as an ordinary entertaining city. They were preparing for a scene based on Shakespeare, but did not suspect that another "tragedy" was brewing. Over time, songs have appeared in which, from the height of the 21st century, a person looks at the hardships of soldiers a century earlier.
At the same time, it is worth noting that propaganda was carried out not only from Germany: propaganda speeches, films, posters that prompt action. This was also done by the Russian Soviet authorities, and therefore these films also had a patriotic character. Courage was sung in poetry, the idea of a feat of small military troops on the territory of the fortress, caught in a trap. From time to time, notes appeared about the results of the defense of the Brest Fortress, but the emphasis was placed on the decisions of the soldiers in the conditions complete isolation from command.
Soon the Brest Fortress, already known for its defense, had numerous verses, many of which fell on songs and served as screensavers for documentaries during the Great Patriotic War and the chronicles of the advance of troops to Moscow. In addition, there is a cartoon that tells about the Soviet people as foolish children ( junior classes). In principle, the viewer is explained the reason for the appearance of traitors and why there were so many saboteurs in Brest. But this is explained by the fact that the people believed the ideas of fascism, while sabotage attacks were not always carried out by traitors.
In 1965, the fortress was awarded the title of "hero", in the media it was referred to exclusively as the "Brest Hero Fortress", and by 1971 a memorial complex was formed. In 2004, Beshanov Vladimir published the complete chronicle of the Brest Fortress.
The history of the creation of the complex
The museum "The Fifth Fort of the Brest Fortress" owes its existence communist party, who proposed its creation on the 20th anniversary of the memory of the defense of the fortress. Funds had previously been collected by the people, and now it remained only to get approval to make from the ruins cultural monument. The idea was born long before 1971 and, for example, back in 1965 the fortress received the Hero Star, and a year later a creative team was formed to design the museum.
She did a lot of work, right down to specifying what facing the obelisk bayonet should have (titanium steel), the main color of the stone (gray) and the necessary material (concrete). The Council of Ministers agreed to the implementation of the project, and in 1971 a memorial complex was opened, where sculptural compositions are correctly and accurately located and battlefields are presented. Today they are visited by tourists from many countries of the world.
Location of monuments
The formed complex has a main entrance, which is a concrete parallelepiped with a carved star. Polished to a shine, it stands on a shaft, on which, from a certain angle, the abandonment of the barracks is especially striking. They are not so much abandoned as left in the condition in which they were used by soldiers after the bombing. Such a contrast emphasizes the state of the castle. Casemates of the Eastern part of the fortress are located on both sides, and the Central part is visible from the opening. Thus begins the story that the Brest Fortress will tell the visitor.
A feature of the Brest Fortress is the panorama. From the elevation you can see the citadel, the river Mukhavets, on the coast of which it is located, as well as the largest monuments. The sculptural composition “Thirst” is impressively made, praising the courage of soldiers left without water. Since the water supply was destroyed in the first hours of the siege, the soldiers themselves, needing drinking water, gave it to families, and the remains were used to cool the guns. It is precisely this difficulty that they mean when they say that the fighters were ready to kill and go over the corpses for a sip of water.
The White Palace, depicted in the famous painting by Zaitsev, is surprising, which even before the start of the bombing in some places was destroyed to the ground. During the Second World War, the building served as a dining room, a club and a warehouse at the same time. Historically, it was in the palace that Brest Peace, and according to myths, Trotsky left famous slogan"no war, no peace", capturing it over a billiard table. However, the latter is not provable. During the construction of the museum near the palace, approximately 130 people were found dead, and the walls were damaged by potholes.
Together with the palace, the ceremonial area is a single whole, and if you take into account the barracks, then all these buildings are entirely preserved ruins, untouched by archaeologists. The scheme of the memorial Brest Fortress designates the area most often with numbers, although it has a considerable length. In the center are plates with the names of the defenders of the Brest Fortress, the list of which has been restored, where the remains of more than 800 people are buried, and ranks and merits are indicated next to the initials.
Most visited attractions
The eternal flame is located near the square, over which the Main Monument rises. As the diagram shows, the Brest Fortress encircles this place, making it a kind of core memorial complex. The Post of Memory, organized under Soviet rule in 1972, has been serving near the fire for many years. Yunarmiya members serve here, whose shift lasts for 20 minutes and you can often get to a shift change. The monument also deserves attention: it was made from reduced parts made from plaster at a local factory. Then casts were taken from them and enlarged 7 times.
The engineering department is also part of the untouched ruins and is located inside the citadel, and the Mukhavets and Western Bug rivers make an island out of it. A fighter was constantly in the Office, who did not stop transmitting signals over the radio station. And so the remains of one soldier were found: not far from the equipment, until the last breath, which did not stop trying to contact the command. In addition, during the First World War, the Engineering Department was only partially restored and was not a reliable shelter.
The garrison temple has become an almost legendary place, one of the very last to be captured by enemy troops. The temple originally served Orthodox Church However, by 1941 there was a regimental club there. Since the building was very profitable, it was it that became the place for which both sides fought hard: the club passed from commander to commander and only at the very end of the siege remained with the German soldiers. The temple building was restored several times, and only by 1960 was included in the complex.
At the very Terespol Gates there is a monument to "Heroes of the Border ...", created according to the idea of the State Committee in Belarus. A member of the creative committee worked on the design of the monument, and the construction cost 800 million rubles. The sculpture depicts three soldiers defending themselves from enemies invisible to the eye of the observer, and behind them are children and their mother giving precious water to a wounded soldier.
underground stories
The dungeons, which have an almost mystical aura, have become an attraction of the Brest Fortress, and legends of various origins and content circulate around them. However, whether they should be called such a loud word - still needs to be figured out. Many journalists made reports without first checking the information. In fact, many dungeons turned out to be manholes, several tens of meters long, not at all “from Poland to Belarus”. The human factor played its role: those who survived mention the underground passages as something big, but often the stories cannot be substantiated by facts.
Often, before looking for ancient passages, you need to study the information, thoroughly study the archive and understand the photographs found in newspaper clippings. Why is it important? The fortress was built for certain purposes, and in some places these passages may simply not exist - they were not needed! But there are certain fortifications worth paying attention to. A map of the Brest Fortress will help with this.
Fort
When building forts, it was taken into account that they should only support infantry. So, in the minds of the builders, they looked like separate buildings that are well armed. The forts were supposed to protect the areas between themselves, where the military was located, thus forming a single chain - the line of defense. In these distances between the fortified forts, there was often a road hidden on the sides by an embankment. This mound could serve as walls, but not a roof - there was nothing to keep it on. However, the researchers perceived it and described it as a dungeon.
Availability underground passages as such, not only is it not logical, but also difficult to implement. The financial costs that the command would incur absolutely did not justify the benefits of these dungeons. Much more effort would have been spent on the construction, but it would be possible to use the moves from time to time. You can use such dungeons, for example, only when the fortress was defending. Moreover, it was beneficial for the commanders that the fort remained autonomous, and did not turn into part of a string that provides only a temporary advantage.
There are certified written memoirs of the lieutenant, describing his retreat with the army through the dungeons, spread out in the Brest Fortress, according to him, for 300 meters! But in the story, it was mentioned in passing about the matches with which the soldiers lit the way, but the size of the passages described by the lieutenant speaks for itself: such lighting would hardly be enough for such a distance, and even taking into account the way back.
Old communications in legends
The fortress had storm drains and sewers, which made it from the usual heap of buildings with large walls a real stronghold. It is these passages of technical purpose that can most correctly be called dungeons, since they are made as a smaller version of the catacombs: a network of narrow passages branched over a long distance can only let one person of average build through. A soldier with ammunition will not pass through such cracks, and even more so, several people in a row. This is an ancient sewage system, which, by the way, is on the map of the Brest Fortress. A person could make his way along it to the place of clogging and clean it so that this branch of the highway could be used further.
There is also a gateway to help support right amount in the fortress moat. He, too, was perceived as a dungeon and took the form of a fabulously large manhole. You can list numerous other communications, but the meaning will not change from that and they can only be considered dungeons conditionally.
Ghosts avenging from the dungeons
Already after the fortification was handed over to Germany, legends about cruel ghosts avenging their comrades began to be passed from mouth to mouth. Such myths had a real basis: the remnants of the regiment hid for a long time through underground communications and shot at night watchmen. Soon, the descriptions of the unmissable ghosts began to frighten so much that the Germans wished each other to avoid the Frau Mit Avtomat, one of the legendary avenging ghosts.
Upon the arrival of Hitler and Benito Mussolini, everyone's hands were sweaty in the Brest Fortress: if ghosts fly out of there while these two brilliant personalities pass by the caves, trouble cannot be avoided. However, this, to the considerable relief of the soldiers, did not happen. At night, the frau did not cease to be atrocious. She attacked unexpectedly, always swiftly, and just as unexpectedly hid in the dungeons, as if she was dissolving in them. From the descriptions of the soldiers it followed that the woman had a dress torn in several places, tangled hair and a dirty face. Because of her hair, by the way, her middle name was "Kudlataya".
History had real basis, since the wives of the commanders were also under siege. They were trained to shoot, and they did it masterfully, without a miss, they had to pass the TRP norms. In addition, being in good physical shape and being able to handle various types of weapons was in honor, and therefore some woman blinded by revenge for her loved ones could well do this. One way or another, the frau mit automatic was not the only legend among German soldiers.
In February 1942, on one of the sectors of the front in the Orel region, our troops defeated the enemy's 45th infantry division. At the same time, the archive of the division headquarters was captured. While sorting through the documents captured in the German archives, our officers drew attention to one very curious paper. This document was called "Combat report on the occupation of Brest-Litovsk", and in it, day after day, the Nazis talked about the course of the battles for the Brest Fortress.
Against the will of the German staff officers, who, of course, tried in every possible way to exalt the actions of their troops, all the facts cited in this document spoke of exceptional courage, amazing heroism, and the extraordinary stamina and stubbornness of the defenders of the Brest Fortress. As a forced involuntary recognition of the enemy, the last final words this report.
“A stunning attack on a fortress in which a brave defender sits costs a lot of blood,” wrote enemy staff officers. - This simple truth once again proved during the capture of the Brest Fortress. The Russians in Brest-Litovsk fought extremely persistently and stubbornly, they showed excellent infantry training and proved a remarkable will to resist.
Such was the recognition of the enemy.
This “Combat report on the occupation of Brest-Litovsk” was translated into Russian, and excerpts from it were published in 1942 in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper. So, actually from the mouth of our enemy, Soviet people For the first time, we learned some details of the remarkable feat of the heroes of the Brest Fortress. The legend has become a reality.
Two more years have passed. In the summer of 1944, during the powerful offensive of our troops in Belarus, Brest was liberated. July 28, 1944 soviet soldiers for the first time after three years of fascist occupation, they entered the Brest Fortress.
Almost the entire fortress lay in ruins. By the mere sight of these terrible ruins, one could judge the strength and cruelty of the battles that took place here. These piles of ruins were full of severe grandeur, as if the unbroken spirit of the fallen fighters of 1941 still lived in them. The gloomy stones, in places already overgrown with grass and bushes, beaten and chipped by bullets and shrapnel, seemed to have absorbed the fire and blood of the past battle, and the people wandering among the ruins of the fortress involuntarily came to mind how much these stones had seen and how much they would be able to tell if a miracle happened and they could speak.
And a miracle happened! The stones suddenly spoke! On the surviving walls of fortifications, in the openings of windows and doors, on the vaults of cellars, on the abutments of the bridge, inscriptions left by the defenders of the fortress began to be found. In these inscriptions, sometimes nameless, sometimes signed, sometimes scribbled in pencil, sometimes simply scrawled on plaster with a bayonet or a bullet, the fighters declared their determination to fight to the death, sent farewell greetings to the Motherland and comrades, spoke of devotion to the people and the party. It was as if the living voices of the unknown heroes of 1941 sounded in the ruins of the fortress, and the soldiers of 1944, with excitement and heartache, listened to these voices, in which there was a proud consciousness of a fulfilled duty, and the bitterness of parting with life, and calm courage in the face of death, and a covenant about revenge.
“There were five of us: Sedov, Grutov I., Bogolyubov, Mikhailov, Selivanov V. We took the first battle on June 22, 1941. We'll die, but we won't leave!" - was written on the bricks of the outer wall near the Terespol Gate.
In the western part of the barracks, in one of the rooms, the following inscription was found: “There were three of us, it was difficult for us, but we did not lose heart and we will die like heroes. July. 1941".
In the center of the fortress courtyard stands a dilapidated church-type building. There really was once a church here, and later, before the war, it was converted into a club of one of the regiments stationed in the fortress. In this club, on the site where the projectionist's booth was located, an inscription was scratched on the plaster: “We were three Muscovites - Ivanov, Stepanchikov, Zhuntyaev, who defended this church, and we swore an oath: we will die, but we will not leave here. July. 1941".
This inscription, along with the plaster, was removed from the wall and transferred to the Central Museum of the Soviet Army in Moscow, where it is now kept. Below, on the same wall, there was another inscription, which, unfortunately, has not been preserved, and we know it only from the stories of soldiers who served in the fortress in the first years after the war and read it many times. This inscription was, as it were, a continuation of the first one: “I was left alone, Stepanchikov and Zhuntyaev died. Germans in the church itself. The last grenade remained, but I will not give myself up alive. Comrades, avenge us!" These words were apparently scratched out by the last of the three Muscovites, Ivanov.
Not only stones spoke. As it turned out, the wives and children of the commanders who died in the battles for the fortress in 1941 lived in Brest and its environs. During the days of the fighting, these women and children, caught in the war in the fortress, were in the cellars of the barracks, sharing all the hardships of defense with their husbands and fathers. Now they shared memories, told a lot interesting details memorial defense.
And then a surprising and strange contradiction emerged. The German document I was talking about stated that the fortress resisted for nine days and fell by July 1, 1941. Meanwhile, many women recalled that they were captured only on July 10, or even on July 15, and when the Nazis took them outside the fortress, fighting was still going on in certain areas of the defense, there was an intense firefight. The inhabitants of Brest said that until the end of July or even until the first days of August, shooting was heard from the fortress, and the Nazis brought their wounded officers and soldiers from there to the city, where their army hospital was located.
Thus, it became clear that the German report about the occupation of Brest-Litovsk contained a deliberate lie and that the headquarters of the 45th enemy division hastened in advance to inform its high command about the fall of the fortress. In fact, the fighting continued for a long time ... In 1950, a researcher at the Moscow Museum, exploring the premises of the western barracks, found another inscription scratched on the wall. This inscription was: “I am dying, but I do not give up. Farewell, Motherland! There was no signature under these words, but at the bottom there was a completely clearly distinguishable date - "July 20, 1941." So it was possible to find direct evidence that the fortress continued to resist even on the 29th day of the war, although eyewitnesses stood their ground and assured that the battles had been going on for more than a month. After the war, a partial dismantling of the ruins was carried out in the fortress, and at the same time, the remains of heroes were often found under the stones, their personal documents and weapons were found.
Smirnov S.S. Brest Fortress. M., 1964
BREST FORTRESS
Built almost a century before the start of the Great Patriotic War (the construction of the main fortifications was completed by 1842), the fortress has long lost its strategic importance in the eyes of the military, since it was not considered capable of withstanding the onslaught of modern artillery. As a result, the objects of the complex served, first of all, to accommodate personnel, who, in case of war, had to keep the defense outside the fortress. At the same time, a plan to create a fortified area, taking into account latest achievements in the field of fortification, as of June 22, 1941 was not fully implemented.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the garrison of the fortress consisted mainly of units of the 6th and 42nd rifle divisions 28th Rifle Corps of the Red Army. But it has been significantly reduced due to the participation of many military personnel in planned training events.
The German operation to capture the fortress was launched by a powerful artillery preparation, which destroyed a significant part of the buildings, destroyed big number fighters of the garrison and at first noticeably demoralized the survivors. The enemy quickly gained a foothold on the South and West Islands, and assault troops appeared on the Central Island, but failed to occupy the barracks in the Citadel. In the area of the Terespol Gates, the Germans met a desperate counterattack by Soviet soldiers under the general command of the regimental commissar E.M. Fomin. The vanguard units of the 45th division of the Wehrmacht suffered serious losses.
The time gained allowed the Soviet side to organize an orderly defense of the barracks. The Nazis were forced to remain in their positions in the building of the army club, from which they could not get out for some time. Fire also stopped attempts to break through enemy reinforcements across the bridge over the Mukhavets in the area of the Kholmsky Gates on the Central Island.
In addition to the central part of the fortress, resistance gradually grew in other parts of the complex of buildings (in particular, under the command of Major P.M. Gavrilov on the northern Kobrin fortification), and dense buildings favored the soldiers of the garrison. Because of it, the enemy could not conduct aimed artillery fire from close range without being in danger of being destroyed. Having only small arms and a small number of artillery pieces and armored vehicles, the defenders of the fortress stopped the advance of the enemy, and later, when the Germans carried out a tactical retreat, they occupied the positions left by the enemy.
However, despite the failure fast assault, on June 22, the Wehrmacht forces managed to take the entire fortress into a blockade ring. Prior to its establishment, according to some estimates, up to half of the payroll of the units stationed in the complex managed to leave the fortress and occupy the lines prescribed by defensive plans. Taking into account the losses for the first day of defense, as a result, the fortress was defended by about 3.5 thousand people, blocked in its different parts. As a result, each of the major pockets of resistance could only rely on material resources in close proximity Push. The command of the joint forces of the defenders was entrusted to Captain I.N. Zubachev, whose deputy was the regimental commissar Fomin.
In the following days of the defense of the fortress, the enemy stubbornly sought to occupy the Central Island, but met with an organized rebuff from the Citadel garrison. Only on June 24 did the Germans manage to finally occupy the Terespol and Volyn fortifications on the Western and Southern Islands. Artillery bombardments of the Citadel alternated with air raids, during one of which a German fighter was shot down by rifle fire. The defenders of the fortress also knocked out at least four enemy tanks. It is known about the death of several more German tanks on improvised minefields installed by the Red Army.
The enemy used incendiary ammunition and tear gas against the garrison (the besiegers had a regiment of heavy chemical mortars at their disposal).
No less dangerous for the Soviet soldiers and civilians who were with them (primarily the wives and children of officers) was a catastrophic lack of food and drink. If the consumption of ammunition could be compensated for by the surviving arsenals of the fortress and captured weapons, then the needs for water, food, medicine and dressings were met at a minimum level. The water supply of the fortress was destroyed, and the manual intake of water from Mukhavets and Bug was practically paralyzed by enemy fire. The situation was further complicated by the incessant intense heat.
On the initial stage defense, the idea of breaking through the fortress and connecting with the main forces was abandoned, since the command of the defenders was counting on an early counterattack by the Soviet troops. When these calculations did not materialize, attempts began to break through the blockade, but they all ended in failure due to the overwhelming superiority of the Wehrmacht in manpower and weapons.
By the beginning of July, after a particularly large-scale bombardment and artillery shelling, the enemy managed to capture the fortifications on the Central Island, thereby destroying the main center of resistance. From that moment on, the defense of the fortress lost its integral and coordinated character, and the fight against the Nazis was continued by already scattered groups in different parts of the complex. The actions of these groups and individual fighters acquired more and more features of sabotage activity and continued in some cases until the end of July and even until the beginning of August 1941. Already after the war, in the casemates of the Brest Fortress, an inscription “I am dying, but I do not give up. Farewell Motherland. July 20, 1941"
Most of the surviving defenders of the garrison were captured by the Germans, where even before the end of organized defense, women and children were sent. Commissar Fomin was shot by the Germans, Captain Zubachev died in captivity, Major Gavrilov survived captivity and was transferred to the reserve during the post-war reduction of the army. The defense of the Brest Fortress (after the war it received the title of "fortress-hero") became a symbol of the courage and self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers in the first, most tragic period of the war.
Astashin N.A. Brest Fortress // Great Patriotic War. Encyclopedia. /Answer. ed. Ak. A.O. Chubaryan. M., 2010.
On the very first day of the Great Patriotic War, June 22, 2941, the Brest Fortress was attacked, in which there were approximately 3.5 thousand people. Despite the fact that the forces were clearly unequal, the garrison of the Brest Fortress defended with honor for a month - until July 23, 1941. Although there is no consensus on the issue of the duration of the defense of the Brest Fortress.
Some historians believe that it ended already at the end of June. The reason for the rapid capture of the fortress was the suddenness of the attack. by the German army to the Soviet garrison. This was not expected, and therefore they were not prepared, the Russian soldiers and officers who were on the territory of the fortress were taken by surprise.
The Germans, on the contrary, were carefully preparing to capture the ancient fortress. They practiced each on a mock-up created from aerial photographs. The German leadership understood that the fortification could not be captured with the help of tanks, therefore the main emphasis was placed on.
Reasons for the defeat
Already by June 29-30, the enemy captured almost all military fortifications, battles were going on throughout the garrison. Nevertheless, the defenders of the Brest Fortress courageously continued to defend themselves, although they had practically no water and food.
And no wonder, the Brest Fortress was attacked by forces that were many times greater than those that were in it. The infantry and two armored units inflicted frontal and flank attacks on all entrances to the fortress. Warehouses with ammunition, medicines, food were subjected to shelling. The German shock assault groups followed.
Already by 12 noon on June 22, the enemy broke communications and broke through to the Citadel, however Soviet troops managed to beat off. In the future, the buildings of the Citadel repeatedly passed from the Germans.
On June 29-30, the Germans launched a two-day continuous assault on the Citadel, as a result of which Soviet military commanders were captured. Thus, June 30 is called the day of completion of the organized resistance of the Brest Fortress. However, isolated centers of resistance, to the surprise of the Germans, appeared, according to some sources, until August 1941. No wonder Hitler brought Mussolini to the Brest Fortress to show what a serious enemy he had to fight.
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